Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Wind's Embrace

The moment Xiao Lian's fingers wrapped around the Windblade's hilt, a storm erupted around him.

Winds howled, twisting into a vortex of energy, lifting him off his feet. Lightning crackled through the sky, illuminating Bai He's calm figure as if he were untouched by the chaos.

Xiao Lian clenched his teeth, his muscles straining as the Windblade burned in his grasp—not with fire, but with something deeper, something alive. The air around him pulsed like a living thing, pressing against his skin, demanding surrender.

"Let go," Bai He's voice came, though his lips did not move.

Xiao Lian's grip tightened. "No! I have to control it!"

A sharp gust of wind slammed into him, sending him tumbling through the air. The Windblade, still in his hand, fought him, vibrating with raw power.

Then, suddenly—stillness.

Xiao Lian floated in the vast, endless sky. The howling winds ceased, replaced by a deep, resonant silence.

A voice—not Bai He's—whispered in his mind.

"The wind does not obey. It moves where it wills. It does not follow… it flows."

Xiao Lian's heart pounded. "Then how do I wield it?" he asked aloud.

The voice responded, ancient and knowing.

"You do not wield the wind. You become it."

A realization struck him. He was fighting the Windblade, trying to command it, control it like any ordinary sword. But it was not an ordinary sword. It was an extension of something greater. Of the wind itself.

Taking a slow breath, Xiao Lian did something he had never done before.

He stopped resisting.

The Windblade's energy surged around him, but this time, he did not fight it. He let it flow through him, over him, within him. His body felt weightless, as if he had become part of the very air itself.

A soft chuckle echoed—Bai He's voice again. "Good. You are learning."

Xiao Lian opened his eyes. The Windblade was no longer a burden in his hand. It was light, effortless, as if it had been waiting for him to finally understand.

The storm had passed.

He stood once more on solid ground—not the valley, not the endless sky, but somewhere in between. Bai He faced him, his expression one of quiet pride.

"The Windblade is now yours," his master said. "But your journey is not over."

Xiao Lian exhaled. He felt different—stronger, freer, as if the very wind carried him.

"I understand now," he said softly.

Bai He nodded. "Then awaken, Xiao Lian."

A final gust of wind enveloped him—

—And when he opened his eyes, he was back in the Valley of Echoes, the Windblade still in his hand, glowing with a newborn power.