Jin stepped out of the shadows, his cloak flapping.
His molten-gold, vertical-slit eyes burned like fire in the snowstorm.
He stopped, hand still resting on his dagger, fingers tensing slightly.
The man opposite him, however, seemed not to notice his wariness and simply asked calmly, “Just passing through?”
“Investigating the source of the loud noise.”
Jin replied, his voice not loud but cutting clearly through the wind and snow.
His gaze swept over the snow pit at the man’s feet that had yet to close up, then shifted to the massive beast’s corpse.
Blood droplets froze into ice crystals in the wind and snow, falling rustling from the severed neck.
The man smiled.
“I am Helian, a traveling martial artist.”
He kicked the giant beast’s corpse, producing a crisp shattering sound.
“This beast happened to be near my resting spot, so it was a good chance to train my hands. I didn’t expect to meet another living person in this blizzard. My apologies for startling you.”
Jin was silent for a moment.
He studied Helian, analyzing his words.
“Why rest near here?”
“Training.”
Helian shrugged, brushing snow dust off his hands.
“I heard there were tough opponents here, so I came. And you?”
“Escorting companions.”
Jin replied succinctly.
“Training alone in this blizzard is too reckless.”
“Used to it.”
Helian’s tone was casual.
“In my early years, I traveled through all the rings of the Demon Realm. Wherever there was a strong enemy, I’d go there to train.”
The two locked eyes.
The wind and snow howled.
Frost began to form on Jin’s eyelashes again.
He simply stared into Helian’s eyes—those blue-gray irises were very calm, without hostility or probing, as if looking at another person standing in the same storm.
Helian suddenly said, “You are a cautious person, but being on guard against each other is no fun.”
He paused, his expression turning serious.
“I don’t believe in words, only in fists. I’m sure you have many doubts right now. I’m willing to use my heart—the spirit of my fists won’t lie.”
In the wind and snow, they stood still like stone.
The moment Jin released his dagger, he stepped forward.
The snow melted soundlessly under his feet.
His molten-gold eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
“Alright.”
Helian laughed.
He rolled his shoulders and neck, the stone-patterned birthmark glowing faintly.
“Good. Since you agree, I’ll accompany you.”
Before the words faded, Jin did not dare underestimate his opponent.
This man was absolutely not to be taken lightly.
He pushed his fallen angel bloodline to the limit.
His form tore through the wind and snow, leaving a trail of crimson afterimages.
His right fist carried a wave of high-temperature air.
The blizzard along the way, unable to even get close, evaporated into hissing white mist, tearing a momentary vacuum corridor between the two.
Helian was slightly surprised but didn’t retreat half a step.
He merely turned his head a fraction, and Jin’s fist grazed past his cheek.
His right hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing Jin’s fast-moving body, and his left knee immediately drove upward.
Taking advantage of Helian’s grappling momentum, Jin twisted his waist and drove his elbow in a reverse strike from under his ribs.
This blow was delivered with contained fury, and the air exploded with a muffled thunderclap.
Helian took the hit directly on his chest, his muscles layering like rock, issuing a deep, solid echo.
But just as Jin was about to withdraw and attack again, Helian’s left hand had already seized his arm, and his waist and hips sank down!
Jin crashed heavily into the snow, sending ice shards flying in all directions.
Before the snow dust settled, Jin had already flipped back to his feet.
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and the molten gold in his eyes blazed even brighter.
Jin’s speed was so extreme that his form split into six afterimages, attacking from all directions.
A black flame tornado erupted around him, and the air was warped by the intense heat.
Helian finally moved.
His feet rooted like tree trunks into the frozen ground, and his hands formed a circle.
Jin’s fist wind collided with the edge of his palms, and the impact was entirely channeled into the earth beneath his feet.
The snow silently collapsed, as if Helian’s body had become the center of the storm, all power devoured by him and then dispersed deep into the veins of the land.
Helian’s voice was as steady as ever, surprisingly audible through the blizzard.
“I’ve fought with many people. I thought I could discern a thing or two from each person’s fist spirit, but unfortunately…”
He suddenly retreated half a step, his right palm lightly pushing toward Jin’s left ribs.
“Your heart is disturbed.”
Jin’s heart trembled.
He thought of his master’s pale face, the red tips of her ears when she stuffed the leather pouch into his hands, and the muffled voice when she said, “I’ll be waiting for you to come back safe.”
At that moment, Helian’s counterattack arrived.
A palm struck upward from below, plain and unadorned, yet carrying the momentum of overturning mountains and seas.
Jin’s dark red aura surged.
Behind him, black flames coiled into a dragon shape, and a roar accompanied his fist!
BOOM!!!
The two fists collided.
A shockwave swept through, snow rolled back, and rubble tumbled into the snow valley with a dull echo.
Jin flew back ten zhang like a broken kite, heavily crashing into a snowdrift.
He didn’t move for a long time.
His hands hung at his sides, palms bleeding, arm bones feeling like they were about to break.
Wind and snow poured in through his collar, making him shiver, but he didn’t even have the strength to raise a hand to brush them away.
Helian stood in place.
He looked down and saw his right fist trembling slightly, the skin on his own knuckles torn and bleeding.
“…Thrilling.”
He said in a low voice, exhaling a puff of white breath as if expelling all the residual heat from his body.
Helian didn’t move for a long time, waiting for Jin to stand up again.
After a long while, Jin finally struggled to sit up, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The blood fell on the snow, spreading a small patch of dark red that was soon covered by fresh snow.
He pulled at the corner of his mouth and faced him frankly.
“I lost.”
Helian walked over, crouched down, and handed him a clean cloth.
Jin took it, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his finger, and suddenly said in a low voice.
“Why did you hold back?”
Helian met Jin’s eyes directly, not flinching.
“Fists are for questioning the heart, not for taking lives. I can see that in your fists there is protection, in your heart there is light. Moreover, you didn’t use magic the entire time and chose to confront me head-on. Someone like that deserves respect.”
“Frankly speaking, at your age, my strength was far inferior.”
He paused, his tone suddenly serious.
“But there is one thing I must point out to you. If you have someone you want to protect, you should not be disturbed by worry, but instead be steady because of that guardianship.”
Jin listened and seemed lost in thought.
“Your fist speed earlier was fast, your strength fierce, but your aura was restless, your footwork unsteady. Why? Because you were afraid your companions had been waiting too long, afraid they would catch cold, afraid something would happen to them.”
Helian’s eyes were sharp, as if able to see through the softest part of Jin’s heart.
“But true protection is not about running around in panic. It’s about standing firm, throwing a punch with the momentum of ten thousand jun, so that enemies dare not come near, and the wind and snow dare not touch them.”
He reached out and patted Jin’s shoulder, the force neither light nor heavy, like an elder patting a younger one.
“If your heart is steady, your fist will be steady; if your fist is steady, you can protect the ones you want to protect. You have great potential. I hope you can find your own path.”
Jin felt as if he had been struck hard in the heart.
He was speechless for a long time.
—So all along, his frantic rush was because of fear, not love.
He was afraid his master would catch cold again, afraid Ailia couldn’t hold on, afraid he wouldn’t make it back in time.
But the more he feared, the more flustered he became; the more flustered, the more chaotic.
“This blizzard may not stop anytime soon, and your companions are still waiting anxiously.”
He glanced back at the path he had come from.
“My resting spot is not far from here. There’s a hot spring and dry firewood.”
“Please lead the way.”
Jin’s tone was sincere.
“My companions really do need a more suitable place to rest.”
Helian laughed heartily, his laughter especially loud in the wind and snow.
“Good! Quick and straightforward. Very good, very much to my liking.”
Jin didn’t argue, simply followed his steps.
The two headed east.
Soon after, Helian parted a curtain of hanging ice vines, revealing a cave entrance behind a rock crevice.
The entrance was small, only allowing one person to stoop and enter.
Inside, sure enough, a hot spring steamed, wispy white mist rising.
“I travel around training, this place is just a temporary rest stop.”
Helian led him inside and pointed to the inner chamber.
“The hot spring is over there, your companions can use it. The water is flowing, warm and inexhaustible.”
Jin stood at the entrance, watching the curling white mist.
Finally, he fully relaxed his shoulders that had been tense all along.
He untied the windproof rope, leaned against the rock wall, and let out a long breath.
The bones in his shoulders still ached, the muscles in his arms still trembled, but his heart was finally no longer panicked.
Helian, however, did not follow him in.
He stood at the edge of the wind and snow, his figure gradually swallowed by the snow curtain, leaving only a blurry silhouette.
“Sir.”
Helian suddenly spoke, his blue-gray eyes reflecting the vast snowy plain.
“This matter is concluded. I should be leaving now.”
Jin was startled.
“You’re not resting?”
“The fist waits for no one.”
Helian smiled, a very faint smile but with a carefree air of leaving at a moment’s notice.
“Today’s battle was thrilling. If we meet again someday, I hope you will be able to use your fist to protect your heart, unmovable as a mountain.”
Helian turned around, waved a hand over his shoulder without looking back.
“…Thank you.”
Jin said softly to the wind and snow.
No one heard, but he knew that person didn’t need to hear it either.