Merin stirs himself and then slowly blinks his eyes open. He faced a completely dark room. Discovering that no light is coming inside from the gaps of the room makes him understand that the sun still has not risen. But now that he is awake, there is no need to go back to sleep.
He sits up cross-legged and closes his eyes, and feels his inner energy. Inner energy leaves the dantain space and enters one of the energy vein channels connected to it. He carefully controls his inner energy as it moves along the path of the Bear Body Technique. He completes the circulation and opens his eyes.
This is the first time he checked the damage before he wasn't feeling confident enough to check, and even slight movement of his inner energy out of his dantian, his body would scream in pain. But before going to sleep last night, he took the potion provided by Xialing.
And when he woke up a few minutes ago, he felt the pain had subsided a little. So, he, with a trying mentality, moved his inner energy outside of his dantain and, after not feeling any pain, he completed the circulation and found that the energy channels of the Bear Body pathway are not damaged much.
The sudden discovery elated him. If he could heal the Bear Body pathway, his strength would return. He can't guarantee that his full strength would return, but still be better than his situation now, where he would find it difficult to defeat even an ordinary person.
The entire energy vein path of the Bear Body technique is injured in seven places. And six of them are only slightly injured, except for one that is seriously injured. With his knowledge, he can confirm that with three veils of Red Dew potion, with his active guidance. The six slightly injured places can be healed.
After some time, when the village chief wakes up, I have to ask for the address of Xialing. And even if she doesn't have enough material for the potion, then the only way to get medical material would be from Mugenkai. He can request the village chief to send a villager to acquire the materials for the Red Dew potion.
And material for the Star Dew potion. It is an advanced version of the Red Dew potion. But the medical material required to make the Star Dew potion is rare and difficult to find. So, he doesn't think Xialing would have them as some of the materials are only used to make Star Dew potion, and they are very rare. So, he has to request the village chief to send a villager for the required material.
After a few hours, He and Asuna again sit inside the village's chief house with the village chief sitting across them. After greeting each other.
Asuna offers polite greetings and then asks, "Is there anything our village can help with?"
Yamada Akira shakes his head. "You're our guests. Healing should be your only concern."
Asuna insists, but when he continues to decline, she reaches into her pouch and offers a purple star coin.
The chief hesitates. "This is too much."
"It's nothing," Asuna replies. "Please take it, or we'll feel guilty using your kindness."
Merin nods in agreement. "It's for everything—the food, the lodging, the healing."
Reluctantly, Yamada accepts the coin.
Then Merin speaks. "I want to meet with Xialing. I need more of the potion she gave me."
The chief folds his hands behind his back. She lives outside the village. Last night, she told me the materials for that potion have run out."
"I see," Merin says. "Can someone from the village go to Mugenkai for the ingredients? I'll pay."
Yamada nods. "It's not a problem."
Merin immediately takes out another purple star coin—the only one he has left. "Ninety per cent should be used to purchase materials. The rest is for the people making the trip."
The chief accepts it with a respectful bow. "I'll make the arrangements today."
With that settled, the conversation winds down. Asuna thanks the chief again. On the way back, she glances toward the village square.
"I'll walk around a bit. Want to come?"
Merin shakes his head. "I'll head back and rest."
She smiles lightly, then turns down another path, her amber hair catching the wind.
Merin watches her go before returning alone to their house, the morning quiet stretching around him.
----
Merin opens the door just as distant shouting reaches his ears. A crisp breeze brushes his face, and when he looks out, a smile forms on its own. He lifts his palm, and a single snowflake lands silently, delicately, and fleetingly. It's the first snow of winter.
Behind him, the wooden floor creaks. Asuna's voice comes lightly from inside, "Why is there a commotion outside?"
She steps into view, amber hair damp, wrapped in a loose bun held by a drying cloth. A robe hangs casually from her shoulders, clinging to her skin in places still wet from her bath.
Merin glances at her briefly before answering, "The first snowfall."
"Ohh," she murmurs, stepping beside him. She removes the cloth, and her long amber hair falls like a curtain down her back. With slow, practised movements, she begins drying it.
Merin shuts the door gently, sealing the cold outside. He walks over to the bed and sits cross-legged. Behind his closed eyes, his thoughts return to the villagers sent to Mugenkai. Hopefully, they find what's needed—enough ingredients to prepare two more healing potions.
Drawing a slow breath, he turns his focus inward. With careful control, he guides his inner energy through his veins, adjusting its pace to avoid straining the wounded channels. Each gentle surge carries warmth to damaged flesh, urging it to recover faster.
Outside, snow continues to fall, quiet and steady. Inside, the only sound is the soft rustle of cloth and the faint hum of energy flowing within a body trying to mend.
Merin heals his injuries in the village, but in an open field surrounded by mountains and forests, far from the village, two armies clash beneath the snow-filled sky. One side wearing the white golden uniform with two types of flags of character Bai written, and another, the national flag of the Owani kingdom and on the other side, their opponent, a ragtag bunch with flags of character Hui.
The battlefield is in chaos, with a Samurai with his sword gleaming white light slaughtering three enemy Samurai, and before he can go on a rampage, he is stopped by a Samurai with his spear gleaming with white light. Two middle-rank Samurai fight against each and like them, 100 such battles are taking place at the same time.
But they are not the deciding factor of the battlefield, as their example of five Low-Ranking Samurai with two dead and the rest seriously injured killing a Middle-Ranking Samurai.
In the battlefield, even in chaos, pockets of untouched ground open up where no common soldier dares to tread. In these circles, high-ranking samurai duel with ferocity too deadly for others to approach. Each strike of their blades unleashes waves of raw energy, ripping apart the earth and sending tremors across the field. Soldiers instinctively steer clear, knowing that even the edges of these battles could kill them.
But from High-ranking Samurai from both sides to the other weaker-ranked Samurai, everyone's eyes in the battlefield in the centre, where in an open space, Bai Ju, commander of the Bai's private army of the Owani Kingdom, is fighting against the rebel commander, Zhu Fuan. Both of them are also High-ranking Samurai, but their battle can determine who will win this war.
At the centre of the battlefield, where chaos reaches its peak, a wide circle has formed—cleared not by command but by fear. Soldiers from both sides keep their distance, their eyes fixed on the clash between two figures whose every movement shakes the hearts of even veteran samurai.
One of them is Bai Ju, and the other is Mani. Bai Ju is the general of the Bai family army, instructed by the court to squash the rebellion led by the Hui tribe in the Mugen prefecture. Mani is the leader of the Yan tribe, one of the forces joining hands with the Hui tribe to start the rebellion against the Owani Kingdom.
They clash.
Blade meets with the sound of thunder, and an explosion follows as Bai Ju's inner energy of pale blue colour conflicts with Mani's inner energy of pale fire colour. Due to their collision, wisps of their inner energy fall on the grass-covered ground.
The pale blue and pale red wisp of inner energy after falling on the grass shows an opposite reaction to each other. The pale blue wisp freezes the grass on which it falls, and the pale fire wisp burns the grass.
Bai Ju steps forward, swift and disciplined. His movements are like water turned to ice—flowing, then snapping. His blade hums with inner energy, and arcs of frost burst from each slash, freezing chunks of the battlefield.
Mani doesn't retreat. He meets Bai Ju head-on, each swing heavy and wild, yet controlled by brutal instinct. His fire rages with him. When his sword strikes low, it leaves a red-hot scar in the dirt. When it slashes high, flames lick the wind and drive it back.
Soldiers dare not step closer. Even High-Ranking Samurai on the field avoid the centre, not out of respect, but out of fear. These two are beyond them.
They fight as opposites—ice and fire, precision and fury—and with each collision, the battlefield bears the scars: one side frozen stiff like glass, the other burned raw and smouldering. All who watch know the outcome of this duel may decide the fate of the war.
While attacking, Bai Ju narrows his eyes and speaks coldly, "Mani, surrender. My nephew marches with reinforcements. He'll be here any moment. Even if you escape, your men won't."
Mani smirks. "Really?"
Before Bai Ju can respond, his instincts scream. He leaps backwards, sword raised, eyes wide in alarm. The air around Mani distorts, and the ground cracks beneath his feet. Mani's inner energy shifts—no longer the usual blazing white of high-ranking samurai. It deepens to a fierce orange, thick and wild, the manifestation of raw combustion.
A phantom flame rises behind Mani like a god's shadow, and the battlefield stills.
On the Hui side, cheers erupt—joy, awe, belief. On the Owani side, terror blooms.
Bai Ju watches the transformation in disbelief. "You… advanced to the Great Samurai Realm?" Then, with narrowed eyes, he shakes his head. "No. You don't have the spiritual pressure."
Mani chuckles, fire flickering in his irises. "Half-step is enough to kill you."
He raises his sword high and, with a roar, slashes down. "Fire God's Wrath!"
From the heavens, a burning sword of flame forms—massive and blinding. It descends like a divine punishment.
Bai Ju wants to run, but his limbs feel bound by the sheer pressure. He exhales slowly, grips his sword with both hands, and mutters, "Then I will not run." Resolve shines in his eyes as he raises his blade to meet the falling inferno.
The firestorm crashes down. A shockwave of flames floods the field, a sea of destruction scorching all in its path. Screams echo. Bodies fall. The line between friend and foe burns away.
Only Mani stands untouched in the blaze, flames swirling like a crown.
Even as they fall, the Hui warriors cheer, eyes blazing with fury and devotion, and charge the panicked Owani ranks. The Bai family's private guards falter. Fear takes hold. Morale collapses. Many turn to flee.
Then, a fox's howl pierces the smoke.
From the northern flank, a phantom emerges—a white fox with three tails, its body half-real, half-energy. It leaps high, swiping with claws of frost, and the sky darkens. Snow falls.
Then it crashes down. A blast of cold roars through the flames, freezing the firestorm mid-air and snuffing it out. Ice overtakes embers. Snow thickens, swirling like a storm's heart.
At the centre of the battlefield, Bai Ju kneels in a crater of melted snow, steam rising from his scorched armour, blood trailing from his lips—but alive. He plants his sword in the earth, and the phantom fox circles above him once, then fades.
The tide pauses. And all eyes turn again—not to Mani—but to the white snow, and the man still kneeling at its heart.
Steam rises from Bai Ju's armour, his hands trembling around the hilt of his sword. Snowflakes melt before touching his skin, the air around him still infused with lingering heat and frost. The battlefield is silent, stunned by the clash of fire and ice, and the survival of the man who should have died.
Bai Ju stands up with his hair turned white as snow, and markings appear on his body. Now Bai Ju's aura is not of a human but beast.
Far from the battlefield, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the chaos, two cloaked men stand in shadow. The wind carries the scent of ash and frozen earth to their perch.
The first man watches Bai Ju with narrowed eyes. "Looks like the blood concentration of the Ice Fox is high. Higher than we calculated."
The second man, older and wearing a sash with a subtle emblem of a raven, nods slowly. "We knew that. That's why we dragged the Bai family into this conflict." He turns to his companion. "Send word to Mani. His job is done. Pull him back."
The first man raises a brow. "So soon?"
"Bai Ju advancing to the Great Samurai Realm has now been delayed by years. That's all we needed. If he breaks through, the Bai would become too powerful with more than three Great Samurai present in the kingdom."
He glances toward the field again, where the Hui army continues to press forward and the Owani ranks struggle to regroup.
"Let the Bai family think they've won something. We've already taken what matters. And order Hui Ban to end the rebellion."
The wind carries their words away, down to a battlefield soaked in blood, fire, and snow, where destinies shift beneath falling ash and frost.