Inside the Clear Wind Temple.
On the practice field behind the main hall.
Rows of teenage boys stood in orderly formation, dressed in gray short tunics. Each gripped a short tree branch, waiting for the Daoist in front to teach them the basics of swordsmanship.
"I am Mingxiu, the teaching Daoist responsible for instructing you in basic swordsmanship." The man had the face of a scholar—pale, fine-boned—but his body was all bear. Burly shoulders, thick arms. The contrast was jarring, like someone had grafted a scholar's head onto a brawler's frame.
He wore a deep blue Daoist robe. In his hand, he held a long, slender iron sword. The blade was silver and thin, clearly high-quality.
"Most of you come from poor backgrounds. You pay to learn martial arts here for one reason: to run faster than the next guy when danger strikes. As everyone knows, the martial arts of our Clear Wind Temple rank number one in speed throughout Xinyu Town. That's the prerequisite for you coming here."
He paused, sweeping his gaze over the twenty-four youths before him. His eyes lingered slightly when they passed over two newcomers standing in the corner.
One had a square face and resolute eyes. The other had mediocre features and was entirely unremarkable.
The latter was Lin Hui of the Lin family, who had arrived a week ago.
During the past week, Lin Hui hadn't started martial arts training. Instead, under Huishen's arrangement, he'd been doing basic physical conditioning—chopping wood, drawing water, carrying heavy loads.
After a week, Lin Hui clearly felt his stamina had improved. His arms and thighs were still sore, but his spirit was much better.
During this time, he'd been living on the large communal sleeping platform. Huishen had originally intended to arrange a single room for him, but Lin Hui refused.
He didn't plan to isolate himself or act special. That would attract too much attention.
He looked around at the others learning martial arts with him.
"Are there really this many people our age learning martial arts?" He was somewhat surprised.
"Definitely. Who wouldn't want to learn how to run fast? It doesn't cost much anyway," the square-faced youth with the resolute eyes replied casually from beside him.
His name was Chen Zhishen. The name made Lin Hui involuntarily think of Lu Zhishen, the Flowery Monk, though his personality was the complete opposite.
[TN: Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," is a famous character from the classical Chinese novel Water Margin. He's a hot-tempered, boisterous warrior monk known for his passionate, impulsive nature and fierce loyalty.]
This guy possessed incredibly strong willpower. Because they shared the communal bunk—their sleeping mats right next to each other—they had become familiar. Lin Hui knew that this guy got up to start training every day before the sky was fully bright, just as the mist scattered. Running, drawing water, chopping wood—he did it all.
He even helped Lin Hui with quite a few chores. Seeing that Chen Zhishen's family situation wasn't good, Lin Hui shared a third of his meals with him. Since Lin Hui had money and dry rations from home and was much better off, he didn't miss the food.
With this back-and-forth, their relationship warmed up quickly.
"But don't be fooled by the crowd. Many of them only come once every few days, learn a bit, and go back to practice on their own. After all, they have to work and earn money. There are only about ten of us who live here and train all day."
"There are three big classes like this a day, right? With twenty-something people each time, that's seventy or eighty total. And out of all that, only ten or so full-timers?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I've been here longer than you, so I see it clearly. Only about ten. As for exactly how many… I don’t know, my math isn't good," Chen Zhishen whispered back.
"Look at those three standing in the front."
Lin Hui looked over. While those three were dressed similarly to everyone else, the workmanship of their clothes was visibly superior in the details.
The three consisted of two boys and a girl. Judging by their skin, features, and hair quality, it was obvious they came from good families.
"Those three have the best martial skills in the temple. The males are Senior Brother Chen Sui and Second Senior Brother Zhao Jiang'an. The female is Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi. They're all legitimate children of top-tier wealthy families from the surrounding towns."
"Chen Sui comes from a distant branch of the Chen family—you know how strong the Chen family is. Zhao Jiang'an's Zhao family runs the biggest trading house in Qimen Town. Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi's family deals in medicinal herbs; the supply for seven or eight surrounding towns depends entirely on her family."
Chen Zhishen looked honest and simple, but his ability to gather intelligence was eight streets ahead of Lin Hui.
"Then why would they come here to learn…" Lin Hui didn't finish his sentence.
Clear Wind Temple was, after all, just a place for external martial arts. Compared to the three major powers of the Inner City, these people clearly had the means to enter the big three. Why…?
"Naturally, they were sieved out," Chen Zhishen shook his head, lowering his voice. "I don't know the specific situation for the other two, but I heard Senior Sister Mu Qiaozhi was rejected because her aptitude was too poor. After that disappointment, she didn't want to go in just to drift along, so she decided to just learn life-saving skills. She'll mainly be running business errands and managing affairs for her family in the future."
Lin Hui wanted to ask more, but at that moment, Perfected Mingxiu jumped onto the wooden platform in front, looking down at the crowd.
"The skills of our Clear Wind Temple are no good for brawling, but when it comes to saving your life, the results are there for all to see. Today, I will teach everyone the temple's basic sword technique, which is also the prerequisite and foundation for learning the Lightness Art. Its name is: Seven-Section Swift Sword."
"This sword technique is mainly composed of seven moves. The sword moves require the coordination and exercise of the muscles of the entire body. It is primarily used to temper the body, not for actual combat. Everyone, bear this in mind."
Next, Perfected Mingxiu began to explain and demonstrate the specific content of the Seven-Section Swift Sword.
The crowd below listened with rapt attention. Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen also focused intensely. After a week of hard labor, they had finally waited for the martial arts instruction. Naturally, they dared not miss a beat.
"…If you want to be fast, the sword moves must rely mainly on the power of your footwork. Although you hold a sword in your hand, your true focus must be on your feet. The force for fleeing is nothing more than the front of the foot pressing down and the calf tensing up. At the same time, you must wave the sword to increase your own threat level, thereby making the pursuer give up on you and choose other, easier prey…"
Perfected Mingxiu explained in great detail. Lin Hui nodded frequently as he listened.
But he hadn't been listening for long when—
Hiss.
The Blood Seal.
The Blood Seal moved again.
But this time was completely different from before. A line of small text actually appeared out of thin air in the lower part of Lin Hui's vision.
[Seven-Section Swift Sword: Clear Wind Temple Basic Sword Technique. Mastering it grants a special effect: Lightness. Evolvable Branches: 2]
[1 — Nine-Section Swift Sword.]
[2 — Clear Wind Sword Technique.]
Both the Nine-Section Swift Sword and the Clear Wind Sword Technique were formal martial arts of the Clear Wind Temple. Lin Hui had heard of them. He hadn't expected that he could evolve them just from the Seven-Section Swift Sword.
This Blood Seal really is heaven-defying. But what use is evolving it directly? Does it mean I'll learn it instantly after evolution?
Lin Hui shook his head inwardly.
He clicked on the evolution branches. Sure enough, the required time listed above was measured in years.
But suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind.
Wait. Since the evolution time is too long, why don't I just look for something with a shorter evolution time?
The items I tried before required years to evolve, but based on observation, the smaller the object, the shorter the required time. Looking at it this way, if I continue to subdivide it…
Thinking of this, Lin Hui, who had been clueless for so long, finally grasped a thread of an idea.
At this moment, he stared fixedly at Perfected Mingxiu on the stage. He tried hard to focus his attention, imagining the first move of the Seven-Section Swift Sword—
Ascending High to Gaze Far
.
Yes. This was his plan: to dismantle the sword technique into individual moves, using this method to utilize the Blood Seal's evolution.
Soon, a minute later, just as expected, a new line of small, blood-red text appeared below his field of vision.
[Seven-Section Swift Sword, First Move: Ascending High to Gaze Far. This move is the foundation of the Seven-Section Swift Sword. After repeated practice and mastery, one can quickly grasp the third move, 'Soughing of the Pines.' Evolvable Branches: 1]
Lin Hui quickly clicked on the number of the evolution branch.
[1 — Ascending High to Gaze at the Mountain.]
Without pausing, he clicked on 'Ascending High to Gaze at the Mountain.'
[Evolve into Ascending High to Gaze at the Mountain?]
[Required Resources: One wooden sword, sixty days of reserve energy.]
[Time Required: Sixty days.]
Only sixty days. It really works!
Lin Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that he had finally discovered the right way to unlock the Blood Seal's abilities.
[Evolve into Ascending High to Gaze at the Mountain?]
The Blood Seal's query appeared again.
Yes!
This time, Lin Hui didn't hesitate and selected 'Yes' immediately.
Hiss.
Instantly, the Blood Seal on the back of his hand flashed red, changing from a diamond shape to a circle.
Everything went quiet.
And right at that moment, Lin Hui's entire body suddenly went numb. He felt his stamina vanish slightly.
Not much, but he could clearly feel that a sliver of his stamina had been swallowed by something.
On the stage, Perfected Mingxiu had finished demonstrating all the sword moves and signaled for others to come up and ask questions.
After the questions ended, he walked off the stage and began to correct the disciples one-on-one, adjusting their sword-holding posture and footwork movement.
Lin Hui observed for a moment, confirming that the Blood Seal's absorption of energy didn't affect him negatively, before focusing entirely on Mingxiu's guidance to adjust his own posture.
I can't rely solely on the Blood Seal. I have to work hard on many things myself, otherwise…
…
After the sword technique instruction, his days quickly returned to the dull, repetitive routine.
In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed since Lin Hui arrived at Clear Wind Temple.
He had succeeded in learning the Seven-Section Swift Sword from Mingxiu, but had only committed it to memory without truly understanding it. Lin Hui remained unclear about many of the details.
Because everyone practiced in the same place, he observed, evaluated, and compared himself. Based on his comprehension and memory of the sword moves—out of the sixty-plus students at Clear Wind Temple, he was below average.
It took him a week to memorize the Seven-Section Swift Sword on his own, whereas some students had memorized it completely in just two days.
This was a gap in pure natural talent.
But it didn't matter. He wasn't afraid of having average talent. As long as he studied diligently and trained hard, he could always make up the difference.
So, Lin Hui began to increase his training volume every day alongside Chen Zhishen.
But…
"Junior Brother Lin, how is your mastery of the Seven-Section Swift Sword lately?"
At dusk, while Lin Hui was practicing extra in a corner of the field, Huishen, who had been guiding him, appeared nearby, staring with a smile at the hard-training Lin Hui.
"Barely managed to memorize it. My aptitude isn't very good, so I can only make up for it with more practice," Lin Hui said somewhat helplessly, putting down the wooden branch in his hand.
"Don't be anxious. Martial arts are definitely not mastered in a day. Your father is Supervisor Lin—you won't need to use these lightness martial skills often in the future anyway," Huishen laughed.
"Senior Brother is right, but I just want to master it myself so I can feel at ease." Lin Hui shook his head, loosened his joints, and walked up to him.
"Why did Senior Brother have time to find me today?"
"Your father sent a handwritten letter. The Door-Breaching Ghost in the outer city has been caught. He told you not to worry," Huishen said.
"The Door-Breaching Ghost was caught?" Lin Hui was stunned.
"Mn. According to the investigation notice, there actually wasn't any Door-Breaching Ghost. It was the Shadow Guards of two great clans from the Inner City. They were investigating the whereabouts of a certain item in the outer city and committed multiple atrocities. I said it before—we are near a mist-free zone, how could a Door-Breaching Ghost get in so easily?" The smile on Huishen's face faded.
"And the result?" Lin Hui breathed a sigh of relief and pressed for details.
"Result? What result?" Huishen was momentarily stunned.
"Those two great clans," Lin Hui added.
"They were warned. They aren't allowed to continue doing this. They also paid some money to the victimized households," Huishen replied.
"That's it?" Lin Hui was stunned.
"Yes. What else did you expect?" Huishen looked at him strangely.
"…" Lin Hui had thought those two great clans would receive severe punishment, but in the end…
"By the way, Martial Uncle Mingde asked me to ask you: have you eaten Myriad Blessings Meat growing up?" Huishen continued to ask.
"No… what's wrong?" Lin Hui recalled carefully and confirmed he hadn't eaten it.
"Then don't eat it in the future either. Although the effect of that thing is good, it's addictive," Huishen lowered his voice.
"Addictive…" Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat.
"Yes. And if you eat too much, your brain will be affected. You'll spend all day just wanting to find someone of the opposite sex to go to bed with. Just be cautious yourself."
Huishen said this, glanced left and right, then quickly walked away.
He left Lin Hui standing there alone, shocked by the words he’d just heard.
Myriad Blessings Meat... could it really hide such a secret?
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