Jiangyin Prefecture is surrounded by the sea on all four sides, like a solitary isle detached from the mainland.
But in the surrounding waters, a smattering of islands stood guard over the Prefecture City.
These islands were often the first choice for those seeking to found a sect.
However...
Not everyone could found a sect and establish a School.
Only those who became a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster and, without pause, continued to advance triumphantly while possessing a Secret Martial Dao...
...were qualified to occupy an island and pass down a True Inheritance.
Otherwise, if someone who had only reached the first step of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster—Opening the Sea of Qi—wished to found a sect...
...they would typically have to start by establishing a Daoist School in the Prefecture City, using their own name to expand into the surrounding counties and towns, growing their influence one step at a time.
And among these scattered School islands...
On an island, the one closest to the Prefecture City—one that from afar looked like a crouching Flood Dragon, its green-brick buildings packed as tight as scales, their tiles shimmering under the moon—there were almost no signs of life.
"Master, a letter has arrived from Martial Uncle."
Under the moonlight, on the open-air Sword Casting Platform, Chen Hex—a stern, graying man whose very silhouette seemed desolate—heard the voice, glanced back, and sneered.
"It was for the best that he left. So why is there another letter?"
"The old man failed to attain his Title at the Corpse Release Tomb and perished in the attempt."
"If he comes back now... the Celestial Blade School can’t necessarily protect him anymore."
A flicker of weariness crossed Chen Hex’s brow as he remembered Duan Chenzhou cutting down Ren Hengjiang of the Purple Mist Daoist School before vanishing into the vast East Canghai, losing an arm and leaving no word.
That, in turn, provoked all those who were dissatisfied with his master and junior brother’s conduct over the years—the Grand Lineages, the Daoist Schools, and all the Qi Gate Schools that had founded their own sects on the surrounding islands—to come knocking on their door...
He couldn’t help but sigh softly.
’When our lineage fled to Jiangyin Prefecture to live in obscurity after the Sword Dao Ancestral Court was shattered, I was still young.’
’The old man said he wanted to revive the Sword Sect, to find a disciple with a future, one who could truly carry our Sword Lineage. That’s why he chose my junior brother, who was just a fisherman’s son at the time.’
’’A Swordsman,’ you said, ’must be utterly fearless, decisive in matters of life and death, and possess the ambition to challenge his entire generation. Only by defeating every rival of his rank and cultivating an air of unbridled arrogance can one receive the True Inheritance.’’
’So you had my junior brother ’Chonghun Heaven,’ ’perform the Seven Strikes,’ and ’challenge the Daoist Schools’...’
’And in the end, he went so far as to board a simple sampan, travel to the Power Barrier, and beat Xue Shaobai of the Little Five Decline Sword Sect and Ye Luan of the Jinghong Sword Sect—the promising young talents of the Sword Dao known as the ’Two Swords of Jiangshui’—to a bloody pulp. Examples like these are too numerous to count.’
’That wasn’t wrong, in itself.’
’But we are, after all, no longer the leaders of the Sword Dao that dominated Cangzhou. We don’t have enough elders to serve as guardians for the next generation.’
He thought of these past years, how he had poured his heart and soul into managing their sprawling School, reorganizing it as the Celestial Blade Sect. It had once flourished with seven direct disciples and a hundred handpicked followers.
But in the end, with his Master gone, their pillar of support had vanished. All the times his junior brother had been sent to kick in the doors of other schools, to challenge their people and deliver formal challenges...
...now it was like a debt coming due, with people showing up at their door every other day.
One by one, the direct disciples and followers he had once accepted stepped forward to defend the School’s Secret Inheritance, only to suffer repeated humiliation. The injured were injured, the rest scattered. And every single day, there was an endless stream of challenges to answer...
It was just like that bloody disaster he had witnessed as a child.
Only now, it was his turn to be the master, the elder.
Taking the letter his disciple Qin Zhuo handed him, Chen Hex frowned. He saw the torn skin between the young man’s thumb and forefinger and noticed a fresh wound laid over the unhealed injury on his shoulder blade. His voice was tinged with anger:
"You’ve been fighting again?"
"Didn’t I tell you? Duan Chenzhou took the Crescent Celestial Saber Secret Inheritance. From now on, the Celestial Blade Sect will no longer operate in Jiangyin Prefecture or accept new students. We have willingly sheathed our swords and dismissed our disciples."
"Why are you still fighting with people..."
Qin Zhuo shook his head, his face full of righteous indignation.
"I just can’t stand their smug faces."
"If they’re really that skilled, they should challenge Ancestral Master and Martial Uncle, not..."
Chen Hex cut him off with a frown.
"Enough. Do not speak of the past."
"The True Inheritance is safe in the Ancestral Hall; it hasn’t been lost. It’s not worth getting worked up over some trivial side techniques. The losses far outweigh the gains."
"Where is he now? Who is he off ruining this time?"
After taking the letter and glancing over it, he read the contents, his lips pressed together in silence.
’He’s taken a disciple? Does he want to imitate how the old man taught him? It truly runs in the lineage...’
’But Wang Xuanyang was there to protect you back then, to keep you from being beaten to death on the Prefecture’s streets by the older generation. Can you protect this disciple of yours?’
"Utter nonsense!"
"Qin Zhuo, go. Bring this Ji... bring your junior martial brother back. Otherwise, in a place like Anning County, if he really is taught the Crescent Celestial Saber, an accident is bound to happen."
A flash of worry crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by his usual cold indifference.
"As for Duan Chenzhou, HMPH!"
"You tell him, he can die anywhere he likes, but he’d better not die in Jiangyin Prefecture."
"These people have pinned his old debts on the Celestial Blade Sect. But if he comes back... Heh."
"The list of people looking to settle scores with him will be even longer!"
...
Jiangyin Prefecture is located in Cangzhou—a bitterly cold region of the Great Xuan known as the White Mountain and Black Water. However, it is not directly connected to the mainland but is separated by a river.
Due to its proximity to the vast, eight-thousand-li East Canghai connecting north and south, its thirteen ferry crossings link it to nearly half of the Great Xuan. For this reason, it is known as the "World’s Waterway Prefecture," and its maritime trade is second to none in the province.
And Jiangyin Prefecture City itself is essentially a massive port. It supports the countless Hundred Trades and Livelihoods that sail in and out on the great, churning waves, as well as the various Qi Cultivation Daoist Schools and Secret Martial Arts Schools that come here, eager to make a name for themselves and found a sect...