Anning County, Lin Residence.
Lin Ruxue, from the Little Five Decline Sword Sect of Jiangyin Prefecture, was practicing her sword in the front courtyard of the residence.
The Little Five Decline Sword Sect was one of the Schools from the Outer Sea Islands of Jiangyin Prefecture, known in the present age for its Secret Martial Dao: the Little Five Decline Sword.
The so-called Five Declines, according to legend, were five tribulations that a Celestial Human from the outer realms had to endure on their path of Cultivation before they could reach the pinnacle.
These were the five declines of the Body, Qi, Lifespan, Spirit, and Heart.
But such a miraculous and inconceivable concept was clearly beyond the scope of a mere Secret Martial Dao.
And the Secret Martial Dao, the Little Five Decline Sword...
...was a Swordsmanship created by grasping a mere sliver of insight from the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber—one of the Sealed Title Inheritances once recorded by the Sword Dao Ancestral Court, which had truly comprehended the mysteries of the Celestial Five Declines.
Legend has it that once unleashed, the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber could shatter one’s physical body, destroy their Qi Sea, sever their lifespan, crush their Divine Soul, and break their Dao heart.
The Little Five Decline Sword, on the other hand, was the Dao transformed into technique. By comprehending its Qi Essence, it could tear tendons, break bones, dissipate Force, neutralize momentum, and disrupt Qi.
Cultivated to the stage of Great Success, it could invisibly injure an opponent with every fall of the blade.
Although it was far from a match for the lost and traceless Great Five Decline Celestial Saber...
...it was still considered a Secret Martial Dao revered as the standard within a Prefecture’s territory, a technique whose Truth countless people fought desperately to glimpse.
Moonlight shifted, and sword shadows multiplied.
After practicing for a full hour, Lin Ruxue paused to rest, taking short, panting breaths as beads of sweat dripped from her hairline.
’I’ve practiced a single Nourishing Stance Sword Technique for nine whole years without a moment of rest, and only now have I finally comprehended the True Stance.’
’On top of that, my physique has reached Great Success. Although I’ve repeatedly failed in my attempts to achieve Mercury Blood Silver Marrow, if I just give up, refine a Jade Skin, and get Master’s approval, I can enter the School’s true repository and inherit this sword art.’
’Logically speaking, this rate of progress isn’t exactly top-tier, but you have to remember that nine years ago, I was stuck in Anning County and had never seen the wider world.’
’If I hadn’t been lucky enough back then to find a Jade Token that increased my comprehension ability every single day, every single moment...’
’...I’m afraid I would have never caught the eye of my Master, the Jiangshui Sword Immortal, a Sword Elder of the Little Five Decline Sword Sect.’
’I used to think I was quite the genius myself.’
’When I returned to Anning County, I was feeling rather pleased with myself. I even thought about looking into the background of that Garrison Commander’s prized disciple, hoping that after I completed my Skin Refining, I could join the Mansion Courtyard, take the Martial Examination, and fight for a position as a Prefecture Official.’
’But...’
As she looked at the faint, gentle breeze stirring around her, seemingly moved by her sword’s afterimages, she bit her lip and fell silent. Her thoughts turned to Ji Xiu—the man she had three times asked to marry into her family.
One might say that back when Manor Master Lu of the Fire Kiln was being single-handedly suppressed by Yang Daohan, the Dragon Head of the Tiger and Leopard Hall, with his back against the wall, Ji Xiu, who had remained unmoved by the olive branch she’d extended, was, in her eyes, merely a shadow of her former self in terms of his progress and Cultivation.
But then he became Duan Chenzhou’s disciple, suppressed the Tiger and Leopard Hall, befriended Magistrate Zhao, challenged the Four Great Halls with his saber, advanced to Bone Tempering, and defeated all the young martial artists in the County, becoming peerless among his generation...
Each and every one of these achievements forced her to admit that he... was far, far more of a genius than she had ever imagined.
Duan Chenzhou.
She was no stranger to that name. Back during the Power Barrier, he was a formidable figure who had even defeated his own Master.
His Secret Martial Dao, the Crescent Celestial Saber, was even more stunning than his Master’s Little Five Decline Sword.
And to become the disciple of such a man... even if his lineage’s backer, the Ancestral Master, had vanished—rumored to have fallen in the Corpse Release Tomb while vying for a Titled Martial Dao—and setting aside such distant matters... receiving the True Inheritance from a man like Duan Chenzhou meant that Ji Xiu truly had no need for an introductory spot in the Little Five Decline Sword Sect.
Lin Ruxue sighed, glanced at her simple travel pack, and sheathed her sword. In an instant, her expression became firm and determined.
’A young prodigy from my own hometown has unknowingly placed this much pressure on me.’
’To say nothing of the heirs of the great clans from the Thirty-Six Professions, the bearers of a School’s Inheritance, or the successors of Daoist Schools in the Prefecture City?’
’And even with so many people trying to pass the Martial Examination to attain the Merit and Fame of a Prefecture Official, I’ll still have to compete with the talented youths from all the surrounding prefecture cities...’
’The hope of succeeding is so slim!’
’It seems my days of Cultivation in the School were too peaceful. I grew complacent without even realizing it and let my guard down.’
’I haven’t been back in nine years, and my home is safe and sound. Though I’ve ultimately failed to achieve Mercury Blood Silver Marrow, my Secret Martial Cultivation and the refinement of my Jade Skin are now urgent matters. I can’t let some kid from a poor family in the County who’s younger than me...’
’...just easily surpass me like this!’
’Ji Xiu...’
’Let’s meet again in the Prefecture City.’
’By then, you’ll have finally earned the right to compete on the same stage as me.’
Lin Ruxue whispered to herself. Then, under the light of the moon, she shouldered her pack and departed with light steps.
Just as she had arrived quietly, she left quietly.
She alerted neither family nor outsiders.
Compared to the many shackles and constraints of the secular world, she yearned more for the vast, boundless expanse of the world outside.
The stage there was infinitely large, and intoxicating.
But, there was one truth Lin Ruxue had forgotten.
A fledgling will eventually grow into a goshawk that soars through the heavens, but during that process, countless others fall, stumble, or plummet to their deaths due to unforeseen accidents.
For instance—
Now.
As she walked the cold, deserted streets of Anning County, planning to take the Water Route to Jiangyin Prefecture at the crack of dawn, her brow suddenly furrowed. Passing by East Fire Kiln Street, she saw...