Entering the Jianghu, Leaving the Jianghu, Re-entering the Jianghu

This new book has been out for about a year now.

During this past year, no matter what else was going on, I've released at least one chapter every day.

That's close to 1.4 million characters, which works out to over 4,000 to 5,000 characters per day. Since I have a day job, this writing speed is pretty much my limit.

Honestly, the results this year haven't been great. My average subscription count is barely a few thousand.

With the new book not doing well, I've thought about quitting for a long time. But there are always those few people who keep following the chapter updates.

So, in the end, I persevered. After finishing work each day, I'd quickly find some time to write and rush to publish the latest chapter.

Perhaps it's because I was always in such a hurry, but some plot points aren't very coherent, and there are even many typos in chapters. I've noticed all of this and made notes.

In the coming period, the first major arc will conclude.

After that, I'll do a comprehensive revision, refining all the main and subplots to make the book's world structure more believable.

This side story should have been released a long time ago, but many things have been delaying me recently, and I haven't had the chance to put it out. Today, I finally have the time to release this content.

Although this is a side story, I believe it's more appropriate to call it the "cause of events," the origin of the story, and a "singularity" for the novel.

Alright, enough said, let's get to the main text.

Nantian Yijian could probably become a hegemon, but he was too arrogant. He was so arrogant that he wanted to establish a prosperous era of coexistence for all races through his own efforts.

But such an era has always been established by sages.

Was he a sage?

No, he was, at best, just an ordinary person.

He thought he was Jun Wudi, capable of sweeping across the land with a single spear, suppressing the Twelve Continents alone. He also thought the girls he met would be good girls like Chen Tingting.

But in the end, he became Blind Lu. Stumbling, he learned from Blind Lu to enter and leave the martial world. Not only did he fail to live like Blind Lu, but he also lost both arms, ruined his body, and became the crippled Wang Jiesheng, barely surviving by fighting wild dogs for scraps.

Yes, how could Nantian Yijian learn from Blind Lu? After all, Blind Lu was the White-Clad God of Slaughter back then, the Palace Front Ceremony Official. This was supreme glory, and the title "Palace Front Ceremony Official" alone was enough for Blind Lu to enter and leave the martial world.

But he, Nantian Yijian, was just an ordinary person. He didn't have the terrifying power of a sage, nor the terrifying family background. He even stole the name Nantian Yijian.

He looked at the arrogant child under the big tree, who, after hearing a few storybooks, wanted to be a sage for a lifetime. He couldn't help but sigh. Back then, he was also young and arrogant, thinking he was a sage for a lifetime.

But no matter how many storybooks he read, entering the martial world with just a burst of passion would eventually lead to broken strings and snapped flying swords, unable to leave the martial world safely.

Commoners remain commoners, as lowly as grass. Noble families remain noble families, as high as mountains. As dusk fell, amidst the broken sunset glow, he suddenly recalled past events, memories he hadn't revisited for years, but today, he inexplicably felt like reminiscing.

Those years, they only heard a few storybooks, and then, with youthful arrogance and a burst of passion, they entered the martial world.

But entering the martial world is easy; leaving it is hard.

Ultimately, they lacked a bit of luck. Without the protagonist's halo, they dared to aspire to be born kings.

Nantian Yijian was ultimately just a fraud, surviving only by the prestige of the Nantian Sect. He learned to live cautiously, transforming from a beggar boy into a young master of a noble family, learning the zither and wielding a sword, appearing to live a carefree life.

But a beggar boy is still a beggar boy, even if he changes his name. He always insists he's a young master of the Nantian Sect, but would a true young master constantly emphasize that he's a young master?

As for Young Master Jun, he was always just the second young master of a declining noble family. He claimed to have no backing, yet he relied on his ancestors' glory everywhere, mournfully flaunting the family's prestige.

But this noble family was already weak on the inside, outwardly strong. Under the guise of benevolence, righteousness, and ritual, they always engaged in petty schemes.

Do people really not understand, or are they deliberately ignoring everything?

Perhaps he was just desperately clinging to the identity of a second young master, trying to maintain a hollow sense of dignity.

As the last rays of the setting sun faded, the passionate young man was called back by the old blind man to eat. He heard that the child was going for his baptism tomorrow, the tenth time.

His tenth baptism means he's nineteen today. Nineteen is long past the age to enter the martial world.

Just then, the nearby door suddenly opened. The child brought over half a bowl of leftover rice and placed it in front of him. The child smiled. He must be a kind person.

Half a bowl of leftover rice.

This half bowl of leftover rice was probably the child and his grandfather's entire day's meal. He wanted to eat it but couldn't bring himself to. Such a kind child, without this meal, probably wouldn't fare too well tomorrow.

He was about to return the half bowl of leftover rice.

But as he looked at the half bowl of leftover rice that was brought to him, he suddenly remembered his boss.

Over the years, he actually couldn't forget that person the most. After all, it was his boss who brought him into the martial world back then.

But he also hated him. If he was his boss, why did he only bring him into the martial world and not out of it?

Watching the child's actions, the figure he had finally managed to forget became clearer and clearer in his memory.

Lu Chen was also a good-for-nothing from the start, with no talent for cultivation. He would always hang around the storyteller, listening to storybooks over and over, wanting to learn from the great figures in the stories to enter and leave the martial world. Yet, he couldn't even begin cultivation after ten baptisms.

Finally, with the help of an expert, he managed to complete his baptism. Then, with the beggar boy and the declining young master, he entered the martial world with a burst of passion.

The three traveled together, relying on the expert's help all the way, stumbling through the Jianghai Region, overcoming one challenge after another. They met a girl he fell in love with, and gained the titles of Heavenly King's Heir and Young Sage. How spirited they were.

But in the end, Lu Chen realized this wasn't the Jianghu he wanted. He left a single sentence, "This Jianghu is unreasonable," dropped his sword, and left the Jianghu alone.

And so, their little team disbanded just like that.

The down-on-his-luck young master picked up his spear and held his head high again, returning to being the second young master of the Jun family.

Whether entering or leaving the Jianghu, everyone understood he was the second young master of the Jun family. Even if he was the second young master of a fallen noble family, he was still a young master of a noble family. Anyone who saw him would immediately bow and respectfully greet him, "May Second Young Master be well."

Young Master Jun understood himself that everyone deferred to him only because he was the second young master. However, this time, he only wanted to be his second young master and no longer think about the unreasonable Jianghu.

What remained was a little beggar, Nantian Yijian. He watched everything unfold, smiling with loneliness and helplessness. He was just a little beggar, not some second young master, nor did he have any powerful helper. He was brought into the Jianghu, but no one led him out.

The little beggar eventually had his arms severed, his flying sword broken, and was kicked off Kite Cliff like a beggar. He was dragged for over ten miles by wild dogs. By sheer luck, he survived, and only then could he be considered to have left the Jianghu. From that day on, he never uttered the name Nantian Yijian again.

The most tragic person was probably the little girl who followed them all the way, the most pampered little princess of the Nantian Sect. From birth, she was destined to inherit the position of Nantian Sword Master. With such a noble status, everyone would humble themselves and curry favor with her.

But in the end.

She not only gave up her pride as a Nantian Sect member but also wanted to use her own life to reawaken Lu Chen's fighting spirit to enter the Jianghu again.

It was a pity that her life was lost, and she did not re-enter the Jianghu.

But was anyone wrong?

Not at all, they simply made different choices.

It was the age of youthful arrogance, an age that should be filled with passion.

At seventeen or eighteen, one should do what seventeen or eighteen-year-olds do. Should these young lads, upon entering and leaving the Jianghu, be as timid and hesitant as old men?

That was impossible and absolutely would not happen.

However, their choices were too casual. They indeed possessed youthful vigor, but they never considered the consequences.

He looked at the youths who hadn't left yet, at the excited boys anticipating the baptism tomorrow. They were exactly like the leader who brought him into the Jianghu back then but didn't lead him out.

He thought, if he could have a do-over, perhaps everything would be resolved.

If it were possible, it should be like this.

He looked at the youths, thinking this in his heart.

And so, he had a dream.

In this dream.

Nantian Yijian risked his life for world peace, seeking only to reopen the path of cultivation for ordinary people. Thus, he abandoned clinging to life, picked up his thirty-six broken flying swords again, and even if it meant "deceiving the world and stealing fame," he would tread the path of cultivation and open the Nantian.

Young Master Jun put aside his pride as the second young master, placing his long spear before him. He wanted to use the most basic spear techniques to restore his ancestors' glory and re-establish benevolence, righteousness, honor, and ritual.

So he followed the path his uncle, Jun Wudi, had walked, sweeping across twelve continents with a single spear, bringing benevolence, righteousness, honor, and ritual back to the human world.

Lu Chen thought and thought. After all, he had finally stepped onto the path of cultivation and wanted to find the meaning of his existence. So, he picked up his sword again, forging ahead, choosing to re-enter the Jianghu and redo the choices he had made then.

Even if this was just a deception, even if this was a grand scheme orchestrated for him, even if he no longer had the right to choose this time, he still wanted to pursue the truth on his own.

The little girl also came back to life. She smiled gently. Although she lost her status in the Nantian Sect, she became a good girl named Chen Tingting.

I have a technique to break the Jianghai, I have a sword to open the Nantian, I have a spear to suppress the Xishan, I have a heart to leave the Beiyu.

Each with their beliefs, they set out from the Jianghai Region and retraced their steps through the Jianghai Region, Nantian Region, Xishan Luling, and the North Region of Soul Town.

From that day on, a rumor spread through the unreasonable Jianghu: a Young Sage had appeared, having killed his way from the Jianghai Region.

Later, these rumors appeared in the Nantian Region as well. There were also rumors in Xishan Luling.

And then, in the sparsely populated North Region of Soul Town, these rumors also surfaced.

Some said they were originally Sages who had severed their own cultivation to live a second life. Others said they were descendants of prestigious noble families. Even more claimed to have seen them before, saying these individuals were here for revenge against the unreasonable Jianghu.

But these few individuals had simply entered and re-entered the Jianghu. No one knew they were once useless, just a little beggar, just the second young master of a fallen noble family.

This entire dream truly became better; it truly resolved everything. Yet, what appeared to be the Jianghu of four people was, in reality, one person's re-entry into the Jianghu.

Nantian Yijian became the will to re-enter the Jianghu, Young Master Jun became the goal of re-entering the Jianghu, and the little girl became the condition for re-entering the Jianghu, as well as the final tenderness.