Qingfeng Temple

Inside Qingfeng Temple.

On the training ground behind the main hall.

A dozen or so boys in their teens, dressed in gray training clothes and holding short branches, stood in neat rows, waiting for the Daoist before them to teach them martial arts.

"I'm Ming Xiu, the Daoist responsible for teaching you the basics of swordsmanship." The Daoist had a face as fair as jade and a burly build, creating the bizarre contrast of a scholar's head placed atop a bear's body.

He wore a dark blue Daoist robe and held a slender iron sword. Its blade was silvery and fine, and looked quite expensive.

"Most of you come from poor families. You've paid to learn martial arts here so that, when danger comes, you can run faster than everyone else. You all know Qingfeng Temple's martial arts: throughout Xinyu Town, they're the best when it comes to speed! That's why you came here to learn."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the twenty-four boys before him. It lingered a little longer when it passed over the two newcomers standing off to one side.

One had a square face and a resolute gaze. The other had plain features and looked utterly unremarkable.

The latter was Lin Hui, of the Lin Family, who had arrived a week earlier.

Lin Hui hadn't started learning martial arts during that week. Under Huishen's arrangements, he'd only done basic physical conditioning—chopping wood, carrying water, hauling heavy loads, and the like.

After a week, Lin Hui could clearly feel that he was stronger. His arms and legs still ached, but at least he had much more energy.

He'd been sleeping in the communal dormitory. Huishen had originally planned to arrange a private room for him, but Lin Hui had refused.

He didn't want to set himself apart from everyone else. That would draw far too much attention.

Now, he glanced around at the others who had come to learn martial arts.

"Are there really this many people our age who come to learn?" he asked in surprise.

"Of course. Who wouldn't want to learn how to run fast? It doesn't cost much, anyway," the resolute-looking boy beside him replied casually.

His name was Chen Zhishen. It made Lin Hui think of Lu Zhishen, though Chen Zhishen's temperament was the complete opposite.

The boy had extraordinary willpower. Since he and Lin Hui slept in the same dormitory, with their mats side by side, they'd grown familiar with each other. That was how Lin Hui learned that every day, before dawn had fully broken and just as the mist lifted, Chen Zhishen would get up to train. He ran, carried water, chopped wood—anything that needed doing.

He'd even helped Lin Hui with quite a bit of work. Knowing that Chen Zhishen's family was poor, Lin Hui had secretly given him a third of his own meals. Lin Hui had silver and provisions from home, and his family was far better off, so he could spare it.

Little by little, the two grew close.

"But don't let the crowd fool you. A lot of them only come every few days, learn something, then go back and practice on their own. They still have work to do and money to earn. There are only a dozen or so who stay here and train all day like we do."

"They hold three of these group lessons a day, with twenty-some people each time. That's seventy or eighty people in total, and only a dozen stay here?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.

"Mm. I've been here longer than you, so I've got a better sense of it. There are only a dozen or so. I can't tell you the exact number—I'm bad at math and lose count," Chen Zhishen answered quietly.

"Look at those three at the front."

Lin Hui turned his gaze toward them. Although they wore the same clothes as everyone else, the quality was clearly better in the finer details.

There were two men and one woman. Their skin, features, and hair all made it obvious that they came from well-off families.

"They're the best martial artists in the temple. The men are Senior Brother Chen Sui and Second Senior Brother Zhao Jiang'an. The woman is Senior Sister Mu Qiao Zhi. They're all heirs of top wealthy families from the surrounding towns."

"Chen Sui is a distant relative from a branch of the Chen Family. You know how powerful the Chen Family is. Zhao Jiang'an's Zhao Family runs the biggest trading company in Qimen Town. Senior Sister Mu Qiao Zhi's family deals in medicinal herbs. The herb supply for seven or eight nearby towns is all in their hands."

Chen Zhishen seemed honest, but he was far better than Lin Hui at digging up information.

"Then why would they come here to learn—" Lin Hui trailed off.

Qingfeng Temple was only a place to learn external martial arts. Compared to the Three Greats in the Inner City, those three clearly had what it took to enter one of them. So why—

"Because they didn't make the cut, naturally." Chen Zhishen shook his head and lowered his voice. "I don't know the details about the other two. I only heard that Senior Sister Mu Qiao Zhi's aptitude was far below expectations. After she was disappointed, she didn't want to waste her time going in and doing nothing, so she decided to learn only what she needed to protect herself. Later, she'll mainly help run the family business."

Lin Hui wanted to ask more, but just then, Daoist Ming Xiu leaped onto the wooden platform. From his elevated position, he looked down over the crowd.

"Qingfeng Temple's skills aren't suited to brawling, but their ability to keep you alive is plain for all to see. Today, I'll teach you the temple's basic sword technique. It's also the prerequisite and foundation for learning the Light Body Technique. It's called the Seven Section Fast Sword!"

"This sword technique consists of seven moves. Each requires you to coordinate and train the muscles throughout your body. Its main purpose is to temper your physique; it can't be used in real combat. Be sure to remember that."

Ming Xiu began explaining and demonstrating the Seven Section Fast Sword.

Everyone below listened intently. Lin Hui and Chen Zhishen concentrated as well. After a week of hard labor, they'd finally gotten the chance to learn martial arts. Naturally, they didn't dare miss a word.

"...If you want to move fast, you must rely mainly on your footwork to generate power. Although you're holding a sword, your attention should really be on your feet. When fleeing, you push off with the balls of your feet and tense your calves, while swinging your sword to make yourself more dangerous. That way, your pursuer will give up on chasing you and pick an easier target instead..."

Ming Xiu explained everything in great detail, and Lin Hui nodded along repeatedly.

But he hadn't listened for long when a familiar, faint sound suddenly rang in his mind.

Hiss.

The Blood Seal!

The Blood Seal had moved again.

But this time, things were completely different. A line of small text appeared out of thin air at the bottom of Lin Hui's vision.

"Seven Section Fast Sword: Qingfeng Temple's basic sword technique. Upon reaching mastery, grants the special effect—Light Body. Can evolve into two branches."

"1—Nine Section Fast Sword."

"2—Clear Sword Technique."

The Nine Section Fast Sword and Clear Sword Technique were both established martial arts of Qingfeng Temple. Lin Hui had heard of them before. He hadn't expected that the Blood Seal could evolve them from the Seven Section Fast Sword alone.

This Blood Seal is truly incredible. But what use is it to evolve them directly? Could I just learn them once they're evolved?

Lin Hui shook his head inwardly.

He opened the evolution branches. Sure enough, the time required was measured in years.

Then, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.

Wait. If the evolution takes too long, why not try finding something that takes less time to evolve?

Everything I've tried evolving before has required years, but from what I've observed, the smaller the thing, the less time it takes. If that's the case, then if I keep breaking it down...

After all this time without a clue, Lin Hui had finally gotten an idea.

He stared fixedly at Daoist Ming Xiu on the platform, concentrating as hard as he could on the first move of the Seven Section Fast Sword—Denggao Wangyuan.

That was exactly what he planned to do: break the sword technique down into individual moves and use the Blood Seal to evolve them.

Sure enough, a minute later, a new line of blood-red text appeared at the bottom of his vision.

"First move of the Seven Section Fast Sword: Denggao Wangyuan. This move is the foundation of the Seven Section Fast Sword. Repeated practice and mastery will allow you to quickly learn the third move, Songtao Zhenzhen. Can be evolved once."

Lin Hui quickly tapped the number indicating the number of evolutions.

"1—Denggao Wangshan."

Without pausing, he continued and tapped Denggao Wangshan.

"Evolve Denggao Wangshan?"

"Required resources: one wooden sword, sixty days' worth of stored energy."

"Time required: sixty days."

Only sixty days! It really could work!

Lin Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to have found the right way to activate the Blood Seal's ability.

"Evolve Denggao Wangshan?"

The Blood Seal's prompt appeared again.

"Yes!"

This time, Lin Hui didn't hesitate at all. He immediately chose yes.

Hiss.

In an instant, the Blood Seal on the back of his hand flashed red and changed from a diamond shape to a circle.

Then everything fell silent.

Just then, Lin Hui suddenly felt a numbness spread through his body, as if a little of his strength had vanished.

It wasn't much, but he could clearly feel that something had suddenly swallowed a sliver of his energy.

By then, Daoist Ming Xiu had finished demonstrating all the moves and was inviting the others to come forward with questions.

Once they'd finished asking, he stepped down from the platform and began quickly adjusting the way each disciple held their sword, along with their footwork and steps.

Lin Hui watched for a moment. Once he was sure the Blood Seal's absorption of his energy hadn't affected him, he focused fully on Ming Xiu's instruction and corrected his own posture.

He couldn't rely on the Blood Seal alone. Some things still required hard work from him, or else...

After the sword technique lesson, life soon returned to its dull routine.

Before long, two weeks had passed since Lin Hui arrived at Qingfeng Temple.

He'd successfully learned the Seven Section Fast Sword from Ming Xiu, but he'd only learned it by rote. He still didn't understand many of the finer points.

Since everyone practiced in the same place, he observed and compared himself with the others. Based on his understanding and memory of the moves, he was somewhere below the middle.

There were more than sixty students at Qingfeng Temple. It had taken him a week of practice to memorize the Seven Section Fast Sword, but some students had learned all the moves in just two days.

That was the difference pure talent made.

Still, it didn't matter. His aptitude was ordinary, but as long as he studied and trained hard, he could make up the gap.

So Lin Hui started training harder every day alongside Chen Zhishen.

But...

"Junior Brother Lin, how are you doing with the Seven Section Fast Sword?"

At dusk, Lin Hui was practicing by himself in a corner of the training ground when Huishen, who had guided him ever since he arrived, appeared beside him and smiled at him as he trained.

"I've more or less memorized it. My aptitude isn't very good, so I can only make up for it by practicing more," Lin Hui said helplessly, lowering the branch he was using as a wooden sword.

"Don't rush. Martial arts can't be mastered overnight. Your father is Steward Lin, after all. You won't need to use these Light Body skills very often," Huishen said with a smile.

"You're right, Senior Brother, but I want to master them on my own. It'll put my mind at ease." Lin Hui shook his head, rolled his shoulders, and walked over to him.

"What brings you here today, Senior Brother?"

"Your father sent you a letter. The Door-Breaking Ghost in the Outer City has been caught. He told me to let you know not to worry," Huishen said.

"The Door-Breaking Ghost has been caught?" Lin Hui was startled.

"Mm. According to the investigation report, there was no Door-Breaking Ghost. It was the secret guards of two powerful clans from the Inner City, searching all over the Outer City for the whereabouts of a valuable item and committing multiple atrocities in the process. I told you before, we're so close to the No Fog Zone here. How could a Door-Breaking Ghost get in so easily?" Huishen's smile faded.

"So what happened to them?" Lin Hui relaxed a little and pressed him for an answer.

"What happened? What do you mean?" Huishen asked, momentarily confused.

"I mean those two clans," Lin Hui clarified.

"They were warned not to do it again. They also paid a little compensation to the victims' families," Huishen replied.

"That's it?" Lin Hui was stunned.

"Yeah. What else were you expecting?" Huishen looked at him in puzzlement.

"..." Lin Hui had thought the two powerful clans would face a harsher punishment, but...

"Oh, right. Martial Uncle Mingde asked me to find out whether you've ever eaten Wanfu Meat," Huishen continued.

"No... Why?" Lin Hui thought carefully, then confirmed that he hadn't.

"Then don't eat it from now on, either. It works well, but it's addictive," Huishen said in a lowered voice.

"Addictive..." Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. Eat too much and it affects your brain, too. You'll spend all day thinking about getting into bed with the opposite sex. Just be careful," Huishen said, glancing around before hurrying away.

Left alone, Lin Hui was shaken to the core by what he'd heard.

Wanfu Meat had a secret like that?