The Choice of Swordsmanship

However, the shelves before him were simply too high. For Qile, who was still young and small in stature, reaching the scrolls on the middle and upper tiers was as difficult as ascending to heaven, and there was nothing in this secret chamber he could use to climb.

Helpless, he had no choice but to cast his gaze toward the row of scrolls placed on the very bottom shelf.

By the light of a faint candle, Qile began to carefully flip through these swordsmanship scrolls.

Soon, one of the scrolls caught his attention. The character "Wind" was written on it, suggesting it was likely related to the Wind attribute.

Unfortunately, although Qile possessed an innate talent for the Wind attribute, he had long ago decided to focus his cultivation on the Lightning and Fire attributes. Consequently, he felt no great interest in this swordsmanship scroll closely tied to the Wind element.

He simply set it aside at random and continued searching for other scrolls that better suited his needs.

In fact, just as Madara had said earlier, Qile's purpose in coming here was very clear—to find a set of the most basic swordsmanship scrolls.

He did not covet scrolls containing profound or mysterious sword secrets; as long as they included basic knowledge like fundamental stances, that would be enough.

As Qile continued his search, he pulled a common bamboo slip from among the many sealed scrolls. This slip could be opened at will and was not sealed like the other ninjutsu scrolls. However, there was a downside: the bamboo slip was somewhat too large, and Qile even had to hold it in his arms to pull it out.

Qile placed the half-burned, flickering candle on the cold floor. Then, he slowly sat down cross-legged. He reached out with both hands and began to slowly unroll a small portion of the bamboo slip.

At first glance, one could feel the traces of time deeply etched upon the bamboo. Its surface had a dark yellow hue. From its appearance alone, it was clear that no one had touched it for many years.

The fact that this bamboo slip was placed in the most hidden corner further illustrated the neglect and indifference it had suffered all this time.

Qile stared at the unfolding bamboo slip, first blowing on it twice to clear away the long-settled dust.

However, when he fixed his eyes on the content recorded on the slip, the expression on his face instantly became complicated.

The next moment, he kept clicking his tongue, unable to stop himself from sucking his teeth in frustration.

He couldn't read a single word...

With these ghost-like scribbles, it would be a miracle if he could understand any of it!

Even so, he continued to unroll the slip bit by bit. He discovered that, besides the dense characters, there were also drawings of little figures holding swords. He guessed that these figures likely represented the sword technique recorded in the scroll.

Unfortunately, because he could not read the text at all, he had no idea how to train in these techniques.

In the end, he could only roll the bamboo slip back up, only then noticing that the character "Gen" was written on it.

This must be some kind of family emblem...

Afterward, he picked up the bamboo slip and placed it back on the shelf, then nimbly returned the other scrolls to their original positions.

Once finished, he held the weakly flickering candle and slowly retreated, his gaze lingering on the shelf filled with various sword techniques, his thoughts unknown.

A moment later, a soft "creak" echoed as the tightly shut door of the secret chamber, filled with countless precious scrolls, was slowly pushed open.

Qile stepped out, clutching two scrolls tightly to his chest, a look of inexplicable helplessness on his face.

"Let's go, Yeling, back to the room." Qile said, his tone somewhat bored as he walked slowly.

Yeling, following behind Qile, couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise at his words. She looked up at Qile, her eyes filled with slight confusion: "What happened to make you so uninterested?"

Qile shook his head slightly and replied softly: "It's nothing much... By the way, Yeling, I want to ask, can you read?"

Yeling was slightly stunned, as if she understood something, and then nodded in response: "Yes, I can."

Hearing this, a flash of joy appeared on Qile's face. He quickly turned to Yeling and said: "Ahem, you'll teach me how to read later." With that, he quickened his pace toward their room.

On a quiet night, moonlight spilled over the courtyard like water. Madara sat silently on the courtyard steps, as motionless as a statue.

Although a lamp stood in the corner of the courtyard, its faint light seemed so small in the vast space that it could not illuminate the entire area.

Madara tilted his head slightly, staring at the bright moon hanging in the night sky, his eyes hidden in the darkness, making it impossible to guess what he was pondering.

Just then, a black shadow swept past like a ghost, appearing before Madara in the blink of an eye. The person knelt on one knee, leaning forward with an extremely respectful attitude.

"Has he made his choice?" Madara slowly shifted his gaze from the moon to the person before him, his voice as calm as deep water, without a ripple.

"Yes, Young Master Qile has made his choice. He selected the Flame Blade Technique and a bamboo slip. It is just that... the bamboo slip is from a very distant era, and this subordinate truly does not know the specific content recorded within." The person did not dare to delay for a moment, reporting the situation to Madara with great speed.

"A bamboo slip? Can you confirm it is related to swordsmanship?" Madara asked with a hint of curiosity, pursuing the matter with interest.

"Reporting to the Clan Head, this subordinate is deeply sorry. I can only confirm that Young Master Qile took the bamboo slip from the shelf where the swordsmanship scrolls are kept, but as for whether it is truly related to sword techniques, this subordinate cannot say for certain." The man replied in fear and trepidation, a fine layer of sweat already forming on his forehead, terrified that his answer would not satisfy Madara.

"Understood, you may go." Madara waved his hand casually, signaling for the man to leave.

However, after hearing the order to withdraw, the man did not leave immediately. Instead, he remained kneeling straight, head bowed, as if he still had something to say.

"Since you still have something to say, then continue." Madara's cold voice suddenly reached the man's ears.

Hearing this, the man took a deep breath and said with a hint of hesitation: "Young Master Qile should have awakened his eyes, but this subordinate..." At this point, his voice stopped abruptly, as if something had suddenly blocked his throat, making it impossible to continue.

It turned out that Madara had suddenly locked his gaze onto the man. Under such oppressive scrutiny, the man felt his legs go weak, and the words that had been on the tip of his tongue could no longer be uttered.

The silence lasted for a long while before Madara finally broke it. He frowned slightly, his expression becoming somewhat serious, and asked: "You cannot be entirely certain?"

"Y-yes." The man nodded quickly and explained: "Young Master Qile only took a candle when he entered the room, but according to my secret observations, he was still able to see his surroundings clearly in such dim conditions, so..."

"Enough!" Madara stopped him from continuing. "Go find Gen, and select an A-rank ninjutsu from the family scrolls. Furthermore, this matter is not to be mentioned to anyone without my permission."

A moment later, the courtyard returned to peace. Madara continued to look up at the moon. "Unexpected indeed. Not only did he choose the sword technique of a long-extinct samurai clan, but he also potentially awakened his eyes... This is truly surprising."