The Beginning

On the other side of Huaisha City.

In the night, sparse lights scattered across the vast, dark city like pale yellow fireflies, some flickering on, others fading out.

Less than five hundred meters from the harbor, inside a building near the road, on the fifth-floor training room.

Chen Huan stood by the window holding a black wooden staff, gazing at the points of light slowly brightening outside, saying nothing.

She wore her hair in a ponytail and was dressed in a form-fitting white protective undergarment, which outlined the taut, slender, and graceful curves of her body.

"Practicing swordsmanship again?"

The training room door behind her opened, and Xu Yi walked in carrying a cup of hot tea.

Unlike Chen Huan, she wore black pajamas with her long hair draped loosely, looking as if she had just woken up.

"Yeah, the qualifiers are coming up soon, so I'm getting some extra practice in." Chen Huan turned her head. "Why are you up so early?"

"I was supposed to be the one to open up, but when I arrived, I saw the lights on in the practice room and knew it had to be you. So I came up to check."

Xu Yi paused, walked over to Chen Huan's side, and pulled up a wooden chair to sit.

"Still worried about that Lin Sheng?" she asked in a lowered voice.

"I have to be. There are only two spots for Huaisha City among ten teams. My current state isn't great, and I can't guarantee I'll hold onto second place," Chen Huan replied in a deep voice.

"So you're training like a madwoman?" Xu Yi countered. "Do you think this extra practice is actually helping?"

"..." Chen Huan remained silent.

Xu Yi stopped speaking as well.

She knew very well why Chen Huan was pushing herself so hard.

The National Amateur Swordsmanship League was primarily organized by a group of wealthy individuals interested in Naxi Swordsmanship.

Since it was organized by the wealthy, it naturally attracted major teams with the promise of generous prize money.

In Huaisha City, simply advancing to the provincial level earned a bonus of fifty thousand yuan. For Chen Huan, this was an amount she could not afford to miss.

The periodic National Amateur Swordsmanship League was her legitimate, above-board opportunity to earn extra income.

Everything would have been fine if it had stayed that way, but now, this Lin Sheng had suddenly appeared.

It was clear that Chen Huan lacked the confidence to defeat him, which was why she was under such immense pressure and getting up so early to train.

"Be careful with your health."

"It's fine. I know my own body," Chen Huan shook her head slightly.

Xu Yi sighed, said no more, turned, and walked away slowly with her tea.

Click. The door closed behind her.

She paused for a moment, and soon she could hear the sound of the wooden staff cutting through the air from inside the practice room.

Sighing once more, Xu Yi quickened her pace, descended to the fourth floor, and returned to the building management office.

Her primary job was as the administrator of this sports center, mainly managing the martial arts training facility and coordinating the rental of practice rooms to outside parties.

Back in the office, Xu Yi closed the door, quickly picked up the desk phone, and skillfully dialed a string of numbers.

Beep.

Click. "Hello?" After a faint crackle of static, a calm male voice came through the receiver.

"It's me," Xu Yi replied. "She's doing extra training again today. It's been three days in a row."

"..." There was no sound from the other end.

"Her injuries from last time haven't fully healed, and I'm a bit worried," Xu Yi hesitated.

"I understand," the man replied over the phone. "Continue keeping an eye on her for me."

"Understood." Xu Yi let out a breath and only hung up the receiver after hearing the line go dead on the other end.

"I'm not sick! I'm not sick!! Really!! Believe me!!"

Inside the Steel Scale Club.

Russell was being held by the throat by Madilan's two hands.

"You are seriously ill! You need treatment!" Madilan shouted with a flushed face, though his dark complexion made the redness less obvious.

Lin Sheng walked in early that morning to find several club staff members standing to the side, stifling laughter as they watched the spectacle.

Russell and Madilan were tangled together, though it was unclear what they were doing.

Xiayin was off to the side, using a small mirror to touch up her makeup, seemingly uninterested in the scene.

"What... are you two doing?" Lin Sheng looked on, speechless, as Russell grabbed at Madilan's lower body, only to be blocked, the two of them locked in a desperate struggle.

"He's lost his mind, Teacher!!" Madilan yelled. "He suddenly lunged at me to kiss me just now! Good thing I dodged in time!"

"I wasn't trying to kiss you, you idiot!! I was aiming for Xiayin!!" Russell shrieked, his neck being gripped even tighter.

"But you kissed me anyway, you damn fool!!!" Madilan roared.

Xiayin, off to the side, put away her mirror and let out a soft, mocking laugh at the two of them.

"That idiot Russell, he saw me heading upstairs and tried to launch a sneak attack, only to get caught by Madilan. Did he really think I didn't know what he was planning?"

She sneered, adjusted the two buns she had just tied in her hair, and hopped down from the stone front desk.

Lin Sheng couldn't help but laugh, though he couldn't help but envy their close bond.

He simply walked to the side and sat down to rest, waiting for the two of them to finish their antics.

Although Russell claimed to have undergone special training, his strength was still inferior to Madilan's. In the close-quarters struggle, the two quickly decided the outcome, and the scuffle ended with Russell shouting for mercy.

Seeing that the commotion was over, Lin Sheng clapped his hands.

"Alright, it's time to begin this session."

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Let's go, Teacher Lin."

Madilan and Russell followed closely behind Lin Sheng into the practice room.

Xiayin went off to the women's changing room to get dressed.

Steel Scale Club was far more professional than the Tengchong Club. Just the protective gear alone consisted of two layers, inner and outer, and all other equipment—elbow pads, shoulder pads, knee pads, and arm guards—was fully provided.

The swords they used were also the real deal, with plenty of weight. They were only slightly lighter than the Black Sword Lin Sheng used in his dreams; although they weren't sharpened, they were quite realistic.

Once the three of them had changed into their protective gear, they gathered in the center of the practice room.

"Teacher Lin, is there a competition you'd like to participate in?" Xiayin, always the more reliable one, was the first to ask.

"What competition?" Lin Sheng asked, puzzled. "You know, I've always trained alone and haven't had much contact with the outside world."

His explanation to the three of them was that he was a self-taught expert, and his so-called swordsmanship was all forged through actual combat.

His style certainly reflected that, so the three of them had no reason to doubt him. The only mystery was where he had gained such combat experience.

After all, there were very few people practicing Naxi Swordsmanship these days.

"It's the National Amateur Swordsmanship League, or Amateur League for short," Russell quickly replied. "According to past practice, Chen Huan from Tengchong usually represents us, as she's the strongest in our district."

"That was in the past; things are different now," Madilan added. "If you want to participate, Teacher Lin, we can help you register in advance, and the club will cover the entry fee."

"What's the point of participating in this?" Lin Sheng had never encountered such a competition and had no way of hearing about it elsewhere, so he looked at them with confusion.

"The biggest benefit is exchanging swordsmanship with other opponents, followed by the prize money, and then gaining a bit of fame," Madilan explained.

"But in reality, the fame part is negligible," he continued. "Because the Amateur League is really just for hobbyists to mess around; it's just a competition organized by people from all over who enjoy playing with swords."

"How much is the prize money?" Lin Sheng was more concerned about this; his family's financial situation wasn't great, and he didn't hide his interest in this aspect.

Madilan thought for a moment. "I've forgotten the exact amount, but it seems there's money for every level you advance."

While he was still trying to recall, Xiayin had already handed Lin Sheng a flyer.

Lin Sheng took it and saw that it was the information sheet for the National Amateur Swordsmanship League.

He skipped over the other information and his gaze quickly landed on the prize money section.

'City/County level qualification—two spots, prize money of 50,000 each'

'Provincial level qualification—one spot, prize money of 100,000'

'National level ranking—first place 500,000, second place 200,000, third place 150,000'