Yunlan City

The night was black as ink, with few stars in the sky.

That night, Lin Chen went to the study.

The study was simply furnished, mostly with practical things. Lin Hai sat behind his desk, where two cups of tea stood steaming, wisps of vapor curling upward.

"Sit."

Lin Hai pointed to the chair opposite him. His gaze rested on Lin Chen, pride barely discernible in his eyes.

Lin Chen sat as instructed and took the cup his father pushed toward him. It felt slightly hot in his hand, and the tea smelled fresh and clear.

"How did the fight today feel?"

Lin Hai took a sip of tea. Rather than getting straight to the matter at hand, he asked another question.

Lin Chen set down his cup and answered earnestly:

"I learned a great deal. The sheer depth of a Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm warrior's spiritual power, the variety of his methods... If I hadn't had Sword Intent to protect me, a warrior at the Seventh Level of the Spirit Martial Realm might not have lasted even a few moves."

Lin Hai nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed. With Sword Intent behind you, you can contend with warriors at the Spirit Martial Ninth Layer. But in the eyes of someone at the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm, that still isn't enough."

"Beyond the gap in cultivation, there's another reason. Warriors at the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm often remain at that level for years, unable to break through, and accumulate more methods over their long years of training."

"Take me. I reached the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm nearly twenty years ago, yet I've never managed to break through to the next realm. All I could do was study a range of martial arts to strengthen myself."

"But you're different."

Lin Hai looked at him with quiet satisfaction.

"Your cultivation has advanced so quickly that it probably won't be long before you reach the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm. And because you've comprehended Sword Intent, the barrier between major realms that hinders warriors like me won't stand in your way. You can break straight through to the Profound Martial Realm."

"When that day comes, you'll be the undisputed strongest warrior in Kaiyang City!"

Lin Hai tapped his fingers lightly on the table and continued.

"But have you thought about what comes after you break through to the Profound Martial Realm?"

"After all, the Lin Family has never had a warrior in the Profound Martial Realm, so we naturally have no cultivation techniques for what follows."

"And it isn't just cultivation techniques. Even the highest-ranked martial arts in our collection are only upper-tier Spirit Grade, and we have just two of them. By then, they'll be like chicken ribs to you: not worth using at all."

Lin Chen hadn't expected his father to bring up this subject. It surprised him, but he wasn't caught off guard.

After all, on that morning ten years ago, when he first saw the Character Panel, Lin Chen had known that Kaiyang City was only the starting point of his magnificent martial journey.

One day he would leave, charging into a far vaster world like a True Dragon and ultimately stirring up a wave that would tower to the heavens.

Come to think of it, after spending ten years leveling up before leaving the starter village, he was probably among the slowest of his fellow transmigrators.

The thought flashed through his mind, but Lin Chen did not answer.

He knew that since his father had called him here expressly, he must have more to say. So Lin Chen said instead,

"Please guide me, Father."

"You rascal. Still as quick-witted as ever."

Lin Hai smiled and shook his head.

"For someone who has comprehended Sword Intent, Kaiyang City is too small. It's nothing but a shallow stretch of water."

"If you want to go farther, you need to go to Yunlan City!"

Lin Hai rose and searched the study for a moment. He spread out a yellowed map and placed a finger on an inconspicuous dot near its edge.

"Here is Kaiyang City, where we live. It's just an ordinary city in the vast expanse of Cloud Province. Its resources are limited, and its strongest warriors have only reached the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm."

His finger followed the rough lines across the map, moving slowly toward its center. There, mountains and cities had been drawn in finer strokes across a broad region, with a name marked at its heart—Yunlan City.

"This is the heart of Cloud Province, the seat of the provincial capital: Yunlan City."

"There are beautiful mountains rich in spiritual energy, sects standing everywhere, great clans entrenched in power, merchant guilds coming and going, and gifted young warriors rising one after another."

"Only there can you go farther!"

"You know the place well, Father?" Lin Chen asked.

Lin Hai returned to his seat and shook his head.

"I wouldn't say I know it well, but I did spend some time there."

"When I was young, I was full of ambition, with aspirations higher than the sky. I left Kaiyang City to make my way in the world and eventually joined the Four Seas Merchant Guild in Yunlan City. I spent a few years there."

"The Four Seas Merchant Guild?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. That was one he knew.

He was even one of its fifth-class honored guests.

But the Four Seas Merchant Guild operated across the Nineteen Provinces. It was no surprise that it had a branch in Yunlan City.

Lin Hai continued.

"If you want higher-ranked cultivation techniques and martial arts, there are only two paths. First, you could amass a huge quantity of Spirit Stones and perhaps buy what you need at an auction house or large merchant guild in a place like Yunlan City. Second, you could join a sufficiently powerful organization and obtain what you need through contributions or exceptional talent."

"There's no need to consider the first path. It takes too much time and an astronomical amount of resources."

"So the best way is to join an organization and use its resources to help you grow."

"The Four Seas Merchant Guild is a good choice. It operates everywhere and carries considerable influence in Yunlan City, standing alongside Cloud Province's leading sects, such as the Azure Cloud Sect and the Mystic Moon Pavilion."

"The guild's business covers an enormous range: pills, weapons, materials, intelligence, guards, even the exploration of ruins. There's scarcely anything it doesn't deal in. That's why it recruits all kinds of warriors."

"Powerful warriors are recruited as guild attendants and given abundant cultivation resources. The guild also nurtures gifted young warriors, hoping they'll repay that investment in the future."

Lin Hai paused, seemingly sorting through his memories.

"I once heard someone say that the Four Seas Merchant Guild divides young warriors into roughly three grades according to their potential."

Lin Chen perked up at that, genuinely curious.

"Third-grade talents have some aptitude, but not much. Without a fortunate opportunity, the Profound Martial Realm is probably as far as they'll get in their lifetimes."

"Second-grade talents have outstanding gifts. They can generally break through to the Profound Martial Realm before forty and have a small chance of reaching the Earth Martial Realm someday. Chen'er, before you comprehended Sword Intent, you likely would have been placed in this grade if you'd gone to Yunlan City."

Lin Chen nodded slightly and kept listening.

"As for first-grade talents, these young warriors either have exceptional aptitude or astonishing powers of comprehension. Any sect or organization would regard them as core prospects worthy of intensive training. You comprehended Sword Intent while still in the Spirit Martial Realm, so your powers of comprehension certainly qualify as astonishing."

Lin Hai concluded:

"So if you decide to go to Yunlan City, I suggest joining the Four Seas Merchant Guild. At your current level, you would be firmly counted among its first-grade talents."

"Then you wouldn't have to worry about Profound Grade cultivation techniques or martial arts. You'd be free to choose what you wanted."

Lin Chen took in the information, then asked another question.

"Are there other choices besides the Four Seas Merchant Guild? What about those sects?"

"Of course there are." Lin Hai nodded.

"Around Yunlan City are several leading sects, including the Azure Cloud Sect, the Mystic Moon Pavilion, and Crimson Flame Mountain. There are even more small and medium-sized sects beneath them."

"Sects have established traditions and concentrated resources. They have their own strengths when it comes to training disciples. But..."

He looked at Lin Chen, understanding in his eyes.

"When sects take in disciples, especially core True Disciples, they prefer to raise them from a young age. That lets them assess their character and foster a sense of belonging."

"For a warrior like you, joining midway through, it would be hard to gain a core position immediately unless your talent were without equal. You'd more likely have to start as an outer or inner disciple, making the path more winding."

"And sects are full of factions and strict rules. For someone as used to freedom as you are, they might not be entirely suitable."

Lin Hai weighed the options aloud.

"By comparison, the Four Seas Merchant Guild offers more freedom and imposes no compulsory demands. You can think of its support as an investment."

"On one hand, it recruits powerful warriors outright to preside over the guild and keep it stable. On the other, it's eager to invest in promising warriors, hoping that if some of them grow strong in the future, they'll provide a generous return."

"After all, investing in young warriors takes far fewer resources than recruiting an already powerful one."

Lin Chen gave a small nod.

Seen that way, the Four Seas Merchant Guild really was an excellent starting point. It offered access to the wider world, along with a measure of protection and a ladder to climb.

And ultimately, whether it was the Four Seas Merchant Guild or another organization, it would only be his first stop after leaving Kaiyang City and entering a wider world.

What mattered most to Lin Chen, then, was freedom: no constraints, and help he could draw on without surrendering it.

By that measure, the Four Seas Merchant Guild did seem like a good choice.

Lin Hai waved a hand. His tone lost its gravity and softened.

"I only called you here today to tell you about this. You can take your time deciding what to do."

"There's no need to set out until after you break through to the Profound Martial Realm."

At that, a thought struck Lin Chen. He asked the crucial question:

"Father, if I understand you correctly, it's because I comprehended Sword Intent while still in the Spirit Martial Realm that I can be rated a first-grade talent."

"But what if I stay in Kaiyang City and break through to the Profound Martial Realm first? If I go then, will the Four Seas Merchant Guild see a sword cultivator in the Profound Martial Realm comprehending Sword Intent as only natural, and lower its assessment of me?"

Lin Hai gave his son an approving look.

"You've thought of that, too. You've considered this thoroughly."

"But an organization like the Four Seas Merchant Guild has its own ways of judging young warriors' potential. It won't make a mistake."

"So you can rest easy and break through to the Profound Martial Realm here in Kaiyang City. Once you have, you can set out for Yunlan City."

Hearing that, Lin Chen felt reassured.

With his explanation finished, Lin Hai picked up his tea and drained it in one gulp.

"That's enough for now. Go and rest. In a few days, I'll convene a council of the Lin Family."

"Since you have such potential, the Lin Family should give you all the help it can at this crucial moment."

"And this may be the last help the Lin Family can give you."