Aboard the airship bound for Central Province.
In the dining hall.
"Senior Sister, did you just say the Five Elements Sect has seven lineages and One Tower? Eight different schools of martial arts in all?"
Mo Yun gnawed on a piece of braised goose as he looked at Lin Qingxue in surprise.
As he understood it, shouldn't the Five Elements Sect simply consist of the five elements-metal, wood, water, fire, and earth?
Those would correspond to five martial arts schools: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Qilin, and so on.
What were the two extra schools?
And what tower was One Tower?
Meanwhile, faced with Mo Yun's questions, Lin Qingxue shoveled down a few quick mouthfuls of rice as though she were in a hurry, speaking as she chewed:
"Yes, seven lineages and One Tower."
"The Five Elements Sect's philosophy is to use the five elements as a foundation, temper the body and refine the heart, and unite with the Dao of nature..."
"I heard Father say that the Five Elements Sect's original heritage centered on its five main lineages: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
"But after a long period of development and evolution, the Thunder Lineage and Wind Lineage emerged."
Mo Yun was a little taken aback. "The Thunder Lineage and Wind Lineage?"
Lin Qingxue continued shoveling down her rice, speaking as she ate. "Yes, the Thunder Lineage and Wind Lineage."
"They say the Thunder Lineage was founded three thousand years ago by a prodigy in the sect who cultivated both the Fire Lineage and Metal Lineage..."
"And the Wind Lineage was founded two thousand years ago by a prodigy who cultivated both the Wood Lineage and Fire Lineage."
"Those two were only branch lineages at first, with a lower standing than the other five."
"But