Great Fortune City, in the far west of the Equal Sea Domain.
In a simple but spacious courtyard, a girl in blue stood with a sword in hand. Suddenly, her blade flashed like a meteor, its cold gleam menacing. After several swift swishes, she leaped like a fish, tracing beautiful sword flourishes in midair.
She soared and twisted, thrusting, stabbing, sweeping upward, and flicking her blade, skillfully executing the exquisite mortal-level sword art, the Twenty Forms of Mortal Swordsmanship. Each move unfolded like a painted scroll, or lingering notes from an ancient manuscript, telling its tale with graceful ease.
Three days had passed since Li Chen rescued Han Li. After testing her aptitude and offering a few pointers, he had returned to studying his gains from the Water Realm, seeking to master the power of law and related Dao arts they contained. He had left Han Li to her own devices, never expecting that the girl would be nearly dazzled by the encyclopedia-like collection of stored information. When she finally settled on something she liked, she chose not a Puppet Dao craft, but swordsmanship.
Because of her humble origins and young age, Han Li was thin and frail, but her eyes seemed always to hold a swordlike tenacity. After three days of diligent practice, she had swiftly mastered the moves and was already performing them with convincing form.
Li Chen appeared at the courtyard entrance. Seeing the fine sweat on her forehead and the weariness she showed, yet watching her continue practicing without pause, he nodded inwardly.
Although he had implanted an Auxiliary Brain Chip in Han Li, greatly enhancing her intelligence and learning ability, he had not altered her character. Such diligence was an expression of her own true nature.
He was very pleased with the girl's attitude toward