Crescent Moon Sword Art

[Traveling day and night, beneath the stars and moon, you took only a month to return to Liu Family Ferry, more than twice as fast as your normal pace. That speed was entirely thanks to the "Cloud-Treading Step."]

[You bought the same residence as last time. After getting the house in order, you made a trip to the capital.]

[First, to pay your respects at Nanny's grave; second, to buy herbs for cultivation. While you were there, you would also buy some martial techniques from the Peerless National Arts Pavilion in the capital.]

[The Peerless National Arts Pavilion was Great Xia's only official shop selling authentic manuals. It stood in the heart of Vermilion Bird Avenue, the capital's most bustling street, occupying an entire nine-story pavilion.]

[You chose the Peerless National Arts Pavilion entirely because the capital had too many swindlers, even more than Gathered Worthies Manor. You had no wish to see the spirit stones you had painstakingly saved over the years go down the drain.]

[The moment you stepped into the Peerless National Arts Pavilion, the sight before you stunned you.]

[The ground-floor hall was a full thirty feet high. All four walls were inlaid with whole slabs of white jade, densely engraved with the names of cultivation methods and martial techniques, enough to make your eyes swim. A dozen or so attendants in matching blue robes wove through the hall, receiving all sorts of customers. There were lavishly dressed scions of aristocratic clans, travel-worn rogue cultivators, and several bald monks in monastic robes.]

[You had barely stopped when a fresh-faced attendant approached, his smile just right. "Your first visit, miss? May I show you around?"]

[You nodded.]

[Without asking further questions, the attendant deftly led you inside. "Our Peerless National Arts Pavilion has nine floors. The first carries cultivation methods and martial techniques for low-rank martial artists, the second for the early Houtian stage, the third for the middle Houtian stage, the fourth for the late Houtian stage, and the fifth for Houtian perfection. The sixth floor and above are only open to seniors in the Xiantian realm." "As for prices, we don't accept silver here, only spirit stones."]

[You had over ten thousand taels of silver and ten spirit stones on hand. That should be enough to buy a decent sword art.]

[With that reassurance, you thanked the attendant and began browsing the first floor on your own.]

[The things on the first floor were indeed cheap. Half a spirit stone could buy two or three ungraded martial techniques. But you had no use for those. What you needed was a mortal-grade sword art.]

[You went up the stairs to the second floor.]

[There were far fewer people on the second floor, only a scattering of customers. The cultivation methods and martial techniques here were clearly better than those downstairs, and their bindings were more refined as well. Each volume sat neatly on sandalwood shelves beneath transparent protective covers. Leaning closer, you could faintly sense spiritual energy rippling over the covers. They seemed to be restrictions that prevented people from touching the books directly.]

[You were studying the catalog of sword arts on the shelf when a voice suddenly came from behind you.]

["Are you looking to buy a sword art, miss?"]

[You turned and saw a middle-aged man in blue robes standing behind you. His face was lean, with three long strands of beard beneath his chin, and he was dressed like a scholar. But a jade plaque hung at his waist, engraved with the words "Peerless National Arts Pavilion-Second-Floor Steward."]

[You nodded.]

[The steward smiled faintly and pointed at the row of shelves before you. "There are thirty-seven sword arts on the second floor. Have any caught your fancy, miss?"]

[You were about to say you could browse on your own, but then reconsidered. As the second-floor steward, he surely knew more about the cultivation methods here than you did. So you asked, "Is there anything... easy to pick up, but still quite powerful once you've mastered it?"]

[The steward considered for a moment, then took three sample booklets from the shelf and handed them to you.]

[You leafed through the samples, hesitating over which to choose, when you suddenly caught sight of a dust-covered booklet on the top shelf beside you out of the corner of your eye.]

[The booklet had been shoved into a corner of the highest shelf. There was not even a name on its spine, only a crooked, yellowing slip of paper bearing a few nearly faded words. They seemed to say "Crescent" something.]

Oh?

Jiang Mi raised an eyebrow, anticipation rising within her despite herself.

Was this the part where she stumbled onto an overlooked treasure?

[The steward followed your gaze, paused in surprise, then smiled. "A keen eye, miss. That's an incomplete manual, but it's an upper-tier mortal-grade martial technique. It's been sitting here for several years without anyone asking about it."]

["Upper-tier mortal-grade?"]

["Yes." The middle-aged man walked over to the shelf, took down the booklet, and blew the dust off it. "'Crescent Moon Sword Art.' It has nine forms in total, but since this is an incomplete manual, only the first three remain. The last six have all been lost. And the first three were transcribed from an oral account, so some omissions were unavoidable."]

[He handed you the booklet, gesturing for you to take a closer look.]

[You accepted it, but felt somewhat disappointed.]

[Old Woman had told you about incomplete manuals. Either some moves were missing, or all the moves were present but their contents were incomplete. The former could still be learned; the latter was something you absolutely must not touch.]

[Most incomplete manuals had only one of those problems. This Crescent Moon Sword Art, though, had managed to collect them all.]

[You opened the manual. Its pages were already yellow and brittle; clearly, it had been sitting here for a long time.]

[The sword movements were simple: an opening stance, a diagonal rising slash, a turn, and a thrust. Four movements in total, linked together into a single form.]

[As you read, your brow gradually furrowed.]

[Why did this sword art... seem so familiar? You tried going through the motions and suddenly discovered that its method of circulating qi actually bore some resemblance to "Cloud-Treading Crossing."]

[Seeing your interest, the steward said from beside you, "This sword art has been sitting here for five years. Plenty of people have asked about it, but they all shook their heads as soon as they heard it was incomplete. Eight spirit stones for three incomplete sword forms is too poor a deal, so it's never sold."]

[You closed the booklet and asked, "Who left this sword art behind?"]

["That, I don't know." The steward shook his head. "The Peerless National Arts Pavilion never asks about origins when purchasing cultivation methods. As long as the grade is high enough and we've verified that it isn't a demonic art, we pay in spirit stones."]

[You nodded and closed the pages.]

[Seeing that you seemed interested, the steward immediately launched into an enthusiastic sales pitch. "Miss, if you buy this sword art, I can throw in two cultivation methods from the first floor! It's an absolute bargain! The Peerless National Arts Pavilion never negotiates prices, but since you've met me, I can get you the staff rate. A guaranteed deal!"]

[Here it came again. An all-too-modern sales pitch was attacking you once more!]

[The steward had been absolutely right: spending eight spirit stones on an incomplete cultivation method was a terrible deal. Trying to gain a little advantage could easily leave you suffering a much greater loss instead.]

[You shoved the incomplete manual straight back into the steward's hands. "I'll look at something else."]

[The steward gave an awkward smile and said no more. He casually set the incomplete manual back on the shelf, then turned to attend to someone else.]

[You spent almost another hour browsing the second floor, leafing through the sample booklets for all thirty-seven sword arts.]

[You had to admit that the Peerless National Arts Pavilion's wares were indeed far better than those unorthodox offerings outside. Even the cheapest sword art on the second floor clearly described its moves and qi-circulation methods, complete with meridian circulation diagrams. One glance told you they came from proper lineages-all except that incomplete manual.]