Jiang Fa withdrew his palm and lowered his head to look at it.
That Penetrating Jin was still very weak, only enough to crack the bottom of a bowl. He was still far from Zhao Zhong's level of transmitting Jin through objects, but at least he had reached the threshold.
He closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his mind. The numbers on the panel quietly changed.
[Mountain-Breaking Stance, third layer: 2/1000]
The corners of Jiang Fa's mouth lifted slightly.
That night, the oil lamp in his room did not go out until the third watch.
Early the next morning, Jiang Fa casually washed his face, picked up the ghost-head saber beside his bed, and pushed the door open.
Several figures were already on the training grounds, and the morning mist had yet to fully disperse.
A thin layer of white frost covered the bluestone paving.
Carrying his ghost-head saber, Jiang Fa walked to the empty patch where he usually practiced. With the saber tip pointing diagonally at the ground, he took a deep breath and assumed the opening stance of the Cloak Saber Technique.
The ghost-head saber gleamed coldly in the morning light, the Cold Iron pattern on its blade faintly visible.
He turned his wrist, and the blade traced a streak of dark light as he unleashed the first move of the Cloak Saber Technique, Wind Rises at the Tip of Duckweed.
The saber's momentum was not swift, but heavy.
Where the blade passed, it cleaved the air with a low moan, like the muffled growl of a ferocious beast awakening after years of dormant slumber.
Next came Turning Wind Brushes the Willows, Wind Sweeps Away the Remnant Clouds, Gale Sweeps Away the Leaves...
The Cloak Saber Technique had ten moves in all. Jiang Fa performed them one after another, growing faster and more fluid with each move.
The ghost-head saber seemed weightless in his hands. Its momentum flowed without end, layers of dark light tracing black arcs through the morning mist.
When he reached the tenth move, Wind Howls Across the Vast Sky,
Jiang Fa suddenly roared. Gripping the saber with both hands, he drove his waist and hips, channeling all his Jin from the soles of his feet to the saber tip. The ghost-head saber became a ribbon of black light and hacked savagely into an ironwood post beside him.
Boom!
A deep, thunderous crash erupted across the training grounds.
The ironwood post, as thick as a bowl's mouth, shuddered violently under the strike. The blade sank more than three full inches into it.
Jiang Fa pulled the saber free and delivered another horizontal slash. The blade carved a deep arc through the post, sending wood chips flying and leaving a shocking saber scar that ran through the entire post from top to bottom.
The ironwood posts were specially made by the martial hall for disciples to practice their saber techniques. Their wood was as hard as iron. Ordinary swords and sabers could leave at most a white mark, and even a Ming Jin martial artist striking with full force could cut only half an inch deep.
Yet Jiang Fa's strike had cut three inches straight into it. Such power was already far beyond the bounds of early An Jin.
He was not finished.
Jiang Fa drew back his saber and stood still, his gaze falling on a discarded bluestone slab beside the ironwood post.
Holding the ghost-head saber in one hand, he took no running start and gathered no momentum. He simply stood where he was, twisted his waist and hips sharply, and slashed diagonally downward.
When the blade struck the bluestone slab, no stone fragments flew.
There was only a soft hiss as the ghost-head saber sank into the slab like a knife through tofu. Its edge emerged from the other side, cleaving the four-inch-thick slab diagonally in two.
The cut surfaces were smooth as mirrors.
Jiang Fa sheathed the saber and looked down at the ghost-head saber in his hand.
Its edge was as sharp as ever, without the slightest sign of rolling. The Cold Iron pattern on its blade gleamed with a muted chill in the morning light.
A heavy saber paired with heavy Jin.
My Cloak Saber Technique has reached major accomplishment. I can release and rein in its momentum at will, no longer constrained by the saber's weight. And this eighty- or ninety-jin ghost-head saber happens to let me bring my advantage in strength to its fullest.
With one slash, who at my level could take it head-on?
Jiang Fa's eyes shone.
"Excellent saber technique!"
A clear voice came from the edge of the training grounds.
Jiang Fa turned to look and saw Lin Feng walking toward him with a smile, dressed in a dark-blue robe with a silver-threaded brocade belt around his waist.
He was not wearing martial attire today, so he clearly had not come to practice.
"Senior Brother Lin." Jiang Fa cupped his fist in greeting.
Lin Feng walked up to him,
first looking him up and down, his gaze lingering on him for a moment before settling on the three-inch-deep saber scar in the ironwood post and the bluestone slab cleaved in two,
a trace of undisguisable astonishment flashing in his eyes.
"I heard last night that you'd broken through to An Jin. I thought it was just a rumor growing with every telling."
Lin Feng shook his head, his voice tinged with emotion. "Only now that I've seen it for myself do I realize everyone underestimated you. Inviting you to become an Attendant of my Lin Lineage was like stumbling upon a treasure."
He pointed at the saber scar in the ironwood post. "Never mind someone at early An Jin-even some people at middle An Jin might not manage a strike like that."
"You flatter me, Senior Brother."
Jiang Fa set the ghost-head saber beside the weapon rack and chuckled.
"It's no flattery."
Lin Feng said seriously, "That ghost-head saber of yours must weigh over eighty jin at the very least, right? An ordinary person would struggle just to lift it. Even an An Jin martial artist wouldn't find it easy to wield, yet you command it like your own arm and fingers, handling something heavy as though it were light. That's no easy feat."
His tone was certain as he spoke, but a thoughtful look flickered in his eyes.
For Jiang Fa to reach An Jin in a year with inferior aptitude was already shocking enough. What was even more shocking was that he could clash head-on with Xie Tan without falling behind despite having only just entered An Jin.
Diligence alone could never accomplish that.
But Lin Feng did not press him.
Everyone had their own secrets. If Jiang Fa did not speak of his, he would not ask.
That was the tacit understanding between clever people.
"Right, I nearly forgot what I came for."
Lin Feng changed the subject, took a brocade pouch from his sleeve, and handed it to Jiang Fa.
"This is your monthly stipend."
Jiang Fa took the brocade pouch and weighed it in his hand. It was heavy.
There had to be at least twenty taels.
He frowned slightly. "Senior Brother Lin, we agreed on ten taels before. There's more than that in here!"
"That was the rate for Ming Jin." Lin Feng smiled and waved a hand. "An Jin and Ming Jin are as far apart as heaven and earth. My Lin Lineage may not be some enormously wealthy merchant house, but we won't stint on the standing you deserve. Just accept it without worry."
"Senior Brother Lin, this..."
Hesitation showed on Jiang Fa's face.
Lin Feng waved a hand, cutting him off. "No more polite refusals. We're all among our own here. Your senior brother is giving it to you, so just take it."
Seeing his firm attitude, Jiang Fa stopped declining and tucked the brocade pouch into his robe.
Once he saw Jiang Fa accept the silver, a smile appeared on Lin Feng's face. "Junior Brother Jiang, I came today because there's something I'd like your help with."
"Please go ahead, Senior Brother."
"In three days, my Lin Lineage Trading Company has a shipment to escort to Lin County."
Lin Feng lowered his voice, his tone becoming more solemn. "This is a substantial shipment, a deal my father went to great lengths to secure. We can't afford the slightest mishap. I originally planned to escort it myself, but something suddenly came up at the trading house, and I can't get away."
He paused, his gaze settling on Jiang Fa.
"Now that you've reached An Jin, rather than burying yourself in training at the martial hall, why not go out and see a little of the world? You'll gain experience and earn some income as well. If this escort job goes smoothly, I'll personally add another twenty taels on top of the trading house's reward. How does that sound?"
Jiang Fa considered briefly, then nodded. "When do we leave?"
"In three days, at the hour of the Rabbit. We'll meet outside the south city gate."
Seeing him agree, Lin Feng's smile immediately relaxed a little. "Zhao Chuan and Xu Feng are going too, along with several veteran escorts from the Weiyuan Escort Agency. With you joining them, the strength of this escort party will be quite respectable."
Jiang Fa cupped his hands. "All right. In three days, at the hour of the Rabbit, at the south city gate. I'll be there on time."
Lin Feng gave him a few more reminders about precautions along the escort route, then took his leave.
Jiang Fa watched his figure disappear into the distant morning mist, then returned to the weapon rack and picked up the ghost-head saber.
He looked down at the blade, slowly running the pad of his finger along the Cold Iron pattern.
He was no stranger to Lin County. It was a small county town a little over two hundred li from Qingshan County, roughly comparable in size. Since the two counties bordered each other, merchant caravans frequently traveled between them to trade.
After spending so long at the martial hall, it wouldn't hurt to get out for a while...
Jiang Fa stood there for a moment, thinking to himself.
Then he once again assumed the opening stance of the Cloak Saber Technique...