Lu Manor, before a blue-bricked courtyard.
Holding her small hand, Ji Xiu helped Ji Wei down from the carriage.
She gazed at the clean, tidy, and brand-new courtyard walls.
She was so nervous she didn't dare to move, afraid that if she took another step, she would leave a mark on the bluestone tiles—so different from the earthen floors of the past—and earn a scolding.
But she only took a small step back and bumped into a broad chest.
Then,
she was pushed by the shoulders, uncontrollably...
...and given a grand tour of their new home.
When she saw her own clean and tidy bedroom, a large, fumigated wooden bed already made, and a small, patterned bronze mirror on the desk,
Ji Xiu placed the bedding and cotton clothes on a rack and said:
"Little one, you won't have to squeeze into one bed with your brother anymore."
"You'll have your own room, your own privacy, your own thoughts."
"After a few days, once we're settled in,"
"I'll also have you study and learn to write here in the manor. Once I've made some headway in my martial arts, I'll start teaching you some skills myself."
"From now on, whether you want to be a refined lady or a heroic swordswoman in fine clothes, riding a steed,"
"it's all up to you."
"Your life is just beginning."
Ji Xiu stood with his hands behind his back, a gentle smile on his face as he looked around.
"If you're missing anything at all,"
"just find any of the servants in this manor and ask them."
"From now on, you never have to bow and scrape before anyone again."
With that said,
Ji Xiu, carrying his saber, walked out into the yard.
There, he swung his steel saber, practicing the Celestial River Saber.
As hardworking as ever.
Even after moving from a dilapidated, drafty mud hut to a clean and tidy brick house,
his relentless, bitter dedication to training
had never changed.
Ji Wei peered through the paper window—no longer having to peek through a door crack—and clearly saw her brother, who was finally gripping a real steel saber.
With every swing, his sleeves fluttered, and a sharp Gang Wind followed.
How many times
had she dreamed of such a scene.
But when it suddenly became reality...
...she found she couldn't quite accept it.
...
「Five days later.」
In a bluestone-paved courtyard within Lu Manor.
The light of a saber flashed, sharp and cold, like a celestial waterfall flowing sideways, even seeming to slice through the air!
After a full practice session with the saber in hand, the young man's Qi and Blood surged, yet his eyes remained as calm as a tranquil spring.
The setting sun cast its long shadows; it was evening.
As he finished the final run-through of the Celestial River Saber Technique,
Ji Xiu retracted his saber and sheathed it.
[Pious Devotion to the Saber, Relentless Training. Celestial River Saber Technique Advanced Progress +1!]
[Current: (10,000/10,000)]
[Tutor has completed the advance and fully mastered the Celestial River Saber Technique!]
[Tutor: Ji Xiu]
[Current Cultivation: Bone Marrow Refining Realm (Entering the Realm)]
[Martial Arts, Skill Dao: Great Success in Horse Riding, Celestial River Saber Technique!]
[Traits: Waist and Horse Unity, Ten Steps One Kill!]
[Current Advances Available: 1]
'Finally...'
'I've reached Perfection!'
Looking at the words appearing on the Primordial Daoist Talisman,
Ji Xiu gripped his long saber. Just by thinking of the Celestial River Saber's forms and trajectories, he could execute all its intricacies, even its artistic intent, to perfection!
Although,
it was only a martial art meant to help one achieve Entering the Realm,
but after unsheathing his saber ten thousand times and completing his training,
Ji Xiu felt as if
he had been transformed from a piece of scrap iron into a steel saber forged a hundred times over.
He had undergone a complete Transformation!
"Hoo..."
He let out a long breath.
He looked to the side, under the windowsill, where Ji Wei had opened the paper window and was sitting at her desk, reading and practicing her characters, her brow furrowing from time to time.
He saw that after days of proper nourishment, the sallow, waxy color had faded from her face, and her complexion was gradually improving.
That disposition of perennial low self-esteem and timidity was also changing under his subtle influence. She was no longer withdrawn around others, but had started to develop an inner wisdom.
He couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
'My little sister is finally growing up.'
In the past few days, Ji Wei had told Ji Xiu that she wanted to practice martial arts.
He was naturally happy to hear this, but at the moment, Ji Xiu could barely afford to support and train himself, so he could only ask her to wait.
He had to wait until he became a master of Bone Tempering and Skin Refining and had some say in this five-hundred-li Anning County. Only then could he support her training to become a Martial Artist.
You can only rely on your own strength.
Everything Ji Wei had was a result of Ji Xiu's own power.
If he himself was not strong enough, then everything before them would be nothing but flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection in the water—an illusion.
Ji Xiu understood this point very clearly.
So, whether it was dawn or dusk,
be it inside the arched gate of Lu Manor, beneath the stone platform,
or in his own quiet courtyard,
his saber was always in motion from morning till night, never stopping.
It made every passing Guest or onlooker sigh in admiration at his incredible focus.
Practicing the saber, practicing the sword.
Both were labors of time and patience.
Especially after reaching Minor Success, it wasn't a matter of swinging your saber or sword thousands of times to guarantee improvement.
There were many who practiced for years yet remained stagnant; such examples were plentiful.
That was why many Martial Artists, after hitting a bottleneck in their skills, would only practice as a matter of routine to keep from getting rusty, rather than pursuing the highest realm.
Someone as diligent as Ji Xiu was already extremely rare.
'My Saber Technique is complete. It's time to move on to Pile Skill!'
Gazing at the Primordial Daoist Talisman, Ji Xiu's eyes burned with fervor.
Five days ago,
Duan Chenzhou had promised him a Superior Pile Skill.
This Pile Skill was not the initial Horse Stance Walking Posture.
It was a Dharma Gate that truly concerned the very foundation of one's being!
Since joining Lu Manor these past few days,
although Ji Xiu's official duties had not yet been assigned,
he was surrounded by Guests and Martial Artists. By getting to know them and picking things up through observation,
Ji Xiu had come to understand many of the Key Points regarding Martial Artists.
For example, what the so-called Pile Skill and Refining Technique truly represented!
The Bone Marrow Refining Realm required one to 'Nourish Mercury Blood' and 'Forge Willow Tendons'.
When the muscles and tendons in one's body could bear enough Force to support a frame of steel bars and iron bones, one could begin to advance to Bone Tempering.
For an ordinary person without resources, this step required time to grind away, to slowly build up.
But...
if one had a Pile Skill, a unique Refining Technique, supplemented by Pills and mountain delicacies, the speed of progress could be greatly increased!
In the words of certain great Martial Arts Sects, this was also known as the Hundred Days Foundation Establishment!
As the name implies.
In just a hundred days, one's Bone Marrow Refining could reach Great Success!
After Ji Xiu made some inquiries...
The entire Lu Manor...
...did not possess a single Dharma Gate that could be called a Superior Pile Skill.
Even as a Sword-carrying Guest,
at most, he could only access an ordinary Pile Skill.
As for the so-called Refining Technique...
that involved the Bone Tempering Realm!
The entire Lu Manor only had one Refining Technique, for Tempering Iron Bone. As for Silver Bone and Golden Bone beyond that...
...it was said that each step required immense hardship to cultivate and was priceless and nearly impossible to obtain!
Duan Chenzhou was willing to give him a Superior Pile Skill.
One could say that the grace of his patronage was as vast as the mountains and seas.
Thus, after his situation improved, Ji Xiu specially brought two jugs of Flower Carved Wine, declined Hong Jiang's offer to take a carriage, and led a brown-maned horse from the stables himself...
...with a tug on the reins, he set off under the setting sun, carrying the Leopard Embryo Pill and Tiger Blood Powder—two types of Ninth Grade Mortal Rank Pills given out by Lu Manor this month—and headed for the Duan Residence!
...
Duan Residence.
"CREAK..."
The moment the door was pushed open,
Duan Chenzhou, his eyes hazy with drink, lifted his gaze.
Ji Xiu led the horse in, his head held high.
At this moment,
he was dressed in sharp martial attire, his back ramrod straight, his eyes shining brightly, like a Treasure Saber drawn from its sheath.
The sight made Duan Chenzhou freeze. The large bowl of wine he had just lifted slipped from his grasp, shattering on the ground with a sharp sound.
At his side,
Gu Baichuan turned his head and, seeing Ji Xiu approaching with spirited vigor—leading a horse and carrying two jugs of wine—smiled gently.
"What's wrong? In the blink of an eye, did you see a reflection of your younger self?"
Under the setting sun,
the once sallow and skinny youth in simple cloth garments
slowly overlapped with the heroic and dashing young hero in black martial attire.
The difference between the two was as vast as the mountains and seas.
It made Duan Chenzhou... slowly rise to his feet. He squinted, his one sleeve hanging empty, and it was as if he saw a great bronze mirror behind the black-clad Swordsman leading the horse.
In that mirror,
was the reflection of a wild-haired, thick-browed youth, burning incense before the Ancestral Master's hall, vowing to inherit the Secret Martial Dao and become a Grandmaster of the Qi Barrier.
In that instant,
three figures seemed to intersect and overlap, spanning half a Jiazi's worth of time.
As Gu Baichuan's words fell,
Duan Chenzhou's brow gradually furrowed, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.
After a long moment,
he watched the young man tie up the horse, straighten his clothes, and bow to him in salute.
He watched this lad, who had transformed step by step under his guidance...
Duan Chenzhou sighed.
"Ji Xiu."
"Do you... truly wish to become my disciple?"
Hearing this, Ji Xiu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. His expression turned solemn, and he immediately bowed deeply.
"This disciple has long admired you!"
Gu Baichuan had been smiling, but seeing the two of them, his heart suddenly leaped. He turned to Duan Chenzhou and frowned.
"You..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted.
"Centurion Gu of the Cangzhou Northern Garrison Command of the Great Xuan Dynasty, I ask you to bear witness today."
Duan Chenzhou spoke each word slowly and deliberately.
"I, Duan Chenzhou, will take a Closed-door Disciple today."
Centurion Gu shot to his feet, his expression changing drastically.
"Have you thought this through? Your master is gone, you've lost an arm, and your enemies are all over the province."
"In such a situation, to pass on your True Inheritance here... are you drunk and acting recklessly?!"
"I was just joking with you earlier! I'm only here by chance on a mission. No one else knows you're here. Don't act on impulse."
But all these words
were dismissed with a single, indifferent glance from the man with the empty sleeve.
"I will bear all of this myself."
With that, he looked down at Ji Xiu, who was kneeling on the ground.
He raised his hand.
"Get up, kid."
"Didn't you want a Superior Pile Skill?"
He smiled.
"I have a path of no return right here."
"The only question is... do you dare to walk it?"
With that,
he took out a Silk Book.
Ji Xiu raised his head slightly and glanced at it.
He saw written upon it:
[Secret Martial Arts Preface: Turtle and Snake Grand Foundation Stake!]