The back street behind the Fire Kiln. Captain Duan's Residence.
Dusk was beginning to fall.
In the courtyard, on the packed yellow-earth ground, a man weaved through dozens of Plum Blossom Posts. He trained so intensely that sweat steamed from his back, rising as a faint white vapor.
This was no sign of a weak constitution.
Quite the opposite.
It was the result of years of consuming highly nutritious, blood-enriching foods that had made his muscles and tendons incredibly strong.
That was why with every movement, his Qi and Blood circulated so vigorously that they vented from his body like the smoke from a beacon, creating such a sight.
Below, a middle-aged Martial Artist with one empty sleeve stood leaning on his saber.
Seeing this, he nodded in approval and offered some commentary.
"You've trained with me for so long. The first realm of the Power Barrier, Bone Marrow Refining, is finally starting to look decent."
"One more inch of tendon means boundless strength. One more inch of tendon means ten more years of life!"
"If you want to forge Gold, Silver, and Iron Bones that are impenetrable to blades and spears, it's impossible without infusing them with your Force and Qi and Blood, supplementing with medicinal soups and Large Pills, and undergoing this tempering day after day."
"Now that you have completed the Bone Marrow Refining Realm, the three steps—Entering the Realm, Blood Nourishing, and Muscle Forging—are all complete. You can begin to turn your training from external to internal and cultivate an impenetrable body."
"Are you going to get a Bone Refining Technique from your father, or will you get one from me?"
HUFF, PUFF!
White vapor steamed from his body as Lu Yu, having completed a round of the Pile Skill to solidify his foundation, leaped down. He ripped off his brocade shirt, revealing a powerful and well-defined musculature.
He panted as he listened to Captain Duan's commentary, then walked over to a stone stool. He picked up a porcelain bowl of water and, with a GLUG GLUG GLUG, took a long drink before setting it down and saying with a smile,
"Of course I'm buying one from you, Master Duan."
"My father manages some businesses, and thanks to our family's good name, people are happy to call me 'Young Master.'"
"But compared to you, Master Duan, the resources of my Lu Manor are still nothing to speak of."
Captain Duan stared at Lu Yu for a long moment, then suddenly cracked a grin.
"If you hadn't happened to see me in action two and a half years ago, why would you have come to this broken-down back alley behind your home to learn martial arts from me?"
"Over the years, your old man has sent over a good deal of gold and silver. Otherwise, I might not have accepted you."
"But this Bone Refining Technique is much more expensive than the simple and easy-to-understand methods for Entering the Realm and blood circulation from the first stage of the Power Barrier, the Bone Marrow Refining Realm."
"Given our relationship, I'll give you a discount. Five hundred taels."
Captain Duan held out his one arm, extending five fingers.
"Ordinary sources, including your Lu Manor, even if they could provide a Bone Refining Technique… I imagine the most you could achieve is Iron Bone."
"But I'm different."
"Five hundred taels,"
"and I will give you the chance to achieve Silver Bone."
"This will put you far ahead of your peers from the very start. In the future, throughout the five hundred li of Anning County, there will be very few who can surpass your foundation!"
As he finished speaking, Captain Duan clenched his five fingers into a fist. CRACK! CRACKLE! The sound of popping knuckles exploded in the air.
On his well-knuckled fist, a silvery sheen appeared, gleaming brightly in the twilight.
Instantly...
Lu Yu's breath hitched, and his eyes filled with longing.
'It can temper Silver Bone!?'
'Master Duan really does have a True Inheritance.'
'How could I possibly pass up a method to forge Silver Bones?'
'I'll buy it. Of course, I'll buy it!'
"First thing tomorrow morning, I'll bring you five hundred silver, Master Duan, and ask for this Bone Tempering Technique for Refining Silver Bone!"
Five hundred taels.
It was by no means a small sum. For that amount, one could acquire a Bone Tempering Technique from any Martial Arts Hall, including his own Lu Manor, but...
The Second Realm of the Power Barrier, Bone Tempering, was divided into Iron, Silver, and Golden Bone!
Throughout the five hundred li of Anning County, the masters of the various Martial Arts Halls and Boxing Halls, even the Daoist School Masters, were mostly at this realm.
They themselves had only reached this realm under the tutelage of others.
Even after founding their own schools, it was another question entirely whether they were even qualified to pass on a Bone Tempering Technique.
Let alone...
A technique that could forge Silver Bone!
This...
was an inheritance that only Prefecture-Level Scholarly Clans, major Sects, and Qi Cultivation Grandmasters were known to possess!
In his excitement, Lu Yu nearly dropped to his knees in a deep bow, but Captain Duan swept his sleeve, and a wave of Gang Qi lifted him upright.
"Master Duan, I've followed you for over two years now. If I can obtain the method for Tempering Silver Bone, my future progress will be unstoppable!"
"Perhaps in twenty or thirty years, I might even be able to glimpse the realm of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster. I absolutely will not tarnish your reputation."
"Why won't you just take me in as your formal disciple?"
"If you were willing to take me as your disciple, forget five hundred taels of silver—I could convince my father to give you a Hundred Gold Coins, even if it meant bankrupting our family, or even to hand over the entire Fire Kiln business to you!"
The joy that had just bloomed within him began to fade. Captain Duan's gesture, though it seemed casual, was clearly intended to reject a formal master-disciple bond. The elation in Lu Yu's heart dissipated, and he spoke with a touch of indignation.
"A Qi Cultivation Grandmaster... my disciple..."
Captain Duan mulled over those two phrases, then suddenly let out a dry laugh.
"The ignorant are fearless!"
"A Grandmaster of the Qi Barrier... do you think it's so easy to become one?"
"If it were really that easy, back then I…"
"Hah!"
"As for why I won't accept you."
He gave his student a long, hard look.
"It's for your own good."
The setting sun
cast a long shadow from the Purple-clothed Martial Artist's empty sleeve.
Lu Yu was struck speechless.
Just then.
CREAK...
The sound of the door being pushed open drew the attention of them both.
Ji Xiu, who had hurried over, had just stepped across the threshold when he saw the two of them looking at each other in silence, each appearing lost in thought.
He knew at once that he had probably come at a bad time.
So, with a hesitant "er," he looked to Captain Duan and said,
"Master Duan, I'll just go… get to my chores?"
Seemingly because Lu Yu's words had struck a nerve, Captain Duan gave a noncommittal grunt and waved his hand dismissively.
At this, Lu Yu, feeling he had misspoken, grew embarrassed. He put on his outer robe, gave Ji Xiu a slight nod, and then took his leave from Captain Duan.
However, just as Lu Yu was brushing past the motionless Captain Duan, Ji Xiu was about to fetch some firewood, his mind secretly pondering the Celestial River Saber Technique. Suddenly, the frowning, purple-clothed Martial Artist glanced at him. His eyes narrowed, and he shouted,
"Wait."
"Stop!"
Ji Xiu stopped abruptly, the sharp command jolting him to a halt. And then...
"You… you've reached the introductory level of the Saber Technique?"
That one question.
Made Lu Yu, who already had one foot over the threshold, stop dead in his tracks.
But Captain Duan, having already put the matter with Lu Yu out of his mind, paid him no heed.
He simply stood with his hand behind his back, frowning, his expression a mixture of shock and doubt.
He circled Ji Xiu twice, then paused in thought.
Suddenly, he tossed a saber from a nearby weapons rack.
"Hold it."
"Assume a stance!"
Ji Xiu caught the saber instinctively. Though the command was abrupt, he took a deep breath.
Then, with single-minded focus, he immersed himself in the saber and began to practice the Celestial River Saber Technique he had learned from Captain Duan just a few days prior.
In an instant.
The Saber Technique, which he had only grasped the rudiments of that very morning after his epiphany 'cleaving the waterfall'.
Compared to the awkward and flashy, yet empty, moves of the past few days, it was now suddenly masterful and flowed with an incredible ease.
And so,
He drew, then sheathed his blade!
[Drawing a blade to cleave water, a devout offering with the blade, single-minded focus, a glimpse of the Truth!]
[Saber Technique Advance Progress +1!]
[Celestial River Saber Technique: (1/10000)!]
"Haaaah..."
He let out a long breath as he finished the sequence.
Only then did Ji Xiu snap out of that state of deep, personal immersion.
A moment passed.
He looked up to find Captain Duan standing right in front of him, staring intently with lips pressed into a thin line, his thoughts unreadable.
He gradually... began to feel uneasy.
However,
before Ji Xiu could even begin to guess what Captain Duan was thinking,
CLANG!
The crisp sound of metal striking stone suddenly rang out from behind him!
He whipped his head around to look.
Only to see...
...Lu Yu, who had just put his outer shirt back on. He had just finished training, and his muscles were still rippling, his Qi and Blood surging. In Ji Xiu's eyes, he looked like a ferocious beast...
...but at this moment, completely out of character, he had let his long saber fall and crash onto the gravel path!
Then, he stared at Ji Xiu with a look of utter astonishment.
"Six days of learning the saber…"
"And you've already mastered the basics?!"
"You…"