Saber Technique!
Previously, at the gates of the Lin Residence, Qin Biao had used a whip to perform a feat on par with Breaking Stone and Monument, terrifying the servants.
That display of skill had deeply shaken Ji Xiu, planting a seed of yearning in his heart and giving rise to an ambition he should never have possessed.
And now...
'Am I finally about to unveil a mysterious corner of this great world of the Martial Dao?'
Ji Xiu's eyes didn't even blink.
He stared intently at the Cultivation Technique, his gaze growing more feverish as he quietly waited for what Captain Duan would say next.
The middle-aged Martial Artist in purple silk robes, holding the scabbard with one arm, was very pleased with the look in the eyes of this thinly-dressed young man standing before him in the early autumn chill.
'This is how a Martial Artist should be!'
If there was no fire in their eyes, no drive in their heart.
How could they ever stand out on the long and arduous path of controlling their Qi and Blood and tempering their muscles and bones—a journey that required daily torment, endless suffering, and a massive expenditure of silver coins?
Wine, women, wealth, and power!
These are the great desires of man.
And if a man has no desire, his Martial Dao will be blocked and stagnant; he won't be able to exert every last ounce of his strength!
At least, this was true for the Power Barrier, which stopped ninety-nine percent of the world's Martial Artists.
As for notions like 'locking the Heart-locking Ape and capturing the Wandering Mind,' or 'forgetting emotions to sever emotions, where skill nears the Dao'...
Those were things that only 'Qi Cultivation Grandmasters,' or even figures of a higher echelon—true titans!—would ever contemplate!
For mortals like them.
To overturn their fate, to gain wealth and power;
To raise their status, to become superior to others!
Only by possessing these strong, worldly desires could they grit their teeth and endure the endless days of Bone Marrow refinement, Bone Tempering, Skin Refining, and practicing their Palm Blade to become true Martial Artists!
Otherwise, on what basis could one cultivate the right to be 'a cut above the rest'?
On patriotism and chivalry?
That stuff is all empty talk!
The secret to the initial stages of martial arts training, within the Power Barrier, is to crush everyone else—to dominate all other Martial Artists of my generation in the world!
Otherwise, what's the point of me training in martial arts?
Captain Duan exhaled a plume of white mist that hung in the air, a full ten feet long, refusing to disperse.
Then he raised the Sword Manual in his hand.
"Come here!"
Ji Xiu stepped forward at the call, his heart pounding with excitement. He rubbed his hands together and extended them, ready to receive it with reverence, but...
SMACK!
The Secret Manual slapped down into his palm!
"The Celestial River Saber comes from a Secret Blade Hall that was once named 'Celestial River' before it was gradually wiped out."
"In the past, it was considered the prized Sword Manual of the County Martial Arts Hall. If you master it, you can comprehend 'Sword Force,' a technique sufficient to support you in achieving Entry Grade and breaking through the barrier!"
"Kid, you think you can just bring me two fish and a couple pieces of meat and just walk away with a Secret Martial True Inheritance like this?"
"You should know, if you wanted to learn a 'saber' technique like this anywhere else, you'd have to offer up dozens, even a hundred taels of silver as a tribute. The Martial Artists at those Boxing Halls and Sword Halls wouldn't even give you the time of day!"
Captain Duan's eyes widened. He rolled up the thin Saber Technique manual and tapped it against Ji Xiu's palm.
'You little brat,'
'Trying to get a free ride?'
'It's true that after passing the 'Dragon Gate Array and Plum Blossom Posture,' he's shown he has some substance, and he has indeed earned a bit of my approval.'
'But the martial prodigies in this world are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river—an endless stream.'
He had traveled far and wide for so many years, adventuring through various prefectures and counties, and had seen far too many different kinds of people.
The path of a Martial Artist, unlike the arts of those 'gods and ghosts' classified by the Court as 'Outer Sects,' was one that had to be walked with both feet firmly on the ground.
'Even if you have the aptitude and the foundation;'
'You still have to take it one step at a time. A ten-thousand-foot tower is built from the ground up!'
'Without 'Earth Treasures' nurtured in a Spirit Mountain Blessed Land;'
'Without 'Celestial Materials' born of nature with endless wondrous uses;'
'Without even the Medicinal Powders or Pills to aid in the Cultivation of the Power Barrier—the grinding work of Bone Marrow refinement and Bone Tempering...'
'On what basis can you cultivate, and what do you expect to cultivate into?'
'The same goes for a Secret Manual!'
The fact that he had taken out the 'Celestial River Saber,' rather than some common Fist Technique or saber manual developed by a low-class Martial Artist, already showed that he held this kid in high regard.
'But for you to show no token of appreciation at all... that's just not right.'
"Er..."
Ji Xiu felt a little awkward.
He had just assumed that because he had passed Captain Duan's trial and earned his appreciation, he would be taught an entry-level Martial Art for free.
Now it seemed he had been a bit too naive.
Seeming to see through his thoughts, Captain Duan shook his head and chuckled.
"For a Martial Artist, at least before becoming a 'Qi Cultivation Grandmaster,' talent isn't that important."
"Unless you're one of those rare, once-in-a-generation prodigies with exceptional comprehension, whose realm of understanding precedes their physical development. That's the exception."
"There's an old saying: three years for Bone Marrow, ten years for Bone Tempering, a lifetime for Skin Refining. And that's assuming you have resources."
"If you have no resources, no connections."
"Just for a Martial Artist's Grade, the three realms of the Power Barrier, even just the very first and most basic 'Bone Marrow' realm."
"An ordinary person would likely never break through in their entire life."
"But this Celestial River Saber records how to go about 'Refining Sword Force.' If you can achieve Minor Success, you'll gain enlightenment and can use it to step into the Power Barrier, begin to borrow Force to control your blood, temper your major tendons, and gradually shed your mortal coil."
"Those ordinary Martial Arts Halls will only teach you brawling techniques for fighting, but this kind of profound Martial Dao knowledge that points directly to the essence? No one teaches that."
"Now do you understand how precious it is?"
As Captain Duan spoke, Ji Xiu pulled a coarse cloth pouch from his robes.
The pouch was still damp with sweat from his earlier Horse Stance training and looked rather grimy.
Inside was his entire life's savings.
A total of six taels and seven coins.
He had received three taels from selling himself, and another five from Lin Ruyue, for a total of eight taels. But after buying some medicine for Ji Wei's minor illness, covering daily expenses, and trying to win over Qin Biao by treating him to a meal every couple of days... this was all the money he had left.
All to practice martial arts and improve his station.
He hadn't even left enough money to have some cotton fluffed for himself and Ji Wei to make a pair of thin-padded jackets.
The old, rammed-earth walls of their home let in the wind, and the single, thin quilt they shared was not only tattered but only reached Ji Wei's calves.
As for himself, it was even worse.
If he hadn't become a 'Groom' and found a place in the Lin Residence's stables, he could at least make do by piling up some hay.
Otherwise, his situation would have been even more desperate and difficult!
But this kind of life...
Ji Xiu was utterly sick of it.
Practice martial arts, get out of the Slave Registry, and then find a respectable job that paid enough to support himself!
That was his most urgent priority!
Though his eyes showed his reluctance, he still opened the money pouch and held it up with both hands.
"Master Duan, this is all your disciple has. A total of six taels and seven coins."
"If it's not enough, I wonder if you would allow me to come and serve you in your home every morning and evening—washing clothes, cooking, feeding the horses, and adding firewood—to pay off the rest as a debt?"
"Once I have succeeded in my Cultivation, I will never forget Master Duan's kindness today. In the future, should you have any troubles, I, Ji Xiu... will bear them all on my shoulders!"
With that, Ji Xiu made a move to kneel.
But Captain Duan raised a hand and stopped him with the Saber Technique manual.
He frowned slightly. "What does your family do? How many people in your household?"
Ji Xiu replied:
"My parents passed away early, leaving only my younger sister. As for me..."
He hesitated for a moment but still answered truthfully:
"Because I couldn't survive before, I had to sell myself to the Lin Residence to work as a 'Groom' just to get by."
'His parents are dead, he's a Groom, and he's even on the Slave Registry, his freedom stripped away?'
Even though he had already guessed as much, Captain Duan still frowned, on the verge of saying, 'In your situation, practicing martial arts is just a waste of effort and money.'
But then he saw Ji Xiu's thin frame.
And because he had just been circulating his Qi and Blood in the Horse Stance,
now that he had stopped, the cold wind hit him, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Yet he still clenched his jaw, straightened his back, and held a posture that refused to submit to fate until the very last moment...
He fell silent for a moment. An image suddenly surfaced from his hazy memories: the shadow of his younger self, kneeling in a torrential downpour.
He glanced at his own torn-off half-sleeve and sneered at himself.
"Heh."
"A man like me, actually showing kindness?"
"How strange."
He then closed his eyes for a long while. When he opened them again, his expression was once again stern and indifferent.
"From now on, you will wake up at the fifth watch to come add firewood, cook, wash clothes, and feed the horses."
"In the evening, during the hour of xu, you will come to sweep the courtyard, tidy the equipment, and light the stove."
"Miss a single day, and I will cripple your Saber Technique."
"If you don't reach the entry-level with this saber in half a year, you don't need to come back either."
"As for when you practice the saber and when you work for your master, that has nothing to do with me."
Captain Duan reached out and took six taels and five coins, leaving Ji Xiu with only two coins.
But in its place...
He slapped the book, the Celestial River Saber!
And slapped it heavily into Ji Xiu's hand.
In that instant,
Ji Xiu's heart... seemed to stop beating.
Because—
[Primordial Daoist Talisman]
[Tutor: Ji Xiu]
[Art: Great Success in Horse Riding (778/1000)!]
[Traits: Waist and Horse Unity]
...
[Tutor is in contact with 'Grade-Entering Saber Technique': Celestial River Saber (Handwritten Copy). 'Celestial River Saber Technique' can be prepaid.]
[Once the 'Horse Riding Skill' Cultivation is complete,]
[You may then unlock...]
[The next, Prepaid Future!]