It was a beautiful morning, and the sun cast its warm rays upon a mountain which housed the temple of the Shao sect.
A young man, clad in majestic golden robes of the Huo sect, knelt before his master.
His chin was raised in quiet defiance, as the soft breeze caressed his angular face and long silken black hair.
His piercing green eyes, glowing with a hint of nonchalance, locked onto those of the older man standing before him.
The air seemed to vibrate with tension, as he boldly declared, "As of today, my training with you, Sect Leader Xie of the Shao sect, has come to an end."
The older man, Xie Kai, clad in dark grey robes of the Shao sect, had an unreadable expression on his face, but a flicker of surprise danced in his eyes.
"So you believe you're ready to leave the nest, young man? You haven't finished your training. How dare you decide to call it quits without my permission?" He spoke with a low and measured voice.
The young man's gaze didn't even waver, as he spoke, "You told me to broaden my knowledge of spells, and so I memorized countless books on spell theory. You instructed me to hone my martial skills, and I diligently practiced swordsmanship for seventy days…"
"….Yet, despite my dedication, you've never once taught me a single spell, and I believe you aren't planning to do so at all. So with the knowledge of this, I would like to end my training and leave."
"The leader of Jinxing asked me to keep you here for three years. It hasn't even been up to half a year, and you think I would let you go?" Xie Kai said, chuckling without humor.
The youngster smirked, already expecting Xie Kai's reply. "How about this, then? I won't ask for a refund of the money I paid for my training." With that said, he got up from his knees and turned around to leave.
"Jiang Yichen!" Xie Kai yelled the name of the defiant youngster. "Where do you think you are going? I never said you could leave."
Jiang Yichen turned around, looking at the Shao sect leader with quirked eyebrows. "Does it look like I'm seeking your permission?" He asked and proceeded to leave.
Xie Kai scoffed in mockery of the young man. "Having being born from an affair, and then abandoned by your supposed father, it's not surprising to me that you wouldn't know to respect your elders. I refuse to teach a brat like yourself. Your father sealed your spiritual core, so there's no way you would be able to learn spells even if you are taught."
Jiang Yichen's face contorted in anger as the man's cruel words assaulted his ears and mind.
Without turning back to look at Xie Kai, he spat, "Bullshit! I'm going to find myself a seasoned master. Someone very powerful and skilled, unlike you quacks!"
✯✯✯✯
Meanwhile, in the bustling city of Huayang, a certain boat which was peddled by two men, was gliding across a narrow waterway.
Amidst the serene atmosphere, a young woman clad with white robes which was soiled with mud, sat at the boat's stern, with her head resting against the wooden deck.
A white blindfold covered her eyes, and her fiery red hair danced softly with the breeze of air that blew against her.
As the boat navigated through the calm waters, it suddenly hit a submerged log, jolting the vessel a little bit and causing the young woman's head to be knocked against the deck.
The woman let out a groan as she stirred awake from her deep slumber. As her consciousness seeped back, the young woman's hands instinctively went to her temples, massaging it to ease the throbbing pain she felt.
The blindfold which was unfamiliar to her touch, confused her, and she groggily lowered the blindfold, revealing a pair of gleaming grey eyes.
The light from the sun was almost blinding as if she hadn't used her eyes in a long while, and she had to shield her face from the sun with her palm, allowing her eyes adjust to the brightness.
Looking around, Mingyu's eyebrows creased in confusion. 'Where am I?' She wondered, wracking her brain to remember the latest events, but her memories seemed shrouded.
But slowly..., pieces of her memories of the events from the previous night began to flood her mind—the fight scene between herself and a number of Jinxing Mages, and the events that ensued afterwards.
The tavern!
Mingyu remembered how she had desperately grabbed a woman. The woman's terrified face flashed in her memories, followed by the image of the dragon's scale which was stained with his blood.
She remembered performing the dragon-scale ritual which had made his spiritual power flow into the dragon scale, and then... all of a sudden, the blind woman whom she had first grabbed when she had arrived at the tavern, emerged from nowhere, and pushed the woman aside—accepting her soul into her body.
The rest of the events that ensued remained blank, but Mingyu knew something else had happened.
Wasn't she supposed to be blind?
Mingyu thought to herself as she rubbed her chin.
But why is it that I'm able to see?… Is it because I'm a different soul?
Mingyu's mind was riddled with different questions as the last words of the real owner of the body played in his head.
'My body is yours to possess.'
What the hell did she mean by that?
It made her wonder about the true identity of the owner of the body she currently possessed—someone she believes was obviously special.
"Ah, Yinzhi! It's such a relief that you are awake." A much older man among the men on the boat exclaimed as he eyed Mingyu.
"You weren't waking up since I found you unconscious on a pile of mud this morning. That got me really worried? Are you okay?"
Mingyu pressed her lips into a thin line, not trusting her bratty mouth to say anything without exposing herself.
She simply bobbed her head up and down, nodding her answer, while looking into space in the pretence of being Yinzhi—a blind young woman.
Yinzhi, huh? Interesting.
"Try to bear with the motion sickness. We will get to our destination in a bit, okay?" The man said, and Mingyu nodded once again.
Why the hell do I even care if I get exposed?
Mingyu questioned herself, her brows quirking in disgust of her newly found politeness.
I am Mingyu, a ruthless and feared assasin. Who cares if I get caught? I can just kill them all.
The boat slowly approaced a pedestrian bridge which was slightly above the waters, and an idea crossed Mingyu's mind. Why risk drawing attention to herself by arming these people, when she could easily escape without notice?
With a smirk on her face, Mingyu slowly stood up, careful not to make a sound.
The boat got close enough to the bridge, and she stealthily jumped, gripping the underside of the bridge's supporting girder, her hands wrapping around the cold, damp metal.
For a moment, Mingyu hung there, suspended above the water, her dirtied white robes fluttering in the breeze.
But as she attempted to pull herself up, her arms trembled, and her grip faltered.
'What the hell!… I've no strength!' Mingyu exclaimed inwardly, frustration etched on her face.
I take back what I said about the owner of this body being special. This body is so useless!
Her arms felt like leaden weights, refusing to cooperate. Her fingers slipped, barely managing to maintain her grip, and she knew that at any moment from then, she would lose her grip, and fall into the water.
With no other solution at hand, she decided to do the one thing she could do at the moment—scream for help!
"Mister! Help me!" She yelled as loud as she could. "Help!!!"
The old man, not realizing when Mingyu had jumped off the boat, became alarmed by Mingyu's sudden cry for help. Turning around, he was shocked to the core to see the supposedly blind young woman barely hanging onto the bridge.
"How did you…? Yinzhi! Hold on!" He shouted while tapping the shoulder of one of the peddlers, "Turn the boat around! Go back!"
Mingyu's hands began to tremble from holding up her weight, even when it hadn't been up to half a minute. "I'm going to fall! Hurry!" She screamed in a very high pitched voice which sounded humiliating to her own ears.
I can't swim!
But it was already too late.
Her grip loosened completely, and it felt like time had stopped as she slowly descended into the waters, which gladly welcomed her with open arms.