"A blade sharpens in silence. A step forward need not echo."
It began in the breath.
Not the kind drawn for combat or cultivation, but the quiet sort—the kind Li Wei took each morning before opening the stall shutters.
A misty stillness hung over Stone Lantern Town, the kind that soaked through cloth and settled into bone. Most people called it a miserable day.
Li Wei called it perfect.
He sat cross-legged in the small room behind the stall. The floor was swept clean. A single oil lamp burned beside him. He wore no robe of silk, no talisman arrayed around his body. Only rough cloth, a steady breath, and the Longevity Technique guiding his rhythm.
Inhale. Pause. Exhale. Stillness.
Internal energy coiled low in his gut, moving slowly—like mist winding through a narrow mountain path.
Each breath deepened it. Each breath drew it tighter, firmer.
He had felt this pressure growing for weeks. A swelling of qi and blood, the subtle aches turning into a throbbing tension beneath his skin.
He'd ignored it at first. Thought it was from sword practice. But the signs were becoming clear.
He was close.
Closer than he'd expected.
And now, with the stall quiet, the sword sheathed, and the world hushed in early fog—he pushed inward.
The moment of breakthrough was not loud.
There was no thunder, no great clash of force or light.
Only a soft crack within his body—as if a barrier of glass had fractured inside his bones.
Heat surged from his dantian, washing through his limbs like warm current. His breath hitched once, then steadied. His muscles didn't swell, but felt… lighter.
Clearer.
His hearing sharpened. The sound of dripping water outside became clearer, more defined.
And within his chest, something that had been held back finally flowed freely.
[Experience Panel]
Name: Li Wei
Age: 22
Cultivation: Martial Dao – Acquired Realm (Middle Stage)
Skills:
• Longevity Technique – Proficiency: (65/100) – Beginner
• Butchering – Proficiency: (72/200) – Minor Success
• Swordsmanship – Proficiency: (31/200) – Minor Success
• Bone-Cleaving Form – Proficiency: (28/100) – Beginner
He didn't smile.
Just exhaled quietly and opened his eyes.
His body felt the same—but his mind could already tell. The aching behind his knees was gone. The fatigue in his shoulders dissolved. His pulse beat slower but stronger.
The Middle Stage.
It was still far from Postnatal Realm. Still the bottom rung of the martial ladder.
But for an orphan from Earth, in a world ruled by immortal cultivation...
It was enough.
For now.
Two days later, as the sun began to sink behind Mount Jing, Li Wei returned from the market with new cloth and a fresh sharpening stone. He paused before rounding the corner near his stall.
Someone stood there.
A man dressed in the same dull brown cloak from before. Lean, tall, and unremarkable—except for the way he didn't move.
"You're more dangerous than you look," the man said without turning.
Li Wei said nothing.
"A butcher… with a form sharper than most outer disciples I've seen," he continued. "You made it up yourself?"
Li Wei remained silent.
The man turned and smiled faintly. He looked no older than thirty, but his eyes were dark and hollow.
"No need to panic. I'm not from the authorities," he said. "Name's Shen Mu. Wanderer. And sometimes… I watch blades grow."
He flicked something through the air—a token.
Li Wei caught it.
Just a small wooden circle. Carved with a mountain and crescent moon.
"If you ever want to see more swords, come to Three Moons Peak," Shen Mu said. "They'll dismiss you at the gate. But if you show that, someone might take you seriously."
Then, he vanished down the alley, cloak flapping lightly in the breeze.
Li Wei stood still for a long time.
He didn't pocket the token. Didn't drop it either.
Eventually, he turned, walked inside, and set it under the floorboards.
Out of sight.
For now.
That same week, a different visitor came to Stone Lantern Town.
This one didn't hide.
He wore the robes of the Jade Palm Pavilion, a minor sect from the southern province. Pale green, with silver thread across the sleeves. He walked with a polished staff and a long smile.
He introduced himself at the tavern. Loudly. Claimed he was looking for rare talent among martial practitioners and low-spirit root cultivators.
"Jade Palm accepts even those with Five Element roots," he boasted. "Our founder was such a man. No talent is wasted under our roof!"
Li Wei watched from a distance.
He heard a few of the local hopefuls talk. A few youths from the guard camp, one farmer's daughter who had a flicker of water qi, even a scarred caravan driver looking for a second chance.
They all tried.
Some were turned away kindly. Others… laughed at.
Li Wei didn't approach.
That night, he practiced the Bone-Cleaving Form in the backyard, just as he always did. No token. No recruitment.
But when he turned, he saw the sect envoy watching him through the broken fence.
Not with contempt.
With calculation.
Li Wei said nothing. Neither did the man.
And by dawn, the envoy had left.
Weeks passed.
The town resumed its rhythms.
Li Wei's proficiency grew, little by little.
His strength, steadiness, and breath became more reliable. He could go longer without tiring. He began to sense the air before a strike landed—not true qi sense, but a martial instinct honed by quiet effort.
He still said little.
He still smiled rarely.
But when his cleaver rose to divide bone, or when his sword fell in practiced arcs, those watching him felt something strange:
A stillness that followed his movements.
As if the world paused for his blade.
[Experience Panel]
Name: Li Wei
Age: 22
Cultivation: Martial Dao – Acquired Realm (Middle Stage)
Skills:
• Longevity Technique – Proficiency: (67/100) – Beginner
• Butchering – Proficiency: (79/200) – Minor Success
• Swordsmanship – Proficiency: (39/200) – Minor Success
• Bone-Cleaving Form – Proficiency: (33/100) – Beginner