Simon Harper set aside "Martial Chronicles," the book's worn pages fragrant with old ink, and picked up another from the stack in his Yewell City mansion.
"Crimson Tide Art?" he read, frowning. "It risks madness and qi deviation, and only reaches Acquired Realm. Useless."
He discarded it and grabbed another.
"Crimson Blade Technique," he murmured, eyes lighting up at the title.
He lacked a refined saber technique, and this, the Crimson Blade Sect's core art, could fill that gap. Its name defined the sect's identity.
Elliot Vance's copy was incomplete, a sect tactic to control disciples, but still valuable.
Simon flipped through the pages, absorbing the text with his photographic memory.
After a while, he closed the book, understanding dawning. "Eighty-one moves, three realms: Swift, Deliberate, and Unity."
Elliot's skill was only at the Swift realm, fast but unrefined. Simon recalled their forest clash, nodding.
The Deliberate realm demanded slow, precise shifts, requiring high aptitude. Unity blended speed and control, creating an impervious aura.
"This will advance my saber skills," Simon said, satisfied. Though incomplete, it surpassed his basic techniques.
He drew a new saber, its high-grade steel gleaming, and stepped into his private backyard, barred to all but him.
The blade, unmarred, replaced his nicked one from the fight with Elliot. Stroking its edge, Simon closed his eyes, the Crimson Blade Technique's moves flashing in his mind.
His saber moved, slicing the air with afterimages, whistling through all eighty-one moves. Despite being his first attempt, his prior saber foundation lent power.
Simon then trained his adopted orphans in the front yard, their studies progressing steadily.
With Elliot and his men's help, Simon subdued more Crimson Blade Sect members in Yewell City, gaining martial knowledge and techniques.
The sect's faded glory still held a deep foundation, boosting his skills in saber, medicine, and poison.
But Simon knew his ease wouldn't last. "Loyalists will expose me to the Saintess soon," he thought.
Feeling his Great Accomplishment Inner Breath, he smiled. "Let her come."
His cultivation, now one step from Innate Qi Refining, was stalled by the Serpent Coil's limits. Without the Mystic Serpent Art, breaking through was nearly impossible.
"My aptitude is low," he admitted. "Only a great opportunity or a death battle could push me to Innate."
His Crimson Blade Technique had reached the Deliberate realm, its progress swift due to his fearless aura and compatibility.
"With three Major Achievement martial artists under my poison's control, plus my enhanced skills, an injured Innate Saintess isn't a threat," he calculated, recalling reports of her severe wounds from the sect's fall.
"Subduing her would surge the Verdant Society's power and my martial knowledge."
Simon's eyes flashed coldly. "I must act before she learns of me."
Heaven's gifts must be seized, or consequences follow. He'd strike first.
"First, I need her location," he mused, planning his next move.
The Saintess of the Crimson Blade Sect was a shadow, her hiding place unknown. Contacting her was nearly impossible unless she initiated it.
Days after Simon Harper began his search, Elliot Vance reported that she'd summoned him to Zephyr City the next night.
"She wants you there tomorrow?" Simon frowned, eyeing Elliot in a hidden Yewell City safehouse, the air thick with dust and secrecy.
"Has she sensed my moves?"
"Yes," Elliot said, his tone respectful, fear in his eyes. He'd seen a man die from refusing Simon's antidote, his life now tethered to obedience.
Elliot had considered seeking a physician to cure the poison, but the Crimson Blade Sect lacked such experts, and he feared Yewell's doctors might be linked to Simon.
"Tell Leo Carver and Felix Morrow to gather tomorrow," Simon ordered.
Leo and Felix, Major Achievement Acquired Realm martial artists from the sect, were under his poison's control, alongside fifteen Minor Achievement members.
Against an Innate Saintess, even injured, Minor Achievement fighters were useless. Simon needed only his strongest.
"I'll use this chance to subdue or kill her," he thought, watching Elliot leave.
The next night, in a ruined temple outside Zephyr City, Elliot, Leo, and Felix warmed themselves by a fire, waiting. Simon lurked in the shadows, watching.
A figure swept from the darkness, appearing at the temple's entrance.
"Saintess," Elliot and the others stood, bowing respectfully.
Serena Vale smiled faintly, her gaze cold as it swept over them. "Do you know why I called you?"
"We don't," Elliot and Felix replied, their hearts tightening under her scrutiny.
Serena turned to the forest. "Still hiding? Must I drag you out?"
Silence answered. Elliot and Felix trembled, realizing their plan was exposed.
They'd planned to ambush her, forced by Simon's poison, but she'd seen through it.
Serena's face darkened. As she opened her mouth, a cloud of medicinal powder burst from the forest, rushing toward her.
"Attack!" Simon shouted, charging from the trees, saber drawn.
Elliot and Felix, prepared, drew their sabers and lunged at Serena.
Leo, however, retreated toward Simon, revealing his betrayal.
Serena scoffed at the powder, raising her left hand. A gust of wind, infused with external energy, scattered it harmlessly.
As Elliot and Felix's sabers neared, Serena's expression remained calm. Her right hand drew a curved saber, its arc like a crescent moon.
Clang! Clang!
Her saber met theirs, its energy seeping like water, overpowering their strikes. Two clashes, and Elliot and Felix collapsed, blood spilling, their organs ravaged by her saber's force.
Simon's pupils shrank. "This is her, weakened?"
Cursing inwardly, he faced Leo, now at his side. Unleashing his full power, Simon's saber vibrated, its Crimson Blade Technique unpredictable, cutting with lethal intent.
Leo, stunned by the familiar technique, fell in one strike, his head severed.
Even Serena paused, her eyes narrowing at Simon's skill.
"Your Crimson Blade Technique has reached the Deliberate realm, rivaling the sect's elites," Serena Vale said, her gaze tinged with surprise as she faced Simon Harper in the ruined temple outside Zephyr City. Moonlight filtered through broken rafters, casting stark shadows.
Simon, masked in bronze, remained silent. Serena's assessment of his talent, mastering the technique in months, was accurate.
"But," she sneered, "if that's your strength, you'll be disappointed."
"Even at the Unity realm, you're no match for me."
Simon knew she was right. The gap between Acquired and Innate was vast, her power overwhelming despite her injuries.
"Your talent's impressive," Serena continued. "Take my heart-devourer pill, and I'll spare you."
The pill, a Crimson Blade Sect poison, controlled key figures. With the sect diminished, Serena saw value in Simon's skill.
"Heart-devourer?" Simon's voice was calm. "Keep it."
He swallowed a pill from his pouch, his body trembling as Inner Breath surged, power flooding his limbs.
Serena sighed. "You're courting death. That pill will ruin your martial foundation."
Simon didn't care. Failure in this simulation meant another chance, with more points than last time. He had a hidden ace.
"Enough talk," he said, vanishing in a blur, saber slashing toward Serena with shifting patterns.
"Your technique's futile," Serena said, her curved saber rising like a crescent moon, meeting his strike.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their blades clashed, trading blows in a flurry. Simon felt immense pressure, his senses dulled, death's scent near.
Undeterred, he pressed on, wielding the Crimson Blade Technique instinctively, his saber a storm of intent.
Serena's technique, at Unity, outclassed him. Leaves around them shredded under their saber energy.
"She's mastered Unity," Simon realized, his mind stilling. He fought without thought, driven by instinct.
After several clashes, Serena pulled back, clutching her chest, her face flushed. "When did you poison me?"
Simon coughed, wiping blood from his lips. "Before you arrived."
Elliot Vance and Felix Morrow, unconscious nearby, showed the same flush, poisoned by his preparations.
"Clever and ruthless," Serena said, her heart chilling.
Simon's gaze sparked with excitement. "Now we're even."
His colorless, odorless poison couldn't kill instantly but weakened her significantly.
Serena's eyes narrowed, cold and sharp. They clashed again, her pressure lessened.
Simon fought instinctively, his technique mirroring hers. Under death's threat, his Crimson Blade Technique evolved, blending fast and slow.
Inspiration struck. "The eighty-one moves are variations of one," he realized, the moves flashing in his mind like a revolving lantern.
His mind churned, refining them, but couldn't fuse them fully. A demonic edge emerged, incomplete but potent.
"Something's missing," he thought, eyeing Serena's saber.
He stopped parrying, exposing himself. Serena, surprised, swung her saber at his neck, unrelenting.
Death loomed, slowing her blade in Simon's eyes. The world darkened, silent.
Under this pressure, his mind shook, fusing the eighty-one moves into one.
A blood-red saber light erupted. "Thousand Cuts!"
The light engulfed them, his Inner Breath surging, drawing external energy into his body, shaking his core.