Serena Vale stared at the blood soaking her robes, her face pale as gold leaf in the ruined temple's dim moonlight. The air was thick with dust and the faint metallic scent of blood, the broken clay statues looming silently.
Her body collapsed with a heavy thud, her aura fading swiftly, as if life itself was draining away.
Simon Harper exhaled slowly, relief flooding him. "Forcing Thousand Cuts pushed me to the Innate Realm, but it took a toll," he thought, feeling the strain in his limbs.
Closing his eyes, he activated Inner Sight, a new ability gained upon reaching Innate. His meridians, acupoints, and surging True Qi appeared vividly in his mind, a pulsing network of power.
The potential-draining pill and the intense Thousand Cuts had left his body riddled with hidden injuries, his martial foundation frayed beyond repair.
"This is just a simulated body," Simon reassured himself. "Damage here won't touch my real self."
He glanced at Serena, Elliot Vance, and Felix Morrow, unconscious on the ground. Using his medical skills, he stabilized their injuries with herbs and bandages, then dragged them inside the temple to recover under its crumbling roof.
Simon spared Serena, her value outweighing her death. Her mastery of the complete Crimson Blade Technique and Crimson Tide Art was too precious to lose.
If she posed a threat, he'd kill her without hesitation, but her current state—weakened and unconscious—was harmless.
He fed Serena an enhanced poison pill, followed by its antidote. "This, with other controls, will bind her to me," he thought, noting her delicate, pallid face.
Poison wasn't his preferred method, but the Verdant Society's rapid growth demanded ruthless measures. "It's unavoidable for now," he justified, his heart steady.
Checking Elliot and Felix, he noted, "Severely injured, but alive. Serena showed mercy."
The Crimson Blade Sect's decline made talent scarce, forcing Serena to spare betrayers despite their disloyalty. Her restraint handed Simon valuable pawns.
By the temple's dying fire, its embers casting a faint glow, Simon sat cross-legged, delving into his Innate transformation. "Inner Breath has become True Qi, linked to external energy for endless recovery. I'll never run dry."
"Inner Sight reveals every bodily shift, simplifying martial arts mastery."
He could now channel heaven and earth's energy, amplifying his techniques' power.
Testing this, Simon pressed his hand forward. True Qi surged, summoning a gust that rattled the temple's wooden door, dust cascading down.
Crack!
He touched the ground, True Qi erupting. A stone ten feet away launched upward, then split cleanly under a slash of his left hand's energy, its cut smooth as glass.
"Innate's external release is a leap," he marveled, nodding. "If Serena had used this, I'd be dead."
Her damaged True Spirit, likely from a Grandmaster's attack, crippled her abilities, giving Simon his edge. Only a Grandmaster could so wound an Innate martial artist, regressing their power.
A strange sensation tugged at him—an unseen will, stirred by his Innate breakthrough. "What is this?" he wondered, his heightened senses probing the elusive presence.
Uncertain, he decided to wait. "Serena, as the Crimson Blade Saintess, might know," he thought, glancing at her.
He circulated True Qi, healing his injuries as dawn's light crept over the horizon, painting the sky in soft hues.
Serena groaned, her eyes fluttering open.
"You're awake," Simon said, his voice steady behind the bronze mask.
"Where am I?" Serena Vale murmured, her gaze dazed as she took in the ruined temple's crumbling walls, lit by faint dawn light. The air was stale, tinged with dust and lingering blood.
Seeing Simon Harper's bronze ghost mask, her heart jolted. She tried to stand, but her body buckled, collapsing weakly to the ground.
"You're severely injured, scoured by my saber intent," Simon said coldly. "Don't move rashly."
His Thousand Cuts, derived from the Crimson Blade Technique's eighty-one forms, struck both body and spirit, worsening Serena's damaged True Spirit.
Sensing her condition, Serena's face darkened, her True Qi barely circulating.
"You're not killing me? What do you want? Control?" Her voice was icy.
"You're an Innate expert, too valuable to kill," Simon admitted, nodding.
Serena's expression soured. Being spared for utility was hardly comforting.
"What do you need?" she asked after a pause, her tone resigned. Survival demanded compliance, at least for now.
"I want the Crimson Blade Sect's martial arts and your knowledge," Simon said, smiling faintly.
Serena nodded slowly. "My father's secret manual, with the full Crimson Blade Technique and Crimson Tide Art, is in my hideout. It can guide you to Grandmaster."
Her gaze shifted. "That move, Thousand Cuts… who taught you?"
"I fused it from the eighty-one forms," Simon replied, noting her nod. "It felt right to name it Thousand Cuts."
Serena's eyes widened. "Reversing Thousand Cuts from the forms? Your saber talent…"
Even as the sect's Saintess, she couldn't replicate such a feat.
"Perhaps I'm fated for it," Simon said casually.
Serena gave a bitter smile. "The Crimson Blade Technique, a Grandmaster art, has three moves: Thousand Cuts, Ox Cleaver, and Blood Tempest. With the manual and my father's saber intent, you'll master it quickly."
Simon nodded, satisfied. Silence fell.
He broke it, asking, "Why do I feel a mysterious will around me, waiting for contact?"
"A will?" Serena frowned, her expression shifting to shock. "An invisible presence?"
Simon confirmed with a nod.
"How…" Serena murmured, her heart racing. "When did it start?"
"After reaching Innate," Simon said.
"If I'm right," Serena said, her voice complex, "it's the Martial World Will, beckoning you to the Martial World."
"The Martial World?" Simon's eyes lit up.
"Yes," Serena nodded, puzzled. "Why you?"
The Martial World typically descended for creators of unique arts, not newly Innate martial artists.
Simon exhaled, excitement surging. His fusion of the Serpent Coil and Starlight Flow Art likely triggered it.
"It's a rare chance," Serena said, shaking her head. "But your cultivation's too low."
"What do you mean?" Simon asked.
"At Great Grandmaster, you'd gain immense opportunities, even glimpsing the Ten Celestial Arts," she explained. "But at Innate, attempting a Celestial Art's imprint would shatter your spirit and foundation."
"An ancient Innate martial artist glimpsed a Celestial Art but lost his True Spirit, stalling his path forever."
Simon frowned. "What if I wait to contact it later?"
"The Will lasts a month," Serena said. "Miss it, and it dissipates."
Simon nodded, a plan forming. For others, risking a Celestial Art was folly, but in a simulation, he could afford to gamble. A Celestial Art's imprint, even at a cost, would be a massive gain.