The Waning Blade Pavilion perched on the jagged cliffs of Falling Moon Ridge, its halls carved from pale stone that drank in the moonlight and gave nothing back.
In a small, cold courtyard on the eastern slope, a youth sat alone on a cracked stone bench, staring at the saber planted upright in the ground before him.The saber was plain, no engravings, no spirit marks, just honest steel dulled by years of neglect. It had belonged to his father, Zhan Tianfeng, once the pavilion's most promising elder. Three days ago, during a routine expedition into the Black Mist Gorge, Elder Zhan had passed away. However, no body was recovered.
Zhan Wuxin finally came back to his senses, processing all the memories of the body's original owner. The original Zhan Wuxin had passed away on a cold night after not being able to deal with everything that had happened.
Suddenly, a calm, genderless voice sounded inside his mind which was neither mechanical, nor ancient but simply present.
[Ding, system awakened]
[Name: Zhan Wuxin
Age: 14
Cultivation: Stage 4 of the Body Tempering Realm.
Experience: 17/400
Affliation: Waning Blade Pavillion.
Skills: Flowing Cloud Slash (Initial Level), Serene, Moonlight Ripple (Initial Level).]
"So this is my golden finger."
After looking at his cultivation and skills, Zhan Wuxin thought about everything for a while before understanding his present situation. This was a world in which might is everything and naturally he can't fall behind or else everything is over.
In the Waning Blade Pavilion itself, with his current cultivation, he was not even worthy of being an inner sect disciple. His previous position was only on account of his Father's contributions and the fact that he was an Elder, a pretty strong one to boot.
If he could not prove his strength in the Sect Competition, which was three months later, he probably would not even be eligible to use the sect's resources.
"Three months...I need to temper myself".
Zhan Wuxin opened his eyes.The courtyard looked the same, yet everything felt different. The wind brushing the bamboo leaves sounded like distant saber song. The moonlight on the stone felt like an old friend's hand on his shoulder.He knelt and lifted the fallen saber.
"I will fight, I won't give up."