I once took a blade to the knee, and it didn't even break the skin. —A certain demon.
BAM!
Su Mu felt like he'd been hit by a train going three hundred kilometers per hour, his body sent flying at over seventy miles per hour.
A mantis trying to stop a chariot. An ant trying to shake a tree. Utterly overestimating his strength.
Countless images flashed through Su Mu's mind, but in the end, they all boiled down to those few idioms.
He knew his short life was about to end. Sent flying at such a speed, no matter what he hit, he was bound to become a bloody pulp.
'Even though you killed me, at least I got one slash in.'
Su Mu mocked himself inwardly, closing his eyes to accept his fate.
Just then, Su Mu suddenly felt a gentle breeze wash over him, followed by a hand pressing against his back.
PAT!
A gentle force radiated from the hand, spinning his body several times in mid-air and effortlessly neutralizing the immense force that had sent him flying.
Immediately after, Su Mu felt his feet touch the ground again.
His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Every inch of his body ached, and he had no idea how many bones were broken.
But compared to being smashed into a bloody pulp, this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
Having survived his brush with death, Su Mu looked up in delighted surprise.
Not far ahead stood a figure, looking rather small before the massive demon.
The person was dressed in ink-black brocade robes, a long saber hanging from his waist.
On the back of the exquisite, ink-black brocade robe, centered over the spine, a single, flamboyant character—'Ping'—was embroidered in silver thread.
As Su Mu was observing the man, the man had already dropped into a half-squat, his left hand gripping the scabbard and his right hand on the hilt.
BOOM!
Muddy water exploded from under his feet as he shot forward like an arrow. The long saber at his waist was already drawn, becoming a streak of white light that lit up the night sky before Su Mu.
The man passed by the demon, did a turn in mid-air, and landed lightly on a distant rooftop. With a casual flick, he executed a beautiful flourish before sheathing his saber.
As the saber clicked crisply back into its scabbard, a line of blood appeared on the demon's neck and spread rapidly.
With a dull THUD, the demon's head rolled off its neck and hit the ground.
As a pillar of blood shot into the sky, the demon's enormous body crashed to the ground.
Su Mu was filled with shock. 'So this is a Martial Artist of this world?'
'Fucking hell, that was way too cool!'
Like a deflating balloon, the demon's corpse shrank at a visible rate until it was the size of a normal person.
However, this magical sight did not hold Su Mu's interest in the slightest, for the man with the 'Ping' character had just flashed before him.
Just as Su Mu was debating whether to kowtow on the spot—'even if I don't become his disciple, it's no shame to be the underling of such an expert!'—the man suddenly spoke.
"In a moment of crisis, for a mere mortal to dare draw his blade against a demon… your courage is commendable.
I have a saber technique here. If you can make a name for yourself with it within three years, you can come find me. I can promise you a future."
As he spoke, he tossed a booklet into Su Mu's arms, then with a suave turn, he started to walk away.
"Where do I find you?"
Su Mu shouted instinctively.
Without turning back, the man pointed to his own chest, then to his back. A few steps later, he had vanished from sight.
"Tai—Ping?"
Su Mu's face was a mask of confusion. 'What's that supposed to mean? You're a grown man, so what if you're a little flat? Do you really need to embroider that on your clothes?'
'The streets are full of flat-chested men! How the hell am I supposed to find you?'
As he grumbled to himself, Su Mu glanced down at the booklet in his arms. A wave of ecstasy instantly surged through him, overwhelming the pain wracking his body.
Before he could take a closer look, the sound of disorderly footsteps arose.
The government officials and the City Guard Army had finally arrived.
Su Mu stuffed the booklet into his robes, clutched his chest, and staggered to the side before he could be driven away.
The demon's corpse was burned on the spot, and the bodies of the refugee victims were tossed into the fire along with it.
The surviving refugees and beggars all looked terrified, unsure of what to do or where to go.
Su Mu should have been one of them, but now, his mindset was completely different.
'A Martial Arts manual!'
The Martial Arts manual he had been dreaming of was lying quietly in his robes!
For anyone else, the idea of becoming an expert with just one manual was impossible. True martial arts, whether unarmed techniques or weapon skills, required personal guidance from a seasoned practitioner. Practicing blindly on one's own was a recipe for disaster. Failing to learn anything would be the least of one's worries; suffering an injury to muscle and bone was a fate even the gods couldn't easily mend.
But for Su Mu, it was different.
Because believe it or not, he had a cheat.
After cleaning up the bodies, the government officials and City Guard Army from the city withdrew. As for the lives of the refugees and beggars, they couldn't care less.
After a bout of panic, the refugees and beggars dispersed, each searching for a place to shelter from the elements.
Su Mu also returned to the dilapidated temple.
Once everything had quieted down, he endured the pain in his body and eagerly pulled out the manual from his robes to examine it.
'Fate is in my own hands. The words of the sages are true indeed.'
Su Mu thought with emotion, 'If I hadn't struck out at the demon with my saber today, that 'Taiping' expert wouldn't have gifted me this saber technique out of appreciation for my courage.
If I had just waited for death with my hands tied, how could I have received such a fortunate opportunity?'
"Heaven helps those who help themselves." This was a perfect description of his current situation.
'That man said if I can make a name for myself, he'll grant me a future.'
Su Mu thought to himself as he opened the small booklet before him.
'Future or no future, I can worry about that later. If I can learn a saber technique, at least I'll have a better chance of protecting myself in this chaotic world infested with demons.'
He couldn't even think about his future prospects when his basic survival wasn't even guaranteed.
'If Martial Arts can really be upgraded with points—'
He suppressed the racing thoughts in his mind and focused his attention on the booklet in front of him.
—Submerging Wave Saber Technique: Like the tides and waves, continuous and unending. If cultivated to the Perfection realm, one can manifest the Fubo Blade Force.
There was a short description on the title page of the manual.
Su Mu turned the page thoughtfully. The second page showed an illustration. A few simple strokes depicted a figure holding a saber, a winding, dotted line indicating the blade's trajectory. Below it, a line of small characters read, "Submerging Wave Saber Technique, First Stance: Submerging Wave, Breaching the Surf."
Su Mu didn't rush to try it out, but continued flipping through the pages.
Submerging Wave Saber Technique, Second Stance: Submerged Wave, Sudden Strike;
Submerging Wave Saber Technique, Third Stance: Layered Waves, Phantom Shadow;
…
Submerging Wave Saber Technique, Twelfth Stance: Raging Waves, Wild Dance;
Submerging Wave Saber Technique, Thirteenth Stance: Jade Wave, Return to One.
There were thirteen stances in total, each with several follow-up variations—upward slashes, horizontal cuts, downward cleaves, and so on—to counter an opponent's different reactions.
After transmigrating, Su Mu had discovered that his memory was much better than before. After flipping through it a few times, he had already memorized all the stances of the Submerging Wave Saber Technique.
After a sleepless night, Su Mu endured his pain and ran to a clinic first thing in the morning. An examination revealed that, thankfully, he hadn't truly broken any bones, just suffered minor fractures.
He spent half his fortune on a few doses of medicine, paid a few more copper coins to have the clinic decoct it for him, and drank it down. Then, without even waiting for his injuries to fully heal, he impatiently grabbed his long saber and went to a secluded spot behind the dilapidated temple to begin practicing according to the manual.
In Wuling City, even the most common steel saber cost fifteen taels of silver, something Su Mu couldn't possibly afford.
But a wood chopper was still a blade, and it would suffice for practice.
He carefully went through the motions, managing a rough approximation of the movements in the manual.
He called up his panel and took a look, but its contents remained unchanged.
A bit unwilling to give up, Su Mu continued his clumsy imitation of the Submerging Wave Saber Technique.
He didn't know how to exert force, nor did he have any idea if he was doing it right. He fumbled his way through the practice for half a day, feeling that every stance was awkward and seemed to completely contradict his normal movements.
'No wonder the clerk at the Pawnshop said it was impossible to become an expert with just a manual. You can only learn the stances from a book like this. Things like how to exert force and apply strength can only be understood through personal instruction from a master.'
After practicing for a while, the pain from his fractured bones became unbearable. He had no choice but to stop and sit on the ground to rest.
He habitually summoned his panel again, and this time, he froze.
He had seen that panel countless times; he remembered every single word on it clearly.
Now, its contents had quietly changed.
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Woodcutter (Refugee)]
[Points: 15]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Uninitiated/+)]
Su Mu read every single word on the panel very carefully, feeling as if the blood in his veins was about to boil.
'If destiny wills me to be a refugee, then today, I will defy the heavens and change my fate!'