A Martial Artist?
A Martial Artist!
Those two simple words held more power than a thousand blades.
It made the gossips who had been chattering idly outside the fence wish they could grab a needle and thread and sew their mouths shut for good.
They were utterly stunned.
"Didn't the Ji family's son just sell himself to the Lin Residence a month ago? Wasn't he so poor he couldn't even afford to eat?"
"That's right, that's right! A few nights ago, I got up to take a piss and saw him out there swinging that Wooden Blade. Looking at him now, how could anyone say he'd gone mad?"
"He's talented, destined to not rot in a ditch. And look, in just one short month, he's seized his opportunity!"
"I've heard that the Martial Arts Halls and Boxing Halls in the County have a rule: 'three years of learning before being taught true Martial Arts.' In just a month, he's surpassed years of others' hard work. Incredible, simply incredible..."
Dusk fell.
It stretched the shadow of the figure in plain clothes holding the blade.
The short-sighted villagers only knew how to watch a spectacle. Seeing someone gain power and the potential to become a master, they didn't hold back their crude and fawning praise.
As the chatter spread, they saw Little Sixth helping up Uncle Shuanzhi, who was covered in mud and looking quite miserable. A wave of envy washed over them.
"Zhang Laosuan really lucked out. Defending the Ji Family's son like that, and just in time for him to see it."
"In the future, if this Ji Family's son makes a name for himself and becomes a Steward or a Shopkeeper with his own business and turf..."
"With a Martial Artist looking out for him, won't Little Sixth have an easy time from now on?"
"Sigh, if I'd known, I would have put in a good word for him earlier..."
"Heh, you? You almost pissed your pants when the Fire Kiln Steward showed up."
"You were lucky there was a fence between you. If you had to face him directly, you'd probably have been scared witless!"
When these fawning and flattering words reached Ji Xiu's ears,
they failed to stir even the slightest bit of joy in him.
He looked at the Wooden Blade in his hand, then at the Fire Kiln Steward, Qiao Jin, who was kneeling on one knee and clutching his arm.
He slowly raised his gaze to the sky.
He finally understood the meaning of 'fist is might'.
'I clearly did nothing wrong.'
'Just because I was a mere servant, just because my sister was alone and vulnerable, just because I was slightly in someone's way, I could be trampled on at will, without any hesitation.'
'If I hadn't desperately risked everything to become a disciple of Duan Chenzhou, learned the Celestial River Saber, and trained relentlessly without stop, turning a deaf ear to all the gossip... If I hadn't finally reached the stage of Entering the Force and broken through the Bone Marrow Refining Barrier...'
'Would I have ended up like Uncle Shuanzhi, like this steward from the Fire Kiln, kneeling or lying in this muddy, filthy yellow earth after the autumn rain, for everyone to point and stare at?'
As the Sword Force flowed through his muscles and bones,
his sallow complexion and listless eyes gradually faded away.
Ji Xiu took a deep breath, his gaze growing firm and resolute.
'Master Duan was right...'
'The path is right beneath my feet!'
The words of others decided nothing.
But the blade in his hand could truly, tangibly change his life!
His expression began to shift.
Terrified, the three or five thugs scattered like birds and beasts.
Seeing that she was no longer held back,
Ji Wei quickly scampered over to Ji Xiu's side. She clutched the corner of his shirt, her bright eyes filled with adoration.
"Brother, you really did it!"
She didn't understand how strong a Martial Artist was, or how difficult it was to Enter the Force.
But,
she had watched every single day and night of Ji Xiu's saber practice.
Bathed in the soft, flowing moonlight,
Ji Wei would hide behind the crack of the half-open door, silently watching him grip his blade, draw it, and swing it.
Over and over again.
Alone, in a single layer of clothing, he had struggled desperately in the biting autumn wind.
The results of his efforts, in the eyes of others,
had become nothing more than a laughingstock for the ignorant and short-sighted to scoff at in their idle chatter.
How could that be right?
It shouldn't have been that way!
Fortunately...
her brother, with the Wooden Blade he had carved himself, had proven that—
his persistence was not in vain!
"If I am the one who owes rent for the Fire Kiln, I will pay it."
"But my sister is my only living relative. You want to take her as payment..."
"Could it be,"
"that you truly thought you could bully a mere 'Groom' who held no blade in his hand!?"
Ji Xiu glanced sideways, his gaze sharp and imposing.
Enduring the pain, Qiao Jin gritted his teeth, but still managed a slight bow and said:
"An Entering Force Martial Artist, even with a Wooden Blade, can perform feats like Breaking Stone and Monument, turning them to dust."
"You held back, leaving my bones and tendons intact and saving me from permanent injury. That is a debt I must acknowledge, whether I want to or not."
"Today, I, Qiao Jin, started this. I ran my mouth, saying I'd take your sister as payment for three taels of silver."
"Afterward, I will personally deliver three taels as an apology."
"I accept this loss!"
At this moment, Qiao Jin's heart was a turmoil of mixed emotions, and he was seething with rage.
But his anger wasn't directed at this 'Ji Xiu', but at the Lin Residence!
He had some dealings with Steward Lin of the Lin Residence. The Steward had said the boy had no skills, had just sold himself, and had come into a windfall of eight taels, making him an easy target.
He'd also been promised another reward after the job was done. With a Heartbeat of temptation, Qiao Jin had made the trip.
In the end, he didn't get his reward and instead offended a ruthless character who had clawed his way up from the mud!
Sixteen years old.
And already at the Entering the Force Barrier!
'If he used this as capital to sell his services, how many great families and powerful households wouldn't be willing to guide and appreciate his skills?'
'Even at his worst, he would be stronger than me.'
'And I came looking for trouble with him.'
'It's like I was tired of living and decided to hang myself!'
"The Steward from the Lin Residence wants to crush you, a Groom."
"If you hadn't Entered the Force, you would have met a terrible end. If I were you, I'd take this chance, now that you're a 'Martial Artist,' find your indenture contract, and get rid of that lowly household registration. That's more important than anything."
He forced himself to stand, looking at Ji Xiu with extreme apprehension. He didn't utter any threats. Instead, he shot a fierce glare at the thugs behind him.
"Haven't you embarrassed us enough? Apologize to him and get lost!"
After speaking, he led the way, prompting the cowardly thugs—bullies of the weak and fearful of the strong—to bow repeatedly before fleeing in a hurry.
Watching the group's retreating backs,
Ji Xiu didn't try to stop them, his eyes flickering.
'From now on, he no longer feared their retaliation.'
'But in the end, my skills are still not strong enough, and my background is not deep enough.'
'Otherwise...'
'why would I have any lingering worries?'
His blade-like gaze swept fiercely across the fence, causing the villagers to scatter like startled birds and monkeys.
Ji Xiu comforted Ji Wei.
He then walked over to Uncle Shuanzhi and Little Sixth, pulling out his last string of one hundred large coins.
"Uncle Shuanzhi, take this."
Zhang Laosuan, his face covered in bruises and his skin broken and bleeding from the stones, saw the money and quickly pulled Little Sixth back.
"You keep it, you keep it. That Steward Qiao didn't hit hard, it's nothing serious..."
Honest people are kind-hearted.
But being honest one's whole life doesn't mean one should be bullied.
Ji Xiu firmly pressed the money into Little Sixth's palm.
"Take it. Buy some medicine for your father's bruises and injuries."
"I, Ji Xiu, will repay you with much more than this in the future."
His gaze left no room for argument.
Little Sixth couldn't refuse. He could only look at Ji Xiu with gratitude before quickly taking his father home to apply medicine.
And so, the farce came to an end.
But the aftershocks...
had only just begun.
...
「By now, the sky had dimmed, and the moon hung in the branches.」
Ji Xiu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the dilapidated courtyard that had returned to silence. He was penniless once again.
But his state of mind was completely different.
'No matter when,'
'I must never forget the foundation of my survival and my place in this world.'
After a long while, Ji Xiu, who had been gazing at the starry sky, opened his eyes. He then picked up his Wooden Blade...
and drew it, again and again.
[Celestial River Saber Technique, Progress +13]
[Celestial River Saber Technique, Progress +11]
After Entering the Force, one could temper their muscles and tendons, gradually becoming full of vigor and vitality!
By the time night ended and dawn broke,
Ji Xiu let out a breath of stale air. He felt that after grasping Force, his muscles, bones, and blood qi had, without him realizing it, become much stronger than before.
In the past, three hundred practice swings a day was his limit.
But...
this time, in just one night,
he had already swung his blade five hundred times!
[Celestial River Saber Technique: (3501/10000)!]