Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Five Beasts’ Vital Energy Reaches Perfection, the Fruit of the Dao Sheds Itself, and the Swordsman Is Born
Anle arrived at the Martial Practice Hall, where Lin Qingyin and Lin Zhuifeng were already waiting for her. Yet there was not a trace of impatience on their faces; the maid Liuxiang must have already informed them that Anle had been summoned by Lady Hua.
“Teacher.”
Upon seeing Anle, both Lin Qingyin and Lin Zhuifeng bowed in greeting. Now that Anle was teaching them sketching, Lin Qingyin naturally treated her with the respect due to a disciple, and Lin Zhuifeng, following Lin Qingyin’s example, had learned to imitate the gesture with decorum.
Anle greeted them with a smile, then began preparing her tools for the day’s painting.
Lin Zhuifeng and Lin Qingyin started their lesson together, but before long, Lin Zhuifeng lost interest. He drew out a fire stick and dragged Young Master Eight, Lin Ye, off to spar in martial arts.
Lin Qingyin, however, learned quickly. With her delicate and meticulous nature, she already grasped the essentials of line and shading; only composition still eluded her.
While painting, Anle also took the opportunity to draw on the Essence of Time from Lin Zhuifeng, Lin Qingyin, and two other randomly selected fortunate young gentlemen.
Including Fairy Yunrou, the daily limit for drawing Essence of Time remained five people. However, thanks to an improvement in her cultivation of spirit, the quantity she could draw at once had increased, and she collected a total of fifteen wisps of Essence of Time.
The only regret was that not a single wisp of Gilded Essence of Time was obtained.
Anle took it all in stride; not drawing any Gilded Essence did not trouble her.
As the crimson clouds scattered across the heavens, hiding the sunset, Anle left the Lin residence at dusk, bathed in the glow of the evening sky. Leisurely, she made her way to a tavern in Yanchun Alley on the Imperial Street and bought a jug of aged yellow wine.
She did not know whether the old man from the Grand Temple would come tonight, but it was always wise to be prepared, and having the wine on hand could not go amiss.
After buying the wine, she ordered half a jin of pig’s head meat and headed toward Qingbo Street, only to run into a familiar face.
It was none other than Captain Huang Xian of the Black Constabulary.
Anle smiled, her mind turning. If the elder from the Grand Temple did not come, she could always share the yellow wine with Captain Huang.
Yet, Huang Xian wore his saber at his waist, his brow furrowed with worry. Upon seeing Anle, he forced a smile. “Master An, just finished at the Lin residence?”
Anle nodded. “Captain Huang, you look troubled. Is it that my painting failed to serve its purpose?”
Captain Huang quickly waved his hand. “Master An, you do yourself a disservice. Your painting was excellent—we managed to track Hu Jingang thanks to it, but he was too cunning and escaped. We are still pursuing him and will surely apprehend him soon.”
At these words, Anle felt a weight lift from her heart.
So long as her painting had been helpful, that was enough. As for the bandit’s escape, that was regrettable but inevitable; it only meant the constables needed to hone their skills further.
“In truth, we had Hu Jingang’s location sealed off; he should have had nowhere to run, yet he vanished without a trace. It’s most peculiar. I must return to the Black Constabulary to report. Another day, I shall come and drink with you, Master An.”
Captain Huang sighed and clasped his fists in farewell.
He had thought to capture the notorious bandit Hu Jingang with ease, but unforeseen events had left him disappointed.
Anle returned the courtesy.
The two passed each other by—one headed to the Black Constabulary, the other back to Grand Temple Lane.
Once home, Anle, bathed in the residual glow of sunset, watered her flowers and potted plants. Having promised the woman, she was determined to fulfill her word. Besides, tending to flowers was itself a form of cultivating one’s character.
She set out a small table and chair in the courtyard, placing upon them the aged yellow wine and the sliced pig’s head meat. After waiting a while without seeing the elder from the Grand Temple, Anle was in no hurry. She closed her eyes, and the light curtain appeared before her.
...
Name: Anle
Essence of Time: 29 wisps
Path Fruits of Time: Genius for the Ages (Gilded Essence of Time 0/2 wisps, 0/100 wisps), Sword Dancer (0/10), Fearless Heart, Demon-Tempering Ancient Jade
Techniques Mastered: Sword Cascade Diagram (0 wisps), Qi-Gathering and Breathing Method (1 wisp)
Skills Acquired: Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill (0 wisps), Zhao Ancestral Long Fist (Incomplete) (1 wisp)
...
Her store of Essence of Time had reached twenty-nine wisps, quite a substantial amount. Anle began to consider how best to allocate and refine them.
First, the Qi-Gathering and Breathing Method and the common Zhao Ancestral Long Fist no longer needed further enhancement. Anle focused her attention on the Sword Cascade Diagram and the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill.
“The Sword Cascade Diagram is a top-tier spirit-refining method taught to me by Lady Hua, complemented by the Sword Dancer path fruit—it progresses swiftly. The Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill, while not top-tier, not only tempers the body but also contains killing techniques; it is my only offensive means.”
“Therefore, I shall first invest Essence of Time into the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill and the Sword Dancer path fruit.”
“The Genius for the Ages path fruit requires a hundred wisps of Essence of Time, plus two wisps of Gilded Essence to transform. Thus, I can postpone investing in that for now.”
“So, I’ll raise the Sword Dancer path fruit to the next stage first, which will help me comprehend the Sword Cascade Diagram without hindering the progress of the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill.” Anle had her plan set.
She acted at once, wasting no time, and with a thought, began to infuse the wisps of Essence of Time into the Sword Dancer path fruit.
Before her eyes, gray wisps of Essence of Time burned like incense, gradually conjuring images: Fairy Yunrou breaking through in her swordsmanship, Lin Zhuifeng’s blood and energy surging as he used his fire stick to thrash all his peers in the Lin household, and other such scenes.
When the ten wisps were fully absorbed, Anle felt the sword of her spirit, gathered in her Mud Pill Palace, tremble with joy.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light streaked before her eyes!
Words formed:
The Way gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two. Time never abides, seasons flow as a river, and path fruits transform themselves.
The river’s roar boils, sword energy thrives. The Sword Dancer transforms—born is the Innate Swordmaster.
Path fruit transformed: Sword Dancer becomes Innate Swordmaster!
Note: Innate Swordmaster (Path Fruit): Of all the swords in the world, none are beyond your grasp. When wielding a sword, you can resonate with sword energy, increasing the sharpness of your blade.
Innate Swordmaster—what is a swordmaster?
One who repays kindness and vengeance alike, who does not throw life away lightly; a divine sword soaring to the sky—who will right the world’s wrongs!
To express the heart through the sword, to clarify intent, to magnify one’s ambitions—that is the way of the swordmaster!
Anle took a deep breath, contemplating her transformed path fruit.
Path Fruits of Time: Innate Swordmaster (Gilded Essence of Time 0/2 wisps, 0/100 wisps)
As expected, after this transformation, the requirements for another evolution were much like those for Genius for the Ages.
It would not be so easy to evolve it again.
Yet Anle could feel a distinct change—a deeper understanding of the Sword Cascade Diagram, as if countless streams of sword energy were cascading from the heavens. In her Mud Pill Palace, sword energy glittered as though piercing the constellation Taurus!
She felt an unprecedented familiarity with the sword.
The only pity was that, to this day… she had yet to possess a sword of her own.
The evening glow stretched the shadow of the old pagoda tree long across the courtyard.
Anle, sitting quietly with eyes closed, slowly opened them, exhaling a sharp breath that seemed to slice through the air for several meters.
Feeling delighted, Anle poured herself a cup of aged yellow wine and drank it down.
Then, rising to her feet, she focused her mind and added a wisp of Essence of Time to the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill. In the courtyard beneath the old pagoda tree, she began to practice the forms of the Five Beasts, starting with the tiger.
With each repetition, she infused another wisp of Essence of Time, gaining new insights every time!
Her mastery of the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill deepened, her control over every detail growing ever more precise.
As intricate as colored patterns dividing at an angle, as delicate as scattered petals settling on her garments!
In the little courtyard, beneath the pagoda tree, the youth was draped in the glow of sunset, jade pendant at his waist, the gray patterns on the white jade boiling, demon aura surging through his body!
He invested a total of fifteen wisps of Essence of Time into the Five Beasts Body-Refining Skill, and could continue to do so—it was like a bottomless pit, without limit.
Vital energy steamed and surged; as he practiced, power welled up from his meridians, driving his blood and energy to flow through his entire being!
Vaguely, his blood energy had reached the late stage, rushing rapidly toward perfection.
As dusk faded and darkness enveloped the land, the youth’s Five Beasts practice, after fifteen wisps of Essence of Time, reached the consummate stage of the first realm of body refinement!
The clamor in the courtyard gradually subsided, and starlight spilled over the earth from behind the scattered evening clouds.
...
...
The moon set, crows cried, and frost covered the sky.
Qingbo Street, before Grand Temple Lane.
A luxurious carriage rolled slowly over the bluestone road. The burly coachman sat upright atop the box. At his side was a gaunt man in a black robe and a bamboo hat, holding a broad-backed saber, which he polished lightly.
“Can your master be trusted? If I kill the youth in that courtyard, will you really help me leave Lin’an safely?”
Beneath the bamboo hat, the man’s face was swallowed by darkness. His voice came out slow and cold.
“What the master promises is as good as gold. No matter how many lives stain your hands, if the master wishes you to live, you will live.”
The coachman, expressionless, replied as he held the reins.
“Heh, how interesting… In your master’s eyes, human lives are truly unequal. The life of a single youth can offset all the lives I have taken. That artist’s painting almost got me caught by the Black Constabulary—had it not been for your intervention, I might already be in custody.”
The man in the bamboo hat leapt from the carriage, hefting his heavy saber onto his shoulder.
“Then you seek vengeance and have come to kill the youth.”
The coachman spoke indifferently.
The man looked toward the depths of the alley.
Where starlight could not reach, darkness was as deep as an abyss.
He grinned, resting the saber across his shoulders, and strode forward. His surging blood energy roiled like waves driven by the bellows of a furnace, heat radiating in restless currents.
“I truly hate that artist.”
“Killing him will bring me pleasure!”
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