Chapter 053 – Three Forms

Two days later.

Early in the morning, in the White Cloud Alley, two outer disciples of the Blood Blade Sect arrived at Cai Ze’s residence, accompanied by several attendants. They were there to inventory and seize all of Cai Ze’s belongings.

After more than an hour, they locked up the house, loaded the cataloged items into chests, and hoisted them onto an ox cart out front.

Zuo Xiuxiu and Huang Ya were taken as well, placed on the same cart with the rest of the property. The two women huddled together, trying to maintain a calm façade, but their eyes betrayed how tense and frightened they were.

From now on, that house would likely be assigned to a new outer disciple or some silver pass resident—while Zuo Xiuxiu and Huang Ya would be brought back to the Blood Blade Sect. If no one chose to buy them, they might be given away as a reward or sold to a brothel for extra silver.

Zuo Xiuxiu knew perfectly well that even if she claimed to be Cai Ze’s wife, no one would believe it. Her only hope lay in the promise that young man made—maybe he really would come and purchase her freedom.

If he didn’t show up, there was nothing she could do. And if he did buy her, only to treat her as a bed-warmer or even a tool, well... she couldn’t stop that either.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Meanwhile, at Li Yuan’s home, someone was knocking on the door.

“Li Yuan! Li Yuan!” a voice came from outside.

Li Yuan opened the door to find Yu Mao standing there, wearing a black robe and his hair tied neatly. He was a lean young man, one Li Yuan knew well.

“Yu Mao,” Li Yuan greeted him with a smile.

“You asked me to keep an eye on something two days ago,” Yu Mao said, returning the smile. “There’s news. This morning, those two maids from Cai Ze’s household were taken into the sect. According to the rules, any disciple can purchase them by paying a fee.”

Li Yuan asked, “Is that how it always works? No exceptions?”

“Well,” Yu Mao replied, “if someone dismisses their own servant ahead of time, that servant wouldn’t be brought into the sect after the person’s death. But since Cai Ze died unexpectedly, he had no chance to settle his affairs.”

Li Yuan nodded. “I see. Yu Mao, could you do me a favor?”

“Of course,” Yu Mao said. “You and I go way back. After all, I’m the one who helped deliver your uniform before. What’s one more errand? So, did you take a shine to those two maids from Cai Ze’s place?”

Li Yuan shook his head with a wry smile. “Not exactly. I just want to settle Cai Ze’s affairs. I don’t think he’d want his maids to end up scattered to someone else’s home.”

With that, he handed over six silver ingots, each worth 10 taels, to Yu Mao. “Please help me buy them quickly.”

Yu Mao’s eyes widened in surprise. Then he nodded with admiration. “I never realized you were such a stand-up guy, Li Yuan.”

He gave a wry chuckle. “But of course, that makes sense. You already have a wife at home. The rest of us, especially those who’ve reached a certain stage of cultivation...well, marriage is the last thing on our minds.

“Some pretend they’re still single even if they aren’t. Others don’t want to get married at all. You’re a rarity, loyal to your wife and faithful to your friends. Cai Ze didn’t pick the wrong person to trust.”

Taking the silver ingots, Yu Mao continued, “Right, I’ll get going. I’m familiar with the purchase process. I’ll buy those two maids and bring them straight to you.”

Li Yuan smiled. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

After Yu Mao left, Li Yuan stretched his limbs in the courtyard’s morning light. The aftereffects of fusing his shadow blood had fully subsided by the previous day.

It was time to continue training.

He had a bow for long-range attacks, but a bow was better suited for sniping than quick reactions. Once someone got close, he’d be at a disadvantage. That left him with the blade or spear.

His eyes drifted to the entry for Spring-Autumn Blade, Spring Thunder.

This was his first skill that actually had a proper name. The others were simply generic ones like

Archery

,

Beast Taming

,

Tracking

, and

Spearmanship

...so having a named skill made it feel more unique.

“Let’s give the blade a try,” he thought. “I have 244 stat points to allocate right now. If I want to advance my archery twice, I’d need 240 stat points. Sure, that would increase my maximum strength, but I’d still be vulnerable in a surprise attack.”

He concluded, “I’ll invest in my blade skill. After all, in a critical moment, I can always fuse my blood again. Even if it only gives me a few seconds of insane power, that might be enough.”

Making up his mind, Li Yuan called out, “Yan Yu, I’m off to the backyard to practice. Please make sure no one bothers me.”

“Got it!” Yan Yu’s quick reply came from indoors. She was working on the Return-Willow Technique herself, though she hadn’t progressed enough to really tap into it yet.

Li Yuan headed to the backyard, picked up a standard-issue steel blade from the sect, and gave it a few test swings. It felt decent, though not quite as comfortable as a long-handled blade. A quick glance at his status showed his overall combat power was 12~23.

He murmured, “Time to allocate some points.”

He tapped the

+

symbol next to

Spring-Autumn Blade, Spring Thunder

.

Basic Spring Thunder (1/10) ➔ NEW! Intermediate Spring Thunder (1/20)

Li Yuan’s overall combat power immediately boosted to 24~50.

He tapped again, upgrading Spring Thunder to the next level.

Intermediate Spring Thunder (1/20) ➔ NEW!

Advanced Spring Thunder (1/40)

His overall power jumped to 39~80.

Advanced Spring Thunder (1/40) ➔ NEW! Expert Spring Thunder (1/80)

He upgraded it again. pushing his overall power to 54~110.

Gritting his teeth, Li Yuan went for another push—

Expert Spring Thunder (1/80) ➔ NEW! Master Spring Thunder (1/160)

His overall power soared to 69~140.

In a matter of seconds, 150 stat points were gone, leaving him with 94 stat points left.

A flood of vivid memories rose within Li Yuan’s mind and body. Countless hours of arduous practice, moments of sudden insight born of near-fanatical repetition, and a stroke of luck in the deep mountains where a mysterious stranger had shared his wisdom. It all felt as if he had personally lived those years of training.

Before, the short-handled blade in his hand had seemed unfamiliar, but now it felt like an extension of his arm. And yet, paradoxically, the short hilt no longer felt quite right.

“I’ll make do with this for now. Spring Thunder really shines with a long-handled blade. Using a short one just might help me keep this skill under wraps.”

Besides, there was only one move at the ninth rank, Spring Thunder, and the boost it granted felt almost identical to his archery.

“Instead of Spring Thunder, I bet I would’ve ended up with the same boost to my overall combat power if I’d invested into something like

Basic Blademanship

. So what’s the real difference between Spring Thunder and ordinary blademanship?”

Li Yuan reflected on that question carefully. Although he didn’t know standard blade moves, he did know archery, and comparing the two gave him a subtle realization.

“It’s what comes after. Spring Thunder is just the beginning; it feels unfinished, like there’s more waiting. Regular archery, however, feels complete, like it has no deeper essence or hidden path.”

He recalled the Spring-Autumn Blade manual, which mentioned exactly this.

The Spring-Autumn Blade comprises three forms.

The ninth rank form is Spring Thunder, focused on a fierce downward strike.

The eighth rank form is Spring Awakening, a sweeping motion.

The seventh rank form is Leaping Abyss, a sudden upward slash from below, unpredictably lethal.

The three forms created a cohesive system. Without fully mastering the preceding move, the next was like rootless duckweed, impossible to grasp.

Moreover, if he mastered all three, he could unify them, potentially creating his own blade style. That was something no ordinary skill could match.

Satisfied, Li Yuan sheathed the blade at his waist. His overall combat power held steady at 69~140.

“Perfect. Previously, I only showed around 20 in front of my teacher. Now I can comfortably display 30 or so. A regular outer disciple like Yu Mao sits around 24~25. If I show myself to be just a bit stronger than him, that’s right on target.”

Tucking away his blade, Li Yuan saw it was still early. He picked up the longbow he had snapped the night before and headed to the blacksmith in Silver Creek, paying one tael of silver to have it repaired.

When he returned home, he found Auntie Wang in the courtyard with two young women in delicate attire. She greeted him, “Master, your junior brother dropped by. He said he’s brought both the women and their contracts.”

She held out the slave contracts respectfully.

Li Yuan took the contracts and glanced at the two women, who appeared nervous and uneasy. Without a word, he tore the contracts to pieces. Then, heading inside, he returned with two gold ingots and four silver ingots and pressed them into their hands.

“This is all I can do for you and Cai Ze,” he said quietly.

Relief flooded Zuo Xiuxiu’s face. Her eyes turned red, and she could only stammer out, “Thank you... Thank you so much.”

Tears spilling over, Huang Ya dropped to her knees beside her, but Li Yuan reached down and helped her stand.

Turning to Zuo Xiuxiu, he asked, “What will the two of you do now? Will you stay here in Silver Creek?”

Wiping away her tears, Zuo Xiuxiu shook her head. “Without my husband, I don’t have the right to remain here anymore. I... I plan to move over to Parasol Town. It may not be as safe as Silver Creek, but it’s not too bad.”

Li Yuan nodded with a gentle smile. “Then I won’t keep you.”

“Thank you,” she repeated softly.

With that, she and Huang Ya offered Li Yuan a final bow, then left in haste.

Li Yuan glanced at the darkening sky. It was already late afternoon. The fact that Zuo Xiuxiu was so decisive in leaving at this hour hinted that she must have at least some connections outside, just not enough to shield her from the Blood Blade Sect’s rules.

“Well, all I did was lend a hand,” he thought. “No need to worry about her connections.”