It was a chilly fall night. Over the frozen pond, the silhouette of cranes flying overhead could be seen, illuminated by the pale light of the moon.

As cranes flocked the skies, a majestic yet elegant dance reflected upon the still, shimmering surface of the pond. A young lad stood in the center, practicing his sword dance.

“It seems the waters are not still enough for they resist my weak, pathetic strikes,” said the young lad.

The young lad’s eyes were stained black, the very colors of strength and determination in its purest form.

Due to his sheer determination, he was in a trance. He was unaware of the damage he inflicted upon himself as he bit down too hard on the edge of his cracked lips and blood-streaked down his mouth. He now resembled a bloody vampiric mess.

The young lad heaved as he gasped for air to fill his lungs.

The silver blade glistened as it reflected under the cold and pale moonlight. As it penetrated the water below, it moved on its own, trailing off course and completely uncontrollable.

The young lad’s face grew pale, as beads of sweat dripped into the pond beneath his feet and dissolved in the waters until he could no longer discern the droplets of sweat.

His arms were sore and numb as he was completely drained of energy.

“It’s either I drown and become one with the pond, or I continue to suppress my body’s potential! I am still full of youth; hence I can’t give up so easily. I don’t wish to once again disappoint grandpa for the kindness he so generously gifted me.”

As the young lad’s mind focused on those words, the flames of his unwavering persistence lit up his soul, giving him the push of motivation, he so desperately needed.

His face became paler than before as he reached out his arm to swing his long blade once again. As fatigued as the young lad may be, persistence was written all over his face.

…

The sands of time trickled down the hourglass. His days were spent sharpening his skills. Like any other day, flashes of his past were presented before his mystified eyes.

The young lad’s daily training was no common task, for it was incomparable to an uphill battle. However, at the end of the day, the young lad felt somewhat accomplished from his arduous training. Strangely enough, today, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl for every passing second, and minute seemed to drag on forever.

Even though the water in the pond was icy cold, the young lad had long adapted to such harshness. His frail silhouette quivered like a wilted leaf clinging onto a branch in the middle of the pond.

He could barely stand up anymore.

“So, this is it…am I destined to fail? Am I going to meet my mother now?” As he mumbled, a slender yet hazy figure presented itself in the form of his collective memories.

A specter of a figure emerged in the deepest chambers of his heart. It appeared to want to face him, but it never did.

Then it struck him as clear as the light of day. He realized the slender figure that made her presence known was none other than his own mother, who had been long dead to his father.

As he faded out of consciousness, he lost the only support keeping his body upright as he collapsed into the freezing waters below.

In that instant, out of nowhere, through the starry night sky, he saw a cloud of misty aurora that descended upon him as the sky lit up bright red.

…

“Verily, I say unto you, the essence of the ancient blood feeds your soul. Master the art of The Formless Fist, and the world will bend to your will.”

…

“For centuries, I have transcended the limitations of my soul, and through that, I’ve gained complete mastery over my pure form.

“Within the pure form lies the essence and nature of one’s spirit in its purest form. Buried deeper in one’s spirit dwells the real awakening of primordial alchemy of the soul.

“In search of one’s pure form, one must first seek to understand the meaning of the truth of one’s pure form.

“In possession of the full truth comes the enlightenment of an oath in one’s mind. Honor the oath, and one shall exceed the limitations of one’s astral form.”

…

“The secret of ascending one’s skill in martial arts to the pinnacle of perfection lies within the unification of one’s mind, soul and body as one entity.

“Knowledge seeks out those who are at peace with one’s mind and soul.”

…

“The Art of The Formless Fist, Form One and Form of The Dragon. Masters of this form are bestowed the ability of dragon slayers, conquer the skies in the shape of a dragon, and the skill of bone detection. Dragon folk are beings of extreme Yin, for the essence of the dragon subdue one’s inner flames.

“The Edict of The Clouds: Dragons are ascension of flames. It birthed the clouds, and as the clouds bore the dragon, transcend your fists with the mind of the dragon. The power of this form begins with the pressure point on the palm as it circulates and reinforces the essence of the tiger, which amplifies the cycle of balance between both forms as they ascend and descend in unison and harmony within one’s body.

“Bring your fist into submission, and it will subdue your inner flame, however, heed my warning, that if your fist opposes your will, you shall be consumed by its hellish flames. The mind fogs when one’s body tires…”

…

A mysterious aura of energy engulfed the young lad’s mind. It burrowed deep into his bones, pulling the drowning lad back into consciousness as his vision dimmed.

He realized that the entire pond was now frozen solid, trapping the lower half of his body between the thick sheets of ice in inhumanly cold waters.

His body was frozen stiff, and his face turned purplish as his breathing was dangerously shallow. However, the only thoughts that bombarded him were the repeating voices and mantras his mind conjured. However, in the wake of this odd moment, this young lad seemingly gained some form of enlightenment of knowledge foreign to his world.

Amongst all the confusion, one thing that stood out the most was the unique style of martial arts. Completely unheard of, it was indeed one of its kind. It seemed like the pinnacle of some ancient sage life’s work.

“Earth? The Formless Fist? What is all this? Could there be a place simply known as ‘Earth’ in this world? On top of that, could there possibly be a wagon known as ‘the car’ that could potentially travel and take flight at an inhumanly fast speed? What exactly is this ‘computer’?” muttered the young lad.

However, the thought of this strange knowledge lingered only for mere moments as the young lad was more curious by the sheer limitless and intricate understanding of the set of unique martial arts.

As unique as this event was, his body was dangerously weak.

“This is a realm dictated by the law of the sword, not a shroud of clue to what this foreign land known as Earth could possibly be. However, wise words were spoken by the ancient master of The Formless Fist. For a traveler to voyage as wide as the ends of the world, soon too will return to whence one’s journey began.

“Since there was naught a skill that truly could name me its master, I shall use The Formless Fist as a foundation, utilizing the intricacy of this ancient art, I will be able to create a sword skill to call my own based on its knowledge!

“This ancient sage may present a tattered appearance; however, his presence alone in our realm would be appropriate to place him amongst the gods. With his teachings and graceful guidance, my skills would undoubtedly improve by leaps and bounds,” mumbled the young lad.

He ultimately decided on his next path in life.

…

“Zhou Yan, are you actually still training? The lengths you pushed your body to, even if you had somehow managed to exceed rank three of a swordsman, and even have reached rank one as a blade’s cardinal, you would’ve crippled your own body at that point!”

“There is nothing more important to a swordsman than their body. How could you have lost your way! Don’t tell me that the name you made for yourself, the natural talents you possessed, was the product of your reckless training? How disappointing if that was the truth!” said a maiden draped in a purple silk cloak. The lass was strong and outspoken, coupled with unrivaled elegance and angelic beauty.

The maiden stood atop a cavernous cliff by the pond, looking down fiercely at him. An aura of mysterious ferocity of the maiden of the sword surrounded her. Her drapes fluttered in the wind as her purple silk cloak flapped in the dirt. It was a mesmerizing yet frightful sight indeed.

That fierce maiden was none other than Lady Zhou of the Zhou family, infamous for her prime beauty and wisdom, and her given birth name was Zhou Lingyi.

For as long as he could remember, the maiden was Zhou Yan’s idol. He admired her greatly and was also smitten by her beauty.

Usually, he was quick to explain himself, however with her, he was always eager to submit to her by lowering his head in guilt and shame.

However, it was different this time. He did no such thing as he was under the influence of the old sage’s spirit. The lad simply looked blankly at the maiden and grinned. The grin was accompanied by a creepy yet mockingly sarcastic tone. “Did I disappoint you? When have I, Zhou Yan ever disappointed you?”

The maiden, who was always so poised, raised her eyebrows in shock.

At the same time, Zhou Yan felt a strange feeling inside him as he spoke.

The words poured out of his mouth too freely. There was not a shroud of worry nor the feeling to hide his thoughts as he spoke his mind. He no longer had any concerns.

As the words rolled off the lad’s tongue, he was caught off guard on how bold he was. He realized how great it felt.

“How brave of you to speak to me like that!” screamed the maiden. She was furious but had a hint of smugness in her tone.

Zhou Yan could never comprehend his judgment in the past. However, now, he could feel that all his senses were heightened, and he could perceive the slightest of emotions.

“What about the tone you’ve always used so boldly when speaking to me? Many moons ago, you’ve never bothered about my well-being. I’ve cared for you, submitted to you… all in the name of love. Since then, I lowered myself to nothing more than a speck of dust. However, now, my full devotion is to the way of the sword. I shall perfect the skills of my blade, and all the women will then flock to me,” said the young lad, resonating with confidence and might in each word.

The young maiden, Zhou Lingyi, gave Zhou Yan a confused look, and a hint of anger was visible upon her cold demeanor. Her eyebrows twitched, and she said, “Looks like you have truly gone mad! Do show me what you are fully capable of on the test of might in a full moon’s cycle time.”

Holding back her rage, the young maiden left the cliff as she flipped the tail ends of her coat furiously.

Looking down at the pond, he realized the ice had melted, freeing his body. Through the reflection of the pond, he saw his pale face and weak body.

He felt reborn on the inside. Upon reflection, he realized that his past beliefs seemed immature and foolish. He recalled doings of his past and was revolted by his naivety and foolishness.

He remembered that when he was pursuing a woman, he used to lower himself to submit to the will of the fair maiden, and it felt normal to him. In the wake of current events, he found that act to be appalling.

He sighed in relief as now ridding his life of Zhou Lingyi no longer weighed on his conscience.

With a deep breath of crisp cold air entering his lungs, he began the cycle of Qi energy in his body. In one swift kick, the young lad leaped gracefully from the pond and landed on top of the cliff.

Turning towards the moonlight, he drew another deep breath as he began building up his inner Qi.

Zhou Yan felt a strong and powerful force of energy building inside him. It is as if this energy was buried deep in his body. It was like what the old sage said; great energy was stored in the solar plexus of his body!

This energy, however, did not feel like it belonged to him.

‘If this is the inner strength, I must make this power mine!’ Zhou Yan thought to himself.

As he focused his mind, he started channeling every single sword skill and mantras he knew in a single breath.

However, the collective Qi energy he conjured for the skills was not even a fraction to that burst of innate, foreign energy!

The young lad frowned as he was puzzled.

After some thought, Zhou Yan recalled the spirit of the old sage mentioning a unique ancient scroll entitled ‘Nine Fold Yin-Yang Manuscripts’. Instantly, he focused his breathing, as shown in the first stage of the scroll.

He realized the methods were similar to none other than the exact mantra of his bloodline’s sword skill!

In this particular attempt of amassing Qi, it was violent, somewhat similar to a god-slaying sword swung wildly intending to slay a god in the young lad’s body. Nothing could stand in the wake of that sudden rush of pure unhinged energy that coursed his meridians.

As the Qi energy flowed through his liver meridian, it gushed through the ‘Tai Xu,’ ‘Yuan Chong,’ ‘Shou Ren,’ ‘Qi Du,’ and ‘Zhu Yao’ pressure gates of his body. It felt like an intense rush of force!

At this moment, vapors of smoke emanated from Zhou Yan’s body. He felt as though he had been struck by lightning as he suddenly had uncontrollable spasms. The young lad was in agony as he was tormented by every form of pain.

However, not a single whimper escaped the young lad even though blood was spilled, and he was in a semi-conscious state due to the agonizing pain that shot through his bones, deep into his soul.

The young lad was known for his strong will and stubbornness, and now that he was infused with the spirit of the old sage, his determination reached unimaginable new heights!

Cold sweat that once soaked his long robes was now dried with the scorching heat emanating from his body, and he paid little attention to it.

“Huff…” exhaled the young lad.

A cloud of black smoke escaped his body. Zhou Yan instantly recovered as he felt the entirety of his soul was now refreshed as he could now see things that used to be unknown to him. His fatigue and shallow breathing disappeared.

He succeeded in infusing the collection of foreign Qi as his own. Through the tormenting pain, this young lad was completely reborn as he now exceeded the realm of a rank three swordsmen and attained the heights of a rank one blade’s cardinal!

Alas, there the young lad stood, with a wave of his hand, a stream of water from the pond launched into his grasp as it exploded in bursts of glory, showering the young lad.

Seemingly baptized by the stream, the waters washed the dirt and grime from the young lad’s body, purifying him.

“This is only the first fold, and it already contains this much ferocity. Why would I, Zhou Yan, in days to come submit to the will of anyone? I can be a natural genius! I will no longer be a burden to my family! No longer will Grandpa be disappointed in me!”

Zhou Yan’s eyes were now stained black and his mind was as sharp as ever. He rejoiced at his newfound confidence in his future!

—

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