Morning in the Ming Enclave
The jade gates opened to a rosy dawn as eight-year-old Feng Jian made his way into the courtyard. The air still carried the memory of yesterday's hunt, and in his pocket lay the dual steel training swords his grandfather had gifted him.
Grandfather Shen Wu stood beneath the lacquered arch, arms crossed, watching the morning drills. His silver hair caught the light as he beckoned Jian forward.
"Your mother and grandmother spoke highly of your progress in the Blade-Dance Arts," Shen Wu said, voice firm yet warm. "Today, we begin your lessons in the Wind-Dance Dual-Blade Arts."
Jian bowed low. "Yes, Grandfather."
Mistress Yuika approached, carrying jade-patterned scrolls. "These nine stages will guide you," she explained, unrolling diagrams of swirling blades. "But first, learn to wield two swords as one."
For months, Jian practiced Twin Zephyr Grasp, Whispering Twin Fan, and Gale's Embrace Parry—each movement forging harmony between blades and breath. His slender form became a blur of green Qi, the ambient wind lending every cut a whispering edge.
— Four Years Later: Age Twelve
On a bright afternoon in the Lost Plains, Jian led a small hunting party tracking B+-rated grey wolves. His green aura flared as he cut through the pack's front line. Each strike was precise, each dodge like a gust sweeping the grass.
But deeper in the plains, a far greater battle raged: two S++-rated monsters locked in desperate combat.
Above them soared the Thunderhawk—a colossal bird wreathed in wind, its feathers crackling with gale. On the ground, the Earthbrand Ravager—a hulking beast of stone and flame—swung its molten fists, cracking the earth with every blow.
Jian halted. "Stop the wolves," he ordered the swordsmen, eyes fixed on the duel.
The Thunderhawk danced through air as though pressure did not exist, its beak carving razor gusts. The Ravager answered each wind slash with trembling ground—then retaliated with a molten boulder that shattered on impact. Sparks and dust filled the sky.
Jian's heart hammered. He understood then that power alone was not enough—control of Qi, of elemental flow, was the true path.
He closed his eyes, reached into his core, and drew the ambient Qi into his lungs. When he opened them, the air around him shimmered.
The Birth of Gale Style—Wind God Dance
He charged forward, dual blades flashing. With each slash, he wove threads of Qi: a mid-air Stormheart Whirlwind to deflect the Ravager's molten fist; a Zephyr's Piercing Gale to tear the Thunderhawk's trailing feathers.
His blades sang as they cut through the dust:
A Sylph's Rift to cleave the Ravager's rocky hide.
A rapid succession of Infinite Sky Requiem arcs that forced the Thunderhawk to retreat.
In that moment, Jian fused his Blade-Dance foundations with the Wind-Dance dual forms—and the Gale Style: Wind God Dance was born.
— Return to the Enclave: The Shadow Snake Threat
Weeks later, Jian returned to his city's courtyard to find chaos. A King-Ranked Shadow Snake, its scales as dark as midnight and its eyes glowing faintly red, had emerged from the Underway. It writhed through shadows, summoning small venomous serpents that darted at citizens and soldiers alike.
Jian sprinted forward, green Qi rippling around his form. Grandfather Shen Wu met him at the gates, concern etched on his brow.
"The beast consumes shadows," Shen Wu warned. "It controls every darkness within eight hundred meters. Its spawn are deadly."
Jian nodded, drawing both blades. "Then I will challenge its darkness with my own."
A Four-Hour Duel
The Shadow Snake lunged in swirling black mist. Jian responded with Qi-Skin, the natural Qi veil glowing under his skin, deflecting poisoned fangs. He advanced with Ghost Walk, slipping through the snake's strike to deliver a Tempest's Crescent across its flank.
But the snake vanished into a pool of shadow, reappearing behind Jian and unleashing a volley of miniature shadow serpents. Jian spun into Stormheart Whirlwind, blades forming a protective vortex that shredded the spawn on contact.
As dusk fell, the city walls watched in awe. Jian's aura shifted from deep blue to vibrant green—each hue marking his mastery of elements. He danced between sword forms:
Blade-Dance's Leaf's Edge to dispatch nimble shadow tendrils.
Zephyr's Piercing Gale to pin the snake's massive head.
A final Wind God Dance - Jian wrapped his body in swirling Qi, blades tracing runes in the air as he summoned a gale that tore the Shadow Snake from its darkness and hurled it beyond the city gates.
As silence fell, Jian dropped to one knee, breath ragged. Shen Wu placed a hand on his shoulder, pride shining in his eyes.
"Today, you have proven the Gale Style," he said. "The Wind God Dance will be remembered in Central Terra."
Jian rose, sheathing his blades. In the gathering dusk, his green aura faded—and in its place stood a young swordmaster who had forged his own destiny, weaving wind and Qi into a path all his own.