Chapter 5
The sun rose signifying the start of a new day. The clouds weren't cloudy, they were white and beautiful.
Liang Chen's arm still throbbed from the cultivation last night. He could still feel the qi being refined in the flower in his arm.
The sect grounds were quiet at this hour. Most disciples were either meditating, recovering, or dragging their bodies out of bed.
Liang Chen walked into the outer sect early in the morning for one reason: To buy a spear.
A spear cost ranged from 70-150 Contribution points. Thankfully, he still had over 110 Contribution points left.
He stopped in front of a small, squat building tucked between the cultivation pill house and the jade artisan's stall. A wooden sign above read:
'Sun-Forged Steel: Weapons for Cultivators'
The blacksmith was a middle-aged man in his mid forties. He had dark brown skin with blue eyes and greying red hair. He was reclined behind the counter, smoking tobacco from his pipe.
"You're early," the blacksmith said without looking. "Most kids your age are still snoring into their pillows."
"I'm not most kids," Liang Chen replied, stepping up to the counter.
The blacksmith finally glanced at him. His eyes lingered his arm, which was pulsing strangely. Then on the sect token hanging from Liang's waist.
"Outer sect, huh. You're the corpse kid everyone's been yappin' about."
Liang Chen didn't flinch. "I need a spear."
The blacksmith chuckled. "Of course you do. Everyone needs something."
He stood up with a grunt, placing his pipe carefully on the table and walked to the back of the room. A moment later, he returned carrying three spears and laid them on the counter with a thud.
"One's cheap, the other is sharp, the other is one use, but packs a punch" the blacksmith said pointing at each one.
Liang Chen's eyebrows shot up. "I'll take the sharp one"
The man grinned, showing crooked yellow teeth. "This once belonged to a certain hunter. The wood is rose-wood, a pretty good wood for spears. The head is clearly leaf shaped. The metal was joined together by the teeth of some spirit beasts."
Liang whistled, that was pretty impressive for a spear.
"How much is it?" Liang asked, running his hand through the smooth rose-wood.
"I'll give you 90 Contribution points for it"
And just like that, Liang walked out of the shop with a spear strapped at his back, just as people were starting their day to day activities.
Liang made himself back into the Kenkai woods to train in the Echoing Fang of the Lotus Spear art. This area of the forest was mostly uninhabited by beasts. Some still wandered here from time to time, but Liang Chen was capable of handling himself in a fight.
He unstrapped the spear from his back and rested the shaft across his palms. The rosewood was cool. The metal caught in the sunlight, glistening like a diamond.
He closed his eyes.
[System Notification: You have acquired the "Echoing Fang of the Lotus Spear" Manual.]
[Progress: 0% — First Stance Unlocked: 'Piercing Lotus Awakens']
He took a deep breath. His left arm still ached. The marrow flower pulsed within, still hot with residual qi. He could feel it wanting more. He could feel it absorbing and refining the qi from the atmosphere like a well oiled biological machine.
"Piercing Lotus Awakens," he muttered.
He'd skimmed through the manual the night before. This stance wasn't about brute force, it was the near opposite. It was about momentum and flow. It mimicked the blooming of a lotus flower, slow, precise, and then BAM!, an explosion of lethal grace.
Liang took a few steps forward.
His right hand gripped the shaft near the butt, left hand floating just behind the head. He let his body sink low, knees bent naturally, spine straight but not stiff, and…
He struck.
The spear blurred forward in a flicker.
It wasn't a jab. It wasn't a thrust. It could only be defined as a blossoming, the tip wove through the air in a spiral motion, like a blooming flower, then snapped straight in with a shrill whistle. It split the air in front of him, the leaves behind him rustling from the displaced wind.
["Piercing Lotus Awakens" — Progress: 4%]
It was a good first attempt, the only problem Liang Chen had was that it was too slow.
He did it again, this time Liang let the qi in his shoulder flow downward. It threaded through his marrow, through his veins. His body felt looser. More importantly, more alive.
He inhaled and moved.
Spinning forward, he pivoted on his heel, the spear tip tracing a curved arc in the air. Just as the curve completed, he unleashed the forward thrust. A leaf in front of him split in two before it could hit the ground.
["Piercing Lotus Awakens" — Progress: 11%]
[Physique Awakening: Nerve Channels Strengthened (Minor)]
[EXP: +4]
[Level: 2 → 3]
Liang smirked.
Over and over again, he continued to swing his spear until his robes were damp with sweat. Until his arms felt numb, until his arms felt like they had memorised every single movement.
[Qi Infusion: Crimson Marrow Flower Detected. Spear Art Enhanced.]
[Affinity Compatibility: 72%. Training Efficiency Increased.]
He grinned slightly, his bones had resonated with his spear art. He wasn't just training anymore; he was evolving.
After maybe two hours of training, Liang Chen stopped, he thrust his spear into the ground, the tip hitting the ground with a SQUELCH! He looked up at the sky, panting, his hands raw and bruised, but he was smiling.
…
Jia Zhelan was a beauty by all accounts. With her fair skin and lush dark hair, coupled with her unique yellow eyes, she was easily the most beautiful girl in the outer sect, maybe even in the whole sect.
And she knew it.
That would explain why her on again, off again boyfriend had been courting her for some time now. Her boyfriend was Fan Wuyi, son of the elder designated with law enforcement and an absolute dickhead.
Fan Wuyi was the type of guy to punch weaker disciples for breathing too loud and smile like he'd done them a favour.
Today, their relationship was off. She had caught him at a brothel the previous night, sleeping with a low ranked servant from the outer sect. And not just any servant, it was someone she knew. Someone who used to wash her robes.
She didn't shout. She didn't cry. She just stood there, expression blank, as Fan Wuyi had the nerve to smirk at her.
"Don't look at me like that," he'd said, brushing aside the girl next to him. "You're not exactly wife material."
She left without another word.
But today, Fan Wuyi wasn't letting it go.
The courtyard behind the Hall of Tasks had been transformed into a theatre stage, and the outer sect disciples gathered in clusters like moths to a flame. Word had spread fast, Fan Wuyi and Jia Zhelan were arguing. Loudly.
"I gave you everything!" Fan roared, grabbing Jia's wrist in a bruising grip.
She tried to yank her hand back. "You turned me into your personal play thing, that's not love"
"Oh, so now you're a saint, huh? After flaunting yourself for years?" he sneered. "You think you're better than me? You're nothing without me!"
Then Jia Zhelan slapped him.
PAH!
The sound echoed throughout the entire courtyard. Everyone gasped and for a moment, there was silence.
Then things fell apart quickly.
Something inside Fan Wuyi snapped. His eyes went blank, then dark as his killing intent rose.
He raised his hand, and to Jia Zhelan, it seemed as if time had frozen.
Then the back of Fan Wuyi's palm struck her face. He backhanded her so hard she hit the ground, her lower lip splitting open.
PAH!
But he wasn't finished.
He reached into his belt, pulled out a short blade, and grabbed a fistful of her hair.
"Let me remind you what happens to women who forget their place!" he hissed.
Jia screamed.
SCHLICK!
A chunk of her long, dark hair fluttered to the ground like dead leaves.
He threw the blade down, yanked at her robes, and before anyone could blink, stripped the outer sect uniform off her, leaving her in nothing but her thin, linen undergarments.
There were gasps, horrified gasps.
"No one's going to stop him?!"
"He's gone mad…!"
"His father's an elder, we can't touch him!"
Jia curled herself into a foetal position, face flushed like a bright tomato with shame and tears, as Fan kicked her in the ribs, then spat on her.
"You'll learn obedience the hard way," he said, raising his foot again…
"STOP!"
One word and the entire courtyard froze. That was all it took. All heads turned to the direction of the voice. It was a handsome young man with dark hair, pale olive skin and silver-grey eyes. He wore dark robes with a spear strapped at his back.
Liang Chen had arrived.
His shirt was soaked with sweat, his new spear slung across his back, hair slightly damp from the mist of morning.
His eyes locked onto the scene in front of him. Onto Jia Zhelan, who was bruised, crying and humiliated.
Then they settled on Fan Wuyi.
Liang took one step forward.
Then another.
The crowd parted for him like the sea.
Fan Wuyi snorted. "Look who it is. The trash disciple playing hero…"
Liang didn't answer.
He simply walked up to Fan, looked him in the eye, and said, "Let her go."
Fan laughed. "What, you gonna fight me again? You think I'm scared of some failed cultivator who practices with garbage manuals…?"
Liang's left arm blurred.
PAHH!
Fan Wuyi stumbled back, blood bursting from his mouth.
Liang grabbed him by the collar and yanked him in close.
"You touch her again," Liang whispered coldly, "and I'll break more than your arm."
"Y-You dare…?!"
"Try me."
And then,
[System Alert: Hidden Trigger Met — Title Unlocked: "One Who Breaks Chains"]
Effect: Public Affection toward the user increases temporarily in moments of moral clarity.
+10 Reputation with Outer Sect Disciples.
Jia Zhelan sat in silence, trembling and shivering, as Liang removed his outer robe and gently wrapped it around her shoulders without a word.
Fan Wuyi rose, nose broken, rage in his eyes.
And then, he lunged.