Chapter 16

Volume 1: Luoxia Valley, Chapter 15: The Challenge

Qin Fengming knelt on both knees, took the precious sword his master gave him with both hands, and said with an excited look, "Disciple will definitely study swordsmanship diligently, use this sword to eliminate evil and uphold justice, and not bring shame to the sect."

The couple, Master Zhang and his wife, nodded in satisfaction and waved him off. Qin Fengming bowed to his master and master's wife again before leaving to return to his residence.

In this way, within the next half month, Qin Fengming learned the entire set of the Willow Drift Thirteen Sword Techniques. However, to say he had mastered them would be a stretch.

After that, every day, Qin Fengming would go to a secluded place at the back of Danyun Peak to practice swordsmanship. In the evenings, he would sit in meditation to practice the incantation. During this time, his master often guided him in the cultivation of the lightness skill incantation.

Now, when Qin Fengming jumped, his body was exceptionally light and agile. He could easily jump onto a large stone that was half a zhang high, landing on it as if he were floating. It seemed that jumping like his senior sister Ruo Tong was just around the corner.

After learning the entire set of sword techniques, Qin Fengming became even more diligent, going to the back mountain to practice martial arts at dawn every day and returning only after dark.

Duan Meng and Yuan Kejian were equally hardworking. They each found a secluded place to diligently practice the secret manuals given by Master Zhang.

Although the three of them lived in the same courtyard, they saw each other less and less. But every time Qin Fengming saw Yuan Kejian, he noticed that Yuan Kejian looked at him with hostility. However, upon careful reflection, he had never offended him and could not understand the reason.

Shaking his head, Qin Fengming could only put it aside and ignore it.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. Every day, Qin Fengming practiced swordsmanship diligently and sat in meditation to cultivate the internal skill.

In his spare time, he would also take out the gourd to play with it. Even now, the gourd showed no changes. Each time, he would try to twist the lid forcefully, but it would always disappoint him, as the lid seemed to be firmly attached, not moving an inch.

He would also visit his master and master's wife at the Hundred-Zhang Cliff from time to time. Sometimes he would even spar with his senior sister. She was very surprised by his rapid progress. In just one year, the two of them could already fight each other with mutual attacks and defenses.

During this year, Qin Fengming also met his two senior brothers. The eldest brother, Yang Lan, was tall and imposing, with a dark purple complexion, and was about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. The second brother, Lü Xuan, was handsome and graceful, with eyes like bright stars, and was in his late teens. At a glance, he bore a resemblance to their master.

Qin Fengming also noticed that his senior sister was particularly close to the second brother, while she only greeted the eldest brother politely.

Both senior brothers were very pleased with Qin Fengming. The eldest brother gave him a tube made of fine iron, about the thickness of a thumb and a foot long, with a hole the size of a soybean at the front and a mechanism at the back that could be connected to the arm, capable of firing three flying darts.

Lü Xuan gave him a small jade sword, about the length of a palm, which, although made of jade, was exceptionally sharp.

Although Qin Fengming's life was extremely monotonous during this year, he found joy in it. Sometimes he would think of his parents and family, who were thousands of miles away. But one belief supported him: he must become outstanding and achieve success in his studies so that he could make his family live better.

This was the only purpose for which Qin Fengming left home at the age of ten and came to Luoxia Valley.

Qin Fengming's daily practice place was in a small valley far behind Danyun Peak. He had discovered this valley after searching for a long time.

To get there, he had to walk several miles. At first, there was no path to the hidden small valley, but after a year of back-and-forth travel, a faint path appeared in the dense shrubs.

Every day, Qin Fengming would set out when the sky was just beginning to turn gray. After walking six or seven miles of mountain paths and reaching the valley, it would only be slightly light.

After practicing swordsmanship for an hour and returning, breakfast would just be starting.

This routine did not change throughout the year, not even in the face of strong winds, heavy rain, freezing cold, or snow.

On this day, Qin Fengming got up before dawn as usual, tidied his clothes slightly, held the precious sword given by his master, gently pushed open the door, and left the courtyard, heading straight for the small valley several miles away.

Although it was still dark, Qin Fengming had walked this mountain path hundreds of times. Even with his eyes closed, he knew where the rocks and ravines were. Therefore, without any delay, he quickly disappeared into the darkness, using the lightness skill taught by his master.

Perhaps because the sky was slightly overcast today, when Qin Fengming arrived at the valley, it was still not getting light.

Qin Fengming did not pay any attention to this. He removed his outer robe and placed it on a small tree to one side. As he moved, he was about to start practicing the sword technique for the day.

But just as Qin Fengming bent down to put down his clothes and had not yet straightened up, he suddenly heard a faint click from a few dozen feet away.

Then, a faint, cold light flashed from the distant shrubs, moving as fast as lightning, shooting directly at his left side.

"Ah, no!"

With the sound of the click, Qin Fengming had already sensed something. A quick glance with his peripheral vision revealed the cold light in his eyes.

At this moment, it was already too late for Qin Fengming to jump and dodge. As he shouted, he instinctively swung his long sword, still in its scabbard, towards the direction of the cold light...