The Bai Family’s rear courtyard.
Sword light filled the sky!
A beautiful silhouette danced amidst the flashes of the blade.
After a long while, the sword light vanished. Dressed in snug-fitting martial attire that cinched at the waist, Bai Ruo took a towel from her handmaiden and wiped the sweat from her face.
"Miss, there’s some news I think I should tell you."
The butler had been waiting off to the side for a long time. An irrepressible smile graced his face as he hurried to speak before he even got close. "Miss, there’s some news from the city today. I’m certain you’ll be interested."
Bai Ruo looked up, her long eyelashes fluttering gently. Her almond-shaped eyes, naturally imbued with a hint of charm, met the butler’s. Her voice was unhurried. "What good news?"
From the butler’s words and expression, she could tell it was indeed good news.
"Yesterday, Miss Zheng Qiurong of the Zheng Family invited four of Qing State’s ten most promising young masters on a river cruise. When they passed the stretch of the East River guarded by Young Master Lin Yan, she tried to invite him to join them, but Young Master Lin rejected her outright..."
The butler quickly recounted the news he had heard in great detail.
Bai Ruo’s eyelashes trembled again. The corners of her mouth slowly curved upward, and a smile spread from her lips, blooming across her entire face.
"How did this news get out?"
"Besides the four young masters, there were two other young ladies on the boat. They’re the ones who spread the news. It’s said Young Master Lin didn’t even give Miss Zheng a proper look." The butler said with a grin, "Miss Zheng even offered to personally deliver a Cultivation Technique to Young Master Lin, but he just told her to have it sent to the Lin Mansion. That really set Miss Zheng off. She canceled the rest of the river cruise right after."
After Zheng Qiurong canceled the cruise, Sun Miaomiao and the other young lady, disgruntled, spread the story.
In their minds, they had accepted the invitation with their own little schemes in mind. ’You, Zheng Qiurong, get upset and just go home with a long face, but what about us? Did we get all dressed up today for nothing?’
"Don’t spread this matter any further."
Bai Ruo didn’t press for more details and started walking toward the courtyard gate. The moment she turned, a smile played on her lips. She was like a peony caressed by the spring breeze, her bright, pretty face exuding a charming allure.
The Lin Mansion.
Lin Yan requested leave from Uncle Shouzhi and returned to the Lin Mansion. He headed straight for the Hidden Technique Pavilion, but this time, his destination wasn’t the second floor, but the third.
"You want to go to the third floor?"
Lin Qinghe looked at Lin Yan with some surprise, his expression serious. "The third floor is for miscellaneous texts. There are no Cultivation Techniques or anything like that up there, just some miscellaneous writings about Martial Arts. The reason the family doesn’t open it to you younger members is to let you focus on your training. Knowing too much too early isn’t a good thing."
"Yes, I have my master’s permission."
"Your master?"
"Uncle Jiu of the Fifth Branch."
"You’ve taken Shouyuan as your master?"
Lin Qinghe sized Lin Yan up and down for a moment before realization dawned, and he chuckled. "That’s right. Considering you were able to defeat Jian Sheng, there’s no reason Shouyuan wouldn’t accept you as his disciple for your talent in the Sword Dao. Since Shouyuan has agreed, you may go up to the third floor."
Lin Yan walked toward the stairs. He wasn’t lying; his master had indeed permitted him to go to the third floor.
In his master’s words, the family barred members from the third floor to prevent their will for Martial Arts Cultivation from being crushed. But since his own disposition was firm, there was no risk of his confidence in Martial Arts shattering.
Lin Yan ascended the stairs and stepped onto the third floor.
Unlike the second floor, the air on the third was filled with the faint scent of ink and old paper.
The bookshelves were much shorter than those downstairs, only chest-high, and lined the walls in a single row of about seven or eight shelves.
The shelves held not bamboo slips, but thread-bound books. Labels were pasted on their spines, with handwriting that was sometimes neat, sometimes sloppy—clearly written by different people from different eras.
Lin Yan walked to the first bookshelf and casually pulled out a book.
Qing State Martial Arts Origin Study
It was a collection of miscellaneous notes detailing the changes in Martial Arts factions over the past millennium, chronicling the rise and fall of dozens of powers, large and small, within Qing State.
Lin Yan flipped through a few pages. It mentioned how the Lin Family’s ancestors first established their footing in Qing State and subsequently witnessed the rise and fall of one Martial Arts power after another.
He returned the book to its place and pulled out another.
Travel Notes
Opening it, Lin Yan’s eyes lit up. This book was written by a Lin Family predecessor; it was a journal of his travels during his lifetime.
This predecessor had set foot in fourteen different Paths during his life and had recorded the unique characteristics of each one.
Lin Yan read in silence, absorbing the content. This information would give him a more detailed understanding of the country he lived in.
Some of these Paths were unified by Sects, like Shanxi Dao; others were dominated by families, like Celestial South Dao. It also mentioned Beihai Dao.
Half an hour later, Lin Yan put the book down, a contemplative look in his eyes.
’Reading these books really would affect one’s confidence in Martial Arts without a strong mentality.’
The geniuses and Martial Arts Powerhouses mentioned in these books were far beyond anything Qing State could compare to. If Lin Yan had to summarize it in one sentence, it would be this: only those in the True Gang Realm were qualified to travel between Paths. Anyone below the True Gang Realm who dared to venture into other Paths alone would, nine times out of ten, end up dead.
Bandits in the mountains, Water Bandits on the rivers, and even some Tribulation Cultivators... these were all obstacles that would stop an ordinary Martial Artist in their tracks.
He continued his search, and soon... Lin Yan stopped in front of a particular book.
Bone Root Theory
Seeing this book, a sharp glint flashed in Lin Yan’s eyes. This was the first time he had ever seen a book related to Root Bone.

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