"Fei Wu! Are you all right?"

Tang Qi Hong was immediately at my side as I blinked groggily, trying to rise to my feet. It felt as if I had just woken up from a long slumber.

"I guess so," I murmured, still a little dazed.

"You guess?" Lian Ro repeated incredulously. I nodded awkwardly. Trying to make sense of my surroundings, I asked the one question that mattered. To me, anyway.

"What happened?"

"You don"t remember?" Tang Qi Hong asked, astonished. I blinked, an idea forming in my mind, but nonetheless I shook my head.

"Remember what?"

"…you were in a trance for nine days."

This time, it was Sect Leader Zi who spoke up. He had arrived, flanked by the Great Elders, all of whom were staring at me curiously. I shifted uncomfortably under those intense gazes, feeling as if I was being examined under a microscope.

"A trance?"

"You had the privilege of attaining enlightenment from the Spirit Engraved Pillars!" Luo Zhi Chang exclaimed excitedly. "You moved beyond just triggering a response in the Spirit Engraved Pillar and was actually properly communing with it! The qi around you…it indicated that you attained enlightenment and finally achieved true comprehension of the meaning behind the Spirit Diagrams!"

I stared at him and the enthusiastic Great Elders for a moment, and then shook my head. Inwardly I felt amused as I popped their bubble, but I was careful and tactful enough to not let it show on my face.

"There is no single true meaning behind the Spirit Diagrams. Different people will have different interpretations of it and will inscribe them differently."

The Great Elders stared at me, stunned, their faces turning ashen. For old men like them, rigidly set in their traditional ways of thinking, this was a great blow. They understood my words as me not having attained anything out of the nine days I had spent meditating under the Spirit Engraved Pillars. Fortunately, it seemed they had hung around on the plaza, continuing to monitor the situation, make studies of their own and protected me.

"That"s…"

The second Great Elder sounded disappointed, but Sect Leader Zi seemed more pleased than dissatisfied, raising a hand to forestall any comment the former would make. He turned to me, a slight smile curling across his face.

"So…how did you interpret the Spirit Diagram in the Spirit Engraved Pillar?"

This guy…he understood completely. No wonder he was the sect leader. I was amazed that someone as intelligent and wise as him wasn"t able to trigger any response from the Spirit Engraved Pillar.

"Do you mind giving me a tablet?" I asked. For such matters, it was far better if I demonstrated it rather than merely talk about it.

Sect Leaer Zi nodded. "Certainly." He then turned and gestured for one of the technicians to come over. A guy in a white lab coat hurried over, producing a new, empty tablet, and I accepted it gratefully with a bow.

"Thanks."

"Not at all!"

I then sat down and began inscribing the Spirit Diagram I had seen during my nine days in the Dragon King"s Palace…or the Spirit World that the river-motif Spirit Engraved Pillar invited me into. It took me a few hours, but I didn"t budge from my position, continuing to sketch quickly and impatiently with the stylus and replicating everything from memory.

No, it as not as simple as merely regurgitating what I had remembered during my nine days in the Spirit World.

"…"

I was adding my own style, subtly and unconsciously altering the Spirit Diagram according to my experiences and personal biasness. There was no such thing as an "original" concept. Throughout the years, the concept and essence of the Spirit Diagram had evolved and changed continually, surviving the ravages of time by adapting. No one could claim to be able to replicate the Spirit Diagram as it first existed thousands of years ago or whenever it was first invented.

The predecessors who inscribed the Spirit Diagram before me had interpreted it differently, and those who followed after me would add their own experiences and styles to the Spirit Diagram. It was an ongoing process that would continue to transform and change the Spirit Diagram according to the acc.u.mulated lived experiences of the myriad of people who continued to preserve it.

To be sure, there was a similarity between the Spirit Diagram. There was an essence, a basic foundation of the concept that remained consistent throughout the ages, otherwise there would be nothing to preserve. While the Spirit Diagram now was very different from the past iterations, it wasn"t as if it was a completely new thing altogether. There were still shared patterns that linked it to its precursors, a strong consistent similarity that remained in all versions. The alterations might not be slight, having been wrought to allow the Spirit Diagram to remain relevant in whatever temporal context it found itself used in, but their purpose was not to transform the Spirit Diagram into something completely new, otherwise there was no meaning in replicating and learning it. We might as well invent a totally new Spirit Diagram from scratch.

Yet, the changes were inevitable. Nothing survives the pa.s.sage of time unchanged. Dinosaurs went extinct. Technology evolved. Modern humans were not the same as humans from a century ago, or even a decade ago, never mind millennia ago.

While those thoughts flashed through the surface of my mind, I focused on inscribing what I had learned into the tablet. As the hours slipped past, my pace grew faster and faster, almost as if the knowledge was pouring out of my mind. At first it was a trickle, then it thickened to a stream, and now it was a raging current.

"This…"

The research team had stopped their job momentarily to watch me. Later I would learn that they had made good progress while I was meditating, but right now the question of what they were doing all this time didn"t even cross my mind. So focused on inscribing the Spirit Diagram I was that I was barely aware of the outside world at all.

And finally…I was done. Breathing heavily and perspiring a lot, I rose shakily to my feet and handed the tablet to a stunned Sect Leader Zi. He accepted it and looked through the tablet, gasping when he saw the mystical glow. His hands trembled as he absorbed the faint but potent aura of qi that was shrouding it.

"You…you produced a martial arts manual!"

"Nah, I merely replicated what I learned from the Spirit Engraved Pillar."

Sect Leader Zi was barely paying any attention to me, sweeping his finger across the screen to view as much of the Spirit Diagrams I had engraved into the tablet with a stylus. His jaw dropped and he glanced at me.

"This is the long lost martial arts techniques…of the Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula! How did you…?"

"I couldn"t replicate it exactly," I told him truthfully, aware that my own personal experiences, history and biasness had altered it subtly. "But this is what I obtained from the Spirit Engraved Pillar."

I didn"t mention going inside the Spirit World. I wasn"t sure if they would believe me, or they would just dismiss it as an illusion I was undergoing while I was meditating.

"Huh? Martial arts manual?"

"It"s not a Spirit Diagram for a Spirit Artifact?"

"I mean, martial arts manuals are counted as Spirit Artifacts, but this isn"t what we were expecting…"

The six Great Elders were glancing at each other, visibly disappointed. The fifth Great Elder strode forward and grabbed my shoulders, almost shaking me.

"What about the Spirit Diagram for Spirit Artifacts? The Heavenly Nine Winding River Spirit Diagram? Did you manage to comprehend that?"

Who cares?

At least that was the first retort that came to my mind, but I suppressed it and politely shrugged out of his rude grip.

"Sorry, but that"s the only thing I managed to comprehend during the nine days."

"Are you kidding me?! A martial arts manual? Not a Spirit Diagram for a Spirit Artifact?! You spent nine days meditating and that"s all you managed to get?"

"Well, I am a martial artist, not a blacksmith or Spirit Engraver." The sixth Great Elder was testing my patience, but somehow I managed to bite back a caustic retort. What was the matter with these old fogeys?

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

We all turned around when we heard the delighted laughter. Sect Lady Da Ji was sauntering into the sect, clutching her stomach in amus.e.m.e.nt. She stepped to my side and placed a rea.s.suring hand on my shoulder while glaring icily at the Great Elders. Even the venerable old men found themselves intimidated by her frosty gaze.

"Have you old men gone senile?" Sect Lady Da Ji"s voice was soft, but filled with frightening power. The Great Elders trembled from listening to her tone alone. "Do you have any idea how valuable this Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula is? It"s a legendary martial art, one of the most powerful water-type martial arts in the history of the Great Zhou Empire. The Martial Arts Alliance will kill to get their hands on this. In fact, I"m sure Xiao Zhang of the Reunion…I mean, of Wu Ling Academy, will pay a high price to acquire the contents of this martial arts manual if he learns of it. can you imagine how powerful our sect will become if we have our martial artists from the Blood Blades learn and master this Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula?"

"Our standing among the eight major sects will rise, probably making us the top sect, if not the second. Higher than even the Celestial Creature sects."

Sect Leader Zi mused as he stepped forward to back up his wife. The great elders shrank back, realizing their error.

"…yeah, that"s amazing…"

"Sorry, we got too carried away with forging Spirit Artifacts that we forgot the significance of martial arts."

"Even though we are renowned for blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving, don"t forget that we are at heart, still a martial arts sect." Sect Lady Da Ji glared at the six Great Elders while they mumbled their apologies, red-faced. "And Fei Wu here has just helped us gain an unsurmountable amount of strength with just this martial arts alone."

"O…of course."

"Heh." Sect Leader Zi chuckled as he glanced at me. "Fei Wu really is a Blood Blade through and through."

"That"s a given." For some reason, Sect Lady Da Ji looked smug.

"What about the Heavenly Nine Winding Rivers Spirit Diagram?" the fourth Great Elder asked uncertainly. "Are we supposed to give up?"

"We can continue researching even without meditation and whatnot." Tang Qi Hong looked a little annoyed. "We got this far without Fei Wu"s help, and he already contributed a lot by triggering a reaction from the Spirit Engraved Pillars and beaming the Spirit Diagram. We can handle the rest ourselves. Why are you trying to rely on Fei Wu alone? Do you really expect him to do all the work and comprehend the Spirit Diagram by himself?"

"That"s the whole reason why we set up this research group in the first place isn"t it?" Zi Xiao Ji interjected cheerfully.

"That"s right." Sect Leader Zi stepped up to back up both his daughters. "This is a group effort. We"ll only succeed if we work together. We can"t just rely on Fei Wu alone. Genius or not, the sect does not revolve around one person alone. The sect is made of many different people. We all have our own part to play."

"And Fei Wu has done his part admirably." Sect Lady Da Ji glanced at the martial arts manual that her husband pa.s.sed to her. She nodded at me with a warm smile. "I"m proud to have a subordinate like him in the Blood Blades."

"Speaking of which…" Sect Leader Zi was already thinking one step ahead, his face set in a deep, thoughtful expression. "When will you be able to start teaching the Blood Blades with water affinity the Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula?"

"Um, about that…" I raised my hand uncertainly. "I apologize if I"ve caused any misunderstanding, but I haven"t mastered the Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula. I"m not sure if I can teach it. I doubt I can use it myself."

"What do you mean?" Luo Zhi Chang asked, looking taken aback. As did the other five Great Elders, and I turned toward them sheepishly.

"I was only able to comprehend the essence and basic concepts of the martial arts and record it down, but possessing the knowledge of the martial arts and mastering it for practical use are two completely different matters."

"Ah." Sect Lady Da Ji understood. "You understand the theory and concepts behind the Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula, but you aren"t able to actually use it, nor did you have any practical experience of executing those techniques."

"Correct. All I did was study the concepts and theory, and learned the essence of the martial arts, but I didn"t actually practice it in real life."

If it was so easy to master martial arts just by meditating and imaging the movements in one"s mind, then anyone could be a martial artist without needing to actually practice or do physical training. Martial arts weren"t just spiritual techniques that increased one"s cultivation – they were actual physical movements that you had to execute in reality.

"I might have to practice them in reality and execute them in the physical world to try them out, but as I thought, theory and practical are different. Additionally, I don"t think I"ll be able to succeed. I don"t have a strong affinity with water element. My affinity is with ice element."

Although the two elements were linked closely, they were different (otherwise why bother categorizing them differently?). Ice was water element with a lot more yin qi infused into it. Perhaps I had cultivated too much yin qi, so my current const.i.tution was not suitable for the more balanced water element, which required roughly equal amounts of yin and yang qi.

"It"s fine. You succeeded in recording and producing the martial arts manual. Now it"s our turn to do something about it." Sect Leader Zi pondered for a moment, and then turned to his wife. "I believe we have several masters in the Blood Blades who have strong affinity to water element. Liu Sui, was it? If we ask him…"

"Yes. Liu Sui is one of the more talented water-based martial artists. I"ll get him to study this right away." Sect Lady Da Ji raised the martial arts manual that I had produced. She glanced at me. "Sorry, Fei Wu, but I"ll have to trouble you to make more copies of this."

"I can do that." I nodded. "I"ll make about another five copies in the next three…no, two days. Then I"ll return here. Perhaps I"ll be able to do something about the other Spirit Engraved Pillars."

"More martial arts?" Sect Leader Zi couldn"t conceal his excitement. "Excellent. We"ll be counting on you then."

I gulped, not sure if I could take the pressure or handle the weight of expectations from the adults. "I"ll do my best, but no guarantees."

"Don"t worry," Sect Lady Da Ji a.s.sured me gently. "You have already done more than enough. Anything else is just an extra."

*

While I busied myself over the next few days to make a few more copies of the Divine Dragon Flowing Water Formula (which I couldn"t learn because of my const.i.tution), and prepared to meditate to comprehend the martial arts techniques concealed within the other two Spirit Engraved Pillars willing to commune with me, stuff happened with other people.

The plaza was open to everyone, despite being cluttered with machinery and hi-tech equipment. It wasn"t as if the research team was monopolizing the plaza and keeping it to themselves. While they did their research, many of the outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples frequently entered the plaza to try their luck with the Spirit Engraved Pillars.

Of course, there was a group of Blood Blades (which included my good friends Tong Xue and Pang Feng, as well as Zi Xiao Ji"s personal bodyguards Zhao Shi and Da Ge, and of course Sect Lady Zi Da Ji herself as she watched over her husband) guarding the plaza and making sure there weren"t any outsiders or strangers slipping in among the enthusiastic disciples. The attacks from the Divine Shadow Sect had intensified outside the sect, but thanks to the Blood Blades, we were apparently razing their bases around Tushan City and rooting them out one at a time.

Thanks to that, the territory of Tushan City was safe for Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members, but we couldn"t guarantee their safety if they left the protected area of Tushan City. Those who risked the journey outside were a.s.saulted by Divine Shadow Sect despite the best efforts of the Blood Blades.

Thankfully, that didn"t affect the outer sect and inner sect disciples of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect who wanted to enter the plaza to commune with the Spirit Engraved Pillars. As long as they didn"t do anything that might harm the people researching or meditating on the plaza, the Blood Blades generally left them alone.

That didn"t mean the Blood Blades let their guard down, though. Despite being few in number when compared to the Blood Blades patrolling the city and watching out for a.s.sa.s.sins from the Divine Shadow Sect, they remained vigilant for any threats.

Among those included the inner sect disciples Pang Yun – Pang Feng"s sister and Di Xuan, who was Sect Leader Zi"s direct disciple. I wasn"t sure why he wasn"t part of the research group, but apparently Di Xuan was working on his project. Now that he was done, he alternated between meditating and helping out with the research group, under close supervision of Sect Leader Zi.

Tong Xue was helping to watch out for threats, when he suddenly found himself approached by the normally arrogant Yin Jing Jing. He was surprised when she took the initiative to speak to him on her own accord.

"Tong Xue, I heard that you are quite familiar with Fei Wu?"

"Familiar? We"re cla.s.smates who go to the same school. Why?"

Tong Xue looked at her suspiciously, correctly deducing that Yin Jing Jing had an ulterior motive for talking to him.

Yin Jing Jing shuffled uneasily and glanced away, unable to meet his stern gaze.

"I have a friend who will be coming to Tushan City in a while. She plans to bring her two juniors to hire a blacksmith in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to help forge two custom-order Spirit Artifacts." Yin Jing Jing was unable to conceal her embarra.s.sment. "As you know, our sect is currently in conflict with Divine Shadow Sect. the outer sect is busily dealing with a.s.sa.s.sins and a.s.sailants from Divine Shadow Sect while the inner sect elders are occupied with partic.i.p.ating in the research group to comprehend the Spirit Diagrams that Fei Wu is helping project into holographic recorders…"

"Who?" Tong Xue asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Um…my friend is Lu Li. Her two juniors are the two sisters from the Ling Clan…"

"Lu Li?" Thanks to being in the Smart Shadow Sect, Tong Xue was aware from the intelligence they gathered of the ident.i.ty of Yin Jing Jing"s friend. "You"re friends with that Lu Li from the Dark Fiend Valley Sect?"

"Um, yes. The Snow Valley Sect has always maintained cordial relations with the Dark Fiend Valley Sect."

Yin Jing Jing continued to shift uncomfortably under Tong Xue"s watchful stare.

"Okay…so why are you bringing this up to me?"

Tong Xue looked bewildered as he scratched his head.

"What do you expect me to do? If they want to come, they can come. n.o.body"s stopping them, right? It"s not as if they"re affiliated with the Divine Shadow Sect. No one is going to attack them if they set foot in Tushan City."

"Their visit will be complicated and delayed because of the security measures the Blood Blades put up." Yin Jing Jing looked a little stricken. "You know how the immigration department is being flooded with detainees. I"m afraid Lu Li and the Ling sisters will be stuck in a cell for days before they will finally be permitted to visit the sect…"

"Uh, okay…then, as I said, what do you expect me to do?"

Tong Xue continued to look bemused.

"I"m begging you, please bring this up to Fei Wu. I believe that as long as he gives the okay, then my friends will be allowed into the city and into the sect grounds without any trouble or delays. It"ll make matters so much easier for them." Yin Jing Jing was pleading with him now. "The task is mainly to help the Ling Clan sisters forge Spirit Artifacts. I had promised to help Lu Li a long time ago, but I didn"t expect the sect to come into conflict with Divine Shadow Sect, you know?"

"No one expected us to," Tong Xue replied dryly. "Do you think Sect Leader Zi and Lord Lang Xie are picking a fight with Divine Shadow Sect for no reason?"

"No, but…as you know, Fei Wu"s words carry the most weight in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect at the moment. His words carry even more weight than the Sect Leader"s words right now. If he just gives the word…"

"Um…aren"t you misunderstanding something?"

Tong Xue burst out laughing, much to Yin Jing Jing"s infuriation.

"What"s so funny?"

"You, of course!" Tong Xue guffawed. "What do you think this is, Spirit Realm? Fei Wu is not Qing Lie. Who says his word carries the most weight in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect right now? You think we"re running nepotism or something? Even if he"s recognized for his contribution, it"s not as if he suddenly became the sect leader or something. Fei Wu is not in any position to give orders. Sure, he can make a request, but everything will be approved by the Sect Leader or Sect Lady in the end. There is no favoritism. And knowing him, he"s incorruptible. There"s no way he"ll pull strings to bypa.s.s the security measures that the Blood Blades put in place just for your friends. He"ll just tell you to warn your friends to be patient and to cooperate with the security procedures and screening."

Yin Jing Jing was stubborn. "Can"t you at least ask him?"

"Why don"t you approach him yourself?" Tong Xue gestured toward me. Even though I was working hard on trying to comprehend something from the snow Spirit Engraved Pillar, I had been eavesdropping and had overheard the conversation from a distance. "See for yourself."

"But…" Yin Jing Jing faltered. I felt sorry for her, so I stopped whatever I was doing and headed over, along a suspicious Lian Rou, who was glaring at the Snow Valley Sect disciple, presumably because she had the nerve to approach her precious Tong Xue.

"I"m sorry, but I can"t help you. Lord Lang Xie isn"t going to compromise just because I ask him to."

"Why?" Yin Jing Jing demanded. "You"re the favored son of the sect right now. Your words should hold a lot of weight…"

"No, they don"t," I told her bluntly. "I"m just a normal disciple like you, except that I"m also a Blood Blade and it is my duty to ensure the safety of the sect."

"…" Yin Jing Jing stared at me in disbelief.

"Don"t you know?" Tong Xue was shaking his head. "One of the first things Fei Wu requested was for no special treatment, no favoritism. He asked to be treated like all the other disciples. He didn"t want power or authority. He didn"t want the elders or Sect Leader to obey him or treat his words as if they were sacrosanct."

"Why should they?" I snorted. "I"m just a regular guy."

"See?" Tong Xue gestured, vindicated by my words.

"Yin Jing Jing." Lian Rou was trying hard to contain her anger. "Just tell your friends to go through with the immigration protocols like everyone else. If they have no malicious intent, if they have nothing to hide, then there"s nothing for them to be afraid of. They won"t get special treatment just because they"re your friends."

Yin Jing Jing glared at her, her eyes turning red, and then she spun away and walked off with a huff.

"Well, that went well," I remarked with a shake of my head. "Why do people think I have the highest authority or something? I"ve got to set the record straight…"

Tong Xue and Lian Rou exchanged wry glances, and the both of them sighed audibly.

"Just go back to meditating under the Spirit Engraved Pillars," Lian Rou told me sharply. Raising an eyebrow, I turned back and returned to the spot I occupied a few minutes ago to resume my meditation.

Man, life would be a lot simpler if people started accepting the fact that I was just a normal person like everyone else.