They spoke of him as though he were a great man giving him the nickname, 'Sea Spring Swordmaster.'
"..." Yui Luo felt her mind shaking, "...If they knew."
She looked to the top of the pagoda, every time a new batch of hunts would arrive, Shou Xin would come down and inspect it for a brief moment before going back like clockwork.
Any problems were delegated and any missions which needed handling were similarly delegated.
For the last two weeks, he had not appeared more than three times.
"The Sea Spring Swordmaster, huh." Liu Gang who stood to her side sighed, "Lord only remains in that little room all day, I am worried."
Yui Luo nodded seriously, "We as his retainers need to… put our lives on the line!"
Liu Gang silently began moving forward.
Standing before the wooden door to Shou Xin's private quarters, the two did not hesitate to peep.
---
'What are those two doing?' Shou Xin thought calmly, 'Are they trying to rebel?'
Though he quickly dismissed those thoughts, no one knew the burden he had put on those two better than he did, even they did not know the path he had sent them down.
Taking a deep breath he dismissed any unnecessary thoughts.
'Today… I breakthrough.' Shou Xin quietly looked within his Inner Sea.
The dark abyss was now practically bursting with Primeval Qi!
At night when no one was around, he would escape to go hunting every time he finished his last reinforcement.
His Primeval Qi had reached it's peak, and his Primeval Qi Body Art had grown as well.
In preparation for the day he would attempt to breakthrough into First Chain Mortal, he had been gathering as much Primeval Qi into his Inner Sea as possible in case the tribulation started to destroy his foundation he could heal it immediately through Primeval Absorption.
"There are five types of beginner foundation, each one corresponding to a realm one might reach in the future. Your foundation is a type one. Small and weak, so don't get cocky," Vienna's words flew into him like a train, "You will have to rely on your skills and instincts… ah."
He shook his head regretfully as though wondering how he got himself here with such a talentless disciple.
Shou Xin calmly ignored his Master. It had become almost second nature to let those jabs at him just slide off like water running around a rock.
He did not need Vienna's help for the next part.
His instincts guided him.
Within his Inner Sea, an earthquake began.
Shou Xin's corporeal body had begun to tremble ever so slightly as the Earthen Qi around him had begun to swirl forming a cloud above his head which soon grew too large and shattered the top of the pagoda, however he did not flinch.
It continued to grow and grow until eventually it began to tremble.
Within his Inner Sea, Shou Xin hid his soul deep in the center of his foundation and maneuvered the killing intent to leave the foundation and form a shield of clouds atop the foundation.
The Sea Spring Sword had all but been drained of it's killing intent over time, that which was inside his Inner Sea was only the truly pure and unblemished desire to kill.
The Primeval Qi Beasts seemed to sense the tribulation and began to fight even harder to escape.
"Ah," Vienna slowly began to grin as he remembered something, "The Great Path is not kind to those who do what you've done. So good luck."
Vienna quickly jumped away, his head laid on his paws as he watched.
---
Lightning Tribulation.
Something that even the great emperor could not escape should they choose to embark upon the road of internal alchemy, Cultivation.
It did not matter what path they took nor what they believed, nor what god stood above them or had chased them away.
The Great Path was a being born of the roots of the Eternal Void without an ego, nor a truly divine soul, it sought absolute fairness.
Even if the heavenly emperor were to ascend, they could not do so without first passing the test given out by the Great Path.
Shou Xin sensed this instinctively, the Lightning Tribulation above would be a single, absolutely fair strike which embodied him or broke him.
His heart chilled and his emotions perished, smothered by the immense killing intent flooding his system and washing it out like a flood.
The sky cracked with thunderous roars and the people of the Shou lan which had been going about their day all turned in awe and wonder not knowing what was happening.
The atmosphere began to super heat.
Shou Xin whose face remained devoid of expression and his eyes devoid of everything but a soul which hid far within looked up.
Up as the Lighting Tribulation fell.
It was no great thing like that of a prodigy only seen once in a millenia, nor was it some sort of special tribulation never before seen.
It was a single, all encompassing strike.
The body was thick as a bucket at the top and thinned to a razor's edge at its end.
Countless tiny arcs of lighting flew off as it fell, almost as though in slow motion for Shou Xin whose entire being was focused upon it.
You Liu and Luo Gang were terrified running away as fast as possible but lightning was faster.
It slammed into Shou Xin.
--
A vast sea of screaming phantoms all of them being boiled alive by the relentless nature of the lighting tribulation, they could not be saved.
Shou Xin felt the changes in his body.
'I was overprepared,' He thought as he watched the lighting bolt unable to penetrate his thick killing intent defense shattering into the Inner Sea where it could not even damage it as it was thrown into the Primeval Qi Beasts.
He stood upon his mound with his hands behind his back watching all of this unfold.
A wave of powerful Qi struck him then and his mental state loosened before him there appeared a vast void with countless options.
He felt it in his bones.
"The place which leads to the Heavenly Dao, the Great Path." He felt the countless whirling Law's in their fledging states all around him like clouds coming and going, if one's ability to grasp them was not tough enough.
Yet, he did not panic.
"Those which escape me, or not meant for me," He sensed a single law within the clouds, it's pull was strong and it's attraction spent.
He reached out without hesitation, if fate gave him a bad hand he would take it with open arms the same as he would take a good one.
The clouds parted around his hand as he touched the runs which cascaded like a waterfall.
Sanguine Sword Law.
A law bathed in blood. The very words wreaked of the countless he had slain till this very moment, it resonated with the thick killing intent embedded into his soul. He felt that the law was the only one for him and his insticints moved his body before he could.
His fingers caressed the words and it entered his Inner Sea, atop the mount a Rune representing the Sanguine Sword Law appeared, it's contents almost empty save for a scrap of understanding as eight chains held it down.
His mind bounced back, forced from space.
His Inner Sea had emptied from the Lightning Tribulation, only a small portion of pure Qi remained aiming to strike, yet, his foundation was too strong.
In an instant the Sanguine Sword Law began to give off a faint mist sucking in the killing intent from all over his body and further devouring the pure qi from the tribulation mixing them within itself.
Shou Xin calmly focused on the entire process, understanding it as a matter of course.
Within a days time the process had completed.
His Inner Sea now had a small amount of Sanguine Sword Qi, sharp and full of killing intent.
His eyes slowly opened.
---
"Clear blue skies...." Shou Xin's brows furrowed as he whispered, "...where the hell is my roof?"
"Ashes." Came the deadpan reply, "Your pitiful tribulation turned it to dust. Now… a crash course on cultivation etiquette."
Shou Xin looked over at the black cat sitting on his shoulder.
"Never, not even on threat of death, tell anyone your law, no one who asks has good intentions and to ask at all is extremely disrespectful. Giving away what it is, is for the strong or fools and you are neither strong, nor… hm, well," The balck cat got comfortable, "Do not reveal any information about your cultivation at all. Same reason as above, be secretive about everything."
Shou Xin nodded.
"I got it."
He stood up energetically, the Sanguine Sword Law despite still having eight of the nine total chains within the Chain Mortal Realm was strong and did not cause him to need extra recovery time.
He left them a letter which read, I am going on a journey.
He spoke as though to no one at all, "I do expect anyone to stay loyal, nor to truly care about this little thing of ours here. But at least, I hope they don't abandon each other to ruin."
He stood looking out atop the shattered rooftop.
Behind him, Yiu Luo and Liu Gang silently bowed.
It had not been a long time, nor were they close, but in their darkest moments he came like a flood destroying everything in its path but also giving way to new opportunities and chances no matter how horrible they may have been.
By the time they unbent their backs, he had… vanished.