Bo Yunzi glanced at the woefully inept Lin Xin practicing beside him.
"It seems your talent for swordsmanship is indeed lacking. You might as well follow me and learn the Poisonous Sand Palm instead. The origins of the Poisonous Sand Palm come from a eunuch in the Northern Yuan dynasty..."
As he rambled on about various things, Lin Xin's vision began to blur increasingly. It took all his concentration to keep his swordplay from being egregiously crooked.
The blur before his eyes was like something overlapping his field of vision, creating an uncomfortable feeling.
As time passed, the layer that was obscuring his sight gradually became clearer.
"What... what is this?!" Lin Xin slowly made out what was affecting his vision and his mouth gaped open slightly in surprise.
The image that appeared before him was the martial arts game attribute frame that he was discussing with friends online before he transmigrated!
The attribute frame was a light red color, lined up at the very bottom of his field of vision.
Offense, Defense, Evasion, Physique.
All four basic attributes were there, followed by a set of small numbers.
Offense—2, Defense—1, Evasion—1, Physique—1.
Lin Xin blinked his eyes and noticed a small red symbol following the attributes, resembling a little sword. The symbol was very tiny, almost imperceptible unless looked at very closely.
He focused on the symbol, and as soon as he did, a sentence naturally appeared in his mind.
'Red Pine Sword Technique: Beginner.'
"Focus!"
Pfft!
Another kick came as Bo Yunzi, swift as lightning, pounced onto the field and gave Lin Xin a stern kick.
A pain shot through his body, and then Lin Xin immediately saw a downward arrow symbol appear next to his Physique attribute.
"Does this indicate that my physique is slowly declining?"
With his mind full of questions, Lin Xin barely concentrated enough to complete his training task for the day, thrusting his sword a thousand times. It was only after returning to his own room that he had time to carefully consider this sudden emergence.
Since its appearance, the attribute bar had been stable with no changes.
After a night's sleep, Lin Xin was surprised to find that the arrow behind his Physique attribute had disappeared, clearly recovering.
He woke up excited and immediately started sprinting around the dojo grounds.
"Since attributes can be useful, can the other systems work too? Like the herb gathering system?"
With this thought in mind, he circled the surrounding grass but the attribute bar showed no change and no new symbols appeared.
After his trial, other than the attribute bar and the Skill array, this thing seemed just like an Illusion, with no alterations.
Rather than explanations like a game system, Lin Xin felt it was more like a software, an illusion kind of software that could monitor the state of his body, allowing him to see his abilities directly.
Besides this function, there was nothing else.
The previously elated Lin Xin, after discerning the actual condition, felt somewhat disheartened as he returned to his room.
Sitting down on the bed with a flop, he rubbed his face with a sense of helplessness.
"It's completely a brain illusion. The other functions in the game are of no use at all. It seems there are no shortcuts in this world after all..."
He glanced at the wooden sword beside him, which was made for practice. He picked it up and began repeating the extra practice from the day to get more familiar with the body's originally possessed foundation.
The wooden sword's dark grey blade thrust out rapidly, without a sound.
Another thrust. Silence.
Another thrust, still silent.
One more thrust, hiss.
An extremely faint sound suddenly appeared with that thrust.
Lin Xin suddenly noticed that when the sound was made, an upward arrow appeared next to the symbol for his Red Pine Sword Technique.
"This is..." His heart stirred slightly. As his gaze fell on the symbol, information flowed out from it.
'Red Pine Sword Technique—Beginner. (Advance conditions: Master thrusting, Songyang Needle)'
"I can see the conditions for advancement?" Lin Xin's heart warmed slightly at the possibility. With this, when facing hurdles, he could directly identify the target and avoid the wrong path.
But what delighted him more was that the successful thrust he had managed to pull off by chance seemed to remain in his field of view like a learned skill.
Even with his eyes closed, he could still see the red Skill symbol, like a sword thrusting forward, creating a surge of airflow.
"It seems that this ability really is like software installed in my brain, capable of precisely grasping the changes in my body, as well as accurately remembering bodily movements."
Lin Xin briefly analyzed the situation in his mind.
He lightly focused his intention on one particular skill.
Involuntarily, as if an invisible force was controlling his body, he lifted the wooden sword and thrust it forward.
Whoosh.
A faint sound of cutting through the air immediately arose.
"Indeed!" Lin Xin felt that this thrust was exactly the same as the successful one before. The strength used, the angle, the speed, there was no difference—it was almost a perfect copy.
"Perfect memory copy of the successful thrust. This is...," Lin Xin didn't know what to say. This ability was an extremely detailed control over one's body. Not supernatural powers per se, but certainly better than them!
Putting down the wooden sword, he tried to thrust forward with just his bare hands, without using the skill.
No sound.
Try again!
Whoosh.
The sound made this time was even stronger.
Lin Xin slightly adjusted his movement based on the memory of his previous thrust, immediately finding an even better one.
He soon noticed an upward arrow emerging behind the indicator for the Red Pine Sword Technique.
"That's it! Haha!" Lin Xin felt a surge of joy, repeatedly experimenting to find the most perfect thrust.
The skill would help him memorize the most perfect successful thrust as a bodily instinct, and he could then get familiar with this perfect skill through use. Thereby, he would reach the goal of perfect mastery.
All night long, he continued to practice the thrust over and over, quickly locating the most perfect one, fixing it as a skill, and then constantly repeating it, feeling the subtleties within.
Skills are inherently rigid, but genuine mastery comes from making them an integrated part of one's instincts, achieving the level where one can freely control them.
In this environment, the uncertainties of recent days had already caused Lin Xin to feel a severe lack of security. Being defenseless in such times was like a lamb waiting for the slaughter.
*******************
At the foot of the mountain, Red Pine City
Inside a red-painted mansion in the southeastern part of the city,
In the main hall, a burly man with thick eyebrows and eyes, and a sabre strapped to his waist, frowned as he stared at another man sitting in a chair.
"Big brother, the Shu Family's terms are a bit excessive. Isn't this taking advantage of our misfortune?"
The man seated, dressed like a wealthy merchant, wore a white hat inlaid with a piece of green jade on his head. His body was covered in delicate white silk and a blue fur garment, looking like a thin cape.
"No need to worry, second brother. There's still some time to ease into this. General Huang from the city has already reported it to his superiors," the merchant answered with an unhurried voice, twirling two green orbs in his hand.
"And besides, I have made other arrangements...
"I've long disliked that Shu Guanglong, and I'll find an opportunity to teach him a lesson," the burly man said bluntly.
"Last month's delivery was short by twenty percent. Arrange for Ah Hao to look into it. Even though our Lin Family is currently in dire straits, we're not to be trampled upon by any stray dog or cat." The merchant, who was plump and wealthy-looking, spoke with a chilling tone.
Those who could build such a business in these chaotic times were naturally not simple characters. The merchant, who was none other than Lin Zhiwen, head of the Lin Family, was a well-known figure in and around Red Pine City.
The burly man was Lin Zhiwu, his real younger brother and the arrest officer for Red Pine City.
"Easy," said Lin Zhiwu with a nod. "I'll arrange that shortly. By the way, I heard that your youngest came back?"
"He's back," Lin Zhiwen slightly paused the movement of the orbs, "The second one has gone to Wanxin City to stand on his own and has opened the third shop. The third is still stationed at Shimen Mountain. A few days ago, he sent word that he had been promoted to a regiment commander and was highly valued by the thousand-commander. Our Lin Family has finally managed to establish some connections in the military. The fourth... if nothing unexpected happens, he should have already connected with the Song Family; a county magistrate position is within his reach."
"Tsk tsk, a county magistrate... Worthy of the Song Family, that move by our youngest brother is truly... With real authority in hand, and this facade, many things will go smoothly for us," Lin Zhiwu's eyes showed a hint of envy.
"Unless the fourth one can't stand his wife's temperament," Lin Zhiwen sighed.
"But I've heard their marriage is good, otherwise why would his father-in-law, Lord Song, go out of his way to help? To make arrangements for his son-in-law?"
"Let's not talk about that. What worries me the most right now is the eldest," Lin Zhiwen shook his head. "Xinru has loved martial arts since childhood but lacks natural talent. Initially, I let him practice martial arts, thinking he'd give up and return, but unexpectedly, he's still up in the mountains and refuses to come down."
"Ah Hao has already urged him several times, but he shows no intention of coming down," Lin Zhiwu said helplessly. Lin Xinru was the only odd one in the clan.
Others sought careers in business, military, or officialdom, the recognized proper paths. But he had gone to the decrepit dojo and had stayed for over three years already, not planning to return.
A twenty-year-old man still living off his family, while his younger brothers and sisters were already standing on their own—yet he was still the eldest of the main branch.
In these times, could any Jianghu hero be more dangerous than soldiers in battle formations? There was once a so-called high-level Jianghu expert who tried to rob the rich to help the poor, only to be surrounded by dozens of long pikes and cut down by a barrage of crossbow bolts—even a dragon can't survive that.
"What truly should be learned are combat skills for the battlefield. What use are those solo fights you find in Jianghu? To be like me, a lowly arrest officer?" Lin Zhiwu said, frowning. In his younger days, he roamed around as a Jianghu fighter, known for his martial prowess far and wide.
"In a while, it's the Lantern Festival. As is custom, Xinru will also come down from the mountain, and the second, third, and fourth will all come back. Your two as well. We can have a good comparison then, showing him what really matters. Once we cut off his silver supply, he'll naturally understand what's most important," Lin Zhiwen stated at a leisurely pace.
"A comparison? That's a good idea," Lin Zhiwu stroked his goatee. "As always, you know best, big brother. Let him see that his younger siblings, who used to be less successful than him, are now doing well. People fear comparisons the most; I'm sure that will wake him up."