**Star Immortal World**
As the sun rose over the horizon, casting a muted glow through the cloudy sky, a light rain began to fall. Rain sat upon his horse as it trotted along the path, feeling the cool drizzle and gentle breeze. He had left town at dawn as soon as the city gates opened, enjoying the quiet morning while letting the rain wash over him. With his eyes closed, he started to receive the memories from his main body. After securing the three techniques—the Iron Sword, Cloud Sword, and Shadow Sword arts—he had returned to the inn to rest. At dawn, he'd readied himself, eaten breakfast, and set out on horseback. Now, with the morning rain and breeze surrounding him, he let the stored memories flow seamlessly from his soul chip.
As he received the memory, he saw that his main body was resting after the second battle in the Dead Battlefield, where he had earned 82 merits. The soul chip was still processing the movement technique from the Cloud Sword Art, now at 40% proficiency of 'start skill level'. Reviewing the battle memories, Rain noted how the adaptable strikes of the Cloud Sword technique paired well with the rapid Spring Sword techniques, creating a synergy in combat flow.With this insight, he instructed the chip to continue decoding the Cloud Sword technique at its normal pace, then urged his horse forward, picking up speed.
Hours passed, and as the sun began to dip below the horizon, Rain halted his horse, mindful that it had been running all day. He scanned his surroundings for a place to rest, but on both sides of the road stretched a dense forest of tall trees, offering no clearings. Ahead, he noticed a low hill rising gently against the darkening sky. The ground glowed softly with the light of the eight everlasting stars, casting a serene glow over the landscape despite the absence of a full moon.
In a few minutes, he reached the hill's base, where the road curved to go around it. Between the road and the hill lay a small clearing, just large enough to rest for the night. Rain climbed down from his horse, tied it to a nearby tree, and set up his tent before building a small fire. Deciding against hunting, he opted for the dried food he had prepared earlier. After eating, Rain took out his sword and began practicing the Iron Sword technique. Although it was a low-level technique he'd reached a familiar level with, advancing it to proficiency would require adapting it from a two-handed heavy sword style to fit his one-handed medium sword.
He practiced the Iron Sword technique a few times, realizing why it was designed for a heavier two-handed sword—the weight helped build momentum, releasing a devastating attack on the final move. With a medium sword, he couldn't replicate the power of a heavy sword. Setting it aside, Rain moved on to the third technique he'd acquired, the Shadow Sword technique, a top-rank skill like his Spring Rain Sword technique. Practicing Shadow Sword, he noted how its shadow strikes were entirely different from Spring Rain's approach. His main focus was to advance the Spring Rain Sword to D-rank, leaving time for other techniques later. After a couple of hours practicing the Cloud Sword Art, he paused, hunger drawing him from his training as he sat down to eat.
While eating, Rain contemplated how to blend the Spring Rain Sword Art with the Cloud Sword Art, using the former as the primary style. However, by the time he finished his meal, no clear solution had surfaced. Determined, he stood up and began performing each sword technique, analyzing them for similarities. The Spring Rain Sword Art was a complex, 27-move sequence designed to cover every angle of the body in attack. In contrast, the Cloud Sword Art, though only a 9-move sequence like the lower-level Iron Sword Art, was elevated by its integration of a unique movement technique, making it a formidable mid-level technique.
Practicing the Cloud Sword technique a few more times, he focused on identifying which parts of the body generated power for each move. He discovered that four of Cloud Sword's moves were also present in the Spring Rain Sword Art, leaving only five moves to integrate. Taking one of the five unique moves, he experimented with incorporating it into the Spring Rain sequence, placing it after the first and second moves to see if it flowed naturally while maintaining the strength of the second move. After two attempts, he realized the added move felt unnatural, disrupting Spring Rain's fluid style.Adjusting the placement of the additional move between the second and third, then third and fourth moves, he tested the sequence repeatedly, seeking a position where it harmonized seamlessly with Spring Rain's technique without disrupting its artistic conception. This artistic conception was crucial, doubling the power of each Spring Rain move. As he experimented with the placement, he considered that techniques in the Star Immortal World were likely created by founders who had gained insights into the workings of the world and then crafted techniques around those insights.
Previously, Yun Ting had achieved mastery of the Spring Rain Sword art and by comprehending the rain stone, allowing him to fully understand Spring Rain's artistic conception. Now, as he studied the Cloud Sword Art, he felt the movements mirror the nature of a cloud—erratic and adaptable. He reasoned that the creator must have first grasped the essence of this concept before crafting the technique to apply it efficiently, guiding others toward understanding the artistic conception.Rain reflected on why mastery of low- and mid-level techniques often lacks such a conception; perhaps the creators hadn't fully completed their work or were unable to convey the artistic essence in its entirety.
As he tried placing the added move between the fourteenth and fifteenth positions, he heard the distant sound of horses approaching from the direction he had come. Turning, he saw nothing at first, but soon a faint outline of figures on horseback came into view, leading a carriage behind them. Eight riders surrounded the coach, and a coachman guided the carriage, though Rain couldn't tell how many people were inside. He sheathed his sword and sat by the fire, waiting as they neared. They stopped in front of him, and the coachman dismounted, approaching Rain to ask, "Could we rest here in this clearing for the night?"
Rain replied, "You're free to rest wherever you'd like."
"Thank you," said the coachman, nodding as he returned to the group. The horsemen dismounted and began setting up their tents. Rain's keen senses picked up their whispered conversation.
"Captain, let's chase the boy away. He might be part of the group chasing us," one of the guards murmured. Another chimed in, "Yeah, Captain." They likely thought they were speaking quietly and out of his earshot, but with his heightened senses, their words were clear. From their exchange, Rain guessed they were guards for the carriage.
The captain, a burly man, muttered, "Let me ask the manager," and approached the coachman, speaking in a low voice. "Manager, we should get rid of the boy. He might be with those men in black masks."
The manager hesitated, replying, "First, ask him politely."
The captain nodded, "I'll ask him politely first, and if he refuses, I'll handle it my way." With that, he turned and started toward Rain. Seeing this, Rain decided to demonstrate his strength subtly. He channeled his true energy, extending it outward to snap a branch above his head, lowering it with his energy to place it into the fire.
The captain, the manager and the guards watched in stunned silence, eyes wide and faces pale. They recognized that Rain's strength far exceeded their own; the captain, though the strongest among them, was only at the late Gathering Strength Realm, and all them together can deal a Prepared Strength Realm warrior. The captain, his face pale, halted abruptly, then turned and returned to the manager without a word.
Once back with the group, he muttered to the manager in a fearful tone, "What should we do?"
The manager, trembling as he glanced at Rain, replied, "How would I know? Your guards might have implicated us. We should apologize and ensure he's not troubled, especially not the young master and young miss."
The captain, still confused, replied, "Apologize for what? We haven't done anything." Just then, a young girl parted the curtain of the carriage, her curious face peeking out.
"Manager, Captain, what are you whispering about?" she asked.
The manager quickly answered, "Miss," and then explained what had transpired. The girl opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
"I'll go apologize," she announced. "The mistake of a servant should never cast a poor light on the master." With calm resolve, she walked toward Rain.
Watching her approach, Rain observed the girl in her elegant blue dress as she stopped before him. Bowing slightly, she said, "I apologize for my guard's behavior."
Rain merely nodded, signaling with his hand for her to leave. However, she hesitated, as if wanting to ask something more.
Rain's face remained expressionless. "What is it?"
"Are you going to the auction in Wutan City?" she asked, looking hopeful.
Rain knew of Wutan, the prefecture capital within the Xia Dynasty's six prefectures. It lay in the same prefecture as his home city, but in a different direction from the path he intended to take toward the capital. "Auction?"
"Yes," the girl said eagerly. "The Black and White Holy Land is opening its gates for children to join. Because of this, many people are traveling to Wutan, and Jing's Treasure House is hosting an auction." She paused. "Would you care to travel with us if you're headed there as well?"
The Black and White Holy Land, one of Xia's three holy lands, was renowned for having superior martial art as rest of the two holy land and its generations of Strength Realm warriors, sometimes more than one in a generation.
Rain shook his head. "No." He gestured once more for her to leave, then turned and entered his tent, ready for sleep.