Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Dao Wuming glanced at Jiang Ran, still seeming a little hesitant. He spoke softly,

”How about... I lend you this book for a couple of days?”

”That won’t be necessary!”

Jiang Ran quickly waved his hand in refusal.

”See? See? You still don’t believe me!”

Dao Wuming said hurriedly,

”It’s really just about local customs and traditions. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

As he spoke, he took out the book and tried to shove it at Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran was shocked. ’It’s one thing to... *reward* yourself behind closed doors, but do you have to be this outrageous in public?’

He was about to turn and leave. The scholar might not be embarrassed, but Jiang Ran certainly was.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Dao Wuming grew anxious. He quickly reached out with one hand to grab Jiang Ran’s wrist.

Jiang Ran was about to pull his hand back but found there was a profound skill to the man’s grip. Whether he tried to pull, hide, dodge, or retreat, all his options were covered by that single grab.

He instinctively spread his five fingers and countered with a reverse grip from the Thirteen Manic Claws of Kun. The two men now had each other locked by the wrist.

Their Inner Strength surged in that instant, followed by a dull thud.

Dao Wuming felt a powerful force suddenly erupt from Jiang Ran’s wrist. Jiang Ran seemed completely unaffected, but Dao Wuming’s own palm was numb and throbbing with pain.

He looked at his palm, then back at Jiang Ran, his face a mask of disbelief.

”Creation True Qi? You’ve actually mastered the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra?

”How is that possible?”

”The Creation Righteous Heart Sutra?”

Li Tianxin had already turned back. Hearing Dao Wuming’s words, he too wore a look of astonishment.

”You’re cultivating *that* Inner Energy technique?”

”...”

Jiang Ran silently glanced at the two of them.

”Is there... a problem with the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra?”

Dao Wuming and Li Tianxin exchanged a look, both seeing the same incredulity in the other’s eyes.

In the end, it was Dao Wuming who spoke in a low voice,

”Brother Jiang, you don’t know? This... Who told you to practice this martial art?”

”My master.”

Jiang Ran lied without batting an eye.

”That’s impossible.”

Li Tianxin stated flatly. Noticing Jiang Ran’s gaze, he slowly elaborated,

”No master in this world would have their disciple practice this martial art.”

Dao Wuming nodded repeatedly as well.

”Brother Jiang... is it possible your relationship with your master isn’t very good?”

”...”

Jiang Ran was momentarily speechless.

”What exactly is the problem with the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra?”

”You truly don’t know, Brother Jiang?”

Seeing Jiang Ran’s baffled expression, Dao Wuming explained,

”Actually... the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra is an orthodox Taoist technique. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it.

”Moreover, this martial art originated from the Righteous Heart Sect a few hundred years ago.”

”The Righteous Heart Sect?”

Jiang Ran thought for a moment. The name sounded somewhat familiar.

But Dao Wuming had said the Righteous Heart Sect existed several centuries ago. After hundreds of years of change and evolution, if the sect hadn’t survived to this day, it was unlikely he would have ever heard of it.

”That’s right, the Righteous Heart Sect.”

Li Tianxin interjected,

”In its time, the Righteous Heart Sect was extraordinary. It could be called the number one Taoist Sect in the world, with disciples all over the land.

”However, even the strongest foundations will eventually crumble.

”Although the Righteous Heart Sect was powerful for a time, after a few generations, its disciples began to fight endlessly over differing doctrines and martial philosophies.

”Finally, after more than a decade of turmoil, the once-great Righteous Heart Sect was torn apart and collapsed.

”Its various lineages scattered throughout the martial world, giving rise to many of today’s famous and righteous sects.

”For example... the Dao Yi Sect and the Danyang Sword Sect of the Golden Cicada Dynasty are both successors to the Righteous Heart Sect’s legacy.

”They even vie for the title of the true orthodox successor. Every thirty-six years, they invite all the sects that share the Righteous Heart Sect’s legacy to a competition at Celestial Blade Peak on Wanqiong Mountain.

”The victor gets to wield the Righteous Heart Sword, take the title of ’Zhengxin Taoist,’ and command the other sects for thirty-six years.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ran nodded. He had indeed heard about the Righteous Heart Sect in a teahouse.

He just hadn’t paid much attention at the time. The people discussing it were more focused on the Dao Yi Sect, not the Righteous Heart Sect...

It seemed to be because the Sect Leader of the Dao Yi Sect was now the National Preceptor of the Golden Cicada Dynasty, a position of extraordinary status.

”Brother Li seems to be quite knowledgeable about this.”

Dao Wuming smiled and said to Jiang Ran,

”And among those splinter factions, there was actually another one... called the Creation Path!

”Unfortunately... from the day it was founded, the Creation Path never once appeared in the martial world.”

”Why is that?”

Jiang Ran asked.

”Because their legacy was... the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra.”

Dao Wuming shook his head with a smile.

”This all happened at least one hundred and sixty or seventy years ago. It’s been nearly two hundred years now.

”At that time, a group of explorers who searched for ancient and hidden places in the martial world were traveling together and discovered the original mountain gate of the Creation Path.

”They entered, passed through numerous traps, and finally, in the depths of the ruins, they found this Creation Righteous Heart Sutra.

”Because it was a legacy of the Righteous Heart Sect, and the word ’Creation’ itself is extraordinary.

”So, several of them fought tooth and nail, becoming bitter enemies, just to get their hands on the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra.

”Afterward, word leaked out, shaking the martial world. Countless people resorted to any means necessary to find this secret manual, unleashing waves of bloodshed and chaos.

”This chaos continued for more than ten years before it finally died down.

”It wasn’t because no one wanted it anymore, but because... the person who eventually obtained the manual publicized its entire contents.

”They didn’t just give a copy to everyone involved; even common people on the street could easily buy one if they wanted.”

”...What incredible nerve.”

Jiang Ran grinned. ”And then what?”

”And then everyone realized that the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra was simply impossible to practice.”

Dao Wuming poured himself a cup of tea.

”It’s too difficult... For someone with exceptional talent, it would take at least five or six years just to get from the first level to the second.

”For someone with slightly more ordinary talent, it would take at least ten years.

”In the martial world, where the ways of martial arts flourish like a hundred flowers, who would be willing to waste their time on a technique like that?

”But some stubborn people did manage to figure out a way to speed up their cultivation.

”They would rely on the Inner Strength they had accumulated through years of hard training and convert it all into Creation True Qi. Only then could they achieve rapid breakthroughs in the Creation Righteous Heart Sutra.

”But everyone who tried it regretted it... Fifty years of bitter training wasn’t enough to push this technique to the fifth level.

”Most of them got stuck at the fourth level. Not only did their martial skills not improve in the slightest, they actually took a huge leap backward.”

Jiang Ran’s brow furrowed.

”You mean in the entire martial world, not a single person has ever mastered this technique?”

”There was one...”

Li Tianxin said faintly,

”Years ago, there was an unknown Taoist who appeared in the martial world at the age of one hundred and twenty-five.

”He once split the Cyan Sea with a single sword strike and scattered the clouds across half the sky. He is the only person in the last two hundred years to have cultivated this art to its highest level.”

He paused for a moment.

”And there is another... you.”