Chapter 12: The Origin of Martial Spirit

Martial Spirit!

Lu Yan frowned; it was yet another term he had never heard before, nor did the original owner's memories contain any knowledge of it.

"Yan'er, what did the lord from the Crimson Guard say to you?" Lu Qingshan approached and asked.

Lu Yan hesitated slightly, glancing at Wang Cui. Madam Liu had issued a gag order; even the Crimson Guard dared not divulge anything. He couldn't let Wang Cui know. If she happened to let something slip while chatting with other village women, it would be troublesome.

Lu Qingshan saw the look in Lu Yan's eyes and immediately understood his thoughts. He entered the living room and said, "Mother, Yan'er and I have something to discuss. You should go to bed first."

"Don't stay up too late yourselves," Wang Cui nodded and headed into the room, closing the door behind her.

Father and son sat in the living room.

"Father, the lord from the Crimson Guard mentioned only one term—Martial Spirit," Lu Yan whispered.

"Martial Spirit!" Lu Qingshan's face changed dramatically. "So it is Martial Spirit."

"Father, you know what it is?"

"I've heard of it, but not much." Lu Qingshan's expression grew heavy, as if recalling distant memories. After a moment, he said, "When I used to train at the martial academy, I once overheard an old master mention it. Martial Spirit, in the Great Chu Dynasty, is a taboo."

"Why?"

"It has to do with the cultivation method. Martial Spirit is known as the Soul of Martial Arts, existing in some mysterious realm. Ordinary people or martial artists, through a certain special ritual, can communicate with the Martial Spirit and obtain its inheritance."

"It's said that those who receive the Martial Spirit's inheritance not only gain profound and mysterious martial arts and progress with divine speed, but their lifespan also greatly increases. Most astonishingly, they can achieve immortality."

Lu Qingshan explained.

Lu Yan drew a sharp breath. Gaining a martial arts inheritance was one thing, but increasing one's lifespan and achieving immortality? That was truly defying the heavens.

"With such incredible abilities, why is it a taboo in the Great Chu Dynasty? Is the royal family afraid others would become too powerful and threaten their rule?" Lu Yan speculated.

Lu Qingshan shook his head. "No. The cultivation of Martial Spirit is extremely dangerous—it leads to all kinds of monstrous mutations. At best, one goes mad; at worst, one transforms into a monster, loses all humanity, becomes ferociously cruel, drinking blood and devouring flesh as a matter of course. Wherever these monsters pass, they leave carnage and hell on earth."

"Think about it—a monster with long life, immense power, and immortality. How terrifying would that be? If not forbidden, there would be no peace left in the world."

"Father, does Martial Spirit truly grant immortality?" Lu Yan pressed.

To be honest, he was skeptical. Immortality meant being impossible to kill. Yet the monster attacked by the Liu clan's forces had fled—why run if it could not die? Was it afraid of being captured?

"I don't really know," Lu Qingshan admitted. "It's what I've heard. At the founding of the Great Chu Dynasty, Martial Spirit was declared taboo. All rituals communicating with it were burned, and an edict was issued: anyone found engaging in such practices would be executed, along with their entire clan."

"Yet some still risk it, and now, in tiny Changfeng City, Martial Spirit reappears. Truly, chaos breeds monsters. The world grows ever more turbulent." Lu Qingshan sighed.

Lu Yan fell silent.

It was only natural that some would risk it—the temptation was too great. People always think they might be the exception; that what happened to others won't happen to them.

Father and son chatted a while longer, each lost in their own thoughts, before retiring to bed.

...

Early the next morning, the Liu clan sent people to reassure the villagers.

They explained that last night's events were caused by a martial artist who had lost control and turned into a rampaging bandit. The Liu clan's martial troops had inflicted heavy wounds, forcing him to flee into the mountains. They were searching and would soon kill him, so everyone need not worry.

Even if Lu Yan hadn't seen firsthand that it was a Martial Spirit, he would never have believed such nonsense. In fact, he suspected the Liu clan was using them as bait to lure out the Martial Spirit.

Capturing a Martial Spirit and handing it over would bring a great reward.

When he first arrived in the village, Lu Yan had found it odd. Was the clan truly so benevolent? Not only had they taken them in, allocated houses and land, but even lent them grain. It didn't fit the usual style of the clans.

If they were using them as bait, it all made sense. The Liu clan had every reason to do so.

"This place really isn't safe. We must move into the city as soon as possible," Lu Yan thought. The Martial Spirit was likely unharmed and could return at any time. Besides, there were also bandits.

This tiny village was fraught with danger.

Fortunately, the Martial Spirit was being hunted by the Liu clan's martial troops and probably wouldn't return soon. He had to seize this period to save enough silver and buy a house in the city.

"I have about one hundred sixty taels of silver. If I can save another hundred fifty, that'll be enough. If I hunt one more fierce tiger and sell the hide, meat, and bones, I should have just enough," Lu Yan calculated.

He immediately instructed Lu Qingshan and Wang Cui to stay at home, while he headed toward Changfeng City.

His old iron bow had been bent and deformed, so he needed to buy a new one. Also, he couldn't go to Woniu Mountain—the monster had fled in that direction the day before.

He dared not risk his life and could only choose another hunting spot.

Changfeng Mountain, stretching for hundreds of miles, was the largest range near Changfeng City. The city itself was named after the mountain.

Lu Yan bought a new iron bow in the city and prepared himself, then set out for Changfeng Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, he often saw groups of three or five dashing into the vast wilderness. Some were burly and exuded strong energy—clearly martial artists.

"So many people entering Changfeng Mountain... Are they all here to gather 'Scarlet Blade Leaf'? Of course—autumn is when the Scarlet Blade Leaf ripens," Lu Yan mused.

Scarlet Blade Leaf was a spice used in martial cuisine. The main ingredient in martial cuisine was, without question, exotic beast meat. The secondary ingredients were various spiritual herbs.

Through complex preparation and cooking, the gamey taste and harmful substances in exotic beast meat were removed. But to activate its powerful medicinal properties and make it an indispensable treasure for martial artists, martial cuisine spices were needed as catalysts.

These spices blended beast meat and spiritual herbs, allowing their properties to merge perfectly and unleash potent effects. They also greatly enhanced the taste and flavor.

Thus, they were expensive.

The major clans cultivated them artificially, but the price could never match the wild ones.

Scarlet Blade Leaf from Changfeng Mountain was particularly prized. Every autumn, when it matured, crowds flocked to the mountain to search for it.

Both ordinary people and martial artists seeking breakthroughs, known as Leaf Seekers.

Lu Yan frowned. So many people flooding into Changfeng Mountain would make hunting difficult—either the prey would be killed or frightened away.

But he had no better option.

Leaf gathering would last for months; he couldn't wait that long.

Gripping his iron bow, Lu Yan strode into Changfeng Mountain.

Sure enough, for several hours he encountered no game—not even a rabbit, let alone a large beast.

Instead, he kept running into Leaf Seekers.

He had to keep penetrating deeper into Changfeng Mountain, where the crowds gradually thinned.

Suddenly, a streak of purple flashed through the thicket ahead.

"Was that... a sable?" Lu Yan's spirits soared.

Sable pelts were extremely valuable and beloved by wealthy families. A full sable skin could fetch a hundred taels of silver, rivaling a tiger skin.

But sables were rare. Lu Yan had hunted for years and only heard of them, never seen one. Even Lu Qingshan, after more than a decade of hunting, had seen them just twice, but never managed to catch one.

Lu Yan immediately set off in pursuit.

But the sable was incredibly fast and agile, darting through the underbrush like a purple bolt of lightning. Lu Yan fired three arrows in succession, but it evaded every one.

The chase stretched for miles—one fleeing, one pursuing.

The sable dashed into a densely vegetated ravine, and Lu Yan, without hesitation, followed.

The ravine was long but narrow, choked with shrubs that slowed Lu Yan's progress. He watched the distance between himself and the sable grow.

Unwilling to give up, he grit his teeth and pressed on.

The deeper he went, the narrower the ravine became.

When Lu Yan finally reached the end, he halted in dismay—there was no path forward, only a stone crevice.

He had seen the sable slip through this very crack.

"Am I supposed to crawl through? Will my first time squeezing through a crevice end here?" Lu Yan muttered.

But for the sake of a hundred taels of silver, he had no choice but to try.

Yet the crevice was too narrow, barely wide enough for a calf, and despite repeated efforts, he couldn't squeeze in.

He had to give up.

Too tight!

"Bah, unlucky." Lu Yan spat into the crack and turned away, disgruntled.

When he returned to the mouth of the ravine, he suddenly stopped.

"Wait, just now..." Lu Yan quickly retraced his steps, stopping halfway down the ravine and staring at a patch of fiery red plants beside it.

The plants were about a meter tall, their leaves the size of a palm but long and narrow, shaped like blades.

"Red as blood, shaped like blades—these are Scarlet Blade Leaves," Lu Yan rejoiced.

Indeed, losing one thing, finding another.

He hadn't caught the sable, but he had stumbled upon a patch of Scarlet Blade Leaf.

When he had entered the ravine, focused entirely on chasing the sable, he had glimpsed the red plants in passing but paid them no mind.

He had nearly missed them.

Dried Scarlet Blade Leaf was worth its weight in gold. Even fresh leaves could sell for three hundred taels per pound.

This patch contained over a dozen plants, with at least a pound of leaves.

Lu Yan approached, picked one, and sniffed it. A unique aroma confirmed it was indeed Scarlet Blade Leaf.

Just as he was about to harvest them, he heard a rustling sound. The next moment, a thin middle-aged man emerged from the thicket and appeared before Lu Yan.