The next morning, Sai stretched his long limbs and stood up from the floor in a groggy state. He rubbed his drowsy eyes and slicked his hair back before heading into the restroom, where he then splashed some water on his face. His eyes were squinted as he observed himself in the mirror, perusing over every minute detail. Other than the multitude of bruises layering his body, he looked relatively similar to how he had appeared a month ago. Yet, Sai could feel as though something was different within his body, but he could just not put his finger on it.

‘Perhaps, reciting the first part of the mantra transformed my body in some way?’ he thought to himself while dusting his clothes off.

There were many mysteries that he still did not understand, and the only possible way to gain some of the answers was to find the strange old man residing inside of the infirmary. Alas, Sai was forced to train in the morning and afternoon, leaving this window of opportunity rather slim. Departing from the designated locations without proper authorization was a huge crime — which could easily result in death or dishonorable discharge.

With that in mind, a small, but clever smile formed on Sai’s lips as he pushed open the restroom door. He could hear Liu’s abhorrent snoring in the other room as he exited, opting to leave without exchanging any pleasantries. Although Sai was grateful for Liu’s magnimosity, it was something that he would have to repay at another date. Waiting for the young boy to wake up and end up being late to the training grounds as a consequence would be absurd. On the other hand, forcefully waking up another noble was also considered to be rude, so Sai decided to do nothing.

He transversed the narrow corridors and headed to where he could feel the largest mass of energy inside of the Gao Protectorate, presuming it to be Wang Fuu. Large groups of soldiers, maids, and workers alike marched down the halls beside Sai. The entire protectorate was bustling as he weaved in and out of the crowds, slowly making it the outdoors region.

A massive number of lined up troops, alongside the blazing sun, greeted Sai as his feet touched the sand. A few of his fellow compatriots, the other young men, were also waiting for him. The morning drills were just about to begin, so everyone present had already acquired their weapons and training gear. They stood with their backs as taut as a bowstring, awaiting Wang Fuu’s orders.

Sai didn’t dawdle for long after seeing this sight, he quickly scanned the large group of soldiers and walked toward Guan Hei, his instructor. The man stood out like a sore-thumb; he was a head taller than his peers and emanated a far stronger aura, only being outclassed by Wang Fuu, himself. As such, Sai was easily capable of both locating and reaching him before practice commenced, saving himself a headache.

“Pardon me, coming through,” Sai repeated while walking through the condensed crowds of warriors, not a hint of shame appearing on his pale face.

Like this, he managed to close the distance between him and Guan Hei, reaching only a few feet away from him. Afterwhich, he placed the palms of his hands behind his back and waited for Wang Fuu to give the signal. Sai knew that Liu was more than likely going to be late, but he was very intrigued as to what punishment the young man would receive. After all, Liu was a Hu who managed to attend the Gao Protectorate training grounds.

Time slowly passed and Wang Fuu blew the horn after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, causing the warrior to release a collective sigh of relief. They turned to their adjacent partners and began training, while Sai twirled toward Guan Hei’s direction. A wooden sword was instantaneously flung in his direction, to which Sai caught without excessive difficulty.

He clenched his hands around the wooden hilt and spaced his legs according to the correct sword-wielding posture. Sai had always been paying attention, even when he was being fiddled with by Guan Hei. Therefore, his gains could not be considered small when it came to sparring advancement.

Guan Hei didn’t have much of a reaction to Sai’s quick wit and started to ruthless correct his stance. He swatted the backs of his legs when Sai eased up, slapped his back when he slouched and roared when he slowed down. Over time, using this method, Sai’s body would proceed to subconsciously correct itself. Tempering one's muscle memory was the key to gaining proficiency in something.

While Sai was perfecting the fundamentals of swordsmanship, a white-haired youth darted out from the Gao Protectorate. His clothes were in tatters and his face was flushed red. He galloped toward Wang Fuu with small droplets of tears threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes. To an outsider, he truly appeared to have been wronged in some way, shape, or form.

“Lord Protectorate General,” he shouted in a shrill voice, like a harassed woman.

Wang Fuu’s face scrunched up and his brows furrowed. His nostrils flared, while the muscles on his body flexed. How long had it been since a young recruit dared to unceremoniously scream out his name? However, Liu’s following words rendered everyone that attended the morning training, speechless.

“S-Someone barged into my room last night and stole all of my valuable, and even knocked me unconscious!” he implored with a depressed voice.

Wang Fuu’s anger was temporarily forgotten as he scrutinized the young noble in front of him. His robe was in tatters, exhibiting patches of bruised skin and small cuts. Likewise, the tears streaming down the sides of Liu’s face were also rather believable. More so than that, was the absolute confidence that no mere child would dare to lie in front of him.

Then, while everyone was still shocked, Liu reached into his garbs and pulled out a single strand of hair. It glistened in the sunlight and caused those nearby to smile wryly while casting a glance in each other's direction.

It wasn’t just any normal piece of hair, it was a beautifully combed strand of purple hair. Anyone who boasted some form of intelligence could immediately guess who the owner was, especially Wang Fuu. He let out a sigh while glancing in Sai’s direction, scrutinizing the hardworking boy. Everything could be perfectly aligned with Liu’s story.

The fact that Sai came out of his room in the morning had already been relayed to him, alongside the proof that Liu departed from the residence after, filled with bruises and tattered clothes. Even more evidently, was that Sai also did not enter his very own room last night, or so the young boy who shared rooms with him had broadcasted.

Under normal circumstances, with all this evidence piled on top of them, they would immediately be sent back home in disgrace. But, Sai was War Sage Song’s grandson, someone who had pledged fealty to the Son of Heaven, achieving countless merits. Disgracing Sai would be like going against Old Song, which Wang Fuu was not willing to do.

Besides, Wang Fuu was powerful enough to keep tabs on each and every single happening inside the protectorate. He knew fully-well that Sai had truly done nothing wrong, so he quickly snatched the strand of hair and crushed it within his hands.

Liu opened his eyes wide in shock. He was unable to comprehend how his plan had failed. His father had told him to shame the Zhuge family in some way, so when Sai walked right into his room last night, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Yet, the prideful general who was famed for disregarding nobility seemed to be uncaring.

“Why?” Liu asked in a strange voice, slightly distraught.

Wang Fuu glanced down at Liu and snorted. He couldn’t publically beat the boy to his background, but he could easily reproach him. “It matters not if someone has broken in your room and beaten you, for strength is the only thing that matters in the Gao Protectorate.”

He paused, glancing at Sai in the distance, “if you have a problem with someone or something, then you can solve it by yourself. We don’t believe in using another one’s sword to strike your enemy!”

Liu could only begrudgingly nod his head as Wang Fuu dismissed him, ordering him to go and train with the others. Along the way, he couldn’t help but look toward Sai, who was still in the middle of a trance. Liu ground his teeth in irritation at the sight. ‘Father was right, the Han will always treat the Hu like subjects…’ he quietly thought to himself.

The man in question, Sai, was far too focused on his training to even acknowledge Liu or Wang Fuu in the distance. He closed his eyes in cultivation as he continuously struck with his wooden sword, flinging sweat in the process. Unlike last time, the dragon within his body didn’t assist him, so his sore muscles were beginning to wane. Pain assaulted every fiber of his being as he ground his teeth… he hated pain!

Soon, Sai’s knees collapsed, causing him to fall onto the ground. His eyes dilated, swiftly using his hands to catch his fall, lest he plunges on his face. He had momentarily dropped the sword in the process, but at the very least, his face wasn’t plastered into the dirt.

Guan Hei’s eyes flashed, “was that night just a delusion?” he whispered to himself, seeing none of the determined man from that evening in Sai.

Nonetheless, none of Guan Hei’s thoughts showed on his face. He helped Sai up from the ground and began teaching him how to develop sword-ki, instead. In contrast to the physically arduous procedure of tempering your body, formulating ki was a mentally draining task.

Although comprehending a mantra was relatively simple to understand, Ki was an entirely different form of power. Instead of absorbing the energy from the seven origins, one had to assemble their very own source. To do this, you were forced to use your own essence and create a strand of Ki, to which you would then twirl it around itself hundreds of times, condensing it into a small ball. Gaining more and more Ki required one to repeat the process thousands of times until they possessed an abundance of energy.

Of course, most cultivators disregarded sword-ki and focused on their cultivation, which gave birth to its own advantages. As such, when Sai was given a choice to continue physical training or developing sword-ki, he decided on the latter without hesitation. It didn’t take a minister or Grand Scribe to know that Sai had little, to no physical talent. No matter how hard he worked those muscles, they wouldn’t grow much.

It was due to this that Guan Hei had no qualms about teaching Sai the utilization of sword-ki. He figured that it was quite a suitable choice for him until he reached the age of eighteen, to which he could then focus on cultivation. However, no one present, not even Sai, could imagine the magnitude of this decision for the future.

Sai sat cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the army of men just moments away from him. He focused all of his senses within his body, moving his inner energy the way Guan Hei had instructed. As he slowly began to circulate the Ki inside his body, a small, purple thread was formed. It was extremely thin and would serve as the catalyst for his future sword method.

Once his first strand of Ki was formed, Sai started to swirl it around itself, dozens of times. It became shorter and shorter as time passed, but the light it shimmered became bright in response.

Hours passed and Sai’s tightly clenched eye-lids didn’t open up until the moon had already descended upon the Central plains. The rest of the warriors and students had already left, leaving only him and Guan Hei.

With a deep sigh, he stood up from the ground and dusted off his buttocks. He stared at Guan Hei with a slight smile playing on his lips, “I did it,” he said, as gently as the cool breeze.

As he spoke to there, Sai lifted his right index finger and pointed it at the ground. A small, purple light jumped out of his fingertip and darted toward the ground, breaking a nearby rock.

“So fast!?” Guan Hei thought with dilated eyes.