The town of Shang sat nestled between two sloping cliffs like a forgotten coin in a cracked bowl. It wasn't large—barely two hundred families—but due to its location near the Azure Route, it was prosperous enough to attract wandering merchants, escort squads, and the occasional desperate cultivator.
Huang arrived just before sunset.
Dust coated his boots. His plain robes bore the wear of long travel, and the sword on his back hummed with silent sentience. As he passed the outer gates, he drew little attention. Just another traveler.
But within minutes, whispers began.
"They say the Lan family is hiring."
"For the Azure Route? Bandits and beasts alike are crawling that road right now."
"They're desperate. Offering ten gold talens per day, more if you show real skill."
That caught Huang's interest.
The Azure Plains were a spiritual convergence zone, home to many sects—some reputable, others... less so. It was also one of the best places to find rare cultivation herbs and loose spirit veins. If he was to grow stronger, Huang needed to reach it.
And gold talens didn't hurt either.
He followed the flow of conversation to the Lan estate, a walled mansion near the heart of town. Outside its courtyard, a crowd of cultivators had already gathered—mercenaries, rogue disciples, swords-for-hire.
Most eyed one another with distrust.
Two young guards stood at the gate, cross-referencing names on a scroll.
"Only those with spiritual tools or established skills can try out," one barked as a hopeful stepped forward. "This isn't some bandit-slaying caravan. This is the Lan family. If you're weak, don't waste our time."
When Huang stepped forward, no one moved aside for him.
"Name?" the guard asked, barely glancing up.
"…Huang."
"No surname?" the other asked, raising a brow.
"None that matters."
Chuckles rose from the crowd behind him.
"You got a stage? Cultivation level?"
"Bronze Seal. Mid-stage," Huang replied calmly.
"Show us something. Sword forms, not bragging."
Wordlessly, Huang stepped into the courtyard.
There was a practice dummy set up. Cracked. Worn. Likely used by every contender.
Huang drew his spirit sword.
To the untrained eye, it was unremarkable—no glow, no flare, no painted edge. But to Jiang Fei within, the blade shimmered with the calm precision of a true cultivator.
Huang moved once.
A single step. A low breath. The sword flashed like falling rain.
The dummy fell apart—every cut precise. Six in total, each through a core joint. No wasted motion.
The crowd fell quiet.
The senior guard, eyes wide, cleared his throat. "…Right. Approved."
Huang nodded and returned the sword to his back.
The guard looked him over. "You'll be guarding Young Master Lan Qin and his sister, Lady Lan Su, on their journey to Azure Sect. Four days through the Azure Route. Morning departure. Be at the gates at dawn."
—
That night, Huang took up lodging in a small teahouse near the edge of town.
In the dark, as the wind blew lightly through the shutters, Jiang Fei's voice echoed in his mind.
> "That technique wasn't from the Jiang scrolls."
"No," Huang murmured aloud, pouring himself tea. "One of the ones we found in the tomb."
> "They're going to ask questions eventually."
"They always do," Huang replied. "But so far, no one's ever asked the right ones."
Fei chuckled faintly from the sword. "That young master… I felt a spark when his name was mentioned. The Azure Sect… it might hold something important. For both of us."
"I'll keep my eyes open."
Outside, the stars wheeled in slow arcs.
And somewhere far along the Azure Route, bandits and spirit beasts stirred—drawn to power, to wealth, or to blood.
But they had no idea who was coming.
The morning sun crept slowly over Shang, casting golden lines across the tiled roofs and misty roads. Outside the Lan Estate, ten guards gathered beside a grand twin-roofed carriage, its silver wheels lined with protective talismans and its body reinforced with spiritual wood from the Riverpine Trees of the north.
Huang arrived quietly, sword slung over his back, robes pressed from rest. He said nothing as he approached the group.
A loud voice broke the stillness.
"You're him, aren't you?"
Huang turned.
A youth—maybe sixteen, seventeen—stood before him, dressed in a layered green-and-white robe, his waist cinched by a custom sheath that gleamed with polish. He had an easy smile, long black hair tied with a jade ornament, and bright eyes that seemed to weigh and measure without malice.
"I saw your test yesterday," the youth said, grinning. "The way you split that dummy? No flash. No shout. Just shing-shing-shing—and done. Brilliant!"
Huang nodded. "Thank you."
The boy clapped a hand to his chest. "Lan Qin. Second son of the Lan family, future swordmaster of the Azure Sect." Then, lowering his voice dramatically: "Hopefully. If the recruiters don't find me too charming for their taste."
"I'm Huang."
"No surname?"
"Just Huang."
Lan Qin nodded, eyes narrowing in interest—but he didn't press.
"Come," he said, "meet my sister."
He turned and gestured toward the carriage.
Beside it stood a girl only a year or two younger, her pale lavender robes rippling with protective wind-threads stitched into the sleeves. Her hair was tied high in twin loops, and her eyes were bright and distant, as though listening to a world no one else could hear.
"This is Lan Su," Qin said gently. "Don't expect her to say much. Not because she's rude. She's…" He hesitated, searching for the word. "…powerful."
Lan Su gave the faintest bow. Her lips barely parted, but a soft voice entered Huang's ear as if whispered directly beside him.
> "It's nice to meet you, Sword Brother."
Huang's brows rose slightly.
The sound had bypassed the wind.
Lan Qin smiled proudly. "She's learning the Sonic Arts. Something like a voice cultivator. Right now she can shatter a stone wall or make herself heard across a battlefield. Not bad for fifteen."
Lan Su's fingers fluttered slightly in protest, but her face didn't change.
"She's hoping to be accepted by Kim Noon, the Songbird of Azure Plains," Lan Qin explained. "You know, the only known Sonic Cultivator in the entire Empire?"
"I've heard of her," Huang said. "Azure Sect's said to treat her like a national treasure."
"Exactly!" Qin beamed. "My sister has talent. And me—well, I'm still looking for a swordmaster who won't laugh me off."
Huang looked at him. "And what if you don't find one?"
Qin shrugged. "Then I'll steal their scrolls and become one anyway."
Huang allowed himself a faint smirk.
—
As the final preparations finished, a deep voice echoed through the yard.
"Guards! Line up."
The speaker was Elder Wu Ren, a Silver Seal Stage cultivator and personal steward to the Lan family. With a square jaw and a black beard streaked with iron, he radiated command with every breath.
He scanned the ten guards now gathered.
To Huang's right was a tall man with three curved daggers and a restless energy—Kao Lin, a rogue Wind-Step cultivator.
To his left stood a stoic spearwoman with half her face scarred—Yu Mei, formerly of the Broken Ridge Escort Clan.
Behind them were others—archers, shield-bearers, and two twin brothers who spoke in unison.
Elder Wu strode down the line.
"Our route will pass through Red Root Valley, Wolfshade Ravine, and finally the open plains to Azure Sect. We ride two wagons and march in layers—guards rotate point, flank, and rear."
He paused before Huang.
"You're the blade master from yesterday?"
"I am."
The elder gave a long look. "I don't care what you've done. Only that you react fast when it matters."
"I will."
"Good." Wu turned. "We move in one hour. Pack what you need. Eat what you must. On this road, even the stones bite."
—
An hour later, as the sun climbed higher, the Lan entourage rolled out from Shang.
Two silver-wheeled carriages at the center. Guards walking in diamond formation. Dust rising from boots and hoofbeats.
Inside the first carriage sat Lan Qin and Lan Su, one humming a cheerful tune, the other silently tuning the air with her breath.
At the rear flank, sword calm at his side, Huang walked with the grace of still water, his eyes scanning the distant horizon.
Somewhere ahead, in forest or shadow, trouble surely waited.
But for now… the road was clear.
And the Void Vessel walked unseen.