-Nom nom, slurp, guzzle!!
A dimly lit corner of Azure Cloud Pavilion, where visibility was poor.
The greasy aroma of food utterly out of place in the Starpoint Sect, along with voracious eating sounds, echoed through the area.
"Phew, are you possessed or something? Eat slower."
"Damn it, how can I eat slow when they only give us bland food to growing kids? Slurp... Cheat day means you gotta eat your fill."
"Ch-cheat... day? What's that supposed to mean?"
Two boys in Starpoint Sect training robes were busily wielding chopsticks over a pile of luxurious dishes laid out to one side.
As a place to train martial artists, the food from Azure Cloud Pavilion was nutritionally adequate.
But it paled in comparison to the flavors and satisfaction from the world's diverse cuisines, so the two boys, Baek Hyun and Jang So-ya, occasionally snuck away to secluded spots for a feast.
"Mmm... But where do you get this food every time? No time to go outside the sect."
"Well, my family has a few maids who can climb mountains well."
"Whoa~ Your maids deliver snacks all the way up these treacherous peaks just for you?"
"You're scarfing down eighty percent of it!?"
Baek Hyun chuckled as he downed a cup of pu'er tea that Jang So-ya had brought along with the food.
It was 'gongcha,' tribute tea to the imperial court, traded at prices akin to silver elsewhere.
Yet Jang So-ya carried the leaves like daily necessities, drinking it like water.
He'd done so since childhood, and now he felt empty without it.
'Having one rich friend sure is convenient.'
At first, Baek Hyun thought he was just a bratty kid from a decent family, but Jang So-ya was beyond imagination—a total chaebol heir.
In one word: 'the youngest son of a conglomerate.'
His father was the head of the Heavenly Fragrance Merchant Group, Yunnan Province's top trading company and the Starpoint Sect's biggest backer.
Their main businesses: production and distribution of premium teas like pu'er, dragon well, and iron goddess, plus silver mining.
Considering Yunnan was one of China's top tea regions and home to one of its four major silver mines, they essentially monopolized the province's key industries.
Once, Baek Hyun had asked if it was okay to share such expensive tea so freely...
'It's fine. We've got over a hundred times more pu'er leaves than rice at home?'
A truly spoiled response.
'But pu'er tea trended from the Qing Dynasty, right? Timeline-wise, this should be the Ming Dynasty...'
Wind and Cloud Pavilion skimped on research, huh?
Whatever. The wuxia world was fantasy enough; minor anachronisms could slide.
"Anyway, did you look into what I asked?"
"Oh, you mean rising junior disciples lately? I casually checked through merchant group intel, but nothing special."
"The usual prodigies are still dominating. People you already know. Dragon this, phoenix that."
Baek Hyun felt a twinge of disappointment at the lack of news.
He'd hoped to find fellow players who might've possessed bodies like him, but nothing...
Fair enough. Even as total rotten waters, a few weeks was too short.
He was still just an unnamed initiate disciple of the Starpoint Sect.
Others starting elsewhere would be in similar straits; no surprise they hadn't stood out yet.
"Only rumor is the Zhuge Clan's forbidden treasure of a daughter showing talent. Supposedly drop-dead gorgeous, next World's Greatest Beauty?"
"Not interested in girls. Get intel on guys with dicks."
The guys he'd partied with in Dominating the World were zero percent likely female.
Anonymous or not, constant profanity and sex jokes? No way they were women.
"The next World's Greatest Beauty of our generation! She could be our bride if we're lucky, and you feel nothing!?"
"Heh heh, such things are mere pie in the sky. Child, why harbor vain hopes?"
"Don't go all Taoist sage after pigging out greedier than anyone!"
Baek Hyun pitied Jang So-ya, whose face flushed embarrassedly, and drained another cup of pu'er.
Yeah, that next World's Greatest Beauty would marry someday, likely someone from their generation.
But not you.
He'd understand eventually, but it'd hurt till then.
'Zhuge Clan... Wasn't that the faction Kim Sam-soon used?'
97-Year-Old Grandma Kim Sam-soon's Final Meal Ladle Triple Hit.
Aka Kim Sam-soon.
Affectionate: Sam-soon-ie.
One of the players Baek Hyun hung with; unlike his PvP focus, Sam-soon excelled at PvE too.
He'd optimized PvE builds and created boss guides for all of Dominating the World.
The game's story difficulty halved post-Sam-soon— no exaggeration.
He was PvP-serious too, ranking 3rd in the rotten-water-infested pre-possession PvP scene.
Perfected play via manic build research and calculations; top-tier even among rotten waters.
His win rate against Baek Hyun was second-highest; skill unquestionable.
Mouth foul, but reliable brain...
'If possessed, we'll meet eventually.'
Baek Hyun shoved fatty duck into his mouth, deciding to shelve the player hunt for now.
Fellow possessors would cross paths someday; no rush.
'For now, focus on getting stronger.'
No intel on lurking black curtains; best and only choice was steady power growth.
In this world, might made right.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
About two months after initiates began training.
An anomaly disrupted their routine of physical conditioning and basic forms.
"From today, we train the sword."
Hyun-gang's curt words.
Initiates erupted in cheers.
"Jackpot! Graduating Flowing Cloud Fist!?"
"Yes! Swordsmanship at last!!"
Initiates couldn't hide their excitement.
Hyun-gang's stern warnings stifled complaints, but endless basics taxed young patience.
"Ooooh! Sword arts finally!!"
Even the mentally 20-something old soul buzzed with hype.
Baek Hyun could've self-trained swordplay—he'd memorized all Starpoint Sect manuals—but basics built foundations.
Still, self-practice lacked the romance of proper instruction.
Every initiate gripped a blunt wooden sword, hearts pounding, awaiting Hyun-gang's next words.
"As you know, our Starpoint Sect swordsmanship emphasizes thrusting. Thrusting is the fastest motion in all martial arts. No slash can structurally match its speed.
Thus, we of the world's swiftest sword sect cling to the thrust."
Hyun-gang raised a wooden sword and continued.
"But thrusting has a fatal flaw: easy to block.
Thrusts are faster than slashes and deadlier per effort, true. But concentrating all force at the tip makes trajectory shifts and deflections simple. Few skilled swordsmen fail to parry a clean thrust.
So, how to land on superior foes?"
The answer was simple.
"Thrust faster than they can react, or chain them."
-Fwissssh, fwip fwip fwissssh, whoooosh!!!
In that instant, Hyun-gang's blade tip blurred invisibly.
Dozens of sword winds from the blunt wood became fierce yet harmless gusts, brushing initiates' skin and hair.
A trajectory alien to other sword arts.
Feeling that swift, merciful gale, initiates intuitively grasped their sword's path.
"Remember: You are Starpoint Sect disciples. Your swords outpace foes in most cases, seize initiative in most, force blocks in most.
Don't panic if blocked. Our next attack outpaces their counter.
So long as we don't stop, they can only defend!"
Overwhelming confidence in speed, unyielding to any.
Decades of Starpoint arts infused Hyun-gang's words with pride as the swiftest sword school's member.
A bold stance exclusive to Starpoint disciples.
"Of course, experts will exploit gaps between strikes, especially stronger ones.
Unilateral offense against equals or betters is impossible. Thus, as Starpoint disciples, never grow arrogant or greedy."
Don't get drunk on your speed.
Don't scorn foes busy blocking.
Most foes are slower than us.
"But not weaker."
A final reminder awakening pride while curbing hubris.
Initiates, etching it to heart, faced their swords not as excited newbies, but as Starpoint disciples and swordsmen.
"Today's art: Gale Swift Sword, our foundational swordsmanship. Second-gen, demonstrate!"
Waiting second-generation disciples flowed into Gale Swift Sword forms.
Demos done, they distributed manuals with oral formulas and began proper instruction.
Baek Hyun diligently imprinted forms under guidance, pondering.
Unlike prior basics, this led properly into the martial path.
Like stacking a tenant-ready floor atop a polished foundation.
-Swish, swish swish, shaaa!!!
Soon, Baek Hyun wielded forms fluidly.
Impressively fast, even accounting for his body's talent.
Enabled by mastering all three basics recently.
Clear Mind Heart Method.
Flowing Cloud Fist.
Flowing Cloud Step.
Basics normally took years to master, yet Baek Hyun did all in two months. His innate talent, adult diligence and persistence. Above all, Solar Body's infinite stamina yielding unmatched training time. Starpoint's core basics now solidly underpinned his arts. The Gale Swift Sword seed took root stably, growing far swifter than normal. The power of solid foundations. Baek Hyun felt his growth real-time, convinced. 'Time to learn those arts in my head.' Foundations perfect. Now, time to soar.