Volume 1, Chapter 34 – Uproar Over Withdrawing from the Dao

“Enough.”

Bai Xiang pitied Bai Zhuqing, but Bai Zhuqing refused to move, clinging in her arms to cop a feel; caught out, she was pried off by Bai Xiang’s hand.

“Since you’ve studied sutras since childhood, you should’ve heard of Jinchan Temple.”

Ignoring Bai Zhuqing’s wounded look, Bai Xiang went straight to business: “You can’t find this online. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Jinchan Temple?” Bai Zhuqing frowned. “Oh… that—of course it won’t show up… because Jinchan Temple committed the gravest crime.”

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes. “Treason.”

“At least that’s the charge from the imperial house.” Bai Zhuqing nodded.

“The imperial house’s charge… what was the real reason?”

“As for that, I mostly study Buddhist doctrine; I can’t know inside stories.” Bai Zhuqing stroked the fall of her hair, lifting her face as if in thought. “But I did hear one account—that Jinchan Temple conducted taboo experiments.”

“For example.” She spread her hands. “It’s the modern age. With instruments and science, all the major sword daos are improving their foundational training; in that part, there isn’t much difference between them anymore.”

Bai Xiang nodded—she’d already heard the two masters explain this.

Kanjin’s five-viscera method only boosts nourishing efficiency by half a tenth.

And that ‘half a tenth’ isn’t fifty percent; it’s half of one tenth—five percent.

“But Jinchan Temple is different.” Bai Zhuqing’s expression turned grave. “They reject such scientific refinements and still revere the old methods—the most brutal kind.”

“Take that Canon of Returning to the Origin and Transforming Qi you tucked away.” Her gaze flicked to Bai Xiang’s high chest as she spoke, very serious. “From the title, it should be about the five-viscera method. Such old methods have extremely harsh standards—out of ten thousand people, not even one might succeed.”

“Nowadays the major sword-daos either discard such old methods or scientifically refine them. Jinchan Temple’s approach was to pay in lives.”

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“If it takes one out of ten thousand to fit an old method, they really go find ten thousand people to train it.”

“With a big enough base, no matter how niche or harsh the old method, you’ll have a chance to see success.”

“Legend says they believed only disciples selected this way were the very best—those with a shot at pursuing longevity and ascending to the fabled realms.”

“If you insist on a reading, calling that treason isn’t wrong.”

Bai Xiang could follow her meaning.

A mountain temple wasn’t much bound by worldly rules, but this realm ultimately had a master.

Great Yu belonged to Great Yu’s imperial house. If you seek longevity and ascension on the imperial house’s turf—aren’t you trying to climb onto its head?

If you really succeeded, could I still be the imperial house? Would that seat still be secure?

And for this text to turn up on a Demon-Immortal Dao cultist—behind the scenes, Jinchan Temple and the Demon-Immortal Dao likely have dealings.

“Up to now,” Bai Xiang mused aloud, “…has Great Yu produced a true immortal? I mean the undying kind.”

Bai Zhuqing smiled. “If there were real immortals, the sage-emperors in the histories wouldn’t have died—they should still be alive today.”

Not necessarily.

Bai Xiang frowned.

Such legends don’t come from nowhere—especially when they align with what she’d gleaned from the two monks.

“Old methods,” “former methods” did exist. Which meant Jinchan Temple—and perhaps other forces that upheld the old ways—really were trying to probe the Dao of immortality.

“Jinchan Temple used to be a force no less than the Nine greats, with countless sword experts in its ranks.” Bai Zhuqing sighed. “But when the one suppressing you is the imperial house, there’s not a scrap of hope to resist.”

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“In the battle at Cangcui Mountain, not only did the imperial house send an army, it gathered nearly half of Great Yu’s top powerhouses. One battle smashed Jinchan Temple’s mountain gate and shattered its entire lineage; only the Kanjin line survived by cutting ties early.”

So the Kanjin line had originally split from Jinchan Temple.

Bai Xiang finally understood why Master Hua’an would have a Jinchan old method.

“Kanjin—the ‘kan’ there originally described a Buddhist vajra, as in a vajra’s wrath like a tiger’s might—hence ‘Kanjin.’” Bai Zhuqing recited history like counting treasures. “Later, to cut ties with Jinchan, that ‘kan’ was changed to the surname Kan; the Kan family was ennobled and became the Dao Lord’s clan of Kanjin Sword Dao.”

“Master Hua’an’s surname is also Kan?” Bai Xiang asked.

“No idea~” Bai Zhuqing shook her head. “But I’d say that’s very likely.”

Having sorted out the Jinchan old method’s origins, Bai Xiang probed no further and headed for the dojo with Bai Zhuqing.

Near the gate, both their faces changed—they saw a crowd gathered there, most in casual clothes, a smaller number in black standard practice garb like Xu Shu’s.

From the crowd came an argument, mixed with people trying to talk them down and pull them apart—altogether a mess.

Hearing footsteps behind, those on the outer edge turned; seeing Bai Xiang, their eyes widened and they murmured “Senior Sister.”

Like a chain reaction, more and more turned; upon seeing her they lowered their heads, called “Senior Sister,” and made way for her.

Strictly speaking, as Shenming Sword Dao’s dojo chief, disciples should address Bai Xiang as “Chief,” or as Xu Shu did, “Eldest Senior Sister.”

So from their address alone it was clear they didn’t truly respect Bai Xiang—this deference was for Bai Shengju’s sake.

“What’s going on?”

Bai Zhuqing frowned, spotting Bai Leying, Bai Maoxu, and Xu Shu just inside the gate.

And out by the edge stood a tall girl with a ponytail.

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Under a light gauze over-jacket, she wore a white practice uniform; like them, she held a sword-student’s wooden sword.

At the sound, the girl turned to them; her tightly drawn brows eased, and she smiled. “So it’s Zhuqing!”

“Zhuqing, perfect timing! Come judge this for me—we only want to withdraw from the Dao, but we haven’t even seen the Dao Lord, and Leying is blocking us. On what grounds?”

She was “Jiang Haojing”?

Before Bai Xiang entered the Dao, the dojo’s only prospect to have done so?

Bai Xiang dredged up a hazy memory of the girl and looked to Xu Shu at the back; sure enough, his face had gone pale.

His background wasn’t good, and Jiang Haojing’s was no better. On holidays, while other disciples went home, these two stayed at the dojo; they’d grown quite close.

“Withdraw from the Dao” meant quitting the dojo—no more training in Shenming Sword Dao.

The first day back, she’d found it odd Haojing wasn’t around—and now here she was making a scene.

“And you still think you’re in the right?”

Bai Leying was shaking as she spoke, trembling with anger at Jiang Haojing’s shameless declaration.

“If you just want to withdraw, no one’s stopping you!”

“Everyone else can settle the remaining tuition and leave—but you, Jiang Haojing!”

“Grandpa reduced your fees all the time and had Second Uncle tutor you in private—how do you think your foundation got built?”

“Search your heart—your food, clothing, and use all came from the dojo. And you still have the face to demand a refund?”

“You really think the little you paid was enough to train you?”

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Bai Maoxu was fuming too. “Jiang Haojing, you’re a bit shameless, aren’t you!”

Xu Shu hadn’t said a word; his face only grew uglier, fingers whitening on his wooden sword.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jiang Haojing was unmoved. “A fine bird chooses a good tree. If I hadn’t entered the Dao, fine—but since I have, what can Shenming Sword Dao give me if I stay?”

“I didn’t want to put it this harshly…”

“But think about it. A dojo without a Forge-the-Sword method—what keeps me here?”

“Besides.”

She looked around as if holding truth in hand.

“Settling remaining tuition upon withdrawal—those are the written rules.”

“I’m only following the system, asking for the benefits that should be mine…”

She didn’t finish, because a slicing wind sounded behind her.

What—someone ambushing me?

Confident in her entry into the Dao, Jiang Haojing didn’t take the attacker seriously—she simply raised her wooden sword to block behind her, ready to show Bai Leying how formidable she was.

But she completely misjudged her assailant’s strength.

Her sheathed wooden sword was easily brushed aside… she turned—and Bai Xiang’s fist smashed into her face.