Naked Sword Art

[ Royal Court ]

The Investigator walked through the halls of the massive building, passing by familiar faces, and others he was not particularly close with.

"Woah, look at you. That's a nasty cut. Who did that to you?" A young man dressed in golden silk asked the investigator upon seeing the bandages on his body,

The man knew royalty when he saw one, immediately falling to one knee, the investigator said,

"I encountered a boy in Jadepeak city," he said through clenched teeth. "I suspected he was the one responsible for the annihilation of a small sect. But when I attempted to capture him, he wounded me then escaped. I believe if he's left unchecked… he may grow up to be a calamity in this continent."

"A boy you say," the gold robed young man said curiously. "How old is he, and what's his name?

"He didn't appear to be older than 20, and I didn't get his name," the investigator replied.

"Surely if he's in the heavenly realm I would've heard about him by now. What cultivation method does he practice?"

"He isn't in the Heavenly realm, but he possesses a lightning-type spirit attribute. And judging from his use of clones, I suspect he must be from the Black Paradise sect."

"You were injured by a mortal? From the Black Paradise sect too… That's unbelievable," the young man said while raising the investigator's chin to get a better look at the cut just under his jaw.

"I had my guard down," the investigator said simply.

"Very well. Go make your report. I have a letter I want to send."

The investigator bowed respectfully then took his leave. After he did, a young girl following the golden robed young man finally said,

"Big brother, who are you planning on sending a letter to?"

"We have a cousin in the Black Paradise sect, if anyone is going to know about who this mystery person might be, it's going to be her."

.

.

.

Later that evening, as dusk fell over the valley, Xiao Fang found himself seated beside a small fire outside one of the stone houses. The stars blinked into view overhead, their light dim through the veil of Qi that hung over the land. Across from him sat Luo Biya, legs folded neatly beneath her, sipping from a warm cup of herbal tea. Her usual stern expression had softened.

It had been a long day. The Soul Devouring Clan had welcomed him—grudgingly. Whispers followed his every step, but no one dared challenge him openly.

Still, the unease had not gone unnoticed.

"Your clansmen are scared of me," Xiao Fang said quietly, breaking the silence.

Luo Biya's brow lifted slightly.

"There is something I need to confess to you, just like your granddaughter, Luo Yue, I wasn't raised in the Chaos Sect. I don't understand its people, its history… or its fears."

Luo Biya set her cup down and regarded him in silence for a moment. Then, she nodded.

"You're not wrong. They are afraid. Not just of your strength… but of what you represent."

Xiao Fang silently stared at the fire with a calm expression.

She exhaled slowly. "It's not something people talk about openly anymore, but the Dual Cultivation Clan wasn't always like this—quiet, isolated, barely surviving. Long ago, they were one of the pillars of the Chaos Sect. Revered. Feared. Desired. For thousands of years, their arts elevated the Chaos Sect's influence, drawing in talented cultivators from every corner of the country."

"But something changed," Xiao Fang guessed.

"Yes." Her eyes darkened. "Not all power is welcomed. Especially when it starts shaking foundations no one wants disturbed."

She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping.

"As the sect grew, so did the influence of the Dual Cultivation Clan. But with it came… complications. Families began to break. Relationships crumbled. Cultivators of high status were caught in scandal after scandal. Accusations of infidelity, betrayal, seduction—it became rampant. The nation was unraveling at the seams, not because of war, but because of broken homes."

Xiao Fang frowned. "So they blamed the Dual Cultivators?"

"Eventually, yes. People started asking: was it truly the fault of the ones who cheated on their spouse? Or… were they manipulated by the very arts the Dual Cultivators practiced? Could anyone resist such allure? In the eyes of many, the answer didn't matter. Only the outcome did."

Xiao Fang didn't need to think too deeply on that question, there was a reason he chose to wear a blindfold in the Black Paradise sect.

"The Council eventually voted. The decision to exterminate the clan was narrowly avoided. The only reason it didn't pass… was because the Patriarch at the time had ties to the clan. Deep ones. Blood ties."

Xiao Fang blinked. "So instead of extermination…"

"Banishment." Luo Biya nodded. "They were cast out. Forbidden from cultivating within the province. Labeled as corruptors. Manipulators. Seducers."

Xiao Fang's expression darkened, but his tone remained calm. "If it was such a problem, why didn't this happen sooner?"

She smirked faintly. "Now that… is where the conspiracy begins."

He listened intently as she continued.

"There are whispers—old ones. That just before the collapse, a boy was born into the Dual Cultivation Clan. A genius. Unprecedented talent. It's said his abilities even began to overshadow the Patriarch himself. It was said that he could master any technique or method in a single day, and tame any woman or spirit beast with nothing but a single glance."

"So the Patriarch felt threatened," Xiao Fang assumed.

"Deeply," she replied. "So much so that he turned the council against them. Not that it was difficult—public sentiment was already fragile. All it needed was a little push."

Xiao Fang stared into the fire. "What happened to the boy?"

"No one knows. Some say he fled. Some say he was killed by the Divine Sword Sect during the purge. Either way, the damage was done. The clan was shattered."

Xiao Fang was aware of what happened in the Divine Sword sect, the way his grandfather annihilated the Dual Cultivators that entered his province. Only his mother was spared because of his father. What he didn't know was that some escaped back to the Chaos sect.

"…And only after that, the Chaos Sect let them return?" Xiao Fang asked.

"Reluctantly," she confirmed. "But under strict terms. No disciples of the Dual Cultivation Clan were allowed to learn any other cultivation method from any of the other clans. Not Soul Devouring, not Blood Path, not even the Healing branch."

Xiao Fang raised an eyebrow. "Yet here I am."

"Don't worry, that rule was set by the previous patriarch, many things have changed since then. Still you can understand why my clansmen are so wary of you. A stranger… not just learning their cultivation method, but mastering it faster than anyone in our clan's history has ever done it."

For a long moment, Xiao Fang said nothing.

Luo Biya watched him closely. "You remind me of her."

"Who?"

"My granddaughter, Luo Yue. She is an outsider too. Not by blood, but by spirit. The world never quite made sense to her either. But she has fire, and her talent for cultivation is extraordinary, just like you."

Xiao Fang's encounter with Luo Biya's granddaughter was very brief. He knocked her out on the 7th floor of the Ancestral Training Ground before she could even get the chance to see him. Thinking about it made him smile warily.

"Extend my apologies to her the next time you see her," Xiao Fang said.

Luo Biya was confused at first, but recalling what happened during their first encounter, she laughed.

"You can do that yourself when you see her, she will return back to our clan soon," she patted his lap. "Get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning."

Luo Biya left the house, leaving Xiao Fang alone with Xiao Hei.

Now that he was alone, there were many things he wanted to do, but very few he could choose.

…

Curse Agreement: 7,633/10,000

It was too late at night for Xiao Fang to begin practicing any new techniques, but curiosity got the better of him. He opened the Soul Devouring method once more, flipping through its pages to see if there was anything that might prove useful in the future.

His expression remained calm and unreadable as he scanned the contents. At first glance, none of the techniques stood out to him—except one: the lone Core Realm technique. It was the only one that piqued his interest. However, without Supreme Elder Song's Phoenix Jade hairpin, learning it would be significantly more difficult.

[ Soul Devouring ] Techniques:

Core Realm Technique: Soul Merge

Refinement Realm Techniques: Soul Suppression, Soul Taming

Foundation Realm Techniques: Soul Search, Soul Puppet, Soul Heal

Xiao Fang briefly considered creating his own soul techniques. For the average cultivator, inventing a technique could take months—if not years—to develop and refine. But Xiao Fang was far from average. He had already created a handful of techniques for his [ Naked Sword Art ] method.

Ironically, it was his grandfather who first taught him how to forge new techniques. The process began with visualization, followed by manifestation, and finally, execution.

'Maybe I'll ask Luo Biya to assist me with the [ Soul Merge ] technique tomorrow,' Xiao Fang thought.

Xiao Fang still had one more thing on his mind—his newly awakened Spirit Attribute: [ Immortal Dragon Cosmic Storm ].