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Chapter 12 - Chapter 12 – Beneath the Bronze Leaves

 "Some techniques are earned. Others... are survived."

Part 1: The Journey Unfolds

Two moons passed since the road beyond Fogridge Crossing first opened to them.

Li Wei and Yun Luo traveled eastward through the wilds of Bronzeleaf Valley, a place where ancient cultivation ruins slumbered beneath golden canopies. The leaves shimmered like dull coins, and the wind carried faint whispers of old sects lost to time.

They kept moving.

Sometimes they found shelter in cave hollows. Other times under tree roots.

The Ashfire Covenant didn't pursue openly—but Li Wei never let his blade leave his side.

Part 2: Breaking Through

In the thirtieth dawn after Fogridge, Li Wei sat under a towering bronze maple tree, its roots tangled around a stone slab marked with faded spiritual runes.

His breathing was even. Shallow. Deep.

A crimson serpent with twin tails had nearly bitten through his thigh days before. It had forced him to channel the Longevity Technique faster, directing his life energy not just to heal, but to power his sword.

That sensation stuck with him.

He recreated it. Over and over.

His internal energy spiraled, no longer merely preserving him, but refining him.

His skin tightened. His senses sharpened.

And quietly, without fanfare—he broke through.

Cultivation: Martial Dao – Postnatal Realm (Late Stage)

A breath left his lungs like mist.

The bronze leaves fell in silence.

Part 3: The Wandering One-Eye

Three days later, while crossing a shattered rope bridge, a figure leapt from the cliffside shadows.

"Silver and coin!" the stranger yelled. "Or blood!"

Li Wei stepped sideways.

A venomous boar burst from the underbrush behind him—charging straight into the ambusher.

What followed was chaotic.

The stranger—a one-eyed, ragged rogue cultivator with a broken saber—cried out as the beast pinned him. His spiritual energy was unrefined, wild.

Li Wei moved.

With practiced flow, his blade slipped beneath the boar's tusk and cut its tendon. Then, before it could cry, Silent Severing Art opened its throat in a clean arc.

Silent Severing Art – Proficiency: (34/100) – Beginner

The rogue stared up, bloodied and blinking.

Then laughed.

"I rob one man, and he saves my life? You owe me nothing, friend. But I owe you much."

He introduced himself as Mu Yan. Wandering cultivator. Once outer disciple of a fallen sect. Now wanderer.

"Let me follow you," Mu said. "Thirteen meals. One good fight. Then we part."

Li Wei didn't argue.

He simply nodded.

And walked on.

Part 4: Steps in the Dust

Their party became three.

Yun Luo, still recovering but now capable of brief cultivation, rarely spoke. But she trusted Li Wei enough to walk behind him without her hand near a blade.

Mu Yan filled the silences. He joked. Fished. Made bitter comments about sect corruption.

But he was sharp. And watchful.

One night, while evading a group of patrolling spirit hounds, they found an overgrown path of stepping stones.

Each stone held faded symbols—an ancient movement array.

Li Wei, crouched low, copied the foot placement instinctively. His body remembered the weight, the turn of heel, the bend of knee.

By the end of the night, he wasn't running from hounds.

He was gliding between stones like leaves caught in autumn wind.

A new rhythm. A new flow.

Falling Leaf Footwork – Proficiency: (3/100) – Beginner

He hadn't learned it from scroll or master.

He simply followed motion.

And made it his.

Part 5: Campfire and Questions

At camp that night, Mu Yan poked the fire and glanced sideways.

"You're not some simple butcher, are you?"

Li Wei didn't answer.

Yun Luo smirked faintly.

"He cuts better than most sword sects. And he hasn't asked me a single question."

"That's suspicious," Mu nodded.

Li Wei replied:

"Asking too much draws knives."

The fire crackled.

And for a brief moment, the three travelers simply sat.

Together.

[Experience Panel]

Name: Li Wei

Age: 23

Cultivation: Martial Dao – Postnatal Realm (Late Stage)

Skills:

• Longevity Technique – Proficiency: (201/400) – Great Success

• Butchering – Proficiency: (123/200) – Minor Success

• Swordsmanship – Proficiency: (136/200) – Minor Success

• Bone-Cleaving Form – Proficiency: (41/200) – Minor Success

• Silent Severing Art – Proficiency: (34/100) – Beginner

• Falling Leaf Footwork – Proficiency: (3/100) – Beginner

End of Chapter 12

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