"A trick?"
"That's right. With only ten years of internal energy, your smoke is scattered by the wind and can't be gathered. You pretty much reached the limit, but Brother Jack found an ingenious method." Easton, the most skilled among the four, explained the secret: "He lets water vapor rise from the back of his hand, mixing it with the smoke, then uses his palm's internal energy to draw it in, finally condensing it into ice dust that sticks to his skin. Plus, smoke turned into ice dust is easier to keep, so you don't have to keep writing and releasing. With this method, he naturally gets way more smoke than you."
Hearing Easton's explanation, everyone suddenly understood. No wonder Jack's palms swayed left and right, and only his palm turned black.
Simon West finally got it, then got confused again. He stared at Jack and asked, "But you only have ten years of cultivation too. How did you manage to force out water vapor while gathering smoke?"
"No internal energy needed. Just open the pores, raise the local temperature, and coordinate muscle blood flow." Jack stretched out his hand, white vapor curling from the back, making everyone gasp in amazement. "Honestly, it's just a little trick."
Simon West looked at the back of Jack's hand, then at the characters he'd written. After a long pause, he sighed, "If that's a trick, then there's no such thing as real kung fu in the world." He was thoroughly impressed. "By the way, Brother, what's the meaning behind the 'Ming Kong' characters you wrote?"
"It's actually one character," Jack picked up the white silk. "Sun and moon in the sky, shining on all things. This character sounds the same as 'shine'." He felt a real connection to it—when he was asked to write something, this was the first character that popped into his mind.
"Good, what a sun and moon in the sky!" Simon West returned to his cheerful self, picked up the white silk and examined it from every angle, nodding and praising non-stop. Then he turned to the boss lady: "Madam Dai, what do you think?"
"What do you think? Obviously, you lost."
"Hahahaha, yes, I lost!" Simon West clapped his hands and laughed like a madman. "Even for this one character, it's worth celebrating! Today is truly a great day—meeting Brother Jack and his disciples is a stroke of luck. Ladies, come down, let's eat, drink, and celebrate together!"
And so, the whole Grand Brothel erupted in laughter and cheer. All the lovely ladies flocked to the ground floor, and the cleared-out hall was instantly filled with big tables and a parade of delicious dishes from the kitchen. The speed and coordination made it seem like the feast had been ready all along—proof that, whether it’s food, drink, or anything else, this place really is top-notch.
Eight delicacies and flavors packed the table, meat and veggies in perfect harmony, and all kinds of fine wine appeared in a blink. As for the drinking companions—every lady here was high quality, not a single one an eyesore. They crowded around, all eager to toast Jack Young. (Side note: The author is starving while writing this, and swears he smells roast chicken from next door...)
"No rush, no rush, let me toast first." Northon pulled the ladies back and raised his glass: "Brother Jack, your lightness skill, perception, foundation, and internal energy—you beat all four of us single-handedly. We haven't seen that in ages. Cheers!" He downed his drink in one go—though maybe he just wanted an excuse to drink.
Jack didn’t stand on ceremony. He just raised his glass and drank with them, skipping the polite banter.
"Brother Jack, let me do the second toast." This time it was South Elder Qi, who threw an arm around Jack's shoulders and got serious: "Not to brag, but when it comes to wine, women, wealth, and temper, we’re unbeatable below the innate level. Even winning just one of those is tough, but you swept all four. So, I have to ask—why aren’t you Innate yet?"
Everyone froze for a second. It made sense—Jack had just demonstrated three core skills and won all three. He was rock-solid in the basics, plus his martial arts realm was clearly a cut above. By all logic, he should've reached the Innate level by now. So why hadn’t he?
"Honestly, I don’t know either." Jack’s skills were pure and refined, flowing at will, and he felt he’d reached a high level. In this world, cultivation and reaching the Innate stage aren’t directly linked. If you go by Wu Zhengfeng’s theory, you break through when you find the qi that fits you best—by that logic, he should’ve made it. But he hadn’t, and he couldn’t explain it. "That’s why I came to Eight Directions City—to consult The Phantom Sword Saint about it."
"I see." South Elder Qi nodded. "The Phantom Sword Saint is a scholar and master of the highest realm. He should be able to clear things up for you."
"What’s so hard to figure out?" Fiona Fang piped up. "My master’s only been training internal energy for half a month. How could he possibly reach the Innate stage that fast?"
"Pfft!" Northon spat out his wine. Crack! Simon West snapped his folding fan. South Elder Qi shuddered, and Easton, who was lounging among the ladies, seemed to pull a muscle. Even Madam Dai’s silk fan paused mid-air—then, after a long moment, she started fanning again, but her gaze at Jack was anything but subtle.
"Is... is that for real?!" The four goofballs instantly crowded around, eight eyes sparkling as they stared at Jack.
"Not quite as short as she said," Jack admitted honestly. "A little over twenty days."
"A little over twenty days..." The four of them suddenly wilted like punctured balloons, each looking like they'd suffered a massive mental blow. South Elder Qi struggled to his feet and asked, "Brother Jack, do you have a sect?" What kind of sect could produce a monster like this?
"A sect?" Jack suddenly realized that if he wanted fame in the martial world, being a lone wanderer wasn’t as convenient as having a sect. Going solo meant fame would build slowly, but as a sect leader, once the sect's name spread, so would his.
Besides, wherever you go, you can just say: I'm the head of such-and-such sect. It always sounds a bit cooler. Sure, you lose some chances to play dumb and surprise people, but you save yourself a lot of trouble too, right?
He’d honestly never thought about it before, but now it seemed like a great idea!
"I do." Jack nodded immediately.
"Which sect?" all four asked in unison.
"Hmm... what should I call it? Oh right, I’m practicing the Bright Jade Technique now, and once I reach the Innate stage, there’s the Bright Moon Divine Skill. Plus, I invented a move called Flower Swap Jade Touch. Looks like this world doesn’t have this sect yet, so I’d better trademark it while I can! Call it the Flower Shifting Palace."
"Flower Shifting Palace?" Not just the four goofballs—lots of people, including Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo, repeated it. The four exchanged looks—none had heard of this sect before. South Elder Qi pressed, "Forgive my ignorance, but where exactly is this Flower Shifting Palace?"
"Naturally, it's in Embroidered Jade Valley." Flower Shifting Palace at Embroidered Jade Valley—what a name, super memorable. "It's normal you haven't heard of it. It was just founded."
"When?"
"Just now." Jack patted South Elder Qi on the shoulder. "It was founded the moment you asked. For now, there are only three members, and I'm the acting sect leader."
"Uh..." South Elder Qi froze, then threw his head back and burst out laughing: "Good, what a Flower Shifting Palace! Only three people now, but one day you'll be famous across the land! And today is the very founding day—cause for celebration! Come, let's drink!" The place erupted in cheers, with a crowd lining up to toast Sect Leader Jack—even Madam Dai raised her glass from afar and nodded at him.
"Jack," Simon West spoke up, "did you just say 'Embroidered Jade' Valley and 'Flower Shifting' Palace?" His eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Does this have anything to do with the two guardian princesses of the Flower Kingdom? Just now, your ice-dust trick with water vapor reminded me—there are very few internal energy techniques famous for their cold aura, and the most renowned are the princesses' Taiyin Chill. Is there a connection?"
Anyone with half a brain would make that connection. It's like seeing antivirus software called 'Jiangmin' and wondering who made it. So, Jack admitted it openly: "They're my friends."
But after he said that, the four goofballs all reacted weirdly. North, West, and South gave Easton a lecherous look and hummed in unison for ages. Easton leapt up, dashed to Jack, and stammered, "Jack, uh, I have a, uh, not-so-modest request! Could you... could you introduce me to Princess Flower Shifter? If I could meet her, I'd be eternally grateful—even die for the chance..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jack quickly cut him off—Easton's reaction was kind of scary. "Aren't you going a little overboard? What's with you?"
Easton gave an embarrassed grin: "Well, Fourth Brother loves fine wine, Third loves calligraphy, Second loves martial arts, and me... I'm a ladies' man."
Jack and his two disciples all squinted at him, leaning back to size him up.
"What the heart loves is where the Dao lies. I was born to love beauty—can't help it." Easton got candid, explaining: "Three years ago, I caught a glimpse of Princess Flower Shifter’s profile. From that moment, I knew—even if you gathered all the beauties in the world, the princess would stand out, always in the top three. Where my Dao leads, I must follow. It’s a man’s nature, and for me, beauty is my path to enlightenment. So..."
Fiona Fang chimed in with a disgusted tone: "You’re not planning to marry Princess Flower Shifter, are you?"
"Of course not! I mean, sure, I’m bold, but my courage only goes up to Three Realms. Princess Flower Shifter is a Four Realms Innate master—I couldn’t handle her!" Easton had some self-awareness. "I just want to see her up close. If I could chat with her, if she’d smile at me, I might even reach Innate..."
He looked so blissfully lost in his fantasy that everyone wanted to back away. Then he remembered his mission and grabbed Jack’s shoulder: "Jack, could you introduce me? If I could meet Princess Flower Shifter, I’d be grateful for life—even die for it..."
"I can’t see her right now," Jack answered truthfully. "When I’m famous across the land, then I’ll be able to meet them. So, begging me now won’t do any good."
Huffing, Easton jumped up and thumped his chest, full of bravado: "Don’t worry! With us four brothers, not only will Flower Shifting Palace be famous everywhere, it’ll be legendary even on Xingluo Island in the Sea of Wuwang!" With that, he marched off, not caring what time it was. See, a man’s longing for beauty really is the first driving force for progress.
"Big bro, chill out, there’s no rush!" The other three quickly held him back. "We still have one more contest!"
"Yeah, one more. Wine, women, wealth, and temper—only 'women' left." Fiona Fang wondered, "But how do you even compete at that?"
"Compete in women?" At the mention, Easton froze, spun around with a dramatic flourish, and laughed: "In this, you’re all doomed! When it comes to women, who could possibly beat me? Wahahaha!"
Ignoring Easton's manic antics, Simon West wiped sweat from his brow and explained: "You three, this contest is really the last fig leaf. But it’s a pretty sturdy one—not easy to tear off. As for competing in women, no one’s beaten him yet."
Watching Easton shake his hips like a peacock, Rachel Luo pulled a face: "He’s not planning to compete in... that... function, is he?"