Supreme Swordsman of the Nine Heavens

He Who Has the Most Potential

“Purple…?”

What did purple imply? Purple was the representation of the greatest potential one could possess in the world of cultivation. It was potential that could land one in history books. Legend had it that those with purple potential had the best affinity for cultivating their body and comprehension skills a hundred folds greater than the ordinary man. The cultivator was promised twice the results with half the effort and a smooth-sailing cultivation journey.

Despite the revelation that would’ve rendered people flabbergasted, Patriarch Feng coolly remarked, “How unfortunate. If they saw your potential earlier today, I’d get to see a fight for you.”

“You knew?” Mu Yu couldn’t explain why Patriarch Feng didn’t bother saying anything if he was aware.

“Unlike them, I don’t rely on an inanimate boulder to define one’s potential,” expounded Patriarch Feng, summoning the sword back to him. He looked to Mu Yu and elaborated, “Now that you know you’re potential is purple, Green Pine Sect would likely take you in as a closed-door disciple and provide private tuition, if you showed them your potential. Your potential exceeds Bai Lang’s; there is no reason for you to join Dustfallen Sect. We, after all, don’t have the power they do.”

Mu Yu was still trying to sort himself out after going through such big highs and lows in a single night. All the possibilities flooded into his mind. He could go stomp Xiaohu and ridicule the latter. He could see himself surpass Bai Lang with enough effort. He could imagine Village Chief Bu’s ecstatic reaction, bragging and hear his laughter. He could imagine Village Chief Dahu’s jaw slamming the ground. What for, though? What came after all the flaunting? Vanity could impede his journey. He still remembered one of the stories Village Chief Bu told him: Shang Zhongyong. Shang Zhongyong was a prodigious kid who let his own talent go to his head. The boy, who was considered a star, neglected his studies and ended up crashing back down instead soaring sky high. Mu Yu certainly didn’t want to be the real life exemplar.

Mu Yu went down on his knees and kowtowed. “Please take me in as your disciple.”

By no means did Mu Yu think he was doing himself a disservice. He believed it to be the right decision. It was Patriarch Feng who enlightened him. Even if Patriarch Feng couldn’t help him become the cream of the crop, he, at least, would gain perspective.

“Get up!” Patriarch Feng seemed to never have a prim moment. “My name is Feng Haochen, and I’m Dustfallen Sect’s patriarch. What’s your name?”

“My humble name is Mu Yu.”

“Since you’ve made up your mind, join me! I can welcome you to our sect. In saying that, I must remind you that our disciples are not placed in some hierarchal grey and purple ranking system. Your potential won’t earn you any preferential treatment,” said Feng Haochen, stroking his beard. He looked around then added, “The greater one’s potential is, the longer it takes for the colour to fade. I estimate it will take an hour for the purple glow to fade. Nobody will notice if there isn’t a bright light shining on it, nevertheless. You made the right call when you chose to hide your potential because these unique plants might’ve killed you. Cultivators hate elemental demons to the core, so no level of talent will save you.”

“Elemental Dem-!”

Mu Yu froze up. His face turned ghastly pale. He totally forgot about the plants as he was so taken in with his own problem. He only just realised he revealed his ability to Patriarch Feng. The fear of death choked him. He suspected Patriarch Feng noticed something back during the day. At least, it would explain why he came to check the area again. Talk about a blessing in disguise.

“I, I do not, I, uhh, am not…”

“I know you’re not an elemental demon, but most people in the world of cultivation won’t be convinced. I sought you out at night to guide and protect you.” Feng Haochen gazed at the freckles of stars before resuming. “You don’t need to explain anything. Just keep your secret a secret.”

Feng Haochen flicked his sleeve, shooting out potent spiritual energy from it. The energy covered the vegetation around the platform. With a gentle flick, he erased the plants from existence. Mu Yu wondered if he just witnessed a skill gained from cultivating.

“Shifu, am I the only weird person to possess the element demons’ ability?”

“No. If I’m correct, there should be a total of five people, each with one of their elemental abilities. You control wood. The other four are bound to control fire, water, earth and metal.”

Mu Yu found the news relieving. “Shifu, why do we have these powers? Why do you believe me?”

“You’ll find out later down the road when you gain more power. It’ll be difficult for you to hide your secret without sufficient power. Let’s get you back first.”

Feng Haochen began to walk, hands behind his back. Mu Yu chased after Feng Haochen and inquired, “Shifu, I have another question. How come Xiaohu managed to make it glow teal during the preliminary tests, yet I could not with my potential?”

The iron door was already open. They headed through to where Mu Yu stayed. As he passed the courtyard where other sects lodged, he recalled the fact they were aware of his presence the entire time.

“The one they created and the one back there are different. That one is called Spirit Measure Boulder. As the name suggests, it’s a spiritual boulder that can measure everyone’s potential. The smaller one they initially used is an imitation cultivators manufacture. As you would expect, the smaller one has a cap. Plus, they’ve never seen anyone with purple potential. Hence, they couldn’t make it react to purple potential. I think they can only handle up to teal.”

“Why do the sects recruit students here instead of back home? Does that not make it near impossible for smaller sects to recruit disciples?” Mu Yu regretted asking the question as he joined a small sect.

Feng Haochen chuckled. “Human resources aside, there is only one Spirit Measure Boulder. As for the stones, there are only five of them. It would cost too much to produce the smaller ones.”

Feng Haochen avoided the question pertaining to how he discerned Mu Yu’s potential. “… I don’t rely on an inanimate boulder to define one’s potential” remained an ambiguous explanation.

Mu Yu was unaware how dangerous the decision he made was that night. Had he joined Green Pine Sect, he would’ve had to reveal his ability to control trees. As a result, he would’ve been ostracised – if not banished. Feng Haochen was more interested in Mu Yu’s character. People similar to Feng Haochen were far and few between in the world of cultivation. Little did Mu Yu know Dustfallen Sect would be the only that wouldn’t ostracise him for his unique ability.

Note

Shifu over Master – Or any other variation for that matter. In martial arts circles, you don’t refer to your shifu/sifu as “master”. Even in an English-speaking school, you refer to them as Shifu/Sifu. I can only put it down to cultural ignorance when people translate the title into “master”. The same thing goes in schools that teach Japanese martial arts, such as Karate. Students address their teacher as “Sensei”, not “Master”. The same applies regardless of the teacher/coach’s ethnicity, if they’re not in the country of the discipline’s origin. Therefore, we’re using “Shifu” to respect this custom.