The Blindfolded Emperor: I Only Wanted a Quiet Life

Chapter 5: The Path of the Sword

Jasper entered his father’s study. The room was large. A writing desk sat at the center, covered with ink stones, brushes, and unfurled documents, while behind it hung a massive painting of a mountain shrouded in mist.

The air smelled of aged paper and sandalwood, and soft light filtered through lattice windows, casting crisscross patterns onto the polished wooden floor. Every object in the room was placed with purpose.

Lord Aldric Stonehart sat behind the desk. He was old, with gray hair and a gray beard, and he wore a long robe with black and green patterns. He looked at Jasper and said nothing for a long moment.

Then he spoke.

“After you have disgraced the family, how do you think you should be punished?”

Jasper looked up, shocked by his father’s words, and opened his mouth to speak—but a terrifying pressure descended on him, heavy as iron. Jasper was forced to his knees, then to the ground. The pressure was absolute. He tried to stand, but his body would not move; the weight was too great.

A Master Phase expert at best.

The Stonehart Family had no blood lineage. Even the head was only at Master Phase, and the fact that Jasper’s father had reached Master Phase at all was a big deal. To cultivate in this world was to defy heaven’s will and the Dao, and defying heaven was not easy.

Jasper did not notice when the pressure disappeared. His father watched him lie on the ground.

Just how unreasonable is this boy? his father thought.

It did not matter. He looked at Jasper and spoke in a cold tone.

“Jasper, after you have made me lose face, this family is now the laughing stock of the kingdom. I have proposed a marriage between you and the illegitimate daughter of the Asura Sect. This way, you may be allowed into the sect. Not that you have a choice in this matter.”

Jasper listened silently. He nodded, then left the study.

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Jasper walked through the inner estate, his mind turning. So that was his father—no greeting, no concern, just punishment and orders. The original Jasper had been neglected his entire life, but this was worse than neglect. This was a transaction. His father was selling him off.

A marriage to the illegitimate daughter of the Asura Sect. Jasper did not know the details, but he knew enough. A noble family would not marry their daughter to a disgraced third son unless they were getting something in return, and his father would not arrange it unless he was getting something too. Jasper was a bargaining chip. A pawn.

He had read about arranged marriages in web novels. They were always political, always cold. But reading about them and experiencing one were different things.

Jasper clenched his fists. He could not refuse—not yet. He was too weak. But he would not stay weak forever. He needed to cultivate. He needed to reach the first stage as soon as possible.

He considered using the blindfold. Three uses. That was all he had. If he used one now, he would have two left, and explaining how he became blind to his family would not be easy.

He decided against it.

Just as he was about to enter the cultivation room in the outer part of the estate, a message appeared in front of him.

Congratulations, Host. You are about to be married, which you did not do in your past life. You have been rewarded with Mind Incense Runes, a new cultivation technique, and a Mortal Opening Pill.  

In order to double your reward, the Host should feel what it means to be a man before marriage.

Jasper stared at the text. Wait. Could he double his reward?

He quickly entered the cultivation room and sat down cross-legged. He opened the rewards and checked the first one.

Item Name: Mind Incense Runes 

Rank: —

Grade: Unknown

Type: Cultivation Relic / Auxiliary Artifact  

Description:

Ancient cultivators believed that the mind was the ultimate impurity. Not flesh, emotion, desire, or thought itself.  

These runes were carved by those insane enough to pursue the Sword Dao beyond mortal comprehension. To them, a sword was never merely a weapon forged of metal and Qi. It was an absolute truth. Sharp enough to sever destiny and divide heaven from earth.

Etched onto bone-white incense tablets that bleed a bitter, ash-colored smoke when ignited, the runes burn away the noise of consciousness, leaving only the cold, unyielding edge of absolute intent.

The runes resemble drifting lines of silver ash, endlessly shifting across the surface of the mind. Merely gazing upon them for too long causes stray thoughts to fall silent.

Some cultivators spent centuries attempting to decipher their meaning. Most lost themselves before understanding even a fragment.

Item Ability: Mind Cleansing (Passive) 

The runes release a continuous, icy smog that washes over the mind, stripping away distractions, lingering emotions, and the clutter of human thought. Under their influence, consciousness settles into the stillness of a frozen lake.

In that absolute, lifeless silence, the true, unfiltered essence of the Sword Dao lays itself bare. However, clarity demands a terrible tribute. As comprehension deepens, the soul cools, making it increasingly impossible to think, feel, or exist like a human.

Jasper stared at the description.

Sword Dao?

He had read about it before, but he never understood what it meant. Even now, he was not sure if the author knew what it meant. In this world, to cultivate was to defy the heavens. Each realm of cultivation was an act of defiance. Jasper had thought cultivation meant creating your own chaos world and defying heaven’s world, but these runes changed his mind.

He wanted to cultivate the path of the sword, and that meant he needed to cultivate his mind sea first.

He looked at the second reward. It was a cultivation technique, but he did not need it right now. He checked the third reward—a Mortal Opening Pill. That would help him begin cultivating.

Jasper let out a breath. He opened his inventory and removed the breathing technique he had received earlier, then sat cross-legged and read it.

Silent River Breathing Method.

He had no cultivation. He read the instructions and did as the book said. It was hard. He was a transmigrator, and sitting still was not his strong suit.

He sighed and removed the Mind Incense Runes. He looked at the description again. If he remembered correctly, you needed a mind sea to understand cultivation. To understand how to cultivate, he had to use the runes. This was going to be his new world. He had no choice.

Jasper held the runes in his palm. They were cold. He lit them, and ash-colored smoke rose.