The Silent Path of the Swordsman

SMACK!

The slap came before Luo Yi had the chance to explain anything.

“You ungrateful brat!” Luo Yang roared, his face burning red with fury. “How many times have I told you not to leave the house? All you do is bring shame to this family!”

“But, Father—”

SMACK!

Another vicious slap landed across Luo Yi’s cheek, but that was not what hurt the most.

“Don’t call me father! I refuse to have a cripple like you as my son!” His father’s words were sharper than the edge of a blade.

Luo Yi felt unbearable pain. Not because of the hard slap across his face, but because of those cutting words that sliced straight into his heart like a sword.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Luo Yin—Luo Yi’s mother—was cooking when she heard the commotion between her husband and son. She immediately rushed toward the main hall.

The moment she arrived, she was startled when her son suddenly ran into her arms, hugging her tightly as he cried. As a mother, she could naturally feel the pain her child was experiencing.

Holding her son close, Luo Yin shot her husband a sharp glare. “What have you done to our son, Husband?”

“Our son?” Luo Yang repeated mockingly. “He’s your son, not mine. I no longer wish to acknowledge him as my child!”

Luo Yin’s eyes widened. “W-What... what could possibly make you say something so heartless?” she asked in a trembling voice as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Because your damned son has ruined our family’s reputation!” Luo Yang snapped. “It was already obvious that his dantian is crippled, yet he still had the audacity to participate in the Sky Sword Sect’s disciple selection. Now everyone knows we have a crippled son. It’s humiliating!”

“If your honor is more important to you than your own child, then you should leave this house!” Tears now streamed freely down Luo Yin’s cheeks. “This... this is my home, and you no longer deserve to stay here!”

Hearing that, Luo Yang slammed the door and left without another word.

“Father!” Luo Yi shouted, wanting to chase after him, but his mother grabbed his arm.

“Let it go, Yi’er. Your father doesn’t love you anymore.” Luo Yin tried to compose herself and wiped away her tears, unwilling to let her son see her sorrow.

Luo Yi lowered his head. Wiping his tears with the back of his right hand, he said, “I’m sorry, Mother! If only I had obeyed Father, none of this would have happened.”

Luo Yin embraced him once more, gently stroking his hair as she tried to comfort her son. “You did nothing wrong, Luo Yi. Mother knows you did it because of your determination. No matter what condition you are in, as long as you never lose that determination and refuse to give up, believe me! A miracle will one day come to you!”

---

That night, inside his room, Luo Yi lay on his bed. The bitterness he had endured could be seen clearly in his eyes.

Staring at the ceiling, he recalled his mother’s words from earlier that day and murmured, “I swear I will become the strongest cultivator in this martial world and make everyone acknowledge me—especially my father!”

The moment he said those words, drowsiness suddenly overtook him, and he could no longer keep his eyes open.

Soon, he found himself in a dream, standing in a strange place. There was no ground, no trees, no houses, and neither objects nor living creatures. As far as the eye could see, everything around him was pure white.

“What is this place?” Luo Yi frowned.

As he stood there in confusion, a bodiless voice suddenly echoed through the void, startling him and making his heart race.

“If you seek power, go to Lianhua Forest!”

“Who are you?” Luo Yi asked, but before he could receive an answer from the mysterious voice, a blinding light suddenly burst forth, forcing him awake.

---

Luo Yi opened his eyes, and the morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in his wooden window.

“So it’s already morning.” Time seemed to have passed incredibly fast, yet he still remembered the dream he had last night. He remembered the words spoken by the mysterious figure. “Will I really gain power if I go to that forest?”

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the door to his room suddenly opened. Turning toward it, he saw his mother entering.

“It seems you’re feeling a little better now, Yi’er.” Luo Yin walked over to him.

“Yes, Mother. I’m feeling much better now.”

Luo Yi looked at his mother and offered a faint smile, while inwardly he thought, 'Today, I’m going to that forest without Mother knowing!'

For some reason, even after hearing her son say that, Luo Yin still felt uneasy. However, she hid her worries and replied, “Come eat. Mother has prepared your favorite food.”

---

That afternoon, after his mother left home to earn money in place of his father, Luo Yi murmured, “Alright, it’s time for me to go to that forest!”

Without delay, he left the house and headed toward Lianhua Forest, located northeast of Ningzou Capital, where he lived.

He knew that if he asked his mother for permission, she would never allow him to go. According to legend, Lianhua Forest was a forbidden forest, and no one who entered it had ever returned. That was why he chose to leave in secret.

Even though he knew the rumors surrounding Lianhua Forest, he remained determined to go. Deep down, he felt that the dream he had experienced the previous night was a sign meant for him.

Along the way, members of the Luo Clan whispered about his disability.

“Look! That’s the crippled dantian boy who tried to join the Sky Sword Sect’s disciple selection yesterday!” a man exclaimed upon seeing Luo Yi.

Another man beside him chimed in, “I never imagined our clan would have a cripple like him. His father must have been utterly ashamed when everyone found out about his disability.”

“I also heard that his father abandoned him and his mother and left home.”

Hearing their words, Luo Yi suppressed the anger boiling inside him and ran out of the city until he finally reached the border between Ningzou Capital and the grasslands.

---

After traveling across the grasslands for the time it took five incense sticks to burn, Luo Yi finally arrived before Lianhua Forest, though he was breathing heavily.

This was his first time seeing the forest. It could only be described as gigantic, with enormous trees that towered skyward like colossal spires.

Although a chill ran down his spine as he gazed into the dense forest whose depths seemed shrouded in darkness, his determination to enter remained unwavering. Just as his mother had said, miracles come to those with unyielding resolve, and he believed that wholeheartedly.

“I hope nothing bad happens,” he said before stepping into the forest.

As he entered, the rustling of leaves echoed from the giant trees surrounding him. The forest’s silence was broken only by the shrill cries of cicadas.

The moment he heard rustling coming from a nearby thicket, Luo Yi immediately halted his steps and stood frozen in place.

“What was that?” Cold sweat streamed down his temples.