The third rule is carved into the sect's stone tablet: Sect servants are forbidden to practice swordsmanship.
In his previous life, Xie Changgeng made a living as a sparring partner. After crossing into this world, he became the lowest-ranking servant in the Iron Sword Sect. He practiced the Tiger-Subduing Fist for three years, but got stuck at the second level. That manual was everywhere in the world. Bodyguards hired to haul cargo would leaf through it, as would the old men guarding gates, and nobody gave it a second glance.
On the night he took thirty blows and was close to death, four lines of text lit up before his eyes.
[Can appraise: the rank, levels, and limits of all martial arts]
[Can assign: use insight points to raise martial arts levels]
[Can dismantle: break down advanced martial arts into fundamentals, feeding them back into basic techniques]
Everyone in the martial world knew the Tiger-Subduing Fist peaked at the tenth level.
He was the only one who saw that the battered manual had another ninety levels.
But the sword he wanted most in this life returned just five words when he checked its blueprint: Prerequisites not met.
