Young Courtier

As Master put it, You Buwang had a miserable background and no exceptional talent, but fortunately he was resilient. One day, he was sure to achieve something.

So Master had You Buwang practice the skill that the martial world scoffed at:

...the bone-shrinking technique.

You Buwang: ??

One day, a wealthy young nobleman who had just joined the sect suddenly became You Buwang's senior brother. He was always dressed in red, had a face as smooth and white as jade, would only sit on padded cushions and wear silk clothes, and was utterly flamboyant. As soon as he joined, he started treating all the other disciples like servants.

Unlike his junior brothers, You Buwang did not complain endlessly.

He attended to Sheng Zheng and learned the secret art of pressure-point attacks.

Under the young master's relentless criticism, he perfected a long-lost sword style.

He...

In short, every martial skill he mastered had something to do with Sheng Zheng.

Sheng Zheng was used to a life of luxury. He rarely met someone who refused to obey him yet willingly stayed by his side. His junior brother always had bright, transparent eyes and could never hide what he was thinking. It was clear how much he loved martial arts.

That only made Sheng Zheng more and more vexed.

"Why aren't you this enthusiastic about anything else?"

Like... your senior brother, for instance.

Background:

The peace of a prosperous age marks the beginning of the end for wandering heroes and the decline of the martial world. The wandering swordsmen who once stood atop the city walls, sword in hand, facing ten foes at once, have long since lost the fearless hearts of their youth. The famous heroine of the martial world has grown middle-aged, her home quiet and her visitors long gone. All that remains is a group of half-grown children, still dreaming of becoming heroes. They wave rusty swords with unsharpened blades and shout, in their childish innocence, that they'll venture alone into the vast martial world, amaze the world with a single sword, and roam the land with blades at their sides. In short: a bunch of kids go looking for the martial world within the martial world. A fussy young nobleman x a chuunibyou boy.

Theme: The martial world is vast, and all who come and go are only passing travelers.