Rule Zero: The Village Mission

Fight

Chapter 12: The Sword, the Crush, and the Royal Apology

The tension in the Roxia square was thick enough to choke a dragon. The Cloud Clan knights, armored in white-and-gold plates that hummed with spiritual energy, had drawn their blades halfway, their eyes darting between the defiant woman in black and the two monstrous six-tailed wolves that seemed to be laughing with their teeth.

Princess Xan Feng-Mian stood trembling, not with fear, but with an ego-shattering rage. Her violet eyes pulsed with purple sparks—the signature "Cloud Lightning" of her bloodline.

"You... you dare talk back to me?" she stammered, her voice high and brittle. "I am a Xan! I don't need permission to walk on dirt!"

Luvia didn't flinch. She stepped forward, her boots crunching on the gravel she had paid 500 gold to have leveled. "Actually, Princess, you do. You are currently standing in the Roxia Domain. You broke through my concealment array and terrified my workers. In the laws of the Five Paths, that is a violation of Personal Property Sovereignty."

Luvia’s voice was cold and clinical, the voice of someone quoting a legal contract. "By entering without an invitation and using spiritual pressure on my civilians, your actions are classified as an act of aggression. Tell me, Princess... do you want me to declare a formal war against the Cloud Clan? Because your behavior is clearly showing you want a war."

The square went deathly silent. Even the knights froze. War? Over a fence? The idea was absurd, yet Luvia’s gaze was so steady, so devoid of the usual peasant-fear, that it felt like she was holding a signed execution order.

Feng-Mian was stunned. In the Great Clans, property was everything. Even the Emperor didn't enter a High Elder’s garden without a scroll of intent. She had brushed it off because she thought Luvia was a "nobody," but the way Luvia spoke—with the authority of an equal—tripped the Princess’s internal alarms.

"War?" Feng-Mian tried to scoff, though her voice wavered. "You’re a squatter! You can’t declare war!"

"Try me," Luvia replied. She reached to her side, where a newly forged metal sword—the first masterpiece of Roxia Tetsu—hung in a simple leather scabbard. "But if you'd rather settle this like the 'warrior' you claim to be, step up. If I win, you leave, you pay for the fence, and you apologize to my people."

"Fine!" Feng-Mian shrieked, her childish arrogance taking the bait. She pulled a slender rapier made of cloud-glass from her waist. "I’ll show you why a Xan is never questioned!"

The Duel of Logic and Lightning

The Princess moved like a bolt of lightning—literally. She lunged, her rapier trailing purple sparks. But Luvia didn't move like a cultivator; she moved like a machine.

Only Luvia knew that during her "overthinking" sessions at night, the System had been downloading thousands of hours of combat data directly into her motor cortex.

[ANALYSIS: JUNIOR LIGHTNING STRIKE. PREDICTED PATH: 15 DEGREES LEFT. COUNTER: PARRY AND PIVOT.]

Luvia’s sword didn't glow with Qi. It was just cold, heavy steel. With a single, sharp CLANG, she deflected the Princess's rapier. Before Feng-Mian could recover, Luvia spun, the weight of her sword sweeping the girl's feet out from under her.

Feng-Mian hit the dirt with a muffled oomph. Before she could even gasp, the cold tip of Luvia’s steel was resting against her throat.

"Wait!" Sir Jin, the lead knight, roared, stepping forward.

But he didn't get far. Within a heartbeat, the Elite Ten had closed the circle. Roxia Kai stood with his Stone-Crag Bear, the beast's granite paws cracking the ground. Roxia Mian’s Ice-Silk Crane loomed over the knights, its wings shedding frost that turned the knights' armor brittle.

"Stay back," Kai growled, his iron axe leveled. "The Leader is talking."

Luvia looked down at the Princess. "Swordmanship isn't about how much lightning you can throw, Feng-Mian. It’s about not being a brat. You’re fast, but you’re predictable. Now, get up."

Luvia sheathed her sword in one clean motion. The fight had lasted less than ten seconds.

The Unexpected Twist

The crowd expected the Princess to scream. They expected her to call for her father’s army. Instead, Feng-Mian stayed on the ground, staring up at Luvia. Her angry red face had turned a strange, soft pink.

She leaned in, her eyes wide, sparkling with a sudden, confusing intensity. She looked like a puppy that had just been kicked and realized it liked the attention.

"That... that was amazing," Feng-Mian whispered. She turned her head toward Sir Jin, her voice trembling with a different kind of energy. "Sir Jin... tell me... is 'He' a man? Because I think I’ve decided who I’m going to marry. I want to marry this Lord!"

Luvia choked on her own breath, nearly tripping over her own boots. "What? 'He'? Princess, I am a woman. Look at the anatomy!"

Feng-Mian blinked, her face falling for a split second before brightening even more. She lunged forward, not with a sword, but with her hands, grabbing the edge of Luvia’s navy silk tunic. "Even better! A Warrior Queen! I’ve never seen anyone move like that! Forget the gala! Sir Jin, tell Father I’m staying here! I’m going to be a Roxia!"

"You are absolutely not staying here!" Luvia shouted, stepping back and trying to pry the royal teenager off her clothes. "Kage, help me!"

The black wolf just yawned and looked away, clearly finding Luvia’s social awkwardness more entertaining than the fight.

The Second Prince: Xan Fing-Xianlian

"Mian-er, please release the Lady. You are embarrassing the ancestors."

The voice was like silk poured over velvet—calm, stiff, and terrifyingly clear. A second carriage, far more understated but infinitely more powerful, had pulled up behind the gold one.

A man stepped out. He was tall, his hair tied back in a strict silver ring. He wore robes of pale grey and white that seemed to shimmer with their own light. This was Xan Fing-Xianlian, the Second Prince of the Cloud Clan. He was the "Perfect Son"—the one every woman in the five paths dreamt of, and the one every man feared to spar with.

He walked into the square, his presence causing the grass to stand upright. He didn't look arrogant; he looked like a statue of Justice.

"Brother!" Feng-Mian squealed, still holding onto Luvia’s sleeve. "Look! She beat me! She’s the one! I’m moving in!"

Fing-Xianlian ignored his sister for a moment, his gaze landing on Luvia. Most women, upon seeing the Second Prince, would have fainted or at least straightened their hair. Luvia just looked at him and thought: Great, another one. How much is the repair bill for the fence going to be?

The Prince bowed. Not a shallow nod, but a deep, respectful bow of an equal.

"I am Xan Fing-Xianlian," he said, his voice steady. "On behalf of the Cloud Clan, I offer my deepest apologies for my sister’s... impulsive behavior. We were passing through and she saw the silver-bark pine. It is no excuse for trespassing. We will pay for the repairs tenfold."

Luvia didn't fall for the handsome face. She didn't care about the "sweet" voice. She just nodded. "I accept the apology and the gold. Please take your sister. She’s getting dirt on my new silk."

Fing-Xianlian’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. No one had ever dismissed him so quickly. "You are... Roxia Luvia? The rumors of a new power in the Neutral Zone reached the palace. I see now they were understated. You have a very unique... energy."

"I have a village to run, Prince," Luvia replied. "If you’re not here for a job, you’re just blocking the traffic."

The knights gasped. Sir Jin looked like he was about to have a heart attack. But the Prince just smiled—a thin, genuine smile. "I see. Very well. Mian-er, let go. Now."

Feng-Mian whimpered, tugging one last time on Luvia’s sleeve before being dragged away by her brother. As they boarded their carriage, the Princess leaned out the window, shouting, "I’ll be back, Luvia! I’m going to write you letters! Expect a dowry!"

Luvia watched the procession disappear back into the forest. She took a deep, shaky breath and looked at her sleeve. It was wrinkled.

"System," she muttered. "Tell me that was a dream."

[NOTICE: DATA CONFIRMED. YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFEATED A ROYAL PRINCESS AND ACCIDENTALLY ACQUIRED A STALKER. REPUTATION WITH CLOUD CLAN: COMPLICATED.]

"Great," Luvia sighed. "Just great."

The Training of the Elite

The village square was buzzing. The workers were in awe. Their Leader had just stood her ground against the two most powerful siblings in the world and hadn't even blinked.

"Everyone, back to work!" Luvia shouted, trying to regain her composure. "The gold for the fence repairs will be added to the communal fund. But look at yourselves! If I hadn't been here, that Princess would have turned you all into lightning rods!"

She turned to the Elite Ten, who were still standing in a defensive line. Their spiritual animals—the Crane, the Bear, the Fox—were looking at her expectantly.

"Mian, Kai, all of you," Luvia said, her eyes turning serious. "The world is coming for us. Today it was an arrogant girl. Tomorrow it will be an army. I can't be the only one who knows how to fight properly. From tonight, the Academy is closed to the public after sunset. You and I are going to train."

"But Leader," Kai said, scratching his head. "We don't know the techniques you used. That sword movement... it was like you knew where she was going before she did."

"I did," Luvia said. "And I’m going to teach you how to think five steps ahead of your opponent. Swordmanship is just another form of accounting. You balance the risk, you minimize the waste, and you strike when the profit is highest."

That night, under the silver light of the moon, the real training began. Luvia stood in the center of the training field, Kage and Tsuki pacing behind her. The Elite Ten stood before her, their wooden swords ready.

"Rule Zero of Combat," Luvia announced, her voice echoing through the silent valley. "Don't fight the person. Fight their logic. If they think they are fast, make them feel slow. If they think they are strong, make them feel heavy. Kai, attack me. Everyone else, watch his feet."

For hours, the sounds of wood on wood and the soft grunts of exertion filled the air. Luvia was a strict teacher. She didn't care about "style" or "grace." She cared about efficiency. She corrected their stances, taught them how to breathe through their Qi cores, and showed them how to use their spiritual animals as extensions of their own bodies, not just as pets.

As the moon reached its peak, Luvia dismissed them. They were exhausted, their muscles aching, but their eyes were sharp. They weren't just discards anymore. They were the Roxia Vanguard.

Luvia sat on the edge of the cold spring, dipping her sore feet into the water. She looked at her token. The space for the spiritual weapon was still blank, but it felt... heavy.

"System," she thought. "How much longer until the first evolution?"

[NOTICE: THE CLAN'S UNITY IS AT 95%. ONCE THE POPULATION HITS 100 AND THE FIRST 'EXTERNAL THREAT' IS RESOLVED, THE WEAPONS WILL MANIFEST. PREPARE YOURSELF, LUVIA. THE SECOND PRINCE IS NOT THE LAST VISITOR YOU WILL HAVE.]

Luvia looked at the wrinkled sleeve of her tunic and sighed. "I just wanted to build a farm. Why does everyone have to be so dramatic?"