“Hold back?”
Jiang Nian closed his book and looked up at Huang Junwen, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
“That’s right,” Huang Junwen nodded. “After all, Teacher Jiang, you’re a real martial artist. I’m worried that if you get too serious, Teacher Huang might not be able to keep up with you in the scene. I mean, even a tiger’s no match for you, so Teacher Huang’s chances are probably pretty slim too.”
The “Teacher Huang” he was referring to was, of course, Huang Wenhao, who played Yue Buqun.
He was something of a veteran actor, having starred as Guo Jing in the 1988 adaptation of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and later appearing in quite a few martial arts films over in Taiwan. While he did have some martial arts foundation, it was ultimately just stage fighting—nothing compared to someone like Jiang Nian, who practiced the real deal.
Huang Junwen was just being considerate of that fact, which was why he’d come to Jiang Nian to discuss it.
Jiang Nian chuckled at that and nodded. “Alright, no problem. I’ll hold back when the time comes.”
“That’s great, that’s great.” Huang Junwen beamed. Then his eyes drifted to the book in Jiang Nian’s hands.
He’d assumed it was some kind of novel.
But now that it was closed, he could clearly see the cover: Five Years of College Entrance Exam Prep, Three Years of Mock Exams?
Huang Junwen couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Jiang, is that…?”
“Oh, I’m planning to get into university, so I picked up some books to review.”
Jiang Nian replied casually.
Huang Junwen blinked in surprise. “University?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Nian said. “To be honest, I stopped studying after high school. I went home for New Year’s and my family brought it up, so I figured I might as well just go for it.”
Hearing Jiang Nian’s nonchalant tone, Huang Junwen’s mouth twitched.
Forgive him for being narrow-minded, but in all his years, he’d never seen anything like this!
Like, come on—you’re already a huge star now! One film, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, shot you to fame across the entire country. Your portrayal of Yu Huatian has practically become the gold standard for eunuch roles. You’re making tens of millions per project. And now you’re telling me you have to go back to school?
What’s the deal with that?
Is that even necessary?
You spend your whole life grinding, only to look back and realize you’re a freaking college freshman?
“Six.”
Jiang Nian didn’t pay it any mind. He was about to lower his head and flip open his book when something occurred to him. “Oh, by the way, Director Huang—did Zhang Linyu mention to you that I picked up another role this morning? It’s with the crew next door, Reign of Assassins.”
In the film industry, it wasn’t uncommon for actors to juggle multiple projects at once.
Still, it was only polite to keep the director informed. Otherwise, if shooting started and they couldn’t find him, that would be a problem.
Huang Junwen snapped back to attention and nodded. “Oh, that. Yeah, I know. Producer Wu from the Reign of Assassins crew came by this morning and told me about it. Just give me a heads-up before you head over to shoot with them, and we’re good.”
“OK.”
With that settled, Jiang Nian stood up and saw his guest out.
The next day, as usual, Jiang Nian got up at six in the morning and headed straight to the mountaintop to train.
After a full morning of practice, earning twelve points of proficiency, he made his way to another mountain at noon for filming.
This was Lin Pingzhi’s second day as a disciple of Mount Hua.
Since he’d been personally recruited by Yue Buqun, he naturally received special treatment—one-on-one instruction from the man himself.
“Master.”
Standing atop the mountain, dressed in white robes with a square hat perched on his head, Lin Pingzhi arrived and bowed respectfully to Yue Buqun.
Yue Buqun had been admiring the flowers. Hearing the call, he turned and offered a faint smile. “Ah, Pingzhi, you’re here. From today onward, I will teach you the martial arts of our sect. But before that, I need to assess your foundation—how deep is it, really? And what sword techniques or martial arts have you practiced before?”
Lin Pingzhi dared not hold anything back and answered honestly: “Reporting to Master, I have studied martial arts under my father since childhood, so my training has mainly focused on our Lin family’s seventy-two forms of the Sunflower Evasive Sword.”
At those words, a glint flickered in Yue Buqun’s eyes.
Especially when Lin Pingzhi mentioned the “seventy-two forms of the Sunflower Evasive Sword”—a trace of greed flashed deep within his gaze, only to vanish just as quickly.
Yue Buqun composed himself. “Very well. Show me what you’ve got.”
“Yes, Master!” Lin Pingzhi, suspecting nothing, clasped his hands together and stepped aside, sword in hand.
The rest of the crew immediately turned their attention toward him with curiosity.
Everyone knew Jiang Nian practiced martial arts.
But aside from Zhang Linyu, his agent, no one had actually ever seen him train.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to—they just didn’t dare.
Training was a private affair. If you watched without permission, that was tantamount to stealing the art. And if Jiang Nian took it a little too seriously, no one would come out of it unscathed.
But now was different.
Jiang Nian was performing a scene.
Sure, it was just choreography for the show, but it still gave them a glimpse into his real skills, and they were eager to be entertained.
In an instant, a crowd had gathered behind the cameras, watching Jiang Nian with bated breath, waiting for him to perform.
Seeing this, director Huang Junwen and Huang Wenhao, who played Yue Buqun, both twitched at the corners of their eyes, utterly speechless.
Jiang Nian, however, was fully immersed in his role. He paid no attention to the onlookers.
He closed his eyes and steadied his breath.
Then he opened them again—and in that moment, a sharp glint of light burst forth from his gaze.
Suddenly, Jiang Nian’s entire aura shifted.
He flicked the sword in his hand, and the blade shot into the air, gleaming brightly under the sun.
At the same time, Jiang Nian moved—dodging, shifting, turning—and caught the falling blade with effortless grace.
Hook, hang, point, lift, thrust…
The moves looked simple on the surface, but in Jiang Nian’s hands, they became extraordinarily intricate.
This was the essence of the Sunflower Evasive Sword—one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three multiplies into all things!
As long as the swordsman’s skill was profound enough, he could single-handedly take on ten thousand foes with just this one technique!
And as it happened, after mastering Yu Huatian’s Sword-Breaking Art, Jiang Nian’s swordsmanship had reached an incredibly high level.
This caused the Sunflower Evasive Sword to undergo a qualitative transformation in his hands.
If Jiang Nian wanted to, even the most ordinary-looking “thrust” could be executed in a hundred different ways.
“Whoosh—”
“Swish—”
As Jiang Nian swung the blade, the air was filled with the sound of slicing wind.
The force of his swings swept over the flower petals nearby, lifting them into the air in a flurry of color.
And there, amidst the swirling petals, Jiang Nian moved—turning and leaping, his ancient robes billowing around him. It was as if a true swordsman from the jianghu had descended upon the mortal world.
For a moment, Yang Rong and the others standing nearby were utterly stunned, completely captivated.
They rubbed their eyes in disbelief, faces frozen in an expression of pure, unadulterated shock.
“Am I seeing things? Eunuch Jiang’s sword practice is actually lifting the petals into the air?”
“You’re not seeing things. He really is lifting them! Wh-What the hell? Is there a sudden gust of wind or something?”
“No way—we’re not that far from him, and I don’t feel any wind at all.”
“Wait, what’s going on here? Did we just see a ghost?”
“Holy shit, this is way too insane. This is pure fantasy! I’d believe it if you told me this was CGI!”
“So this is what they call ‘sword aura’ in novels? This stuff actually exists?!”
The set erupted into chaos. Everyone was completely floored by Jiang Nian’s display, their minds racing with confusion and disbelief.
Among them, Huang Wenhao was the most terrified.
Since he was standing closest to Jiang Nian, he could clearly feel the gusts of air—the sheer force—brushing across his face with every swing.
He was frozen in shock.
When Jiang Nian finished his routine, Huang Wenhao was supposed to deliver his lines—but he just stood there, stiff as a board, unable to utter a single word.
Director Huang Junwen, however, didn’t scold him.
Because he was just as dumbfounded.
It wasn’t until Jiang Nian sheathed his sword and noticed the deafening silence that he realized something was off.
He turned to look at Huang Wenhao. “Master, do you have any pointers for me?”
Huang Wenhao snapped out of it and stammered, “Ah… well… uh… That was excellent—very clever, varied, and sharp.”
“And then?” Jiang Nian prompted, noticing the man had run out of words after that.
Say the lines! Say the lines!
But Huang Wenhao fumbled and stuttered, unable to squeeze out a single additional word.
Seeing this, Huang Junwen finally snapped out of his daze and called out, “Cut!”
At that, Jiang Nian knew the take was ruined. He gave up on prompting and shot Huang Wenhao a look of sheer exasperation.
If the guy had just followed up with his lines, they’d have nailed it in one take.
But no…
“Sigh.”
Jiang Nian said nothing more. He just sighed and looked over at the director.
Huang Junwen walked over after calling cut, looking just as helpless. He addressed Huang Wenhao, “Teacher Huang, Teacher Jiang gave you such a clear cue—why didn’t you take it?”
Huang Wenhao knew he’d messed up and held everyone back. He pressed his palms together apologetically and said, “Sorry, Director. Teacher Jiang’s performance was just too good—I got completely absorbed and didn’t react in time. I’m really, really sorry.”
Seeing how sincere and eager he was to make amends, Huang Junwen found it hard to be too hard on the veteran actor. He just said, “Just be more careful next time.”
Then he turned to Jiang Nian.
In an instant, the frustration in his expression melted away, replaced by a wry smile. “Teacher Jiang… that performance was way over the top. We’re just shooting a TV series here—there’s no need to go that far. Just tone it down a little, that’s all.”
Jiang Nian looked just as troubled. “Director Huang, this is already me holding back a lot. If I tone it down any more, I won’t even have any force behind my swings.”
“Really?”
Huang Junwen looked skeptical.
Jiang Nian clicked his tongue. “Why would I lie to you about something like this?”
To put things in perspective, when he normally practiced his sword forms, he’d channel internal force into every strike. This time around, he hadn’t even drawn upon his inner energy—let alone used any hidden power. He’d been swinging the blade purely with brute physical strength.
“…”
Huang Junwen fell silent, still unsure what to believe.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Yang Rong and the others had similar doubts.
Seeing Jiang Nian’s sword swings create gusts of wind that sent plum blossoms swirling and falling in a cascade, they’d all assumed he was going all out, putting on a show to show off.
And admittedly, it had been impressive—utterly mind-blowing.
But now, hearing his response…
“Hey, Brother Zhang—you’re Teacher Jiang’s agent and you train with him every day, right? Is what Teacher Jiang said true or not?”
Tian Boguang—played by Han Dong—sidled up to Zhang Linyu and asked with great curiosity.
Zhang Linyu gave him an odd look, wondering what the guy was thinking.
You know he and Jiang Nian are on the same side, and yet you’re asking him about this?
Still, credit where credit’s due…
“What Brother Jiang said is absolutely true!”
Zhang Linyu replied with complete seriousness.
He thought back to all the times he’d trained with Jiang Nian—the man could shatter rocks with a single swing, create sword-wind tornadoes, and make a thousand leaves return to a single point. Compared to all that, practicing for ages just to stir up a little breeze that knocked over some petals was barely even “holding back.” It was practically throwing the match.
His words drew a chorus of gasps.
“Wait, seriously?”
Deng Sha couldn’t quite believe it. If what Jiang Nian just showed was already toned down, then just how insane would he be at full power?
Yuan Shanshan shared the same sentiment. “Brother Zhang, you’re not just saying that because you’re his agent and you two are in cahoots, are you?”
Zhang Linyu immediately took offense.
Damn it. You guys asked the question. I gave you an answer. And now you’re doubting me?
He wasn’t about to take that lying down.
“Brother Jiang, what’s the next scene? Is there any flying involved? Fly for them—show them what you’ve got!”
