Legend of the Heavenly Blade (Xianxia Isekai

[TDShadow]

Lin Xaio sat alone at the peak of the Yu mountain, her breathing slow and steady, every breath taking in the Qi that permeated the air.

How many centuries had it been since her last breakthrough? It had been so long that she could barely remember. It was not unexpected, at her levels of power even the largest sources of Qi were effectively irrelevant.

She released a breath as she noted the Qi in the air decreasing. It was time for her to end her session before she drained the entire mountain of the Qi vital to its functionality.

Shaking her head she rose from her meditative position, her body still perfectly relaxed despite spending over eight hours sitting in near perfect stillness.

Crack

Her eyes snapped to the air above her.

The sky was cracking, hairline fractures expanding, light of various colors emitted from them before the center of the crack opened up and an unfamiliar figure dropped out of it.

She could feel no Qi behind the fracture even as it repaired itself, leaving the sky unblemished.

No Qi… she frowned at that thought. For something to not have any Qi should be impossible.

Meaning wherever that gap had led was likely a completely foreign world to what she knew of.

Something unknown had just fallen from it, from a place that likely did not follow the same rules as the world she lived in.

At least she could take solace in the fact that if she couldn't handle whatever threat emerged, it would take the Emperor or one of his four generals to win.

With a single burst of speed she arrived at the landing place of whatever had fallen.

Looking at the object that had emerged from the rift, she was greeted by the sight of a young man, black of hair and with a short stubble gracing his jawline.

His build was rather bulky, his muscles resembling a blacksmith more than a warrior.

It was his clothing that was the strangest part of him however, some form of beast-hide coat, a black shirt and blue pants made of a durable material, along with a style of footwear she had never encountered before.

His breathing was ragged, a small stain of blood near a rock.

If hitting himself against a rock had made him bleed, then there was no way he was powerful enough to harm her at all.

Activating a diagnostic spell, she looked him over.

A couple of cracked ribs, a fracture in his skull and several points of internal bleeding.

She sighed as she started to heal the man, her attempts restricted by his lack of Cultivation.

He would need to be coherent if he was to answer any questions.

For now however, he would need to be placed somewhere warm, the freezing winds of Mount Yu were lethal to mortals.

***​

Fuck.

Lee Young woke with a start, his body screaming in pain. His breathing was labored, his ribs aching with each shallow intake, the air chilling him to his core.

But at least he was alive.

Getting crushed by a truck when a lift failed was not how he expected to die but it had nearly happened.

Hopefully he'd get a hefty insurance payout for that.

He coughed as his lungs once again betrayed him, the icy chill of the air practically burning them.

"Finally awake I see," a feminine voice said in a cold monotone, "drink this."

He was propped up to a seated position as a cup was pressed to his lips, the liquid inside warm to the touch.

He started to drink, the heat was pleasant, warming him up ever so slightly despite the freezing air.

The heat entered his body and flowed out, slowly but steadily spreading to his limbs and fighting away the chill, even as the pain in his ribs started to lessen, his muscles and bones relaxing as whatever painkiller she had given him worked its magic.

Eventually the drink was finished and he started to breathe again.

The chill creeped into his bones immediately.

He coughed again before opening his eyes and blinking.

Where the hell was he?

Surely he should be in a hospital room. Yet what he saw surrounding him looked more at home in some kung fu movie.

Red wallpaper and gold trim decorated the large room, pillars supporting what looked like a marble ceiling. Large drapes of crimson cloth hung between the pillars, tied up with golden ropes.

On proud display between the drapes were statues of dragons crafted from a green stone, racks of weapons of various types and several expensive looking pots.

He looked to his side and saw the woman that had given him the drink.

His throat dried and his breath caught.

God she was fucking gorgeous.

Pitch black hair tied into a bun, a single bang falling down the side of her face, a large pin holding the bun in place. Her skin was smooth, pale and lacking a single blemish, the sort of skin makeup artists spent hours trying to fake. Her eyes screamed that she was Asian, probably Chinese but he wasn't an expert.

And her clothes?

A Chinese dress made of black silk with gold trim that flowed into an Eastern Dragon.

"Uh… where am I?" he finally asked, trying to keep his breathing shallow.

"You are currently within the inner sanctum of the Storming Dragon Sect," the woman replied, her voice completely even.

Okay, so there were three options.

First was a practical joke. That was highly unlikely given what he remembered. He should be in a hospital, not the middle of a prank.

Second option was that he was delirious. That… was also unlikely. He remembered the last time he had been delirious and back then he had believed he was some sort of evil snake god getting pissed off at his cultists for taking so long summoning him.

And throughout it all, nothing had seemed strange, so the simple fact he was questioning things made that less likely.

And the third option, the one that should make the least sense, was that he'd gotten Isekai'd.

Admittedly getting Truck-kun'd by a stationary truck wasn't exactly something he had expected but at least he was seemingly alive.

"So what happened to me?" he asked before grimacing and clutching at his ribs.

It felt like one had just cracked.

The pain lessened rapidly but if it had broken-

Then the woman removed his hand from his chest before placing her own on it.

It burned.

He grimaced at the sudden sensation of heat that assaulted him before it vanished just as quickly as it came.

"Good, the medicine is working properly," the woman claimed.

"Then what the hell was that snap?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I shall forgive your outburst given the circumstances," she declared and he frowned, "however should you refuse to mind your manners, I shall take corrective action."

Her tone was completely devoid of compassion as she said that.

"To answer your question," she continued, "that was the medicine setting your rib back in place so it can heal properly."

He frowned.

The medicine setting his rib? He considered it, his rib definitely was starting to feel better, no longer pounding, no longer pressing against his lung each time he breathed… he could certainly believe that it was healing.

The problem was the speed with which it was healing.

He glanced around the room again.

Fantasy world.

Probably fantasy China.

Which also probably meant magic.

He had likely been given some sort of health potion to heal whatever injuries he had.

He glanced at the woman who was currently in the process of picking up several things and placing them on a tray.

"Sorry," he said, causing her to look at him, her eyes narrowed, "I just, I have no idea where I am, what's going on or who you are."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I have already told you where you are," she proclaimed and he nodded.

"Yeah, Storming Dragon Sect right?" he asked before continuing, "but that means nothing to me."

She frowned.

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked.

"Getting crushed by a truck after the ramp it was on collapsed," he deadpanned.

"A what?"

"A truck."

She looked confused.

"I have never heard of such a thing before," she acknowledged.

"Yeah, and that's how this whole situation is for me," he replied.

"Very well," she said, "then please explain what you know."

"The air is freezing," that was the first thing that came to mind.

She tilted her head before closing her eyes.

"Very well, then I shall inform Elder Lin of your awakening," she declared and he frowned.

"Why the sudden change of plan?" he asked.

"I was going to inform the Elder of your awakening before you apologized," she explained as she picked up the tray, "however, if you are claiming the air is freezing, then it would be better to move you somewhere more comfortable before continuing the conversation."

He nodded.

"Thanks… though you seem to be quite at home here yourself," he said.

"Because the air in here is not freezing," she declared.

He gave her a blank stare.

"The air is solidly a fifth of the way between water freezing and boiling," she explained and he blinked at her description, it definitely didn't feel like it, "the chill you are feeling is from the nature of the Qi in the air."

He had no idea what that meant.

"Then I shall take my leave," the woman declared before turning.

"Oh yeah," he called out, "my name is Lee Young, what's yours?"

The woman didn't even bother turning around.

"I am Mei, a core disciple of the Storming Dragon Sect."

She was out of the door before he could even register that he didn't understand what she had just told him.

Well, he supposed he could ask later.

For now, he really had to do something to make himself warm.

The sheet on the futon he was laid on was thin, ridiculously smooth and soft but still thin, so he doubled it up before curling into a ball and seeking refuge, doing his best to breathe shallowly to limit the air chilling his body.

He was pulled from his restlessness at the sound of the door opening.

Looking up, he was greeted by the sight of a girl, probably somewhere in the region of fifteen to seventeen years old, with blonde hair tied into twin-tails, a lotus flower decorating each tie.

Just like Mei, her skin was what he could only describe as perfect, lacking a single hint of acne that might have plagued a normal girl at her age.

Her eyes were a soft green, also possessing clear Asian features but her soft smile and a warmth in her eyes made the girl look far more approachable than Mei had.

Her clothes consisted of an emerald green silk, with golden dragons embroidered into the trim, coiling up the obviously Chinese robe before the head was hidden by a red mantle with golden trim.

"Hello Heavenly One," the girl said and he groaned.

"Are you flirting with me?"

She stopped, a single eyebrow raised.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" she asked, causing him to frown at her.

"You called me 'heavenly one'."

"Yes, because you fell from a crack in the sky at the top of the mountain," she answered calmly.

He blinked.

"Wait, really?" she nodded, "guess that means I definitely did get Isekai'd."

"So why are you here?" he asked the girl.

"I was the one that witnessed you enter this world," she said, causing him to nod before frowning.

"So you know I'm not from this world?" he asked, "how?"

"Your body only had the Qi from the mountain inside it, anyone from this world with such a lack of Qi would be dead," she explained.

"Okay, so that makes things easier," he admitted, "does this… Elder Lin know?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes, Elder Lin most certainly does know," she replied without hesitation.

"So what's your name anyway?" he asked, "mine is Lee Young."

"Mine is Lin Xiao," she said.

Well that explained why this Elder Lin would already know, this girl had to be his granddaughter or something… well, assuming the Chinese ordered their names like the Japanese anyway.

"Now, open your mouth," she commanded and he froze, "now."

Well, he supposed if he was going to be meeting the girls grandfather he probably shouldn't upset her.

He opened his mouth.

She placed a small round object that tasted mildly spicy inside.

"Now swallow," she commanded and he did so.

Almost immediately he felt a gentle warmth spread through his body, driving out the bone-deep chill and flowing up his throat, all the way to his nostrils where he took a breath.

The heat neutralized the freezing air.

He blinked.

"Ah, thank you," he said, moving his hand to rub the back of his head.

"I would recommend against touching there," she said and he froze, "when you fell from the sky, you cracked your head on a stone. It should be mostly healed, however it is safer to avoid aggravating it for another day if possible."

He lowered his hand.

After the pill the girl had just given him, he wasn't going to ignore her advise.

"So, how long will the pill last?" he asked the girl.

"Approximately a day," she answered, "normally it is not used for such a purpose but given the circumstances, I believe it was an acceptable use."

He looked at the girl.

"Not it's normal use?" he asked, "what is it normally used for?"

"It is normally used by beginners with a fire alignment to aid their cultivation," she answered casually, "though I doubt any of that makes sense to you."

He nodded.

"All I took from that is that it helps people breathe fire better," he admitted.

"Well, I suppose that is close enough for a basic explanation," she offered him a small smile, "had I given you a more powerful one, it would have unleashed enough fire Qi to cook your insides."

He looked at her, hoping she was joking.

"Do not fear," she said with a kind smile, "those levels of pills are for those who have already developed a resistance if not comfort with temperatures that would kill a mortal. What I gave you is designed for someone of your constitution to learn to assimilate such power."

Well that calmed him ever so slightly.

The door opened again, drawing his attention to the person entering.

It was once again Mei, carrying a freshly laid out tray with a teapot, a pair of cups and a small plate of biscuits.

"Your tea Elder Lin," Mei said while bowing her head to the blonde girl.

Wait, what?

"Hold on! You're Elder Lin?" he asked, his jaw slack at the mere idea.

The girl offered him an amused smile.

"Indeed, hence why I most certainly do know what I told you," she proclaimed, "now, would you like some refreshments?"

She gestured to the tray.

"Ah, yes please," he answered, earning a twitch from Mei's eye even as she moved to pour the tea into the cups.

Soon enough he held a cup of green tea in hand, the bitterness tinged with a hint of sourness and an accent of mint. He had no idea what blend it was. He had never been a tea person, coffee was his caffeinated beverage of choice.

But he was pretty damn thirsty.

"So, how is your name arranged and what cultural norms does your world have concerning using those names?" Lin said, prompting Mei to blink and look at her in surprise.

"Excuse me Elder Lin," she cut in, "but what do you mean 'his world'?"

"He came from a rift in the sky, lacking any hint of Qi," she explained, "the only rational explanation is that he is from another world that is completely devoid of Qi."

Mei simply bowed.

"Thank you for enlightening me, Honored Elder."

"Well, to answer your question," Lee said, "that depends on where exactly you're from. But from the country I'm from, we put our family names after our given names and people usually use their given names unless in a professional situation."

She nodded.

"So how do you wish for me to refer to you?" she asked and he blinked.

"Ah, you can just call me Lee," he said.

"Very well, then you may call me Xiao," she replied and he raised an eyebrow.

"Elder, with all due respect-"

"I am permitting him to speak casually with me due to his culture," Xiao cut Mei off calmly.

Lee looked at Mei.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the 'elder', "I mean, how many people even know Lee isn't my family name?"

"That is fine," she said, "I did say you may call me Xiao, not that you must call me that. If you are more comfortable with using a more formal means of address then that is acceptable."

Mei seemed to relax.

"So… what do you want to talk with me about?" he finally asked, "I doubt you just wanted to know my name."

Lin nodded.

"You fell from a rift in the sky before me," she stated firmly, "that is as close to a sign from the Heavens as is possible. Therefore it is my duty to look over you while you are here."

Well that was a relief.

The girl's expression morphed, her casual smile shifting into a stern stare.

"That is, assuming you choose to walk the path of immortality."