Volume One: The First Arrival Chapter Eleven: The Sword Technique

Meng Xingchen summoned his mission panel with a sense of anticipation. He had spent two or three days on this quest to eliminate the kobolds, killing over a hundred of them in total. Surely, the rewards would not be disappointing.

Skipping past the mission summary, he focused on the rewards. First was 600 points of biological energy, followed by 10 points of human contribution, and finally, two small square boxes resembling book covers, identical to the one that had granted him the Basic Internal Energy skill.

Meng Xingchen’s spirits soared. More skill rewards? Was this a choice between two?

Upon closer inspection, the first box contained Intermediate Internal Energy, and the other contained Basic Swordsmanship. They were not a choice—both were rewards. Meng Xingchen was overjoyed.

Intermediate Internal Energy went without saying; it was the advanced version of his previous skill, and he expected its effects to be far more potent than the basic version.

Basic Swordsmanship, meanwhile, had arrived at the perfect moment. Although he had been using a sword as his primary weapon for the last two days, he had no real training. His repertoire was limited to a simple thrust, or at most, a horizontal sweep.

After claiming the rewards, Meng Xingchen felt an urgent desire to learn the new skills, but the time and place were inappropriate. He suppressed his eagerness and switched to his character attribute panel.

Combining the biological energy gained from killing the kobolds with the mission reward, he calculated that he should be able to level up twice.

Indeed, his current biological energy stood at 1330/400. After two consecutive level-ups, his biological rank reached Level 9 of Tier 0 (453/500).

He needed only four more kobolds to level up again. Suppressing the urge to charge back into the valley to gather the remaining 47 points of energy, he joined Li Daniu and the others for the journey home.

The recent battle had left the three men exhausted, and they no longer had the energy to skin the fallen kobolds.

Although it was still early—the sun was at its zenith—the massive number of kobold corpses from the previous day had already attracted scavengers to the area. With nearly a hundred more killed in the recent fight, the strong scent of blood hung in the air. It would be troublesome if a powerful predator were drawn to the site.

The return journey to Li Family Village was hurried. When the villagers heard that the kobold threat had been completely eradicated, they were ecstatic. Under the planning of Li Shan and the other village elders, they immediately began preparing for a celebration that night.

The preparations did not require Meng Xingchen’s assistance. He avoided the bustling crowds and returned to the small courtyard of Li Daniu’s house to examine the details of the Basic Swordsmanship and Intermediate Internal Energy manuals.

Like the basic version, the Intermediate Internal Energy manual contained detailed breathing chants, methods, and a meridian circulation map. Meng Xingchen guessed that the chants were meant to help practitioners understand the circulation path and enter a meditative state; though he only half-understood them, he paid them little mind.

Using his old method, he memorized the breathing technique and the circulation path, ignored the chants, and entered an introspective state. He then guided his internal energy along the path dictated by the Intermediate Internal Energy manual, coordinating it with his breathing.

Although the intermediate technique involved more meridians and a more complex path than the basic one, Meng Xingchen, with his previous experience and the aid of his introspective state, easily guided his internal energy through a full cycle.

"Ding. Detected that the host has mastered a higher-level internal energy technique. The effect of Basic Internal Energy will be overwritten, and two-thirds of the cultivation experience will be retained. Details can be viewed on the attribute panel." The system notification sounded right on cue.

Meng Xingchen observed his significantly strengthened internal energy and, after guiding it back into his Dantian, summoned the attribute panel.

In the skill list, Basic Internal Energy had been replaced by Intermediate Internal Energy. His mastery level was now "Novice (134/500)," and his internal energy value had reached 200/200. The first skill effect had changed from "+1 to all attributes" to "+2 to all attributes." The second effect remained unchanged, while the third effect, "Internal Energy Burst," now granted +4 to Constitution and Agility, up from +3.

With an additional three points in attributes, his internal energy pool doubled, and his stats during an Internal Energy Burst increased further, causing his combat capability to skyrocket.

At this point, Meng Xingchen’s base attributes were: Spirit 9, Constitution 11, and Agility 8. He applied the two free attribute points he had just gained to Spirit and Agility.

As his Spirit reached 10, he felt a faint cracking sound in his mind. His head felt refreshed, and his perception of the outside world seemed sharper, though it was hard to define exactly what had changed.

A sudden inspiration struck him. He instinctively activated his "Omni-View" and discovered that his detection radius had expanded from three meters to four. It was not a massive increase, but in the absence of knowing how to upgrade his "Insight" ability, this was a clear direction for improvement.

Next was Basic Swordsmanship. Suppressing his excitement, he began to study it.

The manual was exactly what it claimed to be, filled with illustrations and explanations of basic sword usage, force-application techniques, and the accompanying footwork.

Meng Xingchen was instantly enthralled. The techniques for using a longsword opened his eyes, making him realize how shallow his previous understanding had been. Even with his most-used move—the thrust—his improper force application meant he hadn't even reached half the speed his attributes should have allowed.

As he read, he couldn't help but stand up and draw his sword. Following the diagrams, he practiced the forms: Draw, Guide, Lift, Parry, Strike, Thrust, Point, Collapse, Stir, Press, Cleave, and Intercept.

He didn't stop until Li Daniu came to fetch him for the village celebration. He realized that several hours had passed without him noticing; the sky had grown dark, and night was falling.

Due to limited resources, the "celebration" in Li Family Village consisted of building a bonfire in the central clearing, where everyone gathered to chat and share food.

Meng Xingchen remained absent-minded throughout, his thoughts still consumed by the sword techniques. Even while eating, he would subconsciously use his chopsticks as a sword, practicing the forms.

Before the bonfire party had even ended, Meng Xingchen—having eaten his fill without tasting a thing—returned to Li Daniu’s courtyard to continue his practice.

Only when the rare, lively night in Li Family Village finally settled into silence did Meng Xingchen put down his sword and turn to his internal energy cultivation. Although he was obsessed with sword practice, he understood that his internal energy was the foundation, and he knew how to prioritize.

The next morning, after his routine cultivation, Meng Xingchen set out into the forest alone.

With the kobold threat resolved, Li Daniu and the others had returned to their normal lives. Having become familiar with the area over the last few days, Meng Xingchen no longer needed them to lead the way; it was more convenient to travel alone.

His destination remained the kobold lair. First, to check the situation, and second, because his strength had surged, he wanted to see if the numerous corpses left behind yesterday had attracted gnolls or more powerful magical beasts for him to test his skills against.

Furthermore, he only needed 47 more points of biological energy to level up. Based on his previous experience, reaching a multiple of ten should trigger some new change. Even if it didn't, another level-up would allow him to bring his Agility up to 10.

Traveling alone, Meng Xingchen moved much faster than before. About two hours later, he arrived at the valley where the kobold lair was located.

From a distance, he noticed something was wrong. The sounds of kobold wailing echoed constantly from the valley; they must have encountered a formidable enemy.

Since they were still able to hold their ground, whatever they were facing couldn't be too powerful. Meng Xingchen confidently walked into the valley.

Just as he crossed the makeshift barricade they had built the day before, a kobold came running toward him. It seemed to be fleeing, and upon suddenly encountering Meng Xingchen—the "God of Slaughter"—it froze in terror.

Meng Xingchen didn't stand on ceremony; with a casual strike, he ended it and continued into the valley.

Entering the basin, he immediately spotted the culprit causing the kobolds such distress: a giant wolf. It was a pale cyan beast with a shoulder height of about 1.5 meters, taller than most kobolds when they stood upright.

The kobolds were playing a game of hide-and-seek with the giant wolf, using their cave as a refuge. When the wolf chased them into the cave, they would flee into the valley; when the wolf chased them into the valley, they would retreat back into the cave.

Meng Xingchen’s arrival interrupted their game. Upon spotting him, the kobolds let out even more shrill cries and scrambled into the cave.

The giant wolf ignored the fleeing kobolds and fixed its gaze on Meng Xingchen, letting out a low growl.

Ignoring the warning, Meng Xingchen approached slowly with his sword drawn. When only ten meters remained between them, the wolf suddenly opened its mouth and roared at him. A fist-sized, translucent sphere shot from its maw, striking directly at Meng Xingchen.

The sphere moved at high speed, roughly matching the velocity of a javelin thrown by Meng Xingchen in his normal state.

He sidestepped to avoid the attack. The sphere flew past him and slammed into the stone wall of the valley, exploding into a violent, chaotic gust of wind that blew pebbles and debris four or five meters away.

Is this magic? Meng Xingchen thought, suddenly accelerating toward the wolf.

The wolf roared again, spitting out a translucent, pale cyan blade that spun as it flew toward him.

The blade was faster than the sphere, spinning toward his neck.

Meng Xingchen dodged, then suddenly pivoted, his sword thrusting to intercept the flying blade. Using the "Collapse" force-application technique he had just learned, he tapped the tip of his sword against the blade.

He wanted to see if physical attacks could disrupt magical ones.

The pale cyan blade shuddered upon contact with the sword tip, then began to dissolve, turning into a chaotic gust of wind with no remaining lethality.

When Meng Xingchen turned back to face the wolf, it had already rushed toward him, shrouded in a gale. It was moving much faster than when it had chased the kobolds; it clearly hadn't been using its full speed before.

The giant wolf pushed off the ground with its hind legs, its front claws wreathed in pale cyan wind, swiping at Meng Xingchen’s head.

Meng Xingchen thrust his sword out, inserting it between the wolf’s claws. With a vibration of the blade, he used the sword’s spine to slap aside both of the wolf’s paws, leaving its chest wide open. Following through, he thrust the tip of his sword toward the wolf's throat, stopping just as it made contact.