Saber Nurturing Art

Chapter 47 Saber Nurturing Art

In the Bamboo Forest, Lu Xun leaned against a thick bamboo stalk and carefully read the beta test forum post about selecting lucky players.

The beta test would begin in two days. Converted to the Tian Chen Continent's time, that meant twenty days from now.

It caught him somewhat off guard.

In his previous life, he had not been so lucky. Although he had entered the drawing, he had not been selected.

There were only a thousand slots in total, and countless people had entered the drawing.

Since he had not been selected, he had forgotten the exact date of the beta test.

He did remember the open beta date very clearly. After all, that had been the day he officially began making money off Heavenly Dust.

If the Silly Players really were going to descend upon this world, he definitely wanted to make contact with them.

He also wanted to see whether anything would change now that he had become an NPC.

If I remember correctly, the beta test wasn't very long. It only lasted two days, which means twenty days in the Tian Chen Continent, Lu Xun thought.

By the twenty-second century, game beta tests had become more like lucky events, somewhat different from before.

Learning that the players were about to arrive gave Lu Xun a slight sense of urgency.

How could he not know what the Silly Players were like? It seemed he needed to raise his strength quickly.

Fortunately, the official open beta was still more than two years away. Otherwise, he would have felt even more pressed.

In the players' eyes, NPCs were nothing more than Tool People who gave them quests, rewards, skills, and the like.

But if used properly, weren't players Tool People as well?

Not to mention that, in the past, players had desperately fawned over NPCs like simps just to unlock hidden quests that required Affection Points!

Lu Xun wanted to be fawned over too.

More precisely, throughout the entire Tian Chen Continent, no one understood the Silly Players better than Lu Xun. He had plenty of ways to make them work for him, and they would be his greatest support from now on!

"Mm, I need to plan this carefully." That rascal had already laid out a huge chessboard in his mind, ready to make his moves.

Since the Beta Testers would soon arrive, he planned to go down the mountain in a few days and try his luck, to see whether he could get in touch with them.

For the next few days, his top priority was improving his own strength.

After closing the forum, Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei had more or less finished digesting their meal, so they got up to bid Second Senior Sister farewell.

"Second Senior Sister, I'll come by again at noon to bring you food," Lu Xun said to Second Senior Sister, who sat atop the massive boulder.

The breeze lifted her black Daoist Robe. Second Senior Sister nodded, still as reluctant to speak as ever.

But after spending some time together, she knew very well that this Little Martial Brother seemed to love chatting and wanted her to speak.

If she only nodded without saying a few words, he would become long-winded—very long-winded, exceptionally long-winded!

Naturally, she did not know that her stutter struck Lu Xun as incredibly adorable. He found it interesting and cute, so he loved teasing her into speaking.

Over time, Second Senior Sister had somehow gone from being annoyed at first to growing used to it.

People were such strange creatures.

"G-Got it," Second Senior Sister stammered.

Lu Xun was not in a hurry to leave today. Instead, he said, "Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Is there anything you two Senior Sisters want to eat? Just tell me. I'll make some extra big dishes tomorrow."

At times like this, Second Senior Sister usually did not speak. Only Mao Nanbei, that little glutton, would count dish after dish on her tiny fingers.

Lu Xun could not help smiling as he looked at them.

Having suddenly arrived in a world both familiar and unfamiliar, at least he was no longer all alone.

Lu Xun returned alone. Mao Nanbei was still in the Bamboo Forest.

After meals came Second Senior Sister's cat-petting time. After putting up a token struggle, Mao Nanbei would obediently lie on Second Senior Sister's lap, squinting her eyes in enjoyment.

Having undone her transformation and returned to a black cat, Mao Nanbei tugged at her cat ears, turned over on Second Senior Sister's legs, and said, "Little Martial Brother still doesn't even have a sword. Should I think of a way to get him one?"

Smack! Second Senior Sister lightly tapped Mao Nanbei on the forehead with her clenched right fist.

If the little girl said she was going to get a sword, she was definitely up to some crooked scheme again. She would probably cause trouble when the time came.

Gongshu Pan's face had already been dark enough. After becoming the Law Enforcement Elder as well, it had grown even darker. Whenever he encountered a troublemaking Mao Nanbei, it could darken another shade.

"Meow!" Mao Nanbei covered her forehead with her soft little paw and stopped talking.

Second Senior Sister's fair, slender fingers continued stroking Mao Nanbei's smooth fur. She lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

After quite a while, she finally said softly, "T-Teach... teach him... your Saber Nurturing Art."

The Little Black Cat had been enjoying the petting so much that her body had curled up. Upon hearing this, she immediately stretched out, slightly surprised.

She cultivated the saber, so it was called the Saber Nurturing Art. If Lu Xun cultivated the sword, it would naturally become the Sword Nurturing Art.

More precisely, this technique had been created by First Senior Brother. In the beginning, it had been meant for nurturing swords.

But... could Little Martial Brother handle it?

Mao Nanbei asked doubtfully, "Second Senior Sister, that sword intent of yours is already more than enough for him to bear. Isn't it too early to have him nurture a sword? Shouldn't we wait a little longer?"

She was genuinely afraid something might happen to Lu Xun. Otherwise, no one would cook for her anymore.

Second Senior Sister shook her head, clenched her right fist again, and lightly tapped Mao Nanbei's little head once more. "B-Behave."

"Meow! Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I'll teach it to him right now, okay?" The Little Black Cat jumped down from Second Senior Sister and ran toward the Small Study.

As she ran, she muttered, "Hey! Second Senior Sister is the one insisting that I teach you. Don't blame me if you can't handle it later."

Inside the room, Lu Xun was just about to sit cross-legged and cultivate.

Although he still had quite a bit of Experience Points, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. Besides, the pain of cultivation was truly intoxicating, so he might as well treat it as a way to relax.

Just as he sat down cross-legged, Mao Nanbei darted in through the window.

"No time to explain. Close your eyes and calm your mind!" She had transformed back into human form, looking as hurried as ever.

Lu Xun froze for a moment. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the little girl's pinky finger jab toward the center of his brow.

The bell on her hand rang along with the motion. Its sound was crisp, but not pleasant.

Instead, it sounded like war drums!

With Mao Nanbei's cultivation, Lu Xun could not dodge.

And in such a situation, a person would instinctively close his eyes.

What is she trying to do? Lu Xun thought.

When the little girl's pinky touched the center of his brow, a stream of heat flowed into his body. It spread from his brow to his limbs and bones. An exceedingly mysterious sensation surged into his heart, and then...

—turned into a cold line of information:

"Ding! Learn the skill 'Sword Nurturing Art'?"

"Skill Grade: Orange!"

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