"Immortal Lu..."
"Just call me Lu Chen."
"You came from the Celestial Realm Beyond. How could I dare address you by name? Besides, you may look young, but you must actually be several hundred years old already, right? How about I call you Grandpa Lu?"
"...I'm only eighteen."
Even counting my previous life, I was only forty-something. Calling me Grandpa was going too far!
"Er, haha, I was just joking... Hmm, Brother Lu, then... what would it take for you to bring me to the Celestial Realm Beyond so I can have a look around?"
Though Huang Rong's bright-eyed, eager expression was rather adorable, Lu Chen still shook his head apologetically.
"Miss Huang, you pulled me from the sea. I should repay that kindness, but I came here for something very important, so I can't go back for the time being."
"Something important?" Huang Rong's eyes lit up. "What is it? I'll help you!"
"I need to learn some swordsmanship..."
"Swordsmanship?" Huang Rong was somewhat surprised. "Does the Celestial Realm Beyond need mortal swordsmanship too?"
"It's mainly something I personally need." Lu Chen spoke frankly. "Miss Huang, I don't deny that my origins are somewhat unusual, but I've always said that I'm just an ordinary person. I truly wasn't fooling you about that."
Huang Rong nodded with a grin.
"I know, I know. You're an ordinary person—an ordinary person from the Celestial Realm Beyond."
Tsk. This girl had completely made up her mind and believed it without a doubt.
Lu Chen was already powerless to explain himself, so he could only stress what he needed.
"In any case, I need to learn swordsmanship. It's very important to me."
Though she did not quite understand why someone from the Celestial Realm Beyond needed to learn swordsmanship, Huang Rong felt fully capable of helping him with that.
If not for Peach Blossom Island's rules, she could even teach him Peach Blossom Island Swordplay herself.
Still, even without her father's permission, and unable to casually pass Peach Blossom Island Swordplay on to an outsider, Huang Rong had other options.
"Brother Lu, do you have any requirements for the swordsmanship?"
"None in particular. Even common martial arts swordsmanship will do. There's only one condition: it must at least be able to cultivate Internal Energy from the outside in."
The Main World where Lu Chen lived in this life also had swordsmanship passed down from ancient times, but like the swordsmanship of Earth in his previous life, it was merely ordinary armed combat. No matter how he trained, he could not cultivate Internal Energy.
Yet the portion of his transmigrator's cheat related to his personal strength required swordsmanship capable of cultivating Internal Energy before it could be unlocked.
That was why he had to find a world with extraordinary martial arts.
Huang Rong crossed her left arm over her chest and formed a figure eight with the thumb and index finger of her right hand, supporting her chin as she pondered.
"Any swordsmanship that can cultivate Internal Energy from the outside in will do? You have no requirements for how profound or exquisite the swordsmanship is, how pure and condensed the Internal Energy it cultivates might be, or how powerful it is?"
Lu Chen nodded. "That's right. As long as it can cultivate Internal Energy, nothing else matters."
After all, the swordsmanship was only a "key" to unlock it. As long as it could open the "treasure vault," the quality of the key itself did not matter.
"Then that's easy."
Huang Rong snapped her fingers and said confidently.
"In the Wu-Yue region, there is a style called Maiden of Yue Swordplay. Though it is quite ordinary, the Internal Energy it cultivates is mediocre and its power unremarkable, it is widely spread. You can learn it with money."
So she had no intention of teaching me Peach Blossom Island Swordplay?
Wouldn't that have been easier?
Lu Chen was a little puzzled, but soon thought of the sect rules of the martial world, as well as Huang Yaoshi's teaching methods.
Forget it. Peach Blossom Island martial arts came with a disability debuff. Maiden of Yue Swordplay it was.
In any case, to unlock the first stage of his cheat, he only needed to master one set of Extraordinary Sword Techniques. As long as it could cultivate Internal Energy, even if that Internal Energy was mediocre and its power unremarkable, it should still count as "Extraordinary Sword Techniques," right?
Lu Chen nodded at once.
"Alright, I'll learn Maiden of Yue Swordplay. It's just..."
He looked rather embarrassed.
"I don't have a single coin on me..."
Huang Rong patted her chest with her little hand, displaying the bold generosity of a rich young lady.
"Don't worry, I do!"
Lu Chen flashed a toothy smile.
"Then thank you, Miss Huang."
Huang Rong looked at him with burning eyes.
"After it's done?"
"I'll definitely take Miss Huang on a trip to the Celestial Realm Beyond!"
"A high-five to seal the oath!"
Huang Rong held out her little hand, her snow-white palm facing Lu Chen.
Seeing the solemn look on Huang Rong's face, Lu Chen suddenly understood.
This was her way of formally placing her trust in him. Once they made this oath, she would give it her all to fulfill their agreement.
People of this era, especially those of the martial world, generally placed great importance on keeping promises. The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were a typical example.
But Lu Chen...
On Earth in his previous life, people who liked to swear oaths were usually con artists. Ordinary people did not believe in such vows either.
In the Main World of this life, verbal oaths, high-fives, and pinky promises held no binding power.
Lu Chen himself did not trust this sort of oath-making either.
However, Huang Rong had first rescued him from drowning, practically saving his chance to transmigrate physically this time. Now she was even helping him learn swordsmanship. How could he possibly break his word after receiving such kindness?
So Lu Chen also grew solemn, raised his palm, and gravely struck her soft little hand three times.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
After three high-fives and the making of their pact, the two looked at each other and smiled, both feeling much closer to the other.
"Miss Huang, where do we go next?"
"To Shaoxing Prefecture. My father said there are quite a few Maiden of Yue Swordplay schools over there. We can pick whichever one we like."
"Alright, I'll follow Miss Huang's arrangements."
With the chance to visit the "Celestial Realm" before her, Huang Rong was brimming with enthusiasm. After identifying their direction, she deftly adjusted the sails and changed course, steering the little boat toward the mouth of the Qiantang River.
Though she had run away from home alone this time, she had studied astronomy and geography under Huang Yaoshi. Not only could she navigate at sea, but she was also thoroughly familiar with travel over land. Even going north by herself would not have been a problem.
Thus, she knew that traveling by boat to Shaoxing Prefecture was most convenient. They would not even need to disembark. They only had to enter the Qiantang River and sail upstream. At the junction of the Qiantang River and the Cao'e River, they could turn into the Cao'e River and go straight to Shaoxing Prefecture.
Seeing a girl of fifteen or sixteen bustling about on her own, adjusting the sails one moment and steering the next, Lu Chen felt somewhat guilty and asked.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Can you sail a boat?"
"No."
"Then I wouldn't dare let you help. Hmm, tell me more about the Celestial Realm Beyond."
"What would Miss Huang like to hear about?"
"I want to hear about those great ships. The iron ships that can carry hundreds of millions of jin of cargo."
"Cargo ships are boring. Let me tell you about cruise ships instead. The largest cruise ship where I come from can carry nearly ten thousand people, passengers and crew included..."
"It can hold nearly ten thousand people? Wouldn't a ship like that be as enormous as a mountain?"
"Mm. That great cruise ship really could be considered a floating city on the sea, a little mountain of steel. There are cinemas, theaters, amusement parks, and more aboard it..."
"Wait, what is a cinema?"
"A cinema is..."
As Lu Chen described the sights aboard that great cruise ship one by one, more and more strange, unheard-of things came from his lips. Huang Rong did not even know what to ask about first. She could only listen in a daze, imagining wildly as her heart yearned for it.
"There are too many fun things... When I reach the Celestial Realm Beyond, I want to ride one of those floating cities on the sea too and see those Celestial Realm things with my own eyes."
"Mm..."
Lu Chen considered that if he managed to learn swordsmanship this time and unlock the first stage of his cheat, he should be able to earn a considerable income in the Main World.
Besides, when he returned, he could carry supplies amounting to one percent of his body weight with him. He could bring back some gold that way, so funding a cruise for Huang Rong should not be a problem. With a smile, he said.
"No problem. I'll take you sightseeing on a big ship then."
"Mm-hmm." Huang Rong nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of anticipation.
It had already been nearing dusk when Lu Chen met Huang Rong.
After Huang Rong hauled Lu Chen onto the boat, they chatted for quite a while. Then the little boat had changed course, and the wind had not been favorable either. Thus, by the time dusk fell, they still had not reached the mouth of the Qiantang River.
Fortunately, the little boat had not been far from shore and had been sailing along the coast. Seeing the sky grow dark, Huang Rong simply found a shallow bay with gentler winds and waves, dropped anchor, and moored for the night.
After securing the boat, she looked at Lu Chen and said.
"We'll rest here tonight and set off again early tomorrow morning."
Lu Chen was unfamiliar with the place, so he naturally left everything to her arrangements and nodded readily.
Huang Rong asked again, "Do you eat fish? There are plenty of sea fish here. I can catch some fresh fish for us."
Lu Chen said with a smile, "Fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish—I'll eat anything."
Huang Rong smiled sweetly. "Then I'll see if I can catch you a big shrimp."
As she spoke, she lit a lantern and hung it by the side of the boat. Then she took a small bucket from the cabin, grabbed some bait and scattered it into the sea. After that, she picked up a fishing spear, pursed her rosy lips, and stared intently at the water.
Lu Chen wanted to go over and watch, but feared he might scare away the fish, so he could only remain seated where he was and hold his breath as he watched.
Very soon, Huang Rong's gaze sharpened. She suddenly swung her arm and hurled the fishing spear. With a whoosh, it plunged into the water, and the hemp rope tied to its tail went taut at once.
Huang Rong grabbed the rope, gave a shout, then jerked and tugged. The fishing spear leaped out of the sea, and impaled on its prongs was a large fish over two feet long.
"Beautiful!"
Lu Chen's eyes lit up as he clapped and cheered.
Huang Rong turned back and gave him a proud smile. Pulling the hemp rope back, she hauled the spear and the fish onto the boat in one motion.
Though pierced through the body by the spear, the big fish was not yet dead. Once aboard, it still thrashed desperately, its powerful tail slapping the deck with loud thuds.
Huang Rong did not indulge it. An Emei Piercer slipped from her sleeve, and with a soft pop, she drove it into the fish's skull. The fish gave one violent struggle, then went still.
Such a large fish was already enough for the two of them.
But Huang Rong was still a young girl by nature, and she had never had companions her own age while growing up. Seeing that Lu Chen, this "person from the Celestial Realm" only two years older than her, admired her fishing skills so much, she could not help feeling proud. Wanting to show off her skills before him, and remembering that she had promised to try catching him a big shrimp, she pressed on and continued watching the sea.
One fish after another, each of a different kind, was speared onto the bow. In the blink of an eye, the catch had piled up like a small mountain.
At first, Lu Chen kept clapping and cheering, but when he saw her growing more enthusiastic with every throw, he hurriedly called out.
"That's enough, that's enough! There's no way the two of us can finish so many fish!"
"Mm-hmm, I'll just catch one big shrimp... There it is!"
As she spoke, Huang Rong's eyes lit up. She hurled the fishing spear once more, and when she grasped the hemp rope at its tail and pulled it from the water, there was now a lobster over a foot long impaled on its prongs.
"Look, the big shrimp you wanted!"
Huang Rong held the lobster in both hands, turned to Lu Chen, and gave him a broad smile.
Seeing her delighted, proud, and charming expression, Lu Chen could not help curling his lips upward as well, laughing heartily.
Taking the readers' advice, I'm back to writing world-hopping stories.
Before you continue