By the Han River stood a fairly bustling dockside town.
Lu Chen wore black, a bamboo hat on his head, the Profound Iron Heavy Sword on his back, and the steel sword Huang Rong had bought for him in hand. He walked through the town streets alongside Huang Rong, who carried the Azure Adamantine Sword.
Now that he had mastered Heavy Swordplay and the Bosiqu Snakes had entered their breeding protection period, there were no snakes left to eat. The two of them stayed in the mountains with Condor Brother for several days, feeding him all manner of roasted game until he had his fill, then bid him farewell and left the mountains.
Along the way, Huang Rong kept lamenting:
"What a pity. Condor Brother wouldn't come with us..."
Though she often bickered with Condor Brother, she truly liked the intelligent and imposing bird. At one point, she had even wanted to coax him back to Peach Blossom Island.
Unfortunately, Condor Brother had no wish to leave that valley.
"Condor Brother has to guard Senior Dugu's grave. Besides, rare spiritual creatures like the Bosiqu Snake must have extremely demanding requirements for their habitat. They may only be able to breed and survive in that valley; once they leave it, they might not survive at all. So apart from guarding the grave, Condor Brother is probably reluctant to leave his food supply."
Lu Chen smiled.
"We can come visit Condor Brother often in the future."
"Mm." Huang Rong nodded and smiled sweetly. "Where are we going next?"
Lu Chen thought for a moment. "How about we visit Shaolin first?"
His reason for visiting Shaolin was not the Nine Yang Manual—now that the Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals could impart teachings, what need was there for Nine Yang?
Collecting more sword techniques would be enough.
Moreover, the Sword Path of Extermination of Immortals was a razor-sharp path of pressing ever forward, invincible in the self, slaughtering gods that stood in its way and exterminating immortals that blocked its path.
The Nine Yang Manual, meanwhile, demanded a mindset of finding joy in both success and failure, of letting others be as strong as they pleased while the bright moon shone over the great river. Zhang Wuji's temperament fit Nine Yang perfectly, but Lu Chen's did not.
He appeared refined and easygoing, but that was merely the cultivation of a scholar. As for his true nature...
One only had to see the ruthless intensity with which he practiced his sword every day, refusing to stop until he had drained himself dry, to know how fierce and resolute his nature truly was.
Thus, even if he found the Nine Yang Manual at Shaolin, Lu Chen would not cultivate it. At most, he would study any martial principles within it that suited him, building up resources for the day when sword techniques under heaven could be picked up at will.
His main reason for going to Shaolin was swordplay.
Among the Seventy-Two Shaolin Techniques, there were sword techniques as well.
Lu Chen wanted to stroll through the Scripture Repository and observe Shaolin swordplay, storing up more resources to unlock the Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals. One of the two prerequisites for unlocking Sword Two, "two Extraordinary Sword Techniques," had already been fulfilled. But higher-level sword intents such as Sword Three and Sword Four required him to learn even more sword techniques as keys for unlocking them.
And the higher the level of the sword intent, the more keys it required.
Sword Two only required two Extraordinary Sword Techniques, Sword Three required four, and Sword Four required eight. It was plainly exponential growth.
Therefore, even though Lu Chen had yet to master Sword One to the point where he could wield and withdraw it at will, and had not yet unlocked Sword Two, he still needed to prepare for the future.
"I heard Father say that Shaolin was once praised as the martial ancestor of the realm. There was even a saying that all martial arts under heaven came from Shaolin."
Huang Rong smiled.
"But Shaolin sealed its gates and withdrew from the world many years ago. Aside from receiving ordinary worshippers, it no longer involved itself in the Martial Arts World. I wonder whether it still has any experts now."
Lu Chen said, "Shaolin is, after all, a great sect with an intact inheritance. It should still have experts, though probably none on the level of the Five Greats."
He knew well that Shaolin had sealed its gates because of the turmoil caused by the Fireworker Monk, which had split and weakened the sect. For a long time, it had produced no peerless experts. During the eras of the former Five Greats and latter Five Greats, it had barely made a sound, only rising again during the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber Era as one of the great sects leading the Martial Arts World.
So this was the perfect time to visit Shaolin.
Having settled their plans, the two found an inn in town and prepared to rest for the night before setting out early the next morning.
After booking their rooms, they found a table in one corner of the inn's main hall and ordered several house specialties to change up their fare.
"They call these house specialties? They don't taste half as good as the simple dishes you make on a whim, Rong'er."
Lu Chen ate with a look of utter disdain. Since Shaoxing Prefecture, and throughout more than a month in the mountains, he had eaten Huang Rong's cooking every day. Even though there had been fewer ingredients in the mountains, Huang Rong's miraculous culinary skill had thoroughly spoiled his palate.
Huang Rong loved hearing Lu Chen praise her. Her face immediately blossomed with delight as she said brightly:
"This chef's skills are a little lacking, but the dishes still have some distinctive flavor. Try this braised eggplant. It's not bad."
As she spoke, she picked up a piece for Lu Chen.
Lu Chen took a bite and nodded.
"Barely acceptable."
Just then, the entrance to the inn suddenly darkened as a young woman entered. She wore a fitted apricot-yellow outfit cinched with a lake-green silk sash. Tall and slender, she carried a bundle on her back and a longsword in her hand, with a bamboo hat on her head.
The young woman casually glanced around the hall, found an empty table near the side, removed her hat, set down her bundle, and slapped her longsword onto the table. In a soft, coquettish voice, she spoke with bold abandon.
"Waiter, slice up two pounds of cooked beef, bring me two steamed buns, and a pot of good wine!"
The moment Huang Rong heard her speak, she could not help but laugh aloud.
Hearing Huang Rong's laughter, the young woman looked over. She had intended to glare fiercely at her, but upon seeing that she was a bright and pretty young girl, she restrained some of her hostility and merely asked in an unhappy tone:
"What are you laughing at?"
Huang Rong said with a grin:
"The Song Dynasty penal code states that anyone who deliberately kills an official or private cow shall be sentenced to one and a half years' imprisonment. Killing a stolen cow carries an even heavier penalty. Though old, weak, or sick cattle may be slaughtered after reporting to the authorities, inns generally do not openly sell beef. Sister, you're clearly new here. If you openly ask for beef at an inn, they won't dare sell it to you."
As she spoke, she thought that this girl appeared seventeen or eighteen, a year or two older than herself, yet seemed rather ignorant of worldly affairs. The way she called for beef was plainly copied from the bandits and heroes of the greenwood, but that sort of thing did not work in towns.
After hearing Huang Rong's explanation, the young woman's fair cheeks flushed slightly. She changed her order to the waiter, who wore a helpless expression.
"No beef, then. Just bring two good house dishes."
After the waiter went to the kitchen to place the order, the young woman cupped her hands toward Huang Rong and said boldly:
"I am Li Mochou. Thank you for the advice, little sister. May I know your honored name?"
Li Mochou?
The one from the Ancient Tomb Sect?
Why was she here?
Upon hearing the young woman announce her name, Lu Chen, who sat with his back to the entrance and had heard only her voice without seeing her face, turned to look curiously. Sure enough, the young woman was quite beautiful, with especially fair skin and a very fine figure.
As he regarded her curiously, Huang Rong also smiled and cupped her hands toward Li Mochou.
"My surname is Huang, and my given name is Rong. Sister Mochou may call me Rong'er. This is my Brother Lu Chen. Lu as in land, Chen as in steady."
"A pleasure." Lu Chen politely nodded to Li Mochou.
Li Mochou, newly emerged into the Martial Arts World, was not yet the darkened, unstable woman she would become, one who killed at the slightest provocation and especially hated anyone surnamed Lu. At this time, she was even somewhat naïve and full of fresh curiosity about the Martial Arts World. Seeing that Lu Chen carried a huge sword on his back and had another sword beside him, while Huang Rong also had a longsword a foot longer than an ordinary three-foot blade, she smiled and asked:
"Are the two of you also people of the Martial Arts World?"
Huang Rong said with a grin:
"We've only learned a few moves for self-defense. From the look of it, Sister Mochou, have you finished your training and come down the mountain? May I ask which sect you belong to?"
"Cough..."
Li Mochou gave a dry cough, her gaze drifting away. Her formerly bold tone became somewhat uncertain.
"Well, I've also only learned a few moves for self-defense..."
The Ancient Tomb Sect was a reclusive sect, and this time she had secretly slipped down the mountain behind her master's back. How could she dare reveal her sect? She could only muddle through it.
Just then, after reporting the order to the kitchen, the waiter brought Li Mochou a pot of wine and a small dish of cold food. Li Mochou hurriedly poured herself a cup and raised it toward Huang Rong and Lu Chen.
"To meet in the Martial Arts World is fate. Let me offer you both a toast..."
From Li Mochou's tone, Huang Rong could tell that there was something off about her background. Smiling, she raised her cup to accept the toast, intending to probe a little further. But then a burst of commotion came from the inn entrance as several burly men strode in, loudly shouting and arguing.
Before you continue