A Novice Li Mochou

By the Han River, in a bustling small town with a dock.

Lu Chen, dressed in black with a bamboo hat, carried the Heavy Iron Sword on his back and the steel sword Huang Rong had bought him in his hand. He walked through the town streets with Huang Rong, who held her Qinggang sword.

Since he had mastered the Heavy Sword Technique, and the Bosiqu Snakes had entered their breeding protection period with no snakes to eat, the two stayed with the Divine Condor in the mountains for a few days, grilling various wild game for it until it was full, before saying goodbye and leaving the mountain.

Along the way, Huang Rong kept sighing regretfully:

"It's such a shame, Brother Condor wasn't willing to come with us..."

Although she often bickered with the Divine Condor, she actually really liked the intelligent and majestic Brother Condor and had even thought about luring it to Peach Blossom Island.

Unfortunately, the Divine Condor wasn't willing to leave that valley.

"Brother Condor has to guard Senior Dugu's tomb. Besides, rare spiritual creatures like the Bosiqu Snake must have extremely strict requirements for their growth environment. It's very likely they can only breed and grow in that valley and cannot survive if they leave. Therefore, besides guarding the tomb, Brother Condor probably can't bear to leave its pantry."

Lu Chen chuckled:

"In the future, we can visit Brother Condor often."

"Okay." Huang Rong nodded and smiled sweetly, "Where are we going next?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, "How about we go visit Shaolin first?"

He wanted to visit Shaolin, but not for the Nine Yang Manual—with the "Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals" to guide him, why would he need the Nine Yang?

Simply collecting more sword techniques was enough.

Furthermore, the Sword Path of Extermination of Immortals was a path of sharp advancement, of being invincible, of killing gods if they block and exterminating immortals if they block.

On the other hand, the Nine Yang Manual's requirement for one's state of mind was "to be happy whether you succeed or fail," to be "let him be as strong as he wants, the bright moon shines upon the great river." Zhang Wuji's temperament was very compatible with the Nine Yang, but Lu Chen's was not.

On the surface, he was gentle and amiable, but that was just the cultivation of a scholar. As for his true nature...

Just looking at his ruthlessness when practicing swords every day, where he wouldn't stop until he had completely exhausted himself, one could see the fierce and determined nature of his character.

Therefore, even if he could find the Nine Yang Manual in Shaolin, Lu Chen wouldn't cultivate it. At most, he would reference any martial arts concepts within it that suited him, simply accumulating some resources for the future goal of "all sword techniques readily available."

He wanted to go to Shaolin primarily for the sword techniques.

Among the Seventy-Two Shaolin Techniques, there were also sword techniques.

Lu Chen wanted to browse the Scripture Repository, admire the Shaolin sword techniques, and stockpile more resources to unlock the "Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals"—although one of the two prerequisites for unlocking "Sword Two," "two Extraordinary Sword Techniques," had been met, there were still higher levels of sword intent like "Sword Three" and "Sword Four," which required learning more sword techniques as "keys" for unlocking.

And the higher the level of sword intent, the more "keys" were needed.

"Sword Two" only required two Extraordinary Sword Techniques, "Sword Three" required four, and "Sword Four" required eight, clearly an exponential increase.

Therefore, even though Lu Chen hadn't yet mastered "Sword One" to the point of effortless control and hadn't unlocked "Sword Two," he still had to start preparing for the future.

"My father told me that Shaolin was once known as the Martial Patriarch of the world, with a saying that all martial arts originate from Shaolin."

Huang Rong said with a smile:

"However, many years ago, Shaolin closed its doors and sealed the mountain. Besides receiving ordinary pilgrims, it no longer involved itself in the martial arts world. I wonder if there are still masters there now."

Lu Chen said, "Shaolin is a major sect with a complete inheritance. There should still be masters, just not top experts at the level of the Five Greats."

He knew very well that Shaolin closed its doors and sealed the mountain due to the disturbance caused by the Fire Worker Monk, which led to Shaolin's division and decline. For a long time, there weren't any top experts. During the era of the former Five Greats and later Five Greats, it didn't even make a sound. It wasn't until the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber Era that it rose again as one of the major sects leading the martial arts world.

So, visiting Shaolin now was the perfect time.

Having decided on their destination, the two found an inn in town, planning to rest for the night and set off early the next morning.

After booking a room, the two found a table in a corner of the inn's lobby and ordered a few signature dishes to change things up.

"They say they're signature dishes, but the taste is far inferior to the simple dishes you whip up, Rong'er."

Lu Chen ate with a look of disdain. Since Shaoxing Prefecture, and for over a month in the mountains, he had been eating Huang Rong's cooking. Even though the variety of ingredients in the mountains was limited, under Huang Rong's miraculous culinary skills that could turn decay into wonder, his palate had long been spoiled.

Huang Rong loved hearing Lu Chen praise her, and she beamed with joy, saying in a clear voice:

"The chef here is a bit lacking in skill, but he does have some unique dishes. Try this braised eggplant, it tastes pretty good."

Saying this, she placed a piece on Lu Chen's plate with her chopsticks.

Lu Chen took a bite and nodded:

"It's barely acceptable."

Just then, the entrance of the inn suddenly dimmed as a young woman walked in. She was wearing an apricot-yellow fitted outfit with a lake-green silk sash around her waist. She was tall and slender, carrying a bundle on her back, a long sword in her hand, and wearing a bamboo hat.

The young woman casually glanced around the lobby, found an empty table on the side, took off her bamboo hat and bundle and placed them on the table, then slammed her long sword onto the table. She spoke in a soft, charming voice, but with a bold tone:

"Waiter, two jin of cooked beef, two steamed buns, and a pot of good wine!"

Hearing her speak, Huang Rong immediately couldn't help but giggle, letting out a burst of laughter.

The young woman heard Huang Rong's laughter and looked over. She had intended to glare fiercely at her, but seeing that she was a bright and pretty young girl, she softened her fierce look slightly, only saying with dissatisfaction:

"What are you laughing at?"

Huang Rong said with a smile:

"According to the Song Dynasty criminal code, anyone who intentionally kills a private or public cow will be sentenced to one and a half years of penal servitude. Stealing a cow and killing it is a more serious crime. Although old, weak, or sick cows can be reported to the authorities before slaughter, inns generally wouldn't openly sell beef. Sister, you clearly aren't from around here. If you openly ask for beef at an inn, the inn wouldn't dare to sell it to you."

As she spoke, she thought to herself that this girl looked about seventeen or eighteen, a year or two older than her, but she seemed a bit naive. Her manner of asking the waiter for beef was clearly imitating a martial arts hero, but she didn't know that this wouldn't work in towns.

The young woman's fair cheeks couldn't help but blush slightly upon hearing Huang Rong's explanation. She then changed her order to the helpless waiter:

"No more beef. Just bring two of your signature dishes."

After the waiter went to the kitchen to place the order, the young woman cupped her hands towards Huang Rong again and said with a heroic air:

"My name is Li Mochou. Thank you, younger sister, for your guidance. May I ask your esteemed name?"

Li Mochou?

The one from the Ancient Tomb Sect?

How did I run into her here?

Hearing the young woman introduce herself, Lu Chen, who was sitting with his back to the main entrance and could only hear her voice but not see her face, curiously turned his head to look. He saw that the young woman was indeed quite beautiful, with exceptionally fair skin and a rather good figure.

Just as he was curiously observing her, Huang Rong also smiled and cupped her hands towards Li Mochou:

"My surname is Huang, and my single name is Rong. Sister Mochou can just call me Rong'er. This is my Brother Lu Chen. Lu as in land, Chen as in steady."

"A pleasure to meet you." Lu Chen politely nodded to Li Mochou.

The newly emerged Li Mochou was not yet the black-hearted, possessive type who would kill at the drop of a hat and particularly hated anyone with the surname "Lu". At this moment, she was still rather naive, full of fresh curiosity about the martial world. Seeing Lu Chen carrying a large sword on his back and having another sword resting beside him, and Huang Rong having a long sword that was a foot longer than the usual three-foot sword, she couldn't help but ask with a smile:

"Are you two also martial artists?"

Huang Rong said with a cheerful smile:

"Just practiced a few moves for self-defense, that's all. Looking at Sister Mochou, have you finished your training and come down the mountain? May I ask which sect or school you belong to?"

"Cough..."

Li Mochou coughed dryly, her gaze shifting, and her previously heroic tone became a little hesitant:

"Uh, I also just practiced a few moves for self-defense..."

The Ancient Tomb Sect was a reclusive sect, and she had secretly snuck down the mountain without her master's knowledge. How could she dare to reveal her sect? She could only be vague.

Just then, the waiter finished placing the order in the kitchen and first brought Li Mochou a pot of wine and a small dish of cold appetizers. Li Mochou quickly poured a cup of wine and toasted Huang Rong and Lu Chen from a distance:

"Meeting in the martial world is fate. I'll toast you two..."

Hearing Li Mochou's tone, Huang Rong knew her background was a bit unusual. She smiled and raised her cup to accept the toast, originally planning to probe further. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the inn, and several burly men walked in noisily.