Lu Chen's Special Talent

In the early morning, Huang Rong woke up, hopped down from the hammock, stretched beautifully, tidied her clothes, and was about to go fetch water to wash up when she faintly heard, amidst the gentle sound of waves, what seemed to be a series of sharp, swift cutting sounds through the air.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The cutting sounds had a distinct rhythm, with the interval between each pair almost perfectly consistent, giving a sense of stability and precision.

Huang Rong listened intently for a moment, a hint of surprise flickering across her pretty face:

"After being so exhausted yesterday, he's up this early to practice swordsmanship?"

Last night, Lu Chen had practiced swordsmanship until he was nearly spent, and without Internal Energy, he couldn't use it to soothe his muscles and regulate his blood and qi. Even after resting all night, logically, his arms should still be sore today, making it hard to even lift them.

But from the rhythmic sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air outside, he clearly seemed to be handling it with ease.

Huang Rong suppressed her curiosity, first fetched some clean water to rinse her mouth and wash her face, then combed her hair, making herself presentable, before stepping lightly out of the cabin and onto the deck at the bow.

In the soft sea breeze, Lu Chen held a Wooden Sword, eyes fixed ahead, back straight, focused on thrusting again and again with the basic Stabbing Sword Style Huang Rong had taught him last night.

His movements were already extremely precise, and the bad habits from yesterday—like gripping the sword too tightly, using too much force, and being too stiff—had been completely corrected. At least in the basic sword stance of "stabbing," Huang Rong could find no fault.

Standing silently behind him to the side, watching him stab over a hundred times in a row, Huang Rong finally spoke in a crisp voice:

"Getting up this early to practice swordsmanship—don't your arms hurt?"

Only when she spoke did Lu Chen, immersed in his practice, realize Huang Rong had arrived. He lowered his stance, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and smiled at her:

"I don't have many strengths, but I recover quickly. No matter how tired I get, after resting a bit, I bounce back."

He patted his arm:

"My arm was exhausted last night, but it's already back to normal now."

Though a transmigrator with a cheat, Lu Chen's physique was nothing extraordinary.

His strength, speed, and endurance were all about average.

The only notable advantage he had was his recovery.

No matter how worn out he became, he only needed to rest for an hour or so at most to be full of vigor again, without any lingering fatigue, muscle soreness, or weakness in his hands and feet that would make it hard to even hold a cup.

"Recovery ability like that is already an incredible talent."

Huang Rong expressed admiration, speaking seriously:

"The way of martial arts is about tension and release. Why must there be both tension and release? Because going too far is as bad as falling short. If you train excessively without time to rest and recover, hidden injuries pile up, and sooner or later you'll hurt yourself or even ruin your training. But Brother Lu, with such strong recovery, you can train much longer each day than ordinary people.

"Last night when I taught you, your comprehension was good too, and you have exceptional focus and perseverance. Paired with this recovery talent, Brother Lu, your future achievements in martial arts might be limitless."

Hearing Huang Rong's approval, Lu Chen felt joy in his heart and laughed heartily:

"Thanks for the kind words, Miss Huang. If I ever master swordsmanship, you'll get the credit! When that time comes, I'll take you to visit my place, and whatever you ask for, I'll do my best to fulfill."

Huang Rong winked playfully:

"Brother Lu, if you say that, I might take you seriously!"

Lu Chen, brimming with confidence and boldness, replied:

"Go ahead and take it seriously."

After a few jokes, Lu Chen suddenly remembered something:

"Oh, Miss Huang, I feel that practicing the basic sword stance the way you taught me is doing my physique a lot of good. Could it be that I'll develop Internal Energy this way?"

Huang Rong clasped her hands behind her back and said with a grin:

"Developing Internal Energy from external practice isn't that easy. Internal Energy originates from the body's blood and qi; Taoists call it 'Refining Essence into Qi.' To cultivate Internal Energy through external techniques, you need to combine stances with footwork, activate the sinews and bones, move blood and qi, and pair it with corresponding breathing methods. Only when your blood and qi are vigorous enough can Internal Energy gradually arise on its own.

"Brother Lu, your basic sword stance has neither footwork nor a matching breathing method, so at most it can strengthen your body and lay a foundation for the future. It won't produce Internal Energy."

Lu Chen wasn't disappointed and smiled:

"I was overthinking it. But strengthening my body with the right method and laying a solid foundation isn't bad either."

Huang Rong's eyes curved like crescents, dimples shallow:

"Mhm mhm, if the foundation is solid enough, developing Internal Energy will be faster. With Brother Lu's talent, once you learn a suitable swordsmanship technique, I think it won't be long before you develop Internal Energy."

After discussing martial arts for a while, Huang Rong took out some dry rations, and they had a simple breakfast together. Then she weighed anchor and set sail, continuing toward the mouth of the Qiantang River.

Lu Chen wanted to learn how to steer the boat to help Huang Rong a bit, but she told him to focus on practicing swordsmanship and leave the chores to her—determined to help him train with all her might for a chance to visit the "immortal realm" and see those incredible wonders with her own eyes.

With his powerful recovery ability allowing him to practice swordsmanship all day without stop, Huang Rong felt that the "immortal realm" was already waving at her, warmly calling out, "Rong'er, come play!"

And so, Huang Rong steered the boat while Lu Chen practiced his swordsmanship. In the soft sea breeze, the small vessel cut through the waves along the coast. By around noon, the mouth of the Qiantang River was in sight.

Huang Rong manipulated the sails, using the wind to sail upstream into the river mouth.

At this time, the Great Song Dynasty's maritime trade was flourishing, with countless merchant ships coming and going at the Qiantang River mouth. Even Huang Rong, while controlling the sails and rudder, couldn't help but glance around frequently. Yet Lu Chen remained immersed in his sword practice, maintaining his rhythm as he tirelessly drilled the stabbing stance, seemingly without a hint of monotony or boredom, oblivious to the bustling scene of masts lining the shore.

Seeing this, Huang Rong admired him even more, thinking to herself: With such single-minded focus and my assistance, if Brother Lu can't master swordsmanship, then heaven truly has no eyes.

Sailing upstream was slow. Even though the small boat had a shallow draft and could catch wind from all directions, it wasn't until evening that they finally reached the confluence of the Cao'e River and the Qiantang River.

After entering the Cao'e River, they came across a dock. Seeing that it was getting late, Huang Rong decided to moor there for the night.

She found a berth and secured the boat, then told Lu Chen to wait on board while she went into the dock town.

"What are you going to town for, Miss Huang?"

"I'll buy you a toothbrush and some clothes. Brother Lu, that short hair of yours could still pass for a monk who recently left the monastery and hasn't grown it back yet. But this bizarre outfit of yours has to go—if you walk around like this, you might be taken for a 'Clothing Monster' and stir up trouble."

Lu Chen thought it over and nodded, saying:

"Then I'll stay here and watch the boat."

"I'll be back soon."

Huang Rong smiled brightly, waved at him, turned, and leaped off the bow. As she sprang through the air, her white robes fluttered and her hair streamed behind her, like a banished Fairy Maiden riding the wind and clouds, leaving Lu Chen staring in a daze for quite a while.

Only after watching Huang Rong's light figure disappear into the distance did Lu Chen withdraw his gaze and resume practicing his sword on the deck.

Once he immersed himself in sword practice, Lu Chen lost track of time. It wasn't until he heard a commotion and shouting from the dock that he snapped back to reality. He saw the sky had grown darker, and lanterns had begun to glow in some parts of the pier.

As for the source of the noise...

Lu Chen looked up and saw Huang Rong running ahead with a bundle in her hand, laughing cheerfully. Behind her trailed more than a dozen men in short jackets, wielding knives and clubs, shouting and chasing her relentlessly, as if determined to capture her.

Lu Chen tensed up, unsure what trouble Huang Rong had stirred up. Glancing at the wooden sword in his hand, barely three feet long, he decisively tossed it onto the deck, grabbed the bamboo pole over ten feet long, jumped off the bow, and sprinted toward Huang Rong.