Early in the morning, Huang Rong woke from a good night's sleep, hopped down from her hammock, stretched luxuriously, straightened her collar, and was about to fetch water to wash up when she vaguely heard sharp swishes cutting through the air amid the gentle sound of the waves.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The swishing sounds had a distinct rhythm. The interval between every two strikes was almost exactly the same, giving an impression of steadiness and precision.
Huang Rong listened carefully for a moment, surprise appearing on her lovely face.
"After exhausting yourself like that yesterday, you could get up so early to practice swordsmanship today?"
Lu Chen had practiced until he was nearly drained of strength last night. He had no Internal Energy and could not use it to loosen his muscles and regulate his blood and qi. Even after resting for a night, his arms should have been sore and weak today, to the point that lifting them would have been difficult.
Yet from the measured sound of the Wooden Sword slicing through the air outside, he clearly seemed completely at ease.
Suppressing her curiosity, Huang Rong first fetched some fresh water to rinse her mouth and wash her face. She then combed her hair and made herself look presentable before lightly stepping out of the cabin and onto the deck at the bow.
In the gentle sea breeze, Lu Chen held his Wooden Sword and stared ahead, his back ramrod straight. Following the basic Stabbing Sword Style Huang Rong had taught him the night before, he focused on thrusting again and again without pause.
His movements had already become exceptionally precise. All the bad habits from yesterday—gripping the sword too tightly, exerting too much force, holding his body too stiffly, and so on—had been completely corrected. At least when it came to the basic stance of the sword thrust, Huang Rong could no longer find the slightest flaw.
Standing with her hands behind her back at his rear flank, Huang Rong silently watched him thrust more than a hundred times before finally speaking in a crisp voice.
"You got up so early to practice. Don't your arms hurt?"
Only when she spoke did Lu Chen, immersed in his sword practice, realize Huang Rong had arrived. He withdrew his stance, wiped the faint sweat from his brow, and smiled slightly at her.
"I do not have many strengths. I just recover rather quickly. No matter how tired I am, resting for a while is enough for me to recover."
He patted his arm.
"My arms really were exhausted to the point of weakness last night, but they have already fully recovered."
Although he was a transmigrator with a cheat, Lu Chen's physique was not particularly different from that of an ordinary person.
His strength, speed, and endurance were all roughly the same as a normal person's.
The only noteworthy advantage he had was his recovery.
No matter how exhausted he became, he only needed to rest for an hour or two at most before becoming vigorous again. He would never suffer the aftereffects of overexertion: physical weakness, aching muscles, limp limbs, or hands too weak even to hold a cup of water steady.
"Such recovery ability is already an extraordinary talent."
Huang Rong looked impressed as she spoke with a serious expression.
"The path of martial arts requires both exertion and rest. Why must there be both? Because excess is as bad as deficiency. If one practices martial arts too excessively and does not have time to rest and recover, too many hidden injuries will accumulate. Sooner or later, one will injure oneself—or even cripple oneself through training. But Brother Lu, with such powerful recovery ability, you can practice martial arts for far longer each day than ordinary people.
"Your comprehension was also quite good when I taught you last night. You have remarkable focus and perseverance as well. With that recovery talent on top of it all, Brother Lu, your future achievements in martial arts may be limitless."
Hearing Huang Rong's approval, Lu Chen was delighted as well. He laughed heartily.
"Thank you for your auspicious words, Miss Huang. If I succeed in swordsmanship, you will deserve the greatest credit! When I take you to visit my world, no matter what you ask of me, I will do my utmost to fulfill it."
Huang Rong blinked playfully.
"If you say that, Brother Lu, I am going to hold you to it!"
Lu Chen was filled with high spirits and bold ambition.
"By all means."
After chatting and laughing for a few moments, Lu Chen suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Miss Huang, I feel that practicing the basic sword forms according to your method seems quite beneficial to my body. Could I cultivate Internal Energy simply by practicing like this?"
With her little hands behind her back, Huang Rong said with a grin.
"It is not so easy to cultivate Internal Energy from the outside in. Internal Energy originates from a person's blood and qi; Daoists call it 'Refining Essence into Qi.' To cultivate Internal Energy through external martial arts, one must coordinate the forms with footwork, loosen the muscles and bones, circulate the blood and qi, and at the same time supplement it with a corresponding breathing and meditation method. Only when one's blood and qi become sufficiently vigorous can Internal Energy gradually arise on its own.
"Brother Lu, your basic sword forms have neither footwork nor a matching breathing and meditation method. Therefore, they can at most strengthen your body and lay a foundation for the future. You cannot cultivate Internal Energy from them."
Lu Chen was not disappointed upon hearing this and smiled.
"I was overthinking it. Still, being able to strengthen my body properly and build a solid foundation is not bad either."
Huang Rong's eyes curved into crescents, shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.
"Mhm, mhm. The sturdier your foundation, the faster you will cultivate Internal Energy. With Brother Lu's talent, once you learn a suitable sword art, I think it will not be long before you cultivate Internal Energy."
After discussing martial arts for a while, Huang Rong took out some provisions. She and Lu Chen ate a simple breakfast, then raised anchor and set sail, continuing toward the mouth of the Qiantang River.
Lu Chen had wanted to learn how to handle the boat and help Huang Rong a little, but she told him to focus solely on practicing swordsmanship and leave the miscellaneous tasks to her. In order to visit the immortal realm and witness those seemingly unbelievable wonders for herself, Huang Rong had resolved to do everything she could to help him train with the sword.
And since he possessed such powerful recovery talent and could practice swordsmanship nonstop from dawn to dusk, Huang Rong felt that the "immortal realm" was already beckoning to her, eagerly calling, "Rong'er, come play!"
Thus, Huang Rong steered the boat while Lu Chen practiced swordsmanship. In the gentle sea breeze, the little boat rode the waves along the coast, and as noon approached, the mouth of the Qiantang River came into view.
Huang Rong adjusted the sails and used the wind to travel upstream into the river mouth.
At this time, maritime trade in the Great Song Dynasty was flourishing, and countless merchant ships traveled in and out of the Qiantang River mouth. Even while handling the sails and rudder, Huang Rong could not help looking around repeatedly. Lu Chen, however, remained immersed in his sword practice, maintaining his rhythm as he repeatedly performed the Stabbing Sword Style. He did not seem to find it monotonous or tedious in the slightest, turning a blind eye to the prosperous sight of sails and masts crowding the water.
Seeing this, Huang Rong admired him even more. With such single-minded focus, and with my guidance, it would truly be heaven's injustice if Brother Lu still failed to master swordsmanship.
Traveling upstream was quite slow. Even though the little boat did not draw much water and could catch the wind from all directions, it was not 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 upon another dock. Seeing that it was getting late, Huang Rong decided to moor there for the night.
After finding a berth and securing the boat, Huang Rong told Lu Chen to wait aboard while she went into the dockside town.
"What are you going into town for, Miss Huang?"
"To buy you a toothbrush and some clothes. Brother Lu, your short hair could still be explained by saying that you are a monk who has only recently returned to secular life, and your hair has not grown out yet. But you must change out of these strange clothes. Otherwise, people may take you for a Clothing Monster while walking down the street, and that could cause trouble."
Lu Chen thought it made sense and nodded.
"Then I will stay here and watch the boat."
"I will be back soon."
Huang Rong smiled radiantly and waved to him. Turning around, she sprang down from the bow. As she leapt away, her white robes fluttered and her hair streamed behind her. She looked like an immortal maiden banished to the mortal world, riding the wind through empty space, leaving Lu Chen staring blankly for quite a while.
Only after watching Huang Rong's light figure disappear into the distance did Lu Chen withdraw his gaze and continue practicing swordsmanship on the deck at the bow.
Once Lu Chen immersed himself in sword practice, he lost all sense of time. Only when a burst of noisy commotion arose from the dockshore did he snap back to awareness. By then, the sky had grown darker, and lamps had already been lit in some parts of the docks.
As for the source of that noisy commotion...
Looking up, Lu Chen saw Huang Rong carrying a bundle and running lightly at the front with a grin on her face. More than a dozen men in short outfits followed behind her, wielding sabers and clubs as they shouted and chased after her, clearly determined to capture her.
Lu Chen tensed at the sight. Not knowing what trouble Huang Rong had gotten herself into, he looked at the Wooden Sword in his hand, which was only about three feet long. Decisively tossing it onto the deck, he grabbed the bamboo pole more than ten feet long, leapt down from the bow with it in hand, and rushed toward Huang Rong.
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