Let's Learn Swordplay, I'm Han Xiaoying's Senior Brother

Shaoxing Prefecture City.

Lu Chen, clad in form-fitting black attire, carried a longsword in a black scabbard under his arm, a bamboo hat half-shielding his face, revealing only from the nose down as he walked silently beside Huang Rong.

His tall, straight-backed frame, paired with this swordsman's getup, was quite imposing as long as he didn't make a move.

At least now, strolling down the prefecture's main street, even with a strikingly beautiful young girl like Huang Rong at his side, none of the street loafers and idlers—too dim to see through Lu Chen's bluff—dared to come pester them.

Huang Rong, in robes as white as snow, her hair bound with a golden circlet, her bright eyes sparkling with charm, moved with light, skipping steps, humming a tune under her breath. If you listened closely, it was the song "Laugh of the Jianghu" that Lu Chen had sung to her.

After walking through the streets for a while, she spotted a martial arts school and led Lu Chen straight over.

Two disciples were chatting at the school's entrance. When they saw such a radiant, exquisite young girl approaching, their eyes lit up, and they greeted her with beaming smiles:

"Miss graces our humble school. May we ask what business you have?"

Huang Rong didn't waste words and cut straight to the point:

"Does your school teach the Maiden of Yue Swordplay?"

"Zhao Maiden Swordplay? That..." one disciple said helplessly, "Our master teaches the Grand Ancestor Long Fist and the Coiling Dragon Staff Technique."

Seeing Huang Rong's bored expression as she turned to leave, the other disciple quickly tried to stop her:

"Miss, please stay. Our master's Grand Ancestor Long Fist and Coiling Dragon Staff Technique aren't like the common ones floating around the jianghu. Our master has a special trick..."

A special trick?

Could it be as special as the tricks of the Five Greats of the World?

Huang Rong pouted, too lazy to say more, and strode off with Lu Chen, leaving the two gatekeeping disciples full of regret.

No luck with this one, no matter. Huang Rong soon led Lu Chen to another martial arts school. Asking the gate disciple, she found that this school specialized in teaching the Maiden of Yue Swordplay.

So Huang Rong took Lu Chen inside to see the quality of their swordplay for herself.

When the school's master heard from his disciples that a girl with an extraordinary air, like a nobleman's precious daughter, had come visiting with a swordsman guard who seemed unfathomably deep, he hurried out to greet them. Stopping a few paces away, he cupped his hands and smiled:

"This humble one is Mo Huaiyuan, unworthily serving as master of the Mo Family Martial Arts School. I failed to welcome honored guests from afar—my apologies. May I presume to ask the young lady's esteemed name? What guidance brings you to my humble school?"

Huang Rong clasped her hands behind her back, chin slightly raised, looking quite proud, and said crisply:

"My surname is Huang. My companion's surname is Lu. We've come to learn swordsmanship."

Learn swordsmanship?

Master Mo glanced at Lu Chen beside her—all in black, cradling a longsword, wearing a bamboo hat, with an "aloof" aura—and thought to himself, you've already got a swordsman guard like this by your side, clearly a major expert. Why bother coming to a little civilian martial arts school like mine to learn?

Still, spoiled noble daughters with heads full of whims, acting on a sudden fancy, doing things differently from normal folk—that was common enough. Wasn't the famed great talent Layman Yi'an from the past known for loving to drink heavily, play cards, and even brawl with people?

So it wasn't impossible for a rich man's daughter to skip her guard's profound sword techniques and come learn the "Maiden of Yue Sword" from the common folk.

After all, though the Maiden of Yue Sword circulating in the jianghu now had become a common, run-of-the-mill style, legend said its origins were no small thing—a peerless divine sword granted to the Founding Master of Maiden of Yue Sword by a divine ape through heaven's hand.

Who knew? Maybe this young lady had heard the Maiden of Yue legend and, with ambitions sky-high, thought she could deduce the true form of the Divine Sword herself.

With that in mind, Master Mo said with a smile:

"So it's Miss Huang and Mr. Lu. An honor, an honor. That Miss Huang would take an interest in my school's swordsmanship is our privilege..."

"Hold on!"

Huang Rong raised a hand to cut him off, grinning mischievously:

"There are many schools of the Maiden of Yue Sword, some good, some bad. We want to learn, but we're not willing to study just anyone's style. How much true color does your school's Maiden of Yue Swordplay really have?"

Master Mo chuckled:

"Let me inform Miss Huang, though I, Mo, am no great talent, I have a fellow disciple from the same sect who's quite famous in the Jiangnan region. Have you heard of the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan? 'Maiden of Yue Sword' Han Xiaoying, one of the Seven Heroes, is my fellow disciple."

"Oh?"

Huang Rong raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth curling slightly. She figured this guy was probably blowing smoke, trying to borrow someone else's prestige.

After all, the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were said to have vanished from the jianghu over a decade ago. No one knew where they were now. Even if this guy was bragging, 'Maiden of Yue Sword' Han Xiaoying couldn't come to expose him.

Of course, Huang Rong couldn't be bothered to call him out.

Since Lu Chen had no requirements for the grade of swordsmanship—just any style that could cultivate Internal Energy from the outside in—she said lazily:

"Since you're a fellow disciple of Maiden of Yue Sword Han Xiaoying, Master Mo's swordsmanship must be quite impressive."

Master Mo said modestly:

"I'm ashamed to say it. My talent is poor, and my martial skills fall far short of Junior Sister Han's. But rest assured, Miss Huang, though my skills are lacking, I've learned the full sect sword technique. My weakness is only my own dullness, unable to make a name like Junior Sister Han. But when it comes to teaching disciples, I dare guarantee that in all of Shaoxing Prefecture City, my instruction is second to none."

Huang Rong smiled faintly:

"In that case, would Master Mo mind having a disciple demonstrate the swordplay, so we can see it for ourselves and broaden our horizons?"

An honored guest wanting to see a disciple's skill to verify the school's teaching quality was only natural. Master Mo didn't refuse and immediately ordered his senior disciple to perform.

The senior disciple, a young man in his twenties, stepped into the arena at his master's command and began practicing earnestly with a wooden sword.

Though the Maiden of Yue Sword was widely spread and had many practitioners, only Han Xiaoying had made a name with it—and even then, alongside the other six freaks.

That said it all about the current state of the Maiden of Yue Sword.

At least in Huang Rong's eyes, this proud senior disciple's swordplay was utterly mediocre. She could take him down with one hand tied behind her back, without even using a weapon.

The only thing worth mentioning was that her basic swordsmanship was fairly solid, and her footwork was barely passable. There was also a matching breathing and exhalation technique that could indeed cultivate Internal Energy.

But with such a mediocre sword art, the Internal Energy cultivated from the outside in wasn't worth expecting much. A decade of hard work probably wouldn't match a single year of her Peach Blossom Island Internal Cultivation.

Of course, this was actually the average standard of the Maiden of Yue Sword—there was no way to demand too much. Han Xiaoying could be considered an anomaly among the many practitioners of the Maiden of Yue Sword. Perhaps her martial arts talent was genuinely good, or maybe the Maiden of Yue Sword her master passed down had already been innovated, different from the widely circulated common version, which was why she could make a name for herself with it.

At that moment, Huang Rong quietly asked Lu Chen:

"Want to learn this school's Maiden of Yue Sword?"

Lu Chen: "Can this school's Maiden of Yue Sword cultivate Internal Energy?"

"Mm. The sword art is genuine—it has footwork and breathing techniques—but it's far too mediocre."

"No matter. As long as it can cultivate Internal Energy, it's fine."

"Then learn this school's sword art?"

"Alright."

Lu Chen nodded, and Huang Rong stopped nitpicking. She said to Master Mo:

"To learn your martial arts school's swordsmanship, how much is the tuition?"

Master Mo said with a smile:

"Just the swordsmanship, one string of cash per month. If you want to learn the breathing technique, you'll need to add another ten strings. Additionally, our school has an ancestral medicinal decoction that strengthens bones and muscles and replenishes blood and qi. The medicinal toxicity is very light, and you can drink three bowls a day, each bowl costing two hundred copper coins."

Although Huang Rong never cared about money, she wouldn't let herself be treated like a fat sheep. She frowned and said:

"If you deliberately stall and drag your feet on teaching the full swordsmanship and breathing technique, wouldn't I waste years without learning it all?"

Master Mo laughed:

"Miss Huang, you worry too much. I, Mo, have run this school in the prefectural city for many years. My teaching ethics are well-known—how could I do something to ruin my own reputation? If Miss Huang is uneasy, how about this: one hundred strings of cash, just one hundred strings, for both the swordsmanship and the breathing technique. Miss Huang can learn as long as she wants until she masters it. Mm, you can pay fifty strings first, and after you've learned it, pay the other fifty."

Huang Rong nodded in satisfaction and made the decision on the spot:

"Then I'll learn the one-hundred-string version!"

What a generous spender!

Truly the daughter of a wealthy household!

Master Mo was filled with respect and cupped his hands:

"Miss Huang, rest assured. I, Mo, will teach the swordsmanship without holding anything back."