Sudden Enlightenment

Xiao Jie hurriedly clicked on the Skill Bar to take a look.

[Blade Weapon Mastery (Novice)

Passive Effect: When using blade-type weapons, attack speed increases by 10%, and attack precision increases by 10%.

Skill Description: You have gained some insight into using blade-type weapons. You have become handy with such weapons and can better utilize them in combat.

This skill is also a necessary prerequisite for learning blade-based combat techniques, cultivation methods, ultimate skills, and profound mysteries.]

After reading the skill description, Xiao Jie couldn't help but feel a surge of joy; his choice to play it safe and develop steadily had clearly been the right one.

So that was it... so that was it.

Every game designer creates a progression path that allows players to grow reasonably.

The simplest design is to make monsters weaker than players of the same level, allowing players to continuously level up by defeating them, growing stronger before challenging tougher foes.

Slightly more complex designs incorporate various job quests or talent systems, where players must complete specific tasks alongside grinding levels to achieve true power.

Yet, this game clearly featured a much freer and more subtle growth path.

Through this newly acquired skill, Xiao Jie quickly deduced the logical development route for new players.

Players earn basic weapon skills by working in the village, with different jobs corresponding to different weapon categories.

Blacksmithing should correspond to hammers, logging to battle-axes, firewood chopping naturally to blades, and farming... perhaps to polearm weapons.

Once you have weapon skills, you can learn corresponding combat techniques and cultivation methods to increase your strength.

Meanwhile, working earns Copper Coins, and with money, one can purchase basic equipment.

With both equipment and skills, venturing out of the village becomes a relatively safe endeavor.

Yes, that was exactly it!

At this moment, Xiao Jie's thoughts became incredibly clear.

Although this gameplay loop lacked explicit guidance and players could theoretically head straight out of the village to grind levels—perhaps even gaining weapon skills through combat—there was no doubt that the route he had discovered was the optimal solution for an average newcomer.

Xiao Jie swung his blade to chop wood again. After a few strikes, he could clearly feel that both the control and precision of his swings had improved.

This improvement was subtle, perhaps imperceptible to an average player, but for a professional gamer like Xiao Jie, who refined his operations down to every last detail, the sensation was crystal clear.

Previously, even when aiming for the same spot on a tree, the blade's landing point would deviate slightly—much like the spread of a reticle in a shooter game; the landing point couldn't be fully controlled by technique alone.

But now, Xiao Jie could land every strike exactly where he aimed.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Firewood +1 +2 +1 +1 +2!

As he chopped, he became more proficient. His mouse movements seemed to carry a strange rhythm and cadence, flowing as smoothly as water.

In an instant, he had stripped a tree bare.

He headed straight for the next dead tree.

The more Xiao Jie chopped, the more he felt the rhythm. His swings became increasingly expansive and powerful; no matter how high he raised the blade or how fast he swung, he could accurately sever the branches he targeted.

One bundle, two bundles, three bundles... the firewood in his inventory accumulated at an astonishing rate.

His right hand, sliding the mouse, seemed to be exerting effort in sync with the action.

Watching his character's swings become increasingly sharp and fierce, Xiao Jie felt a faint stirring in his heart. He vaguely sensed that something was about to happen, as if the surface of a calm lake were about to be broken.

But what could it be?

It felt within reach, yet separated by a thin veil. He stared intently at the screen, trying to find that spark of opportunity within the game's details.

Until—

Swish! He brought his blade down once more.

He had raised the blade quite high, and the strike was exceptionally clean and decisive.

Crack!

The blade edge actually severed three branches protruding from the left side all at once.

He had chopped off three pieces of dry firewood in a single strike. Looking at the break points, all three branches had been severed at the base, the cuts smooth and uniform.

[System Prompt: Firewood Chopping Great Success—Firewood +3!]

[System Prompt: Your "Enlightenment" status has been triggered. You have gained a "Sudden Enlightenment"!]

A flash of golden light suddenly appeared above Xiao Jie's character, and a golden icon appeared in the center of the screen.

It bore two golden characters—Sudden Enlightenment!

Xiao Jie was stunned for a moment upon seeing these words, followed immediately by a surge of excitement.

He had been wondering what the "Enlightenment" buff he'd obtained at the Ancestral Hall was actually for and how this "Sudden Enlightenment" effect would trigger.

He hadn't expected it to happen so naturally in the end.

Looking at the glowing golden icon in the center of the screen.

Xiao Jie clicked on it without a moment's hesitation.

[Words of Enlightenment: Through your constant labor of firewood chopping, you have mastered the knack of splitting objects in two, and have thus comprehended the combat skill—[One Cut Two Pieces].

[One Cut Two Pieces (Combat Skill)

Applicable weapons: Single Handed Blade, Single Handed Sword.

Skill cost: 50 Stamina.

Skill effect 1: Deals 300% weapon slashing damage and triggers a "Limb Severing" effect.

Skill effect 2: ???? (Locked, requires internal energy infusion to activate).

Skill description: A combat skill gained by Nameless through enlightenment while chopping firewood. After assuming a stance and remaining still, the user strikes suddenly, unleashing a fierce slash that combines both speed and precision.

It is said that the blade used to split wooden branches can just as easily sever the limbs of living creatures.]

Haha, finally, a combat skill! My prayers to the ancestors weren't in vain.

Xiao Jie couldn't wait to test the newly learned skill on the withered tree before him.

His character assumed a stance with the blade hidden behind his back, then slashed out in an instant. The blade traced a brilliant arc through the air, instantly splitting a branch the thickness of a rolling pin in two. The branch seemed not to have reacted yet, hovering in mid-air for a brief moment before falling to the ground.

Cool!

He experimented two more times, quickly familiarizing himself with the skill's power, speed, and attack range. This combat skill required a 0.5-second wind-up; once charged, the user could hold the strike to wait for the right moment, but once released, the blade moved nearly twice as fast as a normal swing, making it incredibly difficult to dodge.

Furthermore, seeing the description of the "Limb Severing" effect, Xiao Jie highly suspected that monsters in this game could truly have their limbs lopped off.

Xiao Jie had played games with limb-severing effects before, where arms or legs could be cut off, which would undoubtedly drastically reduce a monster's combat effectiveness.

Although this "One Cut Two Pieces" move lacked flashy light and sound effects, it was simple and practical. With its high speed, it was absolutely a highly useful combat skill for self-defense in the early stages.

However, learning it in the game wasn't enough.

He had to master it in reality as well.

Returning to the village to log off, Xiao Jie couldn't wait to experience it for himself in the real world.

He rummaged through the house, eventually finding nothing but a kitchen knife.

Fine, a kitchen knife it is.

He found a cardboard box and placed it on a stool to serve as a target.

He assumed the stance and swung the blade.

Crack. The knife cut halfway in and got stuck.

Damn it, why did it feel like nothing? This was just a normal hack.

Xiao Jie swung a few more times, hacking the perfectly good cardboard box into a mess, but it lacked the sharpness and coolness of the "One Cut Two Pieces" move from the game.

No, it seemed this ability wasn't as simple to use as it looked.

How did he manage to pull off the Kite Flip back then?

Right, that time had been a life-or-death moment, triggered by pure instinct.

Xiao Jie replaced it with a new cardboard box.

Standing before the box, Xiao Jie focused his mind and spirit, struggling to find the image in his head.

He imagined that red sports car rapidly closing in.

He recalled the chilling sensation of that instant.

The feeling of lingering fear welled up in his heart; the despair and helplessness of facing death in that moment. Amidst the chaotic memories, the image of Hidden Moon Follows Wind swinging his blade suddenly surfaced in his mind.

This is it!

He snapped his eyes open and swung the kitchen knife with all his might. The blade traced a brilliant arc through the air, slicing across the cardboard box.

The box remained intact, appearing completely unscathed, but this integrity lasted only for a heartbeat. The next second, the cardboard box split in two and clattered onto the floor.

Xiao Jie picked up the box, which had been cleaved in half, and examined the cut. It was smooth as a mirror, without a single frayed edge, as if it had been sliced by a cutting machine.

Xiao Jie looked at the kitchen knife in his hand, his heart leaping with joy. Was this strike truly his own?

That's right, this is power. Although this power was still weak, given time...

What would fall beneath this blade next time would no longer be a cardboard box, but Liu Qiang's head.