Gal Martial Saint

[It let out a warning hum towards the incomplete Flowing Cloud Following Moon Sword Intent.]

This scene only made the newly arrived sword art even angrier.

[Flowing Cloud Following Moon sneered repeatedly, finding the entire scene absurd and laughable.]

[It mocked, saying birds of a feather flock together, and that neither sword arts nor sword cultivators were any good.]

[Previously, seeing how you twisted yourself to become stronger, I thought you were an ambitious talent worth nurturing. Now it seems you're just a sword art that has willingly fallen into depravity, destined to be toyed with and then discarded by sword cultivators.]

[You're actually protecting him? How utterly ridiculous.]

But these words seemed to have no effect at all.

[Huiyuan Sword Art merely chuckled lightly, too lazy to retort, not even bothering with an extra explanation.]

This attitude seemed to remind Flowing Cloud Following Moon of what had happened before.

[Flowing Cloud Following Moon was rendered speechless.]

[It felt as if a large stone was stuck in its heart, unable to move up or down, making it feel stifled.]

[Seemingly feeling that its previous words were a form of self-humiliation, it let out a cold snort, stopped talking, and directly concealed itself, preferring not to see what it didn't want to see.]

Just then, a certain existence that had been in "spectator mode" finally couldn't resist making an appearance.

[Clear Heart Art had witnessed this entire farce and found it quite amusing.]

[Clear Heart Art Affinity +1]

[Current Affinity: 65 / Liked]

This sudden notification made Gu Chengming pause. He then realized, Damn it, Clear Heart Art, when did your affinity reach 65?! How did it get to the "Liked" stage in the blink of an eye? This increase is too fast!

[Clear Heart Art chuckled.]

[It thought that if it hadn't actively reminded him, Gu Chengming might not have discovered this for another ten days to half a month.]

[Alas, although it has always been low-key and disliked competing for favor, being so ignored truly made it a little sad.]

Gu Chengming felt ashamed and quickly examined the status changes of Clear Heart Art. He was shocked by what he saw. Although the increase in affinity this time was only five or six points, it was a qualitative leap.

On the status bar, the original [Friendly] state had changed to [Liked].

And the benefits brought by this state change were substantial.

First, attribute points. A full two [Fixed Spirit Attribute Points] were directly added to his panel.

One had to know that Spirit attribute was the hardest to increase. These two points were enough to give him more confidence when facing Soul Attacks.

Next, it was the change in that permanent passive.

The passive skill named [Clear Mind], which had allowed him to maintain a clear head at all times, had disappeared.

In its place was a brand new, seemingly more advanced state—

[Insightful Eyes].

[Effect: Perceive the human heart, distinguish truth from falsehood. At critical moments, you can see through the other party's true intentions and receive corresponding dialogue option prompts.]

Gu Chengming hadn't even processed the effect of this new passive before his vision suddenly blurred.

Immediately after, three semi-transparent option boxes, like a game interface, clearly appeared before his eyes.

Is this the effect of "Insightful Eyes"?

Gu Chengming focused his gaze.

[Option One: You've always been by my side, and I've grown accustomed to your presence, as natural as breathing. So sometimes I overlook you. Sorry.]

[Option Two: It's not too late. As long as I can remember you, it's never too late. You are my right-hand man; I can't do without either of us.]

[Option Three: Don't worry, I'll compensate you with two storybooks.]

Holy crap, dialogue options are here?!

PS: A total of 7,000 words, equivalent to three and a half chapters. There will be more updates. I'll try to update 15,000 words today.

Chapter 48: Chapter Forty-Five It's Not Like This in Galgame!

Huh? Hoho, there are options to choose from now.

Gu Chengming looked at the floating semi-transparent boxes before him, suddenly feeling that happiness had come too suddenly.

First, the CG Gallery, then exquisite illustrations, and now even dialogue options have appeared.

Could this really be a Galgame?

Regardless, the appearance of these elements made Gu Chengming feel much better.

As a veteran player, nothing was more reassuring than seeing a familiar system interface.

He calmed his mind and began to carefully study this new passive skill called [Insightful Eyes].

Logically speaking, these three options seemed fine at first glance.

Based on Gu Chengming's years of experience in romancing Paper Figures, these three should all be "positive options," and choosing any of them would likely not decrease Affinity.

But the effect... was probably worlds apart.

These three options were clearly designed to address the slightly sour words from Clear Heart Art just now, offering three different response strategies.

If it were Huiyuan Sword Art, choosing one or two would definitely be the most effective, but Clear Heart Art was different.

Clear Heart Art's personality likely wouldn't appreciate such overly mushy words.

Gu Chengming stroked his chin, analyzing.

The so-called [Insightful Eyes] might not directly tell him the correct answer, but rather, through these visualized options, help him dissect the other party's personality and provide a strategy.

Some personality traits are difficult to observe with the naked eye. With Insightful Eyes, it should be of great help when strategizing for cultivation techniques he's not familiar with.

Thinking this, Gu Chengming felt he had truly struck gold this time.

He thought if he had known earlier, he would have started building Affinity with Clear Heart Art sooner. The initial target even had a hidden mechanic.

Then, he chose Option Three.

"Don't rush, I'll compensate you with DLC for two storybooks."

He responded in his mind.

With that, he wasted no more words. Enduring the soreness in his body, he immediately began conceptualizing the DLC for the third part of the storybook.

As expected, the effect was outstanding.

[Clear Heart Art, which was still feeling sorry for itself, immediately changed its tune upon hearing this.]

[It thought, although you are sometimes quite dense, your comprehension in certain aspects is truly admirable.]

[Since you've shown such sincerity, it will generously forgive your neglect. Hurry up and write, it wants to read.]

Heh, women.

Ah, no, cultivation techniques.

With Clear Heart Art settled, Gu Chengming felt refreshed, and even the pain in his body seemed to have lessened.

He leaned against the headboard, conceptualizing new plot points in his mind while casually chatting with Huiyuan Sword Art.

Although Huiyuan Sword Art had reverted to its original name, after the "Flowing Light Sword Shadow" incident, it had clearly become more confident.

It was no longer always timid and subservient; it could occasionally joke with Gu Chengming. This change made Gu Chengming very pleased.

As the sun slanted westward, approaching the afternoon, hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the Courtyard.

"Senior Brother Gu! Senior Brother Gu, are you there?"

The voice was clear and upright; no need to look to know it was Jiang Lu.

Gu Chengming had just responded when the door was violently pushed open.

Jiang Lu rushed in impetuously. His eyes immediately fell on Gu Chengming, lying pale on the bed with several medicine bottles scattered around. He was instantly greatly alarmed.

"Senior Brother?! What happened to you?"

Jiang Lu's eyes widened. As if recalling something, he exclaimed:

"Did a Senior Sister from Daoning Gate really stuff you in a sack and beat you up?!"

"..."

Gu Chengming was somewhat speechless.

What kind of image did Daoning Gate have in Wenjian Sect?

"Don't guess wildly."

Gu Chengming waved his hand, which agitated his wound, and he coughed twice:

"It was just a mishap during cultivation, a backlash."

"A cultivation mishap?"

Jiang Lu's gaze turned peculiar. He sized up Gu Chengming from head to toe.

What kind of mishap could leave him in such a half-dead state?

Could Senior Brother Gu be too proud to admit he was beaten by a female cultivator?

Jiang Lu mused inwardly but dared not show it on his face, lest he hurt his Senior Brother's pride.

He quickly changed the subject, no longer dwelling on the source of the injury.

"Um, Senior Brother, I came this time mainly to talk to you about the upcoming Disciple Assessment."

Jiang Lu pulled over a stool and sat down, his expression becoming slightly more serious:

"I just got news from the Steward's Hall. This assessment has unusually changed the Rules. Compared to previous years where it was a simple competition of Realm levels, this time there are many new assessment items, focusing more on the application of Dao Heart and swordplay in actual combat."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Chengming again and added:

"This is definitely good news for you, Senior Brother! After all, although your Realm is a bit low, your swordplay is solidly exquisite."

Gu Chengming nodded slightly.

"I think Senior Brother will likely pass the assessment this time."

Jiang Lu continued, his tone laced with excitement:

"But if possible, Senior Brother should still try to perform as well as he can."

"After all, there are rewards for this assessment. Not to mention that appearing before the elders is a good opportunity in itself. The top performers in the assessment can also receive resources prepared by the sect in advance. Even if you don't make it to the top, performing well can still bring benefits."

Gu Chengming nodded, understanding dawning in his heart.

He had already made plans for this.

Putting aside those so-called resources, just to repay Elder Ren's favor, he couldn't afford to disgrace himself in the assessment.

Although Jiang Lu spoke of benefits for Senior Brother Gu and was genuinely happy for him, his gaze fell upon Gu Chengming's pale complexion and the lingering scent of medicine on him, causing his brows to furrow involuntarily.

Senior Brother Gu had ended up in this state right before the assessment. Although he claimed it was nothing serious, judging by his condition, he could barely get out of bed.

Would this affect his performance in the Disciple Assessment?

The female cultivators of Daoning Gate were truly unreasonable. The senior brothers were right.

Gu Chengming, unaware of how much Jiang Lu was imagining, adjusted his sitting posture slightly and asked in return:

"By the way, Junior Brother Jiang. Do you know why only this year's assessment was suddenly changed?"

The rules of Wenjian Sect had always been unchanged for hundreds of years. A sudden change must have been due to some event.

Hearing this, Jiang Lu looked around, then leaned closer mysteriously, lowering his voice:

"This matter, I heard it through unofficial channels."

"It's said that the neighboring Yunyue Sect produced a genius in swordsmanship, a real monster who was silent until they made a spectacular debut."

"That person cultivated sword intent in the first realm for years, remaining unknown. Then, one day, they achieved enlightenment in swordsmanship, and their realm advanced like a rocket, leaving everyone of their generation far behind."

"When this news reached our sect, those elders became incredibly sour, their eyes red with jealousy. They said things like, 'This should have been our Wenjian Sect's script,' and 'We are the orthodox Sword Cultivators, how could they have stolen our thunder.'"