Gal Martial Saint

[Huiyuan Sword Art says stop practicing. If you really want to practice that badly, just leave it to it.]

[It may not be able to help mend your body, but practicing swordsmanship for you is still well within its capabilities!]

"?"

A question mark immediately popped up over Gu Chengming's head.

What did it mean, practice by itself?

In the end, he did not ask, because the words appearing before him answered his question.

[Huiyuan Sword Art: Automatically cultivating for you...]

[Current efficiency: 50% (reduced due to injuries)]

"..."

Feeling the cultivation cycle automatically circulating within his body, Gu Chengming had only three words in his heart:

Holy shit, cheats!

Was this what a "Life and Death Mutual Reliance"-level bond was like?

If those Sword Cultivators outside found out that he could practice swordsmanship while lying in bed asleep, they would probably be so jealous they would go into qi deviation on the spot.

Gu Chengming completely relaxed.

His body might not be able to move, but his brain still worked.

Now that the sword-practice problem had been solved, it was time to deal with another "debt."

He had previously promised the Clear Heart Art that he would write a DLC for the script, and Elder Yu's information fee also had to be paid with this.

Gu Chengming began planning the Script Part Three DLC. This part was mainly meant to fill in some of the blanks left in the main storyline.

In less than two hours, a sprawling DLC several thousand words long was complete.

Looking at this DLC that gathered the very essence of webnovel plotlines into one piece, Gu Chengming nodded in satisfaction.

[Clear Heart Art says this plot is much better than last time]

[Though it's still pretty perfunctory]

[Clear Heart Art Favorability +2]

Heh. Cursing him while its favorability rose—readers really were all M's.

Suppressing his inner complaints, he organized the finished manuscript. Just as he was about to rest for a while before delivering it to Elder Yu, he glanced at the sky outside, now completely dark, then at his own utterly immobile state.

"Looks like I'll have to ask Junior Brother Jiang to make the trip tomorrow."

Just as he was thinking that, a faint sound suddenly came from outside the door.

It was not a knock, but more like the sound of something lightly landing on the ground.

Gu Chengming's heart tightened. Instinctively, he tried to grasp his sword, only to discover that the Wooden Sword was still by the corner of the bed.

"Who is it?" he asked in a low voice.

There was no response from outside.

After a moment, a beam of cold moonlight spilled in through the crack in the door. Beneath it, a neatly folded sheet of letter paper, gently supported by Spiritual Power, slid into the room.

Gu Chengming froze for a moment, then used the last scraps of his mental power to draw the letter into his hand.

Opening it, he found only a single line of elegant handwriting:

"I heard your injuries are severe. The medicinal pills for healing are outside the door. Remember—do not force yourself next time."

There was no signature.

But among the people he knew, it could only have been Elder Yu.

PS: This chapter is three thousand words. Another chapter will be posted after midnight.

Really Afraid I'll Trigger Gal's Expert Instinct

Mm, Elder Yu really was a good person.

After reflecting on it for a moment, Gu Chengming thought that delivering this script in person would better show his sincerity.

He spent the next several days recuperating.

It had to be said, the effect of Huiyuan Sword Art's fully automated cultivation was truly a little outrageous.

One had to know that this body of Gu Chengming's was famously utterly ordinary in terms of talent—one could even say it was rather poor.

When he cultivated by himself normally, it was like huffing and puffing while pushing a millstone. After struggling for ages, he could only circulate a few cultivation cycles.

But now, with Huiyuan Sword Art tirelessly circulating cultivation cycles within him, Spiritual Energy flowed without end and was exceptionally pure. How could his cultivation speed have increased by merely a few times?

Gu Chengming even suspected that Huiyuan Sword Art would eventually spoil him into an invalid.

Of course, not everyone... or rather, not every Cultivation Method, was happy about this.

For instance, Hundred Bones' Cry had begun to feel an intense sense of crisis.

[It was stunned. What did he mean, helping it circulate its cultivation on its own?!]

Hundred Bones' Cry thought it was already hardworking enough, but there was someone even more relentlessly driven!

Was this a change brought about by Gu Chengming's Favorability?

[Damn it, Gu Chengming, raise my Favorability already!]

What use was there in urging me? Shouldn't your own Favorability be increasing?!

Gu Chengming was speechless.

After resting and recuperating for several more days, Gu Chengming's internal injuries finally recovered seventy to eighty percent.

Though he still could not engage in high-intensity combat, ordinary movement was no longer a problem.

Choosing a bright and breezy afternoon, Gu Chengming tucked the Script Part Three DLC, which he had hastily produced overnight, into his robes and headed toward Yu Wenqiu's residence.

He first made a trip to the Scripture Repository, only to come up empty-handed. Hearing from the Disciple on duty that Elder Yu was not on shift today, he turned directly toward the Bamboo Grove Cottage in the Back Mountain.

It was the same place he had visited last time.

Verdant bamboo concealed it from view, lending it a tranquil, elegant air.

Gu Chengming stood outside the bamboo grove, pondering how to announce himself, when the Formation before him—where layers upon layers of bamboo had stood—seemed to sense his arrival and parted to either side on its own, revealing a winding path.

Gu Chengming followed the path straight in.

Beyond the bamboo grove lay the familiar small courtyard.

At that moment, Yu Wenqiu sat beside the Stone Table in the courtyard, her expression cool and detached, her posture languid yet graceful. One hand propped up her chin while the other idly flipped through an ancient tome.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves and fell upon her, making her seem like someone from a painting.

Of course, Gu Chengming had no idea that this picturesque scene was the result of a certain elder frantically adjusting angles before a Water Mirror and striking poses for a full quarter of an hour, starting from the moment she sensed him touch the Formation.

Hearing his footsteps, Yu Wenqiu did not turn around at once.

Only when Gu Chengming had walked close did she seem to notice someone had arrived. She gave two light coughs and slowly turned her head.

"Xiao Gu? When did you arrive?"

Her tone was calm, her gaze blank—her acting flawless.

"..."

Gu Chengming grumbled inwardly: Didn't you open the Formation and lead me in?

Yet he wore a respectful expression and said with a smile, cupping his hands, "I only arrived a moment ago. Seeing Elder lost in Wandering the Void, I did not dare make a sound and disturb you."

"Mm. Since you're here, come sit for a while."

Yu Wenqiu set down the book scroll she had not actually read at all. Her gaze swept over Gu Chengming as she casually asked, "Have your injuries healed?"

The moment those words left her mouth, the last trace of doubt in Gu Chengming's heart vanished.

Sure enough, she was the one who had sent that medicine.

"Thanks to Elder Yu's pills."

Gu Chengming did not expose the identity of the person who had delivered the medicine that night. He merely said pointedly, "Had those few bottles of Miraculous Pills not stabilized my injuries in time, this Disciple would likely have had to lie in bed for another ten days or half a month."

Hearing this, Yu Wenqiu was pleased that Xiao Gu knew how to behave, though her face remained as calm as drifting clouds and gentle breeze. She merely gave a faint "Mm," neither confirming nor denying it.

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Chengming stopped beating around the bush. He directly took the carefully wrapped Script DLC from his robes and offered it to her with both hands.

"This is something this Disciple wrote in his spare time these past few days. It may be considered some additions and extensions to the previous script's plot, and I have come especially to present it for Elder's discerning judgment."

Yu Wenqiu's eyes lit up instantly.

In truth, from the moment Gu Chengming had entered, the corner of her eye had never once moved away from the script he had concealed on his person.

Now that he had finally taken it out, she forcibly suppressed the urge to snatch it over at once. After coughing twice, she reservedly extended her hand to accept it.

"Since you have such intentions, then This Elder shall... take a look."

Her words made it sound as if she were reluctantly obliging him, but her hands moved with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the script vanished into her sleeve, as though she feared Gu Chengming might change his mind.

After putting away the script, Yu Wenqiu's mood visibly improved.

She pointed to the stone stool opposite her, signaling Gu Chengming to sit. Then, seemingly casually, she asked, "By the way, I heard you were seriously injured this time? Just how did it happen?"

Gu Chengming had long prepared an explanation. Without changing expression, he answered, "It was nothing much. I was simply too eager for progress while practicing and made a slight mistake, suffering a backlash."

"A mishap in your training?"

Yu Wenqiu's brows drew together slightly as she looked at him suspiciously.

She looked Gu Chengming up and down, a strange glint in her eyes.

Xiao Gu usually seemed like such a steady, reliable person—how could he make such a low-level mistake?

And judging by his injuries, though he had recovered quite well, his Meridians had clearly been damaged. It did not look like a simple backlash from cultivation, but rather as though someone had...

In an instant, Yu Wenqiu imagined an entire drama: "An Outer Sect Disciple cruelly bullied, too ashamed to speak out."

Especially when she recalled those scenes from storybooks where "a weak disciple was abused by a vicious Senior Brother," her gaze became even more sympathetic.

"Xiao Gu..."

Yu Wenqiu sighed and said earnestly, "If you... encounter any difficulties in the sect, or if someone bullies you, you can tell This Elder."

"This Elder may not usually involve herself in affairs, but on this little patch of turf, I can still speak with some authority. If anyone dares to use their strength to bully the weak, hmph..."

Hearing this, Gu Chengming understood what Elder Yu had misunderstood and found it rather amusing.

So he could only deftly steer away from the subject and laugh it off. "Elder, you flatter me. I get along quite well with everyone in the sect—who would bully me? It truly was a mishap while cultivating. I will certainly be more careful next time."

Seeing that Gu Chengming did not wish to say more, Yu Wenqiu could not press him further and had no choice but to let it go.

The two chatted for a while longer, moving from the plots of storybooks to Interesting Things within the sect. The atmosphere was quite pleasant.

As the sky grew late, Yu Wenqiu seemed to recall something and suddenly said, "Right, have you prepared for the Disciple Assessment in a few days?"

Gu Chengming answered seriously, "This disciple has already begun preparing."

"Mm."

Yu Wenqiu nodded and instructed him, "The Rules for this assessment have changed. It will not only test cultivation, but place even greater importance on actual combat and adaptability. Although you... ahem, although some unspeakable difficulty may have damaged your cultivation, This Elder still thinks highly of your attainments in swordsmanship."