Martial Saint Gal

Gu Chengming was utterly bewildered.

Of course, in the following days, Gu Chengming continued his cultivation as usual.

He had originally expected visitors to come knocking one after another, as his seventh-place ranking seemed too easy to exploit.

But strangely, three days passed, and not only were there no challengers, but not even anyone came to probe him.

This left Gu Chengming somewhat puzzled.

Regardless, it was good that no one was bothering him.

With Hundred Bones gone, Gu Chengming shifted his attention to Flowing Cloud Following Moon.

How to describe this sword technique...

It had an extremely unpleasant personality.

Gu Chengming attempted to interact with it, and the sword technique's attitude was quite blunt.

[Don't touch me]

"..."

However, Gu Chengming was not one to give up easily.

Since conventional methods wouldn't work, he had to change his approach.

Gu Chengming had only identified two characteristics of the Flowing Clouds Following Moon Sword Technique so far.

One was its extreme dislike for Sword Cultivators, and the other was its severe emotional volatility.

To summarize...

A misanthropic "minefield" girl?

Gu Chengming shuddered slightly.

But he could deduce something from its experiences.

The main reason it disliked Sword Cultivators was that it was originally a Musical Cultivation Method that had been forcibly changed into a sword technique.

Perhaps approaching it from the perspective of musical rhythm could break the current stalemate?

As he thought this, Gu Chengming suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

Insightful Eyes activated.

--Alright, alright, here it comes, I've been waiting for you!

Slightly pleased, Gu Chengming focused his gaze on the options before him.

[Option 1: Curses Sword Cultivators along with Flowing Cloud Following Moon.]

[Option 2: Self-mutilate and give yourself a "bloody knife" appearance.]

[Option 3: Pander to its tastes by composing some simple musical tunes to try and appease it.]

"Damn it, what is Option 2?"

Do I have to disfigure myself to win over this "minefield" girl?

Oh wait, given Flowing Cloud Following Moon's personality, maybe self-harm as a Sword Cultivator would actually increase its favorability.

But Gu Chengming found it utterly unreliable, and the Huiyuan Sword Art would definitely not allow him to do such a thing.

As for the other two... Option 1 would likely have little effect.

That left only Option 3.

Gu Chengming stroked his chin.

Although he hadn't had much contact with music in this life, he had, after all, been influenced by popular music as a modern person in his previous life.

Since he was going to appease this former "Musical Cultivation Method," he needed to bring out something substantial.

Too classical might bore it, and too modern might be incomprehensible.

He needed to find a compromise that had both ancient charm and novelty, while also expressing a touch of melancholy and scholarly elegance.

A flash of inspiration struck Gu Chengming's mind.

--Orchid Pavilion Preface

Speaking of which, I'll just write it.

As his thoughts flowed, a melodious and graceful musical sound seemed to truly resonate in his sea of consciousness.

The piece ended.

Flowing Cloud Following Moon indeed reacted.

[...]

[What did you write?]

Gu Chengming's face stiffened.

--Hmph, you can curse me, but you can't curse the Director!

Of course, he didn't dare to say that out loud.

[Flowing Cloud Following Moon said, the five tones are incomplete, and the transitions are extremely stiff.]

[It sneered, Sword Cultivators really have vulgar taste.]

I'm sorry, Director, I've embarrassed you.

However, just when Gu Chengming thought this attempt had failed.

[Flowing Cloud Following Moon's Favorability +5]

[Current Favorability: 10/Stranger]

Gu Chengming: "..."

Clear Heart Art, it seems you're the same type of substitute.

The days passed like flowing water, plain and a bit monotonous.

Since that day when "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" suffered a Waterloo, Gu Chengming hadn't given up.

He pondered, perhaps the song was too gentle and didn't suit Flowing Cloud Following Moon's personality? Or perhaps his tone-deaf spiritual sense simulation had been too terrible, ruining the classic?

Therefore, in the following days, Gu Chengming learned from his mistakes and decided to change his approach.

To cater to the "world-weary" sentiment of this sword technique, he even specifically found several songs with gloomy melodies and a sense of fragmentation.

But Flowing Cloud Following Moon ignored him, seemingly finding his copied songs truly awful.

Alright, this path should be unworkable.

Just as Gu Chengming was about to go to the courtyard to practice the basic Sword Art a few more times, a slightly hurried knock suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Senior Brother Gu, are you in the courtyard?"

The voice was familiar; it was Jiang Lu.

Gu Chengming sheathed his sword and went to open the courtyard gate.

He saw Jiang Lu standing outside, his expression quite strange.

"Junior Brother Jiang?" Gu Chengming's heart stirred slightly, and he stepped aside, "Come in and talk."

The two sat down by the stone table in the courtyard. Gu Chengming poured two cups of clear tea and, looking at Jiang Lu's hesitant demeanor, felt a little uneasy.

"Junior Brother Jiang, is there something important you've come for this time?" Gu Chengming asked tentatively.

Jiang Lu picked up the teacup but didn't drink. He just rubbed it in his hand for a long time before finally managing to say:

"Senior Brother Gu, something big has happened."

Gu Chengming's heart skipped a beat.

"Good news or bad news?"

Jiang Lu hesitated for a moment, his brows furrowed as if organizing his words, and finally said slowly:

"This matter... is bad news for others, but good news for you, Senior Brother."

Gu Chengming: "?"

What kind of cryptic statement is this?

"What exactly is going on?"

"Senior Brother has been staying in seclusion these past few days and may not know. In just these three days, the top ten seats of our Disciple Assessment, except for your seat which remains unshakable, all nine other seats... have been completely replaced!"

"All replaced?"

Gu Chengming was somewhat surprised.

He remembered that the other nine people were quite skilled, and if they were all replaced, why hadn't anyone come to challenge him?

Logically, shouldn't he be the easiest one to challenge?

Before Gu Chengming could voice his confusion, Jiang Lu began to recount the bizarre events that had occurred in the outer sect over the past few days.

It turned out that on the second day after the grand competition ended, one of the individuals ranked in the top ten deliberately lost to a friend in a challenge match, handing over his seat.

According to the rules, even though he lost, as a failed defender of the top ten, the Sect would still give him fifty percent of his original treatment as compensation.

After his friend took over the seat, he received the full reward.

The two privately agreed that the friend would give him eighty percent of the reward he received.

In this way, although this "loser" lost his seat, the resources he obtained were fifty percent of the Sect's compensation plus eighty percent from his friend, totaling one hundred and thirty percent of the resources.

This was thirty percent more than what he would have received by painstakingly defending his position.

And although his friend only had twenty percent left, that twenty percent was essentially free! After all, with his strength, he couldn't have entered the top ten at all, so getting a share was already a huge profit.

"?" A question mark appeared above Gu Chengming's head.

You can even play it like this? Is this like the Princess Connect Arena?

He suppressed the urge to complain and asked, "What happened then?"

"Naturally, the truth came out. The Law Hall Elder was still in seclusion, but when he looked at the account books, the rewards distributed in the past few days were more than in the previous ten years combined. He almost passed out."

"All disciples involved in this matter not only had to return all illegal gains but were also punished to face the wall at Repentance Cliff for three months and copy the sect rules a thousand times. It's said that the disciples taken to Repentance Cliff that day lined up all the way to the foot of the mountain."

"Only Senior Brother Gu, you are the only one in the entire top ten who is pure and clean!"

"The Elders are all praising you, saying your Dao Heart is firm, unmoved by external things, and that you are a role model for our generation!"

Gu Chengming: "..."

It was a good thing no one involved him, otherwise, he would have taken a cut.

Thinking this in his heart, Gu Chengming said with a serious expression:

"As a Sword Cultivator, one should seek victory directly with the sword in hand. How can one engage in crooked dealings? A little bit of petty profit can disrupt the Dao Heart, and the loss outweighs the gain."

Jiang Lu cupped his hands and said:

"Senior Brother's righteousness is admirable! Junior Brother also had such thoughts before, but after hearing Senior Brother's words, I am truly ashamed."

Gu Chengming waved his hand, signaling him not to stand on ceremony.

The two chatted for a while longer before Jiang Lu got up to take his leave.

After seeing Jiang Lu off, Gu Chengming thought that the Sword Cultivators of the Wenjian Sect were not honest.

The night breeze was cool, brushing past the old locust tree in the courtyard, its leaves rustling. A few fallen leaves twirled down, silently sticking to the ground.

Gu Chengming looked up at the sky. The clouds were thickening, obscuring most of the moonlight.

He withdrew his gaze and was about to turn back into the house when his steps suddenly halted.

The next moment, a line of prompts appeared before Gu Chengming.

[Hundred Bones Echo: Primordial Infinite Myriad Qi Dao Source True Master Nine Heavens Ten Earths Universe Supreme Emperor Art! (CG not unlocked)]

[Current Unlock Progress: 0%]