Place of Filth

Yue Buqun was so confident entirely because, ever since Wang Jingyuan had come up the mountain, he had been observing him in secret. Setting aside Wang Jingyuan's supernatural "Sleeve Universe" abilities, even the Mount Hua Sword Technique Yue Buqun had taught him earlier had left him deeply shocked.

Ordinary people learned swordsmanship step by step, even if they were prodigies blessed by heaven. Sword training always progressed from easy to difficult; even if one occasionally gained sudden insight and advanced by leaps and bounds, the pace would slow afterward.

Yet when Yue Buqun secretly watched Wang Jingyuan practice swordsmanship, he discovered that he was simply too steady—his progress was too steady. Every time he practiced the sword technique once, he improved by a fraction. It seemed slow, but every improvement in his swordsmanship was neither more nor less than it should be, advancing steadily forward.

Even when he encountered bottlenecks common to beginners, he did not falter in the slightest. His training progress was just as smooth as it had been on his first day of learning the sword. Yue Buqun estimated that if Wang Jingyuan could maintain this rate of cultivation, then in merely three years, his swordsmanship would be number one in the martial world.

And Mount Hua emphasized Control Sword with Qi. With his swordsmanship improving so rapidly, could his Internal Energy possibly remain weak? He probably would not even need three years to stand alongside the likes of Fang Zheng and Chong Xu.

As for now, he had heard that Yu Canghai had only sent his disciples down the mountain. At Wang Jingyuan's rate of progress, dealing with Qingcheng Sect disciples would be more than manageable.

That night, the "genius" Wang Jingyuan lay on his bed, staring blankly ahead. As soon as midnight passed, words appeared before his eyes: [Mount Hua Basic Internal Cultivation Proficiency +1]. He then closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Unlike the Mount Hua Sword Technique, ever since Wang Jingyuan had learned Mount Hua Basic Internal Cultivation, his body had begun automatically grinding away at cultivation without stopping for even a moment.

But whether it was due to the game mechanics or the developers' original intent, unlike the Mount Hua Sword Technique, which gained a little proficiency with every practice session, the automatic cultivation of internal cultivation was unbearably slow. It only gained one point of proficiency every twelve hours, and even actively cultivating it himself could not speed it up in the slightest.

Half-asleep, Wang Jingyuan smacked his lips. It would be great if auto-grinding were as easy as manual controls.

[Yue Buqun has issued you the quest "Rescue the Fuwei Escort Agency"]

[Accept: Yes/No]

"What the heck is this?"

[Yes]

On the mountainside of Huashan, the mountain path was perilous beyond measure, but both Wang Jingyuan and Yue Lingshan knew lightness skills. Though Mount Hua Sect did not specialize in lightness skills, they were more than enough for traveling along mountain roads.

Yue Lingshan's internal cultivation was far stronger than Wang Jingyuan's, and every leap carried her a considerable distance. Yet despite being a beginner, Wang Jingyuan used his lightness skill more skillfully than the playful and lazy Yue Lingshan. His movements were nimble and agile.

He had built that skill through his daily persistence in going down the mountain to help old ladies cross the road. Using lightness skills while carrying someone was exhausting.

[Mount Hua Lightness Skill Proficiency +1]

After descending the mountain and reaching the main road, the two slowed down. Yue Lingshan said, "Junior Disciple Brother, Fujian is a long way from here. Mother prepared plenty of travel money for me, so let's first buy two horses in Huayin City before setting out."

"Buying mounts? Sure!" No player could refuse a mount.

The two walked along the main road toward Huayin City. Walking ahead, Yue Lingshan said, "It'll still be a while before we arrive. Since there's nothing to do right now, Junior Disciple Brother, why don't you tell me another story?"

"Fine. Once upon a time, there was a Chef. The goods she made were white and pure, so everyone called her 'Snow White.' She had seven Amigo under her command, every one of them ruthless and vicious.

"One day, an informant from the Demon Realm met with a DEA agent codenamed 'The Queen'..."

Yue Lingshan's brows knitted tightly together. The words came out of Wang Jingyuan's mouth one by one, yet when they were put together, she could not understand a thing.

"What is this even supposed to be? I don't understand any of it."

"Then how about I tell you about Flying Bat battling Red Cloak?"

"You've told that one before. Besides, that story was far too absurd. How could anyone's martial arts possibly be that powerful?" Yue Lingshan shook her head, then her eyes turned. "Why not tell me about yourself, Junior Disciple Brother?"

"About me?"

"Yes, yes. Your past experiences, Junior Disciple Brother. I've never heard you talk about them."

"Fine~" Wang Jingyuan smacked his lips and said, "Back then, I passed by an abandoned, ruined temple. Countless roots were wrapped around it from top to bottom. One look told me it was no decent place.

"So I went deeper and deeper until I reached the very heart of that ruined temple. Sure enough, I found a Tree Demon there.

"That Tree Demon had no martial virtue. Before I could even say anything, she raised a long blade taller than a person and unleashed a Water Bird Dance, slashing down at me head-on.

"Of course, I wasn't someone to be pushed around. I pulled out the Desecrated Holy Sword I had taken from a Snake Demon before and traded blows with her. We could both drain blood anyway, so who was afraid of whom?"

Yue Lingshan was somewhat displeased. "Junior Disciple Brother! I want to hear about your experiences, not some story you made up!"

"That was my experience! Fine, I'll change it, then. One night, I dueled an old geezer in a field of reeds. He said he would let me witness his swordsmanship, then he pulled out a Hand Cannon and shot at me.

"Of course, I wasn't someone to be pushed around either. I had brought a flamethrower and a poisoned blade."

"Why does that sound somewhat familiar... No! You're making up stories again!"

"Fine, fine. One day, I woke up from a Cryo Pod and vaguely heard someone calling me Tenno Scum."

Yue Lingshan stomped her foot and left on her own without sparing Wang Jingyuan another glance.

Wang Jingyuan shouted after her, "If you act like this, I won't tell you stories anymore!"

Yue Lingshan walked even faster.

Though Yue Lingshan was walking quickly, she had at least not used her lightness skill. Wang Jingyuan could easily keep up with her, and before long, the gates of Huayin City appeared before them.

After entering the city, Wang Jingyuan nodded in satisfaction. The production team had really put in the effort. It was an authentic Ming Dynasty atmosphere, without the slightest out-of-place detail. It was far better than those flashy reskinned online games.

Suddenly, Yue Lingshan, who was walking ahead, stopped because she could no longer hear Wang Jingyuan's footsteps behind her. She glanced back casually, wanting to see what mischief this Junior Disciple Brother was up to now.

What she saw immediately made her fury surge. Her Junior Disciple Brother, who normally seemed so honest on the mountain, had actually stopped in front of a brothel. Looking at him, it seemed as though he was practically drooling.

Furious, Yue Lingshan strode up to Wang Jingyuan and heard him muttering to himself, "Spring Breeze Tower? Slurp~ This game is so hardcore, all about realism. Then this sort of place should be pretty 'hardcore' too, right?"

Wang Jingyuan raised his leg to walk in, but Yue Lingshan flashed in front of him to block his way. With her hands on her hips, she looked exactly like a pair of compasses. "I only stopped watching you for a moment, and you already want to enter that... that Place of Filth?"

Wang Jingyuan stared fixedly at the handkerchiefs constantly waving from the second-floor balcony. Turning, he tried to go around Yue Lingshan. "What Place of Filth? It's obviously fragrant and soft~"

Before he could step inside, Yue Lingshan grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him back.

"What are you doing?! Ow!"

Yue Lingshan's face was red with anger as she berated him, "As a Mount Hua disciple, you are not allowed to go to a place like this!"

Wang Jingyuan straightened his collar and said without the slightest fear, "I've read Mount Hua Sect's rules. Not one of them says disciples aren't allowed to visit brothels."

"You! If I say you can't, then you can't! Besides... places like this cost a lot of silver. Do you even have any?"

With a flick of his hand, a thick stack of silver notes appeared in Wang Jingyuan's palm. "I do."

Yue Lingshan stared at that thick stack of silver notes, then compared it with the travel money her mother had given her. She was briefly stunned. "Where did you get so many silver notes?"

"My... Master gave them to me. He told me not to make myself suffer and to spend when I should."

"You... Father..." Yue Lingshan took half a step back. Ning Zhongze's earnest teachings to save whenever possible still rang in her ears, yet her own father had actually...

Yue Lingshan looked at Wang Jingyuan with a complicated expression. "Who exactly are you?"

"From now on, you can call me Piao Duan Diao. Yoo-hoo~" Seizing the moment Yue Lingshan was distracted, Wang Jingyuan activated his lightness skill and darted into Spring Breeze Tower.

Yue Lingshan wanted to grab him, but she stopped at the entrance. How could a young lady like her enter such a place? If others found out, it would not only disgrace her—it would disgrace her parents and the entire Mount Hua Sect.

What was more...

"What relationship do I even have with him? What right do I have to stop him?" Yue Lingshan suddenly stomped her foot and muttered bitterly. Then she turned around, tears welling in her eyes, and ran toward the horse market.