Sword Classic (First Update)

"We rescued General Yu not for gold or silver; talking about money would hurt our feelings," Bai Xiaowen said.

Yu Dayou said somewhat apologetically, "It was my oversight." He then ordered Zhang Ting and the others to put away the two trays of gold and silver, and said, "However, we cannot forget to repay the life-saving grace. Please feel free to make any requests you may have."

Bai Xiaowen then said, "We admire General Yu's martial arts skills and hope that General Yu will not hesitate to give us some pointers."

Yu Dayou then realized and laughed, "I see. However, my martial arts style is not suitable for Master Bai, but it is very suitable for your junior sister, Miss Li. If Miss Li doesn't mind, I have a <Sword Classic> to give you; perhaps you can gain some inspiration from it."

Historically, Yu Dayou Yu Dayou known for his strong personal abilities. In his Poem Presented to Shaolin Monk Zongqing, with Preface ", it is recorded that when this famous anti-Japanese general was transferred from the north to the south, he passed by the Shaolin Temple in Henan. After seeing the various skills practiced by the Shaolin monks, he said that the monks' staff techniques were incorrect, and so on.

This was clearly a challenge to the Shaolin Temple, and the result was that the monks were all defeated and wanted to learn from Yu Dayou. Yu Dayou, rather arrogantly, said, "You still need to practice for a few more years." (Original sentence: I said, "This can only be achieved after years of accumulation.")

Later, the abbot of Shaolin Temple even sent monks to study martial arts under Yu Dayou for three years. Legend has it that Yu Dayou also had a warrior monk force of about a hundred men under his command...

Li Shuyi took the Sword Classic and began to read it.

"You have read the martial arts insights of Yu Dayou, a Anti-Pirate Ming Army Faction in the Jiajing Plane World."

"You have acquired the Advanced Specialty: Polearm Weapons, currently at Advanced Level 1."

"Your Advanced Specialty: One-Handed Swordsmanship has been permanently upgraded by 1 level, currently at advanced level 6."

"Your Advanced Specialty: Combat has been permanently upgraded by 1 level. Your current level is Advanced Level 4."

Li Shuyi was pleasantly surprised; she hadn't expected the Sword Classic Yu Dayou had provided to be so effective. The specialization in Polearm Weapons was merely an added bonus; the real strength lay in the enhancement of One-Handed Swordsmanship and Combat Specialty.

There are ten levels of Advanced Specialty. After reaching level four or five, it becomes very difficult to improve further, requiring long-term accumulation and practice. Therefore, it is common for many intermediate and Advanced Awakened Battle Specialty lower than their class level.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi frequently ventured into the Spirit Realm, and with Bai Xiaowen's exceptionally sharp mind, adept at uncovering and completing missions, their leveling speed was much faster than that of ordinary Awakened Ones. Inevitably, their Battle Specialty would lag behind their level.

Bai Xiaowen possesses the ability of "Telepathy," allowing him to learn from the memory fragments of summoned creatures and quickly improve his Battle Specialty, so there's not much to worry about. However, if Li Shuyi wants to improve her Battle Specialty, she must rely on genuine talent combined with hard work.

Yu Dayou's reward, or rather, thank-you gift, was indeed very valuable. Although Li Shuyi's base attributes remained unchanged, her hidden strength had been significantly enhanced.

Bai Xiaowen was naturally very satisfied and thanked Yu Dayou repeatedly.

Yu Dayou waved his hand and laughed, but the movement aggravated his chest wound. He gasped and gritted his teeth, cursing, "You damned Japanese bastards, I will kill them without hesitation!"

Bai Xiaowen felt this was a questline, and asked jokingly, "My junior sister and I are both very curious, with General Yu's martial arts skills, who could possibly hurt you?"

Yu Dayou said, "That day, when I went to sea to pursue and kill a group of genuine Japan True Wokou from the Matsuura Clan Wokou Pirates, I was caught off guard when boarding the ship to engage in battle and was ambushed and stabbed by a Wokou Pirates Boss Tier. I must say, the True Wokou were quite adept at stealth, ambushes, and assassinations."

After a pause, Yu Dayou said indignantly, "Even if he had Ambush me and stabbed me, I wouldn't have been afraid. He had exposed himself, and a direct confrontation with me would have meant certain death. However, after successfully launching his sneak attack, that Japanese Boss Tier actually cut his own palm and activated some kind of evil magic. The crimson short sword in his hand also emitted a red light. Then I felt like my insides were burning, and I fainted on the spot. Fortunately, my personal guards fought desperately to save me, otherwise I'm afraid I would have died at sea."

Zhang Ting said, "Since our commander is in danger, it is only natural for us to fight to the death."

Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes. He had not received any notification from the Spirit Realm Rules, nor had he triggered any missions; it seemed that the communication was inadequate.

"General, what kind of evil magic did that man use? What were the signs when he activated it? Could you describe it in detail?"

Yu Dayou shook his head and said, "I am but a martial artist, how could I know anything about magic, let alone the evil magic of the Japanese devils? As for the signs of its activation, as I just said, the hand was cut, and the crimson short sword in his hand absorbed his blood, also emitting a red light..."

The "crimson dagger" mentioned twice caught Bai Xiaowen's attention, and his Super Brain quickly recalled it.

While the Daoist priest Sun Xuanqing was healing his injuries, he once said, "Eastern Ying artifacts, in their blind pursuit of power and cruelty, are actually greedy for quick results and have fallen into inferior categories."

Could the key lie in that Eastern Ying artifact?

"General Yu, could you describe in detail the crimson short sword in the hands of the Wokou Pirates?"

Bai Xiaowen felt that Yu Dayou wouldn't bring up these things for no reason. This crimson short sword might be related to a mission. Of course, it was also possible that Yu Dayou was just chatting casually, without any mission trigger, and asking wouldn't cause him any harm.

As a military general, Yu Dayou had a deep memory of weapons. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That short sword is indeed very peculiar. It is very different from the katana used by the Japanese. It is short and straight, with a hilt only a hand's length long and no tsuba (handguard). There are symmetrical notches on the blade, just like sections of bamboo."

Bai Xiaowen's heart stirred; at this moment, he had already received a notification from the Spirit Realm Rules:

"You learned about the Mysterious Short Sword from Yu Dayou's description."

Special side quest: [Search for the Sword] is now available.

[Mission Objective: Locate the Matsuura Clan's Wokou Pirates Boss Tier stabbed Yu Dayou and obtain the Mysterious Short Sword.]

[Mission Deadline: None (Equivalent to your remaining time in the Jiajing Plane World)]

[Task Difficulty: Unknown.]

[Task Reward: Unknown.]

Bai Xiaowen chose to accept the task.

Li Shuyi asked in surprise, "I didn't receive any mission prompts."

This is a bit strange. Logically speaking, missions are basically shared among permanent team members. When Bai Xiaowen triggers a mission, Li Shuyi will also receive the mission, unless the two are not in the same plane of existence.

Bai Xiaowen said, "This mission might require some prerequisites to trigger. Its prefix is 'Special Side Mission,' which is different from other missions we've triggered before... Hmm, I'll accept this mission for now, but it'll be a lower priority until we've completed the Battle of Kinmen."

This is a solo mission, and the description doesn't state that it must be completed alone, so Li Shuyi can also help Bai Xiaowen with the mission. However, after completing the mission, Li Shuyi won't receive any rewards, meaning she'll essentially be working for free...

Bai Xiaowen naturally prioritized the team-shared tasks, as these would benefit both of them, including combat experience points and other task rewards.