Asuna Yuuki?

Li Yu left Sister Mi's shop with the Tang Dao he had just acquired. Looking at the two thousand yuan missing from his savings, he couldn't help but start thinking about ways to make money.

No matter what world you were in, getting by without money was difficult. Sister Mi had given him this sword; if he'd had to buy it himself, who knew how much it would have cost?

So from now on, apart from studying, making money was the most important thing for Li Yu.

Could he earn money by taking a part-time job? Never mind whether he had the time for one right now; the meager wages would barely make a dent anyway.

If he wanted to earn more, he'd have to find another way, like starting a side business.

Or he could go out and hunt monsters that had wandered into the city, collecting materials from them.

Li Yu walked along, thinking about how he could make more money. Right now, he was desperately short of it.

Li Yu soon reached the commercial street while pondering the problem. Once he arrived, he started shopping.

Besides buying some clothes he needed, he also picked up some ingredients and seasonings to take home.

The place his original body had rented had a kitchen and gas, but he'd hardly ever used them.

As far as his original self was concerned, anything that filled his stomach would do. He always ate at a nearby fast-food place, where each meal cost only around ten yuan.

But for Li Yu now, that was unacceptable. He knew how to cook, and he didn't like eating out.

Besides, with the Eye of Keigeko, becoming a master chef would be a piece of cake. He might as well buy his own groceries and cook for himself.

By the time he'd bought everything, the sun had set. Seeing that several hundred yuan had disappeared from his savings, Li Yu felt a little helpless.

At this rate, unless something unexpected happened, his savings might not last until next month.

So making money had to become a priority. What a headache.

Carrying his bags back to his rented apartment, Li Yu set everything down and began preparing dinner.

He placed his phone beside the stove, looked over his ingredients, then searched online for cooking tutorials and began learning.

He had to admit, the boost from this talent was seriously addictive. It felt wonderful to have knowledge flow into his mind.

And once it entered, it never left. He mastered everything. Learning as he cooked, Li Yu worked incredibly quickly.

When he finished dinner, he could hardly believe he'd made it himself. Before, he'd only known how to cook a few home-style dishes.

But now, the food looked, smelled, and tasted delicious. He felt like he could apply for a job as a chef.

Li Yu tried some. It tasted excellent, so he promptly picked up his bowl and dug in.

Perhaps because he'd practiced martial arts that day, Li Yu had a particularly good appetite. Even after finishing everything he'd cooked, he still wanted more.

He now had a clear idea of just how much his appetite had grown.

After condensing True Qi, his appetite had increased too. In this world, if you had no money, you might not even be able to afford to practice martial arts.

Muttering to himself, Li Yu cleared away the dishes, then picked up the Tang Dao and examined it closely.

He had no idea what the blade was made of. It felt bone-chillingly cold to the touch, far beyond what ordinary steel could match.

After turning the Tang Dao over in his hands, Li Yu started learning from his phone, searching online for swordsmanship tutorials.

He also planned to try something unusual. Before he'd crossed over, he'd played a game whose motto was "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll only be able to leap backward and swing a blade of energy..."

Could he pull off that style in this world? If he could, then Li Yu would be able to ride a crane too.

As he studied some basic moves, he recalled the techniques used by the characters in that game.

Gradually, he began to form a rough idea. It seemed possible to perform moves like those.

However, Li Yu needed more techniques to support them. Only then could he perform the complete set he had in mind.

As for how to unleash sword energy, that was simple too. Once his True Qi reached the fourth tier and he could project it outward, he'd be able to do it easily.

Li Yu's eyes lit up as soon as he figured that out. This was amazing. The Ultimate Ghost Sword Technique in his mind looked incredibly cool.

It would be powerful in this world too. Who wouldn't love something that was both powerful and cool? Just imagining himself riding a crane, surrounded by sword energy as he farmed monsters, got Li Yu ridiculously excited.

He'd decided. That was the path he would take from now on. No matter what, he had to recreate that set of sword techniques.

He, Li Yu, would become this world's Ultimate Sword Soul! With that thought, Li Yu started devouring all the sword moves he could find online in his rented apartment.

Whether they were useful or not, he'd learn them first. He only had to watch once to pick them up, and twice to master them. Li Yu wasn't worried at all.

This was basically getting stronger by watching videos, wasn't it? Thinking of that, Li Yu couldn't help laughing aloud.

He watched videos for over two hours, all at 1.5x speed, learning every sword technique he could. Many of them were repeats.

But Li Yu didn't skip any. If someone was bold enough to post it, Li Yu was bold enough to watch it. Thanks to that, in just a few hours he'd gone from a complete beginner with swords to a seasoned expert.

And he was even more confident in his idea now. The set of sword techniques in his mind had grown clearer and clearer.

Li Yu checked the time and stopped to wash up and get some rest.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Li Yu got up, washed up, gathered the things he needed to bring, and went downstairs. He bought breakfast, then headed to school.

As he passed the spot where the older men and women exercised again, Li Yu glanced over. He'd already learned everything they were doing, so he lost interest.

As he made his way to school, Li Yu ate his breakfast. Along the way, he noticed something odd: there were a lot more Patrol Squad members on the streets.

Seeing them searching for something with weapons in hand, Li Yu felt puzzled. What had happened? Why was the area under such tight security?

Though he was curious, Li Yu had no intention of getting involved. After only a few glances, he continued on to school.

By the time Li Yu reached his new classroom, some students had already arrived. He also noticed that the seat behind him, where Kato Megumi sat, had a new classmate sitting in it.

Li Yu saw the classmate quietly sitting there reading, and felt a strange twinge in his heart.

Ash-brown hair and exquisite features—Li Yu recognized her at a glance. Asuna Yuuki!

He'd never expected her to be in this world too. Did that mean there were even more people like her here? And it seemed he was surrounded by wealthy women!