The Difference Between Two Worlds

Li Ke knew how to drive an ox cart, but because of poverty, he was far less familiar with driving a horse-drawn carriage.

Li Ke watched the two horses plodding along, the whip in his hand itching to move. But he was afraid that one careless strike might send them into a frenzy and overturn the carriage, so he could only try every method he could think of to make them go faster.

Fortunately, after Li Ke picked some wild fruit from nearby trees and fed it to the horses, they finally became more obedient and started running as he instructed.

But expecting him to be as skilled as a professional coachman was asking too much. The carriage was still much slower than it should have been.

"Even the horses are lazy in times like these."

Leaning against the damaged carriage, Li Ke looked at the hole kicked into it by the Fist of Shadow named Meimu. It was not particularly large, likely because of how petite she was.

But thinking of that reminded Li Ke that she had a daughter about his own age.

"I really wonder what happened to her husband..."

Muttering to himself, Li Ke drove the carriage while recalling the memories he had gained through his ability—memories from another world.

Swordsmanship in that world was incredibly brutal. It existed to kill all kinds of enemies: humanoid, beastlike, or creatures that looked nothing like humans.

Compared to the swordsmanship Li Ke had learned, there were not many techniques designed specifically for fighting people. Instead, it relentlessly pursued destructive power, attack speed, and the ability to unleash unbroken chains of attacks. Its physical requirements were outrageously demanding; it was simply not a style meant for dueling humans.

Techniques like the Sweeping Blade Li Ke practiced were not nonexistent in that world, but most people did not care much for such minor tricks.

The swordsmanship pursued in this world was swift and precise, aimed at defeating fellow human opponents in the most efficient way possible. Its targeting was therefore exceptionally refined.

The throat, joints, and all the other vital weak points unique to humans—this was swordsmanship truly designed for killing people. Only higher-level sword arts, such as the Wind Technique, included techniques for fighting other kinds of enemies.

"But when I think about it, that's only natural. Most of Valoran's people fight other humans, and those who battle monsters are ultimately a minority. Even when they do fight monsters, most of those creatures are humanoid. But Arad is different. Fighting humans isn't the norm there; fighting the endless hordes of monsters is."

Among the memories from Li Ke's previous simulations were scenes of fighting all kinds of goblins and minotaurs. Those were humanity's main enemies, and combat happened with remarkable frequency. Every three or four days, people had to head out to clear out those monsters.

Valoran was different. Even in Ionia, where magical beasts were arguably the most numerous in the world, it was not as though large groups of magical beasts needed clearing out near a town every few days.

Yet in Arad, patrols and goblin-clearing expeditions were needed almost every week.

Moreover, magic was extremely widespread in Arad. It was not at the level of Ionia, where even a farmer knew magic, but mages were hardly rare. They frequently appeared in all sorts of places and used all kinds of spells.

Ionia was different. Those who had mastered magic did not use it lightly. Most of the time, they solved problems with ordinary attacks.

"It's perfectly normal for their swordsmanship styles to be worlds apart..."

As he considered the forms and techniques of those sword arts, Li Ke also began training his qi.

Arad's swordsmen could unleash all kinds of sword qi, ranged attacks, and unbelievable sword techniques by relying on the qi within their bodies. Training qi was simple as well: strengthen the body and meditate continuously, and the qi within would steadily improve. There were swordsmen who relied purely on brute strength, but that demanded too much talent. Li Ke's body could not manage it.

Luminous qi danced across the tachi. Its blade began to hum continuously, giving off a faint white glow.

This was a skill Li Ke had learned before, one that used qi to greatly amplify a sword's lethality, though it rapidly consumed the sword's own lifespan.

Its name was Overdrive.

The principle was to make the blade vibrate constantly, creating an effect similar to a high-frequency blade and making it sharper. But correspondingly, it damaged the sword severely. Anyone who used this technique without a sufficiently deep purse could just wait to go bankrupt.

Li Ke only tested it briefly. Once he confirmed that the move could be used in this world, he stopped using it to torment Yone's sword.

If he really broke Yone's sword, he would have a hard time facing Yone.

A sword was a swordsman's second wife. Yone's act was practically like entrusting him with his wife and child. Using it was one thing, but breaking it...

Ahem.

Li Ke coughed lightly and stopped thinking about such nonsense. But while he did not want to think about nonsense, nonsense seemed determined to crash into him.

"Can someone help me?"

A coquettish female voice sounded ahead of Li Ke. Looking closely, he saw a standard Ionia beauty lying on the grass. Dressed in a gorgeous white gauze gown, she clutched her fair legs and called for help.

Beside her were two snakes with oval-shaped heads.

Li Ke looked at her, and she looked back at him. Her eyes instantly filled with pleading.

"Hero! Save me!"

Li Ke nodded, then lashed the horse in front of him.

You eat so eagerly, so why are you so slow when it comes to running?!

The horse snorted unhappily, then burst into a sprint. In the blink of an eye, it shot past the Ionia beauty.

It was not that Li Ke disliked Ionia beauties. If Yasuo had been here, he would have slaughtered the horse before stopping to help her. The problem was that Ionia people's beauty standards and appearances mostly resembled the stereotypical Southeast Asian looks associated with Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and America—not the beauty standards of the Celestial Dynasty.

So Li Ke really could not stomach this sort of Ionia beauty.

After passing the beauty, Li Ke let out a breath and continued onward. But less than half an hour later, another girl appeared ahead of him, a farmer's daughter in rough hemp clothes who stood staring mournfully at goods scattered all over the ground.

When she saw Li Ke approaching, the farm girl immediately cheered and tried to stop him. But Li Ke merely smiled faintly and whipped the horse hard again, sending the carriage straight into the beautiful girl and knocking her to the ground.

As he passed over the scattered goods, Li Ke felt his carriage roll over something. After giving it some thought, he decided it was probably the farm girl's head.

It was not because he was cruel and heartless.

It was because who were you trying to fool with a face like Liu X-fei and breasts like Liu Yan?!

Could you at least put in some effort?!

But after another half hour of travel, Li Ke saw yet another damsel in distress. This time, the girl was being protected by a group of warriors, those few warriors under siege from a far larger band of bandits.

The moment they saw Li Ke, their eyes lit up. As Li Ke rode past, the lead warrior even grabbed the girl and threw her toward Li Ke's carriage.

"Hero! Catch my young lady!"

Li Ke smiled, then kicked the young lady with Fan X-bing's face squarely in the face, sending her flying into the bandits.

You had to be kidding!

Li Ke did not accept disgraced celebrities!