Exploration 2

For the next three days, Lin Sheng didn't enter the dream again. He didn't even dream.

He slept very well every night.

Every day, he studied and reviewed his lessons, then went out to find somewhere to practice swordsmanship.

Now he practiced swordsmanship to absorb the Elite Rotten Swordsman's memories.

That man had been the captain of Black Feather City's Patrol Squad, a typical product of the aristocratic academy system. He practiced a complete set of basic swordsmanship every day, which was why Lin Sheng had gained a comprehensive swordsmanship system.

The man had clearly mastered more than one sword technique, but the fragmented memories Lin Sheng inherited contained only one.

Of course, he was already quite satisfied.

After all, this was the first real sword technique he had mastered. Before, he had always fought his enemies using basic moves.

Apart from the sword technique, what he looked forward to most was the information in the man's memories about the Valen Temple.

The fragmented memories confirmed that the Valen Temple possessed a special secret art that could rapidly improve one's physical strength. However, it was kept secret and taught only to the Temple's formal warriors.

Most importantly, according to the memory fragments he had just obtained, the Temple did indeed possess a special cultivation method—a way to break through one's limits more quickly.

In other words, a genuine Limit Breaking Method.

The formidable Rotten Swordsman he had encountered before had only been a Level Two warrior, according to his memories.

In these fragmented memories, warriors who reached Level Three automatically received certain privileges in Black Feather City.

If a Level Three warrior was willing to serve a family, the treatment he received could even rival that of many upper-class citizens.

This only made Lin Sheng look forward even more to the day he could break through his limits and reach Level Three.

Before long, his peaceful days came to an end.

On March 31, he was finally able to enter the dream again.

A fine drizzle fell from the sky like threads, soaking Lin Sheng's pajamas.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt the chill of dampness on his face, the back of his hands, and his neck.

"Can it rain in this godforsaken place?" Lin Sheng quickly scanned his surroundings.

He was standing where he had killed the Elite Rotten Swordsman before. The Triangular Black Eagle Flagpole stood to his left.

"First, strip the body!"

Without another word, Lin Sheng hurried over and began stripping the clothes from the Rotten Swordsman's corpse.

"Oh? Was this one a woman?" Lin Sheng froze slightly as he touched the body.

"No, the chest muscles are just a little bigger." He quickly realized his mistake.

The Rotten Swordsman's top looked like a large piece of black tablecloth with a hole cut in the middle for the head.

The design was incredibly simple.

Its lower half was a black, long skirt with a slit on the side, and underneath it wore gray trousers.

A string of decorative silver beads and a money pouch were tied to the belt at its waist.

Lin Sheng reached out and pulled off the pouch.

The grayish-white pouch was built like an old-fashioned shoulder bag, barely the size of his palm.

He undid its flap, turned it upside down, and shook it.

Clack.

A small black object fell to the ground.

Lin Sheng quickly picked it up. It was a key with a round handle and jagged teeth. A small vertical-pupil symbol was engraved on it.

"This symbol..." Lin Sheng held it up before his eyes and examined it closely. "It looks a lot like the vertical pupil I saw at Ravel's place."

He looked it over carefully, then quickly raised the Black Sword in his hand and examined the symbol on its blade.

The two symbols, one large and one small, looked almost identical.

"Same style. They're probably the same symbol."

Lin Sheng began to suspect there was more to this than met the eye.

"There's no doubt this symbol represents something. Maybe an organization, a faction, or a belief. It could be any of those.

"And since this symbol can be openly carved on doors and blades without anyone worrying that it'll be discovered, it clearly isn't some heretical mark that everyone rejects."

His gaze shifted to the immense Black Feather City not far away.

"Perhaps the answer is in there."

After pocketing the items, Lin Sheng quickly stripped off the Elite Rotten Swordsman's outer clothes and managed to put them on.

The top was a little too big. He was obviously too skinny.

"I need to work on building muscle and improving my physique." Lin Sheng sighed. He looked at the Black Sword in his hand, then at the Black Sword in the corpse's hand.

The one in the corpse's hand had a thicker, wider blade. Its round guard protected the entire hand, and its grip was a comfortable thickness, wrapped with thin, nonslip cloth.

The pommel wasn't a round ball like most swords. It was pointed, and there was still blood on the tip.

"This one's obviously a lot better."

Lin Sheng promptly abandoned the Black Sword he had gotten from Ravel and bent down to pick up the one in the corpse's hand.

"Since they both came from Rotten Swordsmen, I'll call these Black Swords Rotten Longswords."

He hefted the Black Sword. It was heavier than the previous one—much heavier.

"Must be close to ten pounds. Impressive."

The one he had used before weighed only four or five pounds. This one was almost twice as heavy, so he would need some time to get used to it.

Then there was the dagger that had caught him off guard earlier.

To his surprise, the dagger was very heavy, at least three or four pounds. He hesitated, then decided not to take it. Carrying just one sword was tiring enough.

He buried the dagger beneath the flagpole, figuring that he might be able to find it and put it to use if he came back later.

With both hands on the sword, Lin Sheng once again started wandering around the city.

In the darkness, the weeds around Black Feather City swayed in the wind, rustling softly.

He walked by moonlight for quite a while, but didn't encounter a single monster.

Instead, he had hurried along so much that he was panting and his body felt exhausted.

"My stamina's terrible."

Lin Sheng rested with his back against the city wall. Holding the ten-pound sword the entire time had worn him out.

"I need to find a way to quickly improve my endurance, strength, and the like. Daily exercise helps, but it's too slow."

He sighed inwardly.

After he rested for a while, the rain gradually stopped.

His clothes were soaked through, and his whole body was cold, but his heart was aflame.

He now had a rough map of Black Feather City.

He had also planned his routes to the Valen Temple and LS Bell. All that remained was to enter the city!

"My strength has improved, and I've been wandering around for ages without finding anything alive. Looks like I have no choice but to go into the city."

Lin Sheng licked his lips, holding the sword as his gaze wandered.

"But I've only just switched swords. There's no rush. I'll get used to it first, then prepare to go in."

After pausing for a while, he stood up and continued searching for prey with his sword in hand.

But this time, unlike before, he headed back. He stopped exploring new areas.

Following the city wall meant he didn't have to work out which direction to go. The return trip was much quicker than the search.

Before long, Lin Sheng was back in front of the city gate's archway.

The archway was deep and dark, and gusts of icy wind blew from within.

Lin Sheng looked up at the top of the city gate.

After the rain, the mist had cleared. A row of crenellations lined the top of the gate.

Behind them, the pointed roofs of black towers were just visible in the distance.

Moonlight spilled down, casting a faint silver sheen over the entire wall.

Lin Sheng looked away, tightened his grip on the Rotten Longsword, and strode toward the archway.