A Chance Encounter

East of the city, at the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy's branch.

"Morning, Chen Yiming."

"Have you had breakfast, Chen Yiming?"

"My aunt brought these specialties from the provincial capital. Try some, Chen Yiming."

Before the morning training session, senior students kept coming over to greet Chen Yiming.

Chen Yiming had first held his own against Wang Bowen, who had suppressed his cultivation, then traded blows with Zhang Youde's Rainbow Swordsmanship. Even the slowest students had caught on.

This newcomer, who had joined barely over a month ago, was about to rise beyond anyone's reach.

As Chen Yiming made a name for himself, they would have plenty of reasons to rely on him. If they did not build a good relationship now, why would he help them when they needed it?

Zhang Youde briefly greeted Chen Yiming, then found an empty patch of ground and went off to train on his own.

He made no further attempt to persuade Chen Yiming, as though nothing had happened yesterday.

Chen Yiming breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried that Zhang Youde might keep inviting him to join the organization, leaving him at a loss for how to refuse.

Now it seemed he had worried too much. Zhang Youde was not that kind of person.

The morning sun was pleasantly warm.

Chen Yiming found an empty space of his own and continued practicing his swordsmanship.

Now that he had received an advance on his pay from the Libei Martial Arts Training Center, black pork was cheap enough for him. He no longer had to worry about running his body into the ground.

He pushed his body to its limits, practicing Mantis Snake Swordsmanship again and again to temper every muscle.

Mantis Snake Swordsmanship tempered the body far more effectively than the Phantom Light Sword and Rainbow Swordsmanship he had picked up by watching Liu Qingqing and Zhang Youde.

As he began learning other sword styles, his level-one swordsmanship talent quickly helped him refine the techniques he knew, keeping what was useful and discarding the rest.

The Phantom Light Sword, for instance, focused on exploiting gaps in an opponent's vision and perception of light. It involved very little physical conditioning.

Chen Yiming guessed that it had been derived from part of Flowing Cloud Swordsmanship, perhaps even as a simplified version of a single move.

Rainbow Swordsmanship, Zhang Youde's family technique, featured varied moves and excelled at pursuit and prolonged fights. It was much better than the Phantom Light Sword at tempering the body.

But it was still a technique passed down by a minor family. In that respect, it fell far short of Mantis Snake Swordsmanship, so that part was of no use to Chen Yiming.

He absorbed a few useful moves from both styles as hidden cards for unusual situations. Mantis Snake Swordsmanship remained his primary technique.

At the midday break.

Chen Yiming went home first. He set aside a small portion of the pay he had received in advance the night before, wrapped the rest in a cloth bag his father had prepared, and took it to the bank.

Keeping too much money at home would only put his family at risk. Possessing something valuable could invite trouble even if they had done nothing wrong. If word got out and someone set their sights on it, Chen Yiming could not always be home.

Maybe I should buy a metal sword.

The thought struck Chen Yiming as he left the bank.

A wooden sword was only suitable for practice. Nothing had gone wrong when he encountered the robbers last time because the gap in their strength had been enormous. He could have handled them barehanded.

Against an opponent at his own level, though, a wooden sword would be a liability. It might snap with one careless move. Once a swordsman lost his sword, his strength would drop by more than a single notch.

No time like the present.

Chen Yiming turned at once and headed for the Aegean Shopping Center beside the bank.

While delivering takeout, he had noticed stores on the sixth floor that specialized in swords, knives, gloves, and other equipment.

Unlike Mutated Beast meat, martial arts equipment served large numbers of people who had not yet entered the Apprentice Realm. Ordinary equipment could therefore be bought off the shelf.

"Libei Martial Arts Equipment."

After walking around the sixth floor of the Aegean Shopping Center, Chen Yiming spotted a familiar brand.

Libei Martial Arts Equipment and the Libei Martial Arts Training Center, where he worked part-time as an instructor, belonged to the same group.

He had a good impression of the Libei Group. They knew he was taking the teaching job for the money and had considerately paid him a month's salary in advance.

He had no particular demands when it came to a metal sword, so he figured he might as well buy one there and went inside.

He had been browsing for only a few minutes.

"Chen Yiming." A clear, lilting voice called out.

Following the voice, Chen Yiming saw someone behind the checkout counter who looked both familiar and unfamiliar.

She wore a pure white down jacket and a multicolored crystal pendant around her neck. Her long black hair hung loose, with a pink bow tied in it.

"Zheng Xiaoli?"

Chen Yiming answered, unsure whether he had gotten her name right.

She existed in the original owner's memories, and it took Chen Yiming a moment to recall who she was.

Zheng Xiaoli had been the original owner's high school classmate and once the object of his crush. It had not been love; he had simply been attracted to her looks.

In the end, though, the original owner had only dared fantasize about pretty girls. He had never made a move in real life.

"Yiming, it's been so long! I almost didn't recognize you. You've changed so much."

Zheng Xiaoli came out from behind the counter and greeted him with a smile.

A dimple appeared when she spoke, lending her a bright, cheerful air.

"You too. I didn't recognize you when I came in. Do you work here?"

Chen Yiming asked.

"Yeah. School's still suspended, and I had nothing to do at home, so I found a job to earn some spending money."

Zheng Xiaoli answered quietly, visibly embarrassed.

It was not a respectable job, and she did not want Chen Yiming to look down on her.

"Oh, right. I heard you joined the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy. By the time I found out, several days had passed. I'm sorry I missed your celebration banquet."

Zheng Xiaoli brought up the matter.

"It's fine. I wasn't trying to make a big deal of it anyway."

Chen Yiming smiled. Formalities like that did not matter to him.

"Back when we were in school, who could've imagined you'd become so impressive? You dropped out, then joined a martial arts academy as a student. It's like something out of a TV drama."

As she spoke, Zheng Xiaoli kept her eyes on Chen Yiming, as if trying to read something in his face.

"I just happened to..."

Before Chen Yiming could finish, someone behind him interrupted.

"And who's this?"

Zhao Yuanfeng asked.

He had been sitting on a bench by the store entrance, waiting for Zheng Xiaoli to get off work. When he saw his girlfriend chatting with an unfamiliar young man, he walked straight in and interrupted them.

"He... he's Chen Yiming. We went to high school together."

Zheng Xiaoli stumbled over the introduction, looking a little displeased.

"Hello. I'm Zheng Xiaoli's boyfriend, Zhao Yuanfeng."

Zhao Yuanfeng looked unhappy too, but held out his hand for Chen Yiming to shake.