My Honkai: Star Rail System Arrived Early

Yanqing was stunned.

He muttered to himself, "Swallowing the sword—what school of swordsmanship is that?" His mind began sifting through every sword style he had ever seen, searching for any technique that involved swallowing a longsword.

"This is Acrobatic Sword Art."

Just then, Ginevere had already arrived before Ji Yuan and Yanqing. Hearing Yanqing's words, she immediately answered with a smile.

"Acrobatic Sword Art..."

Yanqing murmured, his expression growing even more bewildered.

Ji Yuan reached into his pocket and pulled out a few Stellar Jade to hand to Ginevere. Beside him, Tingyun and Qingni also took out Stellar Jade from their pockets and offered it to her.

"Thank you for your generosity, esteemed guests. May your lives go smoothly and your hearts find happiness."

At the last sentence, she spoke directly to Ji Yuan and Tingyun, who were standing together.

Hearing Ginevere's words, Tingyun couldn't help but break into a delighted smile.

What a silver tongue. Tingyun took out a few more Stellar Jade and gave them to her.

Ginevere smiled and walked away.

Tingyun grabbed Ji Yuan's arm and pulled him forward. "Come on, let's keep going to the shops."

Ji Yuan instantly sensed danger and yanked the still-dazed Yanqing along.

"Alright, Yanqing, the performance is over. Let's go buy our goods."

"Oh, oh."

Snapped out of his thoughts, Yanqing quickly nodded and followed Ji Yuan toward the shops. Though pondering swordsmanship was important, his big brother was clearly more so.

Tingyun: "..."

Whose rotten kid is this?!

Where's the General? General, why aren't you coming to rein him in?!

Watching Yanqing cling tightly to Ji Yuan, and Ji Yuan himself—more inscrutable than any Fox Folk—Tingyun felt a tremendous challenge ahead.

"But that's fine. In this situation, I can truly understand my own feelings."

Tingyun thought to herself.

As they left Ginevere's performance area, a system prompt rang in Ji Yuan's ear.

[The most legendary contortionist on the Luofu Starfaring Vessel stands at the edge of life, yet she still chose to perform for you. You have gained +1 Contortion Skill from Legendary Contortionist Guinaifen and +1 to your own body's Flexibility.]

Several images flashed through Ji Yuan's mind.

The Split, the Iron Bridge, the Bone Shrinking Technique...

Every kind of movement that tested the limits of human stretching and compression appeared in his thoughts. Many of the maneuvers were so difficult that Ji Yuan was left wide-eyed in astonishment.

There was no pose Ji Yuan could imagine that she couldn't pull off.

No wonder she would become the most famous contortionist a hundred years from now.

Still, he was a bit curious—wasn't that girl's name Ginevere just now? How did it become Guinaifen?

At the same time, Ji Yuan clearly felt his body's flexibility increase. Many high-difficulty moves he couldn't perform before were now within his reach.

When executing Yanqing's swordsmanship, Ji Yuan had clearly noticed that his style relied on speed and ferocity—too rigid, lacking in soft, fluid variation. Now that he had learned contortion, his body could become more supple, which would be highly beneficial for his future swordsmanship.

Of course, his current sword skill was still far from sufficient. He could only say that he had laid a more balanced foundation than Yanqing's.

With these thoughts, the four of them arrived at a shop selling daily necessities.

With Tingyun around, picking out women's items was far more thorough and appropriate. She sifted through the goods and quickly selected suitable products.

Looking at the chosen items, Tingyun said to Ji Yuan, who was watching from the side, "These perfumes, cosmetics, sleepwear—they're all suited for young girls between one hundred fifty and two hundred years old. I'm sure your sister will like them."

Having said that, Tingyun frowned, then added, "But we'll have to see when we meet her. Ji Yuan, when your sister arrives, I'll go with you to Flowing Cloud Ferry to pick her up. Whatever she still lacks, I can help her with. As a man, there are some things that aren't convenient for you to handle."

Actually, that girl didn't need to be fussed over so much.

But looking at Tingyun's expression of genuine concern, Ji Yuan couldn't bring himself to say it.

Ji Yuan felt like prey caught in a fox's jaws.

"Alright, I'll let you know when she arrives in the next couple of days."

It seemed that on the day he went to pick up Changchang, he would need to plan the route carefully.

Absolute safety.

Ji Yuan thought to himself.

Sui Garden, The quiet, secluded atmosphere made the place somewhat unsettling.

Hanya and Huohuo, whose legs were trembling uncontrollably, stood there listening to the report from the Netherworld Constable.

"The investigation is complete."

Huohuo trembled as she asked, "L-Lady Hanya, is t-teacher really not in trouble?"

"I think that guy's definitely in big trouble. See? He's gotta be some unknown criminal."

Tail grumbled on the side.

But the moment it finished its complaint, it met Hanya's icy glare and immediately shut its mouth.

The Netherworld Constable continued, "Lady Hanya, Ji Yuan is a native of the Yaoqing Star-skiff. His birth parents, during the war against the Wingweavers, used self-destructing Starcraft and other weapons to successfully alter the weather, wiping out tens of thousands of Wingweavers and turning the tide of that battle. Ji Yuan, still a child at the time, was adopted by Suyi, a senior officer of the Yaoqing Cloud Knights, and raised as her foster son. In the past two months, for unknown reasons, he left the Yaoqing Star-skiff and came to the Luofu, where he passed the Tenpavilion entrance exam as a minor, becoming the youngest Trade Official in history."

Hanya nodded slightly.

The investigation had been thorough enough.

An orphan of martyrs, a high-ranking officer's foster son, a prodigy—these identities combined made Ji Yuan seem highly reliable.

There was almost no possibility of him believing in Abundance.

Huohuo, listening on the side, couldn't help but show sympathy.

She never imagined her teacher's parents had both passed away.

Her own parents had abandoned her irresponsibly, but at least they were still alive.

Huohuo could resent them to make herself feel a little better, but her teacher had no parents at all.

Chapter 24: Tingyun: Damn Brat!

"Since it's confirmed that Ji Yuan has no issues with his identity, then go find him and learn that technique for controlling the Suiyang."

Hanya said to Huohuo.

"Tch~"

Tail was dissatisfied with this outcome.

Huohuo, however, was delighted. She nodded firmly at Hanya and said, "Yes, Lady Hanya! I will definitely learn the technique from Teacher Ji Yuan."

"Mm. Take these two days to finish up the work you need to handle in the Ten-Lords Commission. I'll assign the remaining tasks to other judges for now. Focus on learning the technique from Ji Yuan."

Hanya nodded slightly.

She hoped that after learning this skill, Huohuo's shy personality might improve a bit.

Though her own temperament was cold, Huohuo was still a junior who had been with her for a long time. Seeing her improve was something Hanya would gladly welcome.

After a full day of shopping with Tingyun, Yanqing, and Qingni, Ji Yuan returned home utterly exhausted. Tingyun's shopping stamina had completely overwhelmed both Ji Yuan and Yanqing.

Even Yanqing, who had initially been eager to challenge Ji Yuan to a sword duel, had lost all desire to spar by the end. And Tingyun, walking all day in high heels, remained lively and energetic, showing no signs of fatigue.

Ji Yuan was even more worn out. When he reached the dormitory entrance, he almost forgot his usual habit of checking the surveillance feed.

Fortunately, his fear of death kicked in at the last moment.

After confirming there were no issues, he finally went back to his dorm and lay down.

As he lay there, his system chimed three times.

[You spent a day shopping with a corpse. Corpse Sewing Art experience +1]

[You spent a day shopping with the Luofu Sword Champion. Sword Identification experience +1]

[You spent a day shopping with Qingni, an outstanding Tenpavilion pilot. Starcraft Piloting experience +1]

The first two didn't surprise Ji Yuan, but he was still worried about Tingyun's condition. Even with the defense system she'd purchased, she was still a corpse—proof that her danger hadn't passed.

"Looks like her danger is no small matter. I just don't know when it'll erupt, or if I can save her."

Ji Yuan thought to himself.

As for the last point about Qingni, he was a bit surprised. Wasn't Qingni a clerk? How was she connected to being a pilot?

But after thinking it over, Ji Yuan figured it made sense. Qingni's mother was Yukong, the Helmsman of the Tenpavilion—a former outstanding pilot herself. With family genetics, it was understandable that Qingni might become a pilot in the future.

Ji Yuan stopped dwelling on it and began absorbing the piloting experience.

It was just a single point of experience, enough for him to grasp the basics.

After absorbing the knowledge, his phone buzzed. Ji Yuan picked it up and checked the message.

[Changchang: Hey, bro! You went and snuck off to the Luofu Starfaring Vessel and passed the Trade Official exam without a word. Mom's pretty mad. She originally wanted all of us to join the Cloud Knights, but you went and took a desk job. I got punished hard that day, all because of you. Bro, you owe me big time!]

[Changchang: Bro, I'm coming to find you soon. Are you, uh, sleepless... or what?]

Seeing the message from his sister Sushang, Ji Yuan's face darkened slightly.

[Ji Yuan: That's 'sleepless with worry,' and that phrase doesn't fit here either. Changchang, how exactly have you been studying all these years?]

How the hell did you even pass your classes?!

As a former academic overachiever in his past life and the youngest Trade Official in the Tenpavilion's history, Ji Yuan's cultural level was high. But facing a sister like this, a total slacker, he was truly at a loss.

Back when he tutored her, he nearly broke down and dragged her off to get a DNA test. Halfway there, he remembered they weren't even blood-related.

[Changchang: Learning those characters is way too hard! I've already drawn up a five-hundred-year plan—by then, I'll definitely have mastered them.]

Five hundred years...

Ji Yuan clutched his forehead.

That plan of yours is really fast, huh.

He quickly typed back:

[Ji Yuan: Alright, you can take your time learning on your own later. Changchang, when will you arrive at the Luofu? I'll come pick you up.]

[Changchang: The day after tomorrow. I'll board the ship tomorrow morning, and by noon the day after, I'll reach the Luofu Starfaring Vessel. Big bro, Mom said you already bought a house—how is it?]

Seeing Changchang ask about this, Ji Yuan replied with great pride:

[Ji Yuan: Don't worry, Changchang. The house I bought is very safe.]

[Changchang: Safe?]

At that moment, the girl typing on the other end instinctively sensed something was off.

[Ji Yuan: Yeah, absolutely safe.]

Seeing her brother's answer like this, Sushang patted her own head.

She had no hope left for her residence on the Luofu.

Alright, might as well enjoy this place today while I can—once I get to the Luofu, I probably won't have that luxury.

Sushang immediately typed: