My Honkai: Star Rail System Arrived Early

[You fought Luofu Sword Champion Yanqing, reward: Yanqing's Swordsmanship Skill +1]

The swordsmanship of Yanqing, who would one day become the foremost sword master of the Luofu, was a technique far beyond his current self—countless times stronger.

Ji Yuan finally felt his strength making noticeable progress.

After nine consecutive days of training, Ji Yuan sensed that his power had grown considerably.

Yet even so, when he struck at himself, he was still attacking "a walking corpse." This meant that even after fleeing to the Xianzhou and learning Yanqing's swordsmanship, he remained trapped in a state of death.

"Why is survival so difficult?"

Ji Yuan murmured to himself.

Picking up his sword, he walked outside.

Today, he still had a sparring match with Yanqing—he couldn't afford to waste the chance to increase his skill.

Just as he reached the entrance of the Tenpavilion Bureau, Yanqing was already standing there, holding his sword in both hands, waiting for Ji Yuan to appear.

The moment he saw Ji Yuan come out, Yanqing eagerly approached him.

"Let's go, we have a sparring match!"

"Alright."

The two quickly made their way to an open space not far from the Tenpavilion Bureau.

Yanqing's agile flying sword deftly knocked aside the longsword in Ji Yuan's grip, while another flying sword rested against his neck.

"I lost again. Your swordsmanship is truly incredible!"

Ji Yuan said to Yanqing.

Whether it was the swordsmanship Yanqing displayed now or the technique of the future Luofu Sword Champion that Ji Yuan had mastered, both were far beyond ordinary strength.

Yanqing's face showed a hint of embarrassment as he said to Ji Yuan, "You're already very impressive. Today, you managed to hold out until the eleventh move. If you had started learning swordsmanship earlier, you'd probably have left me in the dust by now."

Ji Yuan felt a bit awkward at this.

"I'm only doing this to survive."

"Hm? Who wants to harm you?" Hearing Ji Yuan say this, Yanqing's gaze instantly sharpened.

Ji Yuan quickly explained, "No, it's nothing. I just have a sense of crisis and wanted to learn swordsmanship to prepare in advance."

"I see."

Hearing Ji Yuan's explanation, Yanqing's expression relaxed somewhat.

At the same time, his gaze drifted back a few times.

As the two spoke, Yanqing's eyes fell on the sword Ji Yuan had set aside.

He had noticed it the moment Ji Yuan appeared.

That was a newly crafted sword from the Artificer's Workshop—he really wanted one.

But he hadn't been paid yet, and he couldn't exactly go borrow money from the General.

Yanqing forced himself to look away, suppressing his reluctance.

Just then, Ji Yuan picked up the two swords and handed them to Yanqing.

"Yanqing, this is a gift for you. I've been troubling you these past few days."

Seeing that Ji Yuan was offering him such valuable swords, Yanqing's face flushed with embarrassment. He quickly waved his hands in refusal. "No, I can't accept this. I sparred with you willingly—I absolutely can't take any reward."

"If that's the case, then I'd be too embarrassed to ask you to spar with me again." Ji Yuan said seriously to Yanqing. "Other people have to pay tuition to learn swordsmanship. I've been freeloading off your skills these past few days. If I don't show my gratitude, I won't have the face to come find you for a match again."

Hearing Ji Yuan's earnest words, and with his own longing for the two swords, Yanqing hesitated for a long time before reluctantly agreeing.

"Well... alright, I'll take them for now. Next time I have money, I'll buy you several new Artificer's Workshop swords in return."

Seeing Yanqing accept, Ji Yuan was satisfied.

He then slung an arm around Yanqing's shoulder.

"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner while I'm at it."

Being held like this, Yanqing clearly felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Is this... appropriate?"

"Anyway, even if I don't treat you, aren't you going to go mooch a meal off General Jing Yuan? If the General can treat you, why can't I?"

"No, it's not that. The General is my master, so it's fine for me to freeload a few meals..."

"You taught me swordsmanship too, so you're practically my master as well. Let's go."

Yanqing was dragged along by Ji Yuan to a lavish meal, which only made him feel even more indebted.

"I'll have to spar with Ji Yuan even more seriously from now on, so his strength can grow faster."

Yanqing silently resolved in his heart.

Meanwhile, on Ji Yuan's end, an achievement notification appeared in his ear.

[Dined with Luofu Sword Champion Yanqing. Reward: Sword Appraisal Experience +1]

After finishing the meal, Ji Yuan returned to the employee dormitory on the Luofu Starfaring Vessel.

At the Tenpavilion Bureau, employees with families were assigned separate houses, but unmarried singles without housing lived directly in the collective dormitory.

Setting up this kind of dormitory was partly to save on employee costs, and partly because...

"What? Overtime again tonight?"

Ji Yuan looked at the Tenpavilion Bureau colleague waiting for him.

The Tenpavilion Bureau employee nodded helplessly:

"Yeah, there wasn't supposed to be any, but the [Resonant Flame] trading company suddenly got a batch of urgent deliveries that need to be inventoried tonight—that's the Trade Official's job. You know, you're the only Trade Official living alone in the dorm, so Lady Yukong instructed you to take the overtime."

"I understand."

Ji Yuan nodded helplessly.

Still, it wasn't too bad—the Tenpavilion Bureau had good benefits, and the overtime pay was generous.

He changed into a neat set of clothes and headed to Flowing Cloud Ferry.

By the time Ji Yuan arrived at Flowing Cloud Ferry, it was already very late.

At the port, a large pile of cargo had accumulated, and beside it stood many porters and merchants.

At the front of this crowd, a Fox Folk girl with a seductive gaze and stunningly beautiful features was fanning herself with a folding fan while looking around.

Ji Yuan looked at the girl—she felt both unfamiliar and familiar.

Unfamiliar, because he didn't know her at all.

Familiar, because he had seen her CG.

There was an image of her; she was definitely an important character.

Her name was Tingyun, right?

Let's go, hit on her!

For my life!

Ji Yuan straightened his appearance and walked toward Tingyun.

Chapter 3: Tingyun: Did I Say Something Wrong?

Her snow-white jade feet in sandals made a tap-tap sound on the port ground. The mood of Tingyun, representative of the [Resonant Flame] trading company, was far from pleasant.

Working overtime late at night was a painful thing for most people.

"I wonder why these merchants from the Orion Trading Company are in such a hurry, demanding that the goods be delivered within seven Luofu days. If this weren't our first transaction, I wouldn't have agreed to their terms at all," she thought to herself.

Just then, she saw a young man approaching.

He wore the Tenpavilion Bureau uniform and looked like a minor—barely graduated, not yet free of youthful immaturity. But his appearance left a very favorable first impression.

Some people, even with handsome features, gave off an unapproachable vibe, but this young man felt very approachable.

She'd heard from Lady Yukong that a new Trade Official had recently been hired at the Tenpavilion Bureau, a young man from the Yaoging Star-skiff. This must be him. To pass the written exam and interview among thousands of applicants for this Trade Official position—especially coming from Yaoging, a Star-skiff known for producing battle-crazed lunatics—was truly remarkable.

Thinking this, Tingyun stepped forward to greet Ji Yuan.

Watching Tingyun's movements, Ji Yuan couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

She doesn't dislike me—this means we can communicate well. Then, naturally, I can try to leech off her abilities.

Another sliver of hope for survival.

His mind kept replaying the wallpaper images he'd seen online in his past life.

Tingyun had far more than Yanqing—at the very least, she was much more popular.

"I remember there was an illustration of Miss Tingyun with her neck twisted behind her head—it looked really creepy. I wonder how she managed that," he thought.

At this moment, he deeply regretted not having played the game before coming here. His understanding of the characters came almost entirely from illustration websites, which was far from enough.

So now, he only had one plan.

Whenever he saw a familiar character, he'd just go and latch on.

Whether there was fruit or not, he'd shake the tree first.

Reaching Tingyun, Ji Yuan spoke first: "Hello, are you Miss Tingyun, the representative of the [Resonant Flame] trading company? I'm Ji Yuan, the Trade Official from the Tenpavilion Bureau. I'll be leading the inspection of your batch of goods today. Once the inspection is done, Miss Tingyun can have them transported into the Star-skiff."

Gently tapping her folding fan, Tingyun blinked, a natural hint of seduction flowing from the corners of her eyes.

"That would be little old me. Brother Ji Yuan, please be accommodating during the inspection. Since we're both Tenpavilion Bureau employees, finishing early would let us both rest. Over the next day or two, many more goods will arrive at the Star-skiff, and I have plenty to do. The company boss always squeezes little people like me..."

Tingyun's voice was soft and sweet, sounding so pleasant to the ear.

The Resonant Flame Trading Company was the official trading company of the Luofu Starfaring Vessel. Between Ji Yuan and Tingyun, it was like a representative of a state-owned enterprise and a customs employee—both serving the Starfaring Vessel, essentially colleagues. The Resonant Flame Trading Company's entry into Flowing Cloud Ferry was naturally much more convenient than that of merchants and goods from other planets.

Ji Yuan nodded. "Of course. Once the guards finish their inspection, I'll naturally issue the clearance documents."

"Then let's begin the inspection. You all cooperate with the Cloud Knights, and we'll finish early so we can rest early," Tingyun instructed the trading company's laborers. After saying that, she added to Ji Yuan, "So, Brother Ji Yuan, would you like to go check on those guards?"

If I go check on them, how am I supposed to leech off your ability!

Ji Yuan thought to himself.

He said with a straight face, "I trust the Cloud Knights will handle it well. I'll take this opportunity to ask Miss Tingyun about the source information for this batch of goods. You know, all of this needs to be registered."

"Alright. These goods come from the Orion Trading Company, a large interstellar trade consortium formed by several merchant associations from Orion star systems..."

Ji Yuan watched as Tingyun was about to finish in just a few sentences. He thought, This won't do—if you finish like this, how can I freeload off you? Right after she finished one sentence, he immediately asked, "Miss Tingyun, could you tell me more interesting stories about the Orion star systems? You see, I came here from Yaoching and I'm not very familiar with the outside world."

Seeing Ji Yuan's words, Tingyun found it a little amusing.

Does he want to learn more about Orion, or does he just want to chat with me more?

But she was quite happy.

At this age, a young man is most inclined to admire the opposite sex, especially slightly older women. Although Tingyun was actually younger than Ji Yuan in real age, their races were different. She was already an adult, while Ji Yuan was in the transitional stage from minor to adult, so it was fitting for her to act as his older sister.

[He likes me!]

For a girl, this was also an extremely encouraging compliment. Especially with a clean young man like Ji Yuan—chatting with him a bit more was a rather pleasant way to relax.

"Alright then, don't say this little lady is being long-winded."

Ji Yuan immediately replied, "Listening to Miss Tingyun's words, I could never find them long-winded."