Chen Xiaolian stood in the spacious and empty underground palace hall. Observing the passageways laid out before him, he was unable to stop the emotion from flowing out from his heart.
This was the first instance dungeon he experienced. The island, those people…
On that island, he and Soo Soo… mm, there was also that Japanese flight attendant.
That was the first time the veil was pulled aside for him, revealing this mysterious world.
“This really makes me feel nostalgic.” Chen Xiaolian wielded the Sword in the Stone with both hands and slowly walked into a passageway.
…
Towering and dilapidated pillars rose up around the huge underground palace hall. The surrounding was filled with darkness and a humid smell.
Chen Xiaolian had to admit: the base had managed to simulate a near perfect replication of the scenario.
“I wonder… … if the simulated monsters will be real enough…” Chen Xiaolian mumbled to himself. His left hand moved to pull out a tactical flashlight from his waist. He swept his surrounding with the flashlight and stepped into the inner part of the underground palace hall.
After walking a distance of a few metres, Chen Xiaolian suddenly halted. His nose twitched and he suddenly smiled. “Nostalgic indeed.”
Next, Chen Xiaolian slammed his feet against the ground and his body shot upward!
He jumped to a height of seven to eight metres and the Sword in the Stone in his hand slashed out!
A chilling sword light gleamed out and shone upon a pillar right beside him. The light promptly revealed a figure hidden atop the pillar!
It had the head of a Demon Soldier, but a lizard like body. Its sharp claws latched tightly onto the pillar as its long tongue jutted out from its mouth!
Hound Demon!
Back then, this was one of the more higher levelled monsters that Chen Xiaolian had encountered in this instance dungeon.
This monster had given a group of rookies and veterans no small amount of trouble.
The Hound Demon quickly reacted to the slash that Chen Xiaolian had just unleashed. It slid along the pillar, dodging the slash. Then, it shrunk its body before bouncing out!
The strong muscles in its lizard like body exploded with full power and it shot away from the pillar. It even managed to force itself to change its direction while shooting away in the middle of the air!
Chen Xiaolian’s slash managed to cut the pillar. However, the Hound Demon was able to avoid his attack. And now, it sent its claw sweeping out at Chen Xiaolian from the side!
A very agile set of movements!
A sneer appeared on Chen Xiaolian’s face.
Back then, its attacks had been as fast as lightning. But now… far from it!
Swoosh!
The Sword in the Stone slashed out once more, this time it was a horizontal slash. A clump of green coloured viscous liquid instantly spilled down from the air.
When Chen Xiaolian landed on the ground, he bent his knees lightly to cushion himself. By the time he straightened himself… … plop!
The body of the Hound Demon that was cut in two fell before him.
Despite having its body cut in half, this monster possessed the powerful life force inherent to cold-blooded animals. It bared its fangs as it screamed sharply at Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian cast a cold stare at it before raising the Sword in the Stone. Then, he stabbed it into the Hound Demon’s mouth, piercing straight through the Hound Demon’s brain!
The Hound Demon’s screams came to an abrupt halt. But it did not take long for Chen Xiaolian to hear the sounds of rapid movements coming from far away…
He raised his tactical flashlight toward the source and saw a horde of Demon Soldiers charging forward like a tidal wave…
Chen Xiaoian raised his eyebrows and raised the Sword in the Stone. Taking a deep breath, he strode forward to face them head-on…
Ka!
With a slash of his sword, Chen Xiaolian hacked the Demon Soldier who was at the vanguard, cutting the Demon Soldier’s weapon into two at the same time…
…
“The sword is a double-edged weapon, straight and sharp.” Lun Tai held a long sword in his hand as he demonstrated for the few people standing before him.
“Swordsmanship has countless variations. However, no matter how it varies, there will only be a few basic movements: Half slash, full slash, straight thrust, circular swing, upward slash, horizontal slash…”
As he spoke, Lun Tai displayed the moves using the sword in his hand.
As it was a demonstration, his movements were not fast. However, each one of them was well executed and filled with intensity and strength!
Watching Lun Tai’s demonstration, both Qimu Xi and Qiao Qiao narrowed their eyes as they carefully remembered those moves. Bei Tai and Xiaolei who were fiddling with the gun placed down the gun and turned around to look at the sword techniques that Lun Tai was displaying.
“There are long swords and heavy swords, dual-handed swords… the basics here are more on hacking, blocking, knocking…”
Lun Tai switched to a knight’s Western-style long sword, which he wielded with both hands. “This dual-handed sword does not rely solely on the power of your arms when hacking. When you slash out and swing with it, you can borrow the strength of your waist. Simply put, when you are brandishing the sword, use the inertia behind the move and the strength of your body…”
…
Bang!
The Sword in the Stone in Chen Xiaolian’s hand whirled around like a windmill and a Hound Demon that was hiding amid the horde of Demon Soldiers was hacked and thrown away by the momentum. Its body slammed heavily on the surface of a distant pillar, leaving nothing but meat paste.
…
“The thrust must be done with precision and ruthlessness! Additionally, you must take note of the amount of strength used to ensure that you do not lose your balance…”
Lun Tai performed a furious thrust with the sword in his hand and quickly retracted the sword. “In the middle of a battle, you must retract immediately after a thrust. If not, your opponent might grab hold of your sword and you would probably end up losing your weapon!”
…
Chen Xiaolian pierced through a Demon Soldier with the Sword in the Stone and instantly landed a kick on the Demon Soldier’s chest. With lightning like speed, he pulled his sword out and swung it in a horizontal slash…
…
Ka!
When the last Demon Soldier standing before Chen Xiaolian fell to the ground, he pulled the Sword in the Stone back. Letting the tip of the sword rest on the ground, he took a deep breath.
Demon Soldier corpses littered the ground around him.
The corpses covered an area of over 10 metres, not a single gap was present between those corpses.
Chen Xiaolian himself was unable to determine how long he had been fighting. He could only feel his body burning as his rate of breathing rapidly rose.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention to a distant spot. Sweeping his tactical flashlight over, he saw another horde of Demon Soldiers charging forward…
Chen Xiaolian snickered, raised the Sword in the Stone and strode toward the incoming tide of Demon Soldiers…
…
“All right, let’s have a break.”
Lun Tai put away the long sword. Then, he turned to see Bei Tai and Xiaolei who were looking at him. “You two come.”
Bei Tai nudged Xiaolei over.
Xiaolei was stunned only to hear Lun Tai say, “Xiaolei, come and demonstrate for the girls. The two of us will be exchanging moves. You attack while I defend for three moves. Then, I will attack while you defend. Let’s see how many moves you can take from me.”
Xiaolei gave out a sigh before walking over. Looking at the weapons on the ground, he picked up a long sword and stood before Lun Tai with a helpless expression. “Boss Lun Tai, please show mercy.”
“Enough nonsense, come on!”
…
Chen Xiaolian’s figure vaulted through the air and the Sword in the Stone came slashing down as he was still in the middle of the air!
A booming sound erupted alongside the downward slash and a Demon Soldier was hacked to pieces! The force behind the move created a shockwave with a radius of around three to five metres, sending the surrounding Demon Soldiers flying!
…
Xiaolei used both hands to wield the sword, which he used to execute downward slashes three consecutive times. His moves were very forceful but Lun Tai who was only using one hand to wield his sword, casually deflected them all.
When the three moves were over, Lun Tai shouted. “My turn to attack!”
Lun Tai promptly used both hands to grip his sword and swiftly executed a downward slash at Xiaolei!
Clang!
The clanging sound rang out and Xiaolei’s figure retreated as the sword in his hand fell down the ground. The fingers on both his hands were lightly trembling…
Lun Tai put away his sword and glanced at Xiaolei. “Do you know what your mistake was?”
Xiaolei could only remain silent with a bitter expression on his face.
Lun Tai sighed and looked at those around them. “I am a strength type warrior. When Xiaolei was fighting me just now, he used a double-handed sword to go against me. Double-handed swords focus on strength and is somewhat lacking in dexterity.
“Xiaolei’s strength is not my match to begin with. If he were smarter, he would have chosen a single-handed sword. That way, he would be able to use agility to help him in fighting me. However, by using the double-handed sword, he had foregone his only possibility of winning. This is what we call abandoning the long and requesting the short [1]. He used something that he is lacking in to go against something that I am strong at. This strategy is a mistake.
“Using strength to attack me, he was unable to put any pressure on me. When I retaliated against him, his disadvantage in strength became more evident.
“Xiaolei! Considering the results of your previous trainings, you should not be this weak. If you had used a single-handed sword, even if you could not defeat me, you would still be able to exchange a few moves with me. Do you understand?”
Xia Xiaolei sighed and replied, “I understand, boss.”
“Good! Go change to a single-handed sword.” Lun Tai then turned his attention from Xiaolei to Qimu Xi. “You, come forward!”
Qimu Xi was stunned. She was quick to jump up. “M… Mr Lun Tai, I…”
“Pick a sword. Now, you will be exchanging moves with Xiaolei.”
Qimu Xi timidly picked up a Chinese-style sword and stepped forward to exchange moves with Xiaolei. The same thing happened. She attacked three times only to have all her attacks blocked off by Xiaolei. Then, when Xiaolei attacked, his first attack caused Qimu Xi’s sword to fly out of her hand.
“Ah!” The girl screamed out and took several steps back.
Lun Tai sighed. “This time, Xiaolei had acted in a more intelligent manner. Qimu Xi is clearly lacking in strength. Thus, he had deliberately focused on a clash of strength, giving him the advantage.
“Mm, Qimu Xi, come here.”
Qimu Xi was momentarily stunned. Then, she recollected herself and walked over.
Lun Tai looked at her. “Tell me, why did you choose that sword?”
“Err… I… …”
“You are a girl. Be it your endurance or strength, they are all weaker than Xiaolei. Although you chose a Chinese-style sword, it is still a long sword. Considering your circumstance as a female, when facing against an enemy, the only advantage you can have is your agility and dexterity. Thus, this sword is unsuitable…”
After saying that, Lun Tai went to the pile of weapons and picked up a shorter sword, a lighter and thinner sword. He gave it to Qimu Xi.
“When we are choosing our weapons, we must first favour our advantages and avoid our weaknesses. You must know which weapon best complements you.”
After that, Lun Tai turned to face the others. “Now, I will be assigning you all. Qimu Xi, from now on, you will be exchanging moves with Soo Soo. Xiaolei… … your opponent will be Qiao Qiao. Split into two, choose your weapons and use this time to exchange moves. I hope you can get two things done. First, learn to pick the weapon most suited to you. Second, familiarize yourself with the basics as soon as possible!”
…
First day.
“Ah!”
Qiao Qiao swiftly dodged Xiaolei’s incoming thrust and retaliated with a backhanded circular swing. Her sword nearly struck Xiaolei’s waist, causing Xiaolei to become shocked.
On the other side, Qimu Xi and Soo Soo were holding onto swords each. After a few clashes, Qimu Xi abruptly screamed out before vigorously retreating.
…
The next day.
With a circular swing, Qiao Qiao disarmed Xiaolei, sending his sword flying. She then rushed up and the tip of her sword found itself resting upon Xiaolei’s chest.
However, in the next three rounds, Xiaolei seemingly became more savage. He successfully knocked Qiao Qiao’s sword away twice. In the third round, she knocked his sword away. But he rushed forward to seize Qiao Qiao’s wrist.
Qiao Qiao had not been expecting such a vicious move from Xiaolei and was stunned. In that moment, she had her sword seized by Xiaolei.
…
The third day.
While training, Soo Soo lost control for a moment and flames burst out from the surface of her sword’s blade… … this girl had casually used her skill. Seeing the flashing flames, Qimu Xi instantly screamed out sharply. She tossed away the sword in her hand and ran for it.
…
The fourth day.
Qimu Xi finally managed to knock Soo Soo’s sword away. However, she immediately became stunned. In the end, Lun Tai gave her a harsh lecture.
…
Chen Xiaolian panted.
His sword was thrust into the ground and used to prop himself up.
He was bleeding!
Blood flowed out from the wounds on his arm, trickled down his wrist, and onto the hilt of his sword and his palm felt oily.
The area around him filled with the corpses of Demon Soldiers and Hound Demons!
The clothes that he was wearing had long since become ragged. Stains of green and red, both his blood and the viscous liquid from the Hound Demons, dyed his clothes.
He had lost track of how long he had been fighting within this underground palace.
The system here continued simulating out horde after horde of Demon Soldiers with the occasional Hound Demons trying to slip in sneak attacks.
Chen Xiaolian faced the unending attacks and fought a bitter battle that pushed out every last scrap of capabilities he possessed!
The unending battles here made Chen Xiaolian forget everything. In the end, every move by the Sword in the Stone, every attacking and defensive move by it became instinctive!
He was gradually becoming more exhausted and his body screamed, seemingly indicating that it was about to give out under the strain. At the same time, he could feel the moves unleashed using the Sword in the Stone becoming easier to perform!
Every move he executed felt as though it had come out with just a thought.
Who knows how many times he had struck out. Was it thousands or tens of thousands… there was a feeling that inside his heart, a layer of membrane was becoming thinner and thinner… it felt as though a single needle poke was all it would take to pop it…
Finally, seeing the endless tide of incoming Demon Soldiers…
A spark of fortuitous clarity suddenly shone within Chen Xiaolian’s mind, as though a certain area within his mind had suddenly been lit up…
He slowly straightened his body. Without any warning, he raised the Sword in the Stone and gently thrust forward…
As the sword was pointing at empty air, he casually poked out over 10 times…
Spheres of golden light suddenly shone out from the air…
Weng!
A sphere of golden light abruptly exploded out within the dark underground palace before spreading out all around…
The Demon Soldiers that were rushing forward found themselves thrown off, seemingly sucked into the resulting shockwave, which pulverized them…
Chen Xiaolian fell into a kneeling position with a “plop”. He panted as he examined the Sword in the Stone in his hand.
The expression on his face was one of utter pain. Every muscle in his body was screaming in pain!
However, his eyes only grew brighter! More and more!
“I finally… finally managed to execute it! This… … power! This is power!!!”
He could clearly sense that something within his body was slowly, little by little…
Transforming!
…
“Again! Again! Again!”
The sword in Lun Tai’s hand was flying in every direction. Standing before him were Qiao Qiao and Xiaolei who stood side by side as they worked together to block Lun Tai’s attacks.
None of them used any skills. They were using pure physical strength and sword techniques to fight.
However, Lun Tai was able to maintain an absolute advantage. Under the attacks from his long sword, Xiaolei and Qiao Qiao had no other options but to retreat.
In the end, Lun Tai managed to send Xiaolei’s sword flying with a “clang”. At the same time however, Lun Tai received a shock!
The tip of a sword was resting on Lun Tai’s armpit area!
Lun Tai looked to his side to see the sweat-soaked but determined expression on Qiao Qiao’s face. He looked at her sword and promptly revealed a trace of satisfaction. “Not bad, Qiao Qiao!”
Qiao Qiao sighed and retracted her sword. With a wry smile, she said, “I had discussed it through with Xiaolei. He is in charge of distracting you while I am in charge of sneak attacks.”
“Brilliant strategy, again!”
Lun Tai laughed!
…
Within the valley, Chen Xiaolian suddenly descended from up high!
The Sword in the Stone in his hand was like a flash of lightning streaking through the night sky!
As his body was still in the middle of the air, he somersaulted a few times before landing on the ground. Then, he quickly turned around and pointed his sword to the thing behind him …
A huge Black Widow spider stood there. Then, its body split apart!
Chen Xiaolian gasped for breath but there was an ecstatic expression on his face.
There were terrifying scars all over his legs, arms and body!
“Ha ha ha ha! Power! Power! I can feel it! Powerrr!!!”
He had lost count of the number of times he did this. How many times had he killed this spider?
He had fought it head-on, no tricks and no sneak attacks.
Using just the Sword in the Stone, he faced the [A] class Black Widow spider and killed it!
Chen Xiaolian had to pay a terrible price for it time and again.
The [B] class protective suit on his body had long since been torn to a ragged state. Chen Xiaolian tore off the protective suit and tossed it to the ground. Then, he spread all four limbs out on the ground as he continued gasping for breath.
“Skyblade! This senior here… … is more talented than you expected! Ha ha ha ha… … pity, what a pity… … you are unable to see this.”
…
Finally, Chen Xiaolian made his way into the last cave in the underground palace. He regarded the empty space within the underground palace and knitted his eyebrows.
“Nothing?”
Chen Xiaolian was quick to receive a prompt in his personal system. It was from the GM residing in the base.
“Insufficient memory of this instance dungeon’s final objective. It cannot be simulated.”
Chen Xiaolian sighed and put down the sword in his hand. He then assessed his own body and revealed a wry smile. “End it then!”
…
Swoosh!
Light suddenly replaced the surrounding darkness. Chen Xiaolian looked around and saw that he had returned to the training room. He sat down, retrieved a bottle of water and gulped it all down.
Mm, healing substances are nearly depleted. Chen Xiaolian checked his reserve and shook his head.
It would appear that this is my limit.
He could feel the stink coming from his body… … he had spent so many days fighting in the virtual simulation, drenched in sweat and blood….
“This senior wants to take a bath.” Chen Xiaolian gathered himself and forced himself up.
…
Weng!
When the door to the training room opened, Qiao Qiao, Xia Xiaolei, Soo Soo and Qimu Xi were fighting together against Lun Tai alone.
All five figures were engaged in a melee as they exchanged moves. Qiao Qiao and Xiaolei’s movements were orderly and the way they advanced and retreated had a certain precision in them. From the looks of it, even Soo Soo and Qimu Xi had practiced a lot.
When Chen Xiaolian exited the training room, Lun Tai was the first to notice him. He quickly jumped out from the circle of battle and laughed. “Guild Leader is out!”
Chen Xiaolian’s face was filled with exhaustion as he observed the figures within the resting area. Before he could say anything, Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo had rushed toward him.
Xiaolei, who was about to step forward suddenly halted his steps. He was unable to stop himself from pinching his nose and shouting, “Oh my God! Guild Leader! Your body stinks! How many days have you gone without a bath?!”
…
Chen Xiaolian immersed his entire body within the bathtub; the hot water flowed into every pore on his body, gradually washing away the feeling of exhaustion.
His skin had been scrubbed raw while the wounds and scars were rapidly healing up.
At the same time, he had a hand placed outside the bathtub. In that hand… was the Sword in the Stone!
Chen Xiaolian was experiencing something peculiar.
It felt as though what he was holding was not a sword. Rather… … it had become an extension of his body!
Chen Xiaolian narrowed his eyes and raised the Sword in the Stone. When he exerted a little strength with his fingers, a golden light flashed out from the tip of the sword!
Although it was somewhat dimmer, this light was very similar to the one that he had unleashed back when he was in Zero City’s competition arena!
“I… … what level would I be at now?” Chen Xiaolian felt curious.
He promptly stood up. Ignoring the remaining water on his body, he stepped out of the bathtub.
He stood before a mirror and regarded himself, his scars…
“It feels like there’s something different… …” Chen Xiaolian furrowed his eyebrows.
He raised the Sword in the Stone and examined it. Suddenly, a peculiar thought struck his mind.
He turned his palm…
Swoosh!
The Sword in the Stone that was in his hand disappeared!
Chen Xiaolian was taken aback. Then, he quickly closed his eyes.
His mind delved into his sea of consciousness and he was immediately greeted with the sight of the Sword in the Stone floating amid his sea of consciousness!
A nimbus of golden light enveloped it.
Although it was dim, it was clear that the golden light existed!
Chen Xiaolian reopened his eyes and he regarded his reflection in the mirror again. A look of conviction gradually appeared on his face.
“Mm, I really am different!”
…
1 Abandoning the long and requesting the short. Meaning: Giving up an advantageous position to take a harder route or position.↩
[TL: No idea what’s going on this chapter… ]
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