With his own fan pressed against his throat, Chen Jinghao leaned against the peach tree, his Adam’s apple slowly bobbing up and down.

It was just a moment of pressure, and Lin Zhusheng quickly let go. The fan spun in his hand before he handed it back, also putting away his little broken wooden sword. Seeing the person leaning against the tree not moving for a long time, he asked, “Young Sect Master?”

He should have avoided using any lethal moves that would leave someone unable to stand.

Letting out a breath, Chen Jinghao took the folding fan back and stood up, supporting himself against the tree trunk.

Great, the person was fine.

More important than the person was the hairpin on his head. After putting away the sword, Lin Zhusheng took off the hairpin and looked at it closely for a moment.

It seemed like it had been touched when he was pressed against the tree earlier. Fortunately, it was still intact, so he put it back on his head.

After a match, he was surprisingly more concerned about the hairpin. It looked like an ordinary item, and Chen Jinghao casually let the folding fan rest in his palm, saying, “If it breaks, I’ll buy you a new one.”

Lin Zhusheng replied, “That’s different. This was given to me by my senior brother.”

Senior brother?

It felt a bit strange for two men to exchange such things. But since it had nothing to do with him, Chen Jinghao decided not to say more.

Having already provided free after-sales service, the Grand Elder was probably still waiting for him to return. Lin Zhusheng waved his hand and said, “Then I’ll take my leave now?”

“Tomorrow.”

As soon as he turned around, a voice came from behind, so he turned back. Chen Jinghao stood up straight, brushed off the leaves from his body, and said, “Come again tomorrow.”

If it weren’t for that last move, he thought he might have had a chance to win.

Lin Zhusheng’s mouth twitched, “You want to come again?”

He couldn’t tell this person had such a strong desire to win.

If he had known, he would have held back a bit. He subtly experienced the feelings of his father’s subordinates and bosses when playing business games through a strange way.

Losing and going home crying was frustrating, while winning made them suspicious that their subordinates had deliberately let them win. It was quite troublesome.

Free after-sales service was only available once; there couldn’t be a second time. He politely declined, saying, “The Grand Elder won’t be on duty tomorrow, so I won’t come over.”

Chen Jinghao offered one hundred gold.

It seemed like the God of Wealth had arrived. Lin Zhusheng quickly agreed to meet at the same time and place tomorrow, showing his professional demeanor; taking it slow would be disrespectful to the one hundred gold.

After sealing the deal, he reminded the person not to run off, straightened his clothes, and walked away with a cheerful stride.

Then he turned back halfway to pick up the little cat that had been forgotten, which looked dazed. This time he finally left for real.

He had spent most of the day at the venue, and his biggest gain was one hundred gold and a promise from the Grand Elder to teach him. The rest was just the snacks from the Elder’s table.

That pile of stuff was all high-quality goods, but in reality, not many people ate them. Some wanted to eat but were too embarrassed, so they ended up in his pocket, becoming the raw materials for the next batch of snacks.

After being pointed out by the Grand Elder in the morning, he had a vague idea. After the big match ended in the afternoon, he happily didn’t go up the mountain to pick up trash but went back to practice his sword.

With his mind wandering, he couldn’t quite grasp the sword practice, and instead, it became quite strange. According to the little cat, he practiced swordsmanship like a high priest performing a ritual.

Lin the High Priest gave the little cat a light smack on the head.

The next day, at the same time, he was going to make money, so the High Priest simply got up early to practice his sword.

In the morning, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, enveloping the woods, with droplets of mist condensing and falling onto the newly grown branches and leaves.

The wooden sword sliced through the air, breaking the mist, causing the branches and leaves on either side to tremble.

The tip of the sword, after breaking through the mist, pointed directly at a peach leaf on the end of a branch, quickly retracting before it could touch it, creating a sound of slicing through the air.

The sword was retracted, but the leaves continued to tremble, the dew on them shaking, eventually sliding off the leaf tips and falling silently to the ground.

It was surprisingly difficult to keep that little thing in its original state.

Putting away the sword, he squatted down to look at the ground that had been soaked by the morning mist for a while. Lin Zhusheng finally stood up, clapped his hands, and took out his big sword to sit on.

He was off to work, sparring with the wealthy Young Sect Master.

The result was no different from before. Although he wanted to learn how to play business games, he really couldn’t hold back; the Young Sect Master lost without any suspense.

The Young Sect Master had a strong competitive spirit, as if he had to win at least once, and if he lost, he would schedule another match.

During the sect’s grand competition, to be honest, Lin Zhusheng felt busier than the participating disciples. They were fighting inside while he was fighting outside, and he was on duty every day without a break.

He had been a sparring partner for a few days during the competition, and on the second-to-last day before it ended, he once again pinned the Young Sect Master to the ground. He retracted his hand, wiped away the nonexistent sweat, and turned to ask, “Are you coming again tomorrow, Young Sect Master?”

Maybe it was better not to come. Earning money was fun, but it couldn’t compare to earning every day. Sparring for one hundred gold felt a bit guilty.

“You see, a person doesn’t only focus on one aspect of their ability,” he thought while patting his shoulder, saying, “Your cultivation is passable, and you have talent in weapon forging. Overall, you’re already quite impressive.”

To show his affirmation, he even gave a thumbs up.

Having gotten used to compliments, Chen Jinghao didn’t mind. He only sensed his meaning and asked, “Do you have something to do tomorrow?”

Lin Zhusheng scratched his head, “Nothing in particular.”

He had already completed the basic tasks at the task center before, and there hadn’t been any new ones since. Picking up trash in the mountains was less appealing than directly taking the snacks from the Elder’s table. Unless something unexpected happened, his entire schedule for tomorrow would be practicing swordsmanship.

Nothing in particular, he just worried about this person’s wallet and brain. Instead of looking for beautiful senior sisters, he spent money getting beaten up every day; that hobby seemed a bit too niche.

The competitive Young Sect Master was still eager to try again tomorrow.

Not earning money when you could was foolish. Lin Zhusheng handed over a sweet snack, trying to comfort the bitter heart of someone who had just lost, saying, “Alright.”

Chen Jinghao took it, ate it, propped himself up on the ground, and leaned back casually, frowning, “So sweet.”

On the last day of the competition, the disciples from all sects competed for the top five. All the participating sect masters and elders were present, making it the most crowded day.

Lin An, the sturdy one, sat quietly in the back, helping the Grand Elder finish off the snacks.

During the competition, the topics of conversation were nothing but the results of the matches, discussing which sect had fallen behind compared to previous years and which sect was exceptionally rapid. Now, they also added that the Young Sect Master of the Weapon Sect was quite off.

For so many days in a row, he hadn’t once disturbed the beautiful senior sisters from other sects, as if his pride had been deflated. He looked much less flamboyant than before, often lost in thought, as if pondering something.

During the break, the person who had been lost in thought suddenly snapped back to reality and stood up from his seat.

Except for those around him, no one noticed that someone had quietly disappeared from the back of the Elder’s table.

On the last day of the competition, everyone was curious about which sect’s disciple would take the lead. The venue was packed with people, while the outside was very quiet, with no one in sight.

Lin Zhusheng and Chen Jinghao directly entered the peach grove from outside the venue.

The jade-boned folding fan spun and cut down a slanted peach branch. After colliding with the wooden sword in mid-air, it was forced to change direction and fell back into its owner’s hand.

After several days of sparring, from initially being completely suppressed in less than a few minutes, Chen Jinghao could now last over fifteen minutes and had even figured out some of Lin Zhusheng’s moves.

He could also clearly feel that the way Lin Zhusheng wielded his sword was different from before, as if he was consciously holding back. It wasn’t just for him; there seemed to be other considerations, some hesitation, as if he was contemplating something.

Lin Zhusheng was indeed pondering. He couldn’t imagine how to stop at a critical moment in a counterintuitive and unscientific way.

There wasn’t much time for him to think. Young Sect Master Chen was a bit more troublesome than before, attacking again and again without pause.

After the little broken wooden sword spun halfway in the air, it was tightly gripped in his hand again. He turned to avoid the flames burning from behind, using one hand to push against the side of the peach tree trunk to change direction, thrusting the sword’s hilt toward the person’s abdomen beside him.

Behind him, a leg swept in, and he couldn’t dodge in time. Chen Jinghao took the hit, momentarily halting his forward momentum.

Lin Zhusheng took two small steps back with his little broken wooden sword. As he took the last step, tiny peach blossoms fell from above, slightly bending mid-air, imperceptibly curving.

The moment he noticed, the long sword soared with the wind. He kicked off the tree trunk and leaped in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the folding fan that was flying toward him.

The Young Sect Master had also learned to play dirty, quietly plotting big things.

In the blink of an eye, the initiative was in Chen Jinghao’s hands. Once he got it, he used it to the fullest, launching rapid attacks and closing the distance quickly.

Sword cultivators had the advantage in mid to long-range matches, but when the distance was too close, they didn’t have the upper hand due to the weapon’s length, becoming disadvantaged. The closer they got, the harder it was to unleash their full potential.

He didn’t avoid the attacks either; his focus was entirely on closing the distance. His long hair and sleeves fluttered, and his movements were so fast they became a blur, hard to distinguish with the naked eye.

His attack stopped the moment his sleeves fell. What appeared behind the falling blue garment was a long sword aimed directly at his heart.

The distance he had actively closed was too close, and his body was still uncontrollably moving forward, leaving no chance to dodge. The incoming sword energy blew his hair up, and he met a pair of equally astonished eyes.

Lin Zhusheng was genuinely shocked this time.

He had thought the person would dodge when he casually swung out a sword to defend against the attack, but he didn’t expect someone to not avoid it even when the sword was right in front of him, leaving him momentarily stunned.

The event unfolded in a flash, with no chance to withdraw or retreat; everything had to rely on instinct. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his spiritual energy surged instantly.

“Whoosh—”

The surrounding spiritual energy was drawn in, creating a wind that rustled the trees and startled the birds away.

The long sword, just before piercing his chest, forcefully changed direction, the tip gliding over the icy silk, leaving a straight scratch, the sword body rising and crossing in front of his neck.

【Current Level: LV10 (0/10000)】
【Side Quest: Comprehend “The Self-Cultivation of Sword Cultivators” (Completed)】
【You have obtained: Blue Quality Long Sword x1】

As various notification prompts popped up, the broken wooden sword in his hand was replaced by an ice-blue long sword.

The blade of the long sword brushed against his neck, and even without direct contact, he could feel the cold aura emanating from it.

The feeling of death was stronger than ever. Chen Jinghao’s breath caught, and he saw falling pink and white petals.

The petals landed on the snow-white sword body, which was polished to a mirror-like shine, clearly reflecting the shadow of the petals.

And the eyes of the person in front of him.

The light-colored, almost gray pupils, under the light, had a hint of warmth from the sun, clear and clean. The petals landed on the eyelashes, and as the pupils moved slightly, they reflected the shadow of the lashes.

As if noticing him, those eyes lowered, meeting his gaze through the cold sword body.

A gaze across the sword body.

As the eyelids lowered, petals fell, passing through the clear eyes, and at the moment their gazes met, the features and the bright sun blurred, leaving only a pair of strikingly beautiful eyes in his vision.

“…”

It seemed that the feeling of impending death finally reached his heart, and Chen Jinghao distinctly felt his heart tremble violently for a moment.

As if it wanted to leap out of his chest.

In the next moment, with a “whoosh,” the ice-blue long sword left his neck and was easily sheathed, plunging straight into the ground.

Lin Zhusheng sat down, propping himself up with the sword, wiping away the sweat that had genuinely appeared on his forehead, and let out a long breath, saying, “Why did you just charge straight at my sword?”

Anyone who didn’t know would think he was trying to commit murder.

His hands and feet felt a bit numb, and the previous movements were hard to maintain. Chen Jinghao also sat down, as if he had been startled, still not coming back to his senses, and didn’t respond to his words.

It wasn’t necessary for him to reply. Lin Zhusheng straightened up, kindly reached out to pull the person’s arm, saying, “Let’s get up first.”

This time, Chen Jinghao reacted, jumping back as if electrocuted, taking a step back, his face and neck turning red in an instant.

“…”

Lin Zhusheng asked, “Hmm?”