Gu Chengming thanked Ren Wencai and exchanged a few pleasantries with Jiang Lu before turning to walk back to his small courtyard beneath the moonlight.
He weighed the copy of Flowing Light, Sword Shadows in his hand. The paper was coarse and rough to the touch, but that couldn't conceal the sharp, keen sword intent quietly bleeding through its pages.
Anyone else in his position would probably have been tearing it open the moment it landed in their hands — flipping through the techniques, maybe even running through a few forms on the spot.
But Gu Chengming felt no particular urge to rush. For one thing, he didn't even know yet whether he could actually practice it. For another, now that he had a clear path mapped out for romancing the Hundred Bones Resonance, the obvious play was to max out its affection meter first.
And so, over the next several days, Gu Chengming kept to his routine — grinding the Hundred Bones Resonance's affection with Dragon's Blood Grass, same as always.
"What potency! Worthy of the Dragon's Blood Grass!"
"Hundred Bones Resonance! Help me suppress this ravaging force!"
[The Hundred Bones Resonance felt the tremendous medicinal power — which did not, in fact, exist — rampaging through its being!]
[Not to waste such a peerless divine herb, not to betray your trust in it, it strained with every last ounce of strength it possessed, running at full capacity just to process the power!]
And so the days passed, one by one, in this harmonious atmosphere of: I'm lying to you, you believe me, and we're both headed toward a beautiful future.
Until, finally, one clear night beneath a bright moon and scattered stars —
With the last stalk of "Vitality Grass" going down, the affection meter that had been steadily climbing at last burst through its critical threshold.
[The Hundred Bones Resonance reflected that in all its years, it had met countless people. Only you had any chance of rising from nothing alongside it and making a mark on this world.]
[If you were to die, it swore it would do exactly as you wrote in your story — reconstruct your flesh and bring you back.]
[Affection +2]
[Current Affection: 60]
[Status Change: [Friendly] → [Like]]
The affection tier breakthrough brought with it one fixed attribute point and one free attribute point.
Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Chengming focused his intent and dumped the free attribute point straight into Constitution.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His heart began to pound violently.
The skin that had been faintly pale started to flush with healthy colour. His bones cracked and popped. His muscles didn't swell into anything dramatic, but they grew noticeably more compact, taut, and resilient.
[Current Constitution: 5 → 7]
And below that line of data came the most immediately striking change of all.
[Current Remaining Lifespan: Six Years]
From a precarious seven-hundred-odd days — straight to six years.
"Hah..."
Gu Chengming let out a long, slow breath.
But the pleasant surprises didn't stop there.
The leap in Constitution directly drove up the upper limit of spiritual energy his body could contain. The bottleneck that had been pinning him at the First Realm, Fourth Layer dissolved under the surging tide of vitality — like a paper window, prodded once and gone.
No deliberate guidance required.
The qi and blood brimming inside him surged forward in jubilation, rushing through his meridians, breaching every gate, and pouring into his dantian.
Hmmm——
The air trembled faintly. The ambient spiritual energy in the courtyard seemed drawn toward him, drawn in by some invisible pull.
First Realm, Fifth Layer. As natural as water finding its course.
…
His cultivation had broken through. His lifespan had lengthened. In high spirits, Gu Chengming chose not to rest and celebrate.
Strike while the iron is hot. He reached into his lapel and drew out a jade slip.
It was the advanced sword technique Ren Wencai had gifted him — Flowing Light, Sword Shadows.
This sword technique had a modest reputation within Wenjian Sect. Its entire doctrine came down to one word: speed. Trained to full mastery, the sword shot out like a stream of flowing light, your shadow moving with your body, reality and illusion indistinguishable — a lethal killing tool.
Sword techniques and sword arts were different things. Strictly speaking, a sword technique was simply a type of form — a skill, really.
So by rights, the attribute requirements shouldn't be too steep.
Of course, the flip side of that was that it probably wouldn't trigger any romance options either.
Gu Chengming was still turning this over in his mind as he reached his intent into the jade slip.
[System Notice: Host has attempted to cultivate Flowing Light, Sword Shadows.]
[Constitution attribute insufficient][Agility attribute insufficient][Strength attribute insufficient]
[Flowing Cloud, Moon-Following Sword Art (Fragment) — romance requirements not met]
Gu Chengming stared at that cascade of red warnings and couldn't hold back the profanity forming in his head.
"What the actual..."
This was ripped off another sword art?
No wonder the attribute requirements were insane — was this even something a human being could practice?
"Haaah..."
Gu Chengming let out a helpless sigh and tossed the jade slip back onto the table.
He knew better than to try to force it.
The more advanced the sword art, the steeper the demands on physical conditioning and mental control. He'd managed to pump his Constitution up with the Hundred Bones Resonance, sure — but his other stats were still clearly the weak link.
"Looks like I'll just have to enshrine this thing and wait until I have enough attribute points..."
Just as Gu Chengming was about to give up and switch to writing some story drafts — using the Qingxin Formula to settle his mood — something unexpected happened.
The Huiyuan Sword Art, which had lain completely dormant in the deep recesses of his mind ever since its affection had reached 90, suddenly flickered.
To be honest, ever since this foundational sword art's affection had broken the "Adoration" threshold of 90 points, it had gone utterly silent.
Like a long-suffering, self-effacing wife, it had quietly settled into its corner and watched Gu Chengming go off to court the newer, stronger, flashier cultivation methods.
Its affection meter had stayed locked at 90 without budging a single point.
Gu Chengming had theorized before that this was probably because some "Special Bond Event" hadn't been triggered, causing the affection to cap out.
But the trigger conditions for that kind of event were completely opaque, and he'd shelved the Huiyuan Sword Art's romance route for the time being.
He hadn't expected it to stir, of all moments, at this particular setback.
Line after line of text, carrying a faint undercurrent of quiet sorrow, slowly surfaced before Gu Chengming's eyes.
[The Huiyuan Sword Art has been watching you all this time.]
[It watched you rack your brain and push yourself to grow stronger. It watched you deflate with disappointment when a higher sword art was beyond your reach.]
[It knows exactly what it is — the most basic, most entry-level sword art there is.]
[It has none of the dazzling techniques of Flowing Light, Sword Shadows. None of the amplification of the Hundred Bones Resonance. It is plain, unremarkable — bordering on crude.]
[It knows that as your realm climbs higher and the enemies you face grow stronger, the day will come when you forget it entirely, leaving it to gather dust in some corner.]
[This is its fate. It made its peace with that long ago.]
[It doesn't dare hope to accompany you to the end of the immortal path. But... it still hopes it can walk with you — for as long as possible. Even one more step would be enough.]
[It doesn't want to become your burden now. It doesn't want to see you frown because you have no reliable sword art to use.]
Reading those words, Gu Chengming went still for a moment.
Before he could figure out how to respond, a final block of text jumped into view.
[The Huiyuan Sword Art has gathered its courage and made a request of you.]
[It asks — could it have a look at that Flowing Light, Sword Shadows?]
[Its own aptitude is limited; it cannot teach you the technique outright. But it is willing to try — to analyze, to imitate, and even to consume and absorb the sword intent within.]
"?"
A storm of bizarre thoughts blew through Gu Chengming's mind in an instant.
Is this... the trope where the wife consents to taking in a concubine on her husband's behalf?
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉