Chapter 30
Chen Huai'an glanced around nervously, his heart racing as he discreetly dragged a corner of the carpet to cover the pit on the floor.
With both hands, he solemnly lifted the long box, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"What a fine sword, what a fine sword!
Hehe~"
At that moment, Chen Huai'an finally had his own sword.
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**Chapter 30: The Black Scale Sword**
Unfortunately, his livestream account had very few followers; otherwise, he would definitely do an unboxing livestream.
Feeling quite pleased, Chen Huai'an entered the room with the two boxes, closed the door, shut the windows, and drew the curtains. He turned on the bedside lamp and sat down on the bed, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
"First up is our dear Qingran's little gift!"
He used a nail clipper to cut the tape, opened the box, and his expression immediately darkened.
Inside was just a sealed bag containing a string of beads, and he couldn't tell what material they were made of; they looked a lot like glass balls.
"Emmm... this feels a bit half-hearted."
As Chen Huai'an took out the string of beads, he felt their cool, smooth surface. Whether it was just his imagination or not, the air seemed to freshen up the moment he breathed in, washing away the morning's fatigue.
"Though the material is pretty ordinary, and the craftsmanship is terrible, the words engraved on it are still ugly enough to make me want to cry." He looked at the crooked blessings inscribed on the beads but still put them on his wrist, a smile lighting up his face. "But just thinking about it being a little gift from Li Qingran lifts my spirits quite a bit."
Indeed, he attributed that refreshing feeling to the *Power of Love*. Not far away, the black cat that had been lying motionless in the shoebox twitched its nose, and a slit opened in its tightly shut eyes.
"Next up is the big one!"
This time, Chen Huai'an was a bit rougher with the packaging.
In just a few swift motions, he revealed the impressive item inside.
It was an ancient-looking long sword, appearing somewhat aged but clearly designed to look that way. The sword was about 1.5 meters long, entirely bronze in color, with black scales adorning the blade. The hilt bore some barely legible traditional characters, which Chen Huai'an guessed might be the name of the swordsmith.
"The sword is called Black Scale; that’s quite fitting."
He lifted the Black Scale Sword towards the ceiling light.
The light glinted off the blade, reflecting a cold gleam that seemed out of place in this era.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this sword didn't belong in this world; no, it belonged to Li Qingran's world. It wasn't just a piece of craftsmanship; it was a real flying sword from the Cangyun Realm.
"I must have had a rough night yesterday; my brain is fried."
Chen Huai'an felt a bit speechless at his own naive imagination.
However, he had to admit the game developers had done a great job with the props. For instance, the last amulet, though faded, felt like something Li Qingran would have made. This time, even though the beads might just be glass, they carried a faint fragrance, just like the previous amulet. In short, it was all about the details!
As for the sword...
There wasn't much to say.
It was made of real materials, and even as a decorative piece in his home, it would be quite impressive.
"By the way, this sword is sharp, right?" Chen Huai'an scratched his head, about to test it with his hand but instinctively pulled back, sensing it was best not to do that.
So, he picked up a curled black hair from the floor.
He gently tossed it onto the blade.
*Ying—!*
He faintly heard a sound of the sword humming.
Chen Huai'an stared in shock as the hair cleanly split in two, falling from either side of the blade.
"What the hell! It's that sharp?!"
"Isn't this considered a controlled weapon? How did it get here?"
What if he got caught? Would he be arrested...?
Chen Huai'an quickly sheathed the sword, and there happened to be a nail on the wall by his bed, so he hung the Black Scale Sword there.
To his surprise, the modern decor didn't clash at all with the ancient-style flying sword.
"Decided! Black Scale Sword, from now on, you’ll be cremated with me! Hehe!"
Black Scale Sword: "..."
The black cat in the shoebox: "..."
*This kid is really something; he actually has a magical flying sword!*
*Could it be that in this day and age, there are still usable magical artifacts? Why haven’t I encountered any on the road? Though the puppet technology is quite advanced...*
Inside the shoebox, the black cat stared out with wide eyes.
It had been awakened by the spiritual energy emanating from the spirit stone.
This energy was the most precious resource for it at the moment; even just breathing in the air infused with spiritual energy could accelerate its healing.
With the Golden Needle Secret Technique and the Ancestral Dragon's protection...
Now, spirit stones and magical artifacts were appearing too.
The black cat felt a mix of anxiety and confusion, unable to figure out what kind of situation Chen Huai'an was in, or what was really going on in this era.
Logically, things related to spiritual energy should have long vanished from this world.
Its observations since waking up confirmed this.
But this kid... how does he have everything?
This isn't metaphysics!
Never mind, the priority is to use this kid to recover from its injuries.
The Ancestral Dragon's protection was tricky, but as long as it didn't cause harm, the kid's plans would be fine.
It was just about to meow weakly to attract Chen Huai'an's attention when it realized that in the blink of an eye, the room was already empty.
*Where did that kid go?*
The black cat dragged its heavy body to the windowsill.
It spotted its target, dressed in pajamas, holding a clothes pole, rushing towards the square across from the hotel.
…
Old Li had been practicing Tai Chi in the small square for twenty years.
In the realm of elderly Tai Chi practitioners, among the old men from seven or eight nearby communities, he would say he was second to none.
"Watch where you're going while playing games on the street! Be careful of cars!" He kindly reminded two kids crossing the road while still engrossed in their game.
One of the kids turned back and gave him the finger: "Mind your own business, old man!"
"You little brats! How..."
Old Li shook his head and sighed as he watched the two students walk away.
Today's youth really seemed to lack vitality; all they did was play games all day, unlike in his time.
Technology had brought social progress, but it had also caused people to lose much of their innocence and nostalgia.
"Sigh—!"
Old Li sighed again as he walked to the tree where he practiced every day.
But he found that someone had arrived even earlier than him.
It was a young man in pajamas, holding a clothes pole, bent over, sweating profusely while maintaining a strange posture.
Even though the young man's movements were far from standard, Old Li felt that in that moment, a glimmer of hope appeared in the darkness.
A vibrant young person—wasn't this exactly what the era was missing, the kind he admired the most?
Looking at the young man's movements, there was some flair, but he clearly lacked basic understanding and a solid foundation.
Since he had the chance to see him today, he decided to give this young man some proper guidance.
"You’re doing it wrong, young man! Your stance is unstable; that’s not how you hold a horse stance!"
Chen Huai'an was struggling through the Qinglian Sword Classic.
Suddenly, he heard an old voice behind him.
Then, a pair of broad hands pressed down on his shoulders, forcefully pushing him down.
Next, a foot wedged between his legs and pushed outward.
Chen Huai'an gasped as pain shot through his plastered right leg, but he felt no anger in his heart.
Because as the old man helped him correct his posture, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the progress of his training in the first chapter of the Qinglian Sword Classic had surged from 2% to 13%!
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**Chapter 31: Please Choose Your Target**
What a surprise! A tremendous surprise!!
Originally, Chen Huai'an thought that teaching Li Qingran the Qinglian Sword Classic was still a distant dream.
But the old man casually corrected his posture, and suddenly he saw a glimmer of hope!
At the same time, Chen Huai'an confirmed one thing: the hacker team behind the camera must be able to see his movements. At the very least, there was an AI system constantly monitoring his various actions, and only when his movements were correct could he effectively increase his training progress.
The game’s details were hardcore to the extreme, even down to the golden needles being completely accurate traditional Chinese medicine techniques. Therefore, the foundational chapters of the Qinglian Sword Classic must also be adapted from orthodox martial arts, which meant there were certainly requirements for the movements.
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