After a bit of lighthearted banter, Su Ming suggested they stay the night at Wangshu Inn and head to Liyue Harbor tomorrow.
Lumine nodded in agreement.
The primary reason was that since they had done the inn a huge favor, the manager had provided them with two luxury suites for free, along with a lavish feast. Lumine, operating on her "never turn down a freebie" policy, naturally had no objections.
After all, she was only at the beginning of her journey. Her reputation and her wallet were both lacking, and with a "Little Guide" like Paimon by her side who could never be full, her finances were always under immense pressure.
Since they could eat and stay for free, why bother rushing through the night?
Regarding this, Su Ming only felt that the manager was a bit tactless.
What was the point of preparing two rooms? Was he trying to move against Su Ming?
I see you have already found your way to death!.jpg
Of course, Su Ming's suggestion hadn't been without motive.
Just as Xiao had left earlier, a system prompt had echoed in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host, for slightly deviating from the plotline. Luck value permanently increased by 10 points.]
Yes, even Su Ming hadn't expected to accidentally complete a plot deviation like that.
Furthermore, he had noticed that the small dock behind Wangshu Inn happened to be one of the special fishing points designated by the system.
Talk about a coincidence!
Rather than making a foolish trip back here later, it was better to test the Luck stat increase now and see just how much of a boost this special fishing point could provide.
After asking the manager for a fishing rod and a box of bait, Su Ming hummed a little tune and headed out to fish.
To his surprise, even this late at night, he actually encountered a fellow fisherman.
However, he quickly realized who this scruffy middle-aged man with a sword hanging at his waist was.
Wasn't this Jiangxue, the man the Liyue commoners regarded as the one and only Sword Saint?
To be honest, back when Su Ming was doing quests in the game, he had been stunned to see this seemingly ordinary NPC one-shot a Ruin Hunter an automaton whose health bar Su Ming had barely been able to scratch.
It was that exact scene that had convinced him that Liyue's common folk were truly full of "Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons."
But he had no intention of striking up a conversation with Jiangxue.
Having done the quests, Su Ming knew that while the man wasn't bad by nature and was even quite warm-hearted, he also had a very eccentric personality. It was best not to take the initiative to interact with him.
Su Ming sat down some distance away from Jiangxue, hooked his bait, cast his line, and waited quietly.
Before long, a small fish bit the hook.
Unfortunately, there was no reward.
A bit disappointed, Su Ming tossed the fish back into the water and re-baited his hook, waiting for the next lucky catch.
This process repeated about a dozen times. Although he caught a fish with every single cast, not once did a reward trigger.
"One last cast. If there's nothing, I'm going to bed."
"Are you kidding me? This is the drop rate after the probability was increased? What was it like before?"
Su Ming was more than a little let down.
Even though his current strength was already formidable, no one would ever complain about being too strong. But after a dozen tries with nothing to show but "Thank you for playing," he was starting to lose his cool.
Even a ten-pull in a gacha gives you at least one purple card. This system gave him absolutely nothing!
However, that final cast finally delivered a surprise.
The moment he felt a bite and yanked the fish out of the water, the long-awaited mechanical voice of the system rang out once more.
[Congratulations! The Host has obtained Swordplay Inheritance: Jingliu.]
Su Ming was genuinely surprised. To be honest, he hadn't expected this "single pull" to yield anything at all.
But he had actually pulled a winner.
"Jingliu's swordplay inheritance!"
Su Ming was stunned. He hadn't expected a single pull to truly produce a miracle!
And this was definitely a "Gold" drop!
This was the swordplay inheritance of Jingliu!
Who was Jingliu? She was the former Swordshaper of The Xianzhou Luofu, the master of the Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan, and the "Transcendent Flash" of the legendary High-Cloud Quintet!
She was a beautiful swordswoman with white hair and red eyes!
Her swordsmanship had long since reached the pinnacle of perfection; it was no longer a blade of the mortal realm.
To obtain her inheritance... that was massive!
Su Ming was overcome with excitement. He immediately began packing his things, preparing to return to his room to examine the details of the reward.
However, just as he stood up, someone blocked his path.
Under the moonlight, Su Ming clearly saw the figure in front of him.
It was Jiangxue.
Just as Su Ming was wondering what Jiangxue wanted, the man spoke up first. "Your fishing technique is incredible!"
"In barely an hour, you caught eighteen fish, and three of them were massive!"
"And... you only cast your line eighteen times!"
"How on earth did you do it?!"
"Can you teach me?"
Su Ming: "..."
After a long sigh, Su Ming silently took a step back and used the Sky Dance Technique, soaring directly into the sky to leave the scene.
He left Jiangxue behind, shouting from below, "Don't go, Master! I'll buy you dinner, Master! Just teach me!"
Ignoring Jiangxue's shouts, Su Ming returned the fishing gear and the remaining bait to the manager before heading back to his room.
Once inside, Su Ming sat cross-legged on the large bed and whispered in his mind, "System, use the reward."
In the next instant, countless sword techniques flooded his mind, accompanied by the slaughtering experience from Jingliu's long and arduous life.
It was exactly as she had realized in the end a sword is just a sword, a tool to decide life and death. It is so pure that it cannot tolerate the erosion of any external things.
Only by treading across the Path of Wrath, the Path of Greed, and the Path of Folly, and cutting down every obstacle, can one understand why a human truly swings a blade.
The sword is a weapon of malice, and sword techniques are tricks for killing.
This is an irreversible essence.
But one must know that the one wielding the sword is the root that governs all.
Su Ming's eyes snapped open. The piercing morning sun was already streaming in through the window.
Only then did he realize that the process of accepting this reward had actually taken an entire night.
"It took a long time, but the harvest was plentiful."
Recalling the sword techniques in his mind and feeling the unconscious movements of his muscles, Su Ming suppressed the sudden impulse to swing a blade.
He knew his night hadn't been wasted.
Perhaps in terms of raw power, there was still a world of difference between him and that legendary Swordshaper.
But when it came to the understanding of swordsmanship, he was confident he was not inferior to the original owner.
THUD!
CLANG!
Before Su Ming could savor the feeling for long, he was distracted by the sound of fighting coming from outside the window.
Initially, he had a "watch the show" mindset, right until he saw the people fighting below.
"Holy crap! What's going on!?"
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