The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 64, Page 79: Rong'er's Wonderful Journey to the "Immortal Realm" [A massive 10,000-word chapter seeking monthly votes!]

After a slight dizziness and disorientation, Huang Rong regained her senses and found that her surroundings had changed from a forest to a house.

The room was spacious, with many decorations that she couldn't understand but felt were inexplicably impressive, and it was also a little messy, with the blankets on the large bed next to her not being made.

The unfamiliar and novel environment made Huang Rong a little nervous. Her small hand unconsciously tightened around Lu Chen's large hand as she looked at him and asked:
"This is where?"

Lu Chen looked at Huang Rong with a smile:

"This is my home."

When he transmigrated, he was in his bedroom, having just dried his hair, when he was suddenly thrown into the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes by the "Sword Intent of Immortal Slaughter".

Now that we're returning to the main world, it's only natural that we'll return to where we started.

"Ah, Brother Lu Chen's house? That..."

Huang Rong blushed slightly, lowered her head, and asked softly, clutching the hem of her clothes with her small hands:

"Should I go and pay my respects to my uncle and aunt?"

“They’ve passed away,” Lu Chen said softly. “They passed away when I was fourteen.”

When he was fourteen, before he had even realized the "mystery of the womb," his medical parents were drafted into the army due to an unexpected incident and both of them died.

At that time, Lu Chen was in his second year of middle school and had not yet awakened his memories of his past life. He was tricked into signing an agreement and received a well-decorated two-story detached villa as compensation—did he think the government was so kind?

Of course not.

This world is not the Earth and China that Lu Chen lived in before.

The world Lu Chen lives in this life has just as many races as Earth, but the map is completely different from Earth in his previous life.

The country he lived in was called "Jing," a constitutional state that still has a royal family and noble families.

Strangely, the history of the Jing Kingdom, from ancient times to modern times, is completely different from that of the previous China. However, its language, writing system, and even some customs, myths and legends are strangely similar yet somewhat contradictory.

When Lu Chen turned eighteen and awakened to his past life, he felt that there might be some secrets involved.

Unfortunately, despite consulting numerous sources, he was unable to find a single clue.

It's unclear whether he lacked access to deeper secrets or was simply overthinking things; the two worlds were never connected, and those seemingly plausible but actually unrelated events were merely coincidences.

In short, the main world of this life is not Earth, and Jing Kingdom is not China. The language, customs, and myths are only superficially similar. It is impossible to communicate directly with the people of Jing Kingdom using the language and script of Earth and China.

Fortunately, the "Sword Intent of Immortal Slaughter" possesses great power. Those who travel through time and space with the Sword Intent of Immortal Slaughter, whether it is the sword master himself or Huang Rong who travels with him, can naturally understand the languages ​​and scripts of various worlds.

Although they may not understand some technical terms, local slang, or colloquialisms, they have no problem with normal communication and reading.

Since the world is different and national conditions are different, the attitude towards ordinary people is naturally completely different from that of the previous life.

The Jing Kingdom's top leadership is just as inhumane as the Beacon Kingdom of my previous life; they don't bother with pretense and openly treat ordinary people like韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people).

So the real reason Lu Chen got this villa is that, due to that sudden event, the real estate market in Lu Chen's hometown, "Qingtu City," plummeted, and even a detached villa like this in the city center was worthless.

Let alone whether this villa can be sold given the current real estate market in Qingtu City, even if it were sold by chance, one couldn't afford a tiny 50-square-meter apartment in Hongshan City, which is only a little over 100 kilometers away.

The government gave Lu Chen this small, worthless villa, which was also difficult to sell, as compensation, so there was no need to give him any more compensation money.

What's worse is that Lu Chen has to pay property tax every year!
Fortunately, real estate in Qingtu City is not valuable, and the property tax is not high.

In addition, Lu Chen's parents had some savings before their deaths, which allowed him to barely make ends meet.

That said, the government was only willing to give Lu Chen this compensation because of pressure from the hospital director who had a lot of connections at his parents' hospital.

Otherwise, Lu Chen would be left as an orphan, and the government would be willing to cover up the fact that his parents were "missing" in the official report, not killed in action. According to the custom of Jing Kingdom, missing persons do not receive compensation.

The reason why Lu Chen was so eager to become stronger after awakening his memories of his past life was also related to that sudden event.

The undisguised darkness of the Jing Kingdom's government also made him feel very insecure.

"Your uncle and aunt have passed away?"

Huang Rong was slightly taken aback, then took Lu Chen's arm and said softly:

"I'm sorry, Brother Lu Chen, I didn't know..."

"It's okay, four years have passed, I'm used to it now."

Lu Chen gently patted Huang Rong's hand and smiled:

"Let's not talk about that. Let me show you around my house first."

As he spoke, he placed the gold package on the cabinet, opened the wardrobe to take out some clothes to change into, and then picked up the phone that was on the bedside table. He found that the phone still had power, and when he turned on the screen, he saw that only one day had passed.

If you spend half a year in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, only one day has passed in the main world?

Lu Chen seemed to be deep in thought.

He was not yet clear about the underlying principles, only having some semi-scientific, semi-mystical guesses that he didn't know were right or wrong.

He didn't know how much time would have passed in the Legend of the Condor Heroes world after he stayed in the main world for a while and returned.

But that doesn’t matter anymore.

We'll find out when we try it.

"Rong'er, this is the phone I told you about."

He handed the phone to Huang Rong and carefully explained how to use it to her.

Since I had often told Huang Rong about things in the "celestial realm" before, I no longer need to explain what a "cell phone" is; I just need to tell her how to use it.

With Huang Rong's intelligence, explaining it was not difficult for her. She understood it almost immediately. Although she couldn't operate it yet, once she became familiar with it, she would be able to operate a mobile phone skillfully, just like a girl in the information age.

After explaining how to use the phone, Lu Chen smiled and said:

"I'll take you out to buy a cell phone later, and I'll also buy you some new clothes."

"Mmm." Huang Rong nodded with a smile: "I want to use the same phone as you."

"No problem. Let's go see the other rooms."

Next, Lu Chen took Huang Rong on a tour of the entire villa, explaining the uses of various objects that she didn't understand and teaching her how to use various electrical appliances.

Huang Rong had heard Lu Chen talk about these household appliances before.

However, without any reference, it is difficult to imagine what it looks like just from the description.

Seeing it with her own eyes and even operating it herself, Huang Rong was filled with novelty and excitement. She ran around giggling and laughing, constantly turning on and off various electrical appliances, treating them all like toys.

"Brother Lu Chen, look at me... Waaaaah..."

She stood in front of the fan, turned it to the highest setting, and as her long hair flew in the wind, she yelled at the fan, listening to the strong wind making her voice tremble and change pitch, having a great time.

Seeing Huang Rong's childlike joy, Lu Chen couldn't help but feel playful as well. He stood in front of the fan with her, yelling at the strong wind, which made Huang Rong giggle.

Afterwards, Huang Rong went to the living room on the first floor, took off her shoes, jumped onto the large sofa in the living room, and used the sofa as a trampoline, jumping around on it repeatedly.

"This long bench is so bouncy and soft... Brother Lu Chen, shall we sleep here tonight?"

"us?"

"Yes, we're already engaged, right? We can sleep in the same room and the same bed!"

"Well……"

Lu Chen felt that he was being put to a great test.

However, seeing Huang Rong bouncing around on the sofa, her face full of innocent and childlike cuteness, and considering that she had only grown a little bit in the six months they had been together, he suppressed some of his bad thoughts and smiled:

“Sleeping on the sofa won’t do. How about this, you can sleep in the small bedroom next to mine. The bed there is soft and springy.”

"Huh? Why should I sleep next to you? Aren't we engaged?"

"They're engaged, but they haven't had the wedding ceremony yet..."

Huang Rong pouted her little lips:

"I don't care, I just want to sleep with you."

"……OK then."

Anyway, he only rests for three hours a night now and has already started to replace sleep with meditation, so he shouldn't be tested on his willpower.

Lu Chen had lived in this small villa for four years and was already used to it, so he didn't find it particularly interesting.

But for Huang Rong, this two-story villa was full of novelties, and any new thing could keep her happily entertained for a long time.

As we played, it got dark.

My plans to buy a phone and clothes will have to be postponed until tomorrow...

Dinner was, of course, prepared by Huang Rong again.

She learned how to operate various kitchen utensils and tasted all kinds of seasonings one by one, and immediately got ready to start cooking.

Although there weren't many ingredients in the refrigerator, with Huang Rong's cooking skills, the gas stove's more adjustable and stable heat output compared to firewood and charcoal, and a wider variety of seasonings, Lu Chen still ate this simple dinner with great relish.

Huang Rong watched Lu Chen wield his chopsticks with gusto and great enjoyment, and said with a smile:

"I need to buy more groceries tomorrow; there aren't enough different kinds of food in the fridge."

Lu Chen nodded repeatedly:

"Okay, I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow too."

After dinner, the two of them cleaned up the dishes together and then sat on the sofa to watch TV.

The television was undoubtedly one of Huang Rong's favorite "toys".

The diverse and exciting programs were a game-changer for her.

Of all the entertainment programs, her favorite is animation.

Especially the comedy animations; she had never seen anything like them before, and with a low threshold for laughter, she watched almost non-stop from beginning to end.

Just as I was enjoying the animation, it suddenly paused, and an urgent news message popped up.

News reports that a monster suddenly appeared in a city in the Jing Kingdom, causing massive destruction and casualties.

The news footage, captured by a helicopter, showed the monster's appearance: a creature the size of a pickup truck, scorpion-like in shape, with two giant pincers, covered in a glossy black shell that gleamed with a metallic sheen, and a venomous snake-like tail hook.

It rampages through the streets, capable of flipping cars with a single crash and clamping people in two with a single blow.

While indiscriminately destroying and killing, it continuously used its pincers to grab and devour people. The venomous snake's tail also lashed out wildly, causing endless destruction. Sometimes, it would bite a person and, in just two or three seconds, suck them dry.

The local garrison deployed armored vehicles, but when the large-caliber machine guns fired at the monster, most of the bullets were deflected by its shell. Even the occasional bullet that hit at a better angle could only barely create a shallow dent in its shell, and could not penetrate its defenses at all.

Enraged, the monster charged forward, machine gun in hand, and rammed into the armored vehicle, first overturning it, then using its large pincers to smash and clamp it, reducing the vehicle to rubble in less than ten seconds.

Upon seeing this, Huang Rong looked astonished:
"Brother Lu Chen, didn't you say the armored vehicles and machine guns were really powerful? How come they were so fragile? They were destroyed by that monster in just a few moves?"

Lu Chen's expression was solemn:

"Because that monster is stronger..."

A powerful monster capable of tearing apart an armored vehicle would probably require heavy artillery or high-yield bombs to kill.

However, it is clearly impossible to deploy heavy artillery or large bombs in the city center.

In this situation, it's time for the superpowered to step in.

really.

Just as the scorpion-shaped monster was wreaking havoc...

An olive-shaped orange light bullet suddenly fell from the sky and struck the monster's back.

The monster's sturdy shell, capable of withstanding heavy machine gun fire, was easily pierced by the light bullets as if it were made of paper.

Then the light bullet that had pierced the monster's carapace and entered its body exploded violently again. After a burst of bright light, the monster was torn to pieces on the spot, its limbs flying everywhere, and it was dead beyond any doubt.

"Huh, what kind of weapon is this?"

Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise.

"That's not a weapon, it's the superpower of a superhuman."

A ripple also appeared in Lu Chen's eyes:

"Jingguo's star superpowered individual, 'Super Heavy Cannon' Leilong, can use his hand to generate light-emitting bullets that can destroy a heavy tank with a single shot."

As they were talking, the helicopter's aerial camera shot onto the rooftop of a building on the side of the road on the television screen.

A young man dressed in a black, tight-fitting combat suit, wearing goggles, and sporting a neat buzz cut, stood on the edge of the building's rooftop, looking down with a cold expression.

After the aerial camera gave the young man multiple close-ups from various angles, the view returned to the host inside the helicopter, who said excitedly:

"Thunder Dragon! Thunder Dragon has appeared! As always, he lived up to expectations, blasting away the ferocious monster that could even destroy armored vehicles with a single blow, saving countless innocent lives... Cheers, audience, cheer for our hero 'Super Heavy Cannon'!"

Upon seeing this, Huang Rong pouted slightly:
"Although that Thunder Dragon is quite powerful, judging from its posture and expression just now, it felt a bit like it was putting on a show..."

Lu Chen chuckled, approving of Huang Rong's keen insight.

The super-powered celebrities in Jing Kingdom are indeed very good at performing.

They frequently participate in various interviews and variety shows, and also endorse various advertisements.

Lei Long is actually quite shy; he's only good at acting cool.

Some of the more active superpowered individuals even advertise and promote products directly in front of news cameras after their fights...

Of course, Lu Chen also expressed his understanding.

All of Jing Kingdom's resources are controlled by those upper-class families. Even superpowered individuals, if they are not born into wealthy families, still have to work hard to earn a living.

If one wants to climb to the upper class, one has to pay an even greater price, such as marrying into a wealthy family, serving them, or even becoming a lackey of a powerful family.

As for why powerful superpowered individuals are so humble, it's naturally because those at the top wield even greater power.

Furthermore, superpowered individuals are not all-rounders.

Like that Thunder Dragon, its attack power is terrifyingly strong, capable of shattering a heavy tank with a single blow, but its physique is only slightly stronger than that of an ordinary person. No matter how hard it trains, it can still be taken down by a single sniper bullet.

Their perception is not any more acute than that of ordinary people, unless they are perception-type superpowered individuals. Ordinary superpowered individuals, let alone "the cicada senses the autumn wind before it blows," do not even possess the perceptive ability of martial arts masters in the Legend of the Condor Heroes world, who can see in all directions and hear in all directions.

Most superpowered individuals fall into this category: they are strong in offense but weak in defense, possess terrifying bursts of power, but have too many physical weaknesses.

Even those with superpowers that enhance their physical abilities are mostly unable to withstand bullets or shells with larger calibers, or various kinds of poisons.

In short, if the higher-ups are determined to eliminate a superpowered individual, then virtually no one can escape their fate.

Because reality is so cruel, even superpowered individuals have to bow their heads.

Of course, having superpowers also has many advantages.

As long as you register with the government, you can receive a substantial monthly allowance, but the price is that you will be required to act if you are conscripted.

Of course, depending on the circumstances, one can refuse to be drafted.

However, once you refuse a draft, you cannot refuse the next draft under any circumstances, otherwise you will lose your allowance.

To have the allowance reinstated, one must perform three unpaid services.

If you are talented and have a good image, you have the opportunity to become a star, appear on variety shows, run advertisements, and make a lot of money. You will also be favored by wealthy families and actively recruited.

In short, as long as one is not too ambitious, it is not a problem for superpowered individuals to make a living or even get rich.

If one is willing to align oneself with the ruling group and is willing to pay a small price in terms of dignity, then becoming a member of the ruling group is not impossible.

After reading this news...

Huang Rong had already realized the dangers of the "Immortal Realm".

Of course, she wasn't too scared.

She felt that with her current lightness skill, she could easily escape from that scorpion monster without suffering any harm.

Even the incredibly powerful light bullets from the "super heavy cannon" Thunder Dragon could be easily dodged if she detected them in advance.

"Brother Lu Chen, are there many demons in the Immortal Realm?"

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then said:

"It's not a huge number, but it's not a small number either. If you're lucky, you might never encounter one in your entire life. But if you're unlucky, encountering one could be fatal for an ordinary person. My parents... died fighting against the monsters back then." Four years ago, a "secret realm" suddenly appeared in the "Great Green Mountain" west of Qingtu City, and thousands of monsters poured out of the secret realm, heading towards the city.

Local garrison forces were mobilized urgently, and due to the intensity of the fighting and the shortage of manpower, a large number of auxiliary personnel were also recruited from the civilian population.

Lu Chen's parents, both junior medical staff, were also conscripted to a field hospital.

As a result, the field hospital was unfortunately breached by the monsters and then repeatedly ravaged by heavy artillery. By the time the monsters were finally wiped out and the battlefield was cleaned up, not a single piece of human tissue could be found.

Lu Chen's parents then "disappeared".

Because of the monster tide four years ago, and the existence of the "secret realm" that has not yet been explored and whose monster tide may break out again at any time, major companies have withdrawn from Qingtu City, foreign capital has stopped investing in Qingtu City, and citizens who have some means have also moved away.

In just four years, Qingtu City has lost half its population, suffered an economic recession, experienced a real estate crash, soared prices for daily necessities, and was rife with gangs, making it no longer a livable place.

Lu Chen naturally wanted to move away as well.

But he had neither money nor connections, so...

The only option is to strive to become stronger.

As for going to university in another city, that's wishful thinking.

The education system of Jing Kingdom is also extremely inhumane.

In Jingguo, if you can't get a recommendation letter from a prominent figure, don't have a wealthy family background, or have exceptionally outstanding grades that qualify you for a full scholarship, then you'll be burdened with a mountain of student loans.

Lu Chen's parents only paid off their student loans two years before they passed away, and then worked hard to save money for another two years to leave Lu Chen enough inheritance to last until today.

In fact, before the accident, the couple had never been able to save up enough money to buy a house in their entire lives, and they had always lived in rented accommodations with Lu Chen.

The reason why Lu Chen, who was fourteen years old before he awakened, wanted this small villa was because of his parents' and his own obsession with the house.

If you don't want to take on a lot of student loans, then you can only attend a local vocational school.

Before he awakened his memories of his past life, Lu Chen was still thinking about trying his best, even if it meant taking on student loans, he wanted to go to university.

But after awakening, Lu Chen gave up directly—he had already attended university in his previous life, had no special longing for university, and was simply tired of studying.

He had neither background nor money in this life, and his grades before awakening were only average to excellent, so he couldn't possibly get into a top university.

If you go to an ordinary university with student loans, then find an ordinary job and become an ordinary office worker, you'll have to live a frugal life for twenty or thirty years to pay off your student loans, and you'll also have to worry about being laid off and unemployed every day...

With the "Sword Intent of Immortal Slaughter" by his side, Xue Luchen had no desire to live that kind of miserable life.

At worst, we can pretend to be superpowered and collect the allowance directly.

Anyway, Lu Chen felt that with his current martial arts skills, he could call himself a body-enhancing superpower user.

He could leap over ten meters in a single bound, jump over ten meters high, and sprint a hundred meters in less than three seconds. His small-scale movements were so fast they were dazzling. He wielded a heavy weapon weighing over eighty pounds with ease in one hand...

Isn't this clearly a physical enhancement superpower?

……

The night is deep.

Lu Chen sat in front of the computer, first looking for sword shops on shopping websites and ordering two longswords made of high-strength manganese steel. Then he began to search for information and study the relevant procedures, benefits, and risks of registering as a superpowered person.

He wasn't necessarily after the government's allowance for people with superpowers.

He just wanted to investigate some things—

As a time traveler in a different world, one will instinctively feel insecure.

In this life, his parents died in a demonic chaos, making Lu Chen crave security even more and extremely resistant to situations where he knew nothing and left his life and death to fate.

That's why he pursued strength with the motto "train until you die, as long as you don't die."

So he was also eager to know, "What exactly is this 'secret realm'? And why are the demons appearing?"
This world is clearly a prosperous world of technology and information, so why are there all sorts of extremely dangerous supernatural creatures?
Where did they come from? From another planet, or from another dimension?

Or perhaps it was conceived by the world itself?
So, deeper within the world, are there even more terrifying threats lurking, enough to destroy an entire civilization?

However, given the extent to which the Jing Kingdom's high-ranking officials blocked information, as a commoner, he had almost no chance of coming into contact with the "inner world."

To uncover those secrets, one must deal with the government.

Of course, his current abilities are not yet very strong. Even when exploring those secrets, he will be extremely cautious, taking it one step at a time, without being impatient or agitated.

Furthermore, even if one is registered with the government and receives a stipend, one still has the opportunity to refuse conscription.

If you really don't want to work for the government, you can keep refusing to be conscripted; at worst, you can just forgo your allowance.

While browsing posts on a forum where people with superpowers are said to occasionally appear.

Huang Rong came running in with a clatter.

"Brother Lu Chen, I've finished taking a shower."

Lu Chen turned around and saw Huang Rong wearing a round-neck short-sleeved T-shirt, revealing her fair forearms and delicate collarbones, and a pair of boxer shorts that covered her knees, revealing her two long, straight, snow-white legs.

Her delicate little feet were wearing a pair of large slippers, and her pearly, crystal-clear toes would occasionally curl up, as if the slippers made her little feet feel a little uncomfortable.

Because she hadn't had time to buy new clothes today, Huang Rong was wearing the old clothes that Lu Chen had worn when he was fifteen.

Back then, he hadn't started growing taller yet, and was only slightly taller than Rong'er is now. This T-shirt and shorts, although a bit loose on Rong'er, were enough to get by for one night.

And Rong'er certainly didn't mind wearing his clothes.

In her eyes, she was already his bride-to-be, and they could live in the same house and sleep in the same bed. What was wrong with wearing his clothes?

However, when Lu Chen stared intently at her, she lowered her head shyly. A blush rose on her delicate, flawless face, and her tender toes curled nervously. In a soft, sweet voice, she asked:

"Brother Lu Chen, why are you looking at me like that?"

Lu Chen came to his senses and smiled:
"My clothes don't really fit you. I'll make do with these for tonight, and I'll buy you new pajamas tomorrow."

Huang Rong said softly:
"Although it's a little big, it's very comfortable for me to wear."

"As long as you're comfortable. It's getting late, shouldn't you go to sleep?"

"Yeah, I'm a little sleepy."

Having seen so many new and interesting things today, and watched TV for several hours, it's almost 11 o'clock now. After a day of excitement, Huang Rong is indeed sleepy.

"Then let's go to sleep first."

Huang Rong nodded, pattered to the bedside, sat down and bounced a few times, then turned and leaped onto the bed, rolled twice on the newly changed sheets, then lay face down facing Lu Chen, her hands supporting her chin, her two snow-white legs raised, her little feet kicking in the air, and said with a grin:

"It's so soft and bouncy, this bed is even more comfortable than the sofa."

"If you like it, that's good..."

Lu Chen smiled as he looked at Huang Rong, but because of her current posture of resting her chin on her hand and lying down, his gaze inadvertently swept over her slightly loose neckline and saw a snow-white and tender curve, and even a touch of light rose red.

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned back to look at the computer screen and said:
"It's getting late, Rong'er, go to sleep."

"Mmm." Huang Rong, unaware of what Lu Chen had seen, asked him with a grin, "What about you, Brother Lu Chen?"

"I need to do some research first, and then practice my kung fu for a while longer."

"OK then."

Huang Rong rolled over twice more on the bed, hid on the right pillow, pulled the blanket over herself, then gently patted the left pillow and said to Lu Chen:
"Brother Lu Chen, I've saved the left side for you. You should go to sleep early too."

Lu Chen nodded:
"Okay. I'll go to sleep after midnight."

Soon, Huang Rong's breathing became even and soft, and she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Lu Chen slowly exhaled a long breath, calming his agitated emotions. He then searched for information on the computer for a while, and after obtaining the information he wanted, he turned off the computer and went to the second-floor hall. He then assumed a stance and began practicing swordsmanship, using his fingers as a sword.

He practiced until midnight, then took a shower, changed into his pajamas, and returned to the bedroom. There he saw Huang Rong lying on her side, curled up, with one of her small, white feet peeking out from under the covers rather restlessly.

A smile appeared on Lu Chen's lips as he went over and pulled the blanket up to cover her small feet.

Afterwards, he sat cross-legged on the bed, first carefully comprehending the "Sword Two Imprint" for a while, and then circulated the internal energy cultivation method of Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian, quickly entering a meditative state of forgetting himself and the world.

Just over three hours later, before four in the morning, Lu Chen opened his eyes again, glanced at Rong'er beside him, and seeing that she was sleeping soundly, he quietly got out of bed, washed up, went downstairs and out the door, broke off a three-foot-long bamboo branch about the thickness of a chopstick from the green forest in the community, and returned to his villa courtyard to practice his swordsmanship.

At first, his swordsmanship was no different from before; the moves were still the same.

But as they practiced, the sound of those thin bamboo branches piercing the air gradually changed.

When it slashes and cuts, the sound of it cutting through the air is like a sudden storm, and the airflow it generates can sweep several meters away.

Sa——

Amidst the sharp whistling of the wind, the bamboo branches were chopped and hacked, and despite being just thin bamboo branches, they unleashed a fierce and powerful force like that of a heavy sword or broadsword.

Soon, the fierce momentum suddenly changed again. The bamboo branches slashed and thrust rapidly, bending and twisting, creating a series of afterimages. The sound of the bamboo cutting through the air was almost inaudible, giving people a feeling of softness and silk.

The sword technique of Lu Chen shifts back and forth between fierceness and gentleness. The sound of bamboo branches cutting through the air sometimes sounds like a storm, lightning and thunder, and sometimes like a gentle breeze and drizzle, or even a light breeze on the face.

Before we knew it, it was already broad daylight.

Huang Rong peeked out from the second-floor balcony, watched Lu Chen practice his sword for a while, then went back to wash up and change clothes, before going to the first-floor kitchen to make breakfast.

After preparing breakfast, she interrupted Lu Chen's sword practice and called him to eat.

while eating.

She then asked Lu Chen:
"Brother Lu Chen, if I go out wearing my own clothes, will people think I'm a monster?"

While watching TV last night, she noticed that the people in the "celestial realm" dressed very differently from those in her own world. She hadn't seen anyone dressed like her in the news or on the streets.

Lu Chen laughed and said, "It's alright. There are plenty of strange clothes in this world, and quite a few people wear ancient costumes on the street."

Huang Rong blinked: "Ancient costume? Ancient clothing?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "That's right. In ancient times, the style of clothing in this world was similar to yours. Nowadays, the royal family holds a triennial sacrificial ceremony to heaven, and all participants wear ancient-style ceremonial robes."

"That puts my mind at ease."

Huang Rong smiled and nodded, not feeling that there was anything wrong with the existence of a "royal family" in this world.

Or rather, in her mind, it would be strange for a country not to have a royal family.

After breakfast, the two did not go out immediately, but practiced their martial arts at home for a while until almost nine o'clock before walking out of the villa community.

There are quite a few residents in the villa community, but there are hardly any wealthy people. Some, like Lu Chen, have been scammed, while others, since they can't move and can't afford to buy a house in another city, simply bought a cheap villa to enjoy themselves.

In short, this was originally a high-end villa community in the city center where the wealthy gathered, but now the residents are at most middle-class urban dwellers, and Lu Chen has never seen a single real tycoon.

Along the way, the two encountered many residents of the community.

Huang Rong's attire and beauty naturally attracted a lot of attention, but at most people just glanced at her a few more times, and nothing unpleasant happened.

Seeing that no one was really treating her like a "demon" and gathering a crowd to watch, Huang Rong finally felt relieved. Holding Lu Chen's hand, she walked briskly, glancing left and right from time to time, and getting to know the new things in the neighborhood with Lu Chen's introduction.

As they approached the gate of the residential area, Lu Chen took out a pair of large sunglasses from his backpack and asked Huang Rong to put them on.

Huang Rong put on her sunglasses and immediately felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her vision becoming very poor. She immediately took off her sunglasses and asked:

Why do I have to wear this?

"There are some areas in the city with poor security, and gangs are active there. Those people aren't as polite as the residents of the neighborhood. Rong'er, you're so pretty, you might get targeted by gang members and cause some trouble."

"Oh."

Huang Rong had seen the news last night and knew that if she caused any big trouble in this world, it might not be as easy to resolve as it was in her world. So she obediently put on sunglasses to cover part of her face.

Lu Chen took her to a nearby bus stop and they took a bus to the commercial area.

Huang Rong had been looking forward to riding in a car for a long time, and now that she was actually in one, she was overjoyed. She would look out the window at the tall buildings and marvel at how they could be built so tall, and then look at the cars of all sizes on the street and think that the vehicles in the immortal realm were indeed amazing, able to run so fast without mules or horses.

Of course, with her wit, she wouldn't show too much of a strange expression; no matter how excited or shocked she was, she controlled her expression very well.

At most, she would whisper a few words to Lu Chen from time to time to express her feelings.

Lu Chen knew that with Huang Rong's ability to learn, she would soon be able to become familiar with and adapt to everything in the main world.

My current excitement is simply because I'm new here and everything is new and exciting.

Therefore, he listened to her story very patiently and answered her questions that sounded childish and funny.

The bus stopped and started frequently, and arrived at its destination after about ten minutes.

Lu Chen took Huang Rong's hand and got off the car. He led her across the overpass to the opposite side of the bus station and found a large gold shop, intending to sell some of his gold there.

Upon entering the gold shop and explaining his purpose, the goldsmith took the small gold ingot he handed over, without asking a single question about its origin, and immediately began weighing and determining its purity.

This is why Lu Chen insisted on bringing back gold to exchange for money.

Making a move is that easy.

After the appraisal, because there were some impurities, the gold shop owner gave a price that was slightly lower than the standard buyback price.

Today's buyback price is 218 yuan per gram, and the gold shop owner is asking for 206 yuan.

After some haggling, Lu Chen managed to get a two-yuan discount and settled on 208 yuan.

He sold over 800 grams of gold at this jewelry store, and his bank account received over 170,000 yuan.

After that, he went to several other gold shops and sold all of the more than six kilograms of gold, totaling more than 3,000 grams, earning a total of more than 700,000 yuan.

Jingguo is a major world power, and Jingyuan has considerable purchasing power. For many ordinary people who are burdened with various loans and have to spend most of their monthly income on loan repayments, and who can't save much money at the end of the year, more than 700,000 yuan is a huge sum of money.

With money in his account, Lu Chen naturally wanted to take Huang Rong out to spend money—in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, he had always been supported by the rich and beautiful Rong'er, and now it was his turn to support her.

Although Qingtu City has experienced a sharp decline in population and economic depression, it has only lost half of its population and still has a considerable market. Therefore, there are always adventurous merchants coming to Qingtu City to make money, and the commercial district in the city center still retains some of its former prosperity.

At least in Huang Rong's view, this place was countless times more prosperous than Zhongdu of the Jin Kingdom or Lin'an of the Song Kingdom.

According to Lu Chen, this was just an ordinary city that was slowly dying and gradually withering away due to the threat of the "mysterious demons".

If a city that claims to be in a state of depression is like this, then what must a truly prosperous metropolis look like?
While strolling through the streets with Lu Chen, Huang Rong felt a little curious as she looked at the wide streets lined with tall buildings and bustling with traffic.

Lu Chen first took Huang Rong to buy a cell phone, then took her to buy clothes. He bought her clothes, shoes, and accessories of all styles, and as long as Huang Rong liked them, Lu Chen swiped his card without hesitation.

By noon, Lu Chen's hands were full of bags and pouches, while Huang Rong carried several bags of clothes.

With their hands already full, Lu Chen couldn't go shopping anymore, so he took Huang Rong to a restaurant for a big meal, then took a taxi home, put their things down and rested for a while before going out again to continue shopping.

After a wonderful day of fun, the two finally returned home in the evening with a bountiful harvest.

This time, Lu Chen also bought her a laptop.

Although mobile phones can access the internet, their screens are too small and can affect eyesight. For extended periods of internet use, it's better to use a computer.

"Brother Lu Chen, how do I look in this outfit?"

That evening, Huang Rong, dressed in her newly bought clothes, gave Lu Chen a big smile.

She wore a red belted, open-collar blazer over a white shirt with a bow tie at the neckline.

She wore a gray-blue plaid mini-skirt, revealing half of her round, snow-white thighs and slender, well-proportioned calves.

She was wearing white socks and round-toed leather shoes, and her long hair was tied in a bun, dressed like a middle school student.

Lu Chen's eyes lit up, and he took out his phone to take a picture of her at that moment.

Huang Rong struck a few poses with a grin, then skipped and hopped back to her room to change her clothes.

She bought a lot of new clothes today, and she wanted to try them on one by one for Lu Chen to admire.

Rong'er has a truly keen eye for choosing clothes; every outfit suits her perfectly.

Every style of clothing—school uniform, casual wear, sportswear, even maid outfit—exudes a completely different charm and style on her, making her a true chameleon.

While enjoying the view, Lu Chen also took pictures of all her different looks to keep as a memento.

The next few days.

Lu Chen took Huang Rong around the city, taking her on the subway, visiting parks, shopping malls, playing video games, watching movies, and riding the Ferris wheel at the amusement park... He made sure she had a great time with all sorts of fun activities.

Huang Rong felt that they had gone too far and delayed Lu Chen's training time too much, so the crazy fun finally came to a temporary end.

Lu Chen finally decided to register with the government as a body-enhancing superpower user in order to gain access to the "inner world".

[This chapter is 10,000 words long, so that's all for today. Please vote with your monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)