All-People Game: As a Sword Cultivator, All I Can Do is Fly with a Sword

The sea breeze howls, swirling up thousands of piles of snow.

Duan Ming looked at the golden artifact in his hand, his fervor evident in his eyes.

It was a seal no bigger than the palm of your hand, with a strange beast that resembled a dragon but was not quite a dragon coiled on it. It was golden all over, but it was neither gold nor jade, and it shimmered with a captivating luster under the moonlight.

Faced with the encirclement and suppression of the Golden Bell Guards, he, as a Grandmaster, could have directly broken through the encirclement.

Even at sea, even with heavy firepower and sonar lock-on, it wouldn't be difficult for him to escape, given that he already had one foot in the inhuman realm. At most, it would just take a bit of effort, and he could even dismantle a few speedboats for fun.

But just as he was about to make his move, the golden seal he had been clutching in his hand suddenly became as heavy as a mountain.

It's not an adjective; it refers to weight in a physical sense.

It felt as if a huge mountain had suddenly pressed down on his palm.

Caught completely off guard, he was pulled directly into the sea and slammed straight down to the seabed.

At that moment, he was completely dumbfounded.

If a grandmaster were to drown in the sea, it would be the biggest joke in the martial arts world for hundreds of years.

However, just as he was about to suffocate and was about to discard the treasure to survive, a miracle occurred.

The mythical beast on the seal seemed to come alive, and a faint golden light spread out from the seal, enveloping his entire body.

The seawater was kept out, and the area inside the light cover was filled with fresh air.

Wearing a golden eggshell on his head, he strolled along the seabed, watching the speedboats spinning aimlessly overhead, and felt an indescribable sense of absurdity and superiority.

"Water-repelling spell? Or water-repelling bead?"

Duan Ming stroked the cool surface of the seal, a smile that was hard to describe appearing on his lips.

"Indeed, what is recorded in ancient books is not false."

"In this world, besides martial arts, there truly exists another, higher system of power."

"And I, Duan Ming, am that chosen one!"

The reason he didn't immediately retaliate wasn't because he was afraid of being hunted down by the Golden Bell Kingdom, but because he couldn't bear to give up that unprecedented experience.

He remained underwater for a full two hours until the strange weight disappeared, at which point he surfaced using his own strength.

"The Duchy of Golden Bell, humph, we'll settle this score later."

Duan Ming carefully put the seal away, chose a direction, and strode across the waves as if walking on flat ground towards the distant coastline.

Now that the existence of the celestial artifacts has been confirmed, the next step of the plan needs to be changed.

Those ancient families hidden deep in the mountains and forests are probably going to get restless, aren't they?

……

……

Meanwhile, at Qingsong Temple.

After resting and recuperating, and with the help of ten large meat buns and two bowls of soy milk specially made by the kitchen auntie, Li Jin felt like she had come back to life.

He stretched and decided to go visit Xuan Chengzi.

Firstly, they wanted to see if the old man had made any new discoveries, and secondly, they wanted to find out some news from the outside world.

Despite living deep in the mountains, the old man Xuan Chengzi was incredibly trendy, always keeping up with the latest internet trends and possessing better knowledge of all sorts of gossip in the martial arts world than anyone else.

As soon as Li Jin arrived at the entrance of Xuan Chengzi's courtyard, he saw him sitting cross-legged on a futon in the courtyard, his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and his old face flushed red, as if he were struggling with something.

"snort!"

"ha!"

He also made strange humming and hawing sounds, trying to use the most basic power exertion techniques in martial arts to guide the unruly spiritual energy in his body.

However, those spiritual energies were like mischievous monkeys, leaping and bounding through his meridians, refusing to go where he wanted them to go.

"Ugh!"

Xuan Chengzi was deflated. He opened his eyes, picked up the goji berry tea next to him, and took a few sips.

"How's it going, old man? Still not working?" Li Jin leaned against the doorframe, a teasing smile on his face.

Xuan Chengzi rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Do you think everyone's like you, a freak who just got lucky?"

"This stuff can only be absorbed passively, and in such small amounts, it's like a tickle. Aside from making you feel a little better, it's completely useless."

Grandmasters are already used to the feeling of controlling their bodies, but now there is a completely uncontrollable spiritual energy in their bodies, which makes Xuan Chengzi feel uncomfortable all over.

"Oh, right, you've come at the perfect time." Xuan Chengzi seemed to remember something, picked up the tablet computer on the stone table next to him, swiped it a couple of times, and handed it to Li Jin.

"Look, the two biggest news stories in the martial arts world are both related to you."

Li Jin took the tablet; the screen displayed a news app from within the martial arts world.

The headline, in bold black font, read: "Divine Will Sect Master Duan Ming launches a night raid on the Golden Bell cargo ship, suspected of stealing ancient treasures; the Golden Bell royal family is furious!"

The news report basically said that Duan Ming, that madman, stole something in the waters of the Golden Bell Kingdom, and now the Golden Bell Guards are hunting him down all over the world.

There are also many comments below.

"He's gone mad! Duan Ming has completely lost his mind. He even dares to provoke the Golden Bell Royal Family."

"I heard that the ship was carrying treasures that had just been salvaged from the ancient site. I guess Duan Ming went there specifically for those."

"It's strange. Lately, it seems like all the major powers are keeping their most treasured antiques and treasures very safe. A few days ago, I wanted to go to the Tianwu Museum to see the Zhenshan Sword, but they said it was closed for maintenance."

"I guess those old guys must have discovered something, which is why they hid all those artifacts."

Li Jin looked at these comments and understood.

It seems that not only Xuan Chengzi, but also those powerful figures standing at the pinnacle of the world have gradually sensed the existence of spiritual energy.

A brand new era is truly about to begin.

He continued reading the second news item.

[The Martial Arts Supervision Department launched a swift and decisive attack, eradicating multiple strongholds of the Divine Will Sect within the Golden Dragon Kingdom!]

The news report included photos of several manors that had been razed to the ground, as well as groups of Shenyi Sect disciples wearing specially made shackles.

"Oh? The Military Affairs Bureau is that efficient?"

Li Jin was somewhat surprised.

Xuan Chengzi curled his lip and took another sip of goji berry tea: "High my ass! If Duan Ming hadn't caused such a huge problem for the Golden Bell Kingdom, do you think the Martial Arts Supervision Department would be working so hard?"

"This is for show, to demonstrate that the official government of our Golden Dragon Kingdom does not welcome the Divine Will Sect and is distancing itself from them."

"In short, the matter of Zhang Jingfan is over. The Divine Will Sect is too busy to bother us for the time being."

Li Jin nodded and returned the tablet to Xuan Chengzi.

A weight has finally been lifted from my heart.

Although he was not afraid to hide in Qingsong Temple, it was not a good thing to be constantly being remembered by others.

Seeing Xuan Chengzi still sighing over his inability to actively use his spiritual energy, Li Jin pondered for a moment.

The old man had a high opinion of him and considered him a free bodyguard. The stronger the old man was, the safer he would be.

It's time to upgrade his bodyguard.

"Old man, come here, I'll teach you a set of moves." Li Jin beckoned to him.

Xuan Chengzi looked at him suspiciously: "You? Teach me?"

"Learn it or don't."

"Learn, learn, learn!"

Xuan Chengzi jumped up from the futon, moved closer to Li Jin, rubbed his hands together, and looked on with anticipation.

"Is it one of those methods you use to manipulate spiritual energy?"

"No," Li Jin shook his head and started to bluff, "It's just that I've been bored lately, and I came up with a method to improve my health by combining it with the martial arts of Qingsong Temple. I feel like it's quite effective. Do you want to give it a try?"

As she spoke, Li Jin began to demonstrate the entire Hidden Dragon Skill, coordinating the movements with her unique breathing rhythm.

Who is Xuan Chengzi?

A grandmaster of martial arts, with an incredibly sharp eye.

He only watched it once, but he immediately grasped the brilliance of the movements.

The seemingly simple movements contain profound principles for strengthening muscles and bones, especially the unique breathing method, which is unheard of.

He immediately started to imitate the cat's movements.

After one session, he felt his whole body warm up, and his limbs and bones felt indescribably comfortable.

To his even greater surprise, the chaotic spiritual energy within his body was now being guided by these movements, and began to flow rhythmically through his body.

Although it is still impossible to actively mobilize it, the absorption efficiency is much higher than before.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Xuan Chengzi couldn't help but clap his hands in praise, looking at Li Jin as if he were looking at a rare treasure.

"You're a genius! Just by randomly thinking about it, you managed to come up with such a powerful body-refining method?"

However, he quickly frowned, touched his chin, and looked puzzled.

"Strange, why does this set of movements feel somewhat familiar? It's like I've seen something similar in some fragmented ancient book."

This old guy has a pretty good memory.

Li Jin shrugged and replied with a prepared excuse: "I've read the martial arts manuals of our Qingsong Temple the most, and pieced them together to understand them. It's normal that I'm a little familiar with them."

"All martial arts under heaven, though varied, share the same fundamental principles."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Xuan Chengzi was fooled by his words and thought it made sense, so he didn't pursue the matter any further.

His mind was completely occupied with this miraculous body-refining technique, and he had no time to think about anything else.

"Kid, what's the name of this technique?"

"Hidden Dragon Skill"

"What a wonderful name!" Xuan Chengzi exclaimed with delight. "Don't worry, I certainly won't reveal something this good!"

Li Jin wanted to hear those words; he didn't want this cultivation technique to become commonplace.

"Alright, you can practice anytime. I'm leaving now."

Having achieved his goal, Li Jin waved his hand, turned around, and left the courtyard.

Watching Li Jin's departing figure, Xuan Chengzi was filled with emotion.

He thought he would never make any progress in his life, but unexpectedly he met such a lucky star in his later years.

"A dragon lies hidden in the abyss, waiting for its time to strike. Haha, my second spring is coming!"

Xuan Chengzi couldn't wait to practice the Hidden Dragon Skill again, and the courtyard was filled with comfortable humming and hawing sounds.

……

……

There is a little-known mountain path on the back of Qingsong Mountain.

This mountain path is less a road and more a staircase carved out by our predecessors on a near-vertical cliff.

The steps are narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, with bottomless abysses on either side, shrouded in mist and clouds.

For ordinary people, let alone climbing up, just looking down is enough to make them dizzy and tremble.

At this moment, however, three figures were walking unhurriedly on this cliff.

The mountain wind howled, fluttering the hem of their clothes, but it couldn't budge them an inch.

The person in the lead was the tallest and had the most steady gait.

The two following behind lagged slightly behind, keeping pace with each other.

Their target was the Qingsong Temple, perched high in the clouds.

I don't know if they are guests or enemies.