Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Early in the morning, behind the inn, Lu Ze and Da Ben were searching the area to avoid any spies from the Demonic Cult.

Not far away, Rainbow Cat and his two companions stood with swords in hand.

"The three swords combined!"

Sword light flashed and sword energy soared into the sky. Even though Lu Ze was far away, he could still feel the suppression of the powerful internal force.

"The combined power of the three swords is already so great, I wonder what the combined power of the seven swords of the Seven Heroes would be like!" Da Ben gazed into the distance, his face filled with longing.

As the sword light shone, a clear projection appeared in the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly the shadow of some buildings, with the three large characters "Liuqi Pavilion" faintly visible on the plaque among them.

-

Sunlight streamed through the windows into the inn's lobby, but the air still carried the lingering scent of blood.

Ma San Niang's body had already been disposed of. Hong Mao personally carried out the task, cleanly and swiftly piercing her heart with a single sword strike.

"As the vice leader of the Demonic Sect and the head of a hall within it, Ma San Niang secretly learned the Purple Cloud Sword Technique and even mastered it to the ninth level. Isn't she just trying to replace the Purple Cloud Sword Master and become a spy?"

"If it drags on for a day or two, it's possible she'll even manage to send out the message." Rainbow Cat wiped the Rainbow Sword, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather. "The Demonic Sect's methods are unpredictable; we can't take that risk."

Blue Rabbit remained silent. It wasn't that she disagreed with Rainbow Cat's decision, but watching a life end like this was still somewhat unbearable. However, she also knew that Ma San Niang was a spy planted by the Demonic Sect. If she were allowed to leave alive, the Seven Swords' whereabouts would be completely exposed, and then they might all die.

Lu Ze watched this scene without much emotion. Ma San Niang was indeed such a character in the original work—insidious, cunning, and ruthless in achieving her goals. Her death was inevitable; it was only a matter of time.

"Alright," Rainbow Cat sheathed his sword, turned to look at everyone, "that's enough about Ma San Niang. Our top priority now is to find the remaining four sword inheritors."

Rainbow Cat took out a yellowed parchment scroll from his pocket. It had a rough map drawn on it and marked several locations: "We've found Blue Rabbit and Sally. Next, we should go here—"

His finger landed on a location on the map marked "Huangshizhai".

"Huangshi Village?" Blue Rabbit leaned over for a look. "I've heard of this place. Liuqi Pavilion should be there. There lives a highly skilled doctor who heals the sick and saves lives. He's known in the martial arts world as 'DouDou'."

"The abbot of the Six Wonders Pavilion Taoist Temple, Dou Dou." Rainbow Cat nodded. "If we can find him, perhaps we can find out the location of the next sword successor!"

When Lu Ze heard the name "Dou Dou," the image of the timid, chicken-leg-loving, but reliable little doctor from the original work immediately came to mind.

However, he has another problem to solve right now.

"Young Master Rainbow Cat," Lu Ze stepped forward and said earnestly, "I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

"Young Master Lu, please speak."

"I would like to ask you all to teach me martial arts."

Lu Ze was very direct. His martial arts skills were poor, unlike the others present who came from families with extensive training. In real danger, he could only rely on Hong Mao and the others for protection. He didn't want to be a burden forever.

Furthermore, in every team fight, as the healer, Lu Ze is the one who suffers the most as long as he doesn't die. Lu Ze can remove negative status effects and provide sustain, but he desperately needs the ability to protect himself.

Rainbow Cat pondered for a moment, then nodded: "What you say makes sense. However, our sword techniques involve the Seven Swords Combined, so I cannot teach them to you. Nevertheless, I will do my utmost to teach Young Hero Lu the rest of his martial arts to repay your kindness!"

"I can teach you breathing techniques," Blue Rabbit offered. "In any case, the internal energy cultivation methods are the same."

"Brother Lu, I can teach you a few stick techniques for self-defense," Da Ben said, patting his Water-Fire Copper Cudgel. "Simple, straightforward, and effective is all that matters. But you'll have to give me a few jugs of good wine first! Hahaha!"

Sally chuckled softly, "It seems everyone is quite considerate of Young Master Lu."

Lu Ze touched his nose somewhat embarrassedly, but still bowed respectfully to everyone: "Thank you all."

-

The group packed their belongings and prepared to set off for Liuqi Pavilion. Since the Demonic Sect was currently searching for them and was likely already on their way to Jinbianxi Inn, they decided to keep things simple.

At the entrance of the inn, Sally, carrying the Purple Cloud Sword, looked spirited and even more like a female knight-errant than yesterday. Turning her head to look at the inn's signboard, she said, "After defeating Black Heart Tiger and thwarting the Demonic Sect's conspiracy, I will come back and reopen this inn."

"Liuqi Pavilion is about several hundred miles from here." Rainbow Cat looked at the map and then at the group. "If we ride at full speed, we'll arrive in a few days."

The group traveled along the official road. Over the next few days, Lu Ze began to learn from them.

"Young Master Lu's internal strength foundation is already quite solid, and his physical constitution is excellent," Lan Tu said with some surprise. "It's just that his original internal strength was too simple and superficial, and some of his meridians are still somewhat stagnant."

Internal energy cultivation is a gradual process, and there's no quick way for everyone to achieve it. Lan Tu recommended that Lu Ze switch to a better internal energy cultivation method, and then he followed the others to learn more about internal energy martial arts. Perhaps he could create his own peerless mental cultivation method in the future.

Rainbow Cat's Rainbow Sword Technique is fierce and domineering, Blue Rabbit's Ice Soul Sword Technique uses stillness to control movement and softness to overcome hardness, Sally's Purple Cloud Sword Qi is all-pervasive, and Da Ben's staff technique only has a few simple and practical moves - "Sweeping the Army", "Raising Fire to the Sky" and "Mount Tai Pressing Down", each move is wide and powerful, without any fancy moves, but it is practical.

After discussion, everyone decided to create a set of deer-slaying techniques based on Lu Ze's methods. It consisted of just a few moves: chopping, slashing, stabbing, and thrusting. They practiced these moves over and over until their muscles memorized each one.

"If you encounter an enemy you can't beat, run away. If you can't run away, use these moves to block them and wait for us to come and rescue you," Da Ben said bluntly and honestly.

In terms of light-footed skills, he taught her everything he knew, such as "Searching for Plum Blossoms in the Snow" and "Lingbo Weibu" (light steps on water).

Lu Ze absorbed everyone's martial arts knowledge with great eagerness, trying his best to fill his own gaps.

-

Liuqi Pavilion is located halfway up the mountain. It is a three-story pavilion built against the mountain with white walls, green tiles, flying eaves and upturned corners. It looks quite ethereal from a distance.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that the condition of this "Fairy Pavilion" was far from good.

The paint on the gate was peeling and chipped, and the yard was piled with all kinds of herbs, some drying, some chopped, some boiled, everywhere, leaving no room to even step.

"Is anyone there?" Da Ben shouted at the top of his lungs.

No one answered.

"Did they go out?" Blue Rabbit guessed.

Lu Ze noticed a figure flash past the window on the second floor of the attic. He narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

Rainbow Cat also noticed the abnormality. He made a gesture, signaling everyone to disperse, and then picked up his sword and walked towards the gate.

Just then, a panicked voice came from the attic: "No, don't come in! I don't have any 'Medical Compendium for Saving the World' here, you've come to the wrong place!"

Everyone looked at each other.

Da Ben couldn't hold back any longer and pushed the door open, saying, "We're here to see the miracle doctor Dou Dou, not to find some 'Medical Compendium for Saving the World'!"

"I'm just an ordinary doctor, not some miracle cure!"

The sound came from behind a pile of medicinal herbs. Lu Ze went around to take a look and saw a dog-headed boy huddled behind a medicine cabinet, holding a whisk as a weapon, his round face filled with terror.

The boy was wearing a faded gray Taoist robe with a headscarf tied on his head, making him look both comical and adorable.

"You're DouDou?" Rainbow Cat asked.

"No, no! You've mistaken me for someone else!" The boy shook his head vigorously, his ears slapping against his face. "I'm just a Taoist priest who gathers herbs and treats illnesses, not some kind of miracle doctor!"