Chapter 111 | The Galgame Martial Saint

To be honest, the moment the name of this thing appeared, Gu Chengming felt that something was very wrong.

Before he could ask the now completely transparent Founding Grand-Patriarch for more details, the entire white space began to collapse violently.

A vast and chaotic torrent enveloped Gu Chengming, making it impossible for him to speak as the world spun around him.

When a solid sensation returned to his feet and a biting cold wind mixed with snow particles slapped his face, Gu Chengming had already returned to the ice plains north of Falling Snow Pass.

The techniques within his Sea of Consciousness had differing reactions.

【While the Yin Yang Creation Strategy did not understand its true meaning, the scent of mortal entanglements emanating from the name of this creation was perfectly to its taste; it asserted that this thing must be a profound creation involving the seven emotions and six desires, and that in the future, Little Gu would likely be able to do whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted.】

【The Red Dust Phantom Step, however, was somewhat worried; for a powerhouse they had never interacted with before to suddenly grant such a legacy, could there be a risk of possession?】

Gu Chengming was also quite helpless; dealing with these powerhouses was always a hassle, as every single one of them spoke in riddles.

"Brother Gu?" A tentative voice interrupted Gu Chengming's thoughts.

Gu Chengming snapped back to reality and turned his head to see Nuo Tao crouching not far away.

The girl had clearly been thrown out before him; she was currently sitting on the snow with her hands around her knees, her pale yellow padded dress looking particularly bedraggled in the wind and snow.

Seeing Gu Chengming emerge, she immediately stood up and patted the snow from her skirt, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"So, what did the Founding Grand-Patriarch keep you inside to talk about?"

Nuo Tao leaned in, her gaze scanning Gu Chengming up and down as if trying to find some clue.

"I saw that the collapse of the secret realm was quite a big commotion. The Founding Grand-Patriarch didn't give you all his hidden treasures, did he?"

'He said he wanted to make you my lackey,' he thought to himself, but on the surface, he truthfully shared some basic information, though he did not go into detail about the creation itself.

After all, Gu Chengming himself wasn't quite sure how to use it. Could he see other people's favorability values? Or could he unlock strange plotlines by giving gifts? Or would he directly enter a CG like the MODs he knew about?

Furthermore, the name was far too terrifying; it had shifted straight from a galgame to an eroge. Oh, wait, there didn't seem to be much difference between the two.

After hearing Gu Chengming's words, although Nuo Tao felt it was a bit vague, she didn't probe further.

The inheritance of the Myriad Thief Sect always emphasized fate; since the Founding Grand-Patriarch gave it to him, then it was Brother Gu's fortune.

Moreover, she hadn't returned empty-handed from this trip either, so it could be considered a win-win situation.

However, at the thought of the final trial, Nuo Tao's gaze toward Gu Chengming became somewhat resentful.

Even though they were out, thinking back on it still made her scalp tingle.

The invisible blocks at the jumping points of the mandatory paths, the question mark boxes that looked harmless but actually hid murderous intent, and that invincibility star that absolutely couldn't be touched...

Although saying so might discourage her own side, Nuo Tao had to admit that in the 'dirty tactics' traditional to thief cultivators, this sword cultivator's talent was perhaps a notch higher than her own as a legitimate successor.

This was very disheartening.

Looking at the girl's expression, which was like that of a bullied child, Gu Chengming couldn't help but want to laugh.

But he remained serious on the surface, using various excuses to explain his mindset when creating the trials, leaving the girl completely dazed by his nonsense.

Listening to his flawed logic, Nuo Tao felt that something was wrong, but Gu Chengming didn't give her a chance to continue dwelling on it; he identified the direction and began walking toward Falling Snow Pass.

Nuo Tao hurriedly trotted to catch up.

Although she complained in her heart that Gu Chengming was too ruthless, her body honestly moved closer to him.

This wasn't out of any romantic feelings, but purely because being beside this person provided a strange sense of security.

But a new problem soon arose; after dying so many times in the secret realm, her nerves had been tightly strung, and now that she had relaxed, she felt as if her entire skeletal frame was about to fall apart.

Nuo Tao suggested resting for a while before returning to Falling Snow Pass, but Gu Chengming ignored her.

Seeing that Gu Chengming had no intention of stopping, Nuo Tao suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and squatted down while clutching her ankle, saying pitifully that she had sprained it and couldn't walk.

Her large eyes were misty with tears; her acting was top-tier.

Gu Chengming stopped and turned back to look at the girl playing truant in the snow; he didn't expose her clumsy acting, nor did he pick her up directly as Nuo Tao had expected.

He only reached out his hand to her and said with a helpless smile:

"If we don't leave now, it'll be dark soon."

After Nuo Tao snapped out of it, she hurriedly reached out to grab his palm, using Gu Chengming's strength to spring up from the snow, the fatigue and grievance on her face vanishing instantly.

Nuo Tao flattered him, saying, "I knew Brother Gu was the best."

Then, as if afraid Gu Chengming would regret it, she grabbed his sleeve and followed closely behind him.

She chattered on about wanting to eat the roast chicken from the shop in the East Market after returning, and how she also wanted to drink mutton offal soup from Li's with extra chili, and that Brother Gu had to accompany her.

Gu Chengming pretended not to hear.

—Every time Elder Yu Wenqiu chattered like this, she would make him pay the bill.

Heh, women.

...

Falling Snow Pass, the night was as dark as ink.

Outside the window, the wind and snow still howled, slapping against the window frames with a rustling sound; inside the room, the floor heater burned brightly, isolating the biting cold of the outside world.

After the two returned from the Myriad Thief Secret Realm, Nuo Tao appeared somewhat excited.

After all, she had obtained a creation, and it was a Sky-Connecting Branch creation—the young girl was so excited by this windfall that her face was flushed red, and she couldn't even bother to eat the celebratory feast before hurriedly bidding farewell and ducking into the quiet room next door, saying she wanted to immediately enter seclusion to comprehend it and strive to master this creation as soon as possible.

Gu Chengming was naturally happy to see this.

After seeing off Nuo Tao, he sat alone at the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

Amidst the rising curls of steam, his gaze refocused on the line of text at the bottom of his vision.

【Special CG: Laboratory of Love】

Well, in a sense, the creation transforming into a "Special CG" was a good thing for Gu Chengming.

If that Myriad Thief Immortal—who had lived for an unknown number of years—had directly slapped this so-called "Dao" comprehension into his brain or given him an ancient book filled with ghost-like symbols, Gu Chengming would likely have checked it hundreds of times from head to toe, and might even have shelved it out of fear that a possession attempt or some mental suggestion was hidden within.

After all, there was no such thing as a free lunch, especially one from a sixth realm powerhouse who had attained his Dao through "theft"; it wouldn't be worthy of the title "Myriad Thief" if there wasn't a bit of poison inside.

But it was different now; this creation had been recorded by the system, and after analysis and reconstruction, it was finally presented in the form of a "Special CG".

No matter what thought that Myriad Thief Immortal had left in that sliver of residue, or if this "Dao" itself possessed some uncontrollable side effect, the moment it was transformed into a 【CG】, it was smoothed out by the rules of the system.

Gu Chengming took a small sip of tea, feeling the warm current slide down his throat and into his stomach.

Now that safety was guaranteed, the only thing left was to explore what kind of approach this so-called "Laboratory of Love" took.

"Activate CG."

With a thought from Gu Chengming, another familiar sensation of weightlessness hit him.

When Gu Chengming's vision refocused, he found himself once again in a pure white space.

This place was seventy percent similar to the previous Myriad Thief Secret Realm—equally boundless, and equally pure white to the point of being oppressive.

Although he was stepping on solid ground, he couldn't see the texture of the floor, as if he were suspended above a void concept.

But this space was not empty.

Directly in front of Gu Chengming stood a door; it was not an ordinary wooden or stone door, but an arched gate formed entirely of gray mist.

Gu Chengming's eyelid twitched violently as an extremely strong sense of déjà vu washed over him.

This gray mist, this arched gate, and the malice he could feel just by standing before it—as if some terrifying existence behind the door was watching him...

He felt that once he stepped inside, the BGM would suddenly become grand and tragic, and then a boss with a health bar so long he couldn't see the end would jump out and mince him with delayed strikes.

Didn't they say it was the Laboratory of Love? Who changed my CG into a battle CG?

Complaining thus in his heart, Gu Chengming looked toward the top of the mist gate.

Above the roiling gray mist floated several characters composed of light and shadow, indicating the name of the "level" behind this door.

【Huiyuan Sword Manual of Love】

Gu Chengming: "..."

In the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, Little Huiyuan, who had been secretly observing, was also stunned.

【Huiyuan Sword Manual: Eh? Eh eh eh?】

【It blinked its eyes, looking at the name on the mist gate, then looked down at itself before letting out an extremely confused cry.】

【After a brief moment of confusion, it became almost imperceptibly excited.】

【It thought to itself, 'Is it that kind of bridal chamber for a wedding night?'】

Listening to Little Huiyuan's increasingly straying thoughts, Gu Chengming didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he comforted it with a few words.

But the confusion in his heart did not diminish.

Clearly, this was definitely not what the Myriad Thief Immortal originally intended to give him.

"A creation that varies from person to person, huh..."

Gu Chengming took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Quexie sword formed from his consciousness.

Since the name of the Huiyuan Sword Manual was written on it, he had to investigate no matter what.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated, stepped forward, and reached out to touch that layer of gray mist.

It was cold and viscous; the sensation from his fingertips was like reaching into the deep sea.

Gu Chengming took a step forward, and his entire body passed through that layer of gray mist.

Hum—

The sound of wind in his ears vanished abruptly.

The pure white space was gone, replaced by a massive stone platform that seemed to be suspended in the depths of darkness.

Above was a void as black as ink, with no stars, only endless depth.

Surrounding the stone platform was a bottomless abyss; moving slightly closer to the edge would make one feel a dizzying suction.

And in the very center of that stone platform stood a person—a figure composed entirely of pale white light.

It had no facial features, no expression, and it was even impossible to tell its gender; it was like a featureless mannequin that had just been molded and hadn't had time to be colored yet.

But in its hand, it held a longsword identical to the Quexie in Gu Chengming's hand.

The moment Gu Chengming stepped onto the stone platform, that figure slowly moved.

Its turning motion was stiff and slow, but as it turned, a familiar ripple of sword intent reached Gu Chengming.

—The Entanglement Technique.

At the same time, Gu Chengming discovered with shock that the power within his body was being forcibly stripped away by some kind of rule.

At this moment, he had nothing but the sword in his hand and the Huiyuan Sword Manual that had accompanied him since the beginning of his transmigration.

'I see...' Gu Chengming had a vague guess; he took a deep breath, cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind, and assumed the starting posture he had practiced tens of thousands of times.

Simultaneously, the pale figure opposite him vanished from its spot.

It clearly used the most basic footwork, but under that figure's feet, it was as if it were shrinking the earth to an inch; in the blink of an eye, it crossed dozens of yards, a glint of cold light aiming straight for the center of Gu Chengming's brows.

Clang—!

Gu Chengming instinctively swung his sword to parry.

A massive reactionary force traveled through the sword to the web of his thumb, numbing Gu Chengming's entire right arm.

But this was only the beginning.

When the figure's strike missed, its wrist flicked naturally, and the sword edge slid down Gu Chengming's blade, turning the thrust into a slash aimed directly at Gu Chengming's wrist.

Gu Chengming was all too familiar with this move.

This was the third style of the Huiyuan Sword Manual, which Gu Chengming often used to counterattack after being parried by an enemy.

But he had never imagined that the transition of this move could be so fluid—so fluid that it was as if the initial thrust was merely a setup for this slash, without even the slightest stagnation in between.

Gu Chengming was forced to retreat awkwardly, his longsword spinning a sword flower in an attempt to force the opponent back.

However, the figure seemed to have anticipated this; its body tilted slightly like a willow catkin in the wind, perfectly avoiding Gu Chengming's blade while using the force of that tilt to deliver a plain and simple horizontal sweep toward Gu Chengming's waist.

It was still the Huiyuan Sword Manual.

Every move and every style were the basic sword techniques that Gu Chengming knew by heart.

But the distance, angle, strength, and timing were all perfect to an impeccable degree.

It never made a mistake, never hesitated; every sword strike hit the most lethal node, and every step landed on the rhythm that made Gu Chengming most uncomfortable.

Gu Chengming felt as if he were looking in a mirror, but the 'self' in this mirror was far stronger than the real him.

Ten minutes.

Cold sweat had already broken out on Gu Chengming's forehead, and his breathing began to quicken.

He tried to use feints to deceive the opponent, but the opponent was completely unmoved; he tried to trade injury for injury, but the opponent could always avoid vital points by a hair's breadth. If his understanding of the Huiyuan Sword Manual hadn't reached a level unimaginable to others, he might not have lasted ten moves before this pale figure.

Thirty minutes.

Gu Chengming's clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and the hand holding the sword began to tremble slightly.

One hour.

Clang! Another violent collision.

The Quexie in Gu Chengming's hand was knocked high; this was a tiny mistake caused by his exhaustion. Had it been an ordinary opponent, they might not have been able to seize this momentary flaw.

But that pale figure seized it.

Without a shred of mercy or hesitation, that light sword instantly pierced through Gu Chengming's chest.

【Challenge Failed.】

In the second before his vision faded into darkness, Gu Chengming saw a health bar slowly appear above the pale figure's head—there was still about one-third of it remaining.

"Hah—!"

Gu Chengming suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath.

He instinctively clutched his chest; it was perfectly intact, and his heart was still beating strongly, but the phantom pain of being pierced by a sharp sword still lingered in his nerve endings, causing him to spasm slightly.

The surroundings were still that pure white "laboratory"; there was no abyss, no stone platform, and no terrifying pale figure.

There was only that misty gate, still standing quietly in front of him, as if silently mocking the challenger's overestimation of his own strength.

Gu Chengming propped himself up by his knees and slowly stood up.

He wasn't discouraged; instead, he stared fixedly at that door.

Because after the challenge failed, an annotation that hadn't been displayed before finally appeared beside the mist gate.

【This is based on the Huiyuan Sword Manual itself, discarding all external interference (such as talent, realm, and other technique bonuses), and is the perfect form presented when deduced to the 'pinnacle of technique.'】

As expected, his guess was correct.

It was the Huiyuan Sword Manual itself; this was the height that this sword technique—widely regarded by the cultivation world as 'entry-level' and having an 'extremely low upper limit'—could truly reach after all prejudice and impurities were stripped away.

【The Huiyuan Sword Manual shrank into a ball, and the greatsword that usually stood proudly was now drooping.】

【It always thought it had worked very hard, and always thought that even though its origin was low, it could become the best sword technique as long as it followed Chengming.】

【If it could be a little stronger, if its upper limit wasn't just this, if its moves could be a little more exquisite, Chengming wouldn't have lost...】

Listening to those self-reproaching thoughts, Gu Chengming instantly dispelled the sliver of frustration in his heart.

He couldn't be bothered to rest and hurriedly comforted the Huiyuan Sword Manual:

"The reason that shadow is powerful is precisely because it represents the true potential of the Huiyuan Sword Manual; it is the theoretical perfect version of you."