After that, Gu Chengming's daily routine underwent some subtle changes.
Every morning, as the sky just began to brighten, a figure could be seen practicing with a sword under the plum tree in the side courtyard of the Northern Mansion.
There were no earth-shattering bursts of sword qi or flashy, complex drills; Gu Chengming simply repeated the most basic movements of the Huiyuan Sword Manual over and over again.
Stab, flick, sweep, and slice.
Gu Chengming stood with his sword sheathed and frowned slightly, realizing that the angle of the previous thrust was off by a fraction, causing the burden on his wrist to increase by twenty percent during the subsequent transition.
Inside his sea of consciousness, the personified Huiyuan Sword Manual, who used to occasionally act jealous to compete for favor, now displayed unprecedented diligence.
The man and the manual seemed to be competing with each other, finding inexhaustible joy in these tedious basic exercises.
It was as if they had returned to the days of daily sword practice at the Wenjian Sect.
At the other end of the courtyard, Nuo Tao, wrapped up like a round dumpling, was squatting on the stone steps holding a bowl of steaming tofu pudding. She slurped her food while watching Gu Chengming practice his swordplay.
Although she didn't understand the intricacies of the way of the sword, her keen intuition as a thief cultivator told her that the current Gu Chengming seemed to have become much cleaner.
Nuo Tao marveled that the young man was a monster. Then, as if remembering something, she pulled a fresh ranking list from her robe and ran over excitedly.
Waving the scroll in her hand, Nuo Tao told him to stop practicing for a moment, saying there was big news and urging him to guess what it was.
Gu Chengming sheathed his sword, calmed the surging true essence within his body, took the list, and said with a smile, "It seems Miss Nuo's information network for the Myriad Thief Sect has already expanded to Falling Snow Pass?"
Nuo Tao tilted her chin up proudly and urged him not to digress but to look at the ranking quickly. Gu Chengming followed her advice and unfurled the scroll.
【Hidden Dragon Ranking, Rank 3: Gu Chengming】
【Updated Achievement: Outside Falling Snow Pass, as a second realm cultivator, he directly confronted and slew the fourth realm Green-Scaled Eagle King (Though external assistance was present, the fatal blow was indeed delivered by him).】
【Evaluation: His momentum is established; his sharpness is fully revealed.】
Looking at the third-place rank, Gu Chengming didn't feel much in his heart.
Compared to these empty titles, he cared more about the current state of the Huiyuan Sword Manual.
Due to so many failures, Little Huiyuan had become quite anxious.
Although Gu Chengming continued to comfort and encourage it, Little Huiyuan always retained a baseline of self-doubt.
If his goal before was to make it value him, this time, Gu Chengming hoped to make it value itself—even if it was full of flaws.
He handed the list back to Nuo Tao, thanked her, and gripped his sword once more.
Seeing this, Nuo Tao muttered to herself, wondering what had happened to him lately. He hadn't seemed like such a sword nut before.
However, knowing his temperament, she didn't say more. Carrying her now-cold bowl of tofu pudding, she wobbled back to the stone steps to continue squatting.
The ring of the sword sounded in the courtyard once more.
Gu Chengming closed his eyes, completely immersing his mind in the way of the sword.
...
The morning light grew brighter, and the snow in the courtyard reflected a faint golden glow.
Amidst the flickering sword light, a figure in plain clothes quietly appeared at the courtyard gate.
Luo Jinyao stood there silently holding a food box, not wanting to disturb him, simply watching Gu Chengming practice.
Her gaze was gentle and focused, full of gratification, like a mother watching her child grow.
Whenever Gu Chengming's movements showed a slight deviation, her brow would furrow slightly, as if she were mentally noting down the points that needed correction.
After finishing a set of sword techniques, Gu Chengming stood with his sword sheathed, only then noticing that Luo Jinyao had been standing there for a long time.
It was only when he exhaled that he realized someone was there.
Gu Chengming was startled for a moment and quickly bowed, saying, "This junior was too engrossed in practice and didn't notice Senior's arrival. I am truly impolite."
"It is fine."
Luo Jinyao shook her head with a faint smile on her lips. Holding up her skirt, she stepped onto the snow, making soft crunching sounds as she walked directly to the stone table in the courtyard.
"I was just passing by and heard movement in the courtyard, so I thought I'd come and see."
As she spoke, she gently placed the food box on the stone table, her tone as natural as a regular visitor to the courtyard.
"Getting up so early to work hard, you surely haven't eaten breakfast yet? It just so happens I brought some along."
Gu Chengming was about to say he wasn't hungry or could make do with a Fasting Pill, but the moment Luo Jinyao uncovered the food box, his words were swallowed back down.
The box had three layers. The top layer contained several baskets of crystal-clear, thin-skinned soup dumplings that were still sizzling with steam. The middle layer was a bowl of thick, soft spirit rice porridge, where finely shredded meat and preserved eggs were visible. The bottom layer held several dishes of perfectly pickled, refreshing appetizers, bright green and tender yellow, making his mouth water at the sight.
Luo Jinyao took out the bowls and chopsticks, skillfully served a bowl of porridge for Gu Chengming, and pushed it to the seat opposite the stone stool.
"Eat while it's hot."
She sat down across from him, her hands tucked into her sleeves. "Although cultivators are immune to heat and cold and can control their hunger, you are still building your foundation. The body is the root of cultivation. If you squander it just because you are young, you will be depleting your future potential."
Her tone was neither fast nor slow, very much like an elder who would stuff a traveler's bags full and nag incessantly with reminders before they departed.
"Thank you, Senior."
"Eat quickly; it won't taste good once it's cold. I'll sit here for a while and tell you about a few problems I saw in that sword art earlier."
Once Gu Chengming put down his chopsticks, Luo Jinyao immediately switched roles.
She didn't put on the airs of a master; she simply took the longsword from his hand and broke down each move and form, personally demonstrating them for him.
If Gu Chengming had any misunderstandings, she would repeat the move over and over with great patience.
Whenever Gu Chengming understood a point instantly, her eyes and brows would fill with smiles, and she was not stingy with her praise.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Gu Chengming walked her to the courtyard gate and gave a solemn bow. "Thank you today, Senior. I've troubled you."
"What's a little trouble?"
She raised her hand and gently patted Gu Chengming's shoulder, her tone carrying a bit of sentiment. "I've guarded the northern border for ten years. My sword has grown sharper, but the days have grown colder and lonelier. Now that you all have arrived, this Northern Mansion finally feels a bit more alive."
"In my eyes, you all are like family. I only hope you can go further than I have."
Under the morning sun, the woman's plain clothes were white as snow, and her smile was gentle.
"Cultivate well, but don't push yourself too hard. If you lack anything or want to eat anything, come find me anytime. Don't be a stranger."
Gu Chengming was moved and thanked her.
...
The days at Falling Snow Pass passed one by one, and the number of failed challenges grew larger.
On the third day, the seventh failed challenge.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual gripped its greatsword tightly. Though a bit discouraged, it told itself this was normal.】
【That pale figure represents perfection, while it and Chengming are still on the path of growth. Failure is only temporary!】
【It believes that as long as they keep working hard, they will one day surpass that so-called theoretical limit!】
Gu Chengming felt the emotions of the Huiyuan Sword Manual and smiled gratifiedly, whispering in his sea of consciousness, "That's right, we'll take it slow."
Day seven.
The twenty-third failed challenge.
In the morning courtyard, Gu Chengming practiced his sword as usual.
His movements were even smoother than a few days ago. The transitions that originally required deliberate thought were now as fluid as flowing water.
The angle of the wrist, the rhythm of the steps, the coordination of breath and sword momentum... every detail was approaching a better state.
But in his sea of consciousness, the Huiyuan Sword Manual felt a trace of inexplicable anxiety for the first time.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual watched Chengming's increasingly skilled movements and knew it should be happy.】
【But why could they still only deplete one-third of the opponent's health?】
【It began to wonder if it was doing something wrong.】
Day ten, the fortieth failed challenge.
On this day, Gu Chengming rarely managed to hold on for nearly two hours.
His swordplay became increasingly refined, and that health bar was finally pushed from one-third to only one-fifth remaining.
But when Gu Chengming withdrew from the stone platform and prepared to encourage the Huiyuan Sword Manual as usual, he sensed something was wrong.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual looked up, trying its best to make its tone sound happy.】
【We're almost successful!】
Gu Chengming frowned and was about to ask more when he was interrupted by Nuo Tao's voice.
"Young Master Gu! Senior Luo has sent food again!"
The girl's voice came from outside the courtyard, so Gu Chengming had to temporarily suppress the doubts in his heart.
Day thirteen.
The sixty-third failed challenge.
For some reason, Gu Chengming felt the sword in his hand was becoming difficult to control.
Even though they were moves he had practiced countless times, subtle deviations appeared at critical moments.
The deviations were tiny, so small that others wouldn't even notice, but in this duel, even a hair's breadth of difference would be infinitely magnified.
The result was that this time, he was killed with a sword to the throat before even taking half of the opponent's health.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual whispered an apology... It didn't know why. It clearly wanted to cooperate well, but it just couldn't achieve that level of perfection...】
【Its voice grew smaller and smaller until it was almost inaudible.】
【I'm sorry, it's because I'm too stupid...】
Gu Chengming pursed his lips, realizing that the sense of inferiority Little Huiyuan had hidden in its heart for so long had finally resurfaced.
Although it was heartbreaking, there was no doubt... the current opportunity was the best chance to make the Huiyuan Sword Manual love its imperfect self.
Back at the Sword-Questioning Stone of the Wenjian Sect, Gu Chengming had only made the Huiyuan Sword Manual accept itself by making it realize someone valued it.
But if he wanted to completely resolve this mental knot, he had to make the Huiyuan Sword Manual value itself.
Gu Chengming thought this way, already having a complete plan for the conquest process.
From the very beginning, his goal had always been for the sake of the Huiyuan Sword Manual.
Day fourteen.
Outside the courtyard, the sun was setting.
The evening glow of Falling Snow Pass dyed half the sky red, breathtakingly beautiful.
Gu Chengming didn't go to the Laboratory of Love. He just stood in the courtyard, holding Quexie, repeating the most basic cleaving strikes over and over.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual was still curled up in a corner.】
【It wanted to say something, but nothing would come out...】
【It thought to itself, if I could do better, would Chengming not have to work so hard?】
【If only I were that more perfect Huiyuan Sword Manual...】
He whispered in his sea of consciousness, "Little Huiyuan, do you remember the first time we practiced the sword together?"
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual was stunned for a moment and nodded cautiously.】
"Back then I was clumsy, and you weren't as powerful as you are now. At that time, we had to practice even the most basic starting stance hundreds of times just to get it right." Gu Chengming smiled. "But back then, were you happy?"
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual was dazed.】
【Happy?】
【It remembered those days, the satisfaction of first performing a complete set of sword moves, and the happiness when Chengming praised it for being amazing.】
【It had never thought about becoming some kind of perfection; it simply wanted to grow stronger with Chengming and walk forward together.】
"We might never be perfect. We might always have flaws and always make mistakes."
"But so what? We will feel pain, get tired, and doubt ourselves, but we will also laugh, cry, and cheer for a tiny bit of progress."
"Those things are something 'perfection' will never have."
"It is these flaws that make us who we are, isn't it?"
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual suddenly understood.】
【It had always wanted to become like the Flowing Light Sword Shadow, to become that perfect shadow, because it was afraid it wasn't good enough, afraid it didn't deserve Chengming.】
【But it forgot... what Chengming chose was never the 'best sword manual,' but it.】
【It was the clumsy, mistake-making, fearful, but also the one that would do its utmost to protect him—the Huiyuan Sword Manual.】
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual's voice choked up: I'm sorry... Chengming, I shouldn't have doubted us.】
"No need to apologize." Gu Chengming smiled. "Doubt is normal, and fear is normal too."
"But now, are you willing to go and try one more time with me?"
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual nodded vigorously, the light in its eyes brightening once again.】
【This time, it was not to chase some perfection.】
【But to prove—】
【That their own path could also reach the end.】
Day fifteen.
In the morning, Gu Chengming stood before the entrance of the mist gate once more.
"Come."
He raised his sword and took that most basic, clumsiest, but also the most unique starting stance that belonged to him.
...
This was a tug-of-war that lasted so long it was almost despair-inducing.
There was no concept of time in this space, but Gu Chengming knew he had fallen on this stone platform no less than a hundred times.
Each time he stood up, it was harder than the last. Although his consciousness wouldn't truly die, the pain of being pierced by sharp blades and torn by sword qi was very real.
"Clang—!"
Another collision without any flourish.
Quexie in Gu Chengming's hand was knocked away by a massive force, almost falling into the endless abyss.
He gasped for air, sweat dripping from his eyelashes, his vision blurred as he looked at the pale figure ahead that was still spotless and hadn't even had a break in its breathing for a second.
That was the perfect Huiyuan Sword Manual.
It had eliminated all redundant movements, utilizing every bit of spiritual power to the limit. It was constantly showing Gu Chengming: Look, this is how you should be; this is the true 'dao' of this sword technique.
And in its contrast, the sword moves Gu Chengming had honed with countless drops of sweat appeared so clumsy, crude, and full of openings.
Gu Chengming closed his eyes. What appeared in his mind were not the moves from the manual, but that afternoon when he first entered the sect, that morning when he brandished his sword in the courtyard, the strike that almost slipped because of nerves, those imperfect arcs, and the trembling sword tip due to exhaustion.
"It hasn't felt frustrated and smashed a wall in the middle of the night because it failed a movement, nor has it danced wildly with its sword out of joy during a breakthrough."
"It only has 'correctness.'"
"But we have 'experiences.'"
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual stared at him blankly.】
【It suddenly remembered the wooden stakes Chengming had cut down one by one, the wooden sword soaked in sweat countless times, and the fool who was covered in blood but smiling brightly in front of the Sword-Questioning Stone.】
【Those were the unique traces belonging only to it and Gu Chengming.】
"Buzz—"
In this moment, the sword in Gu Chengming's hand changed.
It was no longer a mimicry trying to chase 'perfection,' but a complete release. That sword intent that had been somewhat stagnant due to self-doubt came to life in this instant.
It became coarse and wild, even carrying a hint of the smell of earth and blood, but it was also so real and so burning hot.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual stopped trembling.】
【The cowardice in its eyes was swept away.】
【It was the Huiyuan Sword Manual belonging solely to Gu Chengming, the one that had accompanied him from a mortal to this day!】
【It was precisely those imperfect flaws that allowed it to become the unique Huiyuan Sword Manual that belonged to Gu Chengming.】
"Come!"
Gu Chengming roared, his figure advancing instead of retreating, actively launching a charge at the pale figure!
The pale figure moved.
It was still the textbook-perfect "Starting Stance into Entanglement Technique," the sword tip pointing directly at the largest opening exposed by Gu Chengming's charge—his heart.
According to theory, Gu Chengming had to pull back his sword to block now, then sink into the opponent's continuous tide-like offensive and eventually lose.
That was a death trap calculated through countless simulations.
But Gu Chengming didn't block.
It was as if he didn't see that sword strike at all; his footsteps didn't hesitate, and even his posture became somewhat strange.
—It was like the awkward posture he had when he first practiced the Huiyuan Sword Manual.
"Puchi!"
The pale figure's longsword pierced Gu Chengming's left shoulder, missing the heart but piercing through bone and flesh.
Gu Chengming used his own flesh and blood to lock the opponent's blade. In the moment that intense pain arrived, a look of gratification appeared on his face.
"Got you."
Gu Chengming's Quexie didn't perform any exquisite sword flourishes; instead, it carried all of his essence, energy, and spirit, along with all the experiences he and the Huiyuan Sword Manual had shared along the way.
He smashed it down fiercely!
—Dammit, who gave you the right to define the so-called upper limit?!
"..."
BOOM—!!!
It wasn't the sharpness of surging sword qi, but a blunt impact that felt like a mountain collapsing.
In that instant, the CG image in Gu Chengming's mind seemed to overlap.
The stubborn back in front of the Sword-Questioning Stone and the blood-soaked figure of this moment became one.
"Crack."
A faint sound of shattering rang out.
The sword condensed from rules, representing the theoretical limit, was actually smashed apart by Gu Chengming's completely unrefined strike.
Following that, cracks spread to the pale figure's arms, torso, and eventually its entire body.
That perfect, high-and-mighty shadow, in the face of Gu Chengming's sword filled with 'humanity,' was like an exquisite piece of porcelain that shattered with a crash.
It turned into countless points of light, like a magnificent snowfall.
Gu Chengming maintained his sword-smashing posture, gasping for breath, the wound on his shoulder still bleeding, but he felt more relaxed than ever before.
The countless points of light didn't dissipate; instead, like moths to a flame, they slowly gathered toward the longsword in Gu Chengming's hand and merged into the cheering Huiyuan Sword Manual within his body.
It wasn't a correction of the moves, but a fundamental sublimation.
It was still that basic sword manual, still possessing various flaws, but those flaws had now become the sharpness unique to Gu Chengming.
He knelt on one knee, supporting himself with Quexie, panting heavily. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding, but that pain made him feel more real than ever before.
【Detected that the host has shattered the "Perfect Illusion" and upheld the "True Self Bond".】
【Obtained CG/Huiyuan Sword Manual of Love (Incomplete).】
Before Gu Chengming could examine the system panel, the scene before him began to change.
Those points of light that had scattered didn't completely disappear; instead, they slowly gathered not far in front of him, like a reverse rain of stars.
The points of light intertwined, swirled, and reshaped.
First, a hazy outline, then slender neck and shoulders, then falling long hair—it was a young girl.
She wore a simple set of sword training robes, her features still carrying a bit of lingering childishness, her black hair like ink draped over her shoulders.
That was the aura he felt every time in his sea of consciousness, the soul that resonated with him every time he brandished his sword, the one who would get frustrated over mistakes, cheer for progress, and cry with heartache when he was injured...
"Little Huiyuan...?"
"Mm!"
The familiar blue dialogue box didn't pop up.
This time, the voice no longer resounded directly in his mind but truly traveled through the air, carrying a trace of the girl's unique softness and trembling as it fell into Gu Chengming's ears.
Gu Chengming instinctively wanted to speak, but he couldn't make a sound.
Because the black-haired girl in gray robes suddenly stepped forward. She stood on her tiptoes, her small, not-so-delicate hands gently cupping Gu Chengming's cheeks.
Her fingertips were a bit cool, shrinking back slightly the moment they touched Gu Chengming's burning skin, yet they did not let go.
Those clear black-and-white eyes were very close, so close that Gu Chengming could count her trembling eyelashes, so close that he could feel her slightly hurried and warm breath on his nose.
"I like you."
She whispered, her voice carrying a hint of attachment.
Then, she closed her eyes and leaned in for a clumsy and passionate kiss.
There was no technique to speak of.
Subsequently, the girl's hands began to clumsily explore Gu Chengming's body.
—What is the meaning of this, Little Huiyuan?
Well, actually, the attitude was already quite obvious.
Gu Chengming didn't back down; instead, he took the initiative.
It was about time to unlock a special CG!
Gu Chengming reached out and pulled the girl's waist closer. The latter let out a startled "Mm," but then she also began to take the initiative.
The CG frame froze.
In the dim space, countless points of light fell like snow.
In the bottom right corner of the image, gold-foiled small characters slowly emerged:
「The world demands we be perfect, but I only want to love you completely, including the regrets and flaws.」
—CG 「Huiyuan Sword Manual of Love」 • Unlocked
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