I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Shen Qinghan picked up his longsword and walked to an open space.

"This sword technique is called the 'Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons,' unmatched by any other sword technique in the Solidifying Yuan Realm. It was created specifically to slay demons and evil spirits," Shen Qinghan said. "To exchange for this sword technique within the Bureau, a considerable amount of merit points are required. Therefore, even within the Demon Suppression Bureau, there aren't many people who know this sword technique. I will only demonstrate it once, so please watch carefully."

Although the Demon Suppression Division encompasses all kinds of martial arts from all over the world, not everyone can go to the treasure vault to take it for themselves.

As the saying goes, the Demon Suppression Division does not support idlers. Apart from the introductory mental cultivation method "Demon Suppression and Yuan Nourishing Technique," which can be practiced by anyone who joins the division, all other martial arts must be exchanged for corresponding merit points.

Although the Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons is a superior sword technique for consolidating one's vital energy, it is ultimately only for those at the Consolidating Vital Energy Realm.

Earning merit points is already relatively difficult for constables in the Solid Foundation Realm, and exchanging these sword techniques for merit points isn't cheap either. Therefore, most constables feel that they can handle situations within the Solid Foundation Realm with relatively inferior martial arts. They'd rather save their merit points and exchange them for better martial arts when they advance in their realm.

Shen Qinghan pondered that Gu Yan had saved his life and had devised a plan to slaughter an entire group of monsters. If this were to be counted in terms of merit, probably no one in the entire Demon Suppression Division at the Solid Origin Realm could compare to him.

Therefore, it shouldn't be considered breaking the rules for me to teach him swordsmanship.

Another point is that Shen Qinghan is also curious to know whether Gu Yan's extraordinary talent in swordsmanship is also exceptional.

Shen Qinghan practiced swordplay, her movements fluid and graceful, the sword shadows unfolding layer upon layer, dazzling the eyes of all who watched.

After she finished her thirteen sword strikes, she sheathed her sword and stood still. The silver light in the arena faded away, and the sword was returned to its sheath. However, a wisp of sword aura still lingered around her and did not dissipate for a long time.

"This sword was created specifically to subdue evil spirits and demons. Although it only has thirteen strikes, the variations within are complex and it is by no means easy to master," Shen Qinghan said. "Let's continue on our way, and I will explain it to you slowly."

So the two continued on their way. As they walked, Shen Qinghan recited the sword technique manual to Gu Yan, and then broke down the essence of each sword strike and its various variations, starting from the first move.

At first, a thought flashed through Gu Yan's mind.

He pondered, "Now that I'm practically immersed in this game, instead of just playing through a screen like in my previous life, is it possible for me to learn the martial arts in the game without relying on potential points?"

So he perked up and listened to Shen Qinghan explain the essence of swordsmanship. However, as he listened, the profound incantations and cryptic phrases reminded him of listening to advanced calculus formulas in class in his previous life. It had a strange, magical power that made his eyelids feel heavy as if they were weighed down by lead after a while.

Sleepiness washed over him, and the clear voice reciting the incantation gradually turned into a buzzing noise. In the blink of an eye, when he came to his senses, Gu Yan could no longer find out which move or stance she was referring to.

Gu Yan then understood.

That makes sense. His natural talent and comprehension were both mediocre. The original owner of this body had already spent half his life trying to prove this point before he transmigrated, and now the game panel clearly showed him that. So why shouldn't he believe in such a thing?

Given his true talent, learning such a complex sword technique would probably take him a long time.

Potential System, activate!

The starting potential points for new players are plentiful. The recommended skill is "Demon Suppression and Yuan Nourishment Technique," while the damage output relies on "Thirteen Swords of Demon Subduing." This is the main combination for the early game in this strategy.

[Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons Advancement: Initial Understanding]

[Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons: Level Improved - Minor Success]

...

...

[The Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons Reach a New Level: Returning to Simplicity]

[The moves are simplified, the sharpness concealed. This is the pinnacle of swordsmanship, achieved through mastery!]

The potential consumption of the Thirteen Swords of Subduing Demons is no less than that of the Demon-Suppressing and Yuan-Nourishing Technique; reaching perfection also required investing over a thousand potential points. Most of the potential points reaped in the Demon Cave earlier had now been used up.

However, as a reward, Gu Yan's basic stats and skills have reached their peak in the Solid Origin Realm, which is the limit that human beings can reach within the Solid Origin Realm.

Based on his gaming experience, it's not impossible for him to fight a Qi Control Realm cultivator in this state.

Only under this most difficult starting condition can players have the opportunity to obtain the best mental cultivation techniques and sword skills at the Solidifying Yuan Realm right from the start. And only under this starting condition can players obtain a large number of potential points at the beginning, enough to simultaneously max out these two martial arts.

Otherwise, in other starting scenarios, even if players manage to acquire such martial arts, it would be extremely difficult to reach the maximum level in a short period of time.

As the saying goes, every step faster leads to even faster progress. Only by gaining greater strength in the shortest amount of time can one have enough confidence to trigger more dangerous side quests, thereby obtaining better benefits, and then be able to improve one's realm more quickly.

The stronger you are, the greater your benefits; the greater your benefits, the faster you progress, creating a virtuous cycle like a snowball rolling downhill.

As Shen Qinghan explained, the two continued on their way without stopping. They needed to get to Qingxi County to report to the authorities as soon as possible, and had no time to stop and slowly practice their swordsmanship.

Shen Qinghan instructed Gu Yan to meditate as they walked, and to ask questions whenever he had any questions. Once they arrived in Qingxi County, visited the government office, and settled in, he would have Gu Yan practice. Shen Qinghan would then correct his movements from the sidelines or personally train him in sparring.

For practical sword techniques like this, the fastest way to learn is naturally to have someone personally demonstrate and break down the moves. When someone practices alone, it's sometimes hard to notice if the movements are not quite right or the moves are wrong. Sometimes, they might even make the same mistake repeatedly, which can become a habit and a fatal flaw when they fight others in the future.

The two trekked through mountains and rivers until night fell, when the outline of the county town finally came into view.

They had traveled for a long time. Gu Yan thought back to his past life when he played games on a screen, and the flow of time in the game did not correspond to reality.

Some unimportant scenes can be fast-forwarded. For example, this experience of trekking through mountains and rivers, since it only involved running around the map, was fast-forwarded through in the previous game.

After the Demon Cave storyline ends and you leave the cave with Shen Qinghan, if the hidden affection level meets the conditions, a dialogue where Shen Qinghan teaches you swordsmanship will be triggered.

After this dialogue, players can choose to explore the map on their own or "skip the map exploration phase" to fast forward directly to the Qingxi County scene—just like in Cyberpunk 2077 where you can skip some car driving and map exploration parts of the story.

But now, it seems to Gu Yan that the option to fast-forward time has disappeared.

Therefore, he had no choice but to travel with Shen Qinghan over mountains and through vast forests before finally arriving at the gates of Qingxi County.

Although Qingxi County was just a remote and desolate place, far less prosperous than big cities, it was at least a place where people lived and worked. Shen Qinghan, who had been on high alert the whole way, could finally relax a little now.

Gu Yan finally finished exploring the map, and he was quite exhausted, as if he had really experienced escaping from the demon cave and crossing mountains and valleys in a single day.

So he quit the game. He glanced at the time; it was already midnight in real life. No wonder he was so sleepy.

Gu Yan got up and went to wash up quickly.

In fact, with the energy of a peak Qi Consolidation martial artist, not sleeping for a day or two wouldn't have much of an impact. But now, his weariness was like a tidal wave, threatening to overwhelm him.

Although he didn't enter the game physically, his actions within the game still required considerable effort. He needed to replenish his energy and spirit to achieve twice the results with half the effort.

"If only there were a way to recharge while playing games, that would be great."

After washing up, Gu Yan lay down on the bed, thinking this through. He fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.