Swords, magic, and martial arts

The golden light faded, and the result of the lottery appeared in the system: a sword.

Shengxie: Forged by Ou Yezi, a master swordsmith during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and used by King Helü of Wu. When Ou Yezi was forging the sword, he believed that it exuded evil energy, and that it became more evil with each inch of forging, hence the name "Shengxie" (meaning "Victorious Evil").

Rhodes took Shengxie out of the system, held it in his hand and looked at it. Shengxie was more than half a meter long, which could barely be considered a longsword, but it was shorter than the mainstream longswords of Nord. He swung it a few times and felt that the sword was very balanced. He felt that the sword was part of his body and that swinging it was similar to moving his arm.

Does using Shengxie directly lead to the state of oneness between man and sword?

I was quite lucky this time, and I happened to draw a sword. It was a famous sword forged by the master swordsmith Ou Yezi. Several of the ten famous swords were made by him. Moreover, Sheng Xie was forged at the same time as several other famous swords. Apart from being less famous, it should be just as powerful.

After touching Shengxie, Rhodes sensed its malevolent energy, which made him feel somewhat restless and uneasy. He wondered if the thing that made the forest beasts act abnormally was also malevolent like this sword.

Rod picked up the sword and practiced half of the White Rainbow Sword Technique he had just learned, but he felt agitated and a murderous urge arose within him. He put the sword back into the system and then re-enabled the Embracing the Yuan and Guarding the One skill, but the system warned that re-enabled Embracing the Yuan and Guarding the One skill would occupy a martial arts slot and would not be effective for three days.

It seems he still can't take advantage of the system. Rhodes felt that Shengxie was a bit of a trap, and could only be used as a trump card. If he used it to fight for a long time, he would definitely go crazy and become possessed.

After spending the entire night in meditation, Luo De finally suppressed the evil desires brought about by Sheng Xie. Just as dawn broke, he went to Aya's room and knocked on the door.

He originally intended to go alone secretly, but then he thought that it would be even more dangerous if Aya found out he was missing and he entered the forest alone. Besides, since he had promised her, it wouldn't be good to break his promise.

After enjoying one last free meal of roasted venison steak provided by the innkeeper, Rhodes and his companions packed their bags and ventured back into the forest.

Without the guidance of an experienced hunter, it is easy for an ordinary person to get lost in the forest.

Rhodes and his companions got lost. A thick fog rose in the woods, reducing visibility to less than two meters. Rhodes had never seen such thick fog before; even smog wasn't this bad.

Aya followed closely behind Rhode, who would occasionally use a Wizard Ball to check for any lurking beasts in the vicinity.

Whether it was because of the previous beast tide or something else, Rhodes and his companions didn't see a single large wild animal after entering the forest. If it weren't for the birds constantly chirping in the trees and a few rabbits running past him, he would have thought that all the animals in the forest had died.

He didn't see a single deer or wolf, which surprised him greatly. He led Aya deeper into the forest.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing. Now, not only Aya felt scared, but even Rhodes was a little flustered. The more he walked, the more eerie it felt. Now, he wouldn't be afraid even if he encountered a troll bear, but now he couldn't touch anything at all.

He suddenly realized that the birds had stopped chirping in the trees, without knowing when it had started.

The entire forest was quiet and deathly still, as if all the animals in the forest had died. Luckily, there was a living person nearby, otherwise I would be even more uneasy now, and might even start shouting.

"Let's go back," Aya said softly, as if afraid of being overheard by something in the mist.

Rod looked up, trying to judge the direction by the sun or the growth of the trees, but found that he couldn't see anything at all. The fog was too thick. He was afraid that telling Aya and the others that they were actually lost would frighten her even more, so he could only pretend that nothing had happened. He said, "Let's go back now. If we walk fast, we can still make it for dinner. We'll come back tomorrow."

Rod led Aya back in the direction they had come from. As they walked, he noticed that the trees around them were getting thicker and thicker, as if they were heading towards the center of the forest. He pretended to be calm and led Aya to change direction slightly, only to find that they had returned to the cabin they had stayed in before.

Rod felt very surprised. Last time, they set off from the cabin in the afternoon, rested for a while in the evening, and did not arrive in the town until it was almost dark the next day. How come they arrived at the cabin so quickly this time?

Smoke rose from the hut, indicating that someone was cooking inside. It was noon, and Rod realized they hadn't had lunch yet.

Rhodes originally wanted to use the Magic Ball to find out who was inside the cabin, but he was worried that the person inside might be able to sense the fluctuations of magic and discover him.

"I'll go up and take a look by myself first. You stay here for now," Rod whispered to Aya. He tried his best to use the "Treading Snow Without a Trace" movement technique, pressing his footsteps as lightly as possible as he slowly approached the wooden house.

Just as he was about to reach the cabin, the door was pushed open; it was the huntress who had led them out of the forest earlier.

The huntress was somewhat surprised to see him. "What are you doing in the forest again?"

Since Rhodes couldn't say that he was trying to complete a system task, he quickly came up with an excuse and explained, "We were out of money, so we thought of hunting wild animals in the forest to sell for money. But after entering the forest, we got lost in the thick fog and didn't see a single large animal."

"I don't know what's going on with this thick fog, but I feel like the forest is different from what I remember." The huntress sniffed the air, as if she remembered something, and said in horror, "What's around us isn't fog, it's dense magic."

She continued, "My grandfather told me this story. One day he was hunting in the forest when suddenly a fog as thick as this rolled in. At first, he didn't pay attention because he thought he could walk out of the forest with his eyes closed. But later he found himself lost, and the space around him seemed distorted. However, he eventually escaped, but he lost the memory of escaping the forest."

Upon hearing this, Rod quickly turned back and brought Aya over. Fortunately, this space was not disordered.

"Let's go inside first," the huntress suggested.

After entering the cabin, Rod asked, "What should we do?"

The huntress shook her head. "I've never encountered this situation before; I've only heard about it from my grandfather. Let's wait inside for the fog to clear. I have plenty of food and water here, and I can enjoy your cooking again."

"We still don't know your name?" Rhodes asked.

"My name is Ella," the huntress replied.

Rod told Ella his name and introduced her to Aya, saying she was his sister.

"How come you two don't look alike at all?" Ella asked.

Rhodes didn't know how to answer the question, so he tried to change the subject. Just then, he smelled something burning. Ella had been talking to him and had forgotten that something was roasting on the fireplace mantle.

"You burned your food," Rod reminded her.

Ella calmly replied, "It's alright. Now that you're here, you can cook for us as rent for staying in my house."

Rod walked helplessly to the fireplace and began preparing a meal...