In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

"Haha, so it's you summoning me?"

An aged but powerful voice echoed in Lu Mingfei's ears. The figure before him was hardly that of a valiant and fearless swordsman—

His hair was messy and gray, and his work clothes were looser than usual, with the collar wide open, revealing his wrinkled but still powerful muscles underneath.

The person before me was clearly an old, frail warrior.

Although he was old, his face looked younger than most people's.

Lu Mingfei had a guess: perhaps it was because his cheeks didn't have much flesh; it was just skin covering a layer of muscle. As long as the muscle didn't diminish, his face would maintain its aggressive appearance.

"Yes...yes." Lu Mingfei nodded and reached out his hand to him.

Musashi didn't offer a handshake. Instead, he turned and looked down at the mercury on the ground. "So, this is what summoned me?"

"Yes, that's right. This is a magic circle called a summoning circle. I chose the most common zero transmutation circle and eleven transmutation circle—the zero transmutation circle was used to reflect my thoughts and ideas, and the eleventh transmutation circle helped me manifest my knowledge, which ultimately formed you."

Lu Mingfei raised his hands in an attempt to explain, but judging from the expression of the world-renowned swordsman before him, it was clear that he hadn't understood.

Therefore, Lu Mingfei chose to proceed directly to the next item:

"Um, Mr. Musashi, are you interested in conquering the multiverse?" Lu Mingfei recounted the story of the Mirror of Eternity to him, but Musashi shook his head without hesitation after listening.

"No, I'm not interested. Even if I were to go to fight, I wouldn't go to a place like that to find enemies—kid, do you know why you should kill enemies?"

Why kill the enemy?

—Lu Mingfei had never thought about this question. Since they were considered enemies, killing them was only right. After all, if he were to say that they had already gone this far, what else could he do but kill them?

But after listening to Lu Mingfei's explanation, Musashi shook his head again:

"No, child, what you're talking about and what I'm trying to say are two different things." Musashi held up a finger. "What you're describing, I'll call 'killing,' is a goal that requires me to expend all my strength to achieve. To achieve it, I'll use any weapon—bows, spears, the environment…"

"Including the oars?" Lu Mingfei blinked and asked with a smile, but Musashi didn't seem to care and nodded.

"Including the oars. But 'slaying' is different: it's only the sword in my hand, only my own body—"

"According to you, this should be something ritualistic, and for me, it will only be used in one place."

Lu Mingfei listened intently, eagerly awaiting Musashi's answer.

Is it the pursuit of the highest level of martial arts? Is it an answer to a certain person or group of people? Or is it simply acting according to one's heart?

Musashi gently raised a finger:

"For fame and fortune."

Lu Mingfei blinked.

—For fame and fortune? He could actually understand it. As the saying goes, after mastering both literary and martial arts, one can serve the emperor. Miyamoto Musashi was born in the Warring States period, and the motivation that supported him to conquer the world was the most common "fame and fortune," which was not incomprehensible.

After all, in that era, many daimyo must have provided these great swordsmen with plenty of gold and silver.

But in today's context...

"If we're talking about fame and fortune, there might be less—after all, the two worlds I'm in right now are, one is a peaceful city, which is rich but doesn't give you the space to show your skills... Moreover, you can't actually stay in this world for long right now. If you suddenly disappear because your magic dissipates, it would probably cause a huge mess."

"And in another world... although there is fighting, I am just a student, and I cannot provide you with the fame and fortune you need in that world."

"It's alright." Miyamoto Musashi's shoulder blades snapped open, instantly unleashing boundless power. Lu Mingfei stared at him, his heart suddenly skipping a beat:

"Actually, I don't need that much, as long as someone cheers, that's enough."

……

Undoubtedly, with Lu Mingfei's LV2 music theory skills, Liu Miaomiao's piano performance won first place in the competition, even sparking a craze for Soviet red songs.

As Lu Mingfei walked along the road, he would occasionally hear off-key renditions of "Katyusha," "The Sacred War," or "Grassland, Oh Grassland"...

"Well, maybe this is a good thing? At least it's better than making them listen to all that nonsense..." Lu Mingfei rubbed his wrists and strode towards the classroom.

Liu Miaomiao naturally caught up with him and walked alongside him.

"Lu Mingfei, why did you run away last time?" Liu Miaomiao's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Lu Mingfei's ears just in time. "It was clearly a performance by the two of us..."

"Because we agreed, I'm the support." Lu Mingfei replied casually while thinking about St. Marian. "My job is to help you win the award, not to stand on the podium."

Liu Miaomiao was speechless for a moment, unable to think of any rebuttal, so she could only raise her hand and try to punch Lu Mingfei in the lower back.

But even if Lu Mingfei's attention wasn't on her, it didn't mean he would forget the techniques he had learned—on the contrary, in this unconscious state, he was even more reckless in his actions.

With a press, a twist, and a pull, Lu Mingfei had Liu Miaomiao's arm pinned behind her waist. The intense pain made her uncontrollably arch her chest and tremble all over. Lu Mingfei looked down and caught a glimpse of cherry pink through her neckline—

Okay, don't overthink it, it's just her underwear.

"Oh, oh, sorry." Lu Mingfei quickly let go. "I was a little too nervous."

Liu Miaomiao rubbed her waist, which had just been twisted several tens of degrees by Lu Mingfei's powerful twisting, her face flushed red, unable to speak.

...Okay, I pressed on my lower back when I exerted myself just now, and I still haven't caught my breath.

Lu Mingfei quickly and solicitously reached out and vigorously rubbed that spot. This kind of collision had only happened once before during their first training session; ever since he mastered the fighting style, Rong En had never been able to injure him so easily.

"That should help..." Lu Mingfei clenched his fist and rubbed her waist with the tip of his fist for a moment before Liu Miaomiao let out a long breath—

Although a dull ache still lingers, the excruciating pain that left me speechless is truly gone.

"Where did you learn this skill? How come you're so good at it?" Liu Miaomiao limped a few steps, gradually getting used to the feeling, before slowly returning to a normal pace.

"Well... actually, I learned it through practice. I practiced with my friends for a long time before I learned this move." Lu Mingfei walked with her for a while, and only left after making sure she was alright.