Heroine, don't turn back, I'm just a farmer.

You're telling me this is a tutorial level?

Sitting on the wooden bed, Lu Guo subconsciously touched his neck.

This is so realistic!

Just a moment ago, he even felt the coldness of the blade slicing across his neck, that fear of impending death...

The stinging pain was real, the dizziness was real, and in just one move, the assassin from Tianluoxiang beheaded him.

"..."

This knife-wielding swordsman makes a delicious dish.

No, to be precise, it was my own fault for being bad at the game.

All the officially recommended characters have their own storylines and backgrounds to immerse players in, and each character starts with their own unique skills, including the swordsman. Since the player controls the character, their skill ceiling affects the swordsman's overall performance.

Sitting on the wooden bed, Lu Guo quietly began to think.

Tianluoxiang?

Judging from this information, the man in black is undoubtedly an assassin from Tianluoxiang. It's just unknown whether he is from inside Qingluo Manor, from outside the manor, or a random character from the game.

Random game characters randomly appearing in the player's adventure map is a unique feature that must be experienced in AI-generated games.

New players in the Qi Refining stage may randomly encounter powerful Golden Core cultivators during their adventures. These cultivators may try to steal your treasures or impart their skills to you. However, more often than not, you may not have enough reputation to talk to them or trigger the storyline.

If this isn't a randomly appearing character, then this man in black is probably similar to a mini-boss you need to defeat before leaving the starting village; if you don't defeat him, you might get stuck in the main storyline.

However, these are all just speculations. We need to go into the adventure and experiment to find out the specifics. But for now, sorting out the memories of the swordsman character is the most important thing.

Familiarity with the swordsman's memories and understanding his swordsmanship are essential to raising the skill ceiling for the swordsman in the game.

Thinking of this, Lu Guo walked into the courtyard, casually pulled a bamboo strip from the fence, and used his swordsmanship according to the swordsman's memory.

"Five Styles of Thunder" is a sword technique that the swordsman excels at, said to be a family secret.

To put it simply, it means using five angles of attack—"split, hook, slash, roll"—to strike the blade with lightning speed and speed.

There are no fancy moves or techniques, only practicality. A knife that can kill is a good knife, and a simple and effective attack is the most powerful. The only key point is to arrange and combine the five movements, and then use them in conjunction with footwork, body movements and power generation techniques.

No wonder swordsmen are the most common profession.

Popularization is also a good thing, because it means that more people will use it, and people who know a few knife-handling techniques will not arouse suspicion.

Without thinking of anything else, Lu Guo took the bamboo strip and slowly practiced the "Five Styles of Thunderclap" from beginning to end, following the methods of raising qi and channeling energy that the swordsman remembered.

My posture wasn't quite perfect, and I didn't have that kind of mastery that comes from practicing a thousand times, but I gradually learned how to exert force and understood the basics of using a knife. Of course, I also saw a glimmer of hope.

Although it's not much, hope is hope.

Stay calm. Even if it's just a little bit, it represents a possibility for the future. I don't have to be invincible, but at least I have the power to protect myself in this chaotic world.

After taking a deep breath, Lu Guo practiced his swordsmanship once. Although he was drenched in sweat, he felt extremely happy and even wanted more.

He felt something weighing on his heart vanish in an instant. Ignoring the clucking pheasants in the yard, he strode over to the water vat under the eaves, scooped water from head to toe with a ladle, wiped the water off his face, and shook his head violently.

"Is this what it feels like to have a cheat code?"

"readily!"

He went back inside, closed the doors and windows, changed his clothes casually, and sat on the wooden bed again.

He reloaded the save file to start over, because there were some things he wanted to verify.

Opening his eyes, Lu Guo found himself in the side courtyard where he had rested before.

There's no starting over; previously selected options can't be replayed. This room is the save/load point.

He understood immediately and didn't have time to think too much. However, this time he didn't open the door on his own initiative, but instead hid behind it.

The man in black walked very lightly and quickly, even faster than the first time. As if he had noticed someone in the room, he raised his hand and smashed the door open without hesitation.

Lu Guo, standing to the side of the door, gripped his knife tightly and took a deep breath.

The instant the other person stepped across the threshold—

"Well done!"

He suddenly darted out from behind the door, gripped the knife with both hands, and slashed down with all his might!

bass--

The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp, piercing sound, but—

It cleaved through the air.

The man in black reacted incredibly fast, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. The instant the blade fell, he dodged to the side, swayed slightly, and floated away. Then, he raised his sword in a backhand thrust.

Lu Guo wanted to dodge, but his body couldn't keep up with his mind—he had clearly figured out how the swordsman should dodge and how to strike, but his body was just a beat too slow.

Then his body felt cold, followed by excruciating pain. In the blink of an eye, he had been stabbed more than a dozen times and was covered in blood.

My vision began to spin.

Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war; please try again, young hero.

[Should I reload and start over?]

"Got killed instantly again?"

Lu Guo sat up abruptly in bed, feeling his heart pounding wildly. This time, he had been stabbed more than a dozen times, making the experience even more real than the first time. The pain was so intense that his back was covered in cold sweat.

It took him a while to calm down.

"Calm down, calm down... It's just a game, you can reload..."

After sitting for a while to recover, he began to review his earlier failure.

First, the sneak attack was the right thing to do, but he was too slow. He had plenty of time to aim from behind the door, but he still missed—no, not missed, it was because the opponent was too fast.

Secondly, he didn't know how to use a knife at all. Even though he practiced a few times and learned the techniques, in actual combat, his slash had too long a wind-up, it was just a brute-force attack, slow, and the trajectory was obvious. Anyone with a little experience could dodge it.

Third, you need to practice the "Five Styles of Thunderclap" first. You can't just learn it and start using it. You need to integrate and master it.

Now that he has confirmed the point at which he respawned and that the man in black was likely there to kill him, and that the man is very strong and is guarding his respawn point without any sense of honor, if he doesn't resolve this hurdle, the subsequent questline will naturally be blocked.

However, this is also a good thing.

He can reload save files, so it doesn't matter how many times he dies.

Although the man in black held the respawn point, causing the main storyline to stall, from another perspective, didn't he also become his sparring partner?

In reality, I'm in Jiangjia Village, with no hope of cultivation and no teacher to guide me. The tutorials have no time limit, so I can use the Tianluoxiang assassin in the game to hone my swordsmanship.

I glanced at the sky and realized I'd only been in the adventure for an hour or two. Aside from discovering the functions of some buildings and learning about the game's background, I hadn't uncovered much more. But the game still felt quite realistic.

Although the process wasn't very enjoyable, the man in black was such a good practice subject that he couldn't let go; he could use him to increase his combat experience!

"He needs to kill me a few more times."

You can reload a save file in a game, but you can't relive a real-life experience. The terror of life and death is the best way to toughen a person. It would definitely be beneficial for him to understand that feeling. Of course, he also wanted to gather some information through the man in black.

Thinking of this, Lu Guo didn't open the door, but picked up the kitchen knife hanging inside and started practicing.

"Practice the Five Thunderclap Techniques again."

Following the memories in his mind, he assumed the starting stance, sensing the swordsman's memories, and then unleashed a powerful kasaya slash—

My body swayed and I almost fell.

"No, no." He steadied himself. "This isn't how you generate power. It's not just about using your arms; you need to use your waist... Push off with your feet, generate power from your legs to your waist, then your waist leads your shoulders, and your shoulders lead your arms..."

He tried again.

This time it was much safer; the blade sliced ​​through the air, creating a whooshing sound.