The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

"Old Wu, you've finally come out."

Wu You had just pushed open the door and adjusted to the bright morning light when a hand casually draped over his shoulder.

Wang Qi's smiling face came closer.

"When I received the task notification, I thought that this kind of task must be done in a group."

"I never expected that we would actually be grouped together."

As Wang Qi spoke, he patted Wu You on the shoulder.

Lu Chenzhou stood two steps away, nodded simply, and then walked to Wu You's other side, saying calmly, "Being in the same group as the chief is indeed quite lucky."

Wu You nodded in response, without any further formalities.

He glanced at his watch to confirm, "It's a little before seven. We need to get to the Da Yun City Investigation Bureau before noon."

Wang Qi continued to laugh and say, "Hey, it's okay. I checked the map a long time ago. Dayun City isn't far from here at all."

"It only takes an hour or so for a helicopter to get there. If we leave now, we'll be there by eight o'clock. We have plenty of time; I can wander around there a couple of times."

He suddenly changed the subject, his expression becoming somewhat mournful: "By the way, Lao Wu, I must buy some Yunyan cigarettes this time I go out."

"You wouldn't believe it, they only sell 'open door' stuff here, and that stuff is incredibly harsh on the throat."

"I've been feeling terrible these past two days."

"Come on, Lao Lu, let's go, stop dawdling."

He kept complaining as he pulled Wu You toward the base gate.

Wu You turned to Lu Chenzhou beside him and said, "Let's go then."

Lu Chenzhou nodded and followed silently.

The three of them had only taken a few steps when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind them, accompanied by a panting male voice.

"Wait, wait—Chief, wait for me!"

Upon hearing this sound, Wu You and the other two stopped and turned to look.

A young man in a black trench coat with medium-length hair was running towards them, his hair swaying in the morning breeze, and he was carrying a sheathed longsword in his right hand.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Wang Qi immediately chuckled: "Hey, isn't this Brother Fengli?"

Gongsun Baizhan, who had just arrived in front of the three, immediately frowned upon hearing Wang Qi's words.

The origin of the nickname "Sharp Brother" is not complicated.

After Gongsun Baizhan narrowly lost to Wu You in the last ranking match, he said to the guy next to him, "His (referring to Wu You's) sword is very powerful, but given time, my sword will be just as sharp!"

It was supposed to be a self-comforting and self-motivating remark, but the guy couldn't keep his mouth shut. He laughed on the spot and then turned it into a joke and spread it around.

Thus, after Wu You became the chief student, Gongsun Baizhan happily acquired this resounding nickname—Sharp Brother.

His reputation was so great that it spread widely among the trainees in this year's preliminary selection.

Some people even joked behind his back that Wu You was the chief, and Sharp Brother, who narrowly lost to Wu You by one move, was "the number one person below the chief".

Of course, when these words reached Gongsun Baizhan's ears, his expression was much the same as it is now.

Gongsun Baizhan's lips twitched; he was too lazy to correct anything anymore.

He took a deep breath and first greeted Wu You respectfully: "Chief."

Wu You nodded, then reached out and patted Wang Qi's arm, indicating that it was enough: "That's perfect, let's go together."

The group then walked out along the road inside the base.

Wu You could have easily traveled through the air; with his current rank and abilities, it wouldn't have taken him more than two minutes to walk from the training room to the helipad outside the base. But he chose to walk there with his friends and colleagues instead.

After merging with divinity, Wu You also discovered a small problem.

That is, his desire for divinity grew stronger and stronger.

It's hard to describe the feeling; it's like someone who's been starving suddenly eating something incredibly delicious, and then their body instinctively starts wanting more.

Besides gaining experience points and practicing swordsmanship, what he wants to do most now is to gain more experience points. It's like a seed of hunger has been planted in his heart, and it's gradually taking root and sprouting.

What alarmed him even more was that deep down he unconsciously felt a faint sense of disgust towards anything that hindered him from becoming stronger and gaining divinity.

Right now, deep within Wu You's heart, a voice seemed to whisper: Wild ability users don't gain experience points, so why not go kill some zombies? Why waste time here? Hurry up! Stop dawdling with these people; you have more important things to do!

The voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear, carrying an undeniable sense of "rationality."

However, the very next instant these thoughts arose, a straight longsword suddenly appeared silently on the surface of Wu You's mind.

It was crystal clear, without a hilt or tassel, like a solid beam of light.

With a single, gentle slash, those distracting thoughts were cut off and vanished like a spider web.

The longsword floated silently above the lake of the heart, completely still.

His heart returned to peace.

Wu You was just an ordinary person in his previous life, with no great ambitions. His biggest wish was simply to eat well, sleep well, and not be too tired.

Having transmigrated to this world and gained a cheat-like advantage, he naturally wanted to become stronger.

But he was very clear about his purpose in becoming stronger. Ultimately, it was nothing more than to protect himself, to protect the people he cared about, and, if possible, to do some things he wanted to do and to become the person he wanted to be.

It's not about becoming stronger for the sake of becoming stronger, but about becoming stronger to live a better life.

But if the price of becoming stronger is losing the ability to perceive and enjoy the beauty of life, or even losing self-awareness, humanity, and everything else...

Wu You is probably unwilling to pay that price now.

After all, what's the difference between living like that and being a machine? What's the point?

Of course, judging from the current situation, Wu You is still very clear about the meaning of "being unable to control one's own destiny".

Without becoming stronger, one cannot protect oneself, the people one cares about, or do what one wants to do.

This world is far from peaceful. Corpse species, gods, and all sorts of unknown threats—none of them can be avoided by simply lying down.

Therefore, Wu Youquan wants both to become stronger and to enjoy life.

As for the problems brought about by the fusion with divinity, Wu You also suspected that this might be because his current rank was too low.

After all, under normal circumstances, the terms "eighth rank" and "divinity" are really unrelated.

Perhaps this problem will disappear when his rank is high enough in the future.

However, with the Clear Sword Heart present, it doesn't have much of an impact on him now.

But Wu You remained cautious: he deliberately increased the time he spent with the others. This, for him, allowed him to better maintain his humanity.

Just like now, Wu You chose to walk across with Wang Qi and the other two instead of walking alone through the air, which was itself a small confrontation with that divine instinct.

"I'm from Yunshang Province," Gongsun Baizhan said, walking to Wu You's right, "and I went to elementary and middle school in Dayun City."

"Once we get there, I'll take everyone to try some of the local delicacies."

"I know several authentic, time-honored brands, and everyone who has tried them says they are excellent."

Gongsun Baizhan's words brought Wu You back to his senses.

Upon hearing this, Wang Qi's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, this is a good option!"

"I love having someone guide me. Oh, and by the way, are there any unique cigarettes over there? I want to buy some to take back with me."

Gongsun Baizhan paused for a moment, then scratched his head: "Ah... well, I don't smoke, so I haven't paid attention to that."

"That's a shame," Wang Qi sighed. "It seems I'll just have to buy a few packs of each kind and investigate them myself."

Lu Chenzhou and Wu You listened to the conversation between the two, nodding from time to time.

The four of them walked and talked along the way.

. . .

On the helicopter, Wu You was resting with his eyes closed.

He opened the Sword Codex deep within his consciousness and used his mind to look at the section on Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Treasury.

Then, he tapped it gently.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 3 (55%) → Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 2 (55%)

Wu You used one of the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source attempts to draw a sword technique lottery.

Wu You had also given some thought to the Wan Jian Gui Cang lottery.

If he wants to level up and become stronger, he already has the extremely powerful [Seven Tribulations Sword Chapter], which will keep him busy for a long time.

So he wondered if he could learn some other useful or interesting, but not so advanced, functional sword techniques.

After all, he didn't know how much experience he would need to level up the Seven Tribulations Sword Manual to its maximum level. If the sword technique he drew was too high-level, he wouldn't have any extra experience to use to upgrade it.

However, if his swordsmanship level is not that high, with the attributes of Sword Heart Clarity and Sword Dao Proficiency, plus his current strength, Wu You can choose to practice slowly on his own without having to spend experience points to level it up.

The very next second after clicking on the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source.

Wu You's consciousness reappeared in that vast and boundless void.

Countless stars twinkled in the darkness, each star corresponding to a sword technique, some strong, some weak, some ancient, some modern, almost endless.

Wu You no longer hesitated and reached out his hand.

The next moment, a dazzling starlight fell and landed lightly in his palm.

A message came from within: the technique of planting talismans and entrusting swords.

At the same time, detailed information about this sword technique was also transmitted into Wu You's mind.

Immediately afterwards, a new message appeared on the panel in front of him.

Sword-Slaying Technique with Talismans (Beginner) (0/500)

A moment later, Wu You slowly opened his eyes.

The art of planting talismans and entrusting swords.

This is a very unique sword technique, or rather, it cannot be considered a sword technique in the traditional sense.

It contains neither sword techniques nor internal cultivation methods, and it cannot enhance Wu You's "nature" or "life" strength.

But Wu You was still quite satisfied with this sword technique that wasn't really a sword technique.

Because it has only one function, but it is very practical.

The Talisman Sword Technique can transform the power of Wu You's other sword techniques into "talisman swords".

Simply put, it means that a complete attack from a sword technique can be condensed into a single, independent talisman sword.

The upper limit of the power of the talisman sword depends on the proficiency level of the talisman sword technique, Wu You's own rank when condensing the sword talisman, and the proficiency level of the sword technique he has mastered.

To give an example—take the Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword at its perfect level.

The Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Talisman Sword formed by the beginner-level Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Talisman Sword technique only has 30% of the power when Wu You uses the perfected Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword technique.

A minor achievement is 50%, and a major achievement is 80%.

If he cultivates the Talisman Sword Technique to perfection, the talisman sword he condenses can unleash its full power!

The power of that move was no different from the one Wu You himself used when wielding his sword!

Most importantly, the talisman sword formed through the Talisman Sword Technique can be preserved in the outside world for a period of time, unlike ordinary abilities that dissipate after being released.

Anyone who obtains this talisman sword can selectively activate it and unleash the power stored within.

This means that Wu You can turn the sword techniques he has mastered into disposable, transferable items and give them to others to use!

Wu You extended his right hand, and a faint white aura gathered in his palm.

He tried to control these air currents, compressing and shaping them according to the operating method of the Talisman Sword Technique, condensing them into the shape of a miniature sword.

The airflow swirled and tightened in his palm, and the rudimentary shape of the small sword had just begun to emerge in a blurry outline when, as expected, it collapsed, turning into wisps of white airflow that dissipated like smoke between his fingers.

The first attempt failed.

But this was entirely within Wu You's expectations. He showed no disappointment, but rather a faint smile.

He glanced at the panel.

Sword-Slaying Technique with Talismans (Beginner) (2/500)

Just then, Wang Qi's voice cut through the roar of the helicopter rotors: "Old Wu, what pose are you striking? You've been holding your hand out like that for ages, I thought you were going to unleash some kind of magic from a distance."

Wu You snapped out of his thoughts, lowered his outstretched right hand, and looked at Wang Qi sitting opposite him.

Wang Qi continued, "Look at you, still smiling so ambiguously—"

Wu You rolled her eyes and then looked out the window.

In the distance, the familiar buildings resembling the Bureau of Investigation were already faintly visible.