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

The various pathways of Qi and blood circulation, the ways in which Qi and blood temper the body, the ways in which Qi and blood are utilized in various martial arts and sword techniques, how martial arts and sword techniques inversely increase Qi and blood to temper the body, the similarities and differences between martial arts and sword techniques and the basic sword techniques provided by the sword manual, and how to modify basic sword techniques to better adapt to the way Qi and blood are transported in martial arts.

"Hmm, the third step of the breathing technique in the basic swordsmanship can be slightly adjusted..."

He muttered to himself, his fingers tapping unconsciously twice on the stone table.

"In terms of building a foundation, martial arts and swordsmanship also have their merits. External medicine can enhance physical fitness more quickly, and once the physical fitness is better, it will be more advantageous to practice the basic thirteen stances, so it can be retained..."

"But the choice of medicine needs to be reconsidered. We need to switch to some milder medicines that are more focused on strengthening the body's foundation and nourishing the body's vital energy."

"Moreover, martial arts and swordsmanship, no, all Earth martial arts seem to passively drive the training of the mental level through the tempering of the physique."

He tapped his fingers on the stone table twice more, this time faster than before.

"It seems that Earth Martial Arts is missing the 'mental cultivation' part. Hmm, the right path is to advance both the body and the spirit in tandem, and this part needs to be filled in."

"The basic swordsmanship's inherent internal energy cultivation method also needs slight modifications..."

As he thought about it, he mentally broke down each step of the basic sword technique.

"In addition, some of the footwork techniques in basic swordsmanship are similar to the stance training in basic martial arts. With slight modifications, they can be combined."

Numerous doubts and thoughts raced through Wu You's mind. Similarly, a wealth of inspiration and ideas burst forth in his mind, like lightning flashing in the darkness, one after another, illuminating corners he had not seen before.

Later on, Wu You was no longer satisfied with just thinking about it in his mind.

After all, there were too many ideas, too many of them.

He got up and went into the house, took out a stack of blank manuscript paper and a few pens from a drawer in the living room, then sat down at the stone table, spread out the manuscript paper, covered one corner with his phone, and began to deduce and record at the same time.

The pen tip danced across the paper, making a continuous scratching sound.

Lines of text flowed from his pen, sometimes a complete deduction, sometimes a pending item with a question mark, and sometimes a simple diagram.

Time always flies when you're completely absorbed.

Wu You didn't notice that the sun had moved from east to south, didn't notice that the morning dew evaporated and condensed again, didn't notice that the torchbearers passing by outside the courtyard deliberately softened their footsteps. His world shrank to the size of the stone table, to the width of those few pages of manuscript paper, to the point where the pen tip touched the paper.

After an unknown amount of time, Wu You finally raised his head.

He blinked, and the starlight that shimmered in his silver eyes seemed to tire, becoming somewhat sluggish and hazy.

At this moment, the sun had reached the very center of the sky, and the sunlight became extremely dazzling.

The air temperature was much higher than in the morning, and the flowers that bloomed in the morning light were now drooping their heads, as if they were taking a nap.

"Just a little bit more..."

Wu You looked at the results of his deductions, which had almost covered the entire stone table in front of him, and marked a few places that he felt needed further consideration.

Overall, the framework has been established, the ideas for integrating and modifying basic sword techniques are clear, and a simplified version of the mental cultivation method has taken initial shape.

But that's not enough; it needs further refinement to make it more suitable for ordinary people to practice.

Next, Wu You tidied up the records a bit, stacked the scattered manuscripts on the table in order, and then put away the thick stack of papers filled with writing.

Just as he put down the manuscript, a hurried footstep sounded from outside the courtyard gate.

"Old Wu! I'm here!"

The gate to the courtyard was pushed open with one foot.

A stubble-bearded man walked in from outside, carrying large and small bags in both hands, with various shopping bags hanging from his neck and arms.

It was Wang Qi who had just returned from shopping.

This is only because he's an ability user; otherwise, an ordinary person really couldn't carry back so many things. After all, just the number of these bags alone would be enough for an ordinary person to make several trips back and forth.

Wu You calmly turned to look at him.

Wang Qi grinned, revealing two rows of neat teeth: "Hehe, I'm honored!"

He was about to say something, but when he saw Wu You turn around, he froze.

He was stunned for two seconds before he came to his senses.

"Uh, Lao Wu, you've changed again..."

Then, he started circling around Wu You, his body covered in bags and packages, making clicking noises as he did so.

"Look at this, tsk tsk." He walked around to Wu You's front, stared at Wu You's face for two seconds, and then shook his head.

"Those silver eyes, tsk tsk." He moved to the side, tilted his head to study Wu You's eyes, and found that there seemed to be starlight flowing in those silver eyes, and clicked his tongue twice.

"This sword mark, tsk tsk." He went around to the other side and took a closer look at the silver sword mark between Wu You's eyebrows, his tsk tsk sound growing louder.

Wang Qi knew Wu You quite well, and naturally knew that Wu You was someone who hated trouble and would never spend time on makeup or wearing colored contact lenses.

That kind of thing is a waste of time and meaningless, and Wu You wouldn't do it.

Therefore, there is only one possibility—this is a passive change caused by Wu You's ability.

Moreover, the sword seal and Wu You's skill in using a sword are a perfect match.

Then Wang Qi stopped and added, "Sigh, I really envy your abilities. Not only are you so strong, but you can also dramatically improve your looks."

"If I were this good-looking, would I even need to worry about finding a partner?"

"Sigh, who knows how many rich women would throw themselves at me."

Although Wang Qi was usually unkempt, never shaved, and was a heavy smoker.

But in terms of appearance, she's definitely not ugly.

In other words, no one with superpowers is ugly: the awakening of abilities, the circulation of energy, and the improvement of physical fitness all have a positive impact on appearance.

Even if Wang Qi isn't called a handsome young man, calling him a handsome middle-aged man is definitely not a problem.

When he's not speaking, his melancholic yet somewhat world-weary air can attract certain groups of women.

Therefore, the real reason why Wang Qi doesn't look for a partner is not because of these things.

This is determined by the nature of their work as torchbearers.

Apart from those torchbearers who already had a partner before joining the Bureau of Investigation, the other torchbearers are basically all alone.

They are single and spend very little time with their family and relatives.

They spend most of their time and energy cleaning up the zombie species and protecting the real world, leaving very little time for themselves and almost no time for their emotions.

This is the norm for torchbearers.

Wu You shook his head, not responding to Wang Qi's words.

He simply tilted his head slightly and gestured towards the house: "Just put it inside."

As Wang Qi walked into the house, he complained, "Damn, twenty different styles of women's clothing, three sets of each. This is really a bit much for me."

He paused, seemingly recalling his experience in the mall: "You wouldn't believe it, I, a grown man, spent ages picking out children's clothes, and the sales assistants started giving me strange looks."

"But thankfully, none of this is a problem for me."

After Wang Qi put down the shopping bags of various sizes, he turned around, clasped his hands together in front of him, palms facing each other, and rubbed them together rapidly.

Wu You could only think of one word to describe this action: like a fly rubbing its hands.

"Hehe, Lao Wu..." Wang Qi chuckled.

Looking at his comical antics, Wu You couldn't help but smile faintly.

Without saying much, he simply pulled out two silver swords with shimmering starlight on their blades from his trench coat pocket and casually tossed them over.

The talisman sword drew two silver-white arcs in the air, flying precisely towards Wang Qi's direction.

"These two are more powerful than the previous ones."

"Killing ordinary level 8 zombies shouldn't be a problem."

These two rune swords, formed from the Seven Luminaries Sword of the Star Pivot, are naturally much stronger than the rune swords formed from the Phantom Flowing Cloud Sword Technique given to us before.

Upon hearing this, Wang Qi's eyes widened in shock.

"Can it kill an eighth-tier enemy?"

Wu You nodded, the starlight in his silver eyes flickering slightly.

Upon seeing this, Wang Qi also gasped, and then quickly stuffed the two small silver swords, which were shimmering with starlight, into his trench coat pocket.

"Hey, really, Lao Wu, why are you being so polite?"

"Remember to call me next time you need something."

Wu You nodded, without saying anything like "you're welcome."

Between him and Wang Qi, there was no need for those things.

Then, as if remembering something, Wang Qi asked Wu You, "By the way, Lao Wu, why are you buying so many... um, children's clothes?"

Wu You shook his head without answering, but said instead, "By the way, I need to go back to Lanhe in two days."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qi was also taken aback: "Back to Lanhe?"

So Wu You told Wang Qi the whole story.

After listening, Wang Qi pondered for a moment, rubbed his chin twice with his fingers, and then shook his head.

"This time, you might have to go back alone."

"My preliminary training here is not over yet. It's only today that I have a little free time because the corpse species in the deep dark domain have subsided."

"It seems there will be training on resource acquisition strategies later on."

"Um..."

"Please give my regards to Director Ye and the others."

Upon hearing this, Wu You nodded and didn't insist, since not everyone could pass the preliminary assessment in just two days like him.

After seeing Wang Qi off, Wu You turned and walked into the house.