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

Wu You carried his sword and walked back to the residential area at a leisurely pace.

It was late at night, and the park was deserted. The old sycamore trees stood beside the streetlights, their leaves rustling softly in the breeze.

He walked to the old spot, where the concrete ground was still empty, and the moonlight shone on it, making it appear slightly white.

He leaned the sword against the ground and opened the sword manual panel.

Allocable experience points: 90.

Wu You looked at the line of text and shook his head.

Lin Yuan said the neighborhood had been cleaned up, but what happened? He went out for a walk and ran into nine of them.

The nine ordinary zombies were all huddled in those secluded corners: deep in alleys, dark corners, behind garbage dumps—places that no one usually goes.

It wasn't that he thought the official forces were inadequate.

Quite the opposite.

The fact that these corpses only dare to hide in those kinds of places speaks volumes. Is it that they don't want to go to places with many people? Or that they can't?

Wu You thought of that middle-aged man.

That monster who can swagger around the neighborhood at night.

The fact that they can roam freely in the neighborhood at night shows that the zombies have some way of hiding themselves.

Therefore, those zombie species can most likely appear anywhere.

Why do they only appear in various corners?

But they didn't.

Why?

Those zombie species that appeared in public were probably cleared out by the authorities in a very short time.

Wu You pulled himself out of his thoughts and stopped thinking about it.

He stared at the 90 experience points on the panel and, without hesitation, poured them all into his basic swordsmanship.

Basic Swordsmanship (Minor Mastery): 32/100 → Basic Swordsmanship (Advanced Mastery): 22/300

boom--

Countless pieces of information flooded my mind.

Sword techniques, combat experience, key points of power exertion, possible variations—it was as if someone had demonstrated the sword to him a thousand times, and as if he himself had practiced the sword diligently for many years. Every experience, every year, was etched into Wu You's mind.

At the same time, the coldness in the body also surges.

What were once streams are now rivers, surging through the meridians, washing over every inch of muscle, every bone, and every fascia. Physical condition is improving, strength is increasing, and the five senses are becoming more acute.

Wu You clenched his fist.

He closed his eyes and recalled the middle-aged man from that night.

That suddenly elongated neck, that gaping maw that stretched over 180 degrees, those pure black eyes.

If we were to meet again now...

New images automatically popped into my mind.

No need for passive defense anymore. The blocking sword can block one attack, but not the second. You should use a straight thrust when its head comes flying at you, aiming directly for its head. Or, dodge the first attack by sidestepping, then use a top-slashing sword to cut its neck.

Wu You opened his eyes, and he understood what was going on.

Then he noticed that another line of text on the Sword Manual panel had changed.

Level: One → Level: Two

Sure enough, the level is increased by improving swordsmanship.

Before he could fully experience it, the panel suddenly fluctuated.

A new message appeared.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 1

Wu You was stunned.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm? What is that?

It sounds like some kind of powerful move, but it doesn't quite seem like it. There's just a single number on the panel, nothing else.

He stared at those four words for two seconds, then, unable to resist, clicked on the button.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 1 → Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm:

A flower in front of you.

When her vision cleared again, Wu You realized she was no longer in the community park.

All around was an endless dark void.

Vast and boundless.

At the same time, countless points of light flickered in the dark void.

He stood amidst a starry sky.

It wasn't the kind of starry sky you look up at; it was a sky that surrounded him entirely: stars everywhere—up, down, left, right, front, and back—some near, some far, some bright, some dim, some as big as a fist, some as small as a grain of rice, densely covering his entire field of vision.

The starlight twinkled, as if it were breathing or blinking.

Some stars are cool white with a faint blue glow; some are warm, like candlelight with a slight yellow tinge; and others are silver, dazzlingly bright yet unrealistically soft.

They hang there silently, their number unknown, their distance unknown, perhaps light-years.

Wu You stood in the void, with nothing beneath his feet, yet it felt as if he were stepping on something unseen.

He looked down at himself. His body was still there, his hands were still there, his feet were still there, but he felt light and airy, as if a part of his consciousness had been pulled out.

He felt like a speck of dust, thrown into the boundless universe.

A message came from the Sword Codex.

These twinkling starlight...can you touch them?

Wu You had a sudden thought.

Those seemingly distant starlight were instantly brought closer, as if blown by the wind, densely surrounding him.

They were no longer individual stars, but rather specks of light, suspended before him, within reach.

Every single one was twinkling, as if it were speaking, or perhaps yearning for something.

They are all waiting to be chosen by Wu You, the master of the Sword Codex.

Wu You reached out his hand.

There's no real reason behind it, it's just intuition.

He looked at one of the stars and felt it was looking at him.

The star sensed it; it flashed even faster, as if in response, and then flew towards him on its own initiative.

Starlight fell into my palm.

In an instant, a name popped into my mind—

"Phantom Cloud Sword Technique"

Wu You suddenly realized: each starlight represented a sword technique, and the Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Source was a sword technique lottery.

Immediately afterwards, countless sword techniques information flooded in.

Phantom Cloud Sword Technique: The sword moves like flowing clouds without a fixed shape, and the body moves through the air like a phantom.

The Inner Cultivation Chapter: The mind moves with the clouds, the will roams with the sword. Do not seek penetrating force, but rather comprehensive intent. Scattered, it pervades the universe; gathered, it concentrates at the tip of the blade. My body is not real, my sword is not true; what appears on the left is actually on the right; what attacks is in front, what strikes is the body. A single thought arises and vanishes, and illusions are born…

Sword Technique: The sword rises from the dantian, like clouds emerging from a mountain peak. Its power accumulates continuously, its intent already full before its sharp edge is seen. Taking an unorthodox approach is not unusual; a fleeting glimpse of light carries deadly intent. Seven parts illusion and ten parts real power, an unyielding strike…

Wu You stood still, motionless.

The information is still being poured in.

He opened his eyes after an unknown amount of time.

The starry sky has disappeared.

He was still standing in the community park, a long cloth bag leaning against the side, the moonlight shining on the ground, the sycamore leaves rustling, as if nothing had just happened.

But the extra thoughts in one's mind can't lie.

Sword Master: Wu You

Level: Two

Swordsmanship: Basic Swordsmanship (Mastery) (22/300), Phantom Cloud Swordsmanship (Beginner) (0/500)

Items: None

Allocable experience points: 0

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 0 (0%)

After the number of uses of Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source is consumed, a number appears at the end.

Is this the Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Hidden Realm charging up?

Pulling himself out of his thoughts and closing the Sword Manual panel, Wu You looked down at his hands and the sword lying beside him.

Phantom Cloud Sword Technique... 500 proficiency points...

Although it requires much more than the basic sword techniques required to learn, judging from this mental cultivation method and sword manual, it should be much stronger.

The sword moves like flowing clouds, the body like a phantom.

It has ten parts strength, seven parts illusion, and three parts reality that cannot be shaken.

Thinking of the power of the Phantom Cloud Sword Technique, Wu You couldn't help but smile: It seems that he can only make things harder for those corpse species.