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

Around 5 p.m., the setting sun hung obliquely on the horizon over the Lan River, its orange rays bathing the entire city in a golden glow.

At this time, the martial arts college entrance examination in Lanhe had all ended, and Ye Yi and Wu You had returned to the Investigation Bureau building.

In the director's office, Ye Yi held a list of candidates' rankings in her hand, carefully looking at it twice before letting out a soft sigh and turning to look at Wu You beside her.

"This time it was still too rushed."

He waved the list in his hand and said with some helplessness, "There are only a little over a hundred candidates who got an A grade in this martial arts exam."

"It's much less than we expected."

Wu You nodded, a hint of starlight flickering in her silver eyes, unsurprised: "Things will be much better next year."

This martial arts exam was primarily aimed at eligible high school students, and the notification was issued quite late, leaving many unprepared. Furthermore, as this was the first martial arts exam of its kind, many were still observing the situation.

For various reasons, the total number of applicants for this year's martial arts examination was not very large, and with a small number of applicants, there were naturally not many outstanding candidates.

Ye Yi nodded, then put down the list in her hand, leaned back in her chair, and shifted her gaze from the list to Wu You's face.

"And what about you? Want to have dinner together, or...?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Wu You understood what he meant.

Wu You shook his head and said directly, "I'm going to Area A-4, and then I'll go straight back to the Jiuli Base."

Ye Yi remained silent for a few seconds after hearing this, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes, before replying, "Here you go."

Section A-4 of Lanhe City is a cemetery specifically for the burial of torchbearers.

Then Wu You recounted in detail how Old Wei had asked him to persuade Ye Yi.

Ye Yi smiled after hearing this.

He reached out and took off his gold-rimmed glasses, wiped the lenses, and put them back on, his movements unhurried: "Yesterday's events are like yesterday's death, today's events are like today's birth."

Then he paused, his gaze falling on Wu You's face, "Please tell Elder Wei that I will definitely return to Jiuli to see him within two years."

Wu You nodded, understanding Ye Yi's determination.

Whether by choice or by force, members of the Nine Li can only return after reaching the ninth rank, and then go to the deep dark domain to guard the area.

Ye Yi's words clearly implied that he was confident he could reach the ninth level of the Void Realm within two years.

"I will relay your words to Elder Wei verbatim," Wu You replied earnestly.

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to leave the office.

As soon as he stepped out of the Investigation Bureau building, Wu You lightly stepped into the air and flew towards the A-4 Cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

. . .

The setting sun cast its last rays upon the cemetery, where rows of gray tombstones stood neatly, solemn and quiet.

Each tombstone records the sacrifice of a torchbearer and silently tells of their perseverance and dedication.

Wu You landed slowly, his steps very light, and finally stopped in front of a cenotaph.

The tombstone bears the two large characters "Lin Yuan," and several withered flowers are placed in front of it.

Wu hesitated for a moment, then a breeze blew by, causing his long white hair to flutter slightly.

He looked at the black and white photograph embedded in the stone on the tombstone. The person in the photo had a gentle smile, exactly like Lin Yuan in his memory.

"Uncle Lin..."

He also brought back a batch of resources for Lin Yuan's family and Hu Cheng and the others.

Furthermore, Wu You specially made several of those defensive rune swords that ordinary people could trigger, and gave them all to Ye Yi to pass on.

After that, Wu You simply stayed quietly in the cemetery for a while, then turned around and stepped out along the path he had come from.

When he returned to the helipad next to the Bureau of Investigation building, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, the sky had changed from orange-red to gray-blue, and only the last rays of the setting sun could be seen on the distant mountain ridge.

On the helipad, the helicopter's rotors were already running, and the airflow they generated scattered dust from the ground.

Now that everything in Lanhe is settled, it's time to go back and continue grinding for experience points.

I just don't know if the number of corpses in the various dangerous zones of the deep dark domain has returned to normal.

Previously, Elder Wei said that "it will usually recover in a few days," and now several days have passed. Logically speaking, those zombie species that escaped to the S-level restricted area should have started to return.

If he recovers, he can start playing games tonight; if he doesn't recover, he can only continue practicing his sword control technique tonight.

With this in mind, Wu You boarded the helicopter back to the Jiuli base in Yunshang Province, filled with anticipation.

Warm-hearted experience points, he's coming soon!

Meanwhile, Wu You was not idle on the helicopter either. He kept his eyes closed and practiced the sword control technique.

His breathing was steady and long, perfectly synchronized with the rhythm of the mental cultivation method.

His proficiency in sword control is also increasing at an extremely rapid pace.

御剑术（入门）（400/3000）→御剑术（入门）（600/3000）→御剑术（入门）（800/3000）……

More than an hour later, Wu You opened his eyes.

The sky outside the helicopter window had completely darkened, with clouds forming a gray-white carpet below the aircraft. Occasionally, one could see scattered lights on the ground through gaps in the clouds.

On the Sword Manual panel, the Sword Control Technique (Mastery) (200/10000) is displayed!

In just over an hour, the sword control technique had already reached the level of mastery!

However, Wu You could also sense that after mastering the Great Perfection, the rate at which his proficiency in sword control improved had significantly decreased.

However, Wu You could sense that this was not because his mental strength was insufficient, but because the later levels of the sword control technique were more profound and obscure.

Wu You stopped practicing and began to consider the feasibility of integrating sword control techniques into basic sword techniques of martial arts.

He envisioned several fusion schemes in his mind: such as simplifying and disassembling the Sword Control Technique, combining it with the visualization techniques of basic swordsmanship, and then reassembling it.

But after a moment's thought, he shook his head.

"I'm afraid that won't work for now," Wu You murmured.

The Sword Control Technique has a very high requirement for basic mental strength; one must reach a certain threshold to even begin learning it.

It is likely that only when a cultivator's mental strength reaches the level of a fourth- or even fifth-tier ability user can they meet the requirements for entering the sword control technique.

If you're looking to build a foundation, basic swordsmanship is a better option.

Wu You originally intended to integrate the sword control technique directly into the basic sword techniques of martial arts that started from scratch. In this way, practitioners could improve their own rank while also gaining more ways to fight enemies.

Moreover, as practitioners of basic sword techniques continuously improve their strength, they can not only fight with their swords, but also fly on their swords, and eventually even perform a mini version of the Ten Thousand Swords Return to One technique.

If this system is expanded, isn't it just a simplified version of sword cultivation?

From beginner to expert, from melee to ranged combat, from ground to air, this one set of techniques covers it all.

Thinking of this, Wu You changed his approach again.

"Then in the early stages, we should focus on building a foundation using basic sword techniques and internal energy cultivation methods."

"Let's put the training of sword control techniques into 'Basic Sword Techniques of Martial Arts (Part 2)'."

Having made his decision, Wu You looked out the helicopter window.

At this moment, in the hazy night, the outlines of the Jiuli base buildings in the distance were already faintly visible.

As soon as he got off the helicopter, Wu You didn't even go back to his own courtyard. Instead, he sped off towards the entrance of the deep dark domain.

Shurima, no, I mean all the danger zones, your royal court has returned!