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

Meanwhile, in the real world, in Lanxing Community, Lanhe City, Xilin Province.

Wu Jing walked out of the bathroom while drying her hair with a towel.

After just one shower, the soreness in her body had completely disappeared.

She hung the towel on the back of the chair, casually brushed her still slightly damp hair aside, and then clenched her fist.

She looked down at her hands; her fingers were spread open and closed, the force even, without the trembling she usually felt after practicing swordsmanship.

Even if she had taken those special medicines in the past, she would need to rest for at least one or two hours to recover. But today, from the time she walked into the bathroom to the time she came out drying her hair, it was only half an hour, and she was in better condition than in the morning.

She even had the illusion that she could practice all day without getting tired.

Of course, she knew it was an illusion, because her body had just undergone a change and was in a brief, unreal state of excitement.

She closed her eyes and carefully felt the warm current flowing through her body, or rather, her blood and qi.

The warmth rising from the dantian was slowly spreading, flowing along the meridians like a newly opened stream.

She understood that her rapid recovery today was inseparable from the help of her body's Qi and blood.

After confirming that the warm current was indeed still circulating in her body, she felt the urge to practice swordsmanship again.

It's not intentional; it's a spontaneous tendency of the body.

So she went along with this inclination, turned around and picked up the long cloth bag standing next to the desk, flicked her wrist and threw the bag away, and then made the "drawing" move from the Thirteen Basic Postures.

The movement was faster than she had anticipated the moment it broke free from her conscious control.

And this method is also remarkably effective.

boom--

bang-

The sword sheath whistled past the desk and struck the pen holder full of pens.

The pen holder flew out as expected, and the pens inside rolled all over the wooden floor.

Wu Jing paused for a moment, looked down at the scattered pens, and didn't immediately pick them up.

The speed and force of that strike clearly far exceeded her previous level.

Hearing the commotion inside Wu Jing's room, Wu's mother's voice also rang out from the living room:

"Xiaojing, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Hearing Wu Ma's voice and seeing the pens scattered on the ground, Wu Jing couldn't help but stick out her tongue, then immediately called out, "It's okay, the pen holder just fell on the ground."

Then Wu Jing placed the long cloth bag in her hand on the stool, squatted down, and began to tidy up the pen holder.

As she picked up the scattered pens one by one, she was still reviewing the movements of the sword strike in her mind.

This time, the feeling was different from before. With the support of her qi and blood, the sword in her hand was still the same sword, but Wu Jing felt that the sword seemed to have become lighter.

At the same time, when she swung the sword according to the action in her mind this time, the synchronization between her body and mind was significantly improved.

Previously, when she practiced swordsmanship, she would often find that her mind would learn the technique, but her body would feel extremely awkward.

Of course, this is also partly due to insufficient practice.

However, now that qi and blood have been generated in the body, this situation has been greatly improved.

Her body seemed to understand the rhythm of those movements even before she did.

After picking up her pen, Wu Jing sat back down at her desk and seriously considered her current state.

According to that book on basic sword techniques, one should only be able to generate qi and blood and enter the so-called "Ming Jin" realm after mastering all the basic thirteen stances and basic footwork.

But now, even though she hasn't fully mastered the basic thirteen postures, with the help of those strange medicinal herbs, she has already developed qi and blood and entered the 'Ming Jin' realm.

Moreover, apart from having more qi and blood in her body and being much stronger than ordinary people, she doesn't seem to have changed much. As for so-called 'skills', she doesn't know them at all.

In other words, she is now just an empty shell with a realm and corresponding strength.

If something really happens, having her use the basic thirteen stances she's only practiced for a few days to fight would probably be less effective than just swinging her big fists, which would also make better use of her strength.

In addition, Hua Linlin once mentioned that practicing martial arts can help with "awakening", but now that she has reached the "Ming Jin" level, there is still no sign of "awakening". It seems that there is still a long way to go, and it is far from time to be complacent.

Just as Wu Jing was thinking, her mother's voice came from outside the door again.

"Xiaojing, it's time to eat."

"Okay, I'm coming."

. . .

After eating a few bites, Wu Jing went back to her room to tidy up and prepare to go out.

Tomorrow is the day to fill out college applications, so she, Xia Yu, and Lin Xinmai made plans to get together today.

Back in her room, Wu Jing put on a sun-protective garment and prepared to go out. But when she reached the door, she paused, glanced back at the long cloth bag standing next to the desk, hesitated for less than a second, and then went over and picked it up.

Before leaving the house, Wu Jing called out towards the kitchen:

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back for dinner tonight."

A voice immediately responded from the kitchen: "Understood."

. . .

Wu Jing went downstairs and followed the road in the community to the front of the Aijia Sports Goods Store.

At this moment, the store door was open, but there was no one behind the counter, and the area between the shelves was so quiet that it didn't seem like anyone was there.

She paused at the door for a moment, then went inside.

Standing in front of the counter, Wu Jing glanced around briefly before calling out, "Xiao Mai, Xiao Mai."

But there was no response.

Wu Jing frowned slightly: Could it be that he went out on business?

She took out her phone and checked the time. It was a little past 11:40 a.m., and the three of them had agreed to meet at 12:30 p.m. at the Wanhua Shopping Mall in the center of Lanhe City.

However, it's still not right. Although the two of them didn't agree to go together, based on their past habits and the fact that they live so close to each other, she would come to find Lin Xinmai to go together, and Lin Xinmai would wait for her.

Could it be that Ruby Lin went there first this time?

Thinking this, Wu Jing called Lin Xinmai's name twice more, but there was still no response.

Wu Jing could only leave the Aijia Sports Goods Store.

As she walked toward the bus stop, she dialed Lin Xinmai's number.

But then, the sound from the phone stunned Wu Jing for a moment.

"drop--"

"drop--"

Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service.

Why is she out of service area? Where did Lin Xinmai go?

Wu Jing instinctively realized that something was wrong.

Just then, as she passed the entrance to an alleyway where vines climbed all the walls on both sides.

A cold, sticky aura suddenly enveloped her from the side, as if something invisible had stuck to her ankle and was climbing up her calf.

The scent was neither like wind nor like a smell, but something more tangible, carrying warmth and humidity, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end involuntarily.

Her steps suddenly stopped, and the hand holding the long cloth bag unconsciously tightened its grip.

She turned her head and looked into the depths of the alley.

Inside the alley, vines blocked out most of the light, creating an unnaturally thick shadow, as if something was flowing beneath it.