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

The early morning sun hung obliquely on the roof of the row of low buildings on the east side of the Lanxing residential area. The light had not yet fully warmed up and shone on the canopies of the old sycamore trees in the park. The dappled sunlight that fell on the ground swayed in the wind.

Residents returning from grocery shopping walked in twos and threes along the shortcut at the edge of the park. Some carried plastic bags with a few scallion leaves sticking out of the openings, while others pushed wheeled shopping carts, the wheels making a continuous low thud as they rolled over the concrete pavement.

At that moment, two middle-aged women passed by the open space in the middle of the park: one was wearing a dark gray knitted cardigan with her hair casually tied in a ponytail, and the other was wearing a faded floral jacket with a bulging cloth bag slung over her arm.

The two walked slowly, taking small steps, displaying a leisurely pace without being in a hurry.

The woman in the floral jacket noticed the commotion in the middle of the park first. She nudged her companion with her elbow and nodded in that direction with her chin: "Is that... practicing martial arts?"

The woman in the cardigan looked in that direction.

In the park's open space, a young man with black hair was demonstrating a silver-white longsword to a girl with a high ponytail. The movements were slow, and the sword moved steadily. The girl was holding a training sword and imitating him, but her movements were still a little awkward.

"Yes, they should be practicing martial arts." She turned her gaze back, her tone carrying a sense of "you didn't know this?" "The country has opened martial arts schools and martial arts universities, and more and more young people are practicing martial arts. But it seems that practicing martial arts is only good for strengthening the body, and I don't know why the country is going to open martial arts universities."

Hearing her words, the woman in the floral coat slung the bag over her shoulder, leaned closer, and lowered her voice slightly: "Useless? Let me tell you, martial arts are useful, extremely useful!"

The woman wearing the cardigan couldn't help but wonder, "What's the point?"

"I'm going to tell you a secret, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else."

The woman in the cardigan immediately perked up, slowed her pace, and turned around: "Tell me what the secret is, and I promise I won't tell anyone!"

The woman in the floral coat glanced around again, as if to make sure no one else was listening, before lowering her voice to a level that only the two of them could hear: "Actually—"

"In some parts of this world, there exist not only man-eating monsters, but also people with superpowers! Only those with superpowers can defeat those monsters! And those who master martial arts can become just as powerful as those with superpowers!"

"Otherwise, why do you think the country would suddenly establish a martial arts university? It's all to deal with those monsters!"

The woman in the cardigan froze, her brows furrowing slightly before relaxing again: "Huh? A man-eating monster? Superpowers? Really?"

"It came from my aunt's second uncle's side of the family," the woman in the floral jacket said confidently. "You know, several of my aunt's second uncle's children work in the police department!"

Upon hearing the words "inside the police department," the woman in the cardigan's suspicion immediately faded, replaced by a serious expression: "It came from the police department... then it's very likely true..."

She paused for two seconds to process it, then remembered something else: "But can practicing martial arts really give you superpowers?"

"Oh dear, it's not about developing superpowers, it's about becoming as powerful as those who have superpowers," the woman in the floral jacket corrected her, adding a small wave of her hand as she did so.

"What's the difference?" The woman in the cardigan frowned, clearly finding the distinction unimportant.

"Of course there's a difference!" The woman in the floral jacket spoke with a strange, earnest competitive edge. "People with superpowers have a special name; they're called 'ability users'! Those who practice martial arts are called 'martial artists.' How can those two be the same?"

"Aren't they all equally powerful? They're just different names, there's not much difference." The woman in the cardigan still couldn't quite wrap her head around it.

"Not all of them are equally powerful," the woman in the floral jacket said, calming herself slightly and lowering her voice. "It seems only martial artists who have reached a very high level of skill can be as powerful as those with special abilities. Look at those two young people practicing swordsmanship just now, do they look that powerful?"

The woman in the cardigan glanced again at the open space.

The black-haired young man was still teaching the girl the movements; the two of them looked no different from ordinary people doing morning exercises.

"Doesn't look like it..."

"So it's still different..." The woman in the floral jacket concluded the previous conversation with this sentence, and then the two continued walking along the shortcut.

Their figures shrank smaller and smaller, their voices grew softer and softer, until finally their whispered discussions were lost in the rustling of leaves in the wind and the chirping of birds in the morning.

On the open ground, Wu You continued adjusting the angle of Wu Jing's wrist without stopping.

He lightly tapped the tip of his sword on the inside of her elbow, signaling her to raise her elbow by half an inch.

He heard everything the two residents said as they passed by, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

The "secrets" told by those residents have been relayed through countless layers. Although the details have been compressed and the meaning diluted, the core parts about ability users, martial artists, and corpse species have not been lost much.

What he was thinking was: the General Administration had just issued the notice not long ago, and it had already stirred up waves of public opinion here.

However, this is exactly the effect the investigation bureau wanted: to spread information outwards from each torchbearer, so that when the extraordinary is officially revealed, the public's acceptance will already be guaranteed, and it will not cause great panic.

Moreover, there is another reason why information about superhuman martial artists spreads so quickly: after all, this is extraordinary power, so who wouldn't be interested?

His attention returned to Wu Jing's sword, and then his brow furrowed: her movements had become distorted again.

He immediately said sternly, "Focus! You must concentrate on practicing your sword!"

"All you need to look at is the sword in your hand!"

Wu Jing, who was standing to the side, was also distracted by what the two residents were saying. Although she was not as strong as Wu You, she had at least developed blood and qi and entered a higher level. Her five senses were naturally more acute than those of ordinary people, so she also heard some snippets about "ability users" and "martial artists".

Hearing Wu You's stern words, she couldn't help but purse her lips. She had just noticed that Wu You had also been a little distracted, clearly listening to what the two passersby were saying!

Despite her inner complaints, she adjusted her wrist back to the correct position the moment he finished speaking, and the trajectory of the sword tip returned to the standard line.

Her attitude towards sword practice has always been very proper.

While Wu You's main clone was teaching swordsmanship to Wu Jing in Lanxing Community, his main body on his divine throne was also handing over the first batch of talisman swords.