Comprehending the Nine Swords of Dragon Slaying

Living Room.

An Yi sipped his meat porridge while sighing inwardly.

This girl's cooking skills were still terrible as ever!

But after a night of exhaustion, he was utterly starving. At this point, he displayed an appetite rivaling Shen Muxuan's, finishing the entire pot of porridge clean.

Wiping the corner of his mouth, An Yi retrieved the items from his storage space.

Clang!

The moment the battered greatsword was taken out, it crushed the already wobbly dining table, snapping all four legs at once.

Aunt Zhou's heirloom table had finally met its end.

An Yi sighed softly, crouching down to examine the broken sword closely.

The sword was indeed a wreck—covered in scars, its blade even chipped and warped.

If this thing struck someone, it’d definitely give them tetanus and a one-way ticket to the afterlife!

After studying it for a long time, An Yi concluded that aside from being heavy and broken, the sword held no real value.

At most, it carried a faint trace of that ancient aura he’d sensed when crossing the dimensional barrier.

Finding nothing noteworthy, he stashed it back into his storage space and pulled out the "Nine Swords of Dragon Slaying" manual instead.

Flipping to the first page, An Yi froze.

It felt like being struck by lightning—he was utterly stunned.

The characters on the page were written in the script of his original world!

What the hell? It really was!

An Yi frantically flipped through a few more pages.

No mistake—these were the characters of the Ancient Continent.

How could this book exist in this world?

Did that mean there were others from the Ancient Continent who had also come here?

Suddenly, An Yi remembered the Gourd Immortal.

That guy had been a fellow traveler, though An Yi had ended up cutting him down.

If there was a Gourd Immortal, could there also be an Eggplant Immortal, a Cucumber Immortal, or even a Soybean Immortal?

He’d have to investigate when he had the time.

An Yi’s expression turned solemn as he muttered thoughtfully, "This is directly tied to how I can return to the Ancient Continent. Priority investigation."

Opening the book, he began reading intently, completely absorbed.

Swords had always been his weapon of choice, but his techniques required spiritual energy to unleash their full potential.

In this world, spiritual energy was so scarce it was practically nonexistent—he couldn’t even muster a trace of it.

Besides, he’d always prided himself on being a genius, never bothering to polish the basics of swordsmanship. His proficiency with a dagger might even surpass his swordplay.

Still, that didn’t stop An Yi from delving into the manual. After studying it late into the night, he finally grasped a hint of its profundity.

"Nine Swords of Dragon Slaying—damn, this is insane!" An Yi exclaimed in awe.

The creator of this manual was undoubtedly a genius. The deeper he read, the more mind-blowing it became!

Nine Swords of Dragon Slaying—nine sword forms in total!

Each technique was incredibly profound!

And the ninth sword? Legend claimed it could even slay immortals!

By now, the first light of dawn was creeping through the window.

Unbeknownst to him, he’d spent the entire night immersed in the manual.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, for exploring the [Nine Swords of Dragon Slaying] skill!

Ding! Sword Technique [First Form—Parting Sorrow] unlocked!

The system’s light chime rang out.

An Yi’s face lit up with joy as he immediately tossed the manual back into his storage space to gather dust.

He’d planned to study it properly, but if the system had already granted him the skill, why bother?

Might as well sit back, accumulate wickedness points, and let the upgrades roll in. Much more comfortable.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining [Swordsmanship Proficiency Lv. 2]!

Hearing the system’s prompt, An Yi paused.

Swordsmanship Proficiency—straight to Lv. 2!

Was it because he’d trained in swordsmanship before?

An Yi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. If this thing leveled up on its own, it’d save him a ton of effort.

After all, mastering swordsmanship was one of the most time-consuming skills!

With only 100,000 yuan a day, he couldn’t afford to waste time.

Now, it was time to figure out how to make money!

Before heading to bed, An Yi planted the Star Grass seeds in a flowerpot, satisfied, and returned to his room.

But the moment he saw the girl curled up on his bed, his temper flared.

"Shen Muxuan! Why are you in my room again?!"

Shen Muxuan drowsily opened her eyes. "My room’s too hot. I couldn’t sleep. Yours has AC."

"I’m no gentleman. You’re dressed like that in my room—don’t blame me if I take advantage of you tonight!"

An Yi grinned like a wolf, eyeing her jade-like legs peeking out from under the red undergarment.

Shen Muxuan nervously clutched the blanket. "Y-You wouldn’t dare! If you touch me, I’ll have my master beat your head in!"

"Then go to sleep! It’s already morning!"

Yawning, An Yi expertly spread a quilt on the floor and collapsed into sleep.

After fighting all night and studying the sword manual until dawn, his head was pounding. If he didn’t sleep now, he might just drop dead.

Shen Muxuan’s eyes widened.

"You’re asleep?"

"Really asleep?"

"Idiot!"

The Star Grass was thriving splendidly.

Two days later, the flowerpot was already lush with greenery.

What’s more, this plant grew from the roots—as long as they weren’t cut, it would keep sprouting like chives.

"One tael of fleeceflower root, one tael of coptis, two taels of black nightshade… and finally, Star Grass. Perfect!"

An Yi stared at the murky, grayish concoction in the cup, delighted.

"It’s done!"

This was the legendary Jade Beauty Elixir!

He dabbed a bit on his face—cool and refreshing, though the greenish-gray color looked a bit awkward.

But hey, system-approved products were always top-tier.

He trusted that System Dad wouldn’t screw him over!

Shen Muxuan looked at him curiously and asked, "An Yi, what’s that stuff on your face? It looks disgusting."

"Skincare. Wanna try?" An Yi grinned, pinching a lump of ointment-like substance between his fingers.

Shen Muxuan shook her head like a rattle-drum, her face full of refusal.

"Come on! Give it a shot!"

"No! That thing looks gross! Don’t smear it on my face! I don’t want it!"

"Too bad for you! Hehe, you’re trying it whether you like it or not!"

"Let go, let go of me! No! Help! Help!"

Then, Shen Muxuan’s protests turned into muffled whimpers.

Thud!

The shabby rental apartment’s door was kicked open by Aunt Zhou.

"An Yi, I knew you couldn’t control yourself, you little bastard! What the hell are you trying to do to Muxuan?!"

Aunt Zhou brandished a mop, her voice seething with anger.

But when she saw the scene inside, she froze.

An Yi and Shen Muxuan froze too.

"Uh… Aunt Zhou, what’s up with this?" An Yi paused mid-motion, his hand still smearing the Jade Beauty Elixir on Shen Muxuan’s face, and asked in confusion.

Shen Muxuan, her face coated in a grayish mud-like mask, blinked her big eyes at Aunt Zhou.

Ahem. "You youngsters and your nonsense!"

Aunt Zhou glanced at the mop in her hand and cleared her throat. "I figured you’d have trouble cleaning without proper tools, so I brought you a mop."

"The supermarket’s right downstairs. We can grab whatever we need ourselves—no need for you to deliver it personally."

An Yi chuckled, shaking the bottle of Jade Beauty Elixir in his hand. "Aunt Zhou, wanna try? Smooths your skin, keeps you youthful! You’ll look ten years younger, guaranteed!"

Aunt Zhou wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What kind of stuff is this? The color’s awful—looks like sludge from a sewer. Disgusting."

"Yeah, it’s gross! And it smells weird too! An Yi just had to slather it on my face! So annoying!"

Shen Muxuan peeled off the mask formed by the Jade Beauty Elixir ointment.

Her already smooth, fair skin now looked even more radiant—translucent, delicate as a peeled egg, flawless to the touch.

Aunt Zhou swallowed hard. "Well… maybe I could give it a try."