Zhong Yi's Skipping Class Teaching

The news that Li Moran had comprehended the Sword Intent of Returning to the Ruins within the illusionary realm quickly spread throughout the entire cultivation world.

After all, that was one of the supreme sword intents of the Limitless Sword Sect.

Rumors ran rampant outside: In Sekiro, Li Moran had been cut off from his cultivation and swordsmanship insights, forcing him to temper himself until he developed sword techniques of the utmost extremity and simplicity. That was why he had earned the recognition of the Sword Intent of Returning to the Ruins, which shared the same origin.

This was no matter of stumbling upon an opportunity by sheer luck within an illusionary realm. It was genuine self-tempering!

For a time, even the last batch of stubborn old cultivators who refused to accept illusionary realms threw themselves into the fray.

After all, this was no longer merely a gift from the Heavenly Dao. It was a real improvement brought about by the illusionary realm itself.

There was also another group of cultivators who had been waiting and watching where Sekiro was concerned.

Most of them were players who had been psychologically scarred by If You’re a Cultivator, Descend One Hundred Floors, Getting Over It, and It Takes Two. Whenever Lu Ze released a new illusionary realm, they would observe for a while before deciding whether to enter.

After all, an illusionary realm like this was the most fun in the world—as long as you weren’t the one playing it.

However, once news broke that Li Moran had comprehended the Sword Intent of Returning to the Ruins, these people could no longer sit still.

One after another, they joined in.

Overnight, Sekiro’s total number of players actually surpassed that of the peak-popularity record-holder, Xianyuan Continent Operation.

That was something no one in his previous life could have imagined.

In Lu Ze’s previous life, Sekiro had been a game that earned widespread praise but sold poorly.

Many of its jokes and memes were famous. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with games would know at least a few of them.

But when it came to actual sales, its performance had been far from outstanding.

It was simply too hardcore.

But that kind of difficulty only applied to players from his previous life.

In the cultivation world, challenging combat was not a flaw at all. It was a source of exhilaration.

And if it could improve one’s own strength, it was an elixir of supreme quality—more alluring than any reward.

For a time, Sekiro’s coverage throughout the cultivation world became extraordinarily high.

Demonic Path points rose throughout the night without stopping for even a moment.

…

…

Zhong Yi’s illusionary realm.

“I am Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa! Prepare to die!”

Gyoubu Oniwa charged forward on a tall warhorse, while Zhong Yi stood calmly in the middle of the arena.

“Everyone… I’ve finished studying Gyoubu Oniwa’s fighting style!”

Zhong Yi smiled serenely and waved at the barrage of comments floating in the air.

The viewers in the livestream immediately burst into laughter.

【What kind of ridiculous trick has Zhong come up with this time?】

【I can’t imitate Sword Immortal Li’s techniques, so I can only come here to watch Zhong.】

【No way, right? Zhong has died fewer than thirty times, and he already thinks he can kill Gyoubu Oniwa?】

【He probably won’t stand a chance until he’s died at least a hundred times.】

…

Zhong Yi had not missed a single one of the three elite enemies on the outskirts of Ashina Castle. He had killed every one of them, of course, by relying on various cheap tricks.

For example, he had burned the Chained Ogre to death, while he had lured General Yamauchi down a narrow path and slowly whittled him down.

After fighting his way through all of them, the opening samurai general had turned out to be the most difficult.

Now, however, as he faced Gyoubu Oniwa, whose imposing presence was the most overwhelming of them all, Zhong Yi appeared completely composed.

Compared to tempering his own swordsmanship, he preferred studying the way Junior Brother Lu had designed all kinds of enemies and finding ways to exploit loopholes in their behavior.

“I wonder if everyone remembers that, on the city gate tower where we arrived, there was a soldier whose horse had died… Cough, I wasn’t swearing! Don’t twist my words!”

Zhong Yi looked at the barrage with an exasperated expression before continuing.

“Every line Junior Brother Lu designed in the illusionary realm has meaning… That soldier said his horse had been frightened by firecrackers and fallen to its death. That reveals a crucial piece of information…”

As he spoke, he raised his left arm. Equipped on the prosthetic arm was a string of bright-red firecrackers.

“Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence? The hidden merchant in the tent on a certain hilltop just happens to sell Firecrackers. So…”

Zhong Yi smiled at Gyoubu Oniwa as he came charging toward him, then calmly drew the Kusabimaru.

“When Gyoubu Oniwa makes his entrance, he’ll spend a while shouting nonsense… We’ll use that time to land five hits.”

“One, two, three, four, five… Good, stop.”

“Next… Whenever he gets close, use the firecrackers!”

As the firecrackers exploded, the horse reacted exactly as Zhong Yi had predicted. It panicked and interrupted its own attack.

“Take advantage of the opening and land one hit, two hits, three—ouch, he recovered pretty quickly. I got knocked away.”

Zhong Yi’s weathered face reddened, and he hurriedly tried to recover the situation.

“Everyone, don’t panic. We bought plenty of Spirit Emblems. Whenever we get the chance, we’ll use the firecrackers like this. There… blast him, then sneak in a few hits!”

“Of course, don’t get greedy. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me and get taken out in just a few blows by Gyoubu Oniwa.”

Before long, the bloody character for “Death” appeared on Zhong Yi’s screen.

“That was just the streamer giving everyone a demonstration of what not to do. The purpose was to show you that having firecrackers doesn’t make you invincible.”

“It absolutely wasn’t because I’m too terrible at this.”

“At this point, some fellow cultivator is bound to ask… ‘Zhong, Zhong, is there a more reliable strategy—one that can get you through the fight in a single life?’”

At that, Zhong Yi gave a mysterious smile.

“There is, fellow cultivator… There is.”