Chapter 17: A Thousand Winds and Ten Thousand Threads—The Ultimate Sword of Mastery (Please continue reading on Tuesday!)

Hidden Profession?!

Staring at the system prompt before him, Mo Wen’s eyes widened involuntarily.

Compared to the “Black Beast Crew Member,” this unknown hidden profession had far more stringent requirements.

Not only did it require collecting three supreme tomes of the Mein Duchy’s swordsmanship schools, but there was also a second condition yet to be revealed.

With a faint sigh, suppressing his inner restlessness, Mo Wen looked at the diamond-shaped crystal in his hand.

Compared to the intangible hidden profession, the “Comprehensive Guide to the Thousand Winds Swordsmanship” in his grasp was something concrete and real.

“A legacy crystal?” Freya’s surprised voice sounded beside Mo Wen’s ear.

Meeting Mo Wen’s curious gaze, the young girl cupped her chin with one hand, clearing her throat lightly, clearly savoring the feeling of being a teacher:

“A legacy crystal is an ancient secret technique.”

“Using a high-purity spiritual crystal, a skill can be stored within it. When passing it on, a legacy seed can be condensed inside the inheritor’s body.”

“It’s complete, convenient, and swift.”

“The only downside is that it’s extremely expensive. A thumb-sized spiritual crystal alone costs ten thousand imperial gold coins.”

“Not to mention, crafting a legacy crystal carries a high failure rate. To create one, you need at least ten spiritual crystals as a backup.”

One hundred thousand gold coins?

Hearing that figure, Mo Wen couldn’t help but gasp.

The purchasing power of the imperial gold coin was remarkably stable; one coin was enough to cover a common family’s expenses for an entire month.

In a vast port city like Meteorfall Harbor, it was questionable whether the annual tax revenue even surpassed a hundred thousand gold coins.

This legacy crystal was priceless!

“How does one use this thing?”

Mo Wen asked.

“It’s simple. Place it on your forehead, activate your spiritual energy to make contact, and the inheritance will begin,” Freya blinked. “But are you sure you want to use it yourself?”

“The name ‘legacy’ implies this item has thresholds.”

“Each legacy crystal has a limited number of uses. This one looks brand new and should last three to five times. Once the uses are depleted without successfully inheriting, the crystal shatters.”

“One option is the readily available hundred thousand gold coins; the other is the potential skill inheritance.”

“What will you choose?”

Mo Wen smiled without hesitation: “Of course, we’ll use it ourselves.”

“Miss Freya, have you forgotten we are dream bodies? We can’t bring back anything tangible.”

“If this stays here, who knows how long it’ll be before our real bodies arrive in the Mein Duchy.”

“Compared to the distant future, I care more about the present within reach.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Freya nodded enthusiastically. “Then let’s try it. You first.”

Mo Wen did not hesitate.

He pressed the legacy crystal against his forehead.

Spiritual energy surged and intertwined.

The next moment, the legacy crystal emitted a faint, hazy glow.

[Special item detected—[Legacy Crystal]. Would you like to learn the skill contained within?]

The prompt surprised Mo Wen.

Did this mean there was no “threshold” for him? That he would receive the inheritance with absolute certainty?

What was there to hesitate about?

—

[Yes!]

[Inheritance in progress... Congratulations, you have learned the skill [Swordsmanship: Thousand Winds Style—Mastery Lv.1]! Physique +0.3!]

[Swordsmanship: Thousand Winds Style—Mastery Lv.1 (0/100): Also known as the Thousand Winds Swordsmanship, it is the technique sword among the three major sword schools of the Mein Duchy.

Like a thousand winds sweeping past, leaving no trace, enemies fall within a mere step.

When wielding sword-type weapons, speed increases by 30%, accuracy increases by 30%.]

[Attributes]: Physique 1.7 → 2.0, Spirituality 1.0

—

A tidal wave of memories flooded Mo Wen’s mind.

In that instant, he seemed to have spent years learning the Thousand Winds Swordsmanship, starting from basic sword forms, enduring rigorous practice until his swordplay was fluid and natural, grasping the first technique of the Thousand Winds style.

The system’s description was merely an overview; the claimed 30% boosts in speed and accuracy did not arise from nothing but were achieved through various techniques within the Thousand Winds style.

After some time, Mo Wen slowly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flickering within them.

“Succeeded on the first try?”

Freya, standing opposite, was astonished.

“Just lucky.”

Mo Wen exhaled lightly and handed the legacy crystal to the girl.

“Your turn.”

Freya took it without hesitation and began her attempt.

However, whether due to poor affinity or some other reason, she failed to inherit the swordsmanship after two tries.

Watching the legacy crystal turn gray, shatter, and then turn to ash slipping through her fingers, the girl sighed, “Looks like it really isn’t a good fit.”

“What a pity.”

“I’m still quite curious about the Mein Duchy’s combat techniques.”

Mo Wen could only shrug helplessly and turned toward the door.

“Let’s go. We’ve found what we came for; it’s time to leave this small chapel.”

“We’ll only know the true state of the Mein Duchy when we see it with our own eyes.”

The last speck of dust fell from Freya’s fingers; she shook her hand and hopped along to follow.

...

The two returned along the same path to the forecourt of the small Saint Steel Chapel.

Mo Wen glanced at the long-abandoned chapel in the dusk, shook his head, and turned toward the main entrance.

According to the map, the Saint Steel Chapel was located in a remote area outside the city.

To learn the true situation of the Mein Duchy, they had to pass through the Venom Serpent Woods and reach Clarke Town.

Night was falling; he needed to hurry.

Beyond the chapel’s gate was a winding cobblestone path descending downward—the chapel sat atop a small hill.

Mo Wen and Freya reached the foot of the hill and saw a dense, dark forest stretching before them.

In the twilight, the wildly growing, crooked branches cast grotesque and eerie shadows on the ground.

“Caw caw—!”

From deep within the woods came the distant cries of crows, mingled with the chilling cold wind.

Freya shivered slightly.

“This forest feels dangerous.”

Mo Wen nodded gravely, tightening his grip on the crude metal sword in his hand.

This metal sword was carved from the fence outside the chapel’s yard with his steel greatsword.

The Thousand Winds Swordsmanship was a longsword style, unsuitable for wielding a greatsword.

Carrying the heavy steel greatsword hampered movement, so, regrettably, Mo Wen had to leave the greatsword in the confessional room.

The three metal swords he carved off now served as his temporary weapons.

Though poor in quality, there was no better choice.

Just as Mo Wen prepared to enter the forest, his ears twitched and his eyes narrowed.

“Something’s approaching!”

Upon hearing this, Freya cautiously stepped back to create distance.

About five seconds later, the faint trembling of the ground became noticeable, and soon a figure burst from the forest.

The person wore a crow-shaped gas mask and a tattered gray cloak.

At their waist hung a simple lantern, and they gripped a short dagger in their hand.

Seeing Mo Wen outside the woods, they froze momentarily, apparently surprised others were here.

But they quickly recovered and called out,

“Run! Soldier automatons are chasing us!”

Soldier automatons?

So this person was human?

Mo Wen’s eyes brightened a little.