Chapter 11: Choosing Weapons and Secret Manuals

Chén Chén Chén Chén! Wake up quickly, wake up quickly!

Chén Chén felt his body being violently shaken, and even before opening his eyes he knew it was Jiāng Jiāng's doing.

He slowly opened his eyes; Jiāng was indeed shaking the bedframe at the head of the bed.

No wonder it felt like such a big commotion.

Ah——(yawn)

The sky isn't even bright yet; why get up so early?

Chén Chén, don't you have any sense of danger at all! With such a big trouble, we only increase our chances of success by having a bit more strength!

Jiāng Jiāng said, exasperated.

Hurry up and get up; I've already made breakfast.

After saying that, she turned and left, but just as she was about to go out she turned back and said:

Don't go back to sleep!

On the small bed.

Chén Chén opened the eyes he had just closed, looking at the ceiling with some doubt about life.

He had thought that deceiving Jiāng Jiāng might bring retribution, but he didn't expect the retribution to come so quickly.

If he had known, he would have waited until after the practical exam to deceive her.

Speaking of which, how did Jiāng Jiāng run into his room to wake him up today (T_T).

Today's breakfast was unexpectedly lavish; the small bowl of noodles was topped with all the precious ingredients Chén Chén had prepared.

"Since we only got these through a wager, we must make the most of them; Chén Chén, if you can get more, then get more—we can't afford to lose out."

Chén Chén: You crafty devil.

"I'll try..." Chén Chén replied helplessly, only able to agree.

"By the way, I last night tried practicing that Five Hearts Toward Heaven Method, and I succeeded after a short while—my talent is indeed not bad."

Jiāng Jiāng, while eating, proudly told Chén Chén the good news.

"Mm, I also succeeded in cultivating it; let's each pick a suitable Guidance Art to practice later."

As an Earthling, Chén Chén naturally found it easy to gather all the martial arts from Earth.

Not only the martial arts created by Earthlings, but also many so-called ancient civilizations, and some cultivation secret manuals left by human practitioners of a previous civilization era have all been collected and organized by Chén Chén.

"Ah, can I look at these?" Jiāng Jiāng exclaimed in surprise.

"You should know that Guidance Arts and various secret manuals are subject to intellectual property rights; even if the 【World Tree】 allows an elder brother to practice a certain Guidance Art, it shouldn't be allowed to spread outward."

Jiāng Jiāng certainly didn't want to invite trouble by greedily taking this small advantage.

"Don't worry, the management of this aspect inside the 【World Tree】 isn't that strict, and I already applied to the person in charge of this upstairs, and they've already agreed."

Chén Chén patted his chest and assured.

Of course, this 'upstairs' refers to Chén Chén himself.

"Then that's fine." After hearing Chén Chén's explanation, Jiāng Jiāng actually felt a bit anticipatory.

After finishing their meal, the sky was still dark; the two turned on the balcony lights and went onto the balcony.

"Um... how should we choose a Guidance Art?"

For ordinary people, it's extremely difficult to possess a decent Guidance Art for cultivation.

But since Chén Chén has access to select a complete set of secret manuals, that's naturally the best possible situation.

Jiāng Jiāng now solely wants to increase his strength as quickly as possible; this kind of free advantage is naturally better the more there is.

"First pick the type of weapon you want to use in the future; that way it's easier to narrow down the suitable secret manual type." Chén Chén said.

Chén Chén does indeed possess many secret manuals, but he dares not guarantee that he can pick a set absolutely suited to Jiāng Jiāng.

After all, Jiāng Jiāng is currently at the Novice Martial Path stage; many things are not yet set, and the direction he will take in the future still depends on his first impression.

First impression sounds random and mystical, but for a true genius, it often allows him to find the direction most suited to himself based on that first impression.

And Jiāng Jiāng, roughly speaking, can be considered a genius.

Jiāng Jiāng pondered for a while, carefully considering what kind of weapon would suit him best.

If it were before, following Chén Chén's saying that 'an inch longer is an inch stronger,' he would probably have chosen a long weapon.

But last night's battle made Jiāng Jiāng realize that long weapons seemed somewhat mismatched with him; even a broom's length doesn't count as a long weapon, yet his subconscious hoped the weapon would be a bit shorter, which would seem more natural to wield.

"A kitchen knife."

"No, it should be a bit longer than a kitchen knife, like a watermelon knife?"

Hearing Jiāng Jiāng make his choice, Chén Chén furrowed his brows.

"A weapon just a bit longer than a kitchen knife—isn't that a bit too short?"

Given Jiāng Jiāng's cautious nature, it's surprising that he would choose such a short weapon; even Chén Chén felt astonished.

But since this is the weapon Jiāng Jiāng's first impression wants him to choose, Chén Chén didn't immediately reject it.

He walked to the main hall, picked up two fruit knives over twenty centimeters long, and threw one of them to Jiāng Jiāng.

"Try using it to attack me and see."

Jiāng Jiāng took the small knife, didn't unsheathe it, and directly charged at Chén Chén.

When they got within one meter, Chén Chén didn't use the knife but instead extended a leg for a side kick.

As Jiāng Jiāng anticipated, he slightly lowered his stance, blocked with his left elbow, bowed his body forward, and with his right hand holding the knife, he chopped straight at Chén Chén's neck.

Chén Chén likewise held the knife in his right hand and raised it to block.

The two blades clashed; in the struggle of strength, Jiāng Jiāng gradually fell into a disadvantage. Unexpectedly, he turned his wrist, suddenly redirecting his force, and both blades were drawn simultaneously.

The sheaths slid off, but Jiāng Jiāng's attack grew ever fiercer—blade after blade of assault, with agile variations that left Chén Chén struggling to cope.

Fortunately, his fist and foot technique was slightly superior to Jiāng Jiāng's, allowing him to barely suppress Jiāng Jiāng.

After dozens of rounds back and forth, Chu Chen felt increasingly strained, while Jiang Jiang's offense grew progressively fiercer.

Once again, the two small blades clashed, and several notches had already appeared on the edges.

Both sides withdrew their force.

"Not bad, it really suits you."

"I didn't expect that either."

Jiang Jiang also acted on a whim; she hadn't expected the dagger to feel smoother the more she used it, and combined with her long‑honed combat experience, she could actually fight Chu Chen to a standstill.

Of course, this was with Chu Chen holding back his strength and not using his weapon of choice.

"Take my hand, I'll take you to pick a secret manual." Chu Chen extended his hand to Jiang Jiang.

"Ah!... Oh."

Jiang Jiang couldn't help but feel a hint of shyness.

If it were as before, it wouldn't matter much, but after what happened yesterday…

No, it seems I've never even held hands with Chu Chen before!

Hey, he's my future husband anyway—might as well hold hands.

"Why do we have to hold hands?" Jiang Jiang asked curiously.

"Because the World Tree's virtual link device only works when it's on my palm." Chu Chen explained.

The Xin Wang Shi Jie, the virtual space unique to the World Tree, was of course also Chu Chen's creation.

However, Chu Chen's link device is merely a diversion; still, to keep up the act, we'll tell Jiang Jiang about the Xin Wang Shi Jie later.

"I'll share the virtual mode with you, then you can view the selection list."

Jiang Jiang took Chu Chen's hand.

"Search for the short dagger weapon manual." Chu Chen called out symbolically.

Within Jiang Jiang and Chu Chen's field of view, a huge semi‑transparent blue screen projection appeared directly ahead.

On the screen, the names of secret manuals were listed one after another from top to bottom.

"Butterfly Blade" — Category: Short Blade Technique, redemption price 10,000 points.

"Hundredfold Thrust" — Category: Short Thrust Technique, redemption price 10,000 points.

"Bloodstrike" — Category: Dagger Technique, redemption price 10,000 points.

"One‑Foot Sword" — Category: Sword Technique, redemption price 10,000 points.

……

"Each of the top‑listed manuals comes with a matching guidance art, body technique, and attack method—quite comprehensive—but you can choose only one set."

Wanting to take them all isn't impossible, but these are merely ordinary manuals sufficient up to Cosmic Level; they offer no benefit for grasping the laws, serving only as basic stepping stones—one set is enough for Jiang Jiang's Apprentice Stage.

"Chu Chen, these manuals cost thousands to tens of thousands of points to redeem—aren't they expensive?"

Jiang Jiang feared that Chu Chen might cause her to fall into a harder situation because of these manuals.

If that were the case, Jiang Jiang could simply forego these manuals; as long as she displayed enough talent to enter the Two Great Martial Halls, obtaining cultivation manuals later would not be difficult.

"Don't worry—think about it, is ten thousand dollars a lot for a martial artist? The reason only ten thousand points are needed is that the upper limit grants exactly ten thousand points of redemption authority."

Chu Chen lied again.

A man's lies are either a one‑time thing or endless; Chu Chen's first lie to Jiang Jiang was already gone when he was eight.

"Phew, that's good." Jiang Jiang patted her chest and let out a long breath.

"Then let's look at the detailed descriptions of the most expensive manuals."

Among Chu Chen's extensive collection, no more than ten top‑tier short‑dagger manuals exist before the Cosmic Level, and we browsed through them in a few moments.

The strongest offensive technique should be the "One‑Foot Sword," yet what pleased Jiang Jiang most was the aptly named‑but‑not‑really "Bloodstrike," which balances offense and defense.

"How about I choose 'Bloodstrike'?" Jiang Jiang intended to ask Chu Chen's opinion before deciding.

"Anything goes." Chu Chen was quite casual.

The manuals' levels differ little; at the Apprentice Stage there's no need to grasp the laws, nor will they lead Jiang Jiang astray, so there's no need for excessive formality.

"Then this one." Jiang Jiang decided.

"Well, then close your eyes; I'll transmit the manual's content to you." Chu Chen said.

"Eh! You can actually transmit it like this?!"

Jiang Jiang also didn't know how many times she'd been shocked today.

"Of course, otherwise offline trading would be a hassle." Chu Chen said matter‑of‑factly.

Of course, for now, only relatively low‑level manuals can be transmitted via the Xin Wang Shi Jie; manuals that themselves contain such powerful laws would place too great a burden on Chu Chen, making it impossible to simultaneously bear all members of the World Tree.

Moreover, if the recipient cannot comprehend the content, they cannot retain that knowledge at all.

"So that's how it is." Jiang Jiang suddenly felt the internet was harmful; the martial‑artist information she'd gathered online seemed insufficiently accurate.

Indeed, what you hear is false, what you see is real; without personal experience you can't fully believe it.

"Well, there's also a mental cultivator's manual; here I'll send you the Apprentice‑Stage 'Mental Cultivator Basics' as well—you can choose any of the three paths of mental cultivation yourself."

"Mental Cultivator Basics"—though the same name appears in countless different manuals across the vast universe, the copy given to Jiang Jiang is what Chu Chen compiled from various earthly legacies and added his own experience.

However, on Earth alone, the finest legacy of mental cultivators lies on Yinmo Star, though it cannot be accessed for now.

But that's only a matter of two or three years.

The transmission was swift, thanks to the Heartnet's existence; although Jiang Jiang's own mental power was insufficient, she could view this information via the Shared Network.

Of course, at Jiang Jiang's current level she couldn't detect the Shared Network's existence, and thought the connection broke the moment she let go of his hand.

"All right, the manuals are ready; we can begin cultivation." Chu Chen said, regaining his composure.

"You don't need to choose?" Jiang Jiang wondered.

"I already chose last night." Chu Chen said with a smile.

Is that so, what's the name of the Secret Manual you chose?

《Having a Name》

What thing??

The name is called 《Having a Name》

What, it's not domineering at all, how does it not feel like your style?

Chén Chén smiled without speaking

Because it's already domineering enough