Chapter 442 – Wind Spirit Sword Shadow Style, Plans, and a Cultivation Genius!

Lu Yuan was also doing some self-reflection.

This real combat experience gave him a thorough understanding of the performance of the mecha he was controlling.

The Blue Falcon Type 3 mecha had clear strengths and weaknesses.

It excelled in speed and agility, but lacked in defense and strength.

If it weren’t for his former combat consciousness as a Martial Arts Grandmaster, allowing him to instinctively dodge enemy attacks and target their weakest points, this battle wouldn’t have ended so easily.

Lu Yuan checked his completion time for the Level – 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

Not too fast, but not too slow.

Compared to Lu Qiyuan, who had been stuck at this Level for more than a month, Lu Yuan was far stronger.

However, Lu Yuan noticed that the fastest clearance record for this Level on the system ranking was 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Compared to his six-plus minutes, the gap was significant.

After all, others also passed the Level with a first-stage mecha, maybe just slightly higher in quality, reaching a perfect grade at most.

“The Blue Falcon’s role is more suited for team support, not solo combat…”

“And my fighting style isn’t like this anyway…”

Lu Yuan’s favorite was still the pure strength, raw power combat style of the Divine Elephant Style.

The Blue Falcon’s attributes limited his performance.

Similarly, the dual swords as cold weapons made him slightly uncomfortable, given his habit of fighting bare-handed.

“Maybe I can consider changing my approach to modify and enhance the Blue Falcon…”

Lu Yuan looked at the pile of mecha enhancement materials from the Level completion rewards and had an idea.

Players in this game have the complete freedom to build their mechas.

Although the cost would be high, Lu Yuan didn’t have that capability yet. However, he could make some upgrades and modifications within the constraints of his current mecha.

“Who says the Blue Falcon has to be speed-oriented?… No one said it must wield dual swords either…”

The functionality for freely building mechas was primarily intended for powerful pilots in reality who wanted to experiment with their ideas.

A top-tier pilot must have a unique, custom mecha that can fully unleash their potential.

Lu Yuan wanted to develop in this direction in the future, and this was a path he had to take. Starting now could be considered early preparation.

Of course, at this point, these things were still too distant for him.

He hadn’t even officially started the pilot profession yet.

…

“Hiss-“

The door of the game pod opened with a release of air, and Lu Yuan opened his eyes, climbing out of the pod.

He glanced at the time, noting that he had spent a total of three hours and twenty-eight minutes in the game.

After clearing Level 1-6, he progressed through several more levels and played a few rounds of 1v1 combat and team combat, constantly staying in “combat mode.”

Yet, after stepping out, he felt mentally refreshed, as if he had just woken up from a nap, without a trace of fatigue.

The high cost of a top-tier game pod was justified by its built-in body regulation and mental recovery functions, akin to half a therapy device.

“After all, a game is just a game…”

Once out of the virtual world, the feeling of controlling a mecha quickly receded from his body, like a receding tide.

No matter how advanced virtual technology is, it can’t perfectly replicate reality-there’s always a gap between “dreaming” and reality.

A lot of skills require not just brain knowledge but also extensive practice and operation to learn and memorize.

The main value of virtual combat is cultivating a pilot’s battle consciousness.

How much of the experience gained in the game can be brought back to reality depends entirely on personal ability.

It’s like the tide receding, and what remains on the shore is what truly belongs to you.

“Without a real mecha for practice and reference, no matter how much virtual training is done, the effect will always be lacking…”

Before, it wasn’t a big deal, but after experiencing it in the game, Lu Yuan now eagerly anticipated owning a real mecha.

He had mentioned his request to Lu Lingfeng, and since Lu Lingfeng promised him, he definitely wouldn’t go back on his word.

The question was when his mecha would finally be delivered.

It was now 11:15 AM, just fifteen minutes before the Lu family’s usual lunchtime. Lu Yuan was reminded to exit the game by the in-game alarm set by Lu Qiyuan.

However, he didn’t plan to head down for lunch. Instead, he stepped out of the Mecha training room and into the adjacent Training Room.

This Training Room was filled with a variety of exercise equipment, but Lu Qiyuan hadn’t touched most of it.

The only exception was something he used quite frequently.

And that was…

Swords!

One-handed swords.

Two one-handed swords.

Lu Yuan walked over to the weapon rack and casually picked up a sword to examine it.

It was clearly a specially crafted weapon, made from a unique alloy, with an overall dark black color.

The sword in Lu Yuan’s hand was slightly shorter than a typical one-handed sword, but longer than a standard dagger. You could call it a… medium-length sword?

The balance of the sword was also different from a normal long sword, centered about five cun down from the tip.

The hilt was also somewhat unique, designed for both regular and reverse grips, indicating that using this type of sword in battle required changes in the grip technique.

Lu Yuan gently gripped both swords in his hands, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in Lu Qiyuan’s memory.

Moments later, he opened his eyes again.

“Swish-“

His body moved slightly, and then he began to perform a special style of swordsmanship.

After completing one round, Lu Yuan walked to the wall and pressed a spot gently.

Soon, blue beams of light projected from the Training Room’s ceiling, forming a three-dimensional holographic figure.

Its build was nearly identical to Lu Yuan’s.

This holographic figure also held swords similar to the ones in Lu Yuan’s hands.

It quickly began to move, and Lu Yuan followed suit.

After following the figure’s movements once, Lu Yuan continued to practice solo, continually adjusting and correcting his actions.

This cycle repeated several times.

When he practiced the swordsmanship for the fifth time…

“Ding-“

A notification message popped up in Lu Yuan’s mind-

[Congratulations on mastering a new skill-Lv1 Wind Spirit Sword Shadow Style!]

Simultaneously, the polyhedron in his mind began to rotate.

As the black vortex rotated to reveal a surface with a goat’s head, a light illuminated, prompting Lu Yuan to click through and discover a new skill-

[Lv1 Wind Spirit Sword Shadow Style (0/100)]

Only then did Lu Yuan finally stop his movements.

“This is the Lu family’s ancestral swordsmanship…”

It also complements the [Rhythm of the Wind] mental power cultivation method for Mecha combat.

Lu Qiyuan had trained for five or six years without making progress, while Lu Yuan managed to grasp it after just a few attempts.

Despite successfully getting a foothold in this style of swordsmanship, Lu Yuan didn’t show much excitement.

The main reason was that he found this swordsmanship rather peculiar, unlike any cold weapon techniques he had learned before.

“Many of the movements contradict the normal principles of human biomechanics. In real combat, forcing these moves could not only be ineffective but also expose you to vulnerabilities.”

In essence, the [Wind Spirit Sword Shadow Style] didn’t directly enhance Lu Yuan’s combat ability.

Could this swordsmanship be meant for someone other than a normal human?

Indeed.

This was a Mecha swordsmanship style specifically tailored for Mecha.

Since Mecha and human bodies differ in size and structure, using this swordsmanship in a human form felt awkward and strange.

“Actually, it’s not entirely impossible to adapt it for human combat; just a few adjustments in certain places are needed…”

Lu Yuan had trained in several styles on his Home Planet. While cold weapon martial arts weren’t his forte, he was far from a novice.

Once you understand one technique deeply, others tend to follow. With the foundation of a martial arts Grandmaster, making these adjustments was a relatively simple task.

At this moment, an idea suddenly sparked in Lu Yuan’s mind.

“If Mecha swordsmanship can be adapted for human use, then can techniques meant for humans be modified for Mecha?”

As soon as this thought occurred, it spread like wildfire, unstoppable.

If feasible, it wouldn’t just apply to swordsmanship; it could extend to spears, axes, maces…and even hand-to-hand combat, which was Lu Yuan’s true specialty.

“There’s some feasibility, but bridging the gap between the human body and Mecha requires a lot of specialized knowledge in Mecha construction-something I’m not yet familiar with,” Lu Yuan thought quickly.

He couldn’t help but think of the name Xu Mingguang, not the person himself, but what is associated with him-Mecha Engineer!

In a world where Mecha combat is mainstream, there are pilots responsible for controlling the Mecha, and naturally, there are engineers dedicated to developing and crafting them.

This is the role of a Mecha Engineer.

“Do I really need to find time to get a Mecha Engineer Qualification Certificate?” Lu Yuan pondered, realizing that if he pursued this path, his overall capabilities would far surpass those of Xu Mingguang.

“I’ll come back to this later,” he decided.

At the current stage, Lu Yuan had too many things to understand and plan for. It was a process that couldn’t be rushed and needed to be tackled one step at a time.

After arriving at Duoling, Lu Yuan felt like a fragmented and dried-up sponge.

He was not only striving to mend the broken parts of himself but also absorbing knowledge and nutrients he had never encountered before.

For a moment, it was as if he had returned to the days when he first discovered martial arts, filling his life with purpose and enrichment.

After getting the hang of the [Wind Spirit Sword Shadow Style], Lu Yuan didn’t continue practicing.

Instead, he sat on the ground, focusing his mental power inward to begin an internal visualization.

At this moment, a blood-red Flesh Ball about the size of a fist was suspended in the center of his body.

Countless vein-like structures extended from the surface of the Flesh Ball, connecting to every part of Lu Yuan’s body.

To be precise, this Flesh Ball was Lu Yuan’s true essence.

After his body was destroyed, this was all that remained of his physical tissue.

This Flesh Ball contained all the martial arts essence from Lu Yuan’s past, along with the Bloodline Power of the Phoenix and the mysterious bloodline power from Yuwen Tong.

The three types of bloodlines merged together, forming an exceptionally powerful entity.

Thus, the path to recovery was incredibly challenging.

“A massive amount of Life Energy is required to possibly rebuild my body. Lu Qiyuan alone is just a drop in the ocean…”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and decided to allocate his remaining 1 attribute point to his constitution points, which currently stood at only 15.

After assigning the point, the mass of Flesh Ball seemed to expand slightly.

If there were a recovery progress bar in front of Lu Yuan, it would have moved forward by about one percent-or perhaps not even that much.

“Am I supposed to reallocate points again and push all four basic attributes to triple ‘limit break’ levels to fully recover?” Lu Yuan couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

The bottomless pit of missing attribute points felt overwhelming just thinking about it.

It seemed more feasible to seek Life Energy from external sources for replenishment.

He wasn’t even sure which kind of energy would be effective for his current state.

Putting this daunting issue aside for the moment, Lu Yuan closed his eyes and began to practice the two mental power cultivation methods he had mastered.

Both the [Rhythm of the Wind] and [Zero-Style] were relatively simple to cultivate.

The former required maintaining a spinning golden whirlwind mental power core in his mind, naturally strengthening his mental power bit by bit in the process.

The latter necessitated actively drawing ambient cosmic energy into a transparent sphere.

In comparison, [Rhythm of the Wind] was indeed a bit more advanced than [Zero-Style].

Over the next few days, Lu Yuan spent his time becoming familiar with Mecha operation in the game and cultivating his mental power outside the game.

Since his conversation with Lu Lingfeng, the Lu family seemed to have stopped monitoring him altogether.

After being discharged from the hospital, he didn’t return to school; instead, he was “immersed” in virtual combat games. He even took all his meals in his room and didn’t go downstairs, yet no one said a word.

It was as if Lu Yuan had acquired some sort of “exclusive privilege,” finding himself suddenly and completely “free” within the Lu family.

He was quite happy with this arrangement. The less interference, the better, as it allowed him to focus on what he needed to do.

“[Intelligence Points: 21 (Limit Break 1)].”

In the expansive Lu family manor, Lu Yuan strolled along a white stone path surrounded by greenery, checking his attribute panel.

Today, he was dressed in a light-colored casual suit, and his freshly washed hair had a slightly tousled, relaxed vibe.

Paired with Lu Qiyuan’s fairly handsome features and slender frame, it gave him a bit of a youthful, vibrant aura.

“No increase…”

Lu Yuan felt a bit disappointed as he saw his intelligence points still displayed at 21.

Today marked the end of his “weak period” while dual-practicing mental power, and both the [Rhythm of the Wind] and [Zero-Style] mental power cores had reached their normal sizes.

But perhaps because both mental power cultivation methods were only at the entry level, there wasn’t any noticeable boost to his intelligence attribute.

However, Lu Yuan did notice something.

“I seem to have a pretty good talent for mental power cultivation…”

Previously at the hospital, when he mastered [Zero-Style] in just two days, he didn’t think much of it. He attributed the success to Lu Qiyuan having practiced the method before, leaving behind some residual experience.

But now, having overcome the “weak period” in merely three days, Lu Yuan began to realize something was different.

His talent in mental power cultivation was exceptional, and his results far exceeded the average person’s, reaching what would generally be considered a “genius” level.

“If Lu Qiyuan had my cultivation speed, he’d probably have already entered the Duoling Shield elite class, and he wouldn’t be a complete joke at home or school…”

Lu Yuan glanced at his professional panel.

[LV2 Rhythm of the Wind (13/200)]

[LV1 Zero-Style (25/100)]

In three days, the experience points for both mental power cultivation methods had increased significantly.

At his current pace, Lu Yuan estimated that in another ten days or so, he could advance [Zero-Style] to LV2.

From starting [Zero-Style] to breaking through to LV2, it would take him less than two weeks.

This was considering that Lu Yuan was multitasking and practicing both methods simultaneously.

If his cultivation speed were made public, people would likely regard him as a “genius” almost instantly.

“Unfortunately, the stage of [Zero-Style] is too low, and its effect on Mecha combat power enhancement is average. Even reaching LV2 won’t be particularly useful. For now, I need to focus on mastering [Rhythm of the Wind], and treat [Zero-Style] as a supplementary cultivation technique to casually improve intelligence…”

Lu Yuan mused casually as he unknowingly reached the entrance of the manor.

Per his request, a silver-gray hover car had been waiting quietly by the entrance.

However, contrary to his expectations, the person accompanying it wasn’t Victor, the Lu family housekeeper, but a man he had never seen before at the Lu family.