### Chapter Sixteen: Huang Aotian Takes a Nap, But the Female Lead Is Hooking Up with a Yellow-haired Guy in the Wilderness
In her past life, Yun Zhonghe was quite a gaming pro. The original visual novel story he had played through no less than fifty times, and every possible plot route was etched in his mind. He even spent hours studying the combat mechanics in the game.
Yun Zhonghe had mentioned before that he knew many hidden combat mechanics or glitches in the game. And among those, he especially liked the skill called “Sword Law Transposition.”
As we all know, sword techniques consist of multiple movements. For example, “Nine Heavenly Swords” combines nine different moves, while “Eight Desolations Sword Art” involves eighteen different moves.
The so-called Sword Law Transposition means when a player learns two sword techniques, A and B, and if they share a common move, the player can seamlessly switch from A to B during that particular move. While the spiritual energy consumption remains at A’s level, the damage dealt will be B’s level.
Generally, people would choose a lower-level technique for A and a higher-level one for B.
When Yun Zhonghe took out the “Eight Desolations Sword Art” from the Treasury Pavilion, he also picked up “Nine Heavenly Swords.” This was because the first move of “Nine Heavenly Swords,” the “Heavenly Inquiry,” matched exactly with the first move of “Eight Desolations Sword Art.”
“Nine Heavenly Swords has low mana cost and quick cooldown. If I can successfully perform a Sword Law Transposition with the ‘Eight Desolations,’ then it’s like I have a super-duper move that deals high damage, has short cooldown, and consumes little mana!”
In essence, this is like turning a hero’s final attack into a regular skill—quite overpowered.
However, performing a successful Sword Law Transposition isn’t easy. Both techniques need to be mastered thoroughly to achieve a flawless transposition.
Given his current cultivation level is bound to Huang Aotian’s, he can’t improve on his cultivation. To smoothly complete the investigation task in ten days and curry favor with Qin Hongye, these two sword techniques would make things much easier.
In the courtyard, Yun Zhonghe was enjoying himself practicing martial arts, finding it far more engaging than studying.
Practicing felt just like gaming—way more fun than reading schoolbooks. The more he thought about it, the more amusing it became.
Relying on his self-study and pre-memory restoration training, Yun Zhonghe began showing off some impressive sword moves. Soon enough, he brought “Nine Heavenly Swords” to a small mastery level.
Training requires spiritual energy, and if you keep going, you’ll deplete your energy and need to rest and recharge. But since the Yun family is opulent, they have plenty of Qi Replenishment Pills for him to squander. Tired? Just pop a few pills and get right back to it.
There are three stages of sword technique proficiency levels: Lesser Success, Greater Success, and Perfect Mastery.
He estimated that “Nine Heavenly Swords” might only take about two days to perfect, while “Eight Desolations” would take a bit longer, but it should still be manageable.
If worst came to worst, he could ask his dad for some sword technique tips, or even receive a skill transfer directly, forcing the proficiency to max.
Tsk tsk, being a villain and not utilizing such a great family background—why bother messing with Huang Aotian, huh?
Zzzz—
Suddenly, a buzzing sound echoed in Yun Zhonghe’s ear, like an alarm clock gone wild.
The golden sword he swung wildly immediately halted, and he gathered his spiritual energy, listening carefully. The distorted transmission barely reached his ears.
“… see you outside the mansion…”
Transmission? Who’s reaching out to him?
Yun Zhonghe furrowed his brow, thinking maybe someone would call him out in the middle of the night just to go somewhere, he’d actually go. What if Huang Aotian planned some trap to catch him?
He didn’t rush to leave the Yun Mansion but turned back towards the house instead.
And then, something stirred in his Sea of Consciousness, where the Prophecy Book resided. It didn’t give a full prophecy but dropped a hint.
**【Yu】**
One single letter, and Yun Zhonghe instantly thought of Lin Zhongyu.
His eyes lit up. Could it be that the person inviting him was Lin Zhongyu?
“Well… why don’t I go check?”
After all, she was close to being Huang Aotian’s childhood friend, and one shouldn’t miss out on a plotline like that.
…
On the hill behind the Yun Family compound, Yun Zhonghe saw a graceful figure standing atop the hill.
She wore a midnight-black outfit, a wide-brimmed hat, and a face covering. Despite that, Yun Zhonghe knew her; he had watched countless video game trailers.
Could it be she was Lin Zhongyu?
That cute little bun had driven Yun Zhonghe wild with admiration.
But…
The female lead hooking up with a yellow-haired guy in the wilderness? Sounds like a wild plot; shouldn’t there be some twist here?
Yun Zhonghe had a clear conscience—if he didn’t mean anything by it, he wouldn’t worry about any traps.
At least, the Prophecy Book hadn’t foreseen his imminent doom.
Boldly, Yun Zhonghe stepped forward.
“Was it you who invited me?”
Under the moonlight, even with a thin veil on her face, Lin Zhongyu’s emotions could still be seen shimmering faintly.
Her upright posture suggested she wasn’t someone who felt guilty about sneaking around. Even if she had a tiny bit of deceit, she wouldn’t dare meet alone.
Her reassurance calmed Lin Zhongyu somewhat.
She wanted proof that Yun Zhonghe wasn’t a deceitful person.
But deep down, she hoped he wasn’t one of them.
“You’ve come unguarded; aren’t you afraid of any treachery?”
The black-clad figure looked at Yun Zhonghe, her voice artificially altered to sound raspy.
“You won’t kill me,” Yun Zhonghe said calmly, remembering how he had saved her twice.
Lin Zhongyu’s gaze froze, and she pulled down the veil, revealing her delicate face.
“You knew it was me from the start?”
“Not until I saw your silhouette and recognized you.”
“That makes sense,” she smiled faintly, “Seems my disguise wasn’t very good.”
Even though Yun Zhonghe had recognized her, it was fine; she never intended to hide it anyway.
But Yun Zhonghe shook his head. “It’s just that I’m familiar with you; others might’ve missed the cues.”
This response made Lin Zhongyu puzzled; they weren’t supposed to have met much.
Yun Zhonghe clasped his hands together and said, “Miss Lin, haven’t you noticed your luck has been unusually good in certain areas of late? As if someone has been helping you secretly from behind the scenes?”
“Could it be… you?” Lin Zhongyu’s golden eyes widened in surprise.
Her family had completely abandoned her, treating her like a servant. She struggled with no dignity, living a miserable life. Yet, inexplicably, her luck remained extraordinarily good.
Whenever she got injured, she’d find curative medicine by chance. When the family cut her spiritual stones, she’d stumble upon unexpected wealth.
Only once or twice it seemed okay, but it kept happening repeatedly, which was rather unusual. In fact, Lin Zhongyu had already guessed that someone was pulling strings for her, believing it to be from a late friend of her deceased mother.
But she hadn’t expected it to be Yun Zhonghe!
In that moment, her heart trembled with a mix of surprise and joy. She had long wondered who secretly helped her. Now, with all the revelations, she even learned that Yun Zhonghe activated her Golden Emperor Sacred Eyes, changing her fate for the better.
