Chapter 32: The Sorrows of an Underachiever
Under Liang Xiaoyu’s cautious gaze, Little Dragon Maiden suddenly broke into a radiant smile.
“Of course,” she said.
Liang Xiaoyu’s expression turned momentarily dazed; she glanced aside at the live broadcast room.
Just as she expected.
[OMG]
[She’s so, so, so beautiful!]
[Her smile is mesmerizing.]
[I’m a girl, but I want to be her girlfriend.]
[Principal, hurry up and fawn over her.]
[Little Dragon Maiden, forever a legend!]
…
Little Dragon Maiden had already taken the sword from Granny Sun.
She turned to Liang Xiaoyu. “Let me demonstrate the Quanzhen Sword Technique for you. It’s supposed to be taught, after all.”
Liang Xiaoyu nodded excitedly.
Not only would she receive the “Quanzhen Heart Method,” but also the “Quanzhen Sword Technique”? As expected of a sect founded by Wang Chongyang’s old flame—she was about to strip Quanzhen Temple bare.
While her thoughts wandered, Little Dragon Maiden raised her sword.
Her movements were ethereal, fluttering like a butterfly in flight, yet the sword in her hand tore through the air with a piercing whistle.
Liang Xiaoyu watched without blinking, her face full of longing.
So this was the Quanzhen Sword Technique?
It was breathtaking.
The sword dances on TV were nothing compared to this—absolutely laughable!
A few Transformers, just out of the arena, happened to pass by and paused.
They watched Little Dragon Maiden’s sword dance with curiosity.
At first, these Transformers merely found it amusing, but soon Drift, standing in the center, found himself unable to stay still.
He sensed something special in the way she parried, thrust, chopped, and slashed.
His vast combat instincts compelled him to draw his greatsword from his back and mimic Little Dragon Maiden’s movements.
Bumblebee, Sergeant, and Jazz, who had been chatting nearby, fell silent and watched with rapt attention.
In the live broadcast room:
[Is this the Quanzhen Sword Technique? It’s so beautiful.]
[That’s just because my precious Dragon Maiden is beautiful!]
[Shut up above, stop fighting me for Little Dragon Maiden.]
[Laughing so hard, you’re all single and drooling over my wife.]
[A bunch of fools—the real pros are already practicing.]
[I just tried following along, it felt amazing, but I messed up a section and now my whole body aches. Anyone got a recording?]
[I’m a real Quanzhen Daoist—if you’re stealing our techniques, pay the copyright fee. Here’s my bank account: ***]
[I, Wang Chongyang, am currently trapped on Mount Zhongnan. Anyone who sends me one hundred bucks, I’ll take you as my disciple and teach you the “Innate Skill” after I escape. My account: **]
…
Liang Xiaoyu watched Little Dragon Maiden’s every move, eyes unblinking. In the middle of the sword dance, Little Dragon Maiden suddenly leapt into the air, landing lightly atop a four or five-meter-tall screen wall. With a swift thrust, she split a drifting leaf in two before descending gracefully.
“Bravo!” Liang Xiaoyu clapped excitedly, looking every bit the enamored fan.
Little Dragon Maiden handed her the sword hilt with a gentle smile. “Here.”
Liang Xiaoyu froze, then burst out in delight, “You’re giving me this sword?”
She nearly jumped for joy. So Little Dragon Maiden really thought highly of her, gifting her sword upon first meeting.
Well, it made sense.
Raised in the ancient tomb, Little Dragon Maiden had hardly met outsiders, and here she was—so beautiful and adorable…
“What do you mean, giving it to you?” Little Dragon Maiden asked, puzzled. “Aren’t you here to learn?”
Liang Xiaoyu’s expression stiffened.
“You’re not learning now?” Little Dragon Maiden pressed.
“I… Of course I am.”
Liang Xiaoyu pretended not to see the jeering comments in the live room.
She took the sword from Little Dragon Maiden’s hand, her wrist trembling slightly.
The sword was heavier than she’d expected.
“Begin,” urged Little Dragon Maiden.
“Um, how do I start?” Liang Xiaoyu asked, bewildered.
“You didn’t watch?” Little Dragon Maiden frowned.
“I did,” Liang Xiaoyu replied, suddenly nervous.
“Then why aren’t you practicing?” Little Dragon Maiden asked, perplexed.
“You can’t expect me to master it after just watching once,” Liang Xiaoyu complained, face contorted in distress.
“You can’t?” Little Dragon Maiden was surprised.
She narrowed her eyes and glanced at Liang Xiaoyu.
Liang Xiaoyu knew that look all too well.
Back in school, when a slacker asked her for help with math problems, she’d give them that same look.
Was she being treated like a dunce now?
She, who had grown up under the red flag, a scholar who scored 680 on the college entrance exam—why would she know swordplay?
“I’ve never learned before, how could I know?” she retorted, chin high.
Little Dragon Maiden pointed at Drift nearby. “He’s not even human, yet he’s already learned it.”
“Actually, I do still have some questions,” Drift said, jogging over.
He placed his sword aside and sat cross-legged. “At three minutes sixteen seconds, that horizontal thrust—I didn’t quite catch it.”
“What do you mean, three minutes sixteen seconds?” Little Dragon Maiden asked.
Drift explained.
He found the sword technique truly intriguing.
Following the trajectory she demonstrated, he realized it was not only more efficient but also more powerful.
If he mastered this sword technique, his combat effectiveness would definitely rise.
Listening to the conversation between human and Transformer, Liang Xiaoyu felt as if she were hearing a foreign language.
…
“Meridians? I don’t have meridians,” said Drift.
“But you must have some internal energy circuits, right?” Little Dragon Maiden asked.
“Energy flow pathways? That I do.”
“When wielding the sword, you also need to guide your energy flow…”
…
Liang Xiaoyu glanced at the live room—it was utter chaos.
[Am I seeing this right? Little Dragon Maiden is teaching a Transformer swordplay?]
[Holy crap, discussing energy flow? Can Transformers develop inner strength?]
[That must be Drift, with those two swords at his waist—so cool.]
[Is no one watching the streamer? She just got owned by Little Dragon Maiden.]
[To be honest, the streamer is really slow.]
[My dog watched and at least jumped around, but the streamer just stands there like a turtle.]
[Little Dragon Maiden is so sharp, in the original she only ever met geniuses like Yang Guo.]
[Streamer, step back and give us a better view of my Dragon Maiden.]
…
Liang Xiaoyu gritted her teeth in frustration.
These people used to call her “Goddess Xiaoyu” every chance they got, but after seeing Little Dragon Maiden, they wanted her out of the way.
And what did they mean, standing still like a turtle?
Hmph!
She silently turned the camera toward Little Dragon Maiden.
“Miss, why don’t I teach you?” Suddenly Granny Sun, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
“Huh?” Liang Xiaoyu eyed the ugly old woman curiously.
Granny Sun flashed what she thought was a kindly smile. “My girl has been clever since childhood. She masters anything in one go. She’s never dealt with outsiders, so it’s only natural she doesn’t understand us ordinary folk.”
Liang Xiaoyu forced a smile.
Who are you calling ordinary?
She had scored 680 on the college entrance exam, graduated from Fudan, earned a master’s from Yale, and was a superstar streamer with over a hundred million fans!
“Come with me, I’ll teach you,” Granny Sun said patiently. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a bit less gifted. Even Hero Guo in the martial world wasn’t clever…”
Liang Xiaoyu opened her mouth but said nothing.
She followed the chatty old woman and quietly began her first sword practice.
The sword was heavy.
Sword practice was hard.
For the first time, the self-proclaimed top student, Liang Xiaoyu, experienced the pain of being at the bottom of the class.
…