I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 192: Becoming the Sword

"I see..."

Yi Chen nodded with an uncomfortable smile after hearing her words.

From what he had understood after glancing at their status panels, they seemed to be trustworthy people.

However, he too understood where Gao Zhen’s reasoning was coming from.

While being taken advantage of from the modern context may mean a minor setback or defeat, in the world he was in right now...nine times out of ten, it meant certain death.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Gao Zhen’s words snapped him out of his stupor.

"Huh?" Yi Chen couldn’t help but glance at her with confusion written on his face.

"The fishes." Gao Zhen pointed towards the skewered fish, which had started to turn dark on one side, "It will end up burnt if you don’t rotate it now."

"Ah! I forgot!" Yi Chen immediately busied himself with evenly roasting them the next second.

Seeing his reaction, the women chuckled amongst themselves while waiting for their next serving and the next one and the one after that.

It was only after five servings that everyone’s cravings died out and a satisfied smile formed on their faces.

"Even after having five whole servings, I’m still up for tasting it again in the afternoon," Zhou Lan said while licking her upper lip.

The subtle taste of lemon lingered on her tongue.

"It’s the same with me. I’ve almost become used to eating the Qi-enriched dishes in the sect, so I wasn’t expecting that trying a simple roasted fish would be such a delectable experience." Xie Rou added from the side.

"I agree with Miss Rou and Miss Lan, and therefore it’s decided." Gao Zhen said while nodding and turned towards Yi Chen.

"...What’s decided?" Being on the receiving end of her intense gaze, Yi Chen couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s decided that you’ll be preparing one serving of roasted fish for all of us while we are waiting for the tomb to open." Gao Zhen said with a smile.

"This? I’ll be more than willing to do that," Yi Chen said with a grin. The taste of his roasted fish was still fresh on his tongue, so he found no reason to decline.

Gao Zhen smiled, hearing his proactive response and soon got up from the makeshift wooden seat.

"I’ll go and assess the nearby areas. The three of you can relax or cultivate."

With that said, Gao Zhen left the three of them at the campsite.

"So, what are you going to do now, Junior Brother Chen?" Zhou Lan asked curiously, seeing him put out the fire.

"Me? Well, I most probably will catch up on my sleep or focus on my cultivation. What about Senior Sisters?" Yi Chen asked.

"We’ll just roam around the lake’s periphery for a while before returning to the camp. Would Junior Brother like to accompany us?"

Zhou Lan asked politely.

"Thank you for the invitation, Senior Sister Lan. However, I think I’ll just rest in my tent." He said while scratching the back of his head and smiling tiredly.

Since he was aware of their relationship, he had no intention of becoming a third wheel.

"No problem," Zhou Lan smiled, hearing Yi Chen’s polite response and then left with Xie Rou while holding each other’s hands.

"He is strong, he cooks well and is even polite. If he weren’t married, I would have already proposed to him." Xie Rou said with a teasing tone.

Hit!

Zhou Lan softly hit Xie Rou’s shoulder the next instant and said with puffed cheeks, "You dare say something like that in front of me?"

"Of course, I would have only done so if I hadn’t met you, Lan’er." Xie Rou chuckled at Zhou Lan’s reaction and, wrapping her hand around Zhou Lan’s waist, pulled her towards her side.

A bashful smile formed on Zhou Lan’s face the next second as, with lowered head, she continued walking alongside Xie Rou.

While the two were enjoying their romantic walk together, Yi Chen had entered his tent and was looking through his status panel.

======Cultivation Arsenal ======

#Weapon Arts

1) Advanced Swordsmanship [Progress: 187 -> 267 / 1000]

#Cultivation Arts

1) Crimson Fire Arts [Comprehension: 70%]

2) Myriad Fire Swords [Comprehension: 33%]

3) Bursting Fire Steps [Comprehension: 89%]

#System Items

1) 10x Comprehension Speed [Activated: 3 days left]

============ END =========== 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Huh? My swordsmanship increased...?" A frown formed on his face, seeing this change.

Just this morning, he had checked his cultivation arsenal, and since then, he hadn’t practised any swordsmanship.

"Wait..." Suddenly, thinking back to his act of catching the fish, his eyes widened.

"Could it be..."

The very next instant, he rushed outside his tent and entered the lake to verify it.

Splash!

Because of his sudden movements, a curious fish leapt out of the surface and the very next instant Yi Chen smacked it towards the shore.

+11

Yi Chen’s eyes widened seeing an eleven-point increase on his status panel. Wanting to test it out again, he smacked another fish that was moving beneath the lake towards the shore.

Thud!

+16

"Amazing..." His eyes brightened in realisation as a decision was made in his mind the very next instant.

’My comprehension buff will only stay with me for three days, so rather than wasting it on Bursting Fire Steps, which refuses to rise any higher, I’ll completely devote my efforts to raising my swordsmanship!’

With this thought, he completely devoted himself to smacking fish one after another.

However, just like before, he failed several times while at it. Thanks to their slimy bodies, the fish were able to slip away from his hit quite often.

It was only after several more attempts, which included both success and failure, that he understood why there was such a high increase in his swordsmanship.

Each hit required just the right amount of force and an incline with respect to the fish’s position to succeed. If he were off by even a tiny millimetre, then the fish would easily slip over the sword and scurry towards the deeper waters.

’Just who knew just this simple action would contain so many principles...’ Yi Chen thought in amazement.

Wiping the water off his forehead, he soon busied himself with raising his swordsmanship.

When Zhou Lan and Xie Rou returned after their walk, their attention was immediately attracted by Yi Chen’s action.

A curious frown formed on their faces the very next instant.

"There are still several hours until lunch time, so why is Junior Brother Chen fishing right now?" Zhou Lan glanced towards Xie Rou and asked.

"...Even I don’t know," Xie Rou answered clearly at a loss for words.

"He seems to be practising his swordsmanship." Gao Zhen’s figure appeared like an apparition behind their backs the very next instant, and pulled the two away.

"Ah, did I just scare the two love birds away? My apologies." She acted surprised while having a teasing expression plastered on her face.

Cough! Cough!

Zhou Lan coughed to cover her embarrassment. The next second, after recovering her bearings, she asked Gao Zhen.

"What did Madam Gao mean by her earlier words? How could Junior Brother Chen practice swordsmanship when he’s clearly fishing?"

Xie Rou, too, glanced curiously at Gao Zhen, with the same question in her mind.

"It’s understandable for the two of you to not realise, as it’s generally only after spending decades with a sword that one is able to discern such subtleties."

"Subtleties?" Zhou Lan frowned when she heard Gao Zhen using such a term and asked the next moment, "Is Brother Chen’s swordsmanship level high?"

"Extremely high. Much higher than what’s considered the norm at both the Meridian Refinement Stage and the Qi Absorption Stage." Gao Zhen nodded and explained. "He has already reached the stage of ’Sword Becoming a Part of Oneself’. Something which many untalented swordsmen are unable to achieve in all their lives."

Pointing her hand towards Yi Chen, she continued, "Look closely, each of his sword movements is like the movement of his own body part.

Simple. Fluid. Controlled.

This difference is quite subtle, but once one notices it, they can’t unsee it."

"Madam Gao’s right!" Zhou Lan exclaimed with wide eyes.

Thanks to Gao Zhen’s explanation, she had finally started seeing the depths underneath Yi Chen’s casual sword movements.

"So talented..." Xie Rou muttered in amazement.

Despite being a swordsman for more than half a decade, even she hadn’t attained this amount of proficiency in her swordsmanship.

So, seeing it being already mastered by Yi Chen, who was just at the Fifth Meridian Refinement Stage, was a really humbling feeling for her.

"Indeed. Young Master Chen is an incomparable talent."

Gao Zhen didn’t deny and continued with sparkling eyes, "From the looks of it, he was able to find meaning in the simple act of fishing and is gaining enlightenment with each passing second."

She paused briefly and continued the next second with a smirk filled with anticipation.

"Who knows, he might even become the first Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator to reach the stage of Becoming the Sword..."

"Is that even possible?!" Xie Rou lost her bearings the moment she heard this unrealistic statement.

Hearing her sudden burst, an understanding smile formed on Gao Zhen’s face as she answered, "Whether it is or not...only time will tell."

With those words, her gaze focused on Yi Chen, who was completely immersed in his actions.