Chapter 14 Satori

Xiao Jie hastily clicked to check his skill bar.

[Sword Weapon Mastery (Entry-Level)

Passive Effect: When using knife weapons, blade speed increases by 10%, attack precision increases by 10%.

Skill Description: You have a basic understanding of using knife weapons. You find it easier to handle these weapons in combat, enabling better utilization during fights.

This skill is also a necessary prerequisite for learning combative saber skills, cultivation techniques, ultimate skills, and secret techniques.]

After reading the skill description, Xiao Jie couldn't help feeling delighted; his choice to stealthily develop his character was indeed the right one.

So that's how it is...So that's how it is...

Every game designer creates a path within the game that allows players to grow reasonably.

The simplest design is making the monsters weaker than players of the same level, allowing the players to continuously level up by defeating monsters, becoming stronger to challenge even higher-level monsters.

A slightly more complex addition may include various professional tasks or introduce a Talent System; apart from defeating monsters, players also need to complete specific tasks to gain the necessary strength enhancements.

This game, it seems, offers an even more free and hidden growth path.

With the newly acquired skill, Xiao Jie quickly deduced the reasonable development path for new players in this game.

Players can comprehend basic weapon skills by working in the village, and different jobs should correspond to different types of weapons.

Blacksmithing would be hammers, logging would be battle axes, chopping wood naturally involves knives, and farming...perhaps pole weapons.

With weapon skills, one can learn corresponding combat techniques and cultivation methods to enhance strength.

And by working, one could earn copper coins, with which basic equipment can be purchased.

And with equipment and skills, venturing out of the village becomes relatively safer.

Yes, exactly!

At this moment, Xiao Jie's thoughts became extremely clear.

Although this gameplay lacks explicit in-game guidance and theoretically players could directly go out to fight and level up, possibly even comprehending weapon skills in the process,

Without a doubt, the route he discovered is the optimal solution for typical newcomers.

Xiao Jie slashed at the wood again, and with a few chops, he could noticeably feel that the control and precision of his cuts had improved.

This improvement was very subtle, which ordinary players might not even notice, but for a professional player like Xiao Jie, who fine-tunes every detail of game interaction, the change was quite discernible.

Normally when chopping a tree, even if aiming at the same spot, the exact impact point of the blade would vary slightly. This is akin to the spread of a crosshair in a shooting game; the exact point of impact of the blade is not fully controllable, and this is something skill alone can't compensate for.

But now, Xiao Jie could place every cut exactly where he aimed.

Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!

Firewood +1+2+1+1+2!

The more he chopped, the smoother it became, and the movements of Xiao Jie's mouse clicks seemed to carry a peculiar rhythm and melody, flowing like water,

Quickly turning a tree into a bare pole.

He moved straight on to the next withered tree.

The more Xiao Jie chopped, the better the rhythm, and his slashing motions became broader; no matter how high or how swiftly he swung, he could accurately hit the tree branches he targeted.

One bundle, two bundles, three bundles... the firewood in the backpack accumulated at an astonishing rate,

And his right hand, sliding the mouse, also seemed to exert force in unison.

Watching his character's slashing actions become sharper and faster, Xiao Jie felt an inward rhythm, sensing that something significant was about to happen, as if a calm lake was about to be disturbed.

But what was it?

It seemed so close yet veiled by a thin curtain; he stared intently at the screen, trying to find that sliver of opportunity in the details of the game.

Until—

Swoosh! He made another chop.

This chop started from a great height and was exceptionally clean and crisp.

Only a crack sound was heard.

The blade cleanly cut through three branches jutting out from the left side.

One chop had successfully severed three pieces of firewood, and the break points on the three branches were evenly cut, the edges smooth and even

[System Prompt: Chopping Wood Great Success—Firewood +3!]

[System Prompt: Your 'Enlightenment' state has been triggered, you have earned a 'Moment of Enlightenment'!]

Suddenly, a flash of gold appeared above Xiao Jie's character, and a golden icon emerged at the center of the screen.

It bore two golden characters—Enlightenment!

Xiao Jie was first stunned when he saw those two characters, and then a wave of excitement followed.

He had always been wondering about the use of this "Enlightenment" BUFF he sought in the ancestral hall and how its moment of enlightenment effect was supposed to activate?

Unexpectedly, it had occurred so naturally in the end.

Looking at the flashing golden pattern in the center of the screen.

Xiao Jie couldn't wait to click on it.

[Moment of Enlightenment: In the continuous labor of chopping wood, you have mastered the knack of splitting an object into two and have thereby comprehended the combat skill—"One Cut, Two Pieces."

One Cut, Two Pieces (Combat Skill)

Applicable weapons: one-handed blade, one-handed sword.

Combat skill consumption: 50 energy.

Skill Effect 1: Causes 300% of weapon chopping damage and triggers a 'Limb Cutting' effect once.

Skill Effect 2: ????? (Locked, requires the activation with Inner Strength).

Skill Description: A combat skill realized by the Nameless Blade while chopping wood, where he assumes a stance and remains immobile, then suddenly executes a slash embodying both speed and precision.

It is said that the blade used to chop branches can also easily sever the limbs of living beings.]

Ha ha, finally got a combat skill, my efforts in praying to the ancestors were not in vain.

Xiao Jie couldn't wait to use his newly learned skill on a dry tree in front of him.

He saw his character assume a stance with the blade hidden behind, and in an instant, he swung his blade, drawing a brightly shining arc in the air and instantaneously splitting a branch thick as a rolling pin into two. It seemed as though the branch had not even realized what happened, hanging in midair for a moment before it fell to the ground.

Cool!

He tried it two more times, quickly familiarizing himself with the skill's power, speed, and attack range. The combat skill required a 0.5-second charging preparation, during which he could delay the attack to wait for the right moment, but once he swung, it was nearly twice as fast as a normal chop, making it hard to dodge.

And seeing the description of this 'Limb Cutting' effect, Xiao Jie was very skeptical that the monsters in the game could really have their limbs cut off.

Xiao Jie had played games with limb cutting effects before, like severing arms or legs, which undoubtedly would significantly reduce a monster's combat capability.

Although the move One Cut, Two Pieces lacked any flashy visual or audio effects, it was simple, practical, and impressively fast, making it an incredibly useful skill for close combat in the early stages.

However, mastering it in the game wasn't enough.

He must master it in reality as well.

After logging off and returning to his village, Xiao Jie couldn't wait to experience it in reality too.

After searching around the house, he only found a kitchen knife.

Fine, a kitchen knife it is, then.

He found a cardboard box and placed it on a stool as his target.

Assuming the position, he swung the knife.

Creak, the knife went halfway through and got stuck there.

Damn, why isn't there any sensation? This is just ordinary chopping.

Xiao Jie chopped several more times, turning a perfectly good cardboard box into a mess, yet it lacked the sharp and cool effect of One Cut, Two Pieces in the game.

Not right, it seems this ability isn't so simple to use.

How did he manage when he performed Hawk Roll?

Yes, that time, it was triggered instinctively at a life-or-death moment.

Xiao Jie swapped out for a new cardboard box.

Standing before the box, Xiao Jie concentrated, trying to summon the images in his mind.

Imagining the rapidly approaching red sports car.

Revisiting the chilling sensation of that moment.

The after-fear gradually surfaced, that moment of despair and helplessness in the face of death, when the image of Hidden Moon Following Wind swinging his blade suddenly emerged clear in his mind.

This is it!

He abruptly opened his eyes, vigorously swung the kitchen knife, slicing a bright arc through the air that slashed across the box.

The box remained intact, seemingly unharmed, but that only lasted a moment. The next second, the cardboard box split into two, clattering to the floor.

Xiao Jie picked up the bisected box, examined the smooth cut, flawless as if sliced by a cutting machine.

Looking at the kitchen knife in his hands, he felt an immense thrill, that slash was swung by him?

Yes, this is power, though still feeble, with time.

The heads to fall beneath this blade would no longer be boxes, but Liu Qiang's.