Chapter 16: The Secret Sword of the Letter Z

[Z Sword Secret Technique Level 1 (2+0/9000): Master an extremely powerful secret sword technique, capable of delivering three strikes in the blink of an eye. Agility +0.3, Constitution +0.2]
[Description: A supreme secret sword technique from the royal house of Sisse, generally reserved for royalty or those of governor rank and above. This swordplay emphasizes speed, its chief hallmark being the ability to unleash three strikes in an instant. The truly skilled can inscribe a ‘Z’ on a person’s body in a flash, hence the name Z Sword Secret Technique. Rumor has it, however, that the real killing move is the fourth strike, delivered after the initial three.]

Aboard Perkin’s ship, Liu Zhi practiced the Z Sword Secret Technique he’d acquired from Perkin again and again. The difficulty and skill required for this technique far exceeded any other sword styles; Liu Zhi had to expend a full 3000 experience points to forcibly master it, a stark contrast to the basic sailor’s swordplay which could be learned with only thirty experience.

Moreover, practicing alone no longer yielded constant improvement as before. Liu Zhi had tested it: he must complete a thousand sets of simultaneous triple thrusts to earn a single point of related experience.

Thus, whenever he found a spare moment aboard Perkin’s ship, Liu Zhi devoted himself to practice. Unless Perkin was questioning him about the map, the air around Liu Zhi was filled with the swift, sharp sound of swords slicing through the air.

“You have great talent.”

As Liu Zhi sheathed his sword, Lloyd’s voice came from nearby. Since boarding, Lloyd had grown more relaxed, wandering the deck rather than clinging nervously to Perkin’s side as before.

Liu Zhi already knew his identity: Perkin’s nephew and student, accompanying them for the sake of gaining experience.

Besides him, Perkin had hired a guide, a jungle survival expert, a small mercenary squad of five, and the shipmaster’s family of four.

According to Perkin, if not for the limited cabin space, he would have brought along a chef and a fisherman as well, so they could enjoy good food on the journey.

Liu Zhi felt little inclination to comment on such arrangements. Perkin’s methods were none of his concern; they’d already agreed he would escort them only as far as the hill marking Perkin’s destination, visible in the distance, and then depart on his own.

That spot happened to be a turning point for Liu Zhi en route to Golden City, so the trip wasn’t wasted for him.

What he hadn’t expected was for Lloyd to notice how quickly he’d mastered the Z Sword Secret Technique. These past few days, as Liu Zhi trained, Lloyd had watched intently, seemingly itching to challenge him.

“It’s not so remarkable. This swordplay is easy to learn but hard to master. I sense there’s a possibility for a fourth strike, but I’ve yet to find the angle for that final blow, so I haven’t been able to advance further.” Liu Zhi nonchalantly stowed his sword, feigning confidence.

The sword itself was a gift from Perkin, given alongside the Z Sword Secret Technique, for only such a slender, sharp-pointed blade could fulfill the technique’s requirements.

Lloyd, hearing this, reflected deeply. “You truly are gifted. There is indeed a fourth strike to the Z Sword Secret Technique, though few notice it, let alone approach their training with that in mind from the beginning. For a dedicated practitioner like you, I believe new breakthroughs will come quickly.”

Liu Zhi paid little heed to Lloyd’s praise. If not for the value of his experience points, he could already push the Z Sword Secret Technique to level 2.

But what’s the use? Unless it’s the critical moment of a level 4 breakthrough to the extraordinary, his experience points were precious, earned through hard-fought battles with fishmen. At their peak, he’d amassed only 14,372 points; after learning the Z Sword Secret Technique, even fewer remained. He couldn’t be certain there wouldn’t be other demands for experience points along the way.

Saving whenever possible was the wisest course.

At that moment, the leader of Perkin’s hired mercenaries approached.

This mercenary team consisted of four men and one woman. The leader stood nearly six feet tall, his face adorned with a thick beard. He wore leather armor, carried a shield on his back, held a spear in hand, and had a sword and hand axe at his waist—fully equipped for battle.

Among the others was a black man, towering at two meters, his body a mass of muscle. Aside from a wooden staff as tall as himself, he held a length of rope, clearly the team’s specialist in immobilization.

A gunner, short in stature but heavily armed, carried a long musket on his back and six loaded pistols at his waist. It was said he could fire all his weapons in under a minute.

The female knife-thrower served as the team’s scout; her body concealed countless blades, and it was rumored that no creature within ten meters could escape her throw.

Lastly, a swordsman watched Liu Zhi’s practice from a distance each day, though today it was the mercenary leader who approached.

Upon seeing Liu Zhi, the leader spoke politely, “Mr. Sandru, we’ve entered the primeval jungle basin. From here onward, it’s considered a dangerous zone; we’ll need your map.”

Liu Zhi knew the time had come to produce the map.

He nodded, found a place to sit, and retrieved the meticulously drawn map from his pack.

Alongside it, he took out a stack of parchment inscribed with notes copied from the governor’s books.

Spreading the map, Liu Zhi asked, “Where are we now?”

“We’ve just entered the Amazon River, upstream from the estuary, hugging the northern bank.”

“Hugging the northern bank, let me see. Did you spot this stone?” Liu Zhi quickly flipped through his notes and found a drawing of a stone resembling a gigantic serpent’s head.

“Not yet.”

“This is a landmark you should see about thirty miles upstream along the northern bank. If you haven’t seen it, we’re off course. Once it’s spotted, pay close attention to the left side, where tributaries of the rainforest river will suddenly appear. We can’t simply follow the order of the branches; we must seek out a distinctive landmark that’s unlikely to be washed away.”

“The next landmark isn’t obvious. In several travel journals, I found only scattered clues—here, after a certain distance, you’ll see a whale; and here, it says to turn after seeing the whale, then this... So, I deduce there’s something resembling a whale, and at that moment, turn left and head north.”

“This stretch is where it’s impossible to accurately judge our direction; it’s about forty miles. After that, we should find a sacred tree—I’m not sure if it’s a rock or something else, but many records mention it as the most prominent marker. If we find it, we’ve chosen the right path. If not, we must return to the whale landmark and start over.”