Swordsmanship Coach: Kill with One Slash

Chapter 81: Chapter 79: Preparing to Announce the Spiritual Qi Revival

"However, you’ll have to help me with something in a minute."

Lu Anning was momentarily stunned by Su Xing’s words. She then looked at Coach Su in confusion and asked,

"But... what could I possibly do to help you?"

"It’s simple. A brutal fight just happened here. Soon, a group of people—like the police—will show up and look for you. Just don’t tell them about your master."

Su Xing said, gesturing toward the sound of roaring engines in the distance.

Of course, Lu Anning couldn’t hear the cars, but she understood what Coach Su meant. It was just like those superheroes who always had to maintain their secret, ordinary identities. With a knowing nod, Lu Anning said,

"Don’t worry, I definitely won’t mention you, Coach Su. As for everything that happened here... I’ll say a mysterious master was just passing through!"

Lu Anning had thought for a good while before coming up with the phrase "mysterious master." This made Su Xing crack a smile. He chuckled and said,

"I’m surprised, you really get it. Yeah, go with that."

Having received Coach Su’s praise, Lu Anning puffed out her chest, though she wasn’t sure why he had suddenly complimented her. It felt just like being praised by a teacher at school—a happy, self-satisfied feeling.

But her happiness was short-lived. She suddenly thought of something and said to Coach Su,

"Coach Su, I can perform the White Line Slash now."

"If those police find out I have this kind of superpower... oh, wait, I mean Sword Technique, will they take me away?"

Su Xing was taken aback by her question. He quickly glanced at the Sword Disciple panel.

[Sword Disciple Panel]

[Sword Disciple: Lu Anning]

[Age: 17]

[Gender: Female]

[Occupation: Swordsman, High School Student]

[Talent: Sword Bone]

[High-Proficiency Skills: White Line Slash, Thrust, Crumble, Point Strike, Breathing Rhythm, Stance, Basic Sword Dao Footwork, Dark Cuisine, Claw Machine Expert, Gossip Finder...]

[Sword Disciple Trait: Quick Study]

’So her Sword Bone has activated...’

Su Xing couldn’t help but marvel. ’Truly worthy of being the Martial Artist genius hand-picked by the system. She’s mastered the White Line Slash this quickly... that’s not much slower than I was when I first got the system.’

While Su Xing was lost in thought, Lu Anning noticed he hadn’t answered. Thinking he might not have heard her, she patted his arm and asked again in a low voice,

"Coach Su, do you think they’ll... take me away to be dissected?"

Lu Anning knew absolutely nothing about the rules of the Extraordinary World. Aside from the few Sword Techniques Su Xing had taught her, everything else was a product of her own imagination.

So naturally, she was afraid of the unknown, terrified by thoughts like being captured and dissected for possessing such an ability.

Hearing Lu Anning’s words, Su Xing couldn’t help but chuckle.

"You’re overthinking it. Those ’police’ aren’t bad people. They won’t dissect you."

"They’re a special organization established by our country. Everyone in it is a Sequencer... It’s a bit complicated to explain, but basically, they’re people just like us. They specialize in fighting bad guys who have all sorts of incredible abilities."

"If they discover your abilities, they’ll almost certainly try to recruit you."

"And since those bad guys have already targeted you... Well, whether or not you join the special organization is up to you. Either way, I’ll keep teaching you Sword Techniques."

After listening to Su Xing, she immediately understood. These "police" were an official organization, which meant they were the good guys.

Her master, Coach Su, must be an outsider, someone unaffiliated—a lone wolf, maybe. Lu Anning couldn’t guess the extent of his power, but she knew it had to be high.

As for why she was targeted, Lu Anning guessed it had to be because she could perform the White Line Slash. Otherwise, there was nothing about her worth anyone’s notice.

Lu Anning’s string of guesses had brought her surprisingly close to the truth. She pondered for a moment before asking,

"Coach Su, if they’re the good guys, why are you hiding?"

The question left Su Xing at a loss for words.

He couldn’t very well tell her, ’I have a system that makes me stronger whenever I teach a class. The organization is full of Sequencers, so joining wouldn’t benefit me. Plus, revealing my power might attract the Spiritual Sect’s relentless pursuit, which is why I’m not willing to expose my identity and join them.’

So, Su Xing cleared his throat and said,

"Sometimes, being exposed only brings disaster."

"In any case, they’re almost here. I have to go."

"Weren’t you going to pick up your mom? Once the special organization arrives and handles things, it should be safe for her train to arrive at the station. After you meet her, just head straight back to the Sword Hall."

With that, Su Xing turned and strode away, quickly disappearing from Lu Anning’s view.

Lu Anning stood frozen, watching Su Xing’s retreating figure. His words, "Sometimes, being exposed only brings disaster," echoed in her mind. ’But... I think I’ve already been exposed,’ she thought. ’Why else would someone try to capture me for no reason?’

If she was already exposed,

should she join this organization?

Lu Anning lowered her head, her brow furrowed in thought. After a long while, she could only come to the conclusion to take it one step at a time. This world she had just stumbled into was too strange; she had no idea what the right course of action was.

Lu Anning took out her phone. Her mom had been sending a stream of voice messages, complaining that the train had stopped even though it was so close to Cang City South Station. Lu Anning glanced instinctively at the ruins of Cang City South Station, then typed a reassuring message:

"It’s okay, Mom. Maybe there’s just some track maintenance. We’ll be there soon."

She didn’t know if an incident this big would blow up online, but her mother was a "country person" who wasn’t very tech-savvy. She probably wouldn’t find out that Cang City South Station had been destroyed anytime soon.

In reality, no related stories were trending on the major forums yet.

The authorities had stepped in, and deletions were happening incredibly fast. Any post even remotely related to the incident was being taken down immediately.

But in smaller private groups and on minor platforms, similar discussions were flying everywhere. Countless young people were stunned, eagerly consuming the gossip.

At first, most people refused to believe it. But after a slew of online influencers personally verified the news, the general reaction had become a massive chorus of "Holy shit!" This was especially true for frequent readers of web novels, who simply couldn’t believe their eyes.

Holy crap, the stuff they write about in web novels is actually real!

Li Yu, who was driving alone, listened to Bailan’s report on his headset while monitoring the online chatter. He couldn’t help but sigh.

"We can’t keep this under wraps any longer. Get ready. It’s time for phase two."

"What’s phase two?"

Bailan’s confused voice came through the headset.

"It’s time to prepare the announcement of the Spiritual Qi revival."

"As for the arrangements after the announcement, we’ll discuss the details in a meeting later. I have other things to deal with right now, so that’s all for now. I’m arriving at Cang City South Station."