Chapter 5

Wu Zhe stood at the classroom door, lost in thought about basking in the sun, which was quite in line with his otaku personality, not too gloomy. Occasionally, he would see horse riders passing by on the shore from a distance, treating it as a form of entertainment, gradually losing interest.

As the sky grew darker, the green on Wu Zhe's arms also faded with the dimming sunlight.

Throughout the day, if we only consider photosynthesis, the efficiency increased from about 40% to 83%. Subtracting the 25% from external assistance, it was equivalent to a 18% increase from photosynthesis alone.

It was a bit like charging a phone; photosynthesis was very slow, taking about an hour to increase by 2%.

This could be understood, as photosynthesis was an additional evolutionary feature of the human body, merely a survival response. Moreover, only the surface area of his two arms was undergoing photosynthesis, so it was already quite remarkable that he could accumulate more energy.

No one came to see Wu Zhe all day.

On the first day of confinement, Wu Zhe was neither hungry nor thirsty, and his spirit was even more vibrant.

On the second day of confinement, there was no external food in the morning. It wasn't until the afternoon, when the faint sounds of girls playing on the deck could be heard, that food was provided again.

This time, it was a pear and a steamed bun. Although Wu Zhe's physical energy had been consumed over the second night, thanks to photosynthesis and the external food, it had increased to 93%, and he was now lively and energetic.

In the evening of the second day, a light sound came from the upper deck, and someone walked down.

Wu Zhe, who had just stopped photosynthesizing, crept back to the ground, intentionally controlling his breathing to appear weak. After two days of hunger and thirst, if his body and spirit were still good, it would raise suspicion.

"Boss sent a message urging us to hurry. We'll set sail now and arrive at the sect's territory by early tomorrow. There's no time to verify the bet. We need to gather the required number of people, so don't mess up," said Zhai Laoer in a half-sandpaper voice. "We've punished the girl enough. If she survives by chance, let it be."

"Hmph." Chen Lao San didn't respond, just grunted.

The voices were not loud, and if not for Wu Zhe's excellent hearing, he wouldn't have heard them clearly.

The footsteps came closer.

"Is the girl still breathing?" Chen Lao San's voice came.

"Of course, she's still alive, her breath is still there," said Zhai Laoer.

A martial artist at the Three Stars Profound Qi level could sense the breath of ordinary people. However, these two never suspected that the girl was feigning weakness, so they didn't notice any other abnormalities.

Then there was a series of fine cracking sounds as Zhai Laoer crushed the crystals on the wall.

The bet was destroyed, clearly showing that Zhai Laoer didn't want to take any advantage.

Chen Lao San listened intently to Wu Zhe's breathing and then turned to leave: "Call the old woman over. We shouldn't be impolite at the sect."

Clearly, the hot-tempered Chen Lao San had also made a concession. He thought the girl had been hungry and thirsty for two days and might have urinated in the cabin, so he had the old woman come to attend to her.

Zhai Laoer unlocked the cabin door and said, "You're lucky, girl. If it weren't for the boss's training over the past six months, Lao San wouldn't have let you off so easily."

This Zhai Laoer was quite decent. Wu Zhe, who was feigning death on the ground, understood that Zhai Laoer had protected him to some extent without causing a major conflict with Chen Lao San.

After the two left, two old women soon came and helped Wu Zhe, who was lying on the deck, to stand up.

Exiting the cabin, they arrived at a simple cabin on the upper deck. Compared to the previous confinement cabin, it had plain chairs and bedding.

The old women didn't say much, silently bringing a bowl of water and two steamed buns.

Wu Zhe played the part, drinking the water urgently and devouring the buns.

Soon, an old woman with better clothing brought a new set of silk clothes, the same as what Wu Zhe was wearing.

"Girl, why did you try to escape?" the old woman began to chatter. "Your mother received ten taels of silver, and the Yuan Therapy Hall isn't a hellhole. Many people envy the opportunity. Even if your talent is insufficient, you can still have a meal at the sect, which is better than staying at home."

Girl? She's calling me girl? Wu Zhe frowned. Could the original body of this girl be named Girl? In another world, many poor families' girls didn't have proper names, which could be understood.

The old woman chattered on, looking into Wu Zhe's eyes and saying, "We'll enter the sect's territory early tomorrow. The sail will be up all night, and the current is swift. Don't cause any more trouble, young girl. Don't throw away your life recklessly."

Wu Zhe nodded seriously. Only a fool would jump into the river; he wasn't a wronged Du Shiniang.

The old woman, seeing that she wasn't faking, was satisfied and left.

The new clothes were left on the table, and Wu Zhe, after some thought, changed into them.

It wasn't complicated, and he managed to dress himself.

Wu Zhe's heart was beating faster, but now that this body was his, the excitement was much less.

【Energy saved, clothing evolution terminated】 A metallic voice reminded him in his mind, and the clothes he had taken off gradually disintegrated into particles and disappeared before his eyes.

Uh, what to do without a set of clothes? Pretend to be stupid. Wu Zhe steeled himself and prepared to sleep.

This was the first night Wu Zhe slept in a bed after crossing over.

It wasn't as comfortable as a mattress, and the pillow was hard. But with the clear intention to sleep, Wu Zhe fell asleep like turning off a switch.

The next morning, Wu Zhe woke up to the boat's rocking. Soon, an old woman came with a basin of water for washing and some food.

The original concern about the clothes was ignored; the old woman assumed they had been taken for washing.

Just after eating, a shipworker called out loudly, "We've arrived at the Sword Wielder Sect!"

A girl peeking out of the porthole exclaimed, "Wow! What a huge stone bridge!"

Another girl called out, "No, it looks like a mountain!"

Wu Zhe looked out the window and saw a massive stone bridge spanning the river.

A bridge of mountain stone almost spanning the river from shore to shore.

The bridge was a kilometer long and a hundred meters high and thick.

The reason it was called high and thick was because...

Goodness, it wasn't a bridge at all, but a mountain peak!

A majestic mountain peak lying across the river!

The bridge was made of mountain stone, covered with lush vegetation, and had a stone path and railings at the top.

This mountain peak, originally over a kilometer high, had been cut in half by an incredible force and laid across the river. A bridge hole several meters wide and long was cut through the center of the mountain peak to allow boats to pass.

All the girls poked their heads out of the portholes, chattering excitedly:

"It's the famous River-Lying Peak of the Sword Wielder Sect!"

"Truly the legendary mountain range lying across the river!"

"Amazing! No wonder it's the top sect of our Qi State!"

The large ship sailed swiftly, and as it approached the magical mountain bridge, Wu Zhe and the others had to look up to see the bridge.

In the center of the peak bridge, there was a prominent marble plaque inlaid with jade, with two large characters carved on it.

These two blood-red characters, infused with high-quality crystal fragments, glowed brilliantly in the sunlight.

Wu Zhe didn't recognize the two characters, as his super learning function wasn't sufficient to master them.

He only heard a girl read the two characters: "Sword Wielder!"

Zhai Laoer and Chen Lao San had already leaped out of the cabin and stood respectfully at the bow of the ship.

At this moment, a clear whistle echoed from the bridge, a greeting from a Sword Wielder Sect sword master, whose profound power made the sound reverberate through the sky and earth:

"Borrow the eye of heaven, steal the eye of earth! Swallow the sun, spit the moon, aid me in wielding the sword!"