Sun Zheping's Gift

"[Defeated 'Another Summer of Sleep' and triggered a system reward: Master Driving Skills acquired]."

In an instant, a massive amount of knowledge flooded Liu Hao's mind. He felt as if he had driven various vehicles, including cars, planes, and rockets, for hundreds of years. He was now incredibly proficient with techniques like clutch control, acceleration, drifting, and stunt driving. Liu Hao felt he could easily win any racing competition and even break records effortlessly.

Besides this, Liu Hao noticed his coordination had significantly improved. He felt he could brew a cup of freshly ground coffee with both hands and feet simultaneously, and even the slight dizziness caused by fast camera movements in games had vanished entirely.

The master driving skills brought more than just knowledge; they also enhanced his physical abilities.

"Can you tell me your name?" Sun Zheping asked softly. "I want to know which junior managed to defeat me at my best. You've made me curious and surprised."

Liu Hao smiled. "I've already won. There's no need to tell you my name."

"You are quite proud," Sun Zheping laughed. "You don't even see me as your opponent, nor do you give me a chance for revenge in the future."

"Will you come back?"

"Before, I wasn't sure. But after our match, I think I have my answer," Sun Zheping smiled.

"When?"

"Maybe... the ninth season." Sun Zheping glanced at Lou Guanning in the spectator stand. "This kid, Lou Guanning, is pretty good. I think I will return to the Heavenly Sword team."

"My name is Liu Hao. You guessed right. Hearing this, you must be disappointed, right? Maybe you don't believe it, but I'm telling the truth. I play a magic sword and can command the Excellent Era Dynasty's president. These two points are enough to prove my identity," Liu Hao said honestly.

Sun Zheping murmured Liu Hao's name in disbelief. He had never paid much attention to Liu Hao. Among many professional players, he only knew Liu Hao by name. The only magic swordsman he acknowledged was Jiang Botao from the Samsara team, but even Jiang Botao was only slightly more talented than the average in his eyes.

"It's shocking. You are Liu Hao," Sun Zheping laughed heartily as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Liu Hao remained silent. He knew it was hard to believe that a masked man defeated the hero Guo Jing in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." When Guo Jing, full of admiration, asked the man's name, the man revealed a very ordinary face and said he was Zhao Zhijing from the Quanzhen Sect. If Guo Jing knew the truth, he might be furious. (No Idea what this is about)

"Liu Hao, let me give you a gift," Sun Zheping quickly sent a compressed file to Liu Hao's in-game mailbox. "It contains my insights on the berserker class, some melee combat techniques for swordsmen, a guide to the 'Blossoming Blood' playstyle, and various advanced swordsman operation videos I recorded out of boredom after retiring..."

Liu Hao accepted the email but needed clarification. "Why are you giving me this? We've just met. Why share your martial arts secrets with me?"

"Maybe because we are the same kind of people. We are both proud, both a bit dramatic, and both dislike Ye Qiu. You have excellent magic swordsman skills and game awareness, but your melee skills could be better. When facing experts in close combat, you cannot resist... A proud person should have no weaknesses!"

A proud person should have no weaknesses... This was probably something Sun Zheping told himself. His berserker was once at the peak of the league, but he fell from grace due to a hand injury. Sun Zheping was a proud person, but the injury had left him disheartened...

"Thank you," Liu Hao said, not knowing what else to say. He understood the traditional Chinese value of reciprocating favours, but he had nothing that Sun Zheping might like. One day, the system could reward him with a cure for hand injuries, and he could give it to Sun Zheping.

They both exited the arena.

Clap, clap, clap! Loud applause came through the headset.

"Hero, you're amazing! I've soloed this guy so many times and never won, but you beat him," Lou Guanning laughed. "A man of his word, I'll add an extra 500,000 and buy out your silver weapon for 2 million!"

"Boss is generous!" Liu Hao applauded. This was an unexpected gain. "But I have to remind Boss Lou; you need to provide the materials for making silver weapons. I don't have extra materials on hand."

"No problem, we have a huge stockpile of materials in Heavenly Slash's warehouse. Just tell me what you need, and I'll send them to your mailbox directly," Lou Guanning said generously.

Liu Hao didn't hesitate and listed a bunch of rare materials, including Shadow Stones, Dragon Bones, and Muz Crystal... even materials he didn't need.

Lou Guanning probably guessed Liu Hao was exaggerating the material requirements, but silver weapon blueprints were valuable, and he understood Liu Hao's approach. He was grateful to Liu Hao, not just because Liu Hao saved him, but because Liu Hao defeated Another Summer of Sleep. So he had just sent a private message agreeing to join Heavenly Slash, which was an unexpected bonus.

Lou Guanning needed more concept of money. A million or two was just pocket money from his father. If spending 2 million could buy a professional-level silver weapon, promote the Heavenly Sword team, recruit a top expert, and make friends with a silver weapon designer, he would laugh in his sleep. (Remember, the guild name is Heavenly Slash; meanwhile, Team's name is Heavenly Sword)

His father was a businessman, and he had learned some business sense by osmosis. He wasn't being scammed out of 2 million; he was investing.

After receiving the required materials, Liu Hao spent an hour crafting the Evil King Dagger and sent it to Lou Guanning's mailbox. Lou Guanning very straightforwardly, transferred 2 million to Liu Hao's account after verifying the item.

After the transaction, they happily bid each other farewell. Lou Guanning even said, "Brother, you're my friend for life. If you ever make new silver weapons, just come to me. I'll buy them at an above-market price."

After seeing off Lou Guanning and his group, Liu Hao began making his silver weapon. He had asked Lou Guanning for many materials. Even after making the Evil King Dagger and Bellflower, he still had materials left.

After nearly an hour and a half, Liu Hao finally crafted the max-level [Bellflower].

The sword hilt was pure white, spotless, and shone brightly in the sunlight. Silver patterns adorned the hilt, the blade was primarily white with entwining pale purple lines, and the edge gleamed like a mirror, combining elegance and strength, like a warrior maiden dedicated to freedom and justice.

"Beautiful," Liu Hao murmured.

(End of chapter)

Chapters 56 and 57 are up on Patreon.

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