My starting summon is a small skeleton-Chapter 345 - 342 Swordsmanship Genius

In the blink of an eye, Lu Wu had already spent a week in District 11.

A week is neither long nor short, but it was enough time for Lu Wu to obtain a general understanding of the situation in District 11.

It had to be said, there were some issues with the information Zhang Yunyi provided to Lu Wu about District 11.

Of course, it wasn’t that Zhang Yunyi had set him up.

It was just that Zhang Yunyi’s intelligence was somewhat one-sided.

In Zhang Yunyi’s report, all she had was that District 11 was chaotic and post-feudal.

It gave Lu Wu the impression that he could cause some trouble there without any problems.

However, after a week of investigation, Lu Wu discovered that the situation in District 11 was not as simple as he had thought.

It was indeed much more chaotic than in District 1 and definitely in a post-feudal state.

But after all, the great catastrophe had occurred over a century ago.

Over the past hundred years, even amidst this chaos and post-feudalism, District 11 had developed a relatively stable structure.

Every small town in District 11 had a summoner’s value, and behind every summoner family, there was a force known as "Fan."

These powers fought against one another but also supported each other.

The whole of District 11 was interwoven tightly into a whole.

In this whole, if Lu Wu wanted to blend in as an ordinary man, he could fit right in without any issues.

He was sure that even Zhang Yunyi would not be able to find him if he so wished.

But if he wanted to mix in as a Master Level powerful figure in District 11, that would be too conspicuous.

At this level, the powers knew everything about each other.

All were well-followed, and even relations could be traced among them.

So, if Lu Wu wanted to mingle in District 11 as a Master Level expert and gain enough resources for himself, it would be quite challenging.

After all, District 11 was only so large and in those hundred years, most of the secret realms that had to be discovered and explored were almost exhausted.

Even those that weren’t fully tapped were tightly controlled; it wouldn’t be easy for Lu Wu to infiltrate them.

Without access to the secret realms, Lu Wu couldn’t harvest resources and couldn’t grow.

"So, it seems that District 11 isn’t really suitable for me to come here."

Lu Wu came to this somewhat disheartening conclusion.

While Lu Wu was feeling disheartened and pondering if he should leave this broken place, a crisp voice arrived.

"Illuminated Lord, are you here? Great, I’ve finally found you!"

Behind Lu Wu, a girl clad in a kimono and wearing wooden clogs, carrying a longsword at her waist, came hopping over.

This girl, named Sakuragi Hanakazuki, was the youngest daughter of the city lord of the small city where Lu Wu was.

Four days ago, to further gather information about District 11,

Lu Wu met this girl through the cliché method of playing the hero saving the beauty.

Of course, Lu Wu seriously doubted that his meeting with this girl had much to do with playing the hero.

This girl seemed mainly interested in his body.

His heroic rescue plan barely got started before she saw the half of his masked face, and then it was mostly about her taking the initiative.

Lu Wu hardly had to exert himself to gather intelligence about District 11 from her.

Despite her craving for his body, as an informant, Sakuragi Hanakazuki was still quite competent.

Thus, Lu Wu’s attitude towards this girl was quite favorable.

He steadied the breathless hopping Sakuragi Hanakazuki and casually handed her a cup of water, "Slow down, Hanakazuki, there’s no rush. I’m not running away—have some water."

"Thank you, Enlightened Lord!"

Sakuragi Hanakazuki, her face flushed, took the cup from Lu Wu, thinking it belonged to the Enlightened Lord, and drank it with a delighted and dizzy heart.

Thinking she had indirectly kissed the Enlightened Lord, her head suddenly started to steam.

At this moment, Lu Wu casually mentioned,

"I haven’t drunk from this cup yet."

A single sentence cooled down Hanakazuki and reminded her of her original purpose.

As the steam started rising again, she said softly, "Enlightened... Enlightened Lord, my father wishes to see you!"

...

Regarding the matter of Sakuragi Hanakazuki wanting to meet him,

Lu Wu wasn’t too surprised.

After all, since entering this small city, he had moved from covert to overt activities and even got involved with the city lord’s daughter. It was quite normal for her family to notice him.

Lu Wu wasn’t flustered; he had a rough idea of what it might be about.

He figured it must be a typical scenario of beating mandarin ducks.

After all, the background Lu Wu set for himself was quite bleak.

Zhengdaguangming, male, 24 years old, originally a Summoner of Boss Level or, by District 11’s term, professional level.

The reason it was "originally" was because in Lu Wu’s set-up, his Summoned Beast was a Demon Blade that had been damaged in battle, and now he was barely at Elite Level strength.

Also being of commoner origin and likely disfigured in battle on one side of the face.

With such a shoddy character setup, Lu Wu felt that not just a poverty-stricken feudal lord, but even if placed in his own previous life, he would be unwanted.

With such a character getting close to someone’s daughter, a bell would surely warrant a beating away.

But Lu Wu had no pretensions of showing off or counter-attacking.

It seemed pointless since he was planning to leave anyway. Why bother showing off or retaliating?

"Meeting them and being driven away by a stick, it’s quite a unique way to part."

Yes, Lu Wu had already prepared himself to be driven away by a stick.

However, Lu Wu forgot one thing: reality usually doesn’t follow his plan.

He had even prepared to throw out phrases like "Give me five hundred thousand, and I’ll leave your daughter immediately" or "Fortunes change, don’t oppress the young when poor."

But they didn’t follow his script.

Upon arriving at the City Lord’s mansion, what awaited him wasn’t scrutiny or cold looks but warm hands and eager eyes.

"Lord of Light, I entrust my daughter to you!"

Lu Wu was stunned at that moment.

His mind was filled with big question marks.

’What’s going on, has this old man lost his mind? Or did something go wrong?’

No, it wasn’t the elder named Sakuragi Hanamichi in front of him who had gone crazy; it was him!

More precisely, it was the character setup Lu Wu had made for himself.

He thought the persona he had created was already pitiful enough.

At 24, still only at Boss Level, Summoned Beast also down, when he saved Sakuragi Hanakazuki, his mastery of Battlefield Swordsmanship was just at a master level.

He was also of common origin and had half his face disfigured. Such a character, in Lu Wu’s view, who had risen to Master Level in just two years, was simply unbearable to look at.

He thought, a summoner’s life can’t be more miserable than this.

"But placed in front of Sakuragi Hanamichi, this dude is definitely a genius bestowed by the heavens.

At just 24 years old, he had already reached Boss Level.

Though his Summoned Beast had died unexpectedly, his mastery-level swordsmanship was undeniably real.

Coming from an ordinary background, to have such power and swordsmanship at this age.

Such talent made Sakuragi Hanamichi especially envious!

After all, he couldn’t find such a genius within his forces no matter how hard he searched.

And now, such a genius had shown up at his doorstep—wasn’t this a gift from heaven?

Of course, Sakuragi Hanamichi also noticed that Lu Wu’s encounter with his daughter seemed a bit deliberate.

But that was fine, it was understandable. Lu Wu, being a commoner genius, must have had a tough life after losing his Summoned Beast.

Getting close to Sakuragi Hanakazuki was certainly for his own future, which was completely understandable.

If it were him, he would have made the same choice.

After all, what’s wrong with using some schemes to grow?

Those who don’t use schemes are the real losers!

What Sakuragi Hanamichi admired more was that, over these few days, Lu Wu never deliberately hid this fact, earning Sakuragi Hanamichi’s favor to the greatest extent.

Thus, after only observing for four days, he decided to meet Lu Wu.

Such a talented, scheming, and Zhengdaguangming-like child, Sakuragi Hanamichi didn’t want to miss.

"Bright Lord, I know your goal, and I will fulfill it!

Don’t worry, I will use all my available energy to get the most suitable Divine Artifact. With my help, you will definitely return to the peak, or even reach a higher peak," said Sakuragi Hanamichi, throwing out his promise right from the start.

Apart from being genuinely excited, it was also because he ’understood’ Lu Wu.

Zhengdaguangming Lu Wu, though he used schemes, disdained from hiding it. Such a person deserved sincere treatment.

Sakuragi Hanamichi believed that his sincerity would definitely be felt by the Bright Lord.

As for Lu Wu’s side.

He didn’t know about sincerity or whatever. All he knew was that this old man must have something wrong with his brain!

But no matter if the old man had something messed up in his head, the impression the old man left on him during their first meeting was nevertheless quite good.

Treating him very kindly, considering him in every aspect of their conversation.

Never bringing up topics that might make Lu Wu uncomfortable, and if ever touched upon accidentally, the old man would skillfully shift the topic.

In short, the old man left a successful first impression on Lu Wu, seeming benevolent and eager to hand over both his daughter and his estate to him—or else he was deeply shrewd or had something wrong with his brain.

And this trip to the City Lord Mansion also successfully resulted in Lu Wu moving in.

Even though Lu Wu initially hesitated a bit, when the old man brought out a box of Swordsmanship Secret Manuals, Lu Wu delightfully decided to stay.

...

Late at night.

Sakuragi City, within the City Lord Mansion in District 11.

Lu Wu had just managed to send away the maid who was to attend him at bed and lay dazedly in bed, his gaze empty.

"What now? This old man really seems keen on keeping me here.

The way he spoke, he doesn’t just want to be my father-in-law, but also my father."

Yeah, Sakuragi Hanamichi had casually mentioned adopting him as a son at the dinner table, noticed Lu Wu’s displeasure, and didn’t bring it up again, but the intention was clear.

"Forget it, doesn’t matter. Staying here is not an option. Once I’ve mastered these dozen or so Swordsmanship Secret Manuals, I’ll just pack up and prepare to leave."

With this mindset, Lu Wu re-engaged in intense study mode.

He spent the whole night reading through the dozen or so sword techniques Sakuragi Hanamichi gave him.

The old man had given him a total of 14 Swordsmanship Secret Manuals, among which 12 had a sword technique level comparable to the ’Battlefield Sword Technique’, and the remaining two he had specifically collected for Lu Wu in the past few days, were almost at the ’Slaughter Sword Technique’ level.

Clearly, the old man had gone to great lengths to keep Lu Wu.

By around 5 AM, having not slept all night, Lu Wu finished reading all 14 Swordsmanship Secret Manuals.

Fortunately, Lu Wu got up and began practicing swordsmanship.

On the other side of the City Lord Mansion, Sakuragi Hanamichi also hadn’t slept all night.

While Lu Wu was focused on studying, he was excited.

Their Sakuragi family, in their heyday, had produced a King-level expert, but since his grandfather died, they had declined generation by generation.

By his generation, they only barely reached Lord Level in power, and his children’s talents were even worse. Before Lu Wu appeared, he often worried that upon his death, the Sakuragi family might fade into oblivion.

Now, with Lu Wu, he felt there was still hope for the Sakuragi family.

Even if Lu Wu didn’t marry into the family, his son might still be considered.

Of course, this all was predicated on Lu Wu truly rising to power; if not, all would be mere wishful thinking.

While the old man was daydreaming,

his maid came to tell him that Lu Wu had started practicing swordsmanship.

Upon hearing this news, the old man hurriedly got up to observe Lu Wu’s talent.

Lu Wu’s talent would determine his investment in him.

Very quickly, the old man stealthily arrived at the pavilion near the courtyard where Lu Wu was exercising, catching him in the middle of practicing one of the sword techniques he had given him that day.

Watching him, the old man was a bit stunned.

"Strange, has Bright Lord practiced this sword technique before? Why does he seem so proficient?"

While the old man was perplexed, Lu Wu repeated the sword technique.

On the second attempt, the old man’s jaw dropped.

He clearly noticed, the huge gap between Lu Wu’s first and second attempt indicated rapid progress!

And that was not all; then came the third time, fourth time, fifth time…

The old man continuously watched Lu Wu practice that technique ten times, witnessing how Lu Wu’s proficiency in sword technique swiftly went from entry-level to mastery.

And that was just one set.

After finishing the first set, Lu Wu switched to a second set.

Again, ten times, the second set going directly from "entry-level" to "mastery"!

Then came the third set, fourth set, fifth set…

Sakuragi Hanamichi’s mouth went from slightly open to widely agape, his eyes shifting from doubt to confusion, then to burning passion.

He had finally fully confirmed Lu Wu’s talent.

Was this what they called a genius?

This was simply monstrous!

At that moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi made a decision.

"To nurture, to go all out and bankrupt his family to cultivate him!

All the glory of my Sakuragi family now depends on the Bright Lord!"

...

Hmm, after a week of idleness, I will strive to get back on track and update starting tomorrow!"