Chapter 130: Talent and Foundation! 【Please Subscribe】

Because Yi Shen asked about swordsmanship, Zhan Yu eventually stopped holding back and even shared his own past.

Zhan Yu’s family had run a blacksmith shop when he was very young; it was said that, further back, they were the descendants of a famous wandering swordsman. By the time the shop reached Zhan Yu’s generation, it was on the verge of bankruptcy, until the arrival of the great mutation breathed new life into it. Relying on his lifelong understanding of swords, Zhan Yu quickly built a reputation near the Jingmen Safe Zone, even digging up some old "sword manuals" from his family’s ancestral home. They were called manuals, but in reality, they were just crude stick-figure drawings that offered little practical help. However, through his own interpretations and the somewhat idealistic, over-the-top thinking of his youth, Zhan Yu actually managed to master a few things.

Soon, Zhan Yu began instructing Yi Shen. His teaching method was simple and brutal: he had Yi Shen practice basic moves—striking, thrusting, parrying, and sweeping—all at once, and taught him a few simple sword combos. As for sword intent and sword energy, Zhan Yu himself struggled to explain them, so he simply left it to Yi Shen to perceive them on his own.

While Yi Shen could not replicate Zhan Yu’s ability to conjure sword energy out of thin air in such a short time, he discovered that when manipulating the power of moonlight, he could use the lunar energy as a substitute for sword energy. It was a complementary effect that once again left Zhan Yu marveling at the rarity of Yi Shen’s talent.

Yi Shen was well aware of his own high talent, though it would be more accurate to say that after his attributes increased, his speed of processing and understanding information underwent a fundamental shift. Especially after entering the "Sacred Descent" state, his entire world was reduced to the cold, analytical processing of data. This meant that even after exiting that state, he could not help but analyze and observe everything he saw and thought about. At the same time, the existence of the Heart of the Mage God provided his soul with a solid foundation, ensuring he never had to worry about being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. With these various bonuses, "talent" had become, for Yi Shen, almost an objective fact. His "depth" of foundation grew at an uncanny speed over those ten days.

May 15th.

Over ten days had passed since the end of the Jingmen Safe Zone secret realm incident. Although reconstruction was largely complete, the atmosphere throughout the Jingmen Safe Zone remained somber. According to incomplete statistics, even though the secret realm lasted only ten hours, the casualties numbered at least fifty thousand. Had Yi Shen not caused the scepter to shatter prematurely, that figure would likely have been several times higher.

Yet, it was not entirely a bad thing. At the very least, after this incident, the Jingmen Safe Zone received significant external attention, and many of the original power cliques were largely broken up. Coupled with the series of measures Qi Lei implemented in the ten days since his return, long-stalled reforms were finally completed, providing more support for ordinary explorers and greatly enhancing the cohesion of the Jingmen Safe Zone. The public’s trust in the authorities reached an unprecedented height, making it easier to push through new initiatives without the resistance faced in the past.

The Jingmen Safe Zone remained a collective built around four major guilds and numerous small-to-medium-sized ones. However, following the secret realm incident, almost every guild underwent profound changes.

First was the Jingbei Industrial Guild. After decades of development, its departments and networks were incredibly complex, but due to the massive turnover—or rather, the loss of personnel—and Qi Lei’s institutional reforms, many departments that had once held monopolies were completely overhauled. It was a massive reshuffling. Still, because the frontline core strength of the Jingmen Safe Zone largely came from Jingbei Industrial, its foundation remained intact, and the northern region was the first to restore order.

Second was the Taohuawu Guild. Once widely underestimated, Taohuawu suddenly turned the tide following the return of Yi Qinfei and his group, and the rumored backing of a Dark Mage. It became the most vibrant guild during the reconstruction. Zhao Nanxing succeeded Zhao Weimin as the current president, while Yi Qinfei was promoted to head of the chief regiment and vice president. Lin Putao became the vice president in charge of logistics, effectively making Yi Shen a "second-generation heir" in the true sense.

The Jianghe Guild performed adequately; there were no standout achievements, but their losses were not too severe. The southern region they occupied suffered less impact. The only thing worth mentioning was that the Jianghe Guild reached an agreement with some outside guilds to begin exploring the remnants of the secret realm, deepening their existing ties with the Fire Phoenix Guild of the Hanzhong Safe Zone.

Of the four guilds, the most miserable was the Blood Butcher Guild in the slums. The primary reason was that the chaos of the Bloodkin first broke out in the slums, causing most of the elite members there to be attacked immediately. When Yi Shen later cleared out the Bloodkin, he found the highest concentration of Bloodkin kin in that area. The most severe incident was that the Blood Butcher’s vice president, Qian Ye, was suspected of being infected, and the president, Chen Yuan, had vanished in the chaos. Because the situation was so volatile and the eastern side had largely fallen, little information was gathered. It wasn’t until the reconstruction period that everyone was shocked to find both Qian Ye and Chen Yuan gone from the Jingmen Safe Zone, much like the former Taohuawu. Currently, Jiang Jingying was in charge of the Blood Butcher Guild’s affairs. Fortunately, the guild was composed of many small groups, and Jiang Jingying was already a figure of significant authority within it, so things remained relatively stable. Yi Shen had seen her once while attending a meeting at the command center; he had appeared as a Dark Mage, already registered with the Special Operations Group, though he wasn't sure if she had recognized him.

Beyond the four guilds, various scattered forces had moved into the Jingmen Safe Zone, and they were all currently being registered and brought under control. Yi Shen had originally thought he would be busy after the reconstruction, but outside of his physical training, he found himself unexpectedly idle.

It wasn't until the evening of May 15th that Zhan Yu contacted him specifically. He told Yi Shen to prepare, as a high-ranking official from the General Coordination Bureau had arrived and wanted to see him.