It's a shame his livestream account still had so few followers; otherwise, he would've definitely done an unboxing stream.
Chen Huaian happily carried the two boxes into the room, closed the door and windows, drew the curtains, and turned on the bedside lamp. Sitting back on the bed, he rubbed his hands together in excitement.
"First up, the gift from our dear Qingran!"
He used a nail clipper to cut the tape and opened the box, only for his face to darken immediately.
Inside the box was just a sealed bag containing a string of beads. The beads looked like they were made of glass, and their material was unclear.
"Hmm… this is a bit underwhelming."
Chen Huaian took out the string of beads and felt their smooth, cool texture. For a moment, it seemed as if the air had become fresher, and the fatigue from waking up early vanished.
"Although the material is ordinary, the craftsmanship is shoddy, and the engraved words are still ugly enough to make me cry," he muttered, looking at the crooked blessings carved on the beads. Still, he put the beads on his wrist, his eyes filled with warmth. "But just thinking that this is a little gift from Li Qingran makes me feel so much more energized."
Yes, he attributed the refreshing feeling to the "power of love."
Not far away, in the shoebox on the table, the black cat, which had been lying motionless, twitched its nose, and its tightly closed eyes cracked open slightly.
"Next up, the big one!"
This time, Chen Huaian was a bit more forceful in unwrapping the package.
In just a few moves, he exposed the large item inside.
It was a longsword with an ancient design, clearly aged intentionally. The sword was one and a half meters long, with a bronze-colored body adorned with black fish scales. The hilt was engraved with traditional Chinese characters that were hard to decipher, and Chen Huaian guessed it might be the swordsmith's name.
"The sword's name is Black Scale—quite fitting."
Chen Huaian held the Black Scale Sword up to the ceiling light.
The light glided across the blade, reflecting a cold gleam that seemed out of place in this era.
He couldn't help but feel that this sword didn't belong to this world—no, it belonged to Li Qingran's world. It wasn't a piece of art; it was a real flying sword from the Cangyun Realm.
"I must've not slept well last night. My brain's fried."
Chen Huaian felt ridiculous for his naive imagination.
However, he had to give credit to the game developers for their attention to detail. For example, the talisman from last time, though it faded, felt like it was genuinely made by Li Qingran. This time, the beads, despite being made of glass, had a faint fragrance, similar to the talisman. It was all in the details!
As for this sword…
There wasn't much to say.
It was made of real materials and would look awesome as a wall decoration at home.
"Wait, is this sword sharpened?" Chen Huaian scratched his head, about to test it with his hand but immediately pulled back. His subconscious told him it wasn't a good idea.
So, he picked up a curled black hair from the floor.
Gently, he dropped it onto the blade.
Swoosh—!
A faint sword hum could be heard.
Chen Huaian stared in shock as the hair was cleanly cut in two, falling to either side of the blade.
"Holy crap! That's sharp!"
"Isn't this considered a controlled weapon? How did they even ship it?"
If he got caught, would he be arrested?
Chen Huaian quickly sheathed the sword. Fortunately, there was a nail on the wall by the bed, so he hung the Black Scale Sword there.
Honestly, hanging such an ancient-style flying sword in a modern room didn't look out of place at all.
"It's decided, Black Scale Sword. You'll be cremated with me when the time comes! Hehehe!"
The Black Scale Sword: "…"
The black cat in the shoebox: "…"
**[This kid is really strange. He actually has a magical flying sword!]**
**[Could it be that there are still usable magical artifacts in this era? Why haven't I encountered any? Though, puppet technology seems quite advanced…]**
Inside the shoebox, the black cat's round eyes peeked out.
It had been awakened by the spiritual energy emanating from the spirit stones.
For it, this spiritual energy was the most precious resource right now. Even just breathing air infused with spiritual energy could accelerate its recovery.
First, the Golden Needle Secret Art, then the Ancestral Dragon's protection…
Now, spirit stones and magical artifacts had appeared.
The black cat's mind was in turmoil, unable to figure out what was going on with Chen Huaian or what this era was all about.
Logically, things related to spiritual energy should have vanished from this world.
Its observations since awakening had confirmed this.
But this kid… how does he have everything?
This defies all logic!
Never mind. The top priority is to use this kid to recover from its injuries quickly.
The Ancestral Dragon's protection is tricky, but as long as it doesn't intend to harm the kid, it should be fine.
It was about to let out a weak meow to attract Chen Huaian's attention when it suddenly realized the room was empty.
**[Where did the kid go?]**
The black cat dragged its heavy body to the windowsill.
It saw its target, dressed in pajamas, holding a clothes hanger pole, and rushing toward the square across from the hotel.
…
Old Man Li had been practicing Tai Chi in the small square for 20 years.
In the realm of elderly Tai Chi, among all the old men in the surrounding seven or eight neighborhoods, if he claimed second place, no one dared to claim first.
"Playing games while walking? Watch out for cars!" Seeing two kids crossing the street while playing a mobile game, Old Man Li kindly reminded them.
One of the kids turned around and flipped him the bird: "Old man, mind your own business! It's none of your concern!"
"You kids… sigh…"
Old Man Li shook his head and sighed as he watched the two students walk away.
Young people these days were becoming less and less spirited, spending all their time playing games—nothing like the era he grew up in.
Technology had brought societal progress, but it had also stripped away much of the innocence and nostalgia.
"Sigh…"
Old Man Li sighed again and walked to the tree where he practiced every day.
But he found that someone had arrived earlier than him.
It was a young man in pajamas, holding a clothes hanger pole, bent over and sweating profusely while maintaining a bizarre posture.
Although the young man's movements were far from standard, Old Man Li felt a glimmer of hope in that moment.
A vibrant young person—this was exactly what the era was missing, the kind of person he admired most.
Looking at the young man's movements, there was some potential, but he clearly lacked basic knowledge and a solid foundation.
Since he'd encountered him today, Old Man Li decided to take it upon himself to teach this junior properly.
"Young man, you're doing it wrong. Your stance isn't stable. This isn't how you do a horse stance!"
Chen Huaian was in the midst of painfully practicing the Green Lotus Sword Manual when he suddenly heard an elderly voice behind him.
Then, a pair of broad hands pressed down on his shoulders with force.
Next, a foot wedged between his legs and pushed outward.
Chen Huaian gasped in pain as his plaster-covered right leg throbbed, but he wasn't annoyed at all.
Because as the old man helped him correct his posture,
He was pleasantly surprised to find that
The progress of the first chapter of the Green Lotus Sword Manual had skyrocketed from 2% to 13%!