Is that all the skill you have?

"Fine, simpler is better. It makes putting on makeup much easier."

Jin Demao agreed to his request while drinking the soy milk handed to him by Ji Yu.

Ji Yu smiled and expressed his gratitude; this cup of soy milk was not given in vain.

The stylist couldn't help but inwardly complain that this parachuted-in newcomer was quite troublesome—how obedient the previous actor had been!

Still, this was fine too; it reduced their own workload.

Twenty-something minutes later, Ji Yu's styling was complete.

The stylist had originally prepared a set of black clothing, which Ji Yu simply put on directly.

Ji Yu looked at himself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

This is great, he thought. Why bother with those bizarre hairstyles and outfits?

As if something wasn't eccentric enough to demonstrate one's artistic mastery.

Jin Demao, who had strolled outside for a bit, returned and was also very pleased, feeling that Ji Yu looked quite dashing once dressed in costume.

"Not bad. Just follow this style for future designs," Jin Demao instructed the stylist briefly before rushing off.

It was already close to eight o'clock; it was time to pack up and head to the set to start work!

Ji Yu boarded the crew's vehicle and headed to the film set.

Upon arrival, everyone was busy, and Ji Yu was promptly pulled aside by the photographer to take promotional stills.

These would be needed for news publicity in a few days.

Ji Yu held a long sword in his hand, his expression aloof and stern, his deep gaze revealing a faint sense of solitude.

The photographer couldn't resist taking a few extra shots.

As soon as the photo session ended, he was called over by the assistant director.

"Hello, these are your scenes for today. Familiarize yourself with them as quickly as possible. Once you've memorized your lines, find the martial arts choreographer to run through the action choreography."

The assistant director gave his instructions and hurried away.

Ji Yu looked over the script.

The line at the very beginning of the script describing the duel between Yan Shisan and the Third Young Master sounded quite stirring:

*Sword qi spans thirty thousand miles! A single flash of sword frost chills nineteen provinces!*

The special effects for this production were actually quite decent, utilizing full-scale light-sword effects.

Ji Yu flipped to the scene he was scheduled to shoot and let out an involuntary sound of surprise.

His very first scene was to be filmed with Yu Feihong.

In the story, Yan Shisan belonged to the Murong Family and secretly harbored feelings for the eldest miss, Murong Qiudi.

The scene to be shot today involved him accompanying the eldest miss—who was disguised as a man—out on a stroll, while conveniently dealing with a petty thief who was impersonating the Third Young Master.

"Time to memorize lines, let's see how many lines I have."

Ji Yu flipped back and forth through the pages and couldn't help clicking his tongue.

There was only a single line in total, shouted at the fake scoundrel: *Our young master is the real Third Young Master!*

That was it?

He had expected quite a few lines, but having even one line was fine—after all, Yu Feihong didn't have a single line in this entire scene.

Ji Yu put away the script and went to find the action choreographer for the fight sequences.

At that moment, several other people were still coordinating their moves with the martial arts director.

Yu Feihong, who would be acting opposite him later, was also there.

The crew didn't have many martial arts directors, and all of them were currently busy. Ji Yu asked two different people but couldn't locate the one responsible for his upcoming action sequence.

Where on earth had the actor fighting him gone? Were they just going to shoot without a rehearsal?

They even needed to use wire-work; if someone got hurt because they hadn't practiced beforehand, it wouldn't be good.

Unfortunately, after searching all around, Ji Yu couldn't find the person.

Ji Yu began to suspect that someone was intentionally trying to give him a hard time to establish dominance.

He was shooting an action sequence on his very first day joining the crew, yet the sparring partner was nowhere to be found. How were they supposed to film later?

Did they want him to get chewed out by the director?

Ji Yu felt that he might genuinely be targeted.

With no other options left, he could only wander around and ask about.

At the very least, he needed to let everyone know that it wasn't him throwing diva tantrums and refusing to practice, but rather that the other person had vanished.

Ji Yu buzzed around the entire set as if he had a motor attached to him.

Like a broken record, he asked everyone he met whether they were the stunt actor paired with him.

Causing such a commotion, Ji Yu naturally drew the attention of quite a few people.

Hiding in the shadows, the stunt actor let out a helpless sigh—he wouldn't be able to hide any longer.

He had prepared a sequence of three smooth, consecutive combos, but before he could even land a basic attack, the guy was already shouting about it to the whole world.

With no other choice, he had to dart out from his corner, take the initiative to find Ji Yu, and yell:

"I'm right here! Where are you looking! Come and practice already! You're just wasting time!!"

He shouted loudly, and out of the corner of his eye, seeing the director glance over in their direction, he grabbed Ji Yu and dragged him toward a quiet corner.

Ji Yu smiled amiably as he walked along with him, completely unfazed by the malicious framing just moments ago.

Instead, he asked with genuine curiosity: "Are you very close with the actor who originally played Yan Shisan?"

The man's expression flashed with panic before he hastily denied it: "I don't know him!"

"Ah, so nobody put you up to it? You just wanted to target me personally?"

Ji Yu turned his head and smiled benevolently at him, patting him on the shoulder. "Then you better be careful. Messing with me is like kicking a cotton pillow."

The stunt actor: "???" Kicking what?

Was this a threat, or was he backing down?

He must be backing down, right?

The stunt actor pondered to himself whether he should hold back and ease up a bit when they started practicing the choreography.

Soon, the two of them arrived at an open space to begin going over the moves.

The action choreography for this drama wasn't overly difficult, containing basically no high-difficulty stunts.

However, since they were both holding bladed weapons, accidents could easily lead to injury if one wasn't careful.

Ji Yu strongly suspected that this punk across from him would deliberately take a swing at his face, preferably scratching or disfiguring him to disrupt the filming and get him replaced.

If the prop blade accidentally grazed his eyebrow or face, even if it didn't break the skin, any swelling or redness would render shooting impossible for the day.

During the choreography rehearsal, Ji Yu remained exceptionally cautious; open arrows are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against.

Noticing that Ji Yu kept a considerable distance away from him during every exchange, the stunt actor couldn't resist calling for a timeout and shouting, "If you stand this far away, our weapons can't even touch! How are we supposed to practice?!"

He intentionally raised his voice so that nearby people could hear, effectively shifting the blame onto Ji Yu.

Ji Yu genuinely wanted to skewer him with the sword in his hand. What a shameless piece of work—did he really think he was easy to bully?

If he hadn't just joined the crew and wanted to avoid trouble, he wouldn't have tolerated this behavior at all.

Since the guy liked playing games, it was time to let him witness the practical combat capabilities of intermediate-level martial arts!

Ji Yu reined in his expression, stepped closer to him, and said, "Come on then."

The stunt actor's lips curled slightly as his gaze swept across Ji Yu's face.

In his mind, he debated whether to slash at the bridge of Ji Yu's nose or smash into his face next!

Sensing his intentions, Ji Yu sneered inwardly. Did this guy really take him for some inexperienced novice without any foundation?

"Take this!" the stunt actor suddenly roared at the top of his lungs and slashed downward with his blade.

An absolute beginner would indeed have been startled by that sudden shout.

However, Ji Yu had been prepared all along. Possessing a high-level combat proficiency, he reacted swiftly, sidestepped to evade the blow, and countersurged by raising his sword to thrust upward in an underhand sweep.

The stunt actor hadn't expected him to react so quickly. Seeing the tip of the sword heading straight for his groin, he panicked and threw himself into a dog-peeing-style posture to dodge the point of the blade.

Before he could even regain his footing, Ji Yu swiftly retracted his sword, stepped forward in a flash of motion, and brought his prop blade down heavily onto the stunt actor's shoulder with a resounding thud.

*Bang!*

The prop sword struck the man's shoulder with a muffled impact, and the actor let out a cry of pain as he clutched his shoulder and tumbled backward.

Ji Yu walked over, holding his sword, pointed the tip straight at him, and looked down from above to ask, "Is that all the skill you've got?"

The stunt actor's face flushed violently red, and he felt too mortified and ashamed to utter a single word.

He had wanted to target the newcomer, only to discover he was no match for him. He had even tried to play dirty by preemptively shouting to seize the moral high ground, yet now he was knocked flat on his back, watched by so many onlookers—he genuinely wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The surrounding people who had been watching the spectacle quietly withdrew their gazes.

Yu Feihong, who was practicing her own choreography nearby, also glanced over, thinking to herself that this new actor looked rather handsome.