Unexpected Gains

Rows of data appeared before Lu Qingshan's eyes:

"You have obtained the [Cry Soul Sword] attribute!"

"Cry Soul True Person is manipulating [Cry Soul Sword]. [Innate Sword Seed] is in effect, a judgment is being made. Judgment passed, Cry Soul True Person's manipulation failed!"

"Cry Soul True Person is manipulating [Cry Soul Sword]."

"You have activated the sword artifact skill [Soul Shock]."

"[Soul Shock] successfully hit, the target will enter a brief state of soul loss."

"Cry Soul True Person's [Flying Sword Technique] has been interrupted!"

"You used the Falling Bright Sword Art on the target. The Falling Bright Sword Art hit, dealing 10 damage, with an additional 5 (10*0.5) critical damage, for a total of 15 damage to the target!"

"Target eliminated. You have killed Cry Soul True Person (Lv26). You killed an opponent of a higher level, gaining bonus experience. You gained a total of 4000 experience (base experience 2000 x 2 coefficient)!"

A sword strike to Foundation Establishment!

With this sword strike, a massive gash appeared on Cry Soul True Person's face, blood flowing profusely, looking exceptionally gruesome.

Before dying, Cry Soul True Person's eyes were still filled with confusion and bewilderment.

—Why did he die at the hands of a Qi Refining cultivator, and why was the one who killed him his own lifebound sword.

A Sword Cultivator's lifebound sword is bound to the cultivator. Apart from the cultivator themselves, no one else can use it. This is a well-known iron rule in "Nine Heavens."

However, today, Lu Qingshan had broken this iron rule.

[Innate Sword Seed]: You can use any sword artifact without restriction.

Any sword artifact naturally includes a Sword Cultivator's lifebound sword.

A Legendary Talent, truly living up to its name.

From the moment he acted to killing Cry Soul True Person, it took only a few breaths.

It appeared extremely perilous, even somewhat reckless.

But everything was within Lu Qingshan's expectations.

Sword Cultivators are inherently a profession with meager HP. Even a Foundation Establishment stage Sword Cultivator cannot change their fragile physique.

Although, due to the difference in levels, the Heavenly Eye Technique could not precisely detect Cry Soul True Person's HP.

However, on the attribute panel filled with question marks, there was a very important piece of information.

—Behind Cry Soul True Person's HP bar was an additional status: (Severely Wounded).

A Sword Cultivator with low HP, if also in a severely wounded state, would likely have around ten HP.

Lu Qingshan's current output with one Falling Bright Sword Art was 11 points.

But that was not enough.

This was only the theoretical damage, without considering any defensive spells or spirit artifacts.

Fortunately, Lu Qingshan remembered what Wu Yi had said: the Cry Soul Sword possessed the ability to shock the soul.

This was also Cry Soul True Person's signature skill.

Cry Soul Sword (Lifebound Sword · Water)

Description: Sword forged from soul stone.

Sword Master: Cry Soul True Person

Level: Lv2 (131/2000)

Sword Artifact Effects: Flying Sword Speed +5%, Sharpness +1, Sword Light Split +1

Sword Artifact Skill: [Soul Shock]

Launches a soul shocking technique at the target, with a chance to put the target into a brief state of soul loss.

Note: This sword is exclusively for the Sword Master's use.

The moment Lu Qingshan gained control of the Cry Soul Sword, he used the [Soul Shock] skill on Cry Soul True Person.

Secret techniques at the soul level, whether defensive or offensive, are considered extremely precious.

Low-level cultivators would mostly not have cultivated such skills.

This was precisely why Cry Soul True Person, relying on the Cry Soul Sword's Soul Shock skill, was invincible in duels with cultivators of the same level and had forged a reputation.

And Cry Soul True Person, as a low-level Sword Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, had also not cultivated any soul defense secret techniques.

Naturally, he could not resist the Soul Shock skill of his own lifebound sword.

In a state of soul loss, he could not make any response to Lu Qingshan's attack.

In fact, most of a Sword Cultivator's skills rely on their sword to be unleashed.

This was Cry Soul True Person's most familiar and sharpest attack pattern—using Soul Shock for control to ensure the hit rate of his flying sword.

Lu Qingshan used the same method against him.

Fearing this strike wouldn't be enough, Lu Qingshan attacked Cry Soul True Person's head.

Before the Nascent Soul realm, a cultivator's head is considered a vital spot.

Attacking a vital spot grants a 1.5x damage bonus.

With multiple layers of safety, Cry Soul True Person couldn't possibly be more dead from this strike.

Looking at Cry Soul True Person's corpse lying in a pool of blood, Lu Qingshan felt nothing but disdain.

Taking the sword seemed easy, but the risk involved was actually very high.

No matter how strong the [Innate Sword Seed] was, he was still just a Qi Refining cultivator.

Lu Qingshan challenging a Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator who was a whole level above him to a sword duel had a high probability of failing the check.

If he failed the check, Lu Qingshan simply holding the opponent's 본명검 (natal sword) would be a complete giveaway.

But how much effort would a Sword Cultivator who researched the vile Cultivation Technique of Harvesting Yin put into nurturing their sword?

Moreover, he had asked Wu Yi earlier and learned that Cry Soul True Person was skilled in the Flying Sword Technique.

The Flying Sword Technique, being one of a Sword Cultivator's signature skills, was naturally difficult to master.

Cry Soul True Person wasn't a player and couldn't quickly level up his skills using experience points. If he wanted to excel in the Flying Sword Technique, he could only spend a large amount of time and energy on arduous cultivation.

In that case, Cry Soul True Person would have even less spare time to nurture his sword.

A Sword Cultivator is, naturally, meant to cultivate their own natal sword.

Once a Sword Cultivator determines their natal sword, they must spend a significant amount of time and energy nurturing it.

The sword would grow stronger as it's nurtured, its connection with the sword master would become increasingly intimate, and its power when wielded would consequently become even more formidable.

If translated into game terminology, the natal sword would be the Sword Cultivator's growable equipment.

The importance of nurturing one's sword for a Sword Cultivator was unquestionable.

Considering all these factors, Lu Qingshan determined that Cry Soul True Person's control over his natal sword wouldn't be very strong.

Lu Qingshan was 90% confident that he could at least pass the first check when attempting to take the sword.

That's why he chose to make his move.

The moment he obtained the Cry Soul Sword's attributes, Lu Qingshan knew he had succeeded.

A level 26 Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator, yet his natal sword was only Lv2. Cry Soul True Person's negligence in nurturing his sword was even greater than he had guessed!

Keep in mind that in the game [Nine Heavens], an average Sword Cultivator, whose skill level is merely average, would have their natal sword at at least LV4 when they reach level 26.

It was inherently a rather comical thing for a Sword Cultivator to die by their own natal sword.

But for a Sword Cultivator like Cry Soul True Person, this method of death didn't seem all that strange.

Lu Qingshan stopped thinking and shook his head, beginning to inventory his spoils.

Besides another substantial influx of experience points, the wealth of a Foundation Establishment cultivator would also be a very generous haul.

Lu Qingshan bent down to loot the body.

A moment later.

Huh?

Lu Qingshan let out a soft exclamation as he looked at the two storage rings he had found on Cry Soul True Person's corpse.

Storage rings were unlike storage bags; the storage space within a storage ring was already quite ample.

Therefore, the saying about the Beggar Sect's multiple bags didn't carry over to storage rings.

—The storage space of a single storage ring could already satisfy the storage needs of the vast majority of players.

So why did Cry Soul True Person have two storage rings on him?

One possibility was that Cry Soul True Person was extremely wealthy.

Another possibility was...

With that thought, Lu Qingshan began examining the two storage rings in his hands.

Following that, a smile crept onto Lu Qingshan's lips.