The Broken Sword Acknowledges Its Master

"How miraculous!"

Fang Chen stared at the sword in his hand, knowing it had to be a treasure.

Subconsciously, he looked around. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Could this be some peerless divine sword buried beneath dust? As long as I drip blood on it and claim it as my master, it'll become mine?"

The thought made Fang Chen's heart race. With a try-it-and-see mindset, he pressed the index finger of his left hand hard against the blade and sliced it across.

Sshhk!

His finger was instantly cut open. Bright red blood seeped out at once, then was absorbed by the longsword.

"It really can absorb blood!"

Seeing the sword absorb his blood, Fang Chen's eyes lit up slightly, and excitement welled up in his heart. He knew that only spiritual treasures could absorb blood.

About ten breaths later.

Buzz!

The longsword suddenly trembled. The dust clinging to its body was instantly shaken away, though much rust still remained on the blade, leaving it pitted and uneven, as if it had been gnawed by dogs.

The spiritual energy around them rapidly gathered and was absorbed by the sword. Countless crimson patterns emerged across the blade, like the veins of leaves, covering the entire sword. When Fang Chen turned it over, he saw two ancient characters engraved on the other side: "Heavenly Remnant."

Fang Chen felt the hilt rapidly grow hotter. He wanted to let go, but his hand seemed glued to it. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake it off.

"So hot, so hot, ah..."

Fang Chen was in agony and wanted to scream, yet he feared his cries would draw others over.

If he made a sound and attracted someone who snatched the sword away, he would suffer a huge loss.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. The sword slowly turned red, then melted into a lump of liquid that gradually seeped into his palm.

He stared at his palm and found a small black sword there, like a tattoo. Strange rune patterns covered it as well, giving off a faint black glow.

A few breaths later, the sword mark in his palm slowly vanished, yet Fang Chen could still sense its presence.

"It disappeared?"

What had happened before his eyes was simply too miraculous for Fang Chen.

The sword had entered his body. But how was he supposed to use it when he wanted to?

Just then, his palm trembled slightly. A flash of black light appeared, and the Heavenly Remnant Sword was in his hand. Moreover, he felt that it had become much lighter—now it weighed only around ten jin, ten times lighter than before.

"Huh? How miraculous!"

Fang Chen froze for a moment. He had not expected the Heavenly Remnant Sword not only to emerge on its own, but to become lighter as well.

"Go back!"

With a thought, the Heavenly Remnant Sword immediately vanished and returned to his palm.

"Come out!"

With another thought, the Heavenly Remnant Sword immediately appeared again.

"Go back, come out!"

Fang Chen kept chanting silently in his heart. The Heavenly Remnant Sword appeared, then was taken back again.

"This feels awesome!"

Fang Chen stared at the Heavenly Remnant Sword in his hand, frowning as he said, "But what exactly are you good for? There isn't even an old grandpa's soul inside you."

Although the Heavenly Remnant Sword looked somewhat extraordinary, he still had no spiritual roots.

Without spiritual roots, he could not cultivate. Even with this sword in hand, his strength would not increase by much.

"Forget it. I won't worry about that for now. I'll study it slowly in the future. This Heavenly Remnant Sword looks pretty sharp—using it to cut Exquisite Bamboo should be easier!"

Fang Chen walked up to an Exquisite Bamboo stalk and swung the Heavenly Remnant Sword down at it.

Crack!

The Heavenly Remnant Sword struck the bamboo and immediately carved a deep gash into the Exquisite Bamboo.

Buzz!

At the same time, Fang Chen felt a cool current enter his palm through the hilt, then surge through his meridians and spread throughout his body, making him feel incomparably comfortable.

The current was very faint and vanished in almost a single breath.

"What's going on?"

Fang Chen's gaze sharpened slightly as he swung his sword at the bamboo again.

Clang!

The Heavenly Remnant Sword chopped off another piece of bamboo. The hilt trembled slightly, and another cool current flowed from his palm through his entire body.

Fang Chen swung the Heavenly Remnant Sword, repeatedly chopping at the Exquisite Bamboo.

The cool currents pouring into his body from the hilt came in an unbroken stream.

The moment he stopped, however, that current immediately disappeared.

Fang Chen stared at the Heavenly Remnant Sword and murmured, "Could it be that only by chopping things can I obtain that mysterious stream of energy? If so, I wonder whether chopping rocks would work?"

Fang Chen raised his head and glanced around, his gaze settling on a large boulder not far away.

The boulder was as tall as a person, covered in all kinds of moss and weeds.

Holding the Heavenly Remnant Sword, he walked up to the boulder and slashed at it.

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere. The Heavenly Remnant Sword was knocked back by the powerful recoil, and Fang Chen immediately felt a warm current burrow from the hilt into his palm before surging through his entire body. His body felt pleasantly warm.

"It worked? But why is the current entering my palm hot when I strike a rock?"

Fang Chen frowned slightly, then swung his sword at the dirt before him.

Buzz!

The Heavenly Remnant Sword trembled faintly, and a thin, weak current also entered his palm. This current was far weaker than the one he had gained from chopping the rock, neither cold nor hot.

"There are gains from chopping the ground too!"

Fang Chen's eyes brightened slightly. He was now completely certain that as long as he used the Heavenly Remnant Sword to chop something, he could absorb mysterious energy from it.

Although the energy he absorbed from the Heavenly Remnant Sword each time was very little, drops of water could wear through stone. As long as he persisted, with each passing day and month, he would continue growing stronger.

He had no spiritual roots. For now, this was the only way he could increase his strength.

He stared at the Heavenly Remnant Sword, a faint gleam flickering in his eyes as he murmured, "I wonder what I'd gain if I used this sword to chop Demonic Beasts and people?"

Right now, Fang Chen truly wanted to find someone to chop once, but unfortunately, there was no one around.

Even if there had been people nearby, he would not have dared to actually go over and chop them. After all, he was still a noob. Going out to chop people now would be nothing but seeking his own death.

"I'd better chop bamboo first. That's safer!"

Fang Chen made up his mind. As long as he kept his head down and developed in obscurity, one day he would ride immortals and crush saints beneath him.

Although chopping rocks also brought rewards, the mysterious energy gained from rocks made him unbearably feverish and drenched in sweat. The energy gained from chopping bamboo, however, left him feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

And chopping bamboo could earn him money too. One bamboo stalk earned one tael of silver—a truly enormous profit for Fang Chen.

Opportunities like this did not come around whenever one wanted.

Therefore, his best choice for now was to chop bamboo.

Holding the Heavenly Remnant Sword, he walked up to the Exquisite Bamboo and continued chopping.