"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
At the sight of the four treasured swords on the ground, the four girls froze for a moment. Then they exchanged glances, and each quickly spotted a flicker of delight in the others' eyes.
Without another word, none of them stood on ceremony. They bent down in unspoken unison, each hurriedly snatching up the sword nearest to her and holding it in her arms for a careful inspection.
The four longswords all looked different, yet they shared certain traits: their blades were ancient and unadorned, their patterns deep and intricate, and the seal-script inscriptions were unlike anything they had ever seen. They felt heavy in the hand, but not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power could be sensed from them. Even pouring spiritual power into them did nothing, as though they were merely four ordinary lumps of iron.
"..."
Still unwilling to give up, Daiyu tried to probe the sword with her spiritual power, but it vanished within like a clay ox sinking into the sea, without any response whatsoever.
"..."
Tanchun tried communicating with it through her divine sense, but it was just like a stone sinking into the ocean—there was no reply at all.
"..."
"..."
As for Zijuan and Xueyan, there was even less to say. They tried tinkering with their swords as well, but in the end they could only look at each other, having no idea what was so wondrous about the treasured swords in their arms.
"Master?"
At last, after examining it for a while, Daiyu had no choice but to raise her head, her eyes filled with confusion.
"These four swords..."
"What is their origin?"
"Why is there no response at all when we probe them with spiritual power and divine sense?"
Tanchun hurriedly nodded beside her, then added: