Elven Sword Bard and the Seven-Day Prophecy

In the end, Bai Xiaowen shook his head and handed the book, "The Sun God’s Scepter," to another waiting apprentice.

The apprentice put a white label on the book, indicating that it had been read and was worthless.

This book is a completely fabricated story, claiming that the son of the Sun God eventually threw the divine bow into the Nether River... but in the scene Bai Xiaowen recorded, the divine bow was clearly in the valley cathedral after a long passageway.

Bai Xiaowen then picked up the second book and began to read it. A few minutes later, the book was also marked with a white tag.

Then came the third book, the fourth book...

The seventh book, "The Song of Vanlor," was labeled with a red tag and placed separately.

In Bai Xiaowen's reading, she found that the records in this book were quite plausible.

Vanlor was a young nobleman, kind-hearted and helpful. By chance, he joined a famous sect at the time— the Sun God Church, whose aim was to radiate light and heat like the sun, illuminating all things and ultimately creating a friendly world where everyone helps each other.

The Sun God Church is not a purely benevolent sect; its doctrines also have a cruel side, namely, the hatred of darkness and the contempt for selfishness. Believers are to use the light and flames bestowed by the Sun God to purify all "selfish people who have fallen into darkness and evil."

The book mentions that the Sun God Church has a "Inheritance Grounds," where the most devout believers can enter and, under the guidance of priests, receive the favor and blessings of the Sun God Apollo.

Bai Xiaowen didn't care about Vanlor's love and hate; he only saw that Vanlor had passed the test of the Dark Road, entered the Inheritance Grounds, and obtained Apollo’s Whisper Bow.

The point that aligns with the accompanying imagery is the "Dark Road." It's reasonable to interpret the valley in the image Inheritance Grounds, and the church as a building of the Sun God Church —therefore, Bai Xiaowen left this book behind.

This does not mean that Bai Xiaowen is completely convinced of the book. He will also refer to other books and documents about the Apollo’s Whisper, and make a prediction after careful consideration.

After all, these seven prophecies are related to the final design and quality of his "Doom Bracelet".

Bai Xiaowen continued flipping through the eighth book. He flipped through it faster and faster, much to the surprise of the apprentices watching curiously.

At this reading speed, it would be difficult to even skim through the text, right? Is it really useful? Most of the apprentices around them had this thought.

What they didn't know was that Bai Xiaowen's Super Brain's reading speed couldn't be judged by ordinary standards. If these books weren't in Latin, but in Bai Xiaowen's native language, Chinese, his reading speed could double.

Upon entering the dimensional world, the Latin ability acquired by spending 100 Psionic Points is ultimately different from one's native language. Although it is not obvious in ordinary communication, this difference becomes more apparent when reading extensively.

Even so, before sunset, he still managed to browse through all thirty-odd books piled on his desk.

Besides the seventh book, two other books were marked with red strips and placed separately.

As dusk fell and the city gates rang to close, Camelot Queen arrived at the Royal Library and invited Bai Xiaowen to dinner.

During the gathering, Camelot Queen inevitably inquired about the progress of the prophecy.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will definitely predict the whereabouts of the Seven Sacred Artifacts within seven days." Bai Xiaowen made a solemn pledge. In fact, the deadline for his mission, "The Prophet's Mission," was exactly seven days, which was also the time limit for his stay.

This guarantee was dispensable to Bai Xiaowen.

Camelot Queen breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, tell me what you need, and I will do my best to fulfill it."

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "I don't have anything else, but my sister likes fencing. Could Your Majesty help her find a renowned instructor to give her some pointers?"

Camelot Queen's request for Bai Xiaowen was not surprising; Li Shuyi's combat prowess during the battle in the Shadow Labyrinth was still fresh in her memory. She readily replied, "No problem. Although our Kingdom of Camelot is known as the land of mages, we still have skilled swordsmen."

The Queen gave an order to a nearby attendant, who quickly excused himself. A moment later, a tall, beautiful woman dressed in soft armor entered.

This beautiful woman has a head of leaf-green hair and a pair of pointed ears, which reveals her identity as an Elves.

Through his Insight, Bai Xiaowen discovered that the female Elves Oona, an 8th-level Boss Tier, and her class was "Sword Bard".

Camelot Queen introduced both parties and then said, "Oona is the most outstanding swordswoman in the Kingdom of Camelot and the royal swordsmanship instructor. Her swordsmanship is completely different from that of those reckless warriors; it possesses an elegant beauty. Oona, may you demonstrate your skills to Prophet Dio?"

The female Elven Sword Bard Oona had a hint of arrogance in her expression, but since she was facing a prophet certified by the queen, she still showed basic respect.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Oona also had a pair of slender swords at her waist. She first drew one of them, held it upright between her eyebrows, and struck a simple swordsman's salute before beginning her "performance."

He took a step forward and thrust, then sheathed his sword and thrust again—a series of movements that flowed smoothly and effortlessly.

Bai Xiaowen squinted as she spoke with Li Shuyi in the Team Channel.

"Your swordsmanship talent surpasses mine; have you figured out any tricks of the trade?"

Li Shuyi shook her head slightly and replied through the Team Channel, "I can only see that she sheathed her sword very quickly, which makes her less vulnerable. However, this should be considered an advantage brought by her high agility, not a sign of superior swordsmanship."

Oona noticed Li Shuyi's slight head-shaking gesture.

Oona's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. As she practiced her swordsmanship again, her wrist trembled slightly, and the tip of her rapier vibrated rapidly, creating a flurry of sword flowers. The tip resembled the raised head of a venomous snake, ready to strike at any moment.

Li Shuyi's eyes widened slightly, a look of amazement appearing on her small face. She said through the Team Channel, "This move is quite impressive. The sword tip is aimed at several of the opponent's vital points, making it difficult for them to dodge, while also making it easier to deliver Vital Strike."

Bai Xiaowen squinted. "Don't express your opinion yet."

Although Bai Xiaowen also thought Oona's move was impressive, he didn't believe it was Oona trump card— Oona was wearing two swords but only performing One-Handed Swordsmanship, which was clearly just fooling people.

This time, it was Bai Xiaowen's turn to shake his head, and he even showed a perfectly timed expression of dissatisfaction on his face.

The female Elves, Oona, who had been carefully observing the two siblings, felt an even stronger urge to act. She drew another rapier with her other hand and lightly crossed the two swords.

Camelot Queen lit up with excitement. "Instructor Oona's Sword Chant technique is about to be revealed."

With a Pure Note sound, Oona actually flicked her wrist and threw a sword.

The rapier, with its openwork calyx, spun in the air and flew back into Oona's hand. Using the rapier as a spinning blade itself represents a sophisticated technique of force application.

However, this was just the beginning. As Oona caught the flying rapier, she immediately threw a second sword, this time even more powerful. When the rapier returned, it actually thrust twice in mid-air, as if an invisible hand was controlling it.

Then came the third throw of the sword, during which the rapier thrust three times in mid-air.

Even Bai Xiaowen could see how formidable she was. As Oona threw her rapier, she simultaneously gripped her other sword and continued her thrusting attacks, as if facing an invisible enemy. Most importantly, the thrown rapier, upon its return, also fiercely attacked the enemy's back.

"This... isn't this a flying sword?"

Bai Xiaowen was somewhat shocked. In ancient China fantasy novels, those sword immortals who traveled the world with their swords all possessed the unique skill of flying swords, capable of taking a person's head from a thousand miles away. Oona's Sword Chant was actually somewhat similar to the technique of flying swords, carrying a certain mystical flavor.

The appearance of such a skill in a plane of Awakeners is certainly astonishing—in Bai Xiaowen's existing knowledge, such skills would only appear in the Swordsman plane at least at the level of Evolver.

Of course, Oona's Sword Chant and real flying swords should be very different. Although Bai Xiaowen had never been to the Xianxia world, he knew from his own assumptions that the two could not be equated.

After Oona's performance, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi applauded simultaneously.

A smug smile flashed across Oona's face, before she returned to her aloof demeanor.

"Well, isn't Oona's swordsmanship amazing?" Camelot Queen said with a smile. "She'll definitely be able to teach Miss Charlotte without any problems."

Bai Xiaowen nodded. "If we could learn the ultimate Sword Chant technique, that would be excellent."

Oona shook her head. "Prophet Dio, Sword Chant is Elves skill of the elves; humans could never learn it."

In fact, Bai Xiaowen didn't want Li Shuyi to spend any effort learning Sword Chant. This kind of swordsmanship is flashy, but how much practical value does it really have? That's really debatable. In Bai Xiaowen's opinion, this kind of swordsmanship is more suitable for performance.

The kind of swordsmanship that Ahan uses—controlling the rhythm of the battle, coordinating swordsmanship with footwork, and gaining the upper hand step by step—is the truly effective.

Unfortunately Ahan had important matters to attend to, and he was skilled with a two-handed greatsword, which differed from Li Shuyi's dual-sword style, so he couldn't learn it.

Bai Xiaowen conceded, saying, "Since it's an Elvenkind secret technique, we shouldn't ask for it. However, could you teach Charlotte that sword-shaking technique that Instructor Oona demonstrated earlier?"

"Sword shaking?" Oona thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and said, "You mean the technique of vibrating the wrist, right? Many skilled swordsmen have this skill, and I can teach it. However, whether you can learn it depends on your talent."

"What if you learn it within seven days?" Bai Xiaowen asked again.

"Why within seven days?" Camelot Queen, somewhat puzzled.

"Well, the Prophecy Tablet guided me. After making the prophecy of the Seven Sacred Artifacts, there are other things to do, so I can only stay here for seven days," Bai Xiaowen said. "As part of the prophecy, Charlotte will also accompany me."

This is the advantage of being a prophet: you can make things up without the Spirit Realm questioning you.

"That's a bit of a shame. I had originally planned for you to stay in Camelot for a while," the Queen said with some regret.

The swordsmanship instructor, Oona, frowned and said, "Seven days is too short. I don't think she can learn anything." She pointed at Li Shuyi.

"Charlotte has a very high talent for swordsmanship," Bai Xiaowen said.

Oona was still frowning, but perhaps out of respect for the Prophet, she reluctantly said, "Let her demonstrate it for us."

Li Shuyi and Bai Xiaowen exchanged a glance, stood up, and drew their twin swords. "Please enlighten us, Ms. Oona."

"Wait a minute." Bai Xiaowen raised his hand and summoned the Shadow Assassin. "Charlotte's swordsmanship is more geared towards close combat, and she can unleash greater power when fighting enemies."

Oona seemed somewhat skeptical.

However, after Li Shuyi's battle with the Shadow Assassin began, her expression gradually changed, and her initial contempt turned into a hint of caution.

Li Shuyi was naturally dominating the Shadow Assassin. When Bai Xiaowen was controlling the game, he intentionally let Li Shuyi showcase her strengths. The first few sword strikes were basically delivered head-on by the Shadow Assassin without dodging or avoiding, which helped Li Shuyi quickly stack her passive status.

After 10 effective attacks, Li Shuyi's dual passive abilities were maximized. She thrust out her two swords alternately, like a windmill, dazzling the eye.

"That's fine," Oona nodded, giving Li Shuyi a careful look. "You are a very talented swordsman. Perhaps you can learn some of the essence of swordsmanship in just seven days."

Li Shuyi quickly expressed her gratitude.

Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief and put away the battered Shadow Assassin. Li Shuyi's output ability was exceptionally strong now; this sparring match almost cost the Shadow Assassin her life, even with the Shadow Assassin having 50% physical damage reduction.

In the following days, Bai Xiaowen consulted materials in the library and compared them with the blurry images on the Prophecy Tablet, gradually eliminating unfounded legends. The truth about the Seven Sacred Artifacts gradually came to light.

Under Instructor Oona's guidance, Li Shuyi diligently studied swordsmanship. According to Li Shuyi, her Swordsmanship Specialty was improving very rapidly, already approaching level 7. Such Battle Specialty was truly rare for Li Shuyi's personal level.

On the seventh day, Bai Xiaowen finally made the prophecy of the Seven Sacred Artifacts —in the history of the Black Tide Continent, this prophecy is known as the "Seven-Day Prophecy."

The prophecy could not, of course, depict the scene on the stone tablet, but Bai Xiaowen cleverly used other methods to replace it.

For example, Bai Xiaowen's prophecy regarding the "Apollo’s Whisper" bow is:

Northwest of Kester City, beneath the cliff, find the cave. Raise your torch to light the way. Courage, mercy, hope, vision... pass the trials of the inheritors and enter the final sanctuary. Beware, the traitor of the Sun God awaits you.