Blood Recognition, Martial Soul Dragon Slaying Saber

"Let's give it a try!" Su Yan said, picking up the blade and stabbing it straight through the carriage.

Ah Rou was even more excited: "I'll be the referee! Both sides ready, three, two, one!"

"All of you, quiet down!" Bibi Dong barked in a low voice.

The three of them shrank their necks like mice meeting a cat and fell silent.

Su Yan and Tang Chi didn't dare say a word—one tossed the blade into his belt, the other withdrew his martial soul.

Ah Rou crossed her arms and pouted: "If we don't try it, those five Gold Soul Coins are wasted. Could've bought a lot of carrots."

"New Divine Land," Bibi Dong said faintly. Ah Rou quickly covered her mouth, her lively eyes darting around.

Bibi Dong continued: "Back to the Martial Soul Hall. We'll test it at the training ground."

Half a day later, at the Notting City Martial Soul Hall training ground.

"Hey, why are you all running so fast? Where are you going?"

"Yun Tao, don't you know? The Holy Maiden bought a Dragon-Slaying Treasure Blade. Some kid's going to test his martial soul against it at the training ground."

"Si Si, let's go too. Walk slowly, be careful of the one in your belly."

"I know, I know. You say it a hundred times, a thousand times a day. My ears are calloused."

Under the blazing sun, the Dragon-Slaying Treasure Blade gleamed with dazzling light, its edge so brilliant it was almost impossible to look at directly.

Su Yan raised the blade high, standing on one side in solemn readiness.

Tang Chi gripped the Thunderclap Hammer with both hands, poised on the opposite side, ready to strike.

In the middle, Ah Rou lifted a flag high and swung it down fiercely: "First round, begin!"

The two charged toward each other—no techniques, no soul skills, just point against point, Dragon-Slaying Blade against Thunderclap Hammer, a head-on collision of brute force.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade could cut through iron like mud.

The Thunderclap Hammer was as hard as mystic iron.

Neither gave an inch.

Clang!

Sparks burst directly from the training ground.

Su Yan was startled, then overjoyed: "Again!"

Tang Chi felt his soul power trembling and his blood boiling: "Come!"

Blade and hammer clashed again in plain, unadorned impact.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two collided with raw strength, sparks blooming like fireworks.

"Got to say, this blade really has something!"

"A blade facing a hammer should normally run, but after this many strikes, there's not even a nick."

"On the hammer's side, though, looks like a chunk's missing."

Bibi Dong was a bit surprised too. This Dragon-Slaying Blade actually had some merit. Too bad it wasn't a martial soul, or it could rank among the top artifact souls.

The two exchanged at least hundreds of blows in the training ground, their stamina nearly spent.

"Tang Chi."

"Su Yan."

"One last strike!" they said in unison.

Blade and hammer met for the final time. The Thunderclap Hammer dissolved into soul power and vanished. The Dragon-Slaying Blade flew from Su Yan's hand, trailing a line of blood, and dissipated into a streak of light in midair.

The two lay on the ground, utterly exhausted.

"Where's the blade?"

"Didn't you see it turn into light?"

"Too bad. That blade was good."

With the excitement over, the onlookers scattered.

Zhu Zhuqing, holding Pikachu, landed beside Su Yan with a soft thud. Seeing his palm ground raw and bloody, she felt an indescribable ache: "I told you, this blade bites the hand!"

Su Yan grinned foolishly.

"The blade's gone, and you're still laughing," Bibi Dong said, crouching down to sprinkle the Martial Soul Hall's special healing powder on his wound.

"The Dragon-Slaying Blade is still here!" Su Yan raised his right hand and said softly, "Martial soul, Dragon-Slaying Blade."

The blade that had vanished as a streak of light reappeared in Su Yan's hand.

The entire hall fell silent, not a single sound.

Suddenly, Bibi Dong gasped, and Zhu Zhuqing gasped too.

Ah Rou leaned in to look and gasped as well.

Tang Chi lay on the ground, exclaiming in shock for some unknown reason.

Xue Ke sat far away in her wheelchair, also exclaiming in shock for some unknown reason.

"This..." Bibi Dong was momentarily at a loss for words.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade turning into a Martial Soul directly overturned all the knowledge about Martial Souls she had accumulated over so many years.

Ah Rou, even more curious, grabbed the Dragon-Slaying Blade and ran her delicate hand back and forth over it: "It really is a Martial Soul!"

With an uncanny mutual understanding, the group suddenly fell silent. Bibi Dong carried Su Yan, Ah Rou carried Tang Chi, and Zhu Zhuqing, with Pikachu on her shoulder, pushed Xue Ke into Bibi Dong's room.

Soon, the room took on the posture of the Six Great Sects Sieging Bright Summit, all demanding that Su Yan hand over the Dragon-Slaying Treasure Blade.

With no other choice, Su Yan extended his right hand and released the Dragon-Slaying Blade.

"Xiao Yan, do you know something?" Bibi Dong asked.

"If you know something, speak up now, or you won't get any carrots!" Ah Rou chimed in.

"Yan-ge." Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes fixed on him.

"Su Yan, you little brat, come clean!" Tang Chi's face was full of envy.

"Su Yan-gege, is there anything else that can turn into a Martial Soul?" Xue Ke asked curiously.

"Pika, pika, pika!" Pikachu waved its little golden paw.

Su Yan stood in the middle, looking troubled: "I don't know. I really don't know."

He suddenly remembered he still had half a scroll of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber. He took out the bamboo scroll and unrolled it completely.

It was nothing more than a story on it.

A tale of the Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun snatching the Dragon-Slaying Blade, and before Lion Tower, seeing Cao Mengde harassing You Erjie. He drew his blade to help, only to be blocked by a Nine-Tooth Rake.

Aside from making Su Yan feel like he had gone to a fake school in his past life, read fake books, and was a nine-hole fish, it was utterly useless.

Su Yan recalled the scene at the time and murmured: "Maybe it's blood recognition?"

Then he took out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

The card showed no change, and even seemed somewhat disdainful.

"That path doesn't work either. Maybe the Dragon-Slaying Blade needs a blood drop to recognize its master," Su Yan said.

Seeing that this Martial Soul was indeed peculiar but had no leads, the group could only give up and return to their own places to rest.

Before leaving, Ah Rou poked Su Yan's shoulder and said: "If you find out how to get a Carrot Martial Soul, you absolutely must tell me."

Su Yan nodded. If he could actually find it.

To reward them for completing their training, Bibi Dong specially gave them a week off.

Su Yan and Tang Chi returned to the village for a visit.

Zhu Zhuqing took Pikachu and Xue Ke to stroll around Notting City.

Bibi Dong, fulfilling her promise to Ah Rou, went with her to New Divine Land and ate carrots for a full five days. Five days!

As the assembly time approached, Su Yan returned early to the Notting City Martial Soul Hall.

The front of the Martial Soul Hall was unusually lively. A group of commoners in coarse cloth sat at the entrance, shouting loudly: "The Martial Soul Hall bullies the common people!"

"The Martial Soul Hall is a scam!"

"The Martial Soul Hall does nothing!"

The doors of the Martial Soul Hall opened, and a young man hurried out: "Everyone, quiet down. I am the Martial Soul Hall Enforcer, Su Yuntao. If you have any demands, you can tell me."

"Refund all our hard-earned money!"

"Arrest the Martial Soul Hall member who sold the Strength Pills!"

"Cure all the aftereffects in the children who took the Strength Pills!"

The crowd jabbered on, all their words tangled together.

"Quiet!" Su Yuntao pressed down the crowd with his soul power. "Pick a representative to speak with me!"

The commoners all looked toward an old man.

He stepped forward, leaning on his cane: "Young man, our demands are simple. First, refund the money. Second, arrest the culprit. Third, cure the sick."

Su Yuntao asked: "Old sir, could you briefly explain what happened?"

The old man slammed his cane hard against the ground, his anger flaring up. Grinding his teeth, he said: "A year ago, a man claimed to be from the Martial Soul Hall and came peddling Strength Pills made by the Hall. One pill clears the mind and refreshes the spirit, two pills banish fatigue forever, and three pills guarantee a hundred percent chance of awakening soul power."

"I spent the money and bought them for my grandson. Not only did he not get soul power, but the child now has a constant high fever and is delirious. The doctors have seen him, but it's useless. We're very anxious too!"

"Last year, I came here. The Enforcer registered the case, but it's never been solved."

"Now so many more people have been cheated. We've come to demand an explanation from the Martial Soul Hall, and we want compensation!"