The Sword Emerges

"Let go of me! You're not the one I'm waiting for!"

When the voice sounded again, Shen Zhou finally understood. His eyes lit up as he looked at the iron sword. "You're the one talking? You're the Sword Spirit!"

"Now that you know it's me, why haven't you let go?"

The Sword Spirit's voice held a hint of haughtiness, as if she were a little girl who hadn't grown up yet.

Shen Zhou smiled, looking rather pleased. "Letting go isn't happening. From now on, you're coming with me."

"Impossible. I'm staying here to wait for my master."

"Hasn't your master already died?"

"He'll be reincarnated!"

"He can be reincarnated after dying? Is he that awesome?"

"Hmph, that's nothing. My master was once peerless, sweeping through his entire era. How would a little brat like you understand?"

"A thousand years have passed. If he could be reincarnated, he would've shown up long ago. How about you come with me until he does?"

"No! I'm waiting for my master. I won't go with you!"

"Is there really no room for negotiation?"

"Hmph! Absolutely not!"

Seeing that the Sword Spirit was as stubborn as a turtle clamping down on a scale, Shen Zhou decided to use force.

Without another word, he increased the strength in his grip.

With a loud bang, the black qi barrier finally gave way and collapsed.

With its protection gone, the huge boulder in which the iron sword was embedded shattered first. Then a brilliant beam shot straight into the sky, illuminating the heavens, as if a Divine Weapon were announcing its return to the world.

But in truth, the Sword Spirit was now doing everything she could to resist Shen Zhou's control, her energy having erupted to its limit.

"Ah! What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Stop struggling. I've already pulled you out. From now on, you're mine."

"In your dreams! You used such a brutish method to pull me out. Even if you get me, you'll never get my heart. I won't guide your cultivation, either. Hmph!"

"Oh, that's fine. I only need you. You can store things for me when I need it. As for whether you guide me or not, I don't care."

"You..."

The Sword Spirit had no answer for someone like Shen Zhou. She could only struggle nonstop, hoping to escape his control. But beneath the absolute power of the Entry, even a Divine King's Weapon had to bow its head.

"Quit moving. If you don't behave, I'll suppress you in a latrine for a thousand years. Then, even if your master really is reincarnated, you can forget about seeing him!"

"You wouldn't dare..."

The Sword Spirit panicked in an instant, her voice betraying more bluster than confidence.

Seeing that his threat had worked, Shen Zhou pressed harder. "Not only will I suppress you in a latrine, I'll take a dump there every day. Then, even if your master finds you, he'll be disgusted and refuse to take you back!"

"You... you..."

Images flashed through the Sword Spirit's mind, and she was so frightened that her voice trembled. Then she let out a pitiful little hum, and her resistance gradually weakened.

In the end, the strange phenomenon vanished completely, and the radiance on the sword drew back into its blade. What appeared before Shen Zhou was a sword a little longer than an ordinary one, its entire blade pitch-black. At a glance, one might even mistake it for a fire poker.

"Ugly!"

Holding the Taixuan Sword, Shen Zhou gave his verdict. He couldn't say he approved of its appearance, but it felt quite comfortable in his hand.

More importantly, its blade was entirely black, with a sturdy look that told anyone with a discerning eye that the sword might be ugly, but it could take a beating. It wouldn't snap after a couple of strikes.

That was what pleased Shen Zhou most.

"You... Hmph!"

The Sword Spirit had wanted to explain that the sword had been forged from more than a dozen special materials mixed with Ink Dragon Bone, which was why it had that color. But then she remembered that she and Shen Zhou were at odds, so she fell silent and expressed her displeasure with a cold hum instead.

Shen Zhou didn't take it to heart. She's just a little girl. How hard can it be to handle her...

The exchange between Shen Zhou and the Sword Spirit seemed to take a long time, but it had lasted only a few breaths.

Ever since the boulder shattered and the Taixuan Sword emerged, the crowd below had been left in a daze.

No one believed Shen Zhou would succeed in drawing the sword, but now the facts had slapped them in the face.

In particular, when the Taixuan Sword's radiance withdrew and its sharpness was concealed, everyone took it as a sign that the sword had already acknowledged its master.

In an instant, the crowd erupted.

"Holy crap, the Qin Family Iron Sword really was pulled out! Am I seeing things?"

"That kid is actually the Qin Family's 'Chosen One'? How is that possible..."

"'When the Taixuan Sword emerges, the Qin Family will rise again'... Could the Qin Family really be making a comeback?"

Among the crowd, the man surnamed Chu stared at the platform, dumbfounded. "That kid really pulled it out?"

At the same time, at the Qin Family estate, several miles away.

In a garden, a group of young men and women had gathered, chatting among themselves.

As they talked, the subject naturally turned to the major event their family had arranged in the city: the sword-drawing contest to choose a husband.

After someone brought it up, another couldn't help sighing. "Half a month has passed, and still no one has managed to pull out our ancestor's Taixuan Sword. Could it be that our Qin Family really has no hope of revival?"

At that, someone shook their head. "What does it matter whether the sword gets pulled out or not? We don't even know if our ancestor's prophecy is true. Truth be told, we only have ourselves to blame for being useless. We can't restore the Qin Family's reputation, and now we're putting Sister Mingyue's happiness on the line over something we can't even verify. That's our greatest humiliation."

As they spoke, everyone's eyes turned involuntarily toward a young woman standing alone in a corner of the garden.

On closer inspection, she was in the prime of youth, with a graceful figure and peerless beauty. Though she stood among the flowers, none could hide her striking appearance.

She did, however, have a rather cool air about her, giving the impression that she kept people at arm's length. Even her own family found it difficult to approach her.

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The young woman was none other than Qin Mingyue, hailed as Flying Bird City's "number-one beauty." She was the heroine of the sword-drawing contest and the Qin Family's treasured jewel.

Hearing everyone mention her, Qin Mingyue furrowed her brows slightly, then spoke. "I don't care what the family thinks. I, Qin Mingyue, am devoted to martial arts and seek only the pinnacle of the martial path. If anyone wants to marry me, they'll have to ask my sword whether it agrees!"

Hearing how resolute she sounded, the young men exchanged glances.

As the atmosphere began to grow chilly, someone tried to smooth things over. "Hey, there's no need to worry yet. The sword hasn't been pulled out, after all. But it's almost the end of the month, when we'll negotiate with the Xu Family over the shares in the Fire Crystal mines north of the city. We lost seven matches in a row last year and ended up with just thirty percent. Because of that, the resources each of our family's disciples receive every month have dropped considerably.

"I hear the Xu Family is ambitious this year. Xu Baxia even let it be known in private that he plans to make sure we don't even get thirty percent.

"If that really happens, life will only get harder for our Qin Family."

At that, the Qin Family disciples all looked troubled.

When it came to a contest between aristocratic families, strength mattered most.

And strength was built from resources.

Although the Qin Family still stood among the second-rate lineages, the gap between the strength of its disciples and that of first-rate lineages was immense.

Take the younger generation's prodigies, for example. The Xu Family's Xu Baxia was still young, yet people had been saying since the middle of this year that he had already broken through to the Transformation Yuan Fifth Realm. Among his peers in Flying Bird City, few could hope to match him.

As for the Qin Family's disciples, the most outstanding was Qin Mingyue. She had no lack of talent, but had only just broken through to the Transformation Yuan Second Realm.

Although she was young and still had potential, it would likely take her years to catch up to a prodigy like Xu Baxia.

But the Qin Family could no longer afford to wait. Otherwise, they wouldn't have pinned their hopes on their ancestor's Taixuan Sword.

Just as everyone was weighed down by their worries, a family servant came hurrying from the distance. He looked panicked, his steps unsteady, clearly carrying urgent news.

Seeing him, someone frowned and stopped him. "Why are you rushing around like that? What happened?"

The servant hurriedly shouted, "Young masters, young ladies, something huge has happened! Someone at the martial hall succeeded in drawing the sword!"

"What? What did you say?"

Everyone found it hard to believe and asked again.

The servant had no choice but to raise his voice and shout again. "Our ancestor's Divine Weapon, the Taixuan Sword, has been pulled out!"

This time, everyone heard him loud and clear.

In an instant, every face changed.

In the garden, Qin Mingyue's body trembled, disbelief showing in her eyes.

Had their ancestor's Divine Weapon really been pulled out?

In front of Qin's Martial Hall.

On the platform.

Shen Zhou had only just gotten a firm grip on the Taixuan Sword, and hadn't even had time to test whether he could store it inside his body, when more than a dozen figures suddenly leaped onto the platform. In an instant, they surrounded him.

A scar-faced man stepped forward first, his expression vicious. "Kid, this is a Divine King's Weapon. How could a little brat like you be worthy of owning it? Hand it over, now!"

Another man with a shaved head recited a Buddhist prayer and advised him, "Little benefactor, a Divine King's Weapon is steeped in killing intent. You're still young and can't handle it. Let this poor monk keep it for you."

On the other side, an ugly old woman holding a ghost-head cane blocked Shen Zhou's retreat. She cackled. "Why are you being so polite to a little brat? Hey, kid, hand over the sword, or I'll refine you into a ghost corpse and make you wish you were dead!"

The other martial artists also spoke up, all threatening Shen Zhou and demanding that he hand over the Taixuan Sword.

Seeing this, Shen Zhou was stunned for a moment, then laughed in disbelief. "You shameless bunch. You couldn't pull out the sword yourselves, so now you're trying to rob me? You've lived this long, and all that time went to waste—you might as well have lived like dogs."

"Kid, you're asking for death!"

Ghost Granny's expression turned vicious. She raised the ghost-head cane in her hand and brought it crashing down toward Shen Zhou.

Whoosh, whoosh...

The cane came down with tremendous force, its howl like a wailing ghost, chilling the soul.

As it happened, Shen Zhou now had the Taixuan Sword in hand and was at the peak of his power. He wanted to test the might of this Divine King's Weapon, so the corner of his mouth lifted as he swept his sword out. "You're the one asking for death!"

A jet-black sword light swept forth like ink wash. Its overwhelming power surged like a tidal wave, crashing toward her in an instant.

Crack!

A string of sharp explosions rang out.

The moment the two weapons met, the old woman shrieked. Her ghost-head cane snapped on the spot, and then she was swept off the platform like a sack, blood splattering across the ground.

A single strike!

Everyone else on the platform stared in a daze.

The old woman was a ghost cultivator, a notorious figure in the evil path, with no shortage of strength. Yet she'd been defeated in a single exchange. Was that kid really so powerful?

No one believed it.

But if it wasn't the kid's own strength, then it could only be...

Their gazes slowly shifted downward, finally landing on the Taixuan Sword in Shen Zhou's hand.

Someone's expression changed at once, then he cried out in delight. "That's right, it's a Divine King's Weapon. I never imagined it could have such power even in the hands of a little brat. If I could get it, then even if the Heavenly Firmament stood before me, what could it do?"

The Buddhist monk dropped his pretense, too. He stepped forward, his face murderous and his killing intent surging. "The Divine King's Weapon belongs to me! Anyone who dares to fight me for it will die!"

"Grab it!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

The people on the platform surged toward Shen Zhou with bloodshot eyes, like sharks that had smelled blood.

Shen Zhou was slightly taken aback.

They had actually mistaken the power of his Entry for the Black Sword Strip's might. They were truly blinded by greed, with eyes but no vision.

"So be it. I'll use you lot to test the sword today. Let's see just how strong this Divine King's Weapon can make me!"

Shen Zhou gave the long sword a shake, his spirit soaring. His gaze sharpened, as though he looked down on all beneath heaven.

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