Strange Treasure

Jia Yi gently stroked the box for a moment, then turned and handed it to Bai Yang. "Open it and take a look."

Bai Yang accepted it respectfully at once. The moment the box touched his hands, he could tell it had some heft to it.

The entire box was made of a kind of wood he didn't recognize, and its lacquered finish was exquisitely crafted.

Even though he knew nothing about such things, he could tell the box alone was worth a fortune. It was practically a work of art.

He examined it closely. At the very bottom of the front was a line of writing:

"Now that you've entered Mount Hua, why not practice the sword? —Linghu Yi"

Bai Yang was utterly stunned. All at once, phrases like "Cleave Mount Hua with a Single Strike," "Swordplay Debate at Mount Hua," and "The Sword Emerges from Mount Hua" sprang into his mind.

And that "Linghu Yi"—didn't the name feel way too familiar?

Holding the wooden box, Bai Yang could feel with his fingers that there was writing on the back, too.

He turned it over and saw a short poem inscribed there:

The sword rises at Mount Hua,

One kill every ten steps,

Would you shatter your body and bones?

To defend Huaxia!

The poem wasn't even good enough to count as doggerel. It was obvious its writer had little education.

But the bold, free-flowing strokes conveyed a fervent passion and a wholehearted desire to serve the country.

Lu Ting seemed to be seeing the box in detail for the first time, too. He said in surprise, "So that poem in the headquarters lobby came from here. I thought you'd written it yourself, Teacher."

Jia Yi said, "An old friend of mine carved it there. He said he was from Mount Hua. Unfortunately, he fell young. Otherwise, his strength would certainly have rivaled mine.

"When the nations began excavating ancient ruins, they found all kinds of exploration instruments. They also unearthed a lot of good things beneath Mount Hua.

"Bai Yang, don't just focus on the box. It was only made to hold the contents later. What's inside is what matters."

Bai Yang followed his instructions and opened the box. Everyone craned their necks, eager to see what was inside.

The moment the box opened, a burst of light shot out, startling everyone.

How could a sealed wooden box be glowing?

Bai Yang narrowed his eyes, and soon they adjusted.

Looking closely, he saw a remarkably beautiful long sword nestled inside the box, radiating light.

The sword was primarily silver-white, accented with pale gold and a lotus-shaped guard. Flowing white gauze and a tassel hung from the two lugs on its scabbard, swaying gently and lending it an otherworldly elegance.

In the Base City era, people and weapons alike were designed for practicality, all for the sake of fighting monsters.

No one had ever considered making a sword so flashy.

What good was that?

Its blade was long and slender, too fragile to withstand much force. A single swipe from a monster's claw might snap it in two.

Jia Yi said, "This sword is the most precious item excavated from the ruins. Not even I could damage it. Even if every 'War God above' on Earth attacked it together, they probably couldn't leave so much as a scratch."

Bai Yang carefully lifted the sword and gripped it firmly, casually twirling it through a few flourishes.

A silver-white curtain of blades immediately appeared along its edge, lingering in the air for quite some time before finally fading.

He spun the sword in a circle and swept it through the air with casual ease. In an instant, hollow cylinders appeared all over the room, as if they were real objects.

Bai Yang's playful mood took over. He immediately sped up his swordplay and demonstrated the pinnacle of his swordsmanship.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

For a moment, no one could tell how many thrusts he had made.

Soon, a white-and-gold lotus blossomed in the conference room.

The flower had nine tiers, every leaf and petal lifelike. The sight was dazzling, leaving everyone spellbound and unable to forget it for a long time.

"Hong and Thor both saw this thing, but neither of them used swords, and neither knew how to wield one properly. Back then, they didn't understand its true value.

"Over the past few years, we've gotten better and better at organizing the records from the ruins. We've finally figured out how it works."

Bai Yang had fallen completely in love with the sword. He quickly asked, "Elder Jia, what exactly is this?"

"It's actually a ceremonial sword! That's why it's so beautiful, though we don't know who made it.

"It seems to have some sort of image-storage function. Anyone capable of performing advanced sword techniques with it

"can project all kinds of images. Some of them show peerless experts with strange appearances!

"Learning even a little from them can make your strength advance by leaps and bounds.

"The sword itself also continuously emits trace amounts of radiation. After spending enough time near it, people sometimes see images without realizing it.

"The highest inheritance of Mount Hua, Mist Sword, came from this."

Bai Yang was astonished. He began recalling the original story:

Mist Sword, Category: Swordsmanship, Rating: S-grade. Price: 3 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 1.5 billion Huaxia Currency (half price; requirement: three-star contribution points with the Limit Dojo).

This sword technique was only S-grade, far inferior to the main cultivation methods of Hong and Thor, which were rated as ultimate.

He hadn't expected it to come from Mount Hua.

No one had imagined the sword would have such an illustrious origin. It was a treasure even Hong and Thor had overlooked!

And Jia Yi was actually willing to bring it out!

Everyone looked at Bai Yang with a mix of shock and envy. The sword truly could only be described as priceless.

There was nothing else like it in the world.

Whether he chose the Limit Dojo, whose benefits could be put to use in the short term, or Mount Hua, where he would have to study on his own for a long time before gaining anything, was up to him.

For Bai Yang, there was no choice to make.

No matter how good or plentiful the Limit Dojo's resources were, he knew they were all things that could be replicated. As for money, it was just a number.

This sword was different!

If he wasn't mistaken, this was the ceremonial sword from the Silver Blue Empire fleet—the one Hu Yanbo had destroyed with a single strike!

It wasn't merely a weapon. It had served as a ceremonial prop for diplomatic performances.

Those so-called images were actually "grand spectacles" recorded by its users as they traveled through the universe!

The Silver Blue Empire was only a low-level cosmic civilization.

But precisely because of that, wouldn't they have to attend any events hosted by the Black Dragon Mountain Empire or the Ganwu Universe Kingdom?

In times of peace, they might even have attended diplomatic celebrations hosted by many high-level universe countries.

There might have been World Lords, Domain Lords, and Universe Level powerhouses there, showing off their skills!

If he were in their shoes, Bai Yang would definitely record as much as he could if he were from the Silver Blue Empire and had been invited to a high-level universe country.

He'd want to capture everything, especially the might of the powerful.

I'm taking the gamble!

This thing's potential is beyond measure. Earth's resources can't compare.

Bai Yang turned to Inspector Liu and said apologetically, "Thank you for the kind offer, Inspector Liu, but I'd still like to stay with Mount Hua. If I get the chance, I'll offer the Limit Dojo a formal apology."

Inspector Liu hastily said it was no trouble. Even he was envious of the sword, so Bai Yang's choice was perfectly understandable.

Lu Ting suddenly said, "Actually, you can go next year. This year's spot for Huaxia in the War God Preparatory Camp is yours, too."

Inspector Liu wanted nothing more than to curse.

"You're using the spot we allocated to you, then turning around and competing with us for talent? And you're coming to apologize?! Mount Hua's Lao Liu, I'll remember you!"