Broken Sword

The grand hall stood before them, imposing and majestic, with three floors. The first floor contained basic spirit artifacts, and every disciple who joined the sect could claim one for free.

Magic treasures were divided into spirit artifacts, treasure artifacts, divine artifacts, sacred artifacts, immortal artifacts, and so on.

Each category was further divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme.

Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao entered the grand hall as if no one else existed. Displayed within were low-grade spirit artifacts of every kind—swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, everything one could want.

Only after the two vanished from sight did those who had been sneering recover from their shock. They exchanged looks, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.

"These ninety-nine steps—even an ordinary fifth-level Qi Condensation cultivator would need half an incense stick's time to climb them. Yet they came up in merely dozens of breaths?"

"More than dozens of breaths? That brat who came up first took only the time of a blink."

"No, something's off. The Eastern Gate is such a godforsaken place that anyone with a functioning brain would never join it, much less geniuses or monsters."

"Come on, let's follow them and take a look. These two aren't so simple. But daring to ignore us is courting death. They're new here and already this arrogant—what will they be like in the future?"

"That's right. Senior Brother Zhang Yuan is correct. If we want them to do rough work for us in the future, we have to give them a show of force first."

Led by the white-clothed youth, Zhang Yuan, the group followed Su Hao and the other into the Treasure Pavilion.

Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao had already presented their identity tokens. With the permission of the elderly man guarding the pavilion, they began selecting treasures they liked.

Su Hao looked around and around for a long time, but not a single item caught his eye. Judging them with the Devil Master's standards, the so-called treasures here were nothing but trash.

"I'll just pick something at random. It'll do for getting by. Once I get the chance later, I'll find some materials and forge a decent one myself," Su Hao muttered as he walked to a weapon rack holding longswords and casually grabbed one.

Just then, his mind suddenly stirred. He lowered his head and looked beneath the weapon rack, where several damaged weapons had been placed.

These were all spirit artifacts damaged by disciples while they were out training, then returned to the Treasure Pavilion. By adding some spirit stones, they could exchange them for new ones.

This saved quite a few resources compared with buying one outright.

Among those damaged longswords, a pitch-black, broad iron sword a full foot wide caught Su Hao's attention.

Compared with the other spirit artifacts—even the broken ones—this item appeared utterly ordinary. It had not a trace of luster, not the slightest edge. It looked like nothing more than a rusted slab of iron.

Yet for some reason, as Su Hao stared at it, an unusual feeling rose within him. He could neither explain nor define it, but he simply felt that this thing was extraordinary.

"In any case, it's only a low-grade spirit artifact. Once my cultivation is high enough and I find the materials, I can forge a fine magic treasure myself. I'll choose you today."

Having made up his mind, Su Hao picked up the broken sword.

At that moment, Lin Yaoyao came over as well. "Brother Hao, I'll choose this broadsword. I think swords are domineering and suit me perfectly. Besides, the Mad Blade Eighteen Slashes you taught me are a blade technique too, so this is fitting."

"As long as you like it." Su Hao glanced at Lin Yaoyao's broadsword. It was violet-gold in color, five feet long and one and a half feet wide, its edge sharp as rippling water.

The two carried their magic treasures to the elder guarding the pavilion to register them.

"They're here."

Zhang Yuan and the others had been waiting there all along. The moment they saw the two emerge, their gazes turned cold and grim.

However, when their eyes fell upon the iron sword in Su Hao's hand, that grimness immediately took on a thread of undisguised contempt and mockery.

Zhang Yuan even took the lead in laughing loudly. "Kid, is there something wrong with your head? You passed up all those precious spirit artifacts and chose that big iron slab no one has touched in ten thousand years. Did a donkey kick you in the head?"

Su Hao could not be bothered to pay him any attention. Having just arrived, he did not want to stir up trouble.

"Kid, this sword truly is scrap. Even if it were reforged in the furnace, nothing useful could be extracted from it. You should exchange it for another one," the pavilion elder kindly reminded him.

"Thank you for your concern, Elder, but I simply think this sword is good. We're fated to each other. Besides, it's only a spirit artifact. If it doesn't work out, I can just buy another one," Su Hao said calmly.

"Only a spirit artifact?"

Zhang Yuan and the others froze, then burst into even more unrestrained laughter.

"Kid, do you know that even the cheapest spirit artifact is worth five hundred spirit stones? And you dare speak such shameless nonsense?"

"You've only just arrived, yet you already boast so wildly. Aren't you afraid the wind will be so strong it'll trip your tongue?"

Su Hao swept his eyes over them. "What I do is my own business. Even if the wind trips my tongue, what does that have to do with you?"

"You don't know what's good for you." The group shouted coldly, their voices low. If the pavilion elder had not been there, they might already have attacked.

"Fine. Since you insist, I won't say more. But once this item leaves here, you'll need to add spirit stones if you wish to exchange it later," the pavilion elder said.

"This disciple understands."

After completing the simple registration with the pavilion elder, Su Hao strode away without giving Zhang Yuan and the others another glance.

But while he wished to let the matter rest, Zhang Yuan and the others had no intention of dropping it. They followed Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao out of the Treasure Pavilion. "Kid, I've tolerated you twice already. You ignored me before, and now you dare disrespect me again. Do you know who I am?"

Su Hao stopped and lifted his head to glance at him. "Who are you?"

"Heh, you asked the right question." A sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man beside Zhang Yuan stepped forward. "Let me tell you: our Senior Brother Zhang Yuan is a swordsmanship genius of the Northern Gate. His elder brother, Zhang Feng, is even more formidable—a registered disciple of a Northern Gate elder, with boundless prospects ahead of him."

"That's right. Last time, a few fresh greenhorns were disrespectful to Senior Brother Zhang Yuan. The very next day, their limbs were chopped off and they were thrown into the Southern Gate's beast garden. What a miserable sight that was."

"Kid, if you know what's good for you, kneel and admit your mistake at once. Hand over your treasures, and we may spare you."

Zhang Yuan lifted his chin. As the others sang his praises, he cooperatively put on the air of an important figure. In his view, once his name was revealed, Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao would immediately kneel on the ground and beg loudly for mercy.

After all, every disciple before them had reacted that way upon hearing such words.

Zhang Yuan was even considering how to crush Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao's arrogance, extort a few treasures along the way, and lay down some terms. In the future, all those smelly socks and dirty clothes would be handed over to these two to deal with.

Yet after waiting bitterly for a long while, Su Hao and Lin Yaoyao made no move whatsoever. Unable to hold back, he said, "You two, did you not understand what I said?"

"I understood." Su Hao nodded. "But what does it have to do with us? Don't come bothering me again, or I might start hitting people. And don't mention any backing in front of me. My backing is so vast, you couldn't possibly imagine it."