Iron Sword LV10

Swing the sword! Swing the sword!! Swing the sword!!!

Experience +1

Experience +1

Experience +1

Basically.

Xu Qing could swing his sword once every second, and each swing earned him one point of experience. So, after just over ten seconds, Xu Qing had already swung his sword ten times.

Iron Sword LV1: 10/10 (Upgradeable!)

"This is way too easy."

Xu Qing remarked, "Compared to martial arts, raising this iron sword's level only requires swinging it. One swing takes just a second, and the stamina it consumes is minimal."

"Upgrade."

Xu Qing spoke.

Buzz!

The Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!!

In a daze.

Xu Qing saw a blazing-hot smithy. A burly, bare-chested bald blacksmith gripped a hammer tightly in his hand, endlessly pounding a sword blank.

Looking closely.

That sword blank was the iron sword in Xu Qing's hand.

Clang!

At last.

Accompanied by a crisp ring.

After the quenching was complete.

The iron sword had been forged.

Whoosh!

The iron sword in Xu Qing's hand flashed white.

Iron Sword LV2: 0/20 (This is an iron sword forged from refined iron by an ordinary blacksmith. It possesses the sharpness attribute.)

"Not bad."

Xu Qing weighed the iron sword in his hand and found that the blade had become somewhat heavier. Both the sword body and edge also glimmered with a faint, chilling gleam.

Clearly.

This was no longer an ordinary iron sword. It should count as an ordinary sharp iron sword.

"Again."

Whoosh! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!!

Swing the sword! Swing the sword!! Swing the sword!!!

Experience +1

Experience +1

Experience +1

In less than half a minute.

Xu Qing had already swung his sword twenty times.

Iron Sword LV2: 20/20 (Upgradeable!)

"Upgrade."

Buzz!

It was the same situation again.

The Omni-Codex glowed, while a streak of white light—visible only to Xu Qing—appeared over the iron sword, and it changed.

In a daze.

Xu Qing once more saw the iron sword returned to the furnace and reforged.

Iron Sword LV3: 0/40 (This is a sharp iron sword forged from refined iron by an ordinary blacksmith. It can cut through iron like mud and is exceptionally sharp.)

"Good."

Xu Qing looked at the sword in his hand. It had changed considerably; a cold gleam flickered over its edge. It was long since no longer that plain, ordinary iron sword from before.

"Again."

Xu Qing said.

Thus.

One minute later.

Iron Sword LV3: 40/40 (Upgradeable!)

Its experience had filled again.

"Upgrade."

Xu Qing said.

Buzz!

The same scene appeared once more.

The Omni-Codex flashed with fluorescent light, and the iron sword in Xu Qing's hand flashed white. The already sharp iron sword became even sharper, and was also highly resilient.

Vaguely.

Xu Qing saw the scene of the iron sword in his hand being returned to the furnace and reforged once more.

Iron Sword LV4: 0/80 (This is a sharp iron sword forged from refined iron by a master blacksmith. It can cut through iron like mud, and its blade is resilient and not easily damaged.)

"Not bad."

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

It could be said.

That on the night a few days ago.

When Xu Qing had first encountered the corpse ghoul at his residence, if he had possessed such an iron sword capable of cutting through iron like mud, he could have beheaded the corpse ghoul with a single stroke. There would have been no need for close-quarters combat.

One sword stroke would have slain it.

Therefore.

Such a powerful weapon could greatly enhance a martial artist's combat strength.

"Continue."

Xu Qing said.

Swing the sword! Swing the sword!! Swing the sword!!!

Experience +1

Experience +1

Experience +1

Since upgrading the iron sword was so easy, requiring only sword swings to gain experience, Xu Qing intended to keep upgrading it.

In the blink of an eye.

Two minutes later.

Iron Sword LV4: 80/80 (Upgradeable!)

"Upgrade."

Xu Qing said.

Buzz!

White light flashed.

The iron sword in Xu Qing's hand upgraded once again.

It had reached Level Five.

Iron Sword LV5: 0/160 (This is an iron sword carefully forged from refined iron by a master blacksmith, imbued with their painstaking effort. It is incomparably sharp, its blade is resilient, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute.)

"Level Five already."

Xu Qing said, "This level is already the same as Eight Extremities Fist."

"Again."

Yet Xu Qing was not satisfied. He still wanted to continue upgrading it.

Thus.

Inside his residence, Xu Qing continuously swung the iron sword in his hand, as streak after streak of cold sword-light flashed unceasingly throughout the room.

The iron sword underwent upgrade after upgrade as well.

Iron Sword LV6: 0/320 (This is an iron sword forged from refined iron by a Blacksmith Master. It is incomparably sharp, able to cut through iron like mud. Its blade is resilient and not easily broken, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute, capable of piercing three layers of armor.)

Iron Sword LV7: 0/640 (This is an iron sword painstakingly forged from refined iron with every ounce of effort by a Blacksmith Master. It is incomparably sharp, able to cut through iron like mud. Its blade is resilient and not easily broken, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute, capable of piercing ten layers of armor.)

Iron Sword LV8: 0/1280 (This is an iron sword forged from refined iron by a Blacksmith Grandmaster. It is incomparably sharp, able to cut through iron like mud. Its blade is resilient and not easily broken, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute, capable of piercing thirty layers of armor. It is truly a rare treasured sword in the mortal world.)

Iron Sword LV9: 0/2560 (This is an iron sword painstakingly forged from refined iron with every ounce of effort by a Blacksmith Grandmaster. It is incomparably sharp, able to cut through iron like mud. Its blade is resilient and not easily broken, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute, capable of piercing a hundred layers of armor. It is truly a rare sword in the mortal world.)

Iron Sword LV10: 0/5120 (This is an iron sword painstakingly forged from mysterious crystal iron by a Blacksmith Grandmaster, exhausting all of their heart's blood. It is incomparably sharp, able to cut through iron like mud. Its blade is resilient and not easily broken, and it possesses the armor-piercing attribute, capable of piercing three hundred layers of armor. It also possesses the evil-breaking attribute. It is truly a rare Divine Sharp Artifact in the mortal world.)

All told.

An hour and a half passed.

Xu Qing swung his sword again and again. In such a short span of time, he had swung it at least five thousand times. His arms were aching, and they felt as though they were about to become useless.

Had Xu Qing not already surpassed ordinary people by cultivating dark force, it would have been impossible for him to swing a sword continuously for so long.

However.

Xu Qing had upgraded an iron sword to Level Ten, transforming an utterly ordinary iron sword into a rare Divine Sharp Artifact of the mortal world.

At the same time.

Once the iron sword reached Level Ten, corresponding information came from the Omni-Codex.

Because the iron sword had already reached Level Ten, if he continued upgrading it, the sword would give birth to spirituality.

By then.

Given Xu Qing's current cultivation and realm, he might suffer backlash. Therefore, it was best not to upgrade it any further for now.

Clang!

Xu Qing held the Level Ten iron sword in his hand. Chilling light spilled from the blade, only to slowly conceal itself again, as though the sword itself possessed a faint spirituality—knowing how to hide its brilliance and nurture its radiance, knowing how to conceal itself.

Moreover.

Xu Qing could completely control this iron sword and sense its power.

"Not bad, not bad."

Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction. "This is the first item I've upgraded to Level Ten. Although it was only an ordinary iron sword, after reaching Level Ten, it has become a Divine Sharp Artifact."

"Not bad."

Xu Qing sheathed the iron sword. Yet even the scabbard in his hand could not conceal the iron sword's sharpness; it seemed as though, in the next instant, its edge would cleave the scabbard apart.

"Not good."

Xu Qing's expression changed. He glanced at the sky and saw that it was already late. "Damn it, time's almost up. I'm going to be late..."

Without further hesitation.

Xu Qing quickly rushed out of the room.

Fortunately.

Before nightfall.

Xu Qing finally arrived at the predetermined gathering place. He saw Yang Ye's extremely grim expression, as well as Wang Changye's gloating face.

The others had no particular expression, and Qin Daniu said nothing either.

"Xu Qing."

Yang Ye's face darkened as he rebuked him. "You're late, do you know that? You're half an incense stick late already. Don't think that because you have ties to Constable Zhao, you can act however you please here and come whenever you want."

"If there's a next time."

"I'll directly deduct a day's wages from you."

"Heh."

Wang Changye sneered. "Some people simply do not deserve their position."

"Captain Yang's reprimand is justified."

Xu Qing cupped his fists toward Yang Ye and lowered his head.

"Hurry up and go."

Yang Ye shot Xu Qing a glare and rebuked him, "The other Patrol Teams set out long ago. Only our team is still here. If something really happens on Hongye Street and we arrive late for patrol, then when the higher-ups hold us accountable, it won't just be me getting scolded—you won't be able to bear the consequences either."

"Yes."

"Understood, Captain."

"Move out."

"..."

The entire Xin Character Night Patrol Team set out, rushing toward Hongye Street at top speed. Yang Ye then made the assignments. He led Xu Qing, Wang Changye, and the others on patrol for the first half of the night, while Qin Daniu led another group to patrol Hongye Street during the second half, ensuring the street's safety.

The first day of patrol.

Everything was calm and uneventful.

Xu Qing had originally thought they would encounter corpse ghouls, but nothing happened. A few other Patrol Teams did run into several corpse ghouls, though they were all dealt with.

Morning.

The patrol ended.

Xu Qing collected his two taels of silver in wages and left.

"Not bad."

Xu Qing shrugged. "After joining the yamen's Night Patrol Team, I only need to patrol either the first half or second half of the night—six hours in total. If nothing happens, I can earn two taels of silver."

"Besides."

"After joining the yamen's Night Patrol Team, although I can only be an auxiliary member, if something really happens, I'm still backed by the yamen. I'll be able to learn about it at the first possible moment."

For example.

Last night.

Xu Qing had patrolled alongside Yang Ye. By probing around the edges, he had still managed to learn from Yang Ye about some of the things that had happened in Qingbei Town recently.

Ever since a month ago.

Corpse ghouls had begun appearing in Qingbei Town's outer city. At first, there were not many of them, and there were not many victims either. Everyone thought it was only a minor matter.

However.

The corpse ghouls in the outer city seemed impossible to eradicate. Each time they were killed, it would not be long before traces of corpse ghouls appeared again, as though they could never be wiped out.

That feeling.

It was as though someone was manipulating everything from behind the scenes. Yet even now, the yamen had not determined whether there was truly a hidden mastermind, what that mastermind's purpose was, or who that mastermind actually was.

A whole month had passed.

It could be said that the yamen did not have the slightest clue.

"Could someone really be deliberately creating corpse ghouls?"

Xu Qing fell into thought. What could their purpose be? Why would they do this? Forget it. This has little to do with me. If Qingbei Town really is about to collapse, then at worst, I'll leave Qingbei Town. Going to another town would be the same.

I was originally just a beggar. I have no relatives in this world, no ties or attachments. I can go wherever I want. No one can stop me, and no one should even think of trapping me.