Three Blazing Sun Swords

"Deal!" Uncle Chen slammed a hand onto the counter, afraid Jiang Yuan might change his mind. He immediately pulled out his payment code and held it over. "Scan this!"

Jiang Yuan looked at the payment code and suddenly sighed.

"Two hundred and fifty isn't a very lucky number." Jiang Yuan took out his personal terminal and scanned the QR code. "Deduct the fifteen yuan shoe-sole wear fee from walking here. Two hundred and thirty-five. Not a cent more."

With a beep, the transfer went through.

Uncle Chen watched two hundred and thirty-five yuan appear in his account, the flesh on his face twitching violently.

That broken sword had been bought last week while he was collecting junk in the countryside, bundled together with a pile of rusty farm tools for ten yuan. He had planned to use it as a throw-in to fool some clueless sucker, but instead he had run into Jiang Yuan, a guy who bargained like his life depended on it.

Although he had still made more than two hundred yuan, why did he feel so stifled?

Jiang Yuan ignored Uncle Chen's constipated expression.

He tucked the wooden box under one arm, feeling thoroughly pleased.

For two hundred and thirty-five yuan, he had bought a famous sword from a martial arts world with both lightning and fire attributes.

"Thanks, Uncle Chen!"

Jiang Yuan waved toward the counter and strode out of the shop.

Watching Jiang Yuan leave, Uncle Chen spat and sat back down in his rocking chair.

"Young people these days really refuse to take even the slightest loss." Uncle Chen stroked his beard, then grinned again. "Still, I sold ten yuan's worth of scrap metal for over two hundred. I can add a can of exotic beast meat to dinner tonight."

Jiang Yuan left Treasure Gathering Studio with the wooden box in hand, not slowing his pace.

Since the broken sword could stir his Nine Yang Inner Force, trying to bind it to himself out on the street would cause trouble if the commotion got too big. He took a vehicle back to his residence, first checked that there were no patrol drones outside the window, then drew the curtains tight and laid the broken sword flat on the floor.

Nine Yang Inner Force surged from his palm into the hilt.

The dark golden flame patterns on the guard lit up section by section. The rust covering the blade fell away in flakes, revealing a crimson sword spine beneath. Heat rushed up his arm and into his meridians. Jiang Yuan immediately circulated the Nine Yang Divine Skill, guiding that foreign power into his internal cycle.

The broken sword trembled several times, and faint cracking sounds came from deep within its guard.

[Heaven-Reliant Dragon-Slayer Thunderfire Sword successfully bound.]

[Obtained a fragment of the Heaven-Burning Sword Art.]

[Obtained Blazing Sun Sword Intent.]

Fragments of memories of wielding a sword flooded his mind. Slashing, chopping, thrusting, sweeping—every kind of sword technique required pure Yang power to activate, and his Nine Yang Inner Force met that requirement perfectly.

Jiang Yuan gripped the hilt and swung horizontally. Crimson sword light extended half a foot from the broken edge, stopping just before the wall. Before the blade even touched it, the outer coating curled and blackened, scorch marks spreading along the path where the sword light lingered.

[Heaven-Burning Sword Art fragment: Proficient.]

On Wednesday morning, Jianghai No. 1 High School held its fiftieth anniversary celebration.

The entire school gathered at the training ground. Anniversary banners hung on both sides of the stage, while several rows of grills had been set up behind it. Staff responsible for the food sliced meat and arranged it on plates. Grease dripped into the charcoal fire, flames licking up along the iron racks as the air filled with a charred aroma.

Jiang Yuan stood at the back of Class Eight's formation with the broken sword on his back.

Guo Hongtao had been assigned to help maintain order. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Little Fatty Liu shuffled over to Jiang Yuan's side and ran his fingers over the edge of the wooden box.

"You really brought this thing?"

"I've been practicing swordsmanship lately. It's convenient to carry."

Little Fatty Liu patted the wooden box. "The alloy swords in the school equipment room aren't enough for you? If you swing whatever's inside that box a couple times, won't all that be left be a sword hilt?"

Several people nearby immediately laughed.

Zhou Hu approached with several students, his gaze landing on the wooden box. "Even the top student of the year lacks a weapon? You're carrying half a piece of scrap metal to the anniversary celebration. Planning to put on a performance with junk?"

Jiang Yuan raised his eyes. "Want to try this sword?"

Zhou Hu took barely half a step forward, his sole brushing the ground, before pulling that foot back.

He had participated in the combat assessment. Although the school had deleted the recording, the news that Jiang Yuan had taken a five-hundred-kilogram punch head-on had not disappeared.

"It's a school celebration. I can't be bothered to fight you."

Zhou Hu tossed out those words and turned to squeeze into the front rows.

Little Fatty Liu clutched his stomach and laughed. "He didn't even dare take a full step forward, yet he's still pretty good at finding himself an excuse."

The principal stepped onto the stage, and the loudspeakers around the training ground began playing the school's history. Jiang Yuan leaned against the edge of the formation, his palm resting on the wooden box as he continuously adjusted the connection between his Nine Yang Inner Force and the Heaven-Burning Sword Art.

Halfway through the celebration, a piercing alarm rang out above the training ground.

A dark shadow tore through the clouds. When its iron wings spread, they blotted out a large swath of sunlight. The exotic beast folded its wings and dove along the rooftop of the teaching building, its sharp beak aimed straight at the students beside the grills.

"Iron-Winged Vulture!"

The teacher on guard rushed out from the crowd, but with half the training ground between them, it was already too late for any rescue to arrive.

Little Fatty Liu was still holding a plate of food. When he looked up, the Iron-Winged Vulture's claws were already pressing down above his head. Students around him fled in every direction. He was knocked back two steps, his back hitting the grill. The heat from the charcoal fire climbed against his clothes, and there was no room to move on either side.

The wooden box slipped from Jiang Yuan's back and smashed onto the ground.

Jiang Yuan drew the broken sword. Nine Yang Inner Force poured into the flame patterns, and crimson sword light extended from the broken edge to restore the missing blade. He stepped beneath the Iron-Winged Vulture, twisted his waist and back, then swung the broken sword sideways.

Blazing Sun Sword Intent spread with the blade.

Just as the Iron-Winged Vulture tried to draw its wings together, crimson sword light had already passed through its chest and abdomen. Its body split into two halves that flew past Little Fatty Liu and crashed down on either side of the grills. Before its blood hit the ground, the cuts had already been scorched black by the sword intent.

A mass of crimson energy burst from the exotic beast's body and flowed along the blade into the system.

[Absorbed remnants of the Iron-Winged Vulture bloodline's fire intent.]

[Heaven-Burning Sword Art fragment has broken through to the Subtle Realm.]

[Reward: One chance to choose a B-rank martial art.]

Jiang Yuan did not check the reward.

The alarms above were still blaring as three dark shadows passed over the stage, their iron wings forming a line. The bloody scent left by the first Iron-Winged Vulture had drawn its kind over. Three sharp beaks turned toward Jiang Yuan at once.

"Move!"

Jiang Yuan shoved Little Fatty Liu's shoulder, sending him back into the fleeing crowd, then raised his sword to meet them.

The three exotic beasts split into two levels, one high and one low, sealing off both escape routes to the left and right. The Heaven-Burning Sword Art at the Subtle Realm unfolded in his mind. Every flap of their wings and every movement of their joints fell precisely within places his sword techniques could sever.

The first strike fell diagonally, cutting off the left Iron-Winged Vulture's wing. The sword light continued onward and pierced through its body.

The second strike swept up from below, slicing apart the claws thrust out by the middle beast along with its chest and abdomen. Its body broke into several pieces in midair.

The last one had already rushed before Jiang Yuan. The broken sword shot out from his side and pierced through the Iron-Winged Vulture's open beak. Blazing Sun Sword Intent poured into its body, splitting flesh and blood along the sword's path. Chunks flew over Jiang Yuan's shoulder and fell onto the cleared training ground.

After three strikes, Jiang Yuan withdrew his blade and let its tip hang at his side.

Thousands of teachers and students remained frozen where they had been before fleeing. Zhou Hu stood more than ten meters away, a dropped communication terminal lying by his feet.

On the stage, Li Qingshan gripped the railing, the metal bar beneath his palm giving a soft creak.

"Subtle Realm swordsmanship?"