Sword Embryo

Lin Yi followed the flow of people through twists and turns, finally finding the stall marked "Trading Cultivation Arts" at the southeast corner of the open ground.

One glance was enough for him to sense that something was off.

This stall was completely different from the bustling trading atmosphere around it.

Quite a few people stood beneath the wooden shed, but rather than buyers, they looked more like spectators watching the commotion. The few people behind the stall wore tattered beast-hide clothing and bore injuries of varying severity. Some had blood-seeping bandages wrapped around their forearms, while others still had scabs on their faces that had yet to heal.

Several half-grown children crouched at the back of the crowd, huddled together with timid eyes. Two elderly women leaned against the shed posts with their eyes closed, resting. Their faces were waxy yellow.

There was little of value on the entire stall. Several rolls of beast hide were stacked in one corner, two chipped stone axes leaned against wooden stakes, and the rest consisted of a few battered beast-hide blankets spread across the ground. Rather than a stall, it looked more like a temporary resting place for refugees.

Lin Yi had already reached a conclusion. They had not come to trade at the gathering. They had come fleeing disaster.

Seeing the number of onlookers growing, an elderly tribesman at the front of the stall struggled to his feet. He cleared his throat and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I'm sure you can all see it... Our tribe was attacked by a high-grade ferocious beast that wandered out from the depths of the Great Wilderness. More than half the tribe was destroyed. Only people like us managed to escape."

He coughed several times, clutching his chest as he caught his breath before continuing.

"The cultivation art is the Blood-Transfusion Method passed down through generations in our tribe. What we lack now is food and supplies. Whoever wants the cultivation art can trade those things for it."

The crowd immediately erupted into buzzing discussion.

"A Blood-Transfusion Method? Is it complete, or only a fragment?"

"It's a complete inheritance." The elder's tone carried a trace of bitterness. "The tribe is gone anyway... There's no point keeping it."

Lin Yi quickly learned the price they were asking.

No less than one thousand pounds of ferocious beast meat from the Tidal Surge Realm and one hundred decent-quality ferocious beast hides.

He silently did the math. The demand was not high. A complete inherited Blood-Transfusion Method was already a treasured trump card for small tribes at the edge of the Great Wilderness. Even if they asked for ten thousand pounds of meat, people would still scramble for it.

Yet they were only asking for one thousand pounds. It was obvious that they intended to sell several copies in exchange for more supplies.

The blood-transfusion cultivation art itself held limited appeal for Lin Yi. He already possessed the Savage Bull Art, and the path he had created for himself suited him better than any inherited method.

Still, an inconspicuous object in the corner held his gaze for several breaths longer.

A Sword Embryo.

It had simply been tossed atop a pile of hay at the very back of the wooden shed. Its blade bore no decoration whatsoever. It was four feet and two inches long, its rough outline resembling a longsword, its entire body dark and dull.

Even the hilt had not been wrapped with cord. It was nothing more than a rough iron rod. At first glance, it looked like a crude iron blank that had not yet been polished into shape, the sort of thing no one would even bother bending down to pick up if it were thrown by the roadside.

But what Lin Yi saw through his Spirit Eyes was different from what others saw.

Deep within the dark iron of the Sword Embryo, fragmented Divine Markings had been carved.

The markings were fine and orderly, clearly the work of a highly skilled craftsman. Yet what made Lin Yi frown was how badly those Divine Markings had been broken.

They were not weathered traces of natural aging. Instead, portions had been forcibly erased, section by section, leaving gaps everywhere. It was as though someone had deliberately severed a complete pattern in the middle, using some method to wipe away the crucial connecting points and leaving behind a heap of fragmented sections that could no longer join together.

Was this... something deliberately crippled? Lin Yi pondered inwardly.

Though those Divine Markings were incomplete, the remaining structure suggested that the original complete pattern had been exceedingly intricate.

Moreover, the method used to erase them was peculiar. They had not all been wiped away at once. Most of them had deliberately been preserved, with only the key nodes cut off.

It was like tearing dozens of gashes through the middle of a complete painting. Though every fragment remained, it could never be pieced back together again.

Lin Yi did not dare stare for too long. He withdrew the lingering light of his Spirit Eyes, his expression remaining perfectly calm.

He did not rashly step forward to ask about the Sword Embryo. Those people were clearly trying to survive, not conducting business. If he went up and asked, "How much for this piece of junk?" they would either become even more wary or jack up the price on the spot. That would only spoil things.

The best approach was to let them throw it in themselves "while they were at it."

Lin Yi had an idea. He turned, squeezed out of the crowd, and hurried toward the Bluestone Tribe's stall.

"Chief!" he called before even reaching it.

The chief was standing behind the stall with Mang, counting the supplies they had received in exchange for several Bluemane Horses they had just sold.

Five or six Bluemane Horses tied nearby had already changed owners, while more than ten remained in place, snorting through their noses. Lin Yi hurried over and quickly explained the situation.

"There's a tribe that was mostly wiped out by ferocious beasts. They're selling an inherited Blood-Transfusion Method for one thousand pounds of Tidal Surge Realm ferocious beast meat and one hundred beast hides. The things we got from selling horses should be enough."

The moment the chief heard the words "inherited Blood-Transfusion Method," his expression changed. "Let's go take a look."

On the way, Lin Yi picked out the important details of what he had observed—their miserable state, the elderly and children, their injuries, and the elder who was likely in charge.

At the end, he lowered his voice and added, "There's also a Sword Embryo in the corner of their stall. It should be something good. It looks like a crude iron blank on the outside, but I saw Divine Markings carved inside it."

The chief's steps paused. He turned his head and glanced at him. "You sure, kid?"

"Ninety percent certain." Lin Yi patted his chest. "If it were just an ordinary sword blank, no one would carve such delicate markings inside it."

The chief asked no more questions and merely nodded.

By the time the two of them reached the stall, more than half the onlookers had dispersed. Most had only come to watch the excitement. After all, not many tribes could truly produce a thousand pounds of Tidal Surge Realm ferocious beast meat.

The elder was still standing where he was, gazing dimly at the sparse crowd.

The chief pushed aside several people and stepped forward. He clasped his hands in greeting, his voice calm as he first brought up the cultivation art.

After a few exchanges, he smoothly guided the conversation toward the other party's plight. His concern sounded sincere without being excessive, and he handled the balance perfectly.

When the topic turned to how their tribe had suffered disaster and only the elderly and children had escaped, the chief sighed and said, "Making a living in the Great Wilderness is never easy."

The elder's eyes visibly reddened.

Taking advantage of the moment, the chief had Mang bring out a batch of ferocious beast meat and hides from behind them.

The quantity exceeded what the other party had requested. Seeing the supplies piled like a small mountain before him, the elder repeatedly waved his hands, saying it was too much, far too much, and that he could not accept it.

The chief comforted him with a few words. "No one has it easy. If we can lend a hand, then we lend a hand."

Unable to refuse any longer, the elder finally accepted the supplies with red-rimmed eyes.

Only then did the chief speak as though he had suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. I see you have some miscellaneous things on your stall. They'll only weigh you down on the road. If you don't mind, I'll trade some supplies for things you no longer need, so you won't have to waste strength carrying them."

The elder was still immersed in gratitude and shame. How could he spare the thought to consider it further? He repeatedly said, "Take whatever you like. Those scraps weren't worth anything to begin with."

The chief then picked up two pieces of Bone-Shard Ore from the haystack and casually lifted out the Sword Embryo as well, handing them together to Lin Yi behind him.

The entire process flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, taking no more than a quarter of an hour.

Lin Yi carried the heavy Sword Embryo in his arms as he followed the chief back toward their own stall, still unable to fully recover his senses.

"Damn, Chief, you're incredible," he said in a low voice, his tone full of admiration.

Without turning his head, the chief leisurely said, "First, mention trading for the cultivation art. Then show concern for their situation. Give them extra supplies until they feel embarrassed.

Once people feel embarrassed, they become easier to talk to. They'll think I was giving them a way out, using the scraps as an excuse to provide them with more supplies."

Lin Yi gave a thumbs-up. "Old man, your tricks run deep."