Master, This Is Clearly Just a Tree Branch!

At those words, Xiao Yan's gaze immediately fell on the dead branch, and he drew back the foot he had already stepped forward with.

He noticed that the branch in Grandmaster's hand was about a foot long, with grayish-brown bark and splinters at the broken end. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed to have just been picked up from the courtyard.

"This disciple has yet to purchase a weapon."

Bodhi held out the dead branch.

"Then your master shall bestow a fine sword upon you!"

Xiao Yan accepted it with both hands. He examined one end, then the other, not even overlooking a tiny wormhole. After studying it for a good while without discovering anything, he said irritably:

"Master, this is clearly just a tree branch."

Bodhi smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Good eye."

"It is indeed just a tree branch!"

Xiao Yan: "..."

Just then, someone came to urge him along again from outside the courtyard, saying that the clan leader had already taken his seat.

Xiao Yan could only set the dead branch on the table and reluctantly leave. Halfway there, he reached down to his waist, only to discover that he had tied his outer robe's sash halfway. He nearly stepped on his own hem.

During dinner, he held his bowl and looked toward his courtyard three times in a row.

Xiao Zhan pushed a plate of meat closer to him.

"What treasure are you keeping in your room that you can't stop thinking about it even over dinner?"

The youth answered cautiously:

"Nothing much, really."

He had barely finished speaking when a gentle voice came from beside him.

"Brother Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan turned, only then noticing that Xun'er, seated beside him, was holding her bowl and looking at him thoughtfully.

The girl wore a pale blue-green dress, her long black hair falling behind her shoulders. When she saw him look over, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Did your cultivation go smoothly today?"

Xiao Yan smiled.

"Smoothly. Very smoothly."

Xiao Yan nodded and casually picked up a piece of meat, but his thoughts had already drifted back to his room. Since Grandmaster had said he would give him a fine sword, surely he wouldn't really fob him off with a tree branch?

Could it be some divine treasure? Did it need a drop of blood to recognize its master before revealing its true form? But when he remembered that the dead branch even had a wormhole, he felt that Grandmaster was teasing him for fun.

Watching the smile unconsciously rising at his lips, Xun'er grew even more puzzled. Ever since Brother Xiao Yan had broken through to Dou Zhe, she had felt that something about him seemed different.

He had always been diligent in his cultivation, but whenever they sat together, he would at least exchange a few words with her. Today, however, he had seemed distracted from the moment he entered, repeatedly glancing toward his courtyard even while eating.

It was as though something there was waiting for him to return.

"Have you gained some new insight in your cultivation?"

Xun'er continued asking.

"You could say that."

Xiao Yan swallowed his mouthful of rice and smiled at her.

"Only today did I realize there were still quite a few things I hadn't understood before."

Xun'er asked:

"What things?"

Xiao Yan replied:

"Circulating qi, practicing my arts, and a few other things."

His answer was vague, but he wasn't deliberately trying to give Xun'er the cold shoulder.

It was just that the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, Nine Breaths of Qi, and Grandmaster in his ring, who had come to hide from a monkey—any one of them would be impossible to explain clearly at the dinner table.

After hearing his answer, Xun'er nodded lightly and asked no further questions.

Xiao Zhan, however, was quite pleased.

"It's good that you can recognize your shortcomings. But you've only just broken through. There's no need to rush."

As he spoke, he rose, took a small cloth pouch from a nearby cabinet, and set it beside Xiao Yan's hand.

Several Gold Coins clinked together with a crisp sound.

"Take it. Now that you've advanced to Dou Zhe, you ought to have something you like. Go pick out whatever you want."

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

"Thanks, Dad!"

He put the pouch away, immediately forming another plan. If that dead branch really could become an immortal sword, wouldn't I need a scabbard for it too? Surely I couldn't go everywhere with it wrapped in a piece of cloth?

Xun'er glanced at the pouch he had put away and suddenly smiled. "Brother Xiao Yan, I heard a few new stalls have opened at the Marketplace. Shall we go have a look together after dinner?"

"No."

Xiao Yan's answer was blunt.

Xun'er froze slightly, the words she had prepared next stopping at her lips.

Xiao Zhan also looked up at him.

Only then did Xiao Yan realize he had answered too quickly. He hurriedly swallowed the rice in his mouth and added:

"I still need to go back to my room to cultivate later. I've just started getting a feel for a few things today, and I want to think them over before I forget."

Xun'er said softly:

"We'd only be going out for a short walk. It wouldn't take long."

Xiao Yan waved his hand, his gaze unconsciously flicking toward the courtyard again.

"Next time. Next time."

"I really have something to do tonight."

With that, he lowered his head and ate even faster than before.

Xun'er watched him, the smile at her lips fading a little, but she did not try to persuade him again.

"All right, then. Don't wear yourself out cultivating, Brother Xiao Yan."

"I know."

Xiao Yan answered quickly, finished the rice in his bowl in a few mouthfuls, then served himself another half bowl. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed to be rushing off to do something important.

Amused, Xiao Zhan lightly tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks.

"Slow down. No one here is going to steal your food."

Xiao Yan had no choice but to slow down for a couple of bites. But the moment the last bit of rice reached his stomach, he set down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and said:

"Dad, Xun'er, I'm done. I'll head back first."

"This boy..."

Before Xiao Zhan could finish, the youth had already stepped out of the dining hall. His steps were light, and in the blink of an eye, he rounded the covered walkway and disappeared beyond the courtyard gate.

Xun'er's gaze followed his figure until he was out of sight. Only then did she slowly draw it back.

It wasn't that she insisted on having Xiao Yan accompany her shopping. His behavior just now was simply hard to ignore. He said he was going back to cultivate, yet whenever his room came up, he could not hide the anticipation in his eyes.

It was as though he really had some extraordinary treasure hidden in there.

Brother Xiao Yan... seems to have suddenly changed.

The girl lowered her eyes, keeping that small doubt to herself without voicing it.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan had already hurried across the courtyard. The moment he reached his door, he couldn't help reaching out to push it open without even breaking his stride.

By the time he returned to his room, it was completely dark outside, and the dead branch still lay on the table.

Xiao Yan set another lamp beside it. Grandmaster sat in a chair by the window without urging him. Only after Xiao Yan closed the door did he tell him to lay the dead branch across his lap.

Following his instructions, Xiao Yan began practicing the Arcane Arts First Chapter and guided a gentle wisp of Dou Qi into his palm.

At first, nothing changed.

He steadied his breathing as his Dou Qi slowly seeped into the rough bark. Suddenly, a faint vibration came from beneath his palm. A thread of clear light actually shone through the wormhole he had examined several times.

At the sight, Xiao Yan instantly straightened.

The grayish-brown bark peeled away without a sound, turning to fine dust before it could touch the floor. The wood within unfurled along the clear light. The short branch, originally only about a foot long, gradually extended across his lap, finally taking the form of a three-foot sword glowing blue-green.

The blade was simple and archaic, without gold inlay or jade adornments, yet clear and black hues intertwined along its spine. Fine patterns on either side followed their own paths and converged at the guard, outlining a pair of yin-yang fish with their heads and tails linked.

Xiao Yan reached out and lightly touched the sword's spine. A chill traveled from his fingertip straight into his heart. He could even feel that wisp of his Dou Qi slowly moving within the sword.

Bodhi's voice came from beside him.

"This sword is called the Taiji Liangyi Sword. It can guide yin and yang and command the five elements. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth can all be channeled into the sword at your will."

Bodhi extended a finger and lightly tapped the sword's spine.

Blue-green, red, yellow, white, and black radiance flashed in succession, finally merging into the clear and black hues and slowly flowing along the blade.

Holding the hilt, Xiao Yan faintly sensed a new thread of connection between himself and the object in his hand.

It was as though it would respond with a mere thought.

"By driving it with Dou Qi, you can unleash power to match. As your cultivation rises and your understanding of yin, yang, and the five elements deepens, this sword's abilities will naturally grow as well."

Xiao Yan's eyes shone as he listened.

"Then can the Heavenly Dipper Divine Powers I practice also be used through the sword?"

Bodhi nodded slightly and smiled.

"Of course! Take Command the Five Thunders, for instance. You can generate lightning in your palm, but you can also draw it into the sword's edge. With a single slash, sword qi and lightning arts strike together, naturally allowing more variations than simply swinging a sword."

"Or take Wind-Returning, Flame-Reversing. If you fully grasp its principles, you can draw an enemy's wind and fire into your sword and send them back."

Xiao Yan instinctively tightened his grip on the hilt and nodded to show that he understood.

Basically, if someone threw a whole Dou Technique at him, he could not only catch it, but also send it right back along his sword's edge!

He lowered his head to look at the sword, liking it more the longer he looked. Even the wormhole in his recent memory suddenly seemed pleasing to the eye.

Something bestowed by Grandmaster.

How could it possibly be an ordinary tree branch?