Overlord Shadow

The weapons on the first floor of the Divine Weapon Pavilion looked utterly ordinary. They had neither rays of rosy light stretching ten thousand zhang nor sharp edges bared to the world; they were simply placed there without ceremony.

Xu Zimo walked in. A faint scent of rust lingered in the air. The disciples of the True Martial Sacred Sect rarely came here to select weapons, so many of the Mortal Artifacts forged on the first floor had gathered dust over the long years.

At the entrance to the first floor, an old man lay sleeping in a reclining chair. Seeing Xu Zimo and Zhang Chongtian arrive, he gave them an interested glance before saying, "Pick whatever weapon you like inside. Each person may only choose one. Just tell me when you leave."

After speaking, the old man turned over and closed his eyes to continue sleeping.

"What kind of attitude is that?" Zhang Chongtian said indignantly.

"It's nothing," Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. He gave the old man a deep look, then walked inside.

He did not spend much time choosing. He went straight to a corner, where an entire wall was hung with densely packed weapons.

Sabers, spears, staffs, clubs—even weapons ordinary people had scarcely heard of. There was every kind imaginable.

Among the many weapons, Xu Zimo's gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous saber in the lower-left corner.

The saber was five chi long. Its edge appeared exceedingly sharp, while its blade had a slight curve.

It weighed more than ten jin in his hand. The hilt was divided by layers of checkered ripples, heavy and solid in his palm.

"This one," Xu Zimo said. To Zhang Chongtian's astonishment, he picked up the saber and walked directly toward the old man at the entrance.

The old man was awakened and seemed somewhat unwilling. He gave the curved saber Xu Zimo had chosen an indifferent glance and said, "Fine. It's yours now. Hurry up and get lost. Don't disturb this old man's sleep."

Xu Zimo nodded and said nothing more. He strapped the sheath to his back and left.

"Oh, right. Its name is Overlord Shadow," the old man's voice suddenly called from behind him.

"Overlord Shadow? Of course I know," Xu Zimo said with a faint curl of his lips. Without looking back, his figure gradually vanished into the breeze.

Xu Zimo was certain that he would remember his father's words for the rest of his life.

"A true saber wielder is one who can awaken the spirituality within a saber and earn that spirituality's recognition."

In his Previous Life, Xu Zimo had not paid much attention to those words at first. To him, any weapon was merely a tool for killing; there was no need to assign it any other meaning.

Not until the battle in Youlong Ravine, when Overlord Shadow was severed by the weapon of the protagonist, Chu Yang.

At the instant the saber broke, Xu Zimo truly felt the weapon's mournful cry.

Only then did he awaken as if from a dream, but it was already too late.

Afterward, Xu Zimo returned to the small courtyard where he lived. He sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

In his Previous Life, the first technique he cultivated had been the Three Blades Great Emperor's Nirvana Art.

Only after cultivating all the way to the Imperial Meridian Realm did Xu Zimo truly set foot upon his own Martial Dao Heavenly Path.

He cast aside the Nirvana Art and began researching, deducing, and creating a completely new cultivation technique that belonged solely to him.

Xu Zimo named his technique Myriad Freedom Art.

This technique cultivated the past, the present, and the future.

Once it reached great completion, it could trace time back to its origin, forge connections with his past self and his self from future eras, and span several dimensions of time and space.

Unfortunately, after deducing this technique to the Divine Meridian Realm in his Previous Life, Xu Zimo discovered that a knot lingered in his heart. No matter what he did, he could not ascend another level.

That was why he had sought out Chu Yang to resolve that knot, only to suffer such a miserable defeat.

But this rebirth gave Xu Zimo a flash of inspiration, granting him many more insights into the future and the past.

He believed that he could absolutely perfect his technique and step into the realm above the Divine Meridian Realm.

Deducing one's own cultivation technique was a path every Meridian Practitioner would eventually have to walk, because no matter how powerful a technique left behind by others might be, it could only serve as reference; it could never fit someone perfectly.

Xu Zimo continued deducing and cultivating until dawn. Then he stood and stretched lazily.

Though he had not slept all night, he still felt full of energy.

That was the benefit of cultivation. He was now at the ninth level of the Mortal Realm; even if he went seven days and seven nights without sleep, he would at most feel somewhat tired.

When daylight fully broke, Lin Ruhu arrived at Yan Nan Peak early to play with Xu Zimo.

He carried a huge burlap sack on his back, his expression furtive and sneaky. He looked back twice with every step, as if guarding against something in secret.

"Ruhu, what happened to you?" Xu Zimo asked curiously after washing up.

"Brother Zimo, let me show you something good," Lin Ruhu said with a chuckle, opening the sack on his back.

Inside lay two unconscious chick hatchlings.

The two chicks were entirely golden-yellow, with dark purple combs. Their feathers were arranged in neat, scale-like layers, and a touch of bright red marked their tails.

Their beaks resembled jade—transparent and pure. At first glance, these two chicks seemed anything but ordinary.

"Medicinal Dao Sacred Chickens?" Xu Zimo asked in surprise. "Where did you get these?"

"Ah, this morning I went to Tianxia Peak, the First Elder's peak, to play with Liao Ruyan. Then I saw these two chickens abandoned on the ground. I thought they were pitiful, so I brought them out with me," Lin Ruhu said, blinking his large innocent eyes.

"You stole them, didn't you?" Xu Zimo said suspiciously.

"How can a scholar's affairs be called stealing?" Lin Ruhu argued unwillingly. "I merely picked them up in passing."

"I don't mind. They're the First Elder's beloved pets anyway," Xu Zimo said with a calm smile. "I heard Medicinal Dao Sacred Chickens are fed spiritual herbs from childhood, and every piece of their meat contains rich spiritual qi.

There happen to be two of them. One braised in soy sauce, one steamed."

"Great, great!" Lin Ruhu said excitedly, licking his lips.

"It would be rather wasteful to braise these Medicinal Dao Sacred Chickens using ordinary firewood," Xu Zimo said after some thought. He turned to Zhang Chongtian and said, "Go to Ancient Medicine Peak and chop off some branches from the spirit trees."

"Young Master, those spirit trees and ancient herbs are the Second Elder's treasures," Zhang Chongtian said awkwardly. "If the Second Elder finds out I cut his branches, he'll definitely skin me alive."

"He won't," Xu Zimo explained. "At this hour, the Second Elder should be peeping at the female disciples bathing in the outer sect. He won't notice you."

Zhang Chongtian hesitated before saying, "Young Master, if anything really happens, you have to stand up for me. I'm yours now, after all."

"Don't worry. With me here, there won't be a problem," Xu Zimo assured him. "Also, you are my guard, not my person. Get the relationship straight. Saying it like that will easily make others misunderstand."