Borrowed Sword

Chapter 137: Generous Mission Rewards

Situ Cheng was completely enraged.

"A foolish child cannot be taught, a rotten log cannot be carved！"  

You bastard, did you even bother to feel it properly?

That brat’s rank, could it really be higher than mine, Situ Cheng?

Then should I hand over the position of the Four Great Divine Swords to him?!

"In this world, there are only two sword cultivators whose rank surpasses mine."

"One is my senior brother, who is slightly stronger than me."

"The other is Jiang Zhi, who, even after voluntarily dropping his realm, still remains unfathomable！"

On this point, Situ Cheng was very clear—there could never be a third person!

That gaunt Daoist nun of the Dao Gate did indeed have an extraordinary sword Dao talent, her strength far exceeding what a Seventh Realm should possess.

"But for her to surpass me, she must first break through the bottleneck of the Seventh Realm！" he said inwardly.

At this moment, he sat in the small courtyard, raising his head to look toward Hidden Spirit Mountain.

Because he was in the Dao Gate, he instantly recalled that sword.

"Oh right, aside from Senior Brother and Jiang Zhi, there is also that sword!

That matchless sword, before which even the Sword Sovereign was no opponent!

Situ Cheng had once gone up the mountain to challenge it. The Bronze Sword’s sword spirit ranked extremely high, pressing him down.

At this moment, he snorted coldly at Mo Lingfeng.

"Since your heart is already in turmoil, go seek the reason yourself."

"Perhaps, this is simply a tribulation you are destined to cross！"

So foolish—there was no way this old man could save him.

Geng Tianhe, listening at the side, also felt that Junior Brother Mo must have gone insane.

"He must have been driven into madness by Chu Huaixu’s words, ‘Your sword fears me.’"

"To actually say such disrespectful things to Elder Situ."

Mo Lingfeng opened his mouth, feeling somewhat wronged.

Clearly, it had been Elder Situ who kept pressing him with questions.

Moreover, after he had given his answer, the sword spirit that resonated with his heart had agreed…..

But now that Elder Situ was clearly furious, even if Mo Lingfeng was stupid, he absolutely dared not say another word.

Wouldn’t that be courting death?

In truth, he himself didn’t understand what exactly the Heavenly Stone Sword’s sword spirit feared about Chu Huaixu.

The look of fear it displayed on the arena, as though submitting to him!

Elsewhere, Chu Huaixu had already returned home.

As for the Heavenly Stone Sword’s reaction, he was not surprised.

Because when he climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain, weren’t all the swords on that mountain the same?

Even though the black small sword in his Sea of Consciousness was sickly, it was as if a single glance from it would still force them to kneel, unable to raise their heads.

At this moment, he sat on the meditation cushion, organizing his harvests. "The second stage of the main mission 【Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition】 has also been completed."

Chu Huaixu successfully claimed the stage rewards, obtaining 30,000 Experience Points, as well as one 【Yellow-rank Technique Upgrade Voucher】.

"As the name implies, the upgrade voucher is used to upgrade skills."

"When 【Comprehension】 meets the requirement, the most efficient method is to use it to upgrade from level 3 to level 4."

"That is, to raise a technique from the Great Accomplishment stage to Great Perfection."

But right now, things were a bit awkward.

Chu Huaixu’s techniques were all at the Profound-rank.

And this item was virtual, unable to be given to others.

For the moment, it seemed a little useless.

"I could go check the Scripture Pavilion. Some special techniques, though Yellow-rank, can still be learned."

Some techniques, though only Yellow-rank, might have great side effects, but their power was not weak.

And there were also Yellow-rank techniques that served as foundations for Earth-rank or even Heaven-rank techniques.

You first had to master them before advancing to inherit higher-level techniques of the same lineage.

"These two categories of techniques are worth considering."

"My pain tolerance is high, and my regeneration is abnormal. If some Yellow-rank techniques are similar to the 【Sixfold Snow and Lightning】 Little Xu gave me, I could learn them."

"As for the latter type—the foundational ones—they are usually stronger than their peers at the same level."

With that thought, he rose and headed toward the Scripture Pavilion.

Just as he stepped out of the bamboo hut, he turned and knocked on Han Shuangjiang’s door.

"I’m planning to go to the Scripture Pavilion. Do you want to come?"

"Didn’t you say before that you felt you still lacked a defensive technique？" said Chu Huaixu.

"I won’t be exchanging anything this time." As always, Han Shuangjiang, who had no means of production, was strapped for contribution points. She said: "But I can accompany you for a stroll."

Right now, she still owed Chu Huaixu several thousand Sect Contribution Points.

Of the 300 points she had left, 200 had already been spent in the Gambling House.

As someone ranked second on the 【Must-Eat List of Play Companions】, Chu Huaixu immediately saw through her plight.

But he was different—he had the Medicinal Cauldron 【Dao Birth One】 doing “under-the-table work” for him, refining pills day and night automatically, making him already an Outer Sect rich man.

You remain poor as always, and this rich man is very satisfied. You’re willing to accompany me for a stroll, and this rich man is very happy.

Thus, the two of them set out together for the Scripture Pavilion, each exchanging for a technique on the way.

Under Chu Huaixu’s persuasion, Han Shuangjiang, who had originally only planned to browse casually, once again resorted to borrowing for high spending.

Her debts piled higher and higher.

As for himself, he also found a technique that suited his liking.

The Profound-rank defensive technique Han Shuangjiang exchanged for was strongly recommended by Chu Huaixu.

Because in 《Borrowed Sword》, this was one of her early life-saving techniques. Its name was ordinary, called 【Ice Crystal Lotus】.

As the name suggested, it manifested a lotus of solid ice around the body for protection.

As for the Yellow-rank defensive technique Chu Huaixu chose, its name was also plain, called 【Ink Splash】.

After circulating his Spiritual Energy, an ink-like airflow swirled around his body, forming a protective shield.

It was the foundation of an Earth-rank technique, and its name was rather interesting—it was actually called 【Stained by Ink】.

This technique was also primarily defensive in nature. Similarly, streams of ink-colored airflow would circulate around the body, but its defensive effect was even stronger.

Moreover, the reason it was called 【Stained by Ink】 was that once the enemy was tainted by this airflow, they would be “marked by ink,” equivalent to being tagged, allowing precise tracking!

Chu Huaixu felt this technique could be used together with the sword scabbard 【Ding Fengbo】.

The scabbard stored multiple streams of sword qi. In group battles, once the “ink-mark” effect was triggered, no matter how scattered the opponents’ positions were, sword qi could strike them with pinpoint accuracy.

Of course, there was one more important point: "This thing’s special effect looks amazing!

It’s like having a brush dipped in ink painting strokes all over your body.

An ink-painting style—it certainly doesn’t lack a sense of refinement."

After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang headed together toward the Martial Arena.

From the timing, in just a quarter of an hour, it would be Little Xu’s match.

Little Xu’s draw of lots was similar to Han Shuangjiang’s—they had never pulled weak opponents like Lang Yue.

Clearly, the World Protagonist had to endure all kinds of trials.

He carried a massive sword case on his back, winning with considerable difficulty.

But both Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang noticed that Xu Ziqing’s magical treasures were increasing.

The white robe he wore was also a Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Even the pair of shoes on his feet were Mid-grade Spiritual Artifacts.

"Eh, did that Little Martial Uncle Ancestor even outfit him with gear？" Chu Huaixu thought with surprise.

But soon he couldn’t help but smile: "If I went to Little Xu to ask for some, he’d surely give them to me, wouldn’t he?"

After the match ended, the three of them found a quiet spot to chat briefly.

The three of them, like a family, didn’t see each other often. For Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, it was like their child had gone to boarding school, with only one “parent visitation day” per week, when they could see him at night.

Before parting, Xu Ziqing handed Chu Huaixu a pill.

"Senior Brother, this is a 【Bone-tempering and Marrow-washing Pill】. For Body Training cultivators of the first three realms, it’s an extremely rare spiritual medicine."

"The Second Elder refined ten for me in total. I now seem to have reached the limit of its medicinal effect."

Chu Huaixu knew this was a third-grade Spiritual Pill.

At his current level, he couldn’t refine it himself.

Little Xu’s recent rapid progress must have been related to it.

He deliberately put on a stern face, speaking in a dissatisfied tone: "So you’re giving me the leftovers?"

The delicate-faced youth immediately looked flustered, utterly unable to explain himself, only feeling he had spoken clumsily.

He even hurried to add: "Then in the future, whenever the Second Elder gives me pills, I’ll eat half and secretly save the other half for Senior Brother."

"Senior Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to save more, I just fear the Second Elder and Little Martial Uncle Ancestor will find out…"

Han Shuangjiang saw the Dead Fox’s mischievous expression and couldn’t help wanting to lightly kick him.

"Stop teasing him！" she said in dissatisfaction.

"Junior Brother Xu, don’t mind him, he’s just playing around with you."

"If you have Spiritual Pills, take them yourself and cultivate well. Do you really think if you eat half and hide half, the Second Elder and Little Martial Uncle Ancestor won’t notice? You’ll be in for it then！" The Big Ice Block earnestly warned him.

Since even she had spoken up, Chu Huaixu stopped teasing the boy.

He wasn’t the kind of adult who spoiled the mood by rejecting a child’s filial piety with talk of “too expensive, unnecessary, a waste of money.”

He accepted the pill bottle, smiling: "You’ve been thoughtful. I’ll take it tonight."

Hearing this, Little Xu finally let out a sigh of relief. Just those words—“You’ve been thoughtful”—made him happier than his victory in the match just now.

"Oh right, Senior Brother! I’ve gained new insights into the 《Sixfold Snow and Lightning》. Let me show you my practice now！" The youth was eager to demonstrate.

Chu Huaixu was startled.

If you’ve raised the completion level, the Experience Points I’ll need when learning it again will increase!

Even if I learn the incomplete version now, I’ll still need to pay the Experience Points to convert it to the complete one later.

The problem is, my current 【Comprehension】 meets the requirements. If you complete the full version now, I might not qualify to learn it anymore!

He immediately began shooing him away.

"Go, go, go—hurry up! Don’t keep the Little Martial Uncle Ancestor waiting！"

Time passed, and the sixth round of the Eastern Continent Grand Competition began.

By now, only 64 people remained.

Winning this round meant reaching the Top 32!

At that stage, for every match, the Dao Gate’s high-ranking elders and the leading figures of other sects would all attend the Martial Arena to observe.

The scale could be said to have reached its peak.

For Chu Huaixu, every round he won now meant claiming another mission reward.

And starting from this round, the mission rewards became truly generous.

"The Experience Points reward remains 30,000, but the special item reward has now become a 【Profound-rank Technique Upgrade Voucher】！"