This situation was the perfect angle to exploit. So Lordi's feigned outrage at once.
"Useless!"
He thundered, the voice lashing out with the authority of a sovereign. "I gave you a direct, simple order: Guard the Treasury House! How, in the name of the frigid abyss, could you have simply let them waltz in?!"
"And you—you stood by atop the Driftdream Loch, aware that parasites were picking we Hanz Clan legacy clean, and you did nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing to stop them? What is the purpose of a guardian that does not guard?!"
The sword's response was a mixture of confused loyalty and dawning anxious. "Wasn't that… your command, Master?"it asked, its resonance faltering, the memory of the perceived order clearly clashing with its master's current, blistering anger.
Then, the pieces connected in its literal-minded consciousness. The realization didn't dawn; it detonated.
"FUCKING BAAASTARD!" The curse wasn't just a word; it was a physical wave of fury, a sonic blast of pure, unadulterated rage that made the very air vibrate with homicidal intent.
"Did those thieving maggots DARE to fake your orders? To use my devotion against me?! DAMN THEM ALL! I'll shred their souls! I'll grind their bones to dust and scatter them across a thousand toilets!"
Seeing the weapon's rage hit its zenith, Lordi seize the moment; he owned it, he commanded. The voice dropped, but lost none of its sharp, imperious anger. "Exactly! The audacity of this is an insult that stains the very air we breathe! They dared to falsify my voice—to manipulate your loyalty. It is beyond unforgivable! Thus, I sentence them… to DEATH."
He turned his full, blazing attention back to the sword. "My rage cannot wait a moment longer. Go. Now. Return to the estate, dig those vermin out from whatever hole they cower in, and butcher them immediately. Do not return until every last one of them is a red smear upon the stones. Only then will my mind know peace!"
"But, Master…" The Sword of Red Run's vengeful fervor wavered, its luminous form flickering with palpable reluctance. The desire to eviscerate the impostors was powerful, but it was nothing compared to the primal, aching need to stay by the side of the master.
Lordi spotted its hesitation, the reluctance, and drew a sharp breath to unleash another volley of commanding pressure, to shove the emotionally clingy weapon far away.
But before a single syllable could leave his lips, the hovering form of the sword suddenly quivered, not with sorrow, but with a brilliant, eureka-like intensity. It shone with a sudden, inspired light, its voice shifting from reluctance to excited, fervent inspiration.
"Master! Red Run has had a glorious idea! You do not need to risk a journey to find some inferior medic cultivator! Red Run can heal you! I can use my own Origin Power, the very core of my being, to treat your injuries right now!"
Without a single moment of hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the sword unleashed a vast, swirling cloud of blood-crimson mist—a tangible vapor of pure spirit energy that smelled of iron, frost, and immense, vibrant vitality.
The energy was overwhelming, dense with a sword intent so potent it was alive, thrumming with a murderous vitality that promised not death, but fierce, unyielding life. And as the mist poured forth, the sword's own magnificent aura plummeted rapidly. The glow of its steel dimmed, its formidable presence waning, visibly sacrificing its own strength without a second thought.
Lordi was stunned into a brief, perfect silence. Then, his eyes—the eyes of a connoisseur of priceless, powerful things—lit up with avaricious understanding.
Holy fucking abyss!
The thought was a lightning strike of pure, unadulterated greed.
Was there actually such a good thing?! This isn't a problem; this is a windfall!
Without a second thought, Lordi halted his act and his retreat. His hand, moving with a greed that overshadowed all caution, shot out and seized the blood-red mist. The moment his fingertips touched the energy, an immense, torrential flood of spirit power, freezing and devastatingly potent, instantly screamed into his body.
The Sword of Red Run's Origin Power was a tsunami of pure, uncut energy, a force so primordial and intense that it instantly flash-froze every single one of Lordi's meridians as it flooded through him. For one glorious, heart-stopping second, he felt invincible, a god sipping from the cup of eternity.
But that transcendent high lasted for precisely the span of a single, panicked heartbeat. The immense, blood-red spirit energy, having completed its initial, breathtaking rush, now pooled and churned within him, a foreign army with no orders and no barracks. His excitement curdled into pure, unvarnished horror as he realized with gut-wrenching certainty that his dantian wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. It was like trying to shove a square peg of pure, furious ice into a round hole made of warm, familiar flesh. The energy just… sat there, magnificent and useless, and utterly, catastrophically incompatible.
The cause of this impending disaster slammed into his mind with the force of a physical blow.
Oh abyss, you damn idiot!
Lordi berated himself.
This overgrown icepick isn't your Natal Soulbound Artifact Weapon!
You didn't spend centuries tempering your spirit with its essence!
You're just a random Outer Sect disciple, not some legendary sword path cultivator!
While the Sword Born's petty low intelligence might be fooled, but the circulating Origin Power was freezing his meridans inch by inch.
And so, the torrent of this foreign, untamed power began to rage. It wasn't being absorbed; it was just… circulating. And with every forced, agonizing pass through his meridians, the energy scraped and scored the delicate inner walls of his being. It felt less like cultivation and more like someone had poured a river of liquid nitrogen and shattered glass into his veins. A million infinitesimal, searingly cold needles pierced him from the inside out, an electric current of pure agony that set every single nerve ending he possessed on a frantic freezing fire.
Feeling his body becoming a fragile vase cracking under the pressure, Lordi's heart didn't just sink; it plummeted into a bottomless abyss of pure, pants-shitting terror.
Thinking faster than he ever had in his life, his mind racing through options with the desperation of a drowning man, Lordi could only grasp at one final, insane straw. He forced his voice into a semblance of calm authority. He issued a terse, hurried command to the hovering sword, "The healing is… potent. I must focus. I'm going to cultivate for a while to fully integrate this power. Guard me. Let nothing and no one disturb this process."
The moment the words were out, his consciousness plunged inward, screaming at the AllFullOS. "SYSTEM! I want to cultivate right the fuck now! Select the Bone Tempering Art! Smart Duration, One-Click-Cultivation!"
~ Ding! *System Notification Chime*
The system's response was instantaneous, a blandly cheerful chime.
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation System™ is at your service!
...
> [OCC] - One-Click-Cultivation activated.
> Features: Temporary practice, smart duration, and questionable decision-making.
...
> One-click-cultivation: Enabled
> Cultivation hosting: Initializing...
- Friendly reminder: During cultivation, the host will lose control of his/her body.
- Do not panic. This is a normal system function.
> Initializing body control override...
...
> Activating [Bone Termpering Art] Cultivation process...
...
~ Ding! *System Notification Chime*
[AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0]
> Detected Foundation Stage External Spirit Essence x 1 Large strand.
...
> Executing Refine Spirit Essence process.
> Pending…
...
The new notification hit his brain, and Lordi's heart didn't just skip a beat; it did a full goddamn somersault.
Foundation Stage Spirit Essence?!
The revelation was like a bucket of ice water—which, frankly, he was already full of.
No fucking wonder those so-called Origin Power nearly turned me into a human-scented mist!
PS:
Hello, hello, wonderful readers! The main plot is trundling along, and I've got my eye on the horizon. As soon as our LP survives his... eventful stay at the Hanz Estate, I'm diving back into the side stories!
Now, I want to know: which one are you most excited to see? The floor is yours! 🎤