Chapter 256: The Weakness of the Sword Emperor's Broken Sword
Outside Daybreak Mountain, one could just barely glimpse the location where the Soulblade Specter resided.
"It... it looks like it might work? If this keeps up, we might be able to slay that Soulblade Specter?"
Someone, feeling anxious, voiced this uncertain hope.
By now, only a sparse few remained to witness the spectacle.
It didn't take long for everyone to pinpoint who had spoken: a burly man with a massive sword strapped to his back.
He stood among the members of his squad, who had previously been a tangled mess of nerves. The man in front of him, a muscular figure with his greatsword planted firmly in the ground, remained calm. Upon hearing his brother's words, he simply shook his head.
"Just watch. We've already given up on this Soulblade Specter."
He redirected his gaze from the mountain back to his brother, who bowed his head in embarrassment but said nothing. The muscular man smiled, showing a rare hint of approval.
"It seems this trip has refined your mindset. The existence of that young man... well, it's hard not to feel discouraged."
"But overcoming that discouragement could mean you're close to reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Once that happens, I can leave the matters of the Sword Province in your hands with peace of mind—Hmm?"
Just as he finished advising his brother, the muscular man's head snapped upward. He noticed something happening in the distance where the Soulblade Specter was. A fast-moving figure had appeared out of thin air and crashed into the ground with a loud boom, sending dust flying everywhere.
Sensing the familiar aura in the dust cloud, the muscular man exhaled in astonishment.
'It's him... he's back.'
"Just who is this guy...?"
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Within Daybreak Mountain.
Luo Wusheng stood up from a cloud of dust, barely resisting the urge to vomit. He hadn't expected the broken black sword, which now inexplicably belonged to him, to still retain its bad temper.
Moments ago, he had tried using the Sword Emperor of the Heavenly Gate broken sword to control the secret realm that also belonged to the same legendary figure. After failing to channel his spiritual energy into it, he attempted to pour in the only sword intent he could use—the one from the Star Lotus.
The black sword reacted a little but still wasn't enough. That's when Luo Wusheng's previous life experience with endless fantasy novels came in handy. He immediately realized what the key was: since it was a sword of the Emperor, perhaps it required sword intent resembling that of the Sword Emperor to activate.
So, he succeeded by crafting a superficial imitation of the Sword Emperor's intent. The broken black sword immediately sprang to life but quickly saw through his disguise. Fortunately, that brief moment of connection allowed him to understand how to leave the secret realm.
The process, however, was a little more... chaotic than he had anticipated.
The broken sword didn't just burst out of his body through his waist in an undignified manner—it also gave him a disorienting experience as it tore through space. Fortunately, he hadn't brought the beautiful Sword Sect Fairy with him, or it would've been much worse.
Now, Luo Wusheng held the black sword in his hand. Only, he was gripping the broken blade itself instead of the hilt. Looking at this, his lips twitched.
'Seriously? Holding a grudge over my poor disguise skills?'
"Well... at least I made it out," he muttered. He could only hope the sword would behave when he returned to the secret realm later.
Having established a connection, he now had access to basic abilities like entering and exiting the Sword Emperor's realm. He just wasn't sure how smoothly those abilities would work.
Still holding the sharp edge of the sword in his hand, Luo Wusheng stepped out of the dispersing cloud of dust. Immediately, several gazes locked onto him.
'Wait, where's that five-sword—or was it six-sword?—old Nascent Soul guy?' he wondered.
In front of him, three Nascent Soul stage sword cultivators stared at him, their faces blank with disbelief.
Luo Wusheng quickly looked past them, and his eyes landed on what they were guarding.
Thankfully, the Soulblade Specter was still there. It hadn't fully recovered its original form, but it had regained nearly half of its strength. However, it no longer showed any signs of healing, likely because the black sword in his hand was no longer supplying it with energy.
As Luo Wusheng pondered, his brow furrowed slightly.
On the other side, one of the Nascent Soul cultivators finally broke the silence, his voice trembling.
"You—"
"I'm here to take what's mine," Luo Wusheng interrupted, taking a step forward.
The three Nascent Souls instinctively stepped back.
Though they didn't understand why the boy was holding a broken sword backward, the memory of his previous terrifying slash still haunted them. None of them knew if he could still unleash that godlike attack, but none wanted to find out.
However, Luo Wusheng wasn't basking in his newfound intimidation. He was focused on the subtle emotion coming from the black sword in his hand. Looking at the motionless Soulblade Specter, a sudden realization dawned on him.
'Why is the same blank sword intent inside the Emperor's broken sword? And why did this ill-tempered sword provide energy to the Soulblade Specter earlier?'
He began to suspect that his earlier guesses were off.
"Could this sword be linked to the Soulblade Specter? Or maybe... the Sword Emperor himself?"
As he mused, he quickly shook his head and pushed those thoughts aside. But a smirk tugged at his lips.
"You want to get close to that Soulblade Specter... don't you?"
On the other side, the three Nascent Soul cultivators stared at Luo Wusheng, confused. Why wasn't he attacking?
Then, before their bewildered eyes, the broken sword in Luo Wusheng's hand slowly turned, as if guided by an unseen force, until the hilt was now properly in his grip.
Feeling smug, Luo Wusheng let out a satisfied snort.
"See? The Soulblade Specter really is important to you."
"I won't push you too hard. A few Soulblade Specters are no big deal. Stick with me, and this kind of thing will be easy for us to handle in the future."
"Who knows, I might even find a way to fix the half of your blade that was cut off by the Sword Ancestor."
As the connection between him and the black sword deepened, Luo Wusheng nearly burst out laughing.
Perfect. He was one step closer to fully conquering the Sword Emperor's broken sword.
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD