After that, Luo Xing stayed on the flying boat for the entire time and never left. Ye Li hadn’t returned either, since she had to supervise the disciples on their training mission. If anything else happened, it would be inexcusable. After all, a Mahayana Stage cultivator personally acting as the lead elder—if something still went wrong, that would be truly absurd.
During this period, Luo Xing kept wondering what exactly had made Ye Li angry. Was saving someone wrong? Of course not—at least, that was how he saw it. Was Shen Jingge repaying a favor wrong? That wasn’t wrong either, though the method was a bit bizarre. Since nobody was at fault… why was Ye Li angry? Luo Xing couldn’t figure it out. He just couldn’t!
“Junior Brother Luo? Junior Brother Luo?”
“Huh… ah?!”
On the deck of the flying boat, Luo Xing turned around abruptly to find Hong An staring at him with a puzzled look.
“Junior Brother Luo, what’s on your mind?” Hong An asked. “I called you nine times and you didn’t respond.”
“Oh… nothing… it’s nothing.” Luo Xing shook his head. “Senior Brother Hong, you’re back? Is the training mission over?”
Hong An nodded. “Yes, it’s done, so I’m back.”
After all, they had already collected the items needed for this mission, and on top of that, they got the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Spirit Essence. They had far exceeded the requirements.
“Oh, right.”
As he spoke, Hong An changed the subject and took something out of his storage ring, smiling. “Junior Brother Luo, I have a treasure for you.”
He pulled out a three-foot-long sword. The blade was translucent white, like ice and jade, with a pale blue silver light flowing slowly along the spine. When Luo Xing saw the sword, his eyes widened in shock.
“This sword was found in that cave,” Hong An explained, not noticing Luo Xing’s expression. “When you and Elder Ye left, Senior Brother Han and I went in to collect the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Spirit Essence.”
After they finished gathering the essence, they discovered a sword frozen inside the ice pillar. Since none of the three were sword cultivators and they lacked experience, they didn’t recognize the sword’s origin. They only thought it was a decent high-grade spiritual artifact. So after discussion, they agreed to give the sword to Luo Xing.
Luo Xing never expected that the Shuhan Sword would end up in his hands after all.
With a teasing tone, Luo Xing asked, “Senior Brother Hong, do you know the origin of this sword?”
“Huh?” Hong An’s gaze sharpened, sensing something was off. “Junior Brother Luo… do you know where it comes from?”
He didn’t know, and neither did Han Feiyu or Li Changshou, so they unanimously decided to give the sword to Luo Xing. But now it seemed… could this sword be a big deal?
“I know a little…” Luo Xing reached out and grasped the hilt. “If I’m not mistaken, this sword should be the Shuhan Sword, one of the Ten Great Divine Swords.”
The moment he said that, Hong An’s eyes flew wide open in shock! Even though he wasn’t a sword cultivator, he had heard of a few famous spiritual artifacts in the cultivation world, like the Nine Cauldrons of Alchemy, the Eight Furnaces of Artifact Forging, the Eight Great Wonders… And the Ten Great Divine Swords were part of that list: the Wenchen Sword, Shuhan Sword, Yinfeng Sword, Chenguang Sword, Zhenxue Sword, Jiyu Sword, Jiexiao Sword, Lixu Sword, Duming Sword, and Duanye Sword. Xuantian Sect Master Bai Li Qin Mo’s lifebound spirit sword was the Wenchen Sword, ranked sixth.
And now… someone was telling him that a sword casually found in an ice cave was the Shuhan Sword, one of the Ten Great Divine Swords?
Honestly, even though Hong An wasn’t a sword cultivator, he felt a pull… After all, who said non-sword cultivators couldn’t carry a sword? In ancient times, there was even an alchemist who carried a ruler on his back! Taking this sword out would give you plenty of face, even if you never used it.
But now…
Seeing Hong An staring fixedly at the Shuhan Sword, Luo Xing teased, “What do you think, Senior Brother Hong? Want it back?”
Hong An shot him a slightly resentful look, thinking, ‘This kid’s doing it on purpose…’ “Forget it.” He waved his hand helplessly. “What’s given cannot be taken back.”
Not to mention whether he had the face for it, if his master found out he’d done something “unworthy of a gentleman”… he’d be in real trouble…
Luo Xing raised an eyebrow with a smile and cupped his hands to Hong An. “Then thank you very much for your generous gift, Senior Brother Hong.”
No wonder he’d always seen so many people making bargain-hunting videos in his modern life… This feeling… was so satisfying!
After Luo Xing left, the more Hong An thought about it, the more irritated he became, but he had to swallow his frustration. It wasn’t jealousy toward Luo Xing, but rather… a sour feeling in his heart. But who could he blame? Who told him he wasn’t a sword cultivator? Who told him he didn’t read enough to recognize the Shuhan Sword as one of the Ten Great Divine Swords?
With no one to vent his anger on, Hong An thought it over and decided… “Junior Brother Han! I’ve already given the sword to your Senior Brother Luo. He said he’s very grateful that we gave him the Shuhan Sword, one of the Ten Great Divine Swords.”
“What? You didn’t know? I thought you recognized it.”
“Ah?”
“Sigh, forget it. Anyway, where’s Junior Brother Li?”
Back in his room, Luo Xing held the Shuhan Sword in his hands and examined it closely. The icy touch on his palm involuntarily calmed his mind. The Shuhan Sword was ranked seventh among the Ten Great Divine Swords. It was not bloodthirsty, not ostentatious—cold but not cruel, pure but not weak. In the original story, Luo Han obtained the Shuhan Sword in the ice cave, but she didn’t know it was one of the Ten Great Divine Swords at the time. It wasn’t until Wen Yue recognized it that she found out. Later, Wen Yue used talismans to help Ye Li make the Shuhan Sword recognize her as its master, which ultimately awakened the “Compassionate Sword” sword heart.
But Luo Xing… already had a sword heart. Could he still make the Shuhan Sword recognize him as its master?
“Tch… this is a bit troublesome…”
In the original story, Luo Han had obtained the Shuhan Sword first, then awakened her sword heart. But now that Luo Xing already had a sword heart, could he still make the Shuhan Sword accept him? Luo Xing didn’t know…
But Luo Xing would ask…
He stroked the ice-cold blade and murmured, “How do I make it recognize me?”
Time in the cultivation world passed very quickly. Sometimes a single seclusion and emergence spanned a hundred years. Sometimes a single door closing and opening spanned two months. As the last disciple was dragged back by Wen Yue, the training mission at the Absolute Ice Ridge formally ended.
And Luo Xing… finally saw Ye Li again after more than a month. After all, that day when he was brought back, Ye Li hadn’t returned to the flying boat since. She was the accompanying elder and had to watch over the disciples to ensure nothing went wrong.
“Master, you’ve worked hard.”
As soon as Ye Li appeared in the room, Luo Xing dutifully offered her a cup of hot tea, a white towel draped over his shoulder. “Please have some tea, Master. Hot water is ready. Would you like to soak your feet?”
After all, he needed a favor from her, so he had to prepare the ground well…
What? Embarrassing? What’s embarrassing about being filial to one’s master? Others would love to have such an opportunity but have no way!
Ye Li shot him a cold glance, took the teacup, and gracefully sat down on the couch. “Take out what’s in your storage ring.”
As a Mahayana Stage sword cultivator with the “Tyrant Sword” heart, she had an exceptionally keen perception of anything related to swords. There was something on the flying boat—she had sensed it the moment she stepped aboard. She just hadn’t expected it to be… on Luo Xing.