Chapter 37 - 274-283

Chapter 274: I Want To Challenge Him

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Tsk!

Everyone who saw Xu Que couldn't help but inhale a mouthful of cold air. They were astounded.

"What an … extraordinary young man!"

"Goodness, this young hero must be an elite from a large sect!"

"But not quite though, look at how he carries himself. He is clearly a young master from a significant family!"

"Indeed, such airs… one look and you know he's not from a simple family."

"Elegant, well-mannered, he must be a genius from a big sect or reputable family!"

"Young master, please tell us your name!" a female cultivator cried.

Xu Que blew out a puff of smoke that formed a ring. "I'm Takumi Fujiwara," he replied simply. "I am the Speed Star of Mount Akina, my nickname is Old Driver, and my hobby is drag racing!"

Fujiwara? The name rang in everyone's heads.

All of a sudden, everyone was even more stunned.

There isn't such a surname in Metal Nation. Could it be that he is from a mysterious significant family or from other nations? And that Exploding Heavens Faction… never heard of it either! Queries ran through their minds.

"What? Exploding Heavens Faction?"

A cry of surprise came from the rear of the crowd.

All the people turned back to look. It was an elite cultivator from Jade Sword Sect, who had a perturbed expression on his face.

In reality, the elite cultivator was terrified inside his mind. When the sect had returned to Metal Nation, they had not spread the news of Ye Chang Feng's defeat but instead, they had tried their best to keep such news under wraps.

This was because the Legendary Swordsman had too great an influence in Metal Nation. Such a defeat could never be made known to outsiders. Once spread, the whole Jade Sword Sect could also be implicated and become a laughing stock. The consequences were unimaginable!

Only a few elites in Jade Sword Sect knew what had truly happened. Although this particular cultivator had not been present then, he remembered the name—Exploding Heavens Faction and Ye Liang Chen.

So when he heard the name Exploding Heavens Faction, he was unnerved and couldn't help but give an involuntary yell.

Since this young man was from the Exploding Heavens Faction, he was 80 percent sure that this man knew that Ye Chang Feng had been defeated by Ye Liang Chen of the Exploding Heavens Faction.

This type of bad news must be controlled. At the very least, the news must not be spread within the Metal Nation. Otherwise, Jade Sword Sect's dignity risks being destroyed throughout the entire Metal Nation, the elite cultivator thought. No! I must stop him from spreading this piece of news!

The next moment, without a care for the surprised looks of the crowd, the elite cultivator came forward and walked straight up to Xu Que.

"Fellow cultivator, I need to talk to you!"

He placed a hand on Xu Que's shoulder. His tone was sure and firm.

Xu Que scrunched an eyebrow and looked at the man in front of him. He was rather unhappy. "Who are you?" Xu Que asked with a frown. "I don't want to buy insurance policies, I don't need loans and I am not short of money. Yeah, I spent 150,000 yuan abroad! But I don't know you, if you need my service for sperm donations in order to have a kid, please send over a beautiful young woman who is 30 years old or younger, thank you!"

The man seemed slightly startled and shook his head. "Fellow cultivator, what nonsense are you talking? Please come with me, I need to discuss something with you!"

"I have nothing to discuss with you, and remove your pig-like hand from my shoulder," Xu Que scolded the cultivator immediately. "Do you know how expensive my clothes are? You don't know anything and you decide to just touch my shoulder like that? Do you think I'll beat you up?"

The whole crowd froze with a confused expression upon hearing that.

"Geez, this young man is neither elegant nor well-mannered at all!"

"I originally thought that he was a sensible and graceful young master, but he has turned out to be a very vulgar person!"

"The appearance and the heart do not always match up!"

"This young man is really ignorant, Jade Sword Sect's Zhang Li Yun has come to talk to him, yet he is behaving so rudely towards him."

"He's definitely going to be taught a lesson. Zhang Li Yun is one of the young elites in Jade Sword Sect alongside Ye Chang Feng and several others. I heard his temper is not that good either."

"But then again, Zhang Li Yun is usually a loner, why has he suddenly taken the initiative to talk to this young man?"

"I think he might have taken a fancy towards that divine chariot!"

"This type of divine chariot is too eye-catching. Since he has flaunted it by driving it outside, he can't prevent people from coveting it!"

"Although this young man has hidden his stage of cultivation, he can only really bluff the ordinary people. It is definitely futile against someone like Zhang Li Yun, who is a young genius."

The crowd shook their heads and started to sympathise with Xu Que.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Zhang Li Yun did not flare up. He took a deep breath and continued talking to Xu Que. "Fellow cultivator, could you consider what's at stake for the Jade Sword Sect and let me talk to you? This matter is really very important."

For the sake of the Jade Sword Sect, Zhang Li Yun swallowed his pride.

However, Xu Que's eyes lit up when he heard the words 'Jade Sword Sect'.

"Jade Sword Sect? Ha, so you're from the Jade Sword Sect! I finally found you… that someone! … You have the so-called Legendary Swordsman in your sect! Call him out, I heard—"

"Fellow cultivator!"

Xu Que did not manage to finish his words and was interrupted by Zhang Li Yun.

Zhang Li Yun was truly scared. He was afraid that Xu Que would blurt out the truth about that matter.

It was hard to imagine the consequences if this matter was leaked out. Not only would the Trial of the Sword Catacomb be affected, but he was also sure that the whole Metal Nation would find out the truth in less than ten days.

"Fellow cultivator, I'll certainly give you a satisfactory price. But we need to go somewhere quiet to talk, is that okay with you?" Zhang Li Yun pretended to be interested in Xu Que's divine chariot, and he was trying hard to pretend to be calm.

"A satisfactory price? Is this for real? I'm someone who doesn't ask for a price easily, and when I do, I'll ask for something big!"

Xu Que had figured out what the Jade Sword Sect was up to. He curled his lips up and smiled.

However, in his heart, he was pondering over how to act tough to earn more points.

Money?

A big sum of money?

Do you think this can be compared to my Acting Tough Points?

I reject all transactions that are not for the purpose of acting tough.

The Jade Sword Sect should have a good reputation and high status in Metal Nation!

That Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng, also enjoys great fame in Metal Nation!

So, what more is there to discuss?

When you want to tread on someone, tread on the face of a genius!

When acting tough, aim for the highest amount of return!

I'm acting tough about what I did, so others can't do anything to me about it.

All these were Xu Que's quotes for life!

...

Zhang Li Yun was slightly taken aback as Xu Que appeared to have compromised without much effort on his part. He had thought that people from Exploding Heavens Faction had a strange temperament and would be hard to negotiate with.

But now it seemed like this Takumi Fujiwara guy was friendlier—although he was full of nonsense and vulgarities, his temper seemed just fine.

Zhang Li Yun was slightly relieved. In any case, as long as Xu Que promised not to mention that Ye Chang Feng, the Legendary Swordsman, had been defeated by Ye Liang Chen with a single stroke, he believed that Jade Sword Sect could afford the required remuneration.

Immediately, he nodded. "No problem my fellow cultivator, as long as it's within the capacities of the Jade Sword Sect, we'll definitely try our best to fulfil your demands."

Xu Que was smiling with his mouth closed, the corners of his eyes curved. "Actually my demand is very simple. I don't want money. Just ask the Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng, to come out now! I want to challenge him!"

Chapter 275: Swordsmanship Contest!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

What was going on?

Had that guy just challenged the Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng?

Had he lost his mind?

All eyes turned to Xu Que and focused on him with amused disbelief, as if he was the biggest fool in the world.

Ye Chang Feng, the Legendary Swordsman of the Jade Sword Sect, was renowned throughout the Metal Nation. Someone would have to be living under a rock to not know him—he was quite simply the ultimate idol of the youth!

All young men dreamed of one day becoming as powerful as he was. In fact, some of them were willing to bash their heads against a wall if it meant getting accepted into the Jade Sword Sect—all because of Ye Chang Feng!

Yet now someone had appeared out of the blue, saying he wanted to challenge Ye Chang Feng?

Excuse me, brother, but are you insane?

How long do you think you'll last against someone like Ye Chang Feng?

...…

Everyone stared unblinkingly at Xu Que.

Even Zhang Li Yun was stunned. He hadn't expected Xu Que to make this kind of demand.

A duel with Ye Chang Feng?

These people from Exploding Heavens Faction sure were extremely arrogant. First it was Ye Liang Chen, and now this… Takumi Fujiwara person. Did these bastards think that Chang Feng could really be that easy to bully?

"My friend, it's…" Zhang Li Yun hesitated. Although he was slightly angry by that point, he was still forcing himself to stay as polite and gracious to Xu Que as possible.

He was afraid that one careless move might trigger this bastard in front of him to blow everything out of proportion.

"What's the matter? Is he too much of a chicken to come out and face me? Don't try to lie to me and say he's not here! I've investigated the matter and I know he's here today. Earlier on that day—"

"Calm down, my friend," interrupted Zhang Li Yun, his heart almost jumping out of his chest. "Listen to me. Yes, it's true, Chang Feng really is here."

Zhang Li Yun almost burst out in tears as he stared helplessly at Xu Que. Goddamn it, couldn't this bastard just keep his mouth shut? If he hadn't paid close attention to what Xu Que was saying, he was sure that he was about to spill out everything!

Meanwhile, Xu Que was deliberately teasing Zhang Li Yun. He knew full well that these people from Jade Sword Sect were most afraid of exposing the 'incident'. That was why he was acting oblivious and extra arrogant today!

"Don't be nervous, my friend!" said Xu Que, smiling as he patted Zhang Li Yun's shoulders. "I know what you mean, but everyone's out here to see something exciting, aren't we? We go big or we go home, am I right?"

Zhang Li Yun was so angry that he wouldn't be surprised if smoke suddenly came out of his ears. All that talk about going big or going home was just that, talk—he knew that Xu Que was teasing him on purpose.

"Well?" said Xu Que. "Since Ye Chang Feng really is here, then let him come out. I'm challenging him to a duel and we'll decide once and for all who is the better swordsman—him or me. Whoever wins will be proclaimed the next Legendary Swordsman!" Xu Que was bursting with confidence as he uttered these words.

At that moment, everyone there almost snorted at Xu Que's hubris.

What an utter imbecile!

This bastard had appeared out of nowhere and done nothing but brag from the moment he had first opened his mouth. And now he wanted to become the next Legendary Swordsman?

It was time for the Jade Sword Sect to teach this amateur a harsh lesson!

However, the situation once again took a turn that was beyond everyone's expectations.

The burning rage had simmered down in Zhang Li Yun, and he could now speak with perfect civility.

"My friend Fujiwara," he said, "Chang Feng has entered the swordsmanship contest and passed the first round. He went in with the other talented swordsmen who passed the round as well, so there is no way we can get him back out here. Would you mind waiting for him for a while?"

"You want me to wait for him? Are you kidding me? No one has ever dared to let a member of the Exploding Heavens Faction wait for anyone else! Are you Jade Sword Sect people trying to rebel against the authority?" Xu Que sneered haughtily before falling silent for a while. "Hmph, you're lucky though," he then continued. "Because I'm in a really good mood today. Had it been our brother Liang Chen, he would surely have blown all of you swordsmen up into smithereens!"

The crowd paid no heed to Xu Que's threats, because they had never heard of this weird Exploding Heavenly Gang or whatever they called themselves. They took it for granted that Xu Que was bragging again.

But Zhang Li Yun knew better though. He almost jumped in shock at the mention of the name Liang Chen. He felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

"My honorable friend Fujiwara," he answered immediately, "but there is nothing we can do!"

"Bullshit!" said Xu Que with his eyebrows raised. "Didn't you say he's in the swordsmanship contest? Good! I'll go inside and find him there!" Xu Que then swiftly rushed towards the entrance.

Everyone's expressions once again transformed in an instant. Zhang Li Yun was stunned, though he then smiled slyly as he turned to Xu Que.

"My friend Fujiwara," he said, "you haven't received the approval from the Sword Spirit yet. You will not be able to enter the Sword Mound."

"The approval from the Sword Spirit?" asked Xu Que, voice full of suspicion.

As soon as he uttered those words, the crowds looked at him in a disapproving expression.

"Young man, don't you know what kind of place the Sword Mound is? How dare you challenge the Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng! It's time someone put you in your place!"

"That's right! I guess you don't even have the qualifications to enter the Sword Mound! It's a sacred place which can only be entered by those who have been approved by the Sword Spirit and hold ancient swords, so don't even dream about it, boy!"

"And the Sword Spirit will only approve a limited amount of people, only a hundred ancient sword holders per century! Right now there are already 90 swordsmen who have entered the Sword Mound, so there are only 10 places left!"

"Yeah, so don't even think about going in there if you don't get chosen for a place in the Sword Mound!"

...…

Even though everyone was busy hurling insults at him, Xu Que only calmly listened to them.

Once everyone settled down, he turned back towards Zhang Li Yun, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing standing there?" he said. "Didn't you hear what they said? Hurry up and get me a place inside the Sword Mound!"

Zhang Li Yun's jaw dropped to the ground.

The crowd's eyes opened wide as saucers.

What was going on? Why was he demanding a place from the Jade Sword Sect now? Since when had anyone ever made such a promise? And in any case, why would the Jade Sword Sect do such a thing for an imbecile like him?

But once again, the crowd was surprised by Zhang Li Yun. The conflicting emotions on his face right now were infinitely fascinating—he looked wrathful yet helpless, staring daggers with eyes that could have killed a dozen men, yet he was also trying with all his might to maintain a polite smile.

No ordinary man could have worn such a peculiar expression on their face!

"But my friend Fujiwara," he managed to say. "There is only one place left for us in Jade Sword Sect, so you…"

"Ah, great! So you do have a place left!" said Xu Que with a big smile. "I was just testing you, but who would have thought that you would be so kind as to relinquish the last place to me! Great! Since you insist upon it, then I'll humbly accept this place. This way, I won't have to waste my time fighting others for their place!"

In that instant, Xu Que had become the embodiment of 'thick-skinned shamelessness'.

Only then did the people in the crowd realize how thick the human skin can be. What Xu Que had just demonstrated would have put the infamous sly fox Duan Jiu De to shame!

At that point, all Zhang Li Yun could do was relent and blame his own big mouth. Why had he mentioned that there was one last place left? Why couldn't he have just lied and said the places had all been filled up and there was nothing they could do, so deepest apologies and goodbye? Damn it all to hell!

After a moment of silence, Zhang Li Yun gritted his teeth and said in a defeated tone, "alright, my friend Fujiwara, then… why don't you go ahead and go through the test? There's a cave over there with many restriction signs in front of it. There will be innumerable ancient swords inside the cave, and all you need to do is stand outside and summon an ancient sword. If there is one that is fated to belong to you, the ancient sword will fly towards you by itself. Then you just have to to hold that sword and enter the Sword Mound."

"It's that simple?" asked Xu Que, his eyes blinking in disbelief.

"Yes…" answered Zhang Li Yun, although he was sneering inside.

Simple, huh? Ha, so you think that the Sword Spirit will recognize just about anybody, you idiot? Even the venerable Lao Zi had failed to get the approval of the Sword Spirit, so what hope could you have of succeeding? Let's just see how humiliated you'll get when you stand there waiting like a fool!

Even the people in the crowd were shaking their heads. In their view, Xu Que was obviously an ignorant and airheaded young man who thought too highly of himself, even though he was nothing but an amateur.

This type of person was unlikely to ever be able to cultivate proper swordsmanship, let alone be recognized by the Sword Spirit!

Xu Que was oblivious to these people's small view on him. He walked confidently in the direction of the sacred cave. Had it not been because he wanted to save his Acting Tough points, he would have just used a trick to break his way into the entrance of the Sword Mound.

However, he saw this moment as an opportunity to act tough and earn more points, so naturally he was going to just go along with this method.

To his surprise, though, Xu Que was met with an astonishing sight as he approached the cave entrance.

The interior of the cave was simply immense! He couldn't see where the cave ended as he looked into it—it was all a vast expanse of twilight shrouded in a dark mysterious fog. What a breath-taking place this was!

And there inside the cave, masses of swords densely covered the cave floor. The sight was so eerie that it sent a shiver down Xu Que's spine. These swords had obviously been there for a very long time—in fact, Xu Que thought it possible that they'd been there for up to a thousand years!

With this many ancient swords abandoned in the cave, some people might have mistaken this place for the actual Sword Mound, when in fact this was just a little test for those who would be entering the real Sword Mound!

If a simple testing cave was this terrifying, how much worse would the real Sword Mound be?

In that instance, Xu Que suddenly felt excited and curious about the place called the Sword Mound. He couldn't wait to enter such a mystifying place!

Chapter 276: The Sword Spirit's Recognition

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xu Que was not the only one standing before the entrance to the cave.

Besides him, the people filling up the other nine places were also queuing up.

Xu Que directly went up to the entrance in an attempt to jump queue. However, there were restrictions—the entrance only opened up a pathway for a single person to move along, and therefore there was no way to cut the queue unless the person in front allowed him to take their position.

At the same time, a system notification rang in his head. Ding! "A restriction spell is detected ahead. Do you want to use 1,000 Acting Tough Points to break the spell?"

Holy shit! 1,000 Acting Tough Points?

System, why don't you become a robber instead?

Xu Que almost jumped when he heard the cost quoted by system. He cursed in his head. Damn it, things are getting more expensive now!

But at the next moment, he calmed down as he thought of the fact that the cave here was clearly older and had a longer history when compared to the Royal Tombs of the Fire Nation. Besides, he could feel that the restrictive spell was really strong. After taking just a few steps, he could already feel a sharp, majestic pressure, as if he was being pointed at by a sharp sword.

The crowd had seen that Xu Que had tried to cut the queue by walking directly up to the furthest elite cultivator in the queue. All the people were staring at him as it was obvious what his motive was.

And then all of a sudden, he turned around and went to the end of the queue. Whilst doing so, he did not forget to make an awe-inspiring excuse for his sudden action. "Adhering to regulations is a good virtue for all young cultivators. For example, queuing up. I personally like this the best. Here I am, excuse me, is this the last position? Don't move from your position, I'm supposed to queue behind you …"

The crowd felt their mouths twitch, speechless at what they were seeing.

You have the cheek to call yourself disciplined?

You must have noticed the restrictive spell, so you have no choice but to turn around, right?

Why is there such a brazen and shameless fellow in this world?

However, the nine elite cultivators queuing in front of him were not bothered by Xu Que at all.

They came from various large, reputable sects and had been chosen from amongst millions of people. They belonged to the category of geniuses and elites!

They did not know why Zhang Li Yun from Jade Sword Sect had been so polite to this fellow. As elites, they tended to have a proud and mighty attitude. Even if Xu Que had a very high status, they wouldn't bother themselves with him.

The elite cultivator in the first position glanced at Xu Que without much emotion. Hmph! He gave a snort and strode forward.

He closed his eyes and sent his soul strength into the cave. Whoom! Sounds of clanging swords were heard from within the cave!

Swoosh!

The next moment, a sound pierced through the air. In a split second, an ancient sword flew out into the hands of that elite cultivator.

The hum of the ancient sword was captivating. Just one sound and one could tell that it was a flying sword with strong spiritual powers. To be able to obtain the recognition of the Sword Spirit within the ancient sword was not going to be an easy feat!

The whole crowd exclaimed at the sight.

"He succeeded!"

"That is Situ Shang, the genius from the Situ Family. He's too strong! He actually earned the Sword Spirit's recognition within such a short period of time!"

"After all, he's number two after Ye Chang Feng, the Legendary Swordsman. He'll definitely succeed."

...

Situ Shang held the ancient sword in his hand. After successfully obtaining the sword, he passed through the restrictions and walked out of the tunnel. His eyes were aloof and indifferent.

Xu Que immediately stared at Situ Shang's ancient sword with great desire. He was worried, and various thoughts went through his head.

Am I going to snatch it? Rob it? Grab it?

Forget it, better not rob it. I'm the Act Tough King. Acting tough is like art, it has to look good. Snatching stuff from a little rookie—nah! The Act Tough King isn't interested in that.

But this fellow is really arrogant. He actually dared to snort at me. What an asshole, I'm going to deal with him later.

Xu Que wore a friendly smile on his face and nodded his head at Situ Shang.

Situ Shang was dumbstruck for a moment. He hadn't expected Xu Que to actually show such a friendly side to his personality by taking the initiative to greet him. Well, even Zhang Li Yun had greeted this person politely. No matter how aloof or arrogant he was, he decided he shouldn't persist in behaving that way anymore. And so he nodded back at Xu Que.

Xu Que did not say anything and continued to look forward.

By now, the second elite had come up to stand in front of the cave. He sent in his Soul Strength as well. The cave resonated with sound and another sword landed in his hand.

The crowd gave another cry of surprise.

But obviously, this kind of luck did not belong to everyone.

When it was the turn for the third elite cultivator, he stood for quite a while as he tried his best to release his Soul Strength to the maximum—but nothing happened in the cave.

Everyone started to shake their heads.

"Seems like he has failed to get the recognition!"

"I know him! He's from Spirit Treasures Pavilion. They usually have a great amount of Soul Strength, and therefore they are best suited for equipment forging and refining."

"Their Soul Strength may be strong but that doesn't guarantee them recognition from the Sword Spirit!"

"Precisely, the Sword Spirit wants cultivators with integrity and a devoted heart towards sword cultivation. People like that tend to have greater success with sword cultivation!"

...

The cultivator from Spirit Treasures Pavilion walked away regretfully.

Xu Que was a vengeful person. He remembered that this fellow had previously thrown him a look of disdain. So now he decided to gloat over his failure.

"Ha, such an easy feat and you failed? Too weak!" Xu Que made a cutting remark.

The cultivator from Spirit Treasures Pavilion stopped when he heard the comment. He stared at Xu Que with hostility.

"Oh no! What are you staring at? Do you think I'm going to pluck your eyes out and trample on them if you keep staring at me like that?"

Xu Que continuedd to casually taunt the cultivator.

"You …"

The cultivator couldn't bear the insults. He wanted to dash over and teach Xu Que a lesson.

Zhang Li Yun from Jade Sword Sect was anxious. He was worried that the matter would blow up out of control, and he quickly stopped him. He shook his head and used his Soul Strength to convey his message to the cultivator. Don't bother with him, he's just an ignorant young lad. He's definitely going to fail later. You can laugh at him then when he does. Later on when my Sect Elders arrive, he's going to have a hard time.

After listening to that, the cultivator glanced at Xu Que one more time with a cold sneer on his face, then turned and walked away.

...

Xu Que had witnessed the scene. Although he didn't know what Zhang Li Yun had said, he was certain that it hadn't been anything nice.

Nevertheless, that did not daunt Xu Que, for he was the Act Tough King with lots of nasty tricks up his sleeves!

Xu Que had his ways of dealing with the situation, even though he didn't know what Zhang Li Yun had conveyed to the cultivator. He turned to Zhang Li Yun, wearing a bright smile on his face."Little Zhang, you shouldn't bully him. It's only natural of him to want to teach me a lesson when I taunted him earlier! Unfortunately, this fellow didn't have the guts. He only dared to move his mouth, and if we are really going to have a duel, he's going to back off! Besides, everyone is equal under the law. You can't just side with me like that. Don't use Jade Sword Sect to oppress others next time!"

He sounded so earnest and sincere that it nearly made Zhang Li Yun and the third cultivator stumble and fall.

The crowd was actually guessing what Zhang Li Yun had said to the cultivator as well. And when Xu Que said that, everyone was startled.

The Jade Sword Sect is protecting this young man?

This is so terrible, no wonder why that young man is so arrogant and Zhang Li Yun had to put up with him. This young man must have a very solid background.

Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for successfully acting tough. The reward is 180 Acting Tough Points!"

Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for acting tough with quick thinking. The special reward is 300 Acting Tough Points!"

Chapter 277: How Dare You Ignore Me!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The system's notifications rang up immediately, and a smile cropped up on Xu Que's face.

At that moment, Zhang Li Yun was feeling as if it wasn't a good time to speak for fear of hurting the good name of the Jade Sword Sect. So all he did was turn to the cultivator of Ling Bao Temple and look at him apologetically.

...…

Then, the fourth cultivator arrived at the front of the cave.

He failed as well.

The failures were like a contagious disease that was being passed on from one cultivator to the next.

The fifth cultivator failed!

The sixth cultivator also failed!

...…

It was not until the ninth cultivator arrived that the repetitive scene suddenly changed.

The cultivator was a young man who was now standing in front of Xu Que. No one save for his mother would call that face handsome. Still, there was a vague aura of strength emanating from this youth, although he seemed to have suppressed this strength inside him in order to appear much more unremarkable than he truly was.

Xu Que noticed how even the spectators from the sect had paid no special attention to the ninth cultivator, because he seemed to them like someone without a reputation or any skills. There was a marked silence that hadn't been there when the previous cultivators had arrived. Xu Que could clearly perceive how some of the previous cultivators had triggered bewitched stares with just their presences, yet this young man produced no reaction from the crowd at all. In fact, it seemed that no one even knew who he was.

Xu Que knew better, though. He'd sensed early on that this young man was not as simple as he seemed. He might even be on the same level as the Legendary Swordsman Ye Chang Feng, judging from the thick act tough aura emanating from his body!

It was a different kind of act tough aura, though. Whereas Ye Chang Feng's act tough aura shone in its brilliance, this young man had kept his dark and mysterious.

What's that? Which kind of act tough aura would Xu Que's be, you ask?

Why, it would the kind that was 360 degrees, totally spellbinding and alternately brilliant and dark, of course!

...…

Tsk tsk, thought Xu Que. This guy must be one of those people who disguises themselves as a pig to catch a tiger—his strength is in getting people to underestimate him!

As the king of acting tough, it only took Xu Que a glance at the young man to see through all of his tricks.

Sure enough, just as the cultivator entered the cave, the whole place echoed with the vibrating sounds of the ancient swords, and this racket was much louder than the one any previous cultivator had ever caused!

Just then, the expressions of everyone in the crowd altered abruptly!

Swooosh! Swoosh!

Before anyone could spend more time imagining who this extraordinary young man could be, two bright streams of light appeared in the dark cave which ended up into the young cultivator's hands—he'd managed to get two ancient swords!

"Wow!"

In that instance the whole crowd erupted into shocked gasps. All were stunned by the sight!

"Good heavens! That's a powerful young man! How is it possible for anyone to get two ancient swords at once!"

"Who the hell is he? Why doesn't he look familiar at all?"

"Maybe he's the disciple of a mysterious master! What an amazing guy!"

"The only person who'd ever got two ancient swords was the Legendary Swordsman, Ye Chang Feng! Who would have thought that this plain-looking young boy would have the same level of talent!"

"It seems that the Legendary Swordsman has met his match this time. Once he reaches the Sword Mound, I'm sure there will be a fierce battle that will decide who will obtain the Sword Spirit Knowledge!"

...…

All eyes were now fixed upon the young cultivator. Even the elders of the sects had changed their tunes and were now showering him with praise.

Still, the cultivator's expression remained stone cold. He took no notice of the chattering around him at all.

"Why such a long face, boy?" said Xu Que with a smile as he watched the young cultivator leaving the cave. "I must say that getting two swords isn't half bad for a young man. Don't be discouraged, though. Didn't you see how those bastards before you didn't even get one sword at all? And they moved on with their pathetic lives, didn't they? Come on, now, stop sulking. You're still young… Just do better next time, alright?"

"...…"

Everyone there was left speechless by Xu Que's words.

What did he mean by sulking? The young man was just keeping his cool! And why in the world had he told the young man not to be discouraged and to do better next time?!

And how dare he make fun of the previous talented swordsmen! They were all the cream of the crop and had been fine representatives of their noble sects! Even though they had failed to get a sword, they were still highly talented and were the pride of their families and sects!

Furthermore, shouldn't this strange man be worried about himself, rather than making fun of others? By the looks of it, there was probably a thousand per cent chance that he would fail as well!

...…

Zhang Li Yun of Jade Sword Sect had returned to the crowd and joined in with his brothers from the same sect. There was a sly smile on his face as he imagined Xu Que making a fool of himself in front of everyone.

They all clearly understood the criteria that the Sword Spirit used to choose someone, and they knew that a shameless wanderer like Xu Que would have no chance of success.

And so, Xu Que finally arrived at the cave entrance under the jeering stares of everyone else who was there.

He held his breath and tried to calm himself as much as possible. The expressions on his face turned solemn and dignified as he accumulated all his Soul Strength.

And so, fifteen minutes passed and not a single clink was heard in the cave, and the swords didn't so much as waver gently…

Everyone in the crowd began to snort and chuckle under their breaths. It was just as they had expected—Xu Que was doomed to failure!

How could it be otherwise? The Sword Spirit in these ancient swords had very harsh conditions in their selection of the right owner. Not only must the person be in a Cultivation Stage and possess great talents, he must also have an upright nature and great character as well. Obviously in the eyes of the crowd, Xu Que ticked none of the boxes mentioned here.

Zhang Li Yun laughed silently at the sight before him and shook his head again and again.

Exploding Heavens Faction?

Ha! What a joke! What a pathetic wet fart of a joke!

He could have just waited outside quietly and spared himself of this spectacle, yet he insisted on getting a place and coming here to make a right fool of himself. What an idiot!

...…

At that moment, even Xu Que was beginning to panic…

What the hell, what is this dogshit Sword Spirit thinking? How can it reject a handsome face like mine? It's impossible! Don't you know that I can blow the whole Sword Mound up into bits! Fine! I'll just stand here a bit longer until you change your mind!

However, half an hour had passed and there was still no movement at all in the cave. The crowd was getting impatient now.

"That's enough, just admit that you've failed and come out!" someone shouted.

"That's right, three people have succeeded and four swords had been taken, which means that there are still six places left."

"Yeah! And there are people waiting to try out their luck here! Stop wasting everyone's time and get out of there!"

"The Sword Spirit has rejected you! It won't do you any good even if you stand there for another century!"

...…

Xu Que turned his head abruptly to them and stared down harshly at the crowd.

"What do you old farts know? I'm from the Exploding Heavens Faction, I'm nothing like the rejected goods out there! My extraordinary presence must've shocked the Sword Spirit into a daze! Just wait and see, in a moment it will recover and come back to its senses."

"...…"

The crowd's faces were visibly reddened by Xu Que's extraordinary boast, although they were once again rendered speechless. Could this man get any more arrogant?

Even Xu Que was getting angry now, and the consequences of provoking the Act Tough King's ire were never pretty.

Damn this! You six remaining swords! How dare you ignore the Act Tough King!

Fine! If that's how you're going to treat me, then I'm not going to play nice anymore!

Xu Que then summoned the system's interface and angrily gave it instructions.

"Damn it! The Sword System won't co-operate, so I'm going to show it what I'm capable of. System, give me a list of divine items! That's right, that one!"

An evil smirk appeared on Xu Que's face as he selected an item from the system. He had finally found an item that would be a match for the Sword Spirit, something that would shock the heavens and shatter the earth.

Xu Que then smiled and almost shouted in his heart, "Come out my big cock… no, no, not that. I meant—come out, my big magnet!"

Chapter 278: Looking Down On Me?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There was a saying that went, 'acting tough is for those who are prepared.'

Therefore, Xu Que had a habit of preparing himself, paying attention to details all the time and subsequently grasping every opportunity to act tough.

Just now as he moved closer to the cave, he had already carefully inspected the ancient swords and noticed that the majority of them were rusted; obviously they were made of metal elements.

This was very different from the weapons of the Fire Nation, where they were mostly made of ore and minerals.

This was the Metal Nation after all—the cultivators cultivated and progressed using the Metal Spirit Qi and hence their weapons naturally had more metal elements within them so that greater prowess could be shown.

So to deal with items that possessed high metallic content—the perfect item would be magnets!

However, with such distance, a small magnet might not be enough. A big magnet might be too conspicuous, so Xu Que decisively settled for a small electromagnetic controller.

The electromagnetic controller was a very simple device. A circle of copper wire was wrapped around an iron core, and the coil was linked up with the electrical current which could make the iron core behave just like a magnet.

Basically, it was a device to convert electrical energy into magnetic energy. This was physics knowledge learned in middle school. Even Xu Que who was a poor student in terms of his academic results understood how this worked.

To boot, this device was exchanged from the system store and it could generate magnetic energy of up to ten times more than what it should. Xu Que could also control the device easily. Once turned off, the magnetic energy would be gone in an instant, which was very convenient.

The price was also very economic. It only cost ten Acting Tough Points!

Furthermore, the system had also specially specified that regardless of the metal, whether bronze, stainless steel or a flying sword made from metal from outer space, none of them could escape the magnetic attraction of the electromagnetic device.

When Xu Que saw the device, he immediately selected it. He was holding the device in his hand now and using his mind to control it.

Haha!

Sword Spirit, no matter how tough you are, do you think you can resist my magnetism?

Ho, ho! Are you looking down on me, the Act Tough King?

As long as these ancient swords are made of metal, no sword can get away. Come, be good and fly to me!

Holding the electromagnetic controller, Xu Que's lips were curved upwards.

And at this time, the crowd of cultivators were already nonplussed by Xu Que's attitude. Someone frowned and urged, "young man, just give up and come out. Don't waste anyone's time any further."

"That's right, those elites and the Legendary Swordsman have gone in for a while. If we delay any further, other people will not be able to get their opportunity to fight for the Sword Soul!"

"There won't be any change even if you continued to wait. Just give up, alright?"

...

More and more people started to dissuade Xu Que. Even Zhang Li Yun walked over, trying hard to maintain a straight face. "Cultivator Fujiwara," he said. "Why not listen to everyone and come out now?"

"No, I'm not coming out. What the hell do you know? I've just finished communicating with the Sword Spirit and managed to coax it a little. What's the rush? Keep your eyes wide open and see what's going to happen. Come out now, ancient sword!" Xu Que roared towards the cave, opening his eyes. At the same time, he turned on the device he was holding.

"That's bullshit! This man boasts without shame. How can he communicate with the Sword Spirit?"

"What a joke! The Sword Spirit in the Sword Catacomb is a supreme being. Even if the Infant Transformation Stage cultivators from Jade Sword Sect are here, they can't communicate with the Sword Spirit either!"

"That's just hogswash! This person is just a fabricator. We don't need to be bothered with him. Quick, someone… just drag him out…"

...

The surrounding crowd of cultivators could take it no longer. There were even a few cultivators coming up to drag Xu Que away.

But at that instant, the device on Xu Que's hand was turned on and strong magnetic waves were activated.

"Goodness! What the—"

Zhang Li Yun, who was feeling annoyed, had a stiff expression at the sight before him.

Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!

The six ancient swords inside the cave flashed past like beams of light, flying towards Xu Que.

The crowd stared hard at the unbelievable scene:

"Six … Six ancient swords?"

"How is that possible?"

"How can one get six ancient swords in one single attempt?"

"Isn't this an indication that this young man's Sword Will talent is stronger than Ye Chang Feng three-fold?"

"How could such a devil like this exist in the world?"

...

However, just when the ancient swords were about to fly out of the cave, Xu Que furrowed his brows and raised his arm high up in the air, with an unsatisfied expression, he said, "Wait, wait up, stop now!"

Clang!

The six ancient swords fell to the ground abruptly and crisp metallic sounds were heard!

Everyone who witnessed the scene was thunderstruck! Thoughts ran through their minds:

What … what's happening?

He can actually command the ancient swords to stop?

Geez, this fellow can really communicate with the Sword Spirit?

In actual fact, Xu Que had turned off the electromagnetic device. "Sword Spirit, what the hell?" he reprimanded in a tone of annoyance, staring at the cave. "I'm such a handsome man and you only give me six swords? Are you trying to mess with me? I'm telling you, stop your tricks. One more time, give me what you have!"

The crowd suddenly felt like vomiting blood.

"What, isn't six swords enough for you?"

"This bigshot, what are you trying to pull?"

"There are only six ancient swords left for this round!"

"Don't you know that you've already broken the record?"

"Every 100 years, the Sword Spirit releases 100 swords for the trial. There are only six swords left for this trial. Are you trying to force out the other ancient swords that are deeper inside?"

...

Zhang Li Yun was bewildered as well. His mind went blank. He had never expected Xu Que to succeed in the first place, but now this fellow had gotten six swords and was still not satisfied. He had even scolded the Sword Spirit—this was equivalent to going against heaven!

At that moment, Xu Que turned on the device again, and increased the power. The magnetic waves were instantly amplified!

Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!

Suddenly, ear-piercing sounds were heard. More than ten rusty swords were now flying towards Xu Que.

These swords were not from the trial this time, but came from deeper inside the cave. Never had such a thing happened before! Everyone in the crowd was bewildered by the sight. Even those who had been here for the trial a few times did not know what to do …

The three elite cultivators, who had just obtained their ancient swords, lost their swords to him as well, as they were in closer proximity to Xu Que.

However, Xu Que was still dissatisfied and yelled in anger, "Sword Spirit, I think you're tired of living? You're not giving me face, are you? Only these few swords? You're looking down on me right?"

Boom!

Xu Que turned the device to the maximum power. A strong magnetic wave surrounded the area!

In no time, several hundred ancient swords flew out of the cave towards Xu Que.

Even the weapons of the cultivators, all those that were high in metallic content, lost control and flew towards Xu Que.

"Good, fly to me!"

Xu Que shouted loudly. Then he called out the system interface and opened his storage space.

Numerous ancient swords flew towards him and instantaneously disappeared with a 'swish' sound. Even the weapons of the cultivators were confiscated by him!

Because of this, the whole crowd went completely silent! Not a sound was heard!

Everyone was frozen at what happened.

Dozens of cultivators had been stripped of their own weapons. They were so shocked that they almost blacked out from the shock.

Chapter 279: Grinding an Iron Rod into a Needle!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Young warrior, please, those are our weapons!"

"Young warrior, you can't do this to us! What would become of us without our weapons?"

"That's right, I don't even use a sword, it's just an iron rod! The Sword Spirit wouldn't have any need for an iron rod!"

"That's true. Mine was just an iron baton, why did you have to take it too?"

At that moment, the place was abuzz with clashing noises. Some were upset and crying, some were in fiery fits of rage, whilst a small number of people smiled cynically.

The three cultivators who had obtained the ancients swords suddenly rushed towards Xu Que and surrounded him with sharp murderous intent obvious on their faces.

"Give me back my sword, you bastard!"

"And mine!"

"Return my two swords!"

...….

Xu Que stood there nonchalantly and folded his hands in front of his chest.

"Now, now, calm down everyone," he said. "I must have given the Sword Spirit such a fright that it gave me all of your weapons. Now get in line and come get your weapons!"

"I'm not getting into any line, you knucklehead! Just fling all the weapons you've stolen over here and they'll be returned to their owners, since the weapons are all engraved with the owner's personal stamp!"

And then the crowd erupted again into disgruntled cries.

Xu Que then swept his glance coldly at everyone in the crowd.

"You fools don't know anything," he said. "Don't you know that my storage ring isn't like any other storage rings? It's prone to swallowing weapons, and if you leave something inside it for too short a period of time, something terrible will happen to your weapons. Apart from that, it might even refine your weapons!"

"Stop spewing nonsense, you numbskull!" shouted the cultivator angrily. "No storage rings in the world can refine weapons! I'm warning you, return my weapons now, or else!"

Xu Que raised his eyebrows and laughed coldly.

"So you don't believe me, then, huh?" he said. "Fine, I'll give it back to you, but I won't be responsible for what happened to your weapon! What did you say your weapon was?"

"An iron rod! Also, give back my brother's weapon! It's an iron baton!"

"Fine. An iron rod and an iron stick. Ah, whatever, what's the difference anyway. There you go! Your weapons!"

After searching inside his storage ring for a while, Xu Que suddenly pulled out two identical iron needles and handed it to the cultivator.

Yes, two very thin needles!

Yet they gleamed with a particularly strange light, as if they'd just been polished. Because of that, these needles looked oddly beautiful!

But wait, something was wrong!

This wasn't right!

Hadn't the cultivator said that his weapons were an iron rod and an iron baton?

Then why had he been given two needles instead?

Something had obviously gone terribly wrong!

The whole crowd had been stunned into silence by the scene that had unfolded right before their eyes.

Needles?

Their weapons had been an iron rod and an iron baton before they were taken inside the storage ring. How had they turned into needles when they came out?

What kind of trick was that bastard playing here?

Whilst questions ran through everyone else's minds at that moment, the cultivator in question himself could find no words to say. This was because he'd noticed that on one of the needles, there was indeed his own personal stamp!

"My… my weapon…" muttered the cultivator. "How did it get this way?"

"Haven't you heard of the phrase 'grinding iron rods into needles'?" answered Xu Que. "I told you that my storage ring has a bad habit and you didn't believe me. And as you can see, it has turned your iron rods into needles!"

Xu Que's expression was one of sympathy, as if there was nothing he could do about it. But in truth, he had set the recovery function in the system at 1%, which meant that 99% of anything that was stored inside the storage ring would remain there. Naturally, with only 1% of an iron rod, all you'd get was a tiny needle!

Everyone else in the room was similarly stunned when they realized that the cultivator had confirmed that there was his stamp on the needle, which meant that it really was his iron rod.

But… how had it turned out this way?

How could the storage ring have transformed all those weapons?

Because it had a bad habit?

How could it have such a bizarre defect?

Also, what was that nonsense about grinding iron rods into needles? This guy had to have lost his marbles!

...…

The same cultivator then asked another question after getting struck completely dumb for a few moments.

"Then… then what about my brother's iron baton? What happened there?"

"Simple," answered Xu Que. "because of the phrase 'grinding iron batons into needles'!"

"...…"

At this point the whole crowd was struck dumb at Xu Que's puzzling response while Xu Que himself acted as if his answer made the perfect logical sense.

The crowd had seen people lie through their teeth before, but they'd never seen anyone do it so shamelessly before!

First an iron rod had been ground into a needle, then an iron baton had been ground into a needle as well. How had two different things turned into the same thing in the end?

What if someone had been looking for their sword? Would he invoke another phrase that went 'grinding swords into needles'?

...…

"Now, who else is going to ask for their weapons?" Xu Que asked the crowd. "You know, I'm actually an honest man despite my charms! So if anyone wants to get their weapons then I'll return them immediately. Do I look like a greedy thief who'd keep other people's property? Come on… anyone? Eh? What are you all acting so shy for? Come on now, this isn't the time to clam up!"

Everyone there looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. No one said a word!

They had been so shocked by Xu Que's 'grinding iron rods into needles' that no one dared to ask for their own weapons!

After all, who would want their dearly cherished weapons and instruments, which had been created and obtained through hard work, to turn into a needle?

...…

Seeing that everyone was now wary and speechless, Xu Que's heart was filled with a certain kind of pride and joy—once again, the Act Tough King had wowed everyone with his amazing tough acting!

With a series of notifications about his successful tough acting ringing in his ears, Xu Que cleared his throat loudly and addressed the crowd in a haughty tone.

"Let me be honest with you," he said, "if you take your weapons now, you'll find that they've all turned into needles. You must wait for 49 days before retrieving them. By then, you'll find that not only are your weapons the same size and without as much as a scratch, they will also have improved in quality at least twofold! Hmm? What's that? How will you get your weapons after 49 days, you ask?"

The corners of Xu Que's lips curled up slightly. He then looked directly into Zhang Li Yun's eyes and patted his own chest.

"Just ask for my name at Jade Sword Sect and you'll get your weapons. As for the collection method— just take one and run!"

"Is this true?" someone asked. "Will my weapon's quality be improved after 49 days?"

"Good heavens! That's amazing! Many thanks, young warrior!"

"My humblest apologies, young warrior! I regret my disrespectful treatment to you earlier!"

"We'll collect our weapons at Jade Sword Sect when the time comes. Thank you, young warrior!"

"Jade Sword Sect is a renowned school after all! Why would they steal our weapons? This young warrior had been brought here by Zhang Li Yun himself, I'm sure we can trust him…"

By that point, many cultivators erupted into jubilant exclamations. It seemed that no one was doubtful of Xu Que anymore. After all, the truth had been proven in front of their eyes, the two iron rods had actually turned into needles. That must mean that the young man's storage ring possessed a special weapon-refining function!

And since the Jade Sword Sect themselves could guarantee the safekeeping of their weapons, surely there would be no problem, right? Jade Sword Sect was such a reputable school, they wouldn't risk their good name by scamming everyone, would they?

All of a sudden, the entire crowd was overjoyed and relieved that their misfortune had turned out to be great luck!

Well, except for the group from Jade Sword Sect, of course. Especially Zhang Li Yun, whose eyes had widened to the size of saucers in confusion about how things had taken such a bizarre turn. He looked as if he would split out blood any second now.

You awful bastard, since when did you become so intimate with Jade Sword Sect?

Chapter 280: No Such Thing as Free Lunch

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Due to the fact that Ye Chang Feng was being defeated, Zhang Li Yun dared not open his mouth to expose Xu Que. He had to grit his teeth and swallow this.

Zhang Li Yun had made up his mind. When the Sect Elders arrived, he would let the Elders take out this little bastard and make him 'spit out' all those swords and weapons he had 'swallowed' earlier.

However, the three elite cultivators whose ancient swords had been taken away were still gathered around Xu Que.

Although Xu Que was a jerk, he had a set of his own principles as well. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, if others leave me alone, I'll leave them as well, he thought.

Out of the three cultivators, only Situ Shang had infuriated him. The other two were innocent. Xu Que didn't want them to be implicated, so he took out three ancient swords and returned them to each of them.

The ninth cultivator had two swords and the second cultivator had one sword. As for Situ Shang, he was waiting with empty hands.

"Oh, I only took three ancient swords and I've returned them back to their original owner. I, Takumi Fujiwara, a fine young 21st century man, does not pocket the money that I pick up on the streets. Even if it is only a single penny, I will immediately report it to the police officer."

After returning the three ancient swords, Xu Que saw that Situ Shang was still staring at him, fuming in anger. He was still waiting for his ancient sword to be returned. Xu Que laughed cheekily and walked over to him, "Hey, what are you staring at? I'm not a pretty girl. Don't tell me … you've been so impressed by my elegant demeanor that you can't move your eyes away from me?"

Nine out of ten cultivators who heard that sentence were so angry that they laughed. They had never met such a shameless and brazen man!

How could Situ Shang be impressed with your devilish demeanor!

You are a scoundrel, period!

Situ Shang is waiting for you to return the ancient sword to him!

Thoughts ran through their minds, but nobody dared to voice them.

"Ancient sword! My ancient sword …"

In all fairness, Situ Shang's anger had accumulated so much that he might flare up anytime. But he was worried that Xu Que would really decide to not return the ancient sword to him, so he tried his best to control his anger. "Cultivator Fuijiwara, please return the ancient sword that I obtained earlier," he said in a friendly, peaceful manner. "The Situ family will repay Cultivator Fujiwara for the favor …"

Repay?

All the cultivators present knew that the supposed 'repay' should be 'avenge'!

Xu Que had insulted the young master of the Situ family, which meant that he had disrespected them. The Situ family would get him for it!

"Yo! So cultivator Situ wants an ancient sword! Isn't that easy? I'm telling you … the way to obtain an ancient sword is too simple …"

Watching Situ Shang's irritated expression, Xu Que sniggered and pointed at the cave again. "See? Inside there are numerous ancient swords. You can have as many as you want. The method of getting them is very simple. Just condemn the Sword Spirit mercilessly, the more malicious you scold, the Sword Spirit will reward you with more swords. You can see for yourself … didn't I test it out earlier? I've gotten more than 100 ancient swords after swearing at it. The Sword Spirit has lots of swords and it's a deplorable wretch! So, Cultivator Situ, if you do the same to the Sword Spirit, you'll get the ancient sword …"

"You…"

Situ Shang and the other cultivators there were nearly in tears due to anger.

"So you're saying you got that many ancient swords by verbally abusing the Sword Spirit?"

"Who the hell are you deceiving! The Sword Spirit was said to not have a good temper."

"Oh, you don't believe me? Then that can't be helped. Young man, I'll give you a piece of advice! In this world, there's no such thing as free lunch! You can't be lazy and not work for what you want! Labor is the most glorious thing! Only when you have worked hard for something yourself, only then can that something belong to you!"

"So if you want your ancient sword, get it through your own efforts! How can you just stretch out your hand and ask me for it? Am I your father? But… if you're willing to call me that, I will reluctantly accept an unfilial son like you …"

After Xu Que finished saying all these words, he looked at Situ Shang kindly like a parent at a child, as if he was waiting for Situ Shang to call him 'father'.

Situ Shang could endure it no longer and immediately shouted, "scoundrel, you dare bully me like this! Give me back my ancient sword, or don't blame me for coming after you!"

"Oh my, you want to fight me? Is this a joke?" Xu Que said disdainfully. "Everybody, do you think this is right? This rascal couldn't get an ancient sword and got jealous of me because I got so many of them. He actually wants to fight and snatch my ancient sword. Tell me everyone, do you think he has the right to do this?"

The crowd of cultivators was speechless and pretended to have heard nothing.

Situ Shang didn't want to let this matter rest. "If you don't hand over my ancient sword," he spat in anger, "I'll make sure you won't even have the chance to regret it!"

"Aiya, I'm so afraid. I'm such a gifted person, is there any sect that's willing to take me into their sect? Hurry up, it's your chance to show yourself. Whoever can deal with this Situ Shang, I'll join that sect!"

Xu Que shouted towards the crowd.

There were quite a number of elders from several sects present as well. When they heard those words, they had thoughts of getting Xu Que to join their sect.

However, what was holding them back was the Situ family's prowess and influence.

Was it worth offending the Situ family for a genius sword cultivator?

Perhaps the only sect that could ever be on par with Situ family was the Jade Sword Sect …

Many people looked towards Zhang Li Yun of the Jade Sword Sect. Situ Shang was looking at him as well. The reason why he had tolerated Xu Que till now was because he had been worried about offending the Jade Sword Sect.

However, the elders from the Jade Sword Sect were not here yet. Only Zhang Li Yun was present at that moment. He could only look away, as if he didn't know anything.

Although Xu Que had a hold on them, offending the Situ family was a serious matter as well, so Zhang Li Yun did not dare to make that decision.

Situ Shang sneered at Xu Que when he saw that. "Takumi Fujiwara, you are facing the Situ family! Nobody will dare to come to your side and protect you. If you're smart enough, hurry up and hand over the ancient sword!"

"Haha, the Exploding Heavens Faction only has heroes who do not need help from others," Xu Que shook his head. "I just wanted to see who dared to protect me, and I would have given a tight slap back as greeting."

The crowd felt their mouth twitching and thought, Right, just keep boasting! Will you die when you stop boasting?

"You're seeking death!"

Situ Shang had completely lost all patience. A flying sword suddenly appeared beside Situ Shang, and bearing majestic sword will, it flew straight towards Xu Que.

"Yo, that's fast! Looks like you're a quick shooter!"

Xu Que's eyelid twitched. He had underestimated this Situ Shang.

However, dealing with rookies like this was still just a breeze to him.

Swish!

Xu Que called out a big broadsword. It was one of the swords that he had retrieved from the cave earlier. It was rusty and looked worn out!

Clunk! A crisp sound was heard. Situ Shang's sword was directly blocked by the broadsword. Rust fell off the broadsword due to the impact.

Situ Shang curled up his lip and in a condescending tone, he teased, "you want to fight me with an ancient sword? That's foolish! Despite their extraordinary origins, they have already become pieces of scrap metal with time. How do you expect to fight with me with that? Go to hell!"

As he finished talking, he made a sudden movement with his foot and the flying sharp sword started to make humming sounds. It darted towards Xu Que like lightning.

Xu Que stood in his position, not moving at all. He even closed his eyes slowly.

Gasp!

Everyone inhaled a mouthful of cold air.

"Has this fellow gone crazy?"

"Situ Shang's sword techniques are reputed after Ye Chang Feng. He actually dared to close his eyes?"

"Does he want to die?"

...

However, in the moment right before Situ Shang's sword touched Xu Que, Xu Que suddenly raised both of his hands, holding the broadsword. His eyes were now wide open and he gave a loud roar, "Demacia!"

Chapter 281: I'll Give Them All to You!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Boom!

A strong force broke out and the aftershock waves swept across all directions. The giant sword then fell towards Situ Shang.

The speed and power that had exploded from him in that instant had now stunned everyone there.

Even Situ Shang was completely bowled over by the formidable power he had just witnessed. His posture became unstable and a look of horror appeared on his face.

He was the closest person there to Xu Que, so he was the first person to truly sense his true Cultivation Stage—Original Infant Stage, Level 9!

"Long live Demacia!"

Xu Que blasted out his full strength as a Level 9 Original Infant Stage fighter without holding anything back. At that moment the thrill of excitement that he felt vibrating throughout his body was simply unmatched. When coupled with the utterance of the phrase 'long live Demacia', he knew that he had just achieved the ultimate level of acting tough.

Was there any problem now?

Of course not!

Bang!

In the next moment, the force of the giant sword sent Situ Shang flying, and his whole body was sent slamming directly onto a stone wall, leaving a cracked depression there.

Situ Shang shrieked in pain and spurted out a large mouthful of blood. His face achieved a deathly pallor!

But he didn't have time to heal his wounds now. All he could do was stare at Xu Que in horror, hardly able to believe what had just happened.

"How… how is this possible?" he managed to ask. "Level 9 Original Infant Stage! Who… who the hell are you?"

At the same time, everyone in the crowd finally recovered from their daze and realized the true potential of Xu Que from his last move.

Someone with the strength of a Level 9 Original Infant Stage fighter was definitely unrivalled amongst these talents, worthy of everyone's respect and awe.

After all, even the mighty Ye Chang Feng, the Legendary Swordsman, had just entered Level 4 Original Infant Stage recently! For someone as young as Xu Que to already reach Level 9 Original Infant Stage, there was a chance that he might defeat Ye Chang Feng, even with his shitty swordsmanship!

Everyone held their breath in anticipation of what would happen next, and an expression of pure shock was seen on the faces in the crowd!

Even the elders of the major factions were rooted at the spot with their jaws hanging open. They could scarcely believe what they had seen.

It turned out that the young man had been concealing his true powers all along! He had already reached Level 9 Original Infant Stage, there was really no need for him to bother with these amateurs who were at best Level 3 or 4 of Original Infant Stage.

Then, the ring of notifications popped up in Xu Que's mind.

Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for successfully acting tough. 160 Acting Tough Points rewarded!"

Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for successfully acting tough. 180 Acting Tough Points rewarded!"

The corners of Xu Que's lips curled up. Yes, being forced to act tough counted as acting tough nonetheless! As long as the opportunity arose, he had to always act tough!

Still, one crucial rule about acting tough was timing. Acting tough had to always be done in moderation and never be done excessively. To put it simply… he had to act tough at the scene at the best possible moment!

"My honored friends," said Xu Que to the crowd, "it is time for my humbled self to enter the Sword Catacomb. Are there any old geezers of Infant Transformation Stage here who would like to join me?"

Xu Que smiled cheekily and swept his gaze across the elders of the major sects.

The elders' faces suddenly darkened and their hearts were ablaze with rage.

What a disrespectful little bastard! What did he mean by calling them old geezers?

Couldn't he show a little respect to the seniors?

Was the bastard looking for trouble?

"So no one of the Infant Transformation Stage will join me, huh?" said Xu Que after receiving no response from the elders. "Maybe there's a restriction ban in this Sword Catacomb. Alright, so it's just us young people having fun in the Sword Catacomb then! Ah, and I was just planning to teach Ye Chang Feng a harsh lesson! After all, we of the Exploding Heavens Faction are just that brave and courageous when we challenge people to a duel! Farewell, dear friends!"

The moment Xu Que finished his sentence, he waved his robe, turned around and headed into the Sword Catacomb. Naturally, he didn't forget to take the sports car he had parked by the roadside with him!

What arrogance!

What conceited pride!

Yet everyone there was stunned.

Under the prohibitive rule of the Sword Catacomb, those at Infant Transformation Stage were indeed restricted from entering, yet this bastard had entered the sacred place at Level 9 Original Infant Stage. He was certain to cause an uproar the moment he stepped foot there!

Still, most of them didn't worry too much about it. After all, there were those who were at Level 9 Original Infant in their factions or families anyway, so they could surely prevent any calamity from happening.

Whoosh!

At that point, Xu Que was about to step into the entrance of the Sword Catacomb when he suddenly waved his hands around. Then, under everyone's gaze, Xu Que pulled out hundreds of ancient swords from the storage in the system and let them hang mid-air.

Then, he strode proudly into the entrance and surpassed the prohibitive rule of the Sword Catacomb!

Meanwhile, everyone in the crowd felt a churning sensation, as if they were about to throw up all the contents of their stomach, as they witnessed the scene unfolding.

They had never seen such an obnoxiously arrogant bastard before. Normally, the restrictive rule of Sword Catacomb only required one ancient sword to surpass, yet this bastard had taken out hundreds of ancient swords with one move, obviously just to show off.

When they thought about it, this bastard had been an obnoxious and boasty little shit ever since his appeared.

First it was that strange divine chariot, then the first thing he had said was that he would challenge Ye Chang Feng, whilst Zhang Li Yun had been forced to be polite to him all the time. Then it had turned out that he was at Level 9 Original Infant Stage! Not forgetting the fact that he was able to get hundreds of ancient swords from the cave! By the looks of it, the bastard deserved to get himself beaten up by two Ye Chang Fengs instead of just one!

Since the Sword Spirit had always doled out a hundred ancient swords every hundred years, now that the bastard had gotten himself hundreds of those swords for himself, that had to mean that new swordsmen would not be able to enter the Sword Catacomb for the next few hundred years!

What a vile and selfish bastard!

Just because he had wanted to show off, this fucker had robbed the chances of future Metal Nation swordsmen to develop the Cultivation of their swordsmanship for centuries to come!

But for a bastard who had been so disrespectful towards the Sword Spirit, how had he… gotten so many ancient swords?

That was the real question that bothered the faction elders in the crowd the most. Was it possible that he was a person so powerful that even the Sword Spirit had been afraid of him?

The elders sighed grievously at the sad reality.

"Oh, the moral degeneration of this generation," they lamented. "How could one man be allowed to cut off so many younger men from golden opportunities to enter the Sword Catacomb?"

"How could he live with himself after committing such a selfish deed? Now how will the talented swordsmen of the next few hundred years participate in the competition in the Sword Catacomb?"

"It's shameful! If it hadn't been for the sacred rule of the Sword Catacomb, I would have seized all the ancient swords from him with my own hands!"

Xu Que heard these words just as he passed the Sword Catacomb's restrictive rule. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around immediately!

"What was that? You want to take my swords from me?"

This took everyone in the crowd by surprise. What was the little bastard going to attempt now?

"You want these swords?" Xu Que shouted. "Why didn't you say so? How would I know since you said nothing? Come on, then, I'll give them all to you!"

What now?

So he had finally found his conscience and was going to return all the swords?

When the elders heard of this, their hearts opened up to the young man at once.

Still, there was no way for them to know what he was planning after declaring that he would return all the swords. Xu Que summoned the system in his mind and instructed, "system, except for one sword, recover the rest of the ancient swords at 99%!"

Ding! "Recovery successful. Congratulations to host for gaining 2000 points of Weapon Refining Essence. Storage successful!"

Whoosh!

In an instant, the rest of the ancient swords flashed out from nothingness mid-air, except for the broad sword that Xu Que wielded in his hand. The swords shrank suddenly, turning into hundreds upon hundreds of iron needles that were suspended in the air.

Before the crowd could react, Xu Que smiled slyly and said, "come, everyone! I, from the Exploding Heavens Faction, am going to give you all a big present! Rain down, iron needles!"

Just as the words were uttered, the ancient swords which had all turned into needles rained down on the crowd like a lethal shower from the heavens!

Chapter 282: Hit Me If You Dare!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Swish! Swish! Swish!

More than a hundred iron needles glistening with light were hurled down from the sky towards the Elders of the various clans like torrential rain. Each needle was cloaked with Xu Que's powerful strength. All of them managed to hit many Elders from various clans!

The needles would not kill anyone. But as this had been an unexpected move by Xu Que, the Elders had been unprepared and were unable to react in time. They were hit directly and were in severe pain!

"Fuck!"

"You shameless rascal, this was a sneak attack!"

"I'll fight you!"

...

The Elders from various clans bellowed in anger and glared at Xu Que.

Xu Que smiled mischievously at them, and jumped into the entrance of the Sword Catacomb, carrying his ancient broadsword.

This move made the Elders and stare for they were unable to do anything to Xu Que. They could only continue to curse and swear at Xu Que!

Words like 'insolent brat', 'shameless scoundrel' and 'come out if you got guts' spewed from the mouths of the Elders, but that was about all they could do.

However, when Xu Que heard all these, he jumped outside again, appearing in front of the crowd again. He had a sneaky smile on his face. "How is it? I'm out now, come on, come and get me if you can!"

The crowd of cultivators was startled.

This fellow's looking for death?

He actually dares to provoke the Elders further?

The few Infant Transformation Stage Elders were stunned for a moment and wasted no time in rushing towards Xu Que.

Xu Que retreated back into the entrance of the Sword Catacomb that was protected by the restrictive enchantment spell. He continued to annoy the Elders with his teasing. "Oh no, I'm inside again. Come, come get me, I'm waiting for a fight with all of you!"

The Elders was infuriated. "Rascal, come out again if you dare!" they bellowed.

"Okay, I'm out again!" Xu Que stepped out again!

This time, the Elders were prepared and used their techniques to attack Xu Que.

Xu Que had already anticipated their movements, and the moment right after he stepped out, he retreated again.

"I'm inside again!"

Boom!

The attacks from the Elders blasted onto the restrictive spell and made an unusually loud sound. The Elders went ashen immediately, and they stepped a few steps back due to the heavy impact.

When someone attacked the restrictive enchantment spell, whether or not it was intentional, the enchantment would lock upon them and they would receive equivalent damage to their soul strength.

However, the Elders had also exercised caution as the attacks they had executed were only ordinary attacks. Hence, they had suffered only slight damages—but they did not dare to attack recklessly anymore.

On the other hand, Xu Que was becoming addicted to teasing the Elders. He was jumping in and out of the restriction at the entrance of the Sword Catacomb, constantly making jabs at the Elders and challenging them to attack him.

"Look, I'm out again! Didn't you all want to teach me a lesson? Come quick! Don't you have the guts to attack me?"

"Yo, I'm inside now!"

"Eh, I'm out again!"

"So is the fight still on? If not, I'm going in again?"

"I'm really going in now?"

"Goodbye!"

The mouths of the crowd twitched, but nobody spoke. Only Xu Que's provoking could be heard.

The Elders were so angry that they felt like spitting out blood. They couldn't do anything to Xu Que at all. They simply closed their eyes—out of sight, out of mind!

When they heard Xu Que say goodbye to them, all of them heaved a sigh of relief. They thought, that asshole is finally gone!

Just as they thought the world was becoming peaceful again, Xu Que suddenly showed himself again at the entrance of the Sword Catacomb.

"Dang, dang, dang, dang! Surprise, I'm out again! Are all of you amazed?"

Bang!

An Elder was just turning away to leave when suddenly Xu Que's voice rang out. The Elder became flustered and didn't notice what was behind him as he tried to turn back, and accidentally knocked into a stone wall.

The rest of them were so dismayed that they felt like vomiting blood anytime now.

Darn, are you done playing? they thought.

"Ai, the genius is indeed lonely! Since all of you are afraid to fight, then let's forget it. I'm gone now!"

Xu Que puffed a sigh. This time he had gone inside the Sword Catacomb.

But as he turned and walked deeper in, everyone outside could hear his resonant singing:

"Being invincible is really, really lonely!"

"Being invincible is really, really empty!"

"Standing alone at the top, the cold winds…" His words were interrupted by the sound of coughing. "Sorry, my voice broke …"

...

Although the singing had disappeared, the whole area was still in silent mode.

Everyone was wearing an unpleasant expression, especially the Elders from the various clans. They were so annoyed that they seemed ready to blow up anytime like a barrel of gunpowder.

I've seen shameless people, but never before have I met someone so brazen!

Invincible and lonely, invincible and empty?

Then why don't you just come out and fight?

...

All the Elders were of the Infant Transformation Stage, they were reputable and respectable Elders of their clans!

They were there to protect the talented geniuses and elites in their clans, but now… they were unable to stop even a scoundrel like Xu Que from entering the Sword Catacomb. They were full of regret!

If they had known earlier, they would not have worried so much and would have just attacked him directly. They wouldn't have allowed themselves to be played by him like monkeys.

Toot, toot, toot!

At this moment, they heard noise coming from afar. Everyone was frightened and hastily turned back to look. When they saw a divine chariot that was made from the Spirit Treasures Pavilion, they heaved a sigh of relief. They had thought that another Lamborghini had appeared, like the one driven by Xu Que!

"Elder Qiu! Elder Qiu … Yue'er has something very important to report …"

"Third Grandpa! There's a piece of wonderful news. Me and Sis Yue'er met a young prodigy! He has a divine chariot that is so much better than ours …"

Two young women donned in white hastily alighted from their divine chariot; both wearing cheerful and excited expressions on their faces. They were the two women that Xu Que had met earlier.

They headed straight towards Elder Qiu from Spirit Treasures Pavilion eagerly.

However, when Elder Qiu heard the words of the two young women, his eyelid immediately twitched. "The divine chariot that you speak of," he began gloomily, "is it blue and around this tall? It didn't need a Spirit Stone or inscription to power up and control, right?"

"Ah? Elder Qiu, you … how did you know?"

"Yue'er! The young man that you speak of, did he claim that he is Takumi Fujiwara from Exploding Heavens Faction?" Elder Qiu asked grimly. "Nicknamed Speed Star?"

"Eh … how did you know?" The young lady clothed in white asked in bewilderment. "Elder Qiu, you've met this young hero Fujiwara? Did he get here before us? The … Elder Qiu, did you manage to make him join our clan? It would be amazing if young hero Fujiwara could help fine-tune our divine chariots…"

"Get him to join us? That's … ridiculous …"

"Why? Elder Qiu, the divine chariot of young hero Fujiwara …"

"Stop it! Give up such thoughts. The Spirit Treasures Pavilion will not accept this kind of person…"

The face of the Spirit Treasures Pavilion Elder darkened. If he were really to get Xu Que to join his clan, that would inevitably offend all the other clans out there.

...

At the same time, Xu Que had leisurely entered the Sword Catacomb. It was not that Xu Que couldn't fight them, but more so that he didn't want to waste too much time on doing that. The Elders could not threaten Xu Que at all, but Xu Que would need to spend time dealing with them, which could end up being rather time-consuming.

There were already 90 young elite cultivators inside the Sword Catacomb. He was worried that if he came in late, the Sword Spirit would be taken away by someone else.

As for the people outside, he could always deal with them later when he exited the Sword Catacomb…

Xu Que's eyes formed a squint as he thought of that, and he continued walking.

Ahead was a long, dark path that seemed endless.

Cold winds plumed onto Xu Que unexpectedly, with a piercing chill that seemed to penetrate the bone.

Xu Que was rather stunned. Indeed entering the Sword Catacomb was not an easy feat, as even a gust of wind contained traces of sword will. This place is definitely ominous and dangerous! he thought.

"The Metal Nation must have chosen to build their Imperial Tombs opposite the Sword Catacomb to borrow the ominous geomancy characteristics in order to create the auspicious geomancy for their Imperial Tombs. This type of geomancy setup is quite brilliant!"

Xu Que had inherited Hu Ba Yi and Zhang Qi Ling's professional knowledge and memories. That was why he had been able to discern the geomancy setup of the place, muttering to himself while advancing deeper.

Not long after, Xu Que reached the centre of the tunnel. He suddenly halted and stopped advancing.

"Something's not quite right," Xu Que said as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "The Sword Catacomb's tunnel is so long. Aren't there supposed to be restrictive enchantments or traps?"

He carefully examined the area by touching the surrounding walls. The walls were wet and soft, as if he were touching a piece of meat!

"Damn it, what the hell is this thing?" Xu Que was taken aback!

Chapter 283: Thwack Thwack Thwack!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Squelch… squelch…

Xu Que tried again and again to pinch the meat-like surface. It made squishy noises every time he touched it, as if he were squeezing a piece of raw meat.

In fact, he noticed that there was nothing out of the ordinary on the rest of the surrounding stone walls—the substance was concentrated on this small section.

Immediately, Xu Que summoned the system.

"Blood sucker—I mean, system, find out what this shit is."

Whoosh!

A flash of white light appeared across Xu Que's eyes, followed shortly by a ring of notifications from the system.

Ding! "Test completed. Unknown creature detected, currently it is in a semi-conscious state. Confirm purchase of 'purifying water' to wake it up?"

"What? You mean this thing is a living creature? And that I need to waste 5000 Acting Tough Points to buy a bottle of purifying water to wake it up? Why the hell would I do that?"

Xu Que stared wide-eyed at the god-knows-what creature in front of him. What if after waking it up, it turned out to be an evil ancient spirit or some kind of monster that would only be worth some Experience Points after he killed it?

What would be the point, then? What was the worth of Experience Points anyway? Weren't the Acting Tough Points the most precious commodity out there, and the only one that he should focus on?

"No, system! I'm definitely not buying any purifying water!" said Xu Que without any hesitation.

Although he'd now accumulated over 10,000 Acting Tough Points so far, he was still unwilling to spend half of it on an unidentified creature. It was just too risky, and there was a high chance that the 5000 points would just go down the drain without bringing him any noticeable benefits at all.

Still, as the Act Tough King, Xu Que naturally possessed a very strong sense of curiosity.

After refusing the system's suggestion, he stood there and started to prod at the fleshy thing, trying to pull out the mysterious creature.

But after spending half a day's time doing so, the creature remained unresponsive and Xu Que was no more able to pull it out.

Xu Que even used the combined power of Soaring Dragon's Nine Transformation and the Killing Blade to try to pull the meaty blob out, but all his attempts remained unsuccessful as the creature stayed fixed upon the stone wall.

By that point, Xu Que suspected that the only way he could get the thing out of the wall was to shake up the whole mountain range!

"Damn it, you awful thing! Let's see how you react to this!" Xu Que then pulled out his Killing Blade and slashed it on the bizarre fleshy creature.

Thwack!

To his surprise, the moment the Killing Blade touched the fleshy creature, the attack deflected and bounced off the creature with incredible force. It was as if he'd used his fist to punch a huge cotton ball.

"Holy hell! I don't believe it!"

Xu Que raised his Killing Blade and once again swung it against the creature.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack...

Xu Que's actions had resulted in a strange sound resounding throughout the dim and silent passageway.

Still, no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to happen—until the very last moment when Xu Que was about to give up, as something odd began to occur.

Suddenly, the piece of meat on the stone wall dangled and wriggled about, followed by a shrill scream that came from behind the stone wall!

"Aaaargh! Holy hell! That hurt! Who would dare face a deity with such insolence!"

The voice that came from within the stone wall gave Xu Que such a fright that he almost jumped out of his skin. His eyes opened wide in incredulity. How could he have known that by stabbing the blob a few times, he would really awaken the creature inside?

More importantly, did this thing just claim that it was a deity? What kind of joke was that? What pathetic deity would end up locked up in a stone wall?

Xu Que raised his eyebrows and sneered.

"I am the Lord of the Immortal Kingdom," said Xu Que, "and the Emperor of Small Fleshy Pieces. Who are you to dare disturb my peace by screaming so loudly?"

The creature in the stone wall went silent for few moments before the sharp voice appeared again.

"Hmph!" exclaimed the voice. "Who is this little shit who dares to pretend to be the Lord of the Immortal Kingdom in front of a deity? How audacious of you! Wait! What is that in your hand? Don't hide it, you scoundrel, I saw it! It's a sword, isn't it? You're the one who stabbed my tongue!"

"Wait," said Xu Que, surprised. "You can see me?" He stealthily put the Killing Blade away in the storage space in the system. His face was full of horrified wonder. The thing was clearly locked up in the stone wall, so how had it managed to see him and what he was doing?

This kind of ability wasn't to be underestimated. It must at least be a divine soul at the Form Synthesis Stage to be that perceptive!

"You fool!" replied the deity in a threatening tone to Xu Que. "There's nothing that I cannot see. I'm telling you that you'll pay with your life for what you've done!"

Xu Que raised his eyebrows and smiled cheekily.

"Ha! You can't even get yourself out of the wall and you think that I'd take your threats seriously? I wonder what you'd do if I stab you a few more times!"

"Hmph! Don't be too arrogant, you little scumbag!" said the deity coldly. "I've only spent five hundred years unshackling myself from the stone wall's seal. I'll only need another two thousand years to get out of here. When that time comes, the first thing I'll do is to exact revenge on you!"

What? It had taken him five hundred years to get out of the stone wall's seal?

Well, that proved at least that this creature wasn't a mortal human being.

Xu Que couldn't suppress his laughter any longer as he shook his head. "Two thousand years? By then I would have long risen to the heavens and attained the status of a god. How would you find me to exact revenge then?"

Roarrrrrr!

A loud and fearsome roar rang out of the stone wall in reply to Xu Que's taunts. However, while the roar did indeed rumble the ground, it basically produced no other effect on Xu Que whatsoever.

Xu Que continued to examine the piece of flesh calmly and discovered that it really did resemble a tongue, just as the voice in the stone wall had claimed!

"You little rascal!" spat the voice. "You've really angered me now! You'll regret it when I get out of here in thousand years, because I will knock the air out of your lungs with just one punch! Don't you know that I had killed thousands of gods before getting trapped in this wall?"

"Uh huh, sure," said Xu Que, completely unimpressed. "If you really were that good, how did you end up inside the wall, then?"

"That is the only mistake I made," said the deity, his voice tinged with anger. "I was tricked by that bastard and took a wrong step, causing me to fall into this damned trap!"

"Alright, then. I've got to run now, there's much to do when one is a god, after all. Why don't you keep licking that stone wall, then? We'll meet in two thousand years. Farewell!"

Xu Que shook his head, no longer bothered to waste any more time with the creature. He turned away and began to leave.

But before he could get anywhere, the voice inside the stone wall erupted into a scream.

"Wait, young man! Don't go! How could you just leave after summoning a deity? Come back! I've got a gift for you!"

"I don't want it!" replied Xu Que, continuing to walk forward without looking back.

"Come back," pleaded the deity. "I can give you an unrivalled fighting skill!"

"Nope, don't want it."

"No, wait! You must be looking for the Sword Spirit, am I right? Hahaha, I know where the Sword Spirit is!"

"Oh?" Xu Que stopped in his tracks and turned his around. "Do you really know where the Sword Spirit is?"

"That's right," replied the deity proudly. "This Sword Catacomb was the place where that bastard had sealed the Sword Spirit. I'm only here too because the bastard had also fiendishly trapped me. But I must warn you that the Sword Spirit is an extremely fearsome deity."

"Alright, tell me where the Sword Spirit is then," said Xu Que, unsure if he could trust this strange deity.

"The Sword Spirit," said the deity, "is in the Sword Catacomb!"

Xu Que's face darkened immediately upon hearing the deity's reply. He was now seething with anger.

You piece of shit, who didn't know that the Sword Spirit was in the Sword Catacomb?

What kind of pathetic joke was this?

"Do you think that's funny, you wet pile of shit? Take this!"

Xu Que then pulled out the Killing Blade and struck it violently at the tongue in the wall.

"Hey, what are you trying to do?!" shouted the deity. "Don't you dare! This is outrageous! Don't you dare take a step closer to me… I'm going to punch you into oblivion when I get out! Now, now, young man, we can talk this through, don't be so rash… Ow! Ah…! Aaaaaargh! That hurts!"