Borrowed Sword

Chapter 63: Mystical Heart Sword, Martial Brother’s Gratitude

Cangsong Sword spun a few times in mid-air before it landed with a zing, its blade piercing into the soil.

Liu Chenggong looked utterly disbelieving. He glanced down at his right hand—his tiger’s mouth tingled slightly and was mildly swollen and red.

Chu Huaixu also looked at him in disbelief. “The dignified Vice Captain of the Law Enforcement Team, and this is all you’ve got?”

There was a waste in the team!

For conventional cultivators, body training was limited to the Qi‑Opening Stage. After that, all primary means relied on the spiritual energy within their bodies.

Methods of killing relied on spiritual energy. Defensive techniques relied on spiritual energy as well.

Spiritual energy was the foundation of all cultivators!

In Chu Huaixu’s eyes, Liu Chenggong’s physique was likely stronger than that of most Nine Apertures cultivators, but it still shouldn’t surpass his own.

That was why he had let him use a sword. Otherwise, wouldn't it be bullying if he, a Body Training cultivator with Eight Apertures, fought someone merely in the Second Level?

Besides, without using spiritual energy, a spirit sword wouldn’t have much power either.

But Chu Huaixu could never have imagined that the other man’s condition resembled someone drained by wine and lust. What a vice captain in name only!

Earlier, he had flicked his finger, partially for flair, but also to subtly signal: don’t hold back, I haven’t used my full strength either.

But to think that this alone decided the outcome—that was just amusing.

Han Shuangjiang watched from the side, her heart greatly shaken.

If Liu Chenggong weren’t examining his own tiger’s mouth so seriously, she might have suspected he was just trying a little too hard to fawn.

“Something’s not right,” Liu Chenggong couldn’t help but say.

He felt something was off.

As the Vice Captain of the Law Enforcement Team, this was a disgrace.

He had indeed come to curry favor, but now he seemed utterly useless.

Liu Chenggong opened his right hand. With a guiding aura, the spirit sword Cangsong flew back into his hand with a swoosh.

Though this move looked impressive, Chu Huaixu could tell—this was not the 【Flying Sword Technique】.

“Flying Sword combat requires precise control and is a high-grade technique. He merely used spiritual energy and the sword spirit to recall the sword—just a fancy trick.” Chu Huaixu judged coolly in his heart.

Liu Chenggong gritted his teeth. He couldn’t afford to be this embarrassed and loudly declared, “Junior Brother Chu, let’s go again! Be careful this time!”

He wore a look as if he had been caught off guard earlier.

“Good!” Chu Huaixu readied his stance to receive the sword.

The long sword thrust forward again. Liu Chenggong used the same move but didn’t hold back this time. He moved faster, clearly trying to recover his pride.

Chu Huaixu again retreated sharply, kicking up dust. The hem of his robes and his jet-black hair fluttered.

That dodge was perilously close.

He repeated his technique and flicked his finger.

Ding—!

The sword flew out again.

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Whoosh—! A gentle breeze swept past.

Liu Chenggong looked again at the tiger’s mouth of his right hand. It was even more numb than before.

Chu Huaixu’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Cangsong Sword embedded in the dirt.

This time, he sensed it more clearly—he realized the problem.

—【Heart Sword】!

He distinctly felt it: the moment his fingertip touched Cangsong Sword, the Black Small Sword within his body trembled slightly.

This Heart Sword, imbued with the【Spirit Embryo Divine Ability: Sword Heart Clarity】, seemed to possess other mystical qualities!

Liu Chenggong, with his Fun Type tendencies, couldn’t laugh anymore.

He looked as miserable as a Yao Ming reaction meme and turned to glance at his Life-bound Spirit Sword.

He was connected in spirit with the sword. This was the second time now—how could he not notice something was off?

“Chu Huaixu’s physique is much stronger than that of a typical Qi‑Opening Stage cultivator. His strength is immense.”

“But that’s not the point! The real issue lies with the sword and the sword spirit!”

“It’s being suppressed by an invisible force.”

“The sword spirit has become uncontrollable! It’s fleeing!”

Liu Chenggong could feel it. If he channeled spiritual energy into the spirit sword, he could resist that force.

But the question was—why?

Why would such a miraculous effect exist in someone at the seemingly meager Qi‑Opening Stage?

At that thought, he suddenly remembered the heaven-and-earth anomaly that had occurred by the Cold Pool. He remembered that day—his sword had trembled!

Liu Chenggong didn’t know what kind of fortuitous encounter Chu Huaixu had experienced to cause such a stir.

Nor did he dare ask—this matter had the attention of the Sect Master and the Elders!

The Vice Captain of the Law Enforcement Team suddenly had a realization: I suspect he brought me here just to test this out!

And so, being tactful, he immediately voiced his position, “Junior Brother Chu, we’ve sparred freely today. I, your senior brother, will keep everything a secret and will not let a second person know!”

After speaking, he glanced at the breathtakingly beautiful Han Shuangjiang and amended, “A third person…”

Seeing how perceptive he was, Chu Huaixu smiled and nodded slightly, putting away his doubts with a modest and composed expression.

“Heart Sword can suppress ordinary spirit swords to this extent?” Chu Huaixu was deeply surprised.

But in his heart, he felt a mixture of joy and unease, sensing a faint premonition of something ominous.

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In front of the bamboo house, the two tried again.

This time, Chu Huaixu had Liu Chenggong attempt to channel some of his spiritual energy.

Sure enough, the sword wasn’t sent flying.

“But what if I use spiritual energy too?” A question mark popped into Chu Huaixu’s mind.

It was just a pity that he was currently someone without spiritual energy.

This made him all the more eager to reach the First Level.

Gain experience points, open the Ninth Aperture, then head to the Scripture Pavilion to obtain a cultivation method for the First Level!

At this moment, Chu Huaixu had also tried to restrain the Heart Sword from unleashing its full power.

But he could feel that the Heart Sword was connected to his mind and would heed his commands.

However, it must have been that the rank of this power was too high—there was still a degree of uncontrollability. The current Chu Huaixu could not yet wield it with ease.

As a result, the outcome was that Liu Chenggong could only spar with Chu Huaixu unarmed.

Otherwise, he would have to use spiritual energy.

Fortunately, Chu Huaixu had indeed underestimated the Vice Captain of the Law Enforcement Team.

Liu Chenggong was truly a connection-backed member within the Outer Sect Law Enforcement Team, which explained his rapid promotion.

Even so, he did have some real ability, which prevented his promotion from appearing too unseemly.

Barring accidents, he had likely focused on tempering his muscles and bones or perhaps soaked in some Medicinal Bath.

Most importantly, he might have cultivated some fist-type technique—his fists had issues! As firm as rock!

Chu Huaixu suffered narrow defeat time and again.

Yet Liu Chenggong, who was winning all along, felt the shock in his heart grow ever stronger.

“How could the Eighth Aperture be this powerful?”

“When I was training in Thunderburst Fist, I spent a fortune to enhance my body! My fists can shatter stone!”

“Ordinary Nine Apertures disciples probably wouldn’t even survive a casual strike from Chu Huaixu!”

“Even if he supplemented his cultivation with a Body Training method, it shouldn’t have reached this level.”

“Something’s off. Way too off.”

And so, the two spent the entire morning sparring.

Han Shuangjiang grew tired just from watching and went back inside.

Chu Huaixu looked a little disheveled—his robes were dirty.

But his mood was excellent.

Because that Law Enforcement Team uniform on Liu Chenggong wasn’t exactly clean either!

He had definitely suffered a few setbacks.

Of course, the most important thing was that each sparring session earned him 30–100 experience points. The value wasn’t fixed and was determined by the system.

“If I remember correctly, the maximum free experience points available during the Qi‑Opening Stage is 1200.”

Not a lot, but enough to raise him from level 8 to level 9.

In the end, it was Liu Chenggong who couldn’t keep going and began making excuses. “Junior Brother Chu, your senior brother still has duties within the Law Enforcement Team. Shall we continue another time?”

Chu Huaixu wasn’t surprised. Someone with a mere Second Level cultivation couldn’t match the stamina of an Eight Apertures powerhouse—it was only natural.

He had earned only 420 free experience points today, so he said directly, “How about tomorrow?”

Exhausted, Liu Chenggong gritted his teeth. “Fine! As Junior Brother Chu says—tomorrow it is!”

“Alright. It’s a deal.”

After Liu Chenggong left, Chu Huaixu returned indoors, took off his dirty clothes, and hung them outside Xu Ziqing’s room, waiting for him to return from cultivation to wash them.

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Medicine Mountain, Cold Pool, within the secret realm.

Xu Ziqing slowly regained consciousness from a coma.

He had now opened a second aperture.

The youth was overcome with joy.

“The array and medicinal liquid in this Water Pool are truly miraculous!”

“With my dull aptitude, I still managed to break through two apertures in such a short time.”

He wasn’t foolish—he knew how valuable this place was.

“Senior Brother gave me a chance to cultivate, helped me enter the Dao Gate, and now he’s assisting me in advancing…”

“How can I ever repay such immense grace?” Xu Ziqing looked upward.

After a while, the delicate youth lowered his head, his lashes drooping slightly. He suddenly gripped the cloth of his trousers tightly with both hands.

“Father, Mother, Little Sister, Grandma… do you think… I should give him that thing?”

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