At the exact moment her heart stopped beating completely, Jiang Ye left behind a thoroughly shameless last word in his mind, ready to close his eyes and pass away peacefully.
However...
In the very next second, just as his consciousness was about to sink into total darkness...
...a miracle occurred.
From deep within her stopped heart, a faint yet extraordinarily brilliant burst of seven-colored light suddenly erupted!
This light instantly engulfed her entire shriveled heart.
If Jiang Ye could perform an internal inspection right now, his jaw would surely drop to the floor.
Her originally ordinary heart had actually turned crystal-clear and translucent, resembling a work of art carved from top-grade seven-colored Glazed glass!
Across the surface of the Glazed heart, intricate and profound sword-shaped spiritual runes flowed, radiating an ancient sword intent refined to absolute purity!
“Thump!”
“Thump! Thump!”
The heart that had ground to a halt suddenly burst back into a powerful beat, like a supercar engine reigniting!
As her heart revived, Jiang Ye snapped his eyes open!
Before him was not Luopo Village, but still the sect's secret realm.
What amazed him even more was that the terrifying pressure and spiritual energy storm around him—forces that had felt as if they would crush a person to dust...
...had completely lost all threat in an instant, brushing against him like a gentle breeze!
Feeling the surging power pulsing through her body once more, Jiang Ye excitedly clenched his fists and broke into a wild laugh:
“Hehehe!”
“POWAH! So this is what POWAH feels like!!”
“I knew it! Kids don't cry every day, and gamblers don't lose every day!”
“I won the bet!”
Bai Zhirou in his mind: “...”
Though she didn't understand what “POWAH” meant, she was absolutely certain that Jiang Ye really was a degenerate gambler... the kind who put her life on the line!!
As a veteran player, even though Jiang Ye had never played as a fully developed Bai Zhirou, it didn't stop him from guessing that her Sword Heart was extra special.
At any rate, there was no way she would just drop dead out of nowhere.
Well, if he had guessed wrong, she would've just kicked the bucket for a little bit.
...
At that moment...
In midair.
Three figures streaking through the sky abruptly came to a halt.
They were Ye Jinghong, Gu Qingxue, and the Main Peak elder responsible for overseeing the trial.
The three exchanged glances before silently retreating.
Because just a moment ago...
...they had clearly felt "Bai Zhirou," who had reached the thirtieth step, lose her aura completely for a split second!
Fearing that "Bai Zhirou" was about to croak, they had rushed forward recklessly to save her.
As a result...
...halfway through their dash, they saw "Bai Zhirou" merely stagger a little.
Then, as if she had taken drugs, she stood right in the middle of the storm, threw her head back, and roared with laughter while yelling something about "POWAH" this and "POWAH" that.
Bai Zhirou couldn't take it anymore in his mind and couldn't help but remind him:
“Senior... could you please control your emotions a little?”
“The way you're acting... makes me look like a total lunatic!”
Jiang Ye curled his lip disdainfully:
“What are you afraid of?”
“The player is the center of this world! The whole world should revolve around the player!!”
Though he said that, Bai Zhirou's interruption helped cool off Jiang Ye's hyper-excited state.
He stretched comfortably and loosened his joints, feeling immensely relieved as the crushing pressure from before vanished completely.
He could clearly feel that the suffocating pressure hadn't disappeared, but was instead flowing continuously into that Glazed Sword Heart.
“Heh, passing the pressure off to the Sword Heart—perfect.”
And then...
...everyone present witnessed an absolutely absurd scene.
The frail young girl, amidst the overwhelming sword intent pressure and spiritual energy storm...
...leisuredly... started... going... shopping!
That's right, literally taking a casual stroll!
Walking with a splayed, arrogant stride, swaying with every step, she looked like she was browsing a bustling street market.
She casually walked up to a longsword glowing with spiritual light, pulling it out with a single tug.
She took a glance.
Then, with a disdainful shake of her head, she tossed it aside like trash.
Then she ambled toward the next one.
...
Outside, the top ten disciples—all injured, their hands bloody and mangled—completely lost their minds!
They roared frantically in their minds:
“Holy crap! You're bloody past thirty steps in the deep zone!!”
“Any random sword over there is infinitely close to a Spirit Tool!”
“How can they be so obedient in her hands?!”
“Damn it, is she even human?!”
One had to understand that just earlier, at around the ten-step mark, these disciples had tried to pull out low-grade Treasure Tools.
Instead, the gang qi erupting from those weapons had shredded their hands, driving many of them back in defeat!
Aboard the Dharma Boat.
Li Wangchuan's gentle, jade-like smile completely froze on his face, his lips twitching wildly out of control.
Back in his day, he had risked everything just to break past twenty steps and reach twenty-one, successfully pulling a low-grade Spirit Tool!
At that time, it caused a sensation throughout the entire sect, and he was hailed as a once-in-a-century peerless genius!
But now... comparing the two...
...it truly proved that old saying: comparing oneself to others only brings despair!
In the entire audience...
...only Ye Jinghong kept his hands behind his back, nodding in agreement:
“Not bad. As expected of one of our kind.”
...
By now...
...Jiang Ye was less than five steps away from the teal longsword at the very center of the platform.
Near his feet, he finally discovered a longsword radiating faint fluctuations of sentience.
A true low-grade Spirit Tool.
He casually yanked it out and weighed it in his hand.
The sect higher-ups in the sky, detecting the grade of the longsword in his hand through divine sense, couldn't help nodding in praise.
Pulling out a low-grade Spirit Tool while in the Qi Condensation stage—such talent was already exceptionally terrifying.
However...
...Jiang Ye curled his lip in distaste, having no intention of stopping.
He locked his gaze onto the longsword hovering in the center, which radiated a vibrant teal light.
Then, step by step, he walked toward it!
Sect Master Song Changfeng and the three Peak Masters frowned in unison at the sight.
It was the first time a Qi Condensation disciple had ever walked into this range! Judging by her momentum, her target was actually that teal longsword?!
Jiang Ye came to a halt right in front of the teal longsword.
He rubbed his hands together in excitement, clearly preparing to forcibly pull the sword.
Right at that moment...
...the tsundere girl's voice from before rang out again:
“Hmph!”
“A mere Qi Condensation junior—so what if your talent is impressive?”
“This princess would never accept a weakling like you! Scram, and don't touch me!”
Hearing this arrogant voice, the onlookers below couldn't help muttering among themselves:
“I think Bai Zhirou has really let it go to her head this time.”
“I heard that this teal longsword is named 'Azure Mystic,' the sidearm left behind by our Azure Mystic Sect's founding patriarch!”
“Exactly! Even the Sect Master treats it with utmost respect on ordinary days. How could it possibly care for a Qi Condensation junior?”
However...
...upon hearing the sword spirit's words, Jiang Ye didn't get angry at all. Instead, a greedy green glow burst into his eyes!
“A complete sword spirit?!”
“Gasp—”
He was a veteran player!
High-grade gear equipped with full intelligence like this was at least a top-grade Spirit Tool!
“If I run into a good item like this and don't straight-up snatch it, it'd be an insult to my status as a player!”
Without another word, Jiang Ye roughly grabbed the hilt of the Azure Mystic Sword!
The game notification panel immediately popped up:
【Top-Grade Spirit Tool: Azure Mystic Sword】
Buzz—!
Teal sword glow instantly erupted from the hilt! The sharp sword qi stung Jiang Ye's palm with sharp pain, obviously serving as a stern warning.
Right at that moment!
Jiang Ye felt his heart move—in the literal, physical sense!
A pure, bizarre energy surged out from that Glazed Sword Heart of his.
Jiang Ye's small hand continued to tightly grip the sword hilt without letting go.
The originally tsundere sword spirit was just about to flare up in rage when her voice suddenly took on a bizarrely altered pitch:
“A mere Qi Condensation disciple... actually dares... oh... oh-ho-ho-ho-ho...”
Jiang Ye: “???”
Sect Master: “???”
Everyone: “???”
Rate on N.U.
