Chapter 37: The Ultimate Lurker

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“Fuck!”

Lin Hao’s hand jerked, and the battered sword clanged to the ground. Frightened, he stumbled back three steps.

“Who? Who’s speaking?”

There was no reply.

Lin Hao stared at the broken sword on the floor. Someone had definitely spoken just now—and in language so foul it was unbearable.

Now, however, there was not a sound.

Had he imagined it?

No. It had not been an auditory hallucination. That sword had clearly been cursing him.

“Hey!”

Lin Hao cautiously stepped forward and nudged the battered sword with his foot.

“Say something!”

Still no response. It was as though the broken sword had sleepwalked for a moment, then gone straight back to sleep.

Lin Hao picked it up again and, just as before, used it like a truncheon, shaking it violently.

“Quit shaking me, you son of a bitch! Are you sick in the head?”

The voice rang out again. This time, Lin Hao heard it clearly. It had indeed come from inside the sword.

A web of black lines appeared across Lin Hao’s forehead. Who was sick in the head here? This broken sword had spoken twice and cursed him twice. It was unbelievably vulgar.

But Lin Hao had no time to dwell on that. He was certain the sword was extraordinary, and he urgently wanted to uncover its secret.

“Who are you? How did you get inside the sword? How can a sword talk? Could you be the legendary Sword Man?”

“You’re the cheap bastard. Your whole family’s made up of idiots.”

The being inside the broken sword seemed to have an exceptionally foul temper.

“Then are you the spirit of this sword?”

Lin Hao was not angry. He continued questioning it.

“You’re the sword spirit. Your whole family are sword spirits.”

Lin Hao: “…”

Was this thing seriously deranged? How was he supposed to communicate with it?

“Brat, you stopped this king from absorbing the pure yang energy and delayed my awakening. You truly deserve to die.”

Lin Hao suddenly understood. No wonder it was so resentful—it was because of what had happened in the lightning pool.

“Calm down. I have something to ask you.”

“Don’t ask. Even if you do, I won’t tell you. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“This venerable one needs a vast amount of energy to awaken. You have a batch of spirit stones. Give them to me to eat.”

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Another web of black lines spread across Lin Hao’s forehead.

Damn it, this bastard had set his sights on his spirit stones. It was absolutely intolerable.

But the secret of the sword was at stake, and Lin Hao had no choice. By now, he had figured out the crucial point: there was a living being inside the broken sword, and it might not be a sword spirit at all. Back in the lightning pool, the sword had absorbed the pure yang energy on its own. The creature inside had been responsible, attempting to use that immense energy to awaken.

Lin Hao’s forceful interference had cut off its energy supply and caused its awakening to fail. Still, some of its consciousness had awakened, allowing it to speak with him.

At present, there was almost no chance of learning the sword’s secret directly from it. The creature sleeping inside was a shameless bastard, already furious over what had happened in the lightning pool. Without offering it some benefit, there would be no room for discussion.

“How many spirit stones do you need?” Lin Hao asked through gritted teeth. If he wanted to uncover the secret of the broken sword, he could only endure the pain.

“Not many. Put this broken sword inside the storage pouch containing the spirit stones. I’ll eat a little, and that should be enough.”

“Fine.”

Lin Hao took out a storage pouch. Inside were exactly one million low-grade spirit stones, obtained from the Ling Clan. He opened the pouch and tossed the broken sword inside.

Whoosh—

In an instant, all one million low-grade spirit stones were gone.

“Fuck your mother!”

Lin Hao let out a roar and yanked the broken sword back out.

But it was too late.

There was not even a hair left inside the storage pouch.

One million spirit stones—just like that, every last one had been devoured by the bastard inside the sword.

“Damn you! Spit them out!”

Lin Hao’s eyes nearly split with rage. His heart bled as he shook the broken sword furiously.

Damn it, that was one million! A full million he had painstakingly earned—and he had been swindled out of it just like that.

Yet no matter how violently Lin Hao shook the sword, it gave no response whatsoever. The bastard inside had fallen completely silent.

“Shameless bastard! You eat and wipe your mouth, then refuse to take responsibility?”

Lin Hao cursed at the top of his lungs, gripping the sword with both hands and shaking it back and forth.

But it was useless.

The other party did not even bother to acknowledge him, much less curse him in return.

In the end, Lin Hao cursed for half the day, but the broken sword remained utterly silent.

“Big brother, I’m begging you, say something. You can even curse me—just say anything!”

Lin Hao dropped heavily onto the floor. His gaze was unfocused, his expression full of grievance, and his entire face seemed to say that he had lost the will to live.

He had been swindled—thoroughly taught a lesson by a shameless bastard he had never even met. An indelible shadow had been cast over the heart of this guileless young man.

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For the next two days, Lin Hao did not set foot outside his room. He spent two straight days talking to the broken sword. He begged it, cursed it, and came within a hair’s breadth of using the Heaven-Turning Seal to smash it.

Yet none of it was useful.

For the first time, Lin Hao felt utterly powerless. He threw back his head and let out a long sigh, on the verge of tears. How could such a creature even exist in this world?

If shamelessness and hooliganism had different ranks, then the bastard inside the broken sword was unquestionably the founding ancestor of all hooligans.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone rapped on the door, and Ling Wu’s voice came from outside.

“Master Tianbao.”

The door opened. Ling Wu was startled by the sight before him. The young man standing there was disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and his face gloomy. He looked nothing like the spirited young master of two days earlier.

“Master Tianbao, did you not rest well?”

Ling Wu asked tentatively.

What kind of devastating ordeal had he suffered? Ling Wu craned his head forward and glanced around the room, wondering whether some female disciple of the Ling Clan had learned that Master Tianbao had arrived and taken the initiative to present herself. Perhaps she had kept the master behind closed doors for two days and reduced him to this state.

“Is something wrong?”

Lin Hao asked. His heart was exhausted, and he did not want to speak or see anyone.

His one million spirit stones had been swindled away just like that.

“Have you forgotten? The secret realm opens today. The Ling Clan’s disciples are entering for experience, so I came to ask you.”

At those words, Lin Hao instantly perked up.

“Take me there.”

Damn it, his one million spirit stones were gone. He had to make it back from the Ling Clan. Those disciples of the Ling Clan had better be ready to get knocked unconscious from behind.

“Very well. I’ll explain the situation in the secret realm. The Ling Clan’s trials are usually quite dangerous, filled with peril. There are rare treasures and natural wonders within the realm, but dangers abound as well. There are fearsome demons of savage temperament, yet the demon spirits within them are also rare treasures of considerable value.”

Ling Wu continued, “The path of cultivation is fraught with danger at every turn. The Ling Clan has always upheld the principle of survival of the fittest. Sooner or later, every cultivator must endure battles to the death. Only by tempering oneself through constant combat and transforming through life-and-death struggles can one truly grow. On top of that, competition within the clan is fierce, and the disciples are burdened by countless conflicts. Once inside the secret realm, it becomes a personal arena. Besides facing the threat of demonic beasts, you will also have to contend with rival disciples. However, I will announce your identity. Once you enter the secret realm, many people should be willing to befriend you and protect your safety.”

“Don’t.”

Lin Hao waved his hand.

“Do not reveal my identity. As you said, a trial should be a genuine trial. We must fight with real weapons and bare our fangs, possessing the courage to hover between life and death. If I am protected everywhere I go, what meaning would the trial have? I’ll rely on myself.”

“But—”

“There are no buts. I don’t want special treatment. Don’t worry—I’m not reckless. If a place is too dangerous, I simply won’t go there.”

Lin Hao spoke firmly.

Under no circumstances could his identity be revealed. Once they entered the secret realm, everyone would be watching him, and then how would he find any opportunity to strike from behind?

His mood was terrible. He had just been stripped bare by a shameless bastard, and he desperately needed to vent his anger.

Yes, he was going to vent.