Chapter 458 - 274: Birth of a Spirit (Part 2)

Chapter 458: Chapter 274: Birth of a Spirit (Part 2)

Su Xing was a little surprised by the Black Sword’s mature consciousness, so he asked,

"You seem more mature."

"Yes."

The Black Sword nodded. "The stronger Father becomes, the sounder our consciousness will be."

It was true. The last time the Black Sword had appeared, it couldn’t even babble incoherently like the Sparrow Sword and the Snake Sword. It could barely speak at all, much less converse with him in such a calm and deliberate manner.

"So, what can you do?"

Su Xing asked. While the birth of a mature Sword Spirit from the Black Sword was definitely a good thing, if this Sword Spirit had no combat abilities, it wouldn’t be of much use to him.

"Hmm..."

The Black Sword pondered for a moment. He looked at Su Xing as a black light burst from his body. Simultaneously, a Xuanwu pattern appeared on his forehead—the unmistakable sign of a shattered sword. But the transformation didn’t end there. The black light soon faded, returning to calm, and a small black sword appeared in the Black Sword’s hand.

"What is this?"

Su Xing stared at the tiny black sword, which was about the size of a pendant on a girl’s necklace. He could feel a dense aura of Source Quality coming from it, which prompted his question.

"This is my Source Quality."

The Black Sword explained seriously, "Before, Father could only shatter my blade to barely make use of this Source Quality. But after I’ve refined it, the Source Quality is much purer, and the side effects aren’t nearly as severe."

"Hmm... it’s just like the Source Quality the Cyan Cloud Sword Immortal gave to Li Ye."

The Black Sword added after a moment of thought. Hearing this explanation, Su Xing immediately understood. He reached out and took the small black sword. It felt cool to the touch and was nearly weightless.

Seeing Su Xing accept the tiny blade, the Black Sword said, "If Father encounters an unbeatable opponent, you could try throwing the Source Quality at them."

"Throw it at them?"

Su Xing froze at the Black Sword’s words. ’Throw it at them?’ Source Quality, at its core, was a manifestation of energy. Therefore, it was impossible for any expert who possessed it to simply *throw* it at someone.

The Black Sword’s suggestion left Su Xing at a loss for how to react. But on second thought, ’this Source Quality isn’t my own energy. Since it can be condensed into a solid object, why can’t it be thrown?’

’It’s just...’

’I’ll have to experiment to find out.’

Given his past experiences, Su Xing knew he couldn’t conduct such an experiment anywhere near the Sword Hall. He suppressed his curiosity and slipped the tiny black sword into his pocket.

"Do you want to go back?"

"Or would you rather stay in this world?"

Su Xing’s first instinct was to return the Black Sword to the Sword Space, but seeing his current appearance as a small child, he asked on impulse.

"I’m not going back."

The Black Sword replied almost reflexively, "I’m not going back. The other two in the Sword Space... they’re like little kids. They’re so noisy it’s unbearable."

Hearing this, Su Xing couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He could feel a slight drain from having the Black Sword manifest in the real world, but for someone like him who commanded three different power systems, it was negligible. So, he agreed.

’Besides, having someone around will make things livelier, and a little safer.’

With that thought, Su Xing shook his head. He told the Black Sword to find something to do and stopped paying him any mind, immersing himself in studying the changes to his Noble Qi.

The amount of Noble Qi he now possessed was as vast as an ocean. It was safe to say that most of his Sword Dao Points from this recent upgrade had been invested into the Confucian Path and his Noble Qi.

His Noble Qi was now fused with his Qi and Blood and Spiritual Qi. Whenever Su Xing activated his power, a golden halo would envelop him. This phenomenon was incredibly conspicuous, but it also imbued his words with a powerful, intimidating force.

At the same time, the Noble Qi permeated his spleen and strengthened his mind. It was a profound and mysterious sensation. Su Xing had no concrete proof, but he could definitely feel that his Spiritual Power had grown stronger.

Before, Su Xing would get incredibly frustrated when dealing with certain Sequencers. Part of the reason was that their sequences were bizarre, but another factor was that the Spiritual Power of a pure Martial Artist was simply too weak.

Now, with the enhancement from his Noble Qi, not only did his words possess power, but he also gained a certain degree of resistance to various abilities.

As for the other abilities of his Noble Qi, it would be hard to test them without a real fight. It seemed Su Xing was now in dire need of a battle to prove his strength.

However, there was no rush. Given the current state of Cang City, finding a fight would be all too easy. But testing his strength wasn’t as urgent as continuing to increase it.

The plan he had previously devised—having every member of the special organization attend his Sword Dao class to increase their strength—could now officially begin. However, to ensure everyone would attend, Su Xing decided after some thought to change the name of the class to "Extraordinary Advancement Course."

So, Su Xing immediately called Su Yu to inform him of the news. Then, he contacted the subordinate assigned to him by Li Longxuan and told them to implement the plan immediately. After making a series of calls, Su Xing finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

This plan of teaching classes to earn Sword Dao Points was, in fact, a bit unstable for Su Xing. He was often running around, and whenever he was gone, he couldn’t teach, which meant he would lose out on potential Sword Dao Points.

’It would be great if someone could teach the classes for me when I’m not available,’ he thought. ’Lu Anning taught in my place before, but I didn’t get any Sword Dao Points from it, so that was still a loss.’

’Wait a minute...’

As this thought crossed his mind, Su Xing’s gaze suddenly landed on the Black Sword, who was sitting off to the side, flipping through a Sword Dao Book. ’The Black Sword is *my* sword,’ he mused. ’If I have him teach the classes for me, will I still get Sword Dao Points?’

At this thought, Su Xing couldn’t help but take a deep breath. If his own Sword Spirit could become his employee, his rate of improvement would skyrocket.

"Ahem..."

"Xiaohai, you must be pretty bored, huh?" Su Xing said, clearing his throat.

"..."

The Black Sword looked at Su Xing. Even though his expression was perfectly normal, the Black Sword still got a strange "creepy uncle" vibe from him. He spoke bluntly.

"Father, you’re my master. Just tell me what you want. It’s not like I can refuse you."

"Ahem."

Su Xing cleared his throat again. "I was just trying to be a little more considerate, you know?"

"Since you’re my sword, you should know what my primary ’job’ is, right? I’m thinking of having you teach my classes for me. What do you think?"

"..."

The Black Sword replied, "I can."

"But if I teach your classes, Father, you must grant me the right to live freely. You can’t just send me back to that dark little room for no reason."

"Agreed so quickly?"

Su Xing smiled. "But what if your teaching is ineffective? I can’t agree to your terms then, can I?"

In reality, Su Xing was just teasing.

The Black Sword might be his sword, but now that he possessed intelligence, Su Xing saw him as an individual. He naturally wouldn’t randomly seal him back in the Sword Space.

"Rest assured. In terms of combat, I may not be your equal, Father. But when it comes to understanding the Extraordinary and the Sword Dao, you are far from being my match."

"Besides... the only reason you want me to teach for you is to obtain that energy, isn’t it? I don’t know where that energy comes from, nor do I know why teaching allows you to obtain it."

"But I am, after all, just a sword—and one of your life-bound swords at that. If you can gain that energy by teaching, then it will surely be the same if I am the one who teaches."