Chapter 120: The Awakening Stone (Part II)

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At first, Wei Jiang had admired the young man's extraordinary bearing. Then came his shock upon learning that Ling Chi had killed the mysterious corpse-refiner and Wei Ming.

Next was the panic he felt when he heard that Ling Chi had defeated the new Commandant, Fu Zun. Finally, when he learned that Ling Chi had slain a ninth-level Qi Sea martial artist, he had been utterly terrified.

All of this disaster had come from his failure to keep his subordinates in check.

Wei Jiang let out a long sigh, weariness weighing heavily upon his eyes.

Wei Xuan, still dressed in mourning robes, looked equally ill at ease.

A measured set of footsteps approached, drawing the two of them back to reality.

They hurriedly rose to their feet and waited for Ling Chi. Neither dared put on airs; any misstep could easily cost them their lives.

“Old Master Wei, Miss Wei, I never expected us to meet again so soon.”

Ling Chi’s cold voice drifted over, followed by the appearance of a tall, slender figure at the entrance to the reception room.

“You may simply call me Old Wei, Young Master Ling. This entire matter arose because my Wei family failed to control our subordinates, nearly costing you your life. My granddaughter and I have come especially to your residence to offer our apologies.”

Wei Jiang adopted an exceedingly humble posture, while Wei Xuan stood beside him and offered her own apology.

Ling Chi and Wei Jiang tacitly avoided mentioning the promise that the Wei family would come to apologize within three days.

“Well... Old Wei, I suffered grievous injuries this time. I nearly died and descended to the Land of the Dead.”

Ling Chi spoke without expression. Since the Wei family had been responsible for summoning such a powerful enemy, he intended to make them pay dearly.

Wei Jiang’s eyelid twitched as he looked at Ling Chi, who appeared full of vigor. After beating Fu Zun, the man had still possessed enough strength to kill a ninth-level Qi Sea martial artist. How could he possibly have nearly died?

“Young Master Ling speaks the truth. The fault lies with us. The spy who passed along the information has already been personally executed by Xuan’er, and his head is here. Please inspect it.”

Wei Jiang drew a deep breath and signaled for Wei Xuan to open the box. Inside lay the head of a dead man, eyes still wide open as they glared at Ling Chi.

Ling Chi had already examined the contents with his spiritual sense the moment he entered the room. He casually accepted the fragrant nanmu box, glanced inside, and set it on a side table.

“Young Master Ling, my Wei family has prepared a small gift to express our apologies. Please accept it.”

Wei Xuan extended her snow-white hand and offered him the prepared list of gifts.

Ling Chi accepted it and flipped through it. Most of the items were gold, silver, and other worldly goods, with only a few resources useful to martial artists.

“This apology is rather meager. Old Wei, your sincerity is lacking.”

Wei Jiang and Wei Xuan exchanged a glance, both reading helplessness in the other’s eyes.

“Please state your terms plainly. My Wei family has suffered one calamity after another recently. I ask that you show us some mercy.”

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Wei Jiang gave a bitter smile. Before coming, he had already prepared himself to be the gullible fool who would be slaughtered.

“I will not make things difficult for you. Gold, silver, and worldly possessions are useless to me. Replace them all with heavenly treasures, demon cores, and baleful cores.”

With a sweep of his robe, Ling Chi sat down boldly in the seat of honor and spoke with absolute decisiveness.

In a world where strength reigned supreme, what use was so much money? There were many things money could not buy.

Wei Jiang’s old face flushed, and he found himself caught between advancing and retreating.

Unless he emptied more than half of the family fortune, it would be difficult to satisfy Ling Chi’s demands.

Seeing her grandfather’s troubled expression, Wei Xuan pondered a solution.

“Young Master Ling, have you ever heard of an Awakening Spirit Stone?”

Ling Chi raised an eyebrow.

The Shanhe Record of Strange Things had mentioned it before. It was a treasure capable of increasing the chances of a treasured artifact developing a spirit.

There was no discernible pattern to the awakening of an artifact’s spirit. One could only rely on luck or the artifact’s own will to awaken.

“Do you mean the Awakening Spirit Stone known as the essence of the earth?”

Ling Chi’s interest was piqued, though nothing showed on his face.

“That is precisely what I mean. Awakening Spirit Stones are priceless and nearly impossible to obtain. The moment one appears on the market, people rush to seize it.”

Wei Xuan produced a small box and handed it to Ling Chi.

The Wei family really had held something valuable in reserve. It seemed they had been unwilling to bring it out at first.

The pitch-black box was surprisingly light, weighing no more than a few ounces. When opened, it revealed a round, ash-gray stone resting in its center.

The instant the box opened, the Evil-Slaying Saber at Ling Chi’s waist trembled faintly.

Since its forging, the Evil-Slaying Saber had developed a feeble spark of intelligence. With the aid of the Awakening Spirit Stone, that spark would surely grow fuller. If any of the stone remained, he could try using it to awaken the spirit of the Violence-Banisher as well.

A trace of reluctance flashed through Wei Jiang’s eyes as he watched Ling Chi caress the Awakening Spirit Stone.

“I will accept this item. As for the matter of your family’s guard stabbing me in the back, it ends here. It need never be mentioned again.”

Ling Chi closed the lid and slipped the box into his storage pouch.

Though the Wei family grandfather and granddaughter were reluctant to part with it, they were nevertheless relieved.

After sitting for a short while, they realized that Ling Chi had no intention of asking them to stay. They rose, bade him farewell, and departed.

Outside the gates of the Jing’an Office, Ling Chi watched as the two of them boarded their carriage and left.

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The sound of hooves gradually faded. A corner of the carriage curtain lifted, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes for an instant before vanishing, leaving behind only a long sigh.

Ling Chi returned to the training grounds, eager to use the Awakening Spirit Stone.

Its method of use was quite simple. According to the Shanhe Record of Strange Things, one merely had to grind the stone into powder, brush it over the artifact, and leave it undisturbed.

With Ling Chi’s current grip strength, he could crush it into powder simply by closing his hand. The Evil-Slaying Saber emitted a series of soft hums as lightning slowly coiled around its blade.

Gray powder drifted through the air and merged with the saber. As the blade trembled more and more violently, the lightning grew increasingly radiant.

The Evil-Slaying Saber slowly rose from the ground and hovered in midair, as if waiting for something.

Ling Chi stood to one side, his heart stirring. He forced out a drop of golden heart blood and let it seep into the blade.

He felt like a father waiting outside a delivery room for a new life to arrive. Nervousness and anticipation filled his heart.

The entire saber shuddered, and its ringing cry resounded in every direction.

For the first time, Ling Chi sensed an emotion from it: joy.

The Evil-Slaying Saber flew back into its sheath, then excitedly circled Ling Chi at high speed. From time to time, it rubbed its sheath against its master, openly displaying its affection.

It was like a mischievous young child whose intelligence had only just awakened, expressing its love for its master through childish behavior.

“Your name is Evil-Slaying. Remember that.”

Ling Chi stroked the hilt and spoke softly.

He scattered the remaining stone powder over the Violence-Banisher. It was slowly absorbed into the weapon. Though the process did not spur its growth as directly as it had with the Evil-Slaying Saber, a spark of intelligence was born within it all the same.

The Evil-Slaying Saber had developed its first spark of intelligence from nothing several months earlier. With the aid of the Awakening Spirit Stone’s powder, its growth had merely been accelerated, like forcing a seedling to grow by pulling it upward.

The Violence-Banisher, however, had only just developed intelligence for the first time. No one knew how long it would take before it could express its emotions.

Ling Chi put away the Violence-Banisher, then slapped the sheath of the Evil-Slaying Saber. It immediately sprang free and shot into the air.

Ling Chi leaped up and seized the hilt in midair. He brought the saber down in a sweeping slash. The Evil-Slaying Saber moved as naturally as his own arm, and he wielded the pure Grand Unity Salvation Saber Art with seamless precision. As the blade-light crisscrossed the air, killing intent rose around him.

In one breath, he performed every saber technique he knew, beginning with the Grand Unity Salvation Saber Art and ending with the Xin You Saber Technique.

The training grounds remained shrouded in blade-light. The guards and flag-bearers could only watch from a distance, terrified of disturbing Ling Chi’s cultivation.

At the height of his practice, Ling Chi even tried flying on the saber. Unfortunately, the Evil-Slaying Saber was not yet powerful enough, and the attempt ultimately failed.