Li Qingshan’s face was ashen. He seemed like he was hopelessly ill, without the slightest vitality left, but it only accentuated his jagged, tall-standing bones. His eyes shone exuberantly, such that his bearing did not weaken at all.
After hearing what Yin Qing said, he could not help but ask, “What do you mean by fortunate, and what do you mean by misfortunate?”
Yin Qing said, “The Bloodjaw blade is indeed a rare, treasured blade. Its destructive power is extremely startling, and among weapons of the same level, there are basically none that can rival it. However, the reason why this blade is infamous is not because of its power, but because it’s just too difficult to use. The only way to unleash this blade’s power is to feed it full with blood, and it has a very high demand for the quality of the blood.”
“Can’t I nurture it through battle? All I have to do is constantly cut down enemies.” Li Qingshan studied the blood-red Bloodjaw blade in his hand and came to a vague understanding about its meaning. That was a bloodthirstiness that could never be satiated.
“Who can be certain that they’ll win every single battle they fight? Even if they win, they might not necessarily be able to kill a powerful opponent, which is why they say that this blade must see blood once wielded. If it doesn’t drink enough of the enemy’s blood, then it’ll drink its master’s blood. Even when Asura Kings wield this blade, it renders them very weak if they have to feed it to the brim. There are no Asura Commanders like me who are bold enough to grip the hilt like how you did. Our lives might even be at risk if we do that.”
“But exactly because it’s difficult to use, past masters of the Bloodjaw blade would often offer it up on the Asura Altar of Armaments in exchange for a different weapon. Many divine weapons even stronger than it have been destroyed in battle, but only it continues to remain. My king, if you’re not accustomed to it, you can always offer it up again. It’s just great to have an Asura Altar of Armaments all to yourself!”
“No, I find this blade to be quite nice. It’s perfect for wounding and injuring people. Don’t forget that this world isn’t the Asura realm. The intensity and frequency of battle is nowhere near as great. I’ll have ample time to recover,” Li Qingshan said and delivered a pill into his mouth.
He possessed the bloodline of the phoenix, so his ability to produce blood was quite strong. After refining the Bloodjaw blade, he could sense the uniqueness of the blade. It felt like it was connected to his bloodline. He could wield it with great ease, like it was his own arm. He had never experienced something like that with any weapons in the past.
As a result, he thought of an idea. He channelled the power of tremors into it, and a layer of black ripples appeared on the blade. With a gentle swing, he left behind a black crack in the space there!
“Good blade!” Li Qingshan said.
He had never really depended on weapons because his most destructive method of attack was his fists. The destructiveness of the power of tremors was far too great. If he unleashed it through a weapon as a medium, the weapon would be unavoidably damaged no matter how great his control was. The only way to avoid damage was to suppress the power of tremors and not unleash them at full strength, but that would make using a weapon pointless. He was better off being a little more straightforward and just throwing his fists!
After almost drinking all of his blood, the Bloodjaw blade seemed to become a part of him, no longer an external object. It finally allowed him to unleash the power of tremors to his heart’s content, merging the innate ability into the blade style. The aspect that most people found to be a flaw was actually its greatest advantage.
When he merged the power of tremors into the blade, it definitely would not be a simple addition in terms of strength. It allowed his wounding power to reach an unprecedented height, like giving fangs to a tiger.
The Bloodjaw blade also trembled, as if it had met a very good friend. A natural compatibility existed between the man and the blade.
Li Qingshan stroked the blade gently. “Since you’re my blade, then let me give you a good name. Bloodjaw or whatever it is is just far too unsophisticated. Hmm, let me think about it. Jaw also means fang, which is equivalent to your name, and it was exactly because of my tiger nature that I obtained the Asura realm’s recognition, which allowed me to obtain you. That’s our destiny. From today onwards, you can take on the ‘tiger’ from me, so you can be called Tiger’s Fang!”
Li Qingshan lifted up Tiger’s Fang proudly and asked Xiao An and Yin Qing, “How’s the name?”
Probably because of the successful example of naming himself “Qingshan”, he had always held blind confidence in his ability to come up with names. Of course, the name “Xiao An” was also one of his proud works, no less than “Qingshan”.
Sure enough, Xiao An said sincerely, “It’s fantastic!”
Yin Qing faltered, and her expression became rather troubled. She wondered whether there was something with her sense of beauty, or that she did not have a good understanding of the customs of this world. She thought, Isn’t ‘Tiger’s Fang’ a name you give your kiddies from the mountains? Why does it sound much more unsophisticated than Bloodjaw! But changing the name of a blade like that is anything but simple. If I were Bloodjaw, I’d never change my name to Tiger’s Fang.
An intelligent weapon like that could not have its name changed on a whim. The intelligence in the weapon had to agree with it. It was just like how Li Qingshan could only change the Soaring Dragon sword’s name to the Demon Dragon sword after he had completely subdued and refined it.
Under their watch, the blade flickered with blood-red light before suddenly dimming. A portion of the blood vessels lit up, exhibiting the words “Tiger’s Fang”.
The blade was intelligent, but its thoughts were not that complicated. It could not feign agreement like humans. It had without a doubt recognised the new name Li Qingshan had given from the “bottom of its heart”, and it had done so under circumstances without any suppression or coercion. If another person obtained the blade in the future, the name would be Tiger’s Fang and not Bloodjaw.
“Alright then!” Yin Qing let out a silent sigh. After all, weapons became renowned through battles and its wielder.
“Do you have any objections? Little Qing!” Li Qingshan glanced over and asked with a smile.
Little Qing? Yin Qing shivered all over. “No, no. The name is fantastic. Truly a work of art by the king.” After some hesitation, she said, “Though, I think you should just call me by my name, my king!”
What Little Qing? She could not withstand it at all!
“Sigh, you’ve spent too much time in the Asura realm after all. All you know is to fight and kill. It’s unavoidable if you don’t really have a naming sense. That’s not your fault. Alright, you can use the Asura Altar of Armaments now. You have to exchange for the best weapon possible!” Li Qingshan patted Yin Qing on the shoulder in consolation.
Yin Qing was tongue-tied. There was nothing she could say.
……
Ten days elapsed in the blink of an eye.
Li Qingshan ate pills every single day and finally recovered some colour in his face, no longer as haggard as before. However, he still seemed like he was just recovering from a major illness, his face pale-white. However, he did not care as he fiddled around with the Tiger’s Fang blade.
The blade was fitted with a blade sheathe. Because the blade was perfectly straight, it seemed more like a sword sheath. The Great Banyan Tree King had personally created it using his own branches. It was a dark-green, which made it seem like a branch that had just been snapped off. It even had the patterning of bark, as it had not been polished. There was only a ring of aerial roots around the outside, sealing the bloodiness of the blade within. As such, none of it leaked out.
Not only did it guarantee that Li Qingshan’s blood would not go to waste, it also concealed its might, which prevented anyone from imagining such a vicious, bloody blade was actually hiding within the simple, natural “sword sheath”.
Li Qingshan hung Tiger’s Fang on his waist and said to Xiao An, “C’mon, let’s go check out the Crystal palace!”
Through the divination of the spirit turtle, he knew that this trip would be turbulent, but right now, he feared absolutely nothing.
Once unsheathed, the Tiger’s Fang only returned after seeing blood!
