The Xuan-Yuan Sword and sword spirit still hovered over the mountain range, emitting an incomparably bright light. However, it seemed to have reduced a little since shattering Yin Hu’s arm.
The light circled the sword and sword spirit. Yin Hu and Chen Jiannan looked at them, but as they did, they used their divine awareness to lock onto each other as well for fear that they’d lose the initiative.
When they heard Jackdaw’s perspective, they furrowed their brows. He was somewhat curious to hear where Jackdaw had gotten his unusual hypothesis. “Why do you say that?”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” snorted Yin Hu darkly. He was still angry about how Jackdaw had maligned the entire yao race earlier.
“It’s people like you, who don’t think before you act, that are the reason others think you yao are nothing but brainless barbarians.” Jackdaw’s sharp tongue was on a whole other level. The moment Yin Hu disdained his opinion, Jackdaw fired back.
When eh said that, most of the yao grew visibly frightened.
They’d followed Yin Hu here. He was famous among yao, and every yao present fully understood his personality. Of the humans, the few who were familiar with him frowned as well. They feared that he’d lose himself to his fury and attack before they even got their hands on the Xuan-Yuan Sword.
Everyone here knew full well that once the Xuan-Yuan Sword appeared, they’d inevitably fight amongst themselves.
Nevermind the representatives of the other two realms; factions within a realm would compete too. Everyone was here for their own sake. They could all become enemies at a moment’s notice.
It was going to be difficult to avoid a fight, but they hadn’t expected the balance to crumble and the fighting to begin while the Xuan-Yuan Sword was still trapped behind the barrier.
Chen Jiannan glared at Jackdaw as if to complain about his inability to hold his tongue. At the same time, he approached Yin Hu to try and make him act a bit more sensibly.
To his surprise, although Yin Hu’s expression contorted furiously, in the end, he clenched and unclenched his fists, forced a smile, and snorted, “Then tell me, who exactly is the sword waiting for? Are you saying the sword intends to choose its own master? In that case, how about we all test it out and see just who can remove it from the barrier!”
Yin Hu’s decision to give up the fight made Chen Jiannan see him in a new light; after all, he was a yao famous for his explosive temper. It seemed that after all these years without seeing each other, Yin Hu hadn’t just gotten stronger; he’d grown shrewder as well.
Before arriving here, Chen Jiannan saw Jackdaw as his only worthy adversary, but Yin Hu’s current behavior changed his mind. It seemed he had to take the yao seriously now too.
“I’m surprised he restrained himself.” Jackdaw looked at Yin Hu in surprise. Just now, he’d said all that deliberately.
He could no longer bear their current “peace.” If he started something, though, word would get around and people would criticize him. However, if he went through Yin Hu instead, he could break their boring stalemate without consequences.
However, to his surprised, Yin Hu endured his insults.
Jackdaw inwardly complained, “boring!” then licked his teeth and replied irritably, “You really don’t know if the Xuan-Yuan Sword selects its own master or not? Just whose sword is it? You really don’t know? …it’s predetermined, alright. You really think we should try it one by one? Only you could say something like that! What, do you think Xuan-Yuan, the former Yellow Emperor, has been reincarnated as one of you yao? Go on then, pull him out and show me. I hadn’t realized that worthless guy was now your subordinate!”
The more Yin Hu heard, the more contorted his expression grew. He’d only just endured Jackdaw’s last round of insults, and with great difficulty at that. By now, he was on the verge of collapse.
Yin Hu was so angry that he didn’t pick up on Jackdaw’s deeper meaning; all he knew was that the demon was indirectly mocking him. Instead, it was Chen Jiannian who realized what Jackdaw was trying to say.
The swordsman frowned despite himself and said, “Brother Jackdaw, are you saying that the Xuan-Yuan Sword is waiting for the Yellow Emperor’s reincarnation? But if our intelligence is accurate, his ninth reincarnation, Ye Zichen, crossed blades with the vicious beast Denglong one hundred years ago and sealed it alongside himself, the Xuan-Yuan Sword, and the Yiyuan Soul Pearl. This mountain range is currently suppressing a portion of Denglong’s soul.”
“If he could reincarnate nine times, can’t he reincarnate ten times?” said Jackdaw, silencing both Chen Jiannan and Yin Hu. “You might say ‘without his soul, how could he possibly reincarnate?’ In terms of mastery over souls, humans and yao are both far inferior to us demons.”
Chen Jiannan and Yin Hu had nothing to say in response. They simply stared at Jackdaw’s antennae, which waggled about on his head. He looked at Chen Jiannan and continued, “Yan Hu’s brain barely works, but he’s no weaker than you. He might even be a bit stronger. You ought to know that, right?”
Chen Jiannan nodded. Even Yan Hu, who Jackdaw had just insulted, calmed his explosive fury after the demon complimented his strength. He even looked a little proud.
“Not even he could break the light barrier, so we naturally can’t either. If we can’t, no one here can. What should we do, then? Should we wait for a diviner? If a diviner were enough to break through, they wouldn’t have sent us to lead this expedition, right?”
“Besides, the Xuan-Yuan Sword has been the top divine artifact since ancient times. It naturally has its own reasoning. The Eastern Emperor’s Bell waited for the Eastern Emperor, so why can’t the Xuan-Yuan Sword wait for its master, the Yellow Emperor?”
Although Yin Hu’s brains were subpar, he could tell what Jackdaw was trying to say. Naturally, Chen Jiannan understood even more clearly.
Jackdaw was trying to say that not even a diviner could force their way through the barrier, so all they could do was wait…..
Then, once the sword’s master appeared, they could seize it from him.
“For now, we’ve just got to sit back and wait. Once the Xuan-Yuan Sword’s master appears, we can get to work.” Jackdaw shrugged casually, then narrowed his eyes. “Of course, if you want to duke it out in advance and test out our strength, I’m all for it.”
When they saw his excitement, Chen Jiannan and Yin Hu curled their lips but said nothing.
This guy was a madman. When others fought, they looked out for their safety, but Jackdaw acted like he didn’t even care about his own survival. All he wanted was the thrill of the fight.
Even Yin Hu, who Jackdaw had just said was stronger than Chen Jiannan, scrunched up his nose and averted his gaze.
“How boring.” When he saw that he’d failed to rile them up, Jackdaw sighed and returned to the demons’ encampment.
Chen Jiannan and Yin Hu watched him leave and sighed in relief. Their gazes landed on the mountain, and the unquestioned leader of the Divine Artifact Weapon Leaderboards hovering overhead.
The Xuan-Yuan Sword!
