Chapter 160: Growth Equipment: Su Nü Sword

Qing Jian swallowed another consumable to restore her HP.

Her injuries were severe; though the Blood Hawk was no match for her, there was the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven not only bolstered the Blood Hawk but continuously inflicted debuffs and various controls upon her.

Had she not prepared thoroughly this time, bringing along plenty of recovery items.

While channeling her internal sword qi to expel the residual magic of the Son of Heaven, she also continuously healed herself.

By now she had recovered about seventy to eighty percent, but her body was still unfit for combat.

At this recovery rate, she would regain her peak before dawn.

Yet she feared the enemy would not grant her this time.

She had seen what the Blood Hawk handed to the Son of Heaven before dying.

She did not attempt to reclaim it because she was already critically wounded; confronting the Son of Heaven, whose stats were all question marks, would have meant zero chance of victory.

At that moment, she barely had time to flee—how could she afford such thoughts?

She suspected the item the Blood Hawk gave the Son of Heaven was the revenge tool that locked onto her.

Suddenly, she sensed several pairs of eyes watching her.

As a melee Apostle, her perception was sharp, her intuition extremely strong.

Through her own sword qi, she immediately pinpointed the source of the gaze.

Looking up, she saw childlike ghostly creatures crawling in along the eaves.

Qing Jian swiftly drew her sword and slashed; sharp sword qi surged outward toward the ghosts.

"What do you intend to do to my children?" A hoarse, mournful voice surfaced beside Qing Jian's ear.

A pitch-black ghostly claw pierced through her chest; Qing Jian reacted faster, spinning to slash back, barely shattering the claw before retreating several steps.

Back in the courtroom, when suppressed by the Son of Heaven, she had known Chu Danqing's overall strength ranked among the top three in the reserve class.

Yet she never imagined Chu Danqing possessed not only the Son of Heaven but another summon so powerful.

Now she regretted it—she should never have chased so relentlessly, giving the Blood Hawk and Chu Danqing a chance to connect.

"Wait," Qing Jian hurriedly said. "I bear the revenge mark left by the Dragon-Tiger Alliance."

"The Dragon-Tiger Alliance invested heavily in me; if I die at your hands, your master will be marked too."

"When he enters the first-tier zone, the Dragon-Tiger Alliance will hunt him down."

"I can compensate you in full," Qing Jian said immediately.

First she invoked her background as a deterrent, then offered payment.

Yet her words did not halt the Ghostly Mother; the Ghostly Infants surged forward, joining the assault.

This situation made Qing Jian realize: the Blood Hawk's revenge item had immunity to soul-reaping effects.

She silently cursed the Tiance Prefecture for being so extravagantly ruthless in eliminating her.

Competition among major factions was inevitable.

On the surface, it was healthy rivalry—but when an opportunity arose, none would let it slip.

She failed to block the Ghostly Mother's second attack; her right arm, along with the shoulder blade, shattered instantly.

At the same time, chilling ghostly energy flooded rapidly into her body through the wound.

Already injured, she now suffered further damage.

The Ghostly Infants arrived then, lunging like rabid dogs.

Their bodies were shrouded in eerie ghostfire, inflicting not physical damage but dual harm: yin attribute and mental attribute.

Each strike caused Qing Jian's consciousness to flicker momentarily.

"Devil's Body Disintegration!"

With no other choice, Qing Jian unleashed her final card.

A famous technique in martial and xianxia lore, with many versions and varied effects.

All, without exception, traded permanent damage—self-mutilation, lifespan burn, talent depletion—for temporary power.

Qing Jian's version was the sword-path variant, sacrificing her sword talent as the cost.

Her stats surged by 10 points; she was about to counterattack when the Ghostly Mother's claw pierced her heart and yanked it out.

"This… shouldn't be…" Qing Jian murmured. The Ghostly Infants lunged, tearing her to shreds.

On her corpse, a blood-red Taiji pattern of coiled dragon and crouching tiger appeared, settling onto the Ghostly Mother, then swiftly transferring through her link to Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing, waiting outside, naturally felt the blood-red Taiji mark appear on his hand.

He had just glimpsed it when the Soul-Reaping Doll activated—the mark instantly transferred to the doll's forehead.

【Proxy Revenge Complete. You may select one loot item from the target's storage space.】

【Revenge Mark Transferred. Discard the Soul-Reaping Doll promptly. Do not carry it.】

Chu Danqing instructed one Ghostly Infant to take the Soul-Reaping Doll and flee quickly, ordering it to dig a hole and bury it somewhere.

Then he began selecting loot from the storage space.

"Dude, why is everything black?" Chu Danqing stared at the listed items—no attribute panels visible, only shapeless black shadows.

The Soul-Reaping Doll's revenge fruit did let him choose freely, but it didn't show him the attribute panels.

Chu Danqing rubbed his temples: "The Blood Hawk probably didn't even know this was the case."

"Otherwise, he'd be the second one dead."

After careful observation, Chu Danqing eliminated items likely to be mundane supplies.

"The safest choice should be this sword," Chu Danqing said, staring at a sword-shaped shadow. Qing Jian used a sword—this was almost certainly her weapon.

Unless an Apostle was killed instantly, anyone with even a breath left would use their last trick.

That trick: storing all gear in storage space so the enemy couldn't take a single useful item.

The mechanical Apostle's hand holding the energy gear had been severed, preventing him from retrieving it in time.

Everything else stripped from him was junk—no panels at all.

"Forget it, no more gambling—I'll take the sword." Chu Danqing immediately settled on his choice.

As for selling this sword revealing his identity to the Dragon-Tiger Alliance? So what?

The highest value demands the greatest risk.

【Su Nü Sword】

【Type: Equipment · Longsword】

【Quality: Fine】

【Durability: 100/100】

【Attack: 30~60】

【Su Nu Dance (Active): Activating consumes 100 MP per minute, increasing all sword skill effects by 10%.】

【Qing Ming Direct Entry (Passive): Sword qi range increased by 50%.】

【Meeting in the Yellow Springs (Passive): Sword qi strength increased by 50%.】

【Blowing Hair, Cutting Locks (Passive): Sharpness +50.】

【Shattering Armor, Tearing Robes (Passive): Armor Penetration +50.】

【Questioning the Dao with the Sword (Passive): Sword skill proficiency gain increased by 10%.】

Unrivaled in All Directions (Passive): When possessing a sword heritage skill, its quality increases by one tier (maximum Fine).

【Sword Across the World (Passive): When using movement skills such as teleportation, dashing, or charge with sword equipment, a sword shadow follows.】

【Swordlight and Blade Shadow (Passive): Sword shadow damage increased by 50%.】

【Su Nü Sword Spirit (Passive): After slaying a strong foe, the sword spirit absorbs the warrior's blood to ascend; when progress reaches 100%, quality improves (Quality Progress: 21%, Evolution Count: 2).】

Equipment Requirement: Approval of the Sword Spirit, Melee Base Level MAX, Sword Skill Base Level MAX, Female, Sword Heritage Skill at Level 10 or higher and Excellent tier or above.

Chu Danqing saw this and understood why Qing Jian received such heavy resource allocation—she possessed a growth-type weapon.

Combined with her melee sword path, it was a perfect match.

"This equipment's value rivals that of a basic skill."

"When will I ever get a growth-type summon equipment?" Chu Danqing was green with envy.

"Looks like I can't sell it," Chu Danqing said, a hint of regret in his voice—such a fine item must go to Guo Ming.

As for the female-only restriction? That was no issue.

Did they really think the Guo Clan was a soft target, unable to handle a Fine-tier item?

The Flesh Scholar's spellbook, once in the Guo Clan's hands, had become obedient—even if its longevity pill yield was low and quality poor.

But the Guo Clan didn't care; as long as it produced reliably and could be reforged, and most importantly, avoided heavenly retribution.

The resources needed to reforge a hundred pills could be recouped by selling just one—what was there to complain about? It was a treasure.

A growth-type longsword in Guo Ming's hands? His future was limitless.

"But growth equipment demands so harshly, it'll grind a person to death," Chu Danqing thought. As poor as he was, growth weapons offered poor value now—better to keep upgrading.

Of course, if he actually had one, he'd take back every word.

Because he had none, he complained about poor value; if he had one, he'd sell his pots and pans to keep it fed.

Chu Danqing stored the sword, and when the Ghostly Mother and Ghostly Infants returned, he returned without hesitation to his rented residence.

No need to hide or clean up—given tonight's chaos, it was already certain they'd trace it to him.

Now he had to consider how to handle the trouble coming at dawn.

The high-ups of Lin Yuan City might hesitate and dare not break the surface—but that didn't mean they'd do nothing.

Chu Danqing was on their territory; there would be movement—whether a probe or a confrontation.

"Wait until daylight, then go check on Yang Wenju in the jail," Chu Danqing muttered.

He didn't know what tricks the enemy might have, but if he could get his hands on the so-called Sea-Pacifying Map, he'd gain another advantage and initiative.

As for why he wasn't going now, it was simple enough.

It was four-thirty in the morning—no one visited prisoners at this hour.

Only a jailbreak would make sense then.

But to complete the side quest, Chu Danqing couldn't rescue him—how would he hold a trial after that?

Before the news spread, Yang Wenju's personal safety wasn't in immediate danger.

On the contrary, going to see him now would directly raise the risk.

The high-ranking officials of Lin Yuan City would use Yang Wenju's value to Chu Danqing as a leverage point.

He wouldn't be killed, but torture was inevitable.

Open, lawful action and covert scheming yield two entirely different outcomes.

(End of Chapter)