Chapter 124: The Ultimate Anime Male Lead Archetype, Supreme Leader of the Righteous Path

The Lord of the Rainbow Sword is the leader of the Seven Swords, and the Rainbow Sword itself is the most vividly colored among them; using it to trade for a Mammuth Fruit is not perfect, but at least better than the other six swords.

Using other swords to trade for Nika Fruit would be less appropriate.

If they could truly give all six other swords to Ye Xuan, that would be fine—the combined power of the Seven Swords far exceeds that of any single sword, with additional bonuses; but they only have three swords in total.

After trading away the most valuable Rainbow Sword, they are left with only two.

So let’s wait until they acquire something more suitable before exchanging again.

“Or if you want something like fighter jets, tanks, or submarines—no, those don’t seem quite right either.”

“Let’s wait until we develop something stronger later.”

“We’ve already started researching new ones.”

Collecting doesn’t necessarily mean only collecting celestial treasures; collecting things they normally can’t possess counts as collecting too, doesn’t it?

But what we have now doesn’t seem suitable—let’s wait until we develop something new.

“Alright.”

Ye Xuan nodded, then hung up the phone; he was actually quite interested in the fighter jets, tanks, and submarines Su Mengyao mentioned, but as collectibles, he simply didn’t have enough space.

After hanging up, Ye Xuan suddenly furrowed his brow and turned his gaze toward the villa’s garden.

He sensed a strange aura—faint, yet uniquely distinct, as if deliberately drawing his attention, yet hesitant, flickering in and out; only someone with exceptionally sharp perception could detect it.

Is the Hongyun Qitian poison activating again?

Unlikely—it’s already happened four times today; can it really happen a fifth time?

Ye Xuan pushed open the door and stepped into the garden; under the moonlight, a crimson creature with two horns on its head stood timidly on the lawn, its hooves nervously tapping the ground.

His expression turned peculiar.

Is that… a Qilin? And specifically, the Qilin from the Hongmao Lan Tu world?

Just now we were talking about the Seven Swords from the Hongmao Lan Tu world, and now the Qilin appears?

But why is it here—in my villa’s garden?

“Mmm.”

The Qilin looked at Ye Xuan and let out a low whimper.

It wanted to approach, yet its eyes held hesitation.

It sensed a familiar aura from Ye Xuan—like fire, warm and comforting—but this man was still a stranger, and it didn’t know whether to trust him.

As for why it had come here, it didn’t understand itself—only that, while running, it had somehow stumbled into this place.

As if a voice had told it this was the safest path.

Ye Xuan crouched down and looked at it; the young Qilin instinctively stepped back, then, realizing Ye Xuan seemed harmless, hesitated before stepping forward again, tilting its head.

A gentle breeze stirred; the young Qilin seemed cold and sneezed, spitting out a few sparks.

It startled itself, quickly covering its mouth with its front paws, stealing glances at Ye Xuan with wide, wet eyes.

Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then took the Fire Shadow Stone from his space ring; the next second, the young Qilin’s eyes widened, its tail twitching involuntarily, yet it held back, unwilling to approach.

“So it was drawn here by this?”

Apparently not the effect of the Hongyun Qitian poison.

After confirming this, Ye Xuan placed the Fire Shadow Stone in his palm and extended it; after much hesitation, the young Qilin finally crept close and gently nuzzled the stone with its nose.

“Boom!”

A burst of flame erupted from its body; the Qilin’s face softened into an expression of bliss.

Ye Xuan wasn’t surprised; he simply reached out and rubbed the Qilin’s head.

The little creature froze for a moment, then closed its eyes contentedly, emitting a soft “rumble-rumble.”

“You can stay with me for now.”

He said softly, then picked up the young Qilin and returned to the villa.

The next morning, Su Mengyao called Ye Xuan, had him open the door, then rushed into his villa with great energy.

In her hands she held an exquisite sandalwood box; dark circles hung beneath her eyes, clearly indicating she hadn’t slept all night.

“I brought the Rainbow Sword!”

She set the box on the coffee table and collapsed onto the sofa, grumbling.

“Wang Shouguo heard you traded the Mammuth Fruit for the Rainbow Sword and immediately ordered me to travel to Jiangcheng’s Tian Shu Bureau overnight.”

“I didn’t sleep at all!”

“And those people at Jiangcheng’s Tian Shu Bureau—they’ve studied it for so long and still haven’t found a single suitable master. It’s ridiculous.”

“Can’t they find even one teenager who shoulders the world’s burdens, isn’t a bleeding-heart, acts decisively, possesses courage and strategy, has unyielding will, is loyal to friends, devoted to lovers, upholds justice for all, and is respected by both legal and underworld circles—a young hero like Hongmao?”

“Well, they can’t.”

That’s precisely why the person who obtained the Rainbow Sword sold it to Jiangcheng’s Tian Shu Bureau.

Although the Rainbow Sword’s criteria may not strictly follow Hongmao as a model, even if it’s slightly different, it’s probably not by much.

And such a person is clearly rare in reality.

The “anime male lead archetype ceiling” isn’t a joke.

The teenager who discovered the Rainbow Sword and sold it to Jiangcheng’s Tian Shu Bureau knew full well he could never gain its recognition, so he traded it.

As Jiangcheng’s first person to trade celestial treasures, Jiangcheng didn’t shortchange him—the price was slightly higher than a Devil Fruit, around 150 million.

Whether it was worth it? Everyone has their own opinion; she thought it was fair, and the buyer was probably quite satisfied.

The reason Devil Fruits differ from these celestial treasures is here.

Other celestial treasures require recognition to unlock their full power, but Devil Fruits don’t—you just eat them. The only downside is they taste awful.

Although the Tian Shu Bureau speculates that the Seven Swords contain legacies of Hongmao, Lan Tu, and other masters, who can be sure? What if they don’t?

Even if they do, finding someone like Hongmao is incredibly difficult.

Real humans have selfish motives, but anime archetypes are arbitrary.

Trying to find a real person matching Hongmao in every aspect isn’t impossible—but it’s nearly so.

Su Mengyao certainly thought it was impossible.

By the time they find such a person, the one who ate the Mammuth Fruit has probably already developed it to nearly fourth stage.

“Here you go.”

Ye Xuan handed the Mammuth Fruit to Su Mengyao, then asked curiously,

“Are you giving the Mammuth Fruit to Jiangcheng or the Imperial Capital Tian Shu Bureau?”

“Jiangcheng, of course.”

“After all, the Rainbow Sword belongs to them.”

(End of Chapter)