Chapter 342

The Great King earnestly studied the sword manual, feeling that some of the terminology was very obscure; the first form took them half an incense stick's worth of time to ponder, and they spotted, in the distance, Great Hero Ling embracing the Sword God Wander...

"Isn't there someone who specializes in sword dancing? What's the point of me agonizing over this for so long!"

"You're studious."

The Great King bared their teeth fiercely at Bai Ze, then honestly called out to Great Hero Ling.

Back when Great Hero Ling first arrived, their name prefix was 【Swordsman】.

Ling Yin came over and first glanced at the Tai'a Sword; the Great King generously handed it to them, saying, "Give it a try—this is a newly drawn reward from the system."

Ling Yin didn't stand on ceremony, took it and carefully examined the Tai'a Sword; relying on a swordsman's intuition, they commented, "Nice thing, not inferior to the Penglai Sword."

The Great King was extremely pleased.

The Penglai Sword is no ordinary blade in their realm; hearing this assessment from the swordsman Ling Yin says enough about its value.

"Go ahead and draw it— the blade is also handsome, and the Tai'a Sword is formidable!"

Ling Yin took hold, gave it a pull—no response at all...

A second pull—still couldn't draw it...

The Great King's mouth had formed an 'O' shape—"You can't draw it out?!"

They turned in shock to Bai Ze: "You didn't say it was some treasure—can I use this as a lifetime high-grade weapon? Has it just rusted shut?"

Just as Bai Ze thought they had grasped the point: ……」

"Could it be that the Tai'a Sword is the Emperor's Sword, and letting you draw it now is already giving you enough face?"

The Great King closed their mouth, stepped forward, gripped the sword hilt and exerted force—with a swish, the familiar whoosh sound effect sounded; Ling Yin only felt a flash of gold before their eyes, and they instinctively narrowed their eyes and stepped back a step.

The howling ceased; not just the garden, but it felt as if the entire manor had fallen silent, the air heavy with the oppressive feeling of an impending storm.

Ling Yin stood firm and shook their head: "I can't teach you this; it's not an ordinary sword, and its grade far exceeds that of the Penglai Sword. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Sword of Majestic Dao—it has already chosen its master, and you need to comprehend it yourself."

"'Ah? Isn't there a sword manual?' The Great King felt as if the sky had fallen."

The Great King waved the sword about in the air, making two random cuts, and the sound of splitting air burst in their ears; Ling Yin grew ever more certain.

They could only pick up the unsheathed sword; at this moment, being able to draw it was exactly what the Great King had handed them—likely they couldn't swing it effectively, and in their hands it was nothing more than an unsharpened blunt weapon.

"'If you can't understand the sword manual, I can teach you the moves—but swordsmanship isn't just about getting the motions right, especially for you, this divine weapon with special significance and attributes. Simply put, I can show you the 'form,' but the 'spirit' must be comprehended by the lord themselves.'"

"... That works too!"

The Great King quickly turned the corner—having not grasped the sword manual at all, nothing else was what they should be thinking about now; let's just get the sword moves down first!

Ling Yin is indeed a sword‑play expert; the Great King's petite build poses no problem—a natural talent for martial arts, easy to teach.

They had the Great King first get used to the weight of the Tai'a Sword, teaching them to treat it as their best companion and to carry it at all times.

Then they broke down each move for the Great King to practice, later piecing them together into a smooth, continuous flow.

There are no shortcuts in sword art—you improve through sweat.

The Great King trained earnestly, repeating a single move over and over without tiring of it; Bai Ze and Ling Yin watched with gratified eyes, and at this moment the child was at their most obedient!

After all, when this fellow isn't sleeping, the time they spend with their mouth closed isn't much...

Three, four non‑human creatures surrounded the Great King in an imposing observation, and Xie Yuan was the one summoned at that time.

Zhao Bao came over to report that Mr. Xie had come to pay respects to the Great King; the Great King even lifted their head to look at the sun—what wind is blowing today?

"Haha, I never thought Mr. Xie would love working so much—he even came to report early! Look at his enthusiasm!"

"This guy already forgot about the stationery shop incident on the street—His Majesty is swamped with affairs!"

Xie Yuan heard the street gossip about him, and beside him Zhou Huang kept wanting to speak but stopping, unable to hold back.

So aggravating.

Quite aggravating.

The newly appointed Censor-in-Chief lost all interest in going to the restaurant to enjoy food, and decided right away to go see the culprit.

No need to guess—if he himself went to tell the shop to put it away, it would surely be useless, given his understanding of His Majesty.

Stopped by the palace guards, Xie Yuan showed his waist plaque as the Northern Territory Academy's Libationer, and the guards let him through.

After leaving the palace and changing his words, Xie Yuan was still coming here for the first time.

Master and disciple, under the guards' bewildered stares, stubbornly gazed at the Southern Hua Gate for a long time.

The four big characters "Northern Territory Palace" first dazzled their eyes; then they were taken to the garden to see His Majesty via a completely different route, and master and disciple enjoyed the scenery along the way, lifting Xie Yuan's spirits.

Strolling through this divine garden once can dispel half of any worries.

His Majesty waited for him in an octagonal pavilion among the fake hills; Xie Yuan was brought over and found the pavilion already full.

Such a pavilion doesn't even exist in the Great Jin; Xie Yuan didn't even have a chance to look at it more.

The pavilion isn't big, with a table and four chairs inside; now His Majesty, Bai Ze, Xiong, and Diao are crowded together, packed tight.

Ling Yin stood in the corner leaning against a pillar, and Zhao Bao also stood outside the pavilion.

Xie Yuan was hesitating where to stop to pay his respects to His Majesty, when he saw His Majesty suddenly pull something from his pocket and toss it outside the pavilion; Xiong and Diao immediately sprang up and lunged out…

His Majesty excitedly patted the seat beside him, saying, "Sir, come quickly, there's a spot!"

Xie Yuan: ……

Zhou Huang: ……

Only Bai Ze remained unmoving, calmly casting a glance over, then turned back toward the fake hills…