Chapter 367

Sweet Mask noted this information down.

The young officer looked at Genos again and said, "Genos, do you have any clues about this person's identity?"

Several pairs of eyes fell on Genos's face.

Genos thought for a moment, then shook his head at him: "No, I'm not sure either."

"Is that so…"

……

After the meeting ended.

Sweet Mask stopped Genos at the entrance of the Hero Association headquarters.

"You must know something about that person, don't you?"

"It's none of your business."

The two walked side by side toward the outside, looking like they got along well, but in truth were at daggers drawn.

The next second, they might just start fighting outright.

Genos glanced at Sweet Mask beside him: "You, who have nothing to do with that person—why did you come here today?"

"Isn't it obvious? Of course it's to find out that person's identity."

Sweet Mask took sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, his tone icy: "My new single's popularity has been affected by that guy who popped up out of nowhere—it's really annoying."

Sweet Mask looked at Genos: "Those guys who act all mysterious—as soon as you drag them out from the shadows, they'll show their true colors fast. That's why I came here today, but the result was a bit of a disappointment."

"What are you planning to do once you find him?"

"Of course it's to see whether he has the strength to match his current popularity. If his strength doesn't earn my approval and he dares to steal my spotlight…"

A flash of cold light passed through Sweet Mask's eyes beneath the sunglasses.

Sensing his killing intent, Genos glanced at him: "I'd advise you not to do that."

After saying this, Genos, who had already walked out of the Hero Association headquarters, said no more, and with a few bounds leaped off into the distance.

Sweet Mask stood in place, watching Genos's gradually shrinking back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"As I thought, he knows something…"

"The wasteland of Z-City, huh…"

19, codename 【Sword Master】

Five days after the Deep Sea Tribe invasion incident in J-City.

The identity of that mysterious powerhouse remained a mystery. Even the Hero Association couldn't provide any specific information about that mysterious powerhouse, only able to confirm that he wasn't a registered hero.

The online popularity of that mysterious powerhouse continued to rise, surpassing Sweet Mask's new song release and the S-Class Rank 2 hero Tornado of Terror's hero activities for five consecutive days, dominating the top spot.

His fan count also saw explosive growth, with several fan clubs quickly swelling from a few thousand to over a hundred thousand.

Moreover, netizens had given that unknown mysterious powerhouse a hero-like codename online—【Sword Master】.

The scene of that sword splitting open the heavens left too great an impact on people.

Even now, many people still traveled to J-City specifically to take a look at the kilometer-long straight fissure left on the street by that slash.

Only when standing on either side of that fissure—over ten meters deep, about two meters wide, and over a thousand meters long—could one faintly sense the terrifying power of that sword.

It was as if one had stepped into a god who stood at the pinnacle of the sword!

It was precisely for this reason that, among the countless codenames netizens had spontaneously come up with, the masses chose this codename representing the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship to honor that mysterious and powerful unknown powerhouse.

…………

J-City.

In front of that kilometer-long fissure, people came and went.

S-Class Rank 4 hero Atomic Samurai, wearing a conical hat and a retro samurai outfit, came here with three disciples after hearing the news.

Atomic Samurai stared fixedly at the fissure before him.

A-Class Rank 2 hero Iaian stared at the fissure before him, his expression horrified: "Master, was this really cut by a sword?"

Atomic Samurai gazed at the fissure before him, his eyes deep and dark: "Iaian, as a swordsman, can't you feel it? This lingering, powerful sword intent…"

His words were already an answer.

Iaian and Atomic Samurai's other two disciples—A-Class Rank 3 hero Golden Ball, and A-Class Rank 4 hero Bushido Drill—heard this and all turned slightly pale, unable to help but swallow hard.

A single sword splitting open the heavens, calming wind and rain across the sky, leaving a kilometer-long fissure on the ground… it was like a myth, beyond imagination!

All three felt that their own Master, a swordsmanship grandmaster, was already strong beyond measure, that even if they spent their entire lives they probably couldn't catch up, that he had already reached the pinnacle of the sword.

But that was before seeing this fissure with their own eyes.

No matter how confident they were in their own Master, none of the three thought their Master could deliver such a slash.

The person who could deliver that sword had surely transcended the realm of humanity, reaching another level entirely.

An unknown level they had never heard of, could not even imagine…

Atomic Samurai, his expression complex, shifted his gaze from the fissure before him, looked up at the sky, his eyes full of emotion: "Yare yare… I never thought such a powerful swordsman existed in this world. Just his sword intent alone has drained all my fighting spirit. Compared to him, I'm still far behind. Sword Master, huh—truly a fitting title…"

"But who on earth is it? I really want to witness his swordsmanship."

…………

Z-City central district, the Fubuki family's mansion.

"I'm home."

Fubuki, having finished Blizzard Group's activities and returned home, saw Tornado floating in the air, grumbling at the tablet in her hand.

"Huh? Sword Master? What's with this title! He's clearly not a hero…"

Fubuki walked over curiously.

"Sis, what are you talking about?"

"Take a look."

The tornado huffily tossed the tablet into her hands.

Chuixue looked down.

There was a notice from the Hero Association on the screen.

【After deliberation by the board, the mysterious powerhouse who appeared in City Z and City J has been assigned the codename — 【Lord of the Sword】.】

"See that? That guy isn't even a hero, yet he gets such a cool title — it's so annoying!"

Floating in midair, wearing a slit black long robe, the tornado crossed her arms, her face full of displeasure.

But that childlike face making such an expression still gave off a wonderfully cute, tsundere vibe.

Though she was older than Chuixue…

"A mere demon-level monster — I could make it vanish with a flick of my little finger. If I hadn't had other business that day, how could that guy have gotten the chance? The Hero Association is just…"

The tornado was still grumbling.

Meanwhile, Chuixue stared at the information on the tablet, her mind drifting to Luo En's voice and face.

She knew he'd become famous soon, but not this quickly.

Lord of the Sword…

"Hey, Chuixue. Chuixue."

Chuixue snapped back to attention. Before her, the green-haired tornado floated, eyes level with hers.

"Sis… sis."

Chuixue flustered, instinctively stepping back half a pace.

"What are you daydreaming about? Did you even hear me?"

The tornado frowned at her younger sister: "Are you just too tired lately? I told you that B-rank fan club of yours is completely pointless — what can a bunch of B-rank heroes even do…?"

Chuixue's brow snapped up as she stared firmly at the tornado: "It's not pointless at all!"

"Sis, just wait — Chuixue Group will shock you!"

The tornado crossed her arms, gazing at Chuixue; Chuixue met her gaze without backing down.

After several seconds of locked eyes, the tornado turned and floated away.

"Is that so…? Then I'll wait. By the way, if you hear anything about that guy, let me know."

Chuixue blinked: "That guy?"

"The one with the codename Lord of the Sword."

Chuixue's eyes widened slightly: "Sis, you're looking for him too?"

"Mm."

"Sis, what do you want with him?"