Chapter 103: 98 Spirit Official (Bonus for Favorites)

98 Spirit Official (Bonus for Favorites)

Before Tang Zhao could voluntarily let go, the Xiezhi Sword had already flown out of his hand.

Tang Zhao's body fell downward.

He had originally wanted to use Sword Art to save himself one last time, at least to perform a flying landing, but that last bit of sword technique had truly exhausted him to the point of being drained dry.

His body was stiff, his head throbbed with pain; at this moment, not only was he unable to use any sword power, he could not even move his own body. His hand loosened slightly, the sword slipped from his grasp and fell before him.

Damn it...

Once it leaves my hand, I can no longer use it; I have no way to hold this sword again.

It's a real pity; I didn't even open my eyes just now, I haven't even seen what the Judge looks like, I only remember his eyes were as bright as the Xiezhi...

Wait!

Now is not the time to worry about that...

From this height, I'm going to fall to my death, damn it!

The sound of the wind whistled in his ears, and he panicked.

Having lost the sword, Tang Zhao was merely an ordinary Martial Artist; with that shallow bit of Internal and External Arts, he didn't even count as a Knight-Errant. Falling from such a height, he would be smashed into a meat patty!

Fortunately, after the sword left his hand, he lost one layer of shackles and recovered a bit of strength, immediately making the most correct effort in mid-air.

Inhale, exert force, and shout loudly:

"Help meeeee—"

"Puff."

Someone reached out and caught him.

At this moment, Tang Zhao couldn't stop in time and was still screaming, when he heard someone below shout: "Hey—stop shouting."

Tang Zhao opened his eyes and discovered he was still upside down, able to see the weeds on the ground, still several zhang away from his head.

I... am suspended in mid-air?

Looking closely, there was a human face on the ground, four eyes meeting four eyes; in the night, it looked rugged and uneven, very crude—it was none other than the Deputy Envoy of the Land Inspection Division, Peng Yiming.

If Peng Yiming was here, then the person who caught him was... He looked up, and sure enough, he saw a graceful fairy; it was exactly Peng Yiming's Spirit Image.

He set his heart at ease; he had landed in the hands of his own people. He stopped struggling and let the Spirit Image carry him back to the ground.

Once on the ground, Tang Zhao staggered to stand straight and saluted: "Many thanks to Deputy Envoy Peng for saving my life."

Peng Yiming waved his hand and said: "Small matter." As he spoke, he patted Tang Zhao on the shoulder with a *slap-slap*, saying: "Xiao Tang, well done! You wiped out such a big Saint Moon Sect incense master, giving our Land Inspection Division face. Based on your merit, the position you get when you enter won't be lower than Xiaosi's. I think highly of you; your future is full of promise."

Tang Zhao said modestly: "That was because you gave me the opportunity to wield the authority sword, otherwise I... ah, where is the Xiezhi Sword?"

Peng Yiming pointed to the side; the Xiezhi Sword was quietly stuck in the ground, its snow-white blade like frost and snow.

Tang Zhao wanted to reach out to take it, but suddenly thought that his fate with this sword had ended. His heart dimmed, and he took the Sword Sheath from his personal small jar, saying: "Trouble you, sir, to return the sword to its sheath."

His original intention was to have the Spirit Image put the sword away, but he saw Peng Yiming go up to take the sword himself.

Tang Zhao was startled and warned: "Be careful—"

Before the words were finished, Peng Yiming had already pulled out the long sword and returned it to the sheath, naturally safe and sound.

Tang Zhao was surprised in his heart; could it be that this Deputy Envoy is fierce in appearance but soft in heart, cultivating virtue within the officialdom, having never killed a single person in his life?

Peng Yiming turned his wrist, revealing a Bracelet worn on his hand, with deep sword marks on it; it was clearly a "Meta Art Tool": "I, Peng, have killed countless people in my life, my hands are full of blood. Ling'er and I are one; things I cannot touch, she cannot touch either, otherwise, we both die. This is the Town Guardian's Art Tool 'Remission', used to recover from the Xiezhi Sword's damage; it is especially effective. Wearing this, there is no problem touching the Xiezhi Sword for a short time." Seeing Tang Zhao's eyes light up, he immediately said, "But it's only temporary, don't count on using it to wield the authority sword."

Tang Zhao felt slightly disappointed. Peng Yiming let Tang Zhao retrieve the sword into the jar from the air, saying: "Better to keep it with you; when we see the Town Guardian in a moment, just return it to the Sword Box."

Tang Zhao hurriedly asked: "How is the Town Guardian?"

Peng Yiming pointed above and said: "Still fighting."

Tang Zhao looked up and saw that the direction of the river was filled with mist and clouds, black clouds pressing layer upon layer, lowering the sky by several degrees and shrouding the river surface so tightly that not a trace of the battle could be seen.

Just now, while fighting, he had already felt the rainstorm coming; he didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, it had reached the point of total darkness.

Peng Yiming said: "That Heavenly Demon is no longer suppressed and, furthermore, has gone mad, using a Demon Art to summon clouds and rain, covering the Demon Cave. Everyone's consumption just now was not small; once the means were used, they couldn't be recovered, and they fell into a bitter battle. However, the Town Guardian is still presiding over the overall situation; he has been commanding with composure, so I imagine it won't go out of control. If it really were to go out of control, he would warn us."

Tang Zhao nodded; he could only hope so. Now that he had lost the authority sword, it was very difficult for him to intervene in the battle, especially since he was physically and mentally exhausted; even if he used imitation, he probably couldn't release a single Sword Technique. He could only watch the battle from below, and said: "Are you here to preside over the external situation, sir?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked; once he did, Peng Yiming showed a sorrowful expression and said: "Mainly to meet you. After all, I can't intervene in the battle inside. There's nothing left to clear on the periphery; it's been mostly cleared by you."

As he spoke, he even sighed and lamented: "Truly, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. In those days, how glorious the Spirit Officials were; it is said that in the previous dynasty, only Spirit Officials could be high officials, with one call receiving a hundred responses. Now, however, it is the era of the Sword Guest. Spirit Officials have all exited the stage. No matter how good a Spirit Image is, it can only move a Phantom; encountering such a Heavenly Demon with a tough body is truly useless, not even as good as a child. If I had known, I wouldn't have been greedy for fast promotion to become a Spirit Official; I would have honestly walked the single-plank bridge and strived to become a Sword Guest. A child like you should take this as..."

He looked at Tang Zhao's face again, his expression even more sorrowful, and said: "Forget it, no need to take it as a reference. Just looking at your appearance, no one would ever recruit you to be a Spirit Official."

Tang Zhao, while worrying about the situation, casually comforted him: "Actually, being a Spirit Official is also very good; you can manifest such a beautiful young lady."

Peng Yiming was silent, pressed down on Tang Zhao's shoulder, and said earnestly: "Xiao Tang, I've told you about the ways of the world; don't easily praise a Spirit Official's Spirit Image for being beautiful."

Tang Zhao only felt the hand pressing on his shoulder was very heavy, grinned, and said: "Please enlighten me, sir?"

Peng Yiming said: "The so-called Spirit Image is a person's half-body spirit, which is the opposite of the person themselves. A man's half-body is a woman, an old person's half-body is young, a handsome person's half-body is ugly. So if you praise someone's Spirit Image for being young and beautiful, it means they themselves are..."

Old and ugly, right?

Tang Zhao still wanted to make up for it: "Actually, sir, your Spirit Image is also just average..."

Peng Yiming waved his hand, told him to shut up, and said: "You don't need to worry about this; anyway, with your appearance, no one would ever call you to be a Spirit Official. I said all this to let you know: be careful of Phantoms."

Tang Zhao repeated: "Phantoms?"

Peng Yiming said: "Today, this Demon Cave is simple; those fish and shrimp Phantoms don't count for much. But later, when you see more, you will be able to see many Phantoms as beautiful as fairies. Some young people like you, full of blood and energy, will harbor compassion, or even develop other thoughts, ruining the big picture. If you encounter such a thing, just think of me; think that behind every young and beautiful Phantom is an old, ugly man."

Speaking of which, he suddenly laughed: "I heard there are even those in the Saint Moon Sect who joined the sect because they admired Phantoms, willing to be traitors to all living things. Do you think he knows who he is in love with?"

Tang Zhao stammered a few times and said: "Are Phantoms and Spirit Officials essentially the same thing? Are Phantoms just Spirit Officials from beyond the territory?"

Peng Yiming said: "There is no need to avoid talking about this. After so many years, everyone knows that those invading from beyond the territory are living creatures from the world on the other side. Heavenly Demons are physical invasions; Phantoms are spiritual invasions. Perhaps when you reach the other world, you will be able to see the true form of the Phantoms; they are not much different from us. It is said that only the hair and eyes are different."

Tang Zhao said softly: "No wonder some are guilty, and some are innocent."

Peng Yiming said: "What guilty or innocent? If this were the front line, there would be something to say. I have been to the front line; at that time, the thought was 'those not of my race are my enemies, it is a life-or-death struggle.' But where are we now? Whose land is this? Who are the people coming? What are they coming for? Who is behind us? Invading my homeland, harming my people—how can there be any innocent ones?"

Xing Ji had also said these words; at the time, Tang Zhao had deeply agreed. With Peng Yiming saying it again, his heart was even more firm. He certainly Revered the Judge, but he was not the Judge; regarding right and wrong, he also had his own judgment.

At that moment, he said: "Sir, can you lend me that Remission Art Tool?"

Peng Yiming frowned and said, "What are you trying to do? This Art Tool can only be used temporarily; I cannot let you wield the Authority Sword. You still want to go to the battlefield above? It's not that I look down on you, but think for yourself—in your current state, what would you be able to do if you went?"

Tang Zhao said, "It's just in case; I'm not completely powerless. I still have other Art Tools..."

And a Dharma Artifact, and half an Authority Sword.

Mostly, just watching and waiting for the result is too agonizing.

Peng Yiming looked at the rolling thunderclouds overhead, pondered for a moment, and said, "I can lend you the Art Tool; the Authority Sword is in your hands anyway, so perhaps there will be a time you need it. But I won't send you up there. If you want to join the battle, you have to be able to get up there yourself. If you can't even fly up, yet still want to have a hand in it, wouldn't that be a joke?"

Tang Zhao took the Art Tool and looked up at the sky.

The sky was covered in thick, dark clouds, with electric serpents dancing wildly within them; a thunderstorm was brewing. If that was also the work of the Heavenly Demons, the battle situation above must be extremely intense.

The previous few times, the Land Inspection Division was on the offensive, but now that the Heavenly Demons have recovered and erupted, the roles of attacker and defender have undergone Shape-Shifting. Xing Ji and the others are effectively dragged into an away game, with the environment entirely in the opponent's hands; it's unlikely the situation is very good.

Regardless, he wanted to go up and take a look; perhaps there was something he could help with?

How to get up there? By using Look and then Sword Art?

That would consume too much. Although he had recovered a bit of his mental energy, it couldn't compare to before, and Look cannot be used directly with Sword Art; he hadn't learned the Yao Sword Art yet.

The Lihuo Sword could be used directly, though, without costing much mental energy. Could he use the principle of a rocket and spray flames downward?

It might work, but it would be a bit difficult to control.

Just at this moment, he saw a familiar shadow, and in his pleasant surprise, he waved his hands repeatedly:

"Over here!"

That figure heard the sound and came over, its chubby body bobbing up and down.

It was that fat cat.