Chapter 258: The Hegemon Sword Recognizes Its Master, A Forum Legend

"Three thousand years, and at last a compatible wielder who can bear my edge has come. Touch the hilt, and you shall gain the power to rend heaven and earth… if you have the courage for it."

A wave of baleful aura crashed into his face, and an overbearing voice rang in his ears.

But Qiao Wu felt the Hegemon Sword was acting like an idiot.

It was like a con artist still working hard to write his script, while he, the audience, had already finished reading the grand finale in advance.

Noticing Qiao Wu was still observing it without taking any action.

The Hegemon Sword suddenly trembled, and at once rings of light and shadow formed around the blade.

Countless stunning scenes played in succession within the light and shadow, like a revolving lantern.

In the first scene, on a certain hellish battlefield, the Hegemon Sword pierced through a primordial demon dragon a thousand meters long.

Dragon blood poured down like a heavenly river, every drop corroding bottomless pits into the ground.

The sword-bearer stood upon the dragon's head; with a turn of the blade, an entire continental plate split apart, and lava spewed forth to form new mountain ranges.

The scene shifted to the depths of starry sky, where the Hegemon Sword floated among the shattered river of stars.

Six cleaved stars revolved around the blade, their scorching stellar-core energy coiling around the edge like tamed pets.

At that moment the Hegemon Sword suddenly chopped down, and a terrifying starry-sky behemoth was split clean in two by a single strike, the wound smooth as a mirror.

The scene shifted again: at the center of an ancient altar, hundreds of millions of warriors knelt in submission; the sword-bearer stood at the peak, splitting the clouds with one slash, Lei Guang coiling around the blade.

Then the sword-bearer flickered and engaged in combat with a golden divine statue that pierced through heaven and earth.

Every collision shook heaven and earth; in the end the statue's head was lopped off, and at the instant of its fall it transformed into hundreds of millions of meteors, while the divine blood staining the blade was gradually magnified within the image.

All the scenes were accompanied by sword-chimes that struck straight to the soul; as Qiao Wu watched, he kept feeling as though a voice were whispering in his ear:

"Grip me… and all this shall be yours… command supreme, boundless power."

But thinking of the truth, he could not help but snort with laughter.

Hearing Qiao Wu's laughter, the images swirling around the Hegemon Sword suddenly dispersed.

"Poor little thing, your frozen fingers can't even grip a weapon steady, can they? Don't worry, I'll warm your palms for you."

"Are you fucking putting on an act?" Qiao Wu couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Though this broken weapon had a hunting level of 103, in Qiao Wu's eyes it was at best a transitional weapon even if brought back to the village.

Far inferior to the rune-resonance weapons forged in his own village.

The only things of value were perhaps the materials, and the massive evolution points and Shou Shou Jili gains from killing it.

But the problem was, he clearly had no ability to slay the Hegemon Sword.

Even if the Hegemon Sword stood still and didn't move, he couldn't break its defense.

His main Painful Painful Minghun was the Eagle-Headed Yao.

If they really fought, he'd only be the one taking a beating, and would inevitably be sent back to the village and locked in a small dark room for an hour.

Continuing to put on an act with the Hegemon Sword was even more pointless.

The Hegemon Sword needed to draw power from its host's suffering, and he didn't care for pain—whether of the flesh or of the spirit.

If he had to endure suffering just to keep up the act, that would be far too miserable.

As an exploration-type player, the greatest joy lay on the road of exploration; fighting and killing were out of the question—what use was this Hegemon Sword to him?

Thinking of this, Qiao Wu paid the Hegemon Sword no heed and began considering how to use it to profit himself.

Just then, a sudden flash of inspiration lit up in his mind.

The Hegemon Sword liked to draw power from suffering.

Speaking of suffering, one had to mention the Painful Brothers among the players of his village.

Though those two kept a low profile, their fame on the forums was no small matter—especially in the eyes of veteran players.

When he had been browsing early hot threads on the forum, he had learned about these two players.

Their rise to fame could be traced back specifically to a year ago.

When the Alchemist Guild had just been founded, in order to earn profits from players, it developed the first-generation Gene Seed.

The moment it appeared, it sparked heated discussion on the forums.

Veteran players back then were unlike now—they couldn't use a Da Liang Gong of functions, and the combat-skill cultivation function hadn't even gone live yet.

There were only three ways to obtain Body-Tempering experience.

The first was physical exercise, which yielded negligible Body-Tempering experience and could be considered no growth at all.

The second was converting Shou Shou Jili into Body-Tempering experience, at a ratio of 1:1, which was rather expensive.

The third was consuming spiritual plants—the most extravagant method of gaining Body-Tempering experience in veteran players' eyes; there were no spirit-food meals back then, and many players chose this route just to enjoy the taste of spiritual plants, at steep cost.

But the appearance of the Gene Seed let players see the possibility of saving Shou Shou Jili while gaining Body-Tempering experience.

At the time, a single Gene Seed could bring roughly a 15% bonus over cost price in Body-Tempering experience.

Unfortunately, the first-generation Gene Seed had far too severe side effects.

Consuming it caused serious damage to the body.

The worst part was the intense agony that came after eating a Gene Seed—harder to endure than death itself.

Especially after a certain player bought and consumed one, then cursed up a storm on the forums, veteran players no longer dared lightly try the extreme pain brought by Gene Seeds.

But two players were the exception.

They were also, in veteran players' eyes, two of the legendary figures of the forum's early days.

To save on Shou Shou Jili expenditure, their behavior could be called the manliest of men—they chose to tough out the agony and eat Gene Seeds.

Hoping to gain a growth advantage this way, a step ahead of other players.

At the time, because of certain remarks on the forums, they had said something like this: when the earnings aren't enough, make up for it with quantity—you lot think we're fools, but how much do you really make killing evil spirits? One Gene Seed I flashily eat earns me more Body-Tempering experience than you make killing evil spirits all day.

This act also earned them, from forum players, the titles Gene Manly-Men, Gene Supermen, and Painful Brothers—truly the chosen sons of the Liu Wan Fa of tanking damage.

The Painful Brothers were also the first two players in the player faction to obtain special Painful Painful Minghun.

Possesses the ability to release Painful Painful Minghun and inflict true damage.

In the days that followed, they rarely appeared on the forum.

But their story continued to circulate on the forum.

At this moment, Ba Ba Jian needed to find a host; Qiao Wu instantly felt these two brothers were perfectly matched with Ba Ba Jian.

With this idea, he immediately summoned the forum interface and began searching for the brothers' contact information.

At this moment, noticing Qiao Wu had still not responded, Ba Ba Jian's patience wore thin:

"Boy, I have slept for three thousand years—your chance to earn my favor is a rare fortune in a lifetime. Are you going to reject it?"

Qiao Wu heard Ba Ba Jian's voice, like the sigh of an aged man who had endured countless trials, expressing regret for him.

As he spoke, the snow surrounding Ba Ba Jian melted silently, revealing the frozen earth beneath, riddled with corrosion and full of holes; the cracks along the blade's spine opened like blood-red pupils, fixing their gaze on Qiao Wu.

The light emitted from the blood pupils projected a vision into Qiao Wu's eyes.

A figure resembling Qiao Wu stood holding a sword; where the blade's light passed, Shanhe changed color, the sun and moon lost their radiance.

"I observe your exceptional talent, yet you are bound by the shackles of mortal existence. Today, fortune has arrived—why not..."

Before he finished, Qiao Wu, weary of Ba Ba Jian's repeated empty promises, sighed:

"Don't rush me—I still have something unfinished."

Saying this, Qiao Wu, having already found the Painful Brothers' contact, sent a friend request.

Not long after, the friend request was accepted; Qiao Wu quickly opened the chat window:

Click to skip the cutscene: Are you the Painful Brothers? Are you there?

The One Who Got Hit by a Dog: What do you want? (Explorer's confused face. jpg)

Click to skip the cutscene: Buddy, here's the situation—I'm an explorer player who encountered a fortune while exploring the Frostwinter Snowfield, but I'm probably unworthy of it. I thought you Painful Brothers could handle it. Now Ba Ba Jian wants to bond with a host, but I'm terrified of pain… So I specifically reached out to offer you this fortune (screenshot of Ba Ba Jian's analysis).

The One Who Got Hit by a Dog: (t^t) Why do you associate pain with us two brothers? But this fortune does look appealing—name your price, buddy. Don't lowball us. We've got no team, no real-world wealth—we just earn hard-earned money through labor. Don't treat us like pigs to be slaughtered.

Click to skip the cutscene: How about twenty-five thousand Shou Shou Jili? You might earn ten or even a hundred times that back in later plotlines—this is a rare hidden quest.

The One Who Got Hit by a Dog: Buddy, you really are treating us like pigs to be slaughtered. Twenty-five thousand Shou Shou Jili? Do you know how many credit points that could buy? That's an outrageous price.

Click to skip the cutscene: Don't you have the legacy of the Ascetic Elder? You should be rich.

The One Who Got Hit by a Dog: We spent every last bit of the old man's legacy—used it all up over half a year ago. Now we're broke. If the price is too high, we won't buy it.

Click to skip the cutscene: Alright, I'll drop to twenty-five thousand Shou Shou Jili. Lower than that, I'll just grit my teeth and take the blade myself and continue the hidden quest. Think about it—when you triggered the hidden quest before, you gained a Special Painful Painful Minghun and the Ascetic Elder's legacy. Now another chance is right before you—don't let it slip away.

The One Who Got Hit by a Dog: Fine, twenty-five thousand. We'll take the quest first, then transfer the payment. Give us the coordinates.

Click to skip the cutscene: Frostwinter Snowfield (coordinates).

……

After the deal was settled, Qiao Wu's face betrayed unmistakable joy.

But to Ba Ba Jian, his smile appeared as if he had finally recognized his own allure.

Ba Ba Jian was about to speak when Qiao Wu suddenly adopted a Shen Se Ning Zhong expression:

"Sorry—I don't like swords."

Hearing this, Ba Ba Jian's fury surged.

At this moment, it was severely wounded; to entice this weak creature, it had even expended its blood energy to weave an Illusion.

And yet it was rejected.

This was the first time it had seen a weak creature look upon it without a trace of greed—even, it felt, a hint of contempt in the creature's eyes.

Feeling enraged, it immediately conceived murderous intent.

If this weak creature chose to refuse, its only value was to become its nourishment.

But just as Ba Ba Jian was about to strike, Qiao Wu laughed and spoke:

"But I can find you a more suitable host—I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"What do you take me for?!" The sword's cry thundered, shattering the surrounding ice crystals into tinkling fragments:

"A scrap of junk picked up off the roadside? Or a dull, obedient weapon you can manipulate at will?!"

The cracks along the blade's spine swelled like veins, dark red light surging wildly, as if about to erupt in a lethal strike.

But this threat meant nothing to Qiao Wu.

The only thing he feared was one thing: having come this far, if he got sent to the Black Room, he'd have to run the whole thing again.

Yet to calm Ba Ba Jian, Qiao Wu, who understood its needs, immediately spoke:

"He is my clansman, burdened with a blood-deep grudge, desperate for power—I believe you two are far better matched."

Hearing "blood-deep grudge" and "desperate for power," Ba Ba Jian's outward aura of malice suddenly dissipated.

Though tempted, it still maintained its dignity:

"Hmph. A mere mortal body—does it deserve my condescension?"

"But if what you say is true—that this one bears a blood grudge and possesses unyielding resolve—I might consider it."

Sensing Ba Ba Jian's interest, Qiao Wu's face lit up with a grin:

"Wait here for me—I'll go fetch my clansman to meet you."

"Agreed."

Hearing Ba Ba Jian's acceptance, Qiao Wu exhaled in relief.

Transferring the hidden quest to the Painful Brothers—he wasn't sure if it would succeed, fearing the quest might end prematurely.

Now that he had Ba Ba Jian's clear answer, his spirits soared.

This meant twenty-five thousand Shou Shou Jili was secured—he could enjoy divine meals daily for a long time.

With joy in his heart, Qiao Wu summoned his dazzling hoverboard and shot straight into the sky.

Watching Qiao Wu's retreating figure, Ba Ba Jian grew wary.

Because there was one possibility — that the other party wanted to harm it, and that leaving was to return to the tribe's territory to seek support from the tribe's forces.

But thinking it over carefully, this possibility didn't seem very high.

If the other party truly had this idea, they could have simply chosen to hold the sword temporarily, then bring it back to the tribe.

Regardless, it felt it had to be prepared to withdraw at any moment.

There wasn't much energy left in its body — it only had one chance to escape.

But there was still one thing it couldn't figure out.

Why did this weak fellow, even after its mental bewitching influence and the demonstration of its power, still give up holding the sword?

Were there really living beings in this world that did not crave power?

Meanwhile, the departing Qiao Wu contacted the Pain brothers again and explained the situation.

On the other side.

Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng were browsing the forum in the little black room.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to hurry off to accept the hidden quest as soon as possible, but the journey was far — even relying on a vehicle to travel would take a day and a half.

So they could only choose the most convenient and fastest Little Black Room Express, which went directly to Tomb Village.

After an hour of waiting, they revived at Tomb Village's teleport point and decisively passed through the portal to jump to the Frost Snow Plain region.

After contacting Qiao Wu and sending the party invitation, they set off immediately.

This journey was a long one — even with a flying-sword vehicle's boost, it would still take half a day.

After a long flight, they passed through the biting cold wind and landed on a stretch of snow plain.

From afar they spotted Qiao Wu sitting cross-legged on an ice rock, with a hot-pot steaming away in front of him.

"Perfect timing." Qiao Wu smiled, picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks, and waved them over. "Last two slices of Sea-of-Heaven Carp — any later and they'd be gone."

Jiang Cheng's mouth twitched.

They had rushed all the way here, dust and wind on their backs, and this guy had the nerve to be hot-potting in the middle of an extreme-cold wasteland.

Clearly he was already certain those 25,000 Shou Shou Jili were in the bag.

"Let's go, no time to eat," Jiang Cheng said, none too pleased.

After briefly laying out the plan, Qiao Wu led Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng to an ice valley ringed by wind and snow.

In the center of the ice valley, a dark-red broken sword was thrust diagonally into the frozen earth, the dark-red baleful aura coiling around its blade especially eye-catching against the heavy snow.

"This is the thing — it feeds on its host. How the next scene plays out is up to you. Just remember what I said: it likes pain."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng turned to look at his good brother Xia Sheng:

"Unfilial son, wait here for me — your dad's going and back."

"Why isn't it me holding the sword and you waiting here?"

"What's mine is yours. When I die someday, the inheritance is all yours." With that, Jiang Cheng strode toward the Tyrant Sword.

Behind him, Xia Sheng raised his middle finger.

At this moment the Tyrant Sword had already sensed Jiang Cheng's approach; the blade trembled.

Jiang Cheng walked straight up to the Tyrant Sword, stopped, and said in a low voice:

"I need power!"

As soon as he spoke, a thin red mist appeared on Xia Sheng's body surface.

The blood-runes on the Tyrant Sword suddenly lit up — it could feel the suppressed-to-the-breaking-point pain in this young man's emotions, like a volcano about to erupt.

This was exactly the host it had been dreaming of.

Judging from the other's qi-blood intensity and spiritual force intensity, this fellow posed no threat to it.

Added to the endless anger and pain buried deep in his heart — he was simply a perfect furnace-cauldron.

"Interesting, but what makes you think this seat would choose you?"

Jiang Cheng raised his head and replied in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Because I'm willing to pay anything — soul? Life? Take whatever you want."

Saying so, Jiang Cheng reached straight out and grabbed at the hilt.

The Tyrant Sword did not refuse.

Once Jiang Cheng gripped it tight, the hilt erupted with blinding blood-light; a barb suddenly stabbed into Jiang Cheng's palm, and the fresh blood was absorbed clean by the blade before it could even drip down.

At the same time, a portion of the Tyrant Sword's power flowed into Jiang Cheng's body, traveling through it along with his blood.

"The contract is formed. From now on, you hold the sword."

The Tyrant Sword quickly shrank at this point, becoming a size suited to Jiang Cheng's build, and let out a greedy laugh deep within.

But that laugh soon cut off abruptly.

It found it simply could not read Xin De Xiang Fa.

The rule-derived energy implanted in Jiang Cheng's body could only detect information about his qi-blood flow.

Feeling depressed, the Tyrant Sword assumed it had encountered a host whose body structure was incompatible.

In the history of the Divine Artifact Tribe, such cases were extremely rare, but they had occurred.

Jiang Cheng also raised the Tyrant Sword in his hand at this moment, and, facing the aurora in the sky, examined the vicious weapon closely.

Although the blade had shrunk to a length of one and a half meters, the baleful aura drifting off its surface had not diminished in the slightest; the dark-red patterns moved slowly along the spine like living things, gleaming with an eerie sheen.

The edge was not sharp — it was covered in fine, dense cracks, showing it had already been badly damaged before this.

Jiang Cheng's mouth curved up slightly; with a flick of his wrist, the sword-tip pointed down, and he propped the Tyrant Sword on the snow like a walking-stick.

This immediately infuriated the Tyrant Sword, but it did not speak.

There would be plenty of chances for revenge in the future.

Next it needed to learn the details of this host, then devise a series of tormenting methods, until he completely broke down and died in agony amidst despair.

Secondly, the most important thing now is to restore its strength.

It immediately made its intent clear to Jiang Cheng, hoping he would carry it to hunt qi-and-blood-type creatures to repair its damaged blade.

When Jiang Cheng asked why the Hegemon Sword was damaged, the Hegemon Sword's answer made Jiang Cheng roll his eyes.

The Hegemon Sword's blade trembled faintly, emitting a deep, drawn-out sword hum, as if sinking into some ancient memory:

"At my peak, I once split the Demon Sea with a single slash, my sword qi spanning thirty thousand li…."

The blood patterns along the sword's spine flowed with the Hegemon Sword's narration, projecting hazy images into the air.

Vaguely visible was a streak of sword-light cleaving sea and sky amid towering waves.

"As for this wound, it was left from a decisive battle against a supreme powerhouse. That fight shattered seven minor worlds. Though I severed his head, I was also burned by his natal demon flame, and the previous host perished because of it…."

Listening to the Hegemon Sword's tale, Jiang Cheng felt contempt in his heart.

That broken sword is putting on airs again.

With the Jie Xi Gong assisting him, how the previous host died — he could guess it even with his toes.

Most likely, he was schemed to death by this treacherous broken sword.

Having successfully received the sword, he decisively fulfilled the agreement, transferring 25,000 Shou Shou Jili to Qiao Wu through a trade.

Once the trade was complete, Qiao Wu left with a smile on his hoverboard, and Jiang Cheng began to look forward to the progress of the upcoming hidden quest.

At this moment, Xia Sheng walked over from afar and asked curiously over the voice channel:

"Rebel, what's the situation now?"

"Considered it a binding, but it's essentially just a front — there's no challenger prompt at all. The rune-resonance weapon is the one truly bound to us. This broken weapon's binding is just a way to trick the host into trusting it — completely meaningless."

Hearing Jiang Cheng's answer, Xia Sheng also looked a bit sullen:

"We won't be at a loss, right?"

"No, we won't. Let's first see what growth plans this broken sword has lined up. If it doesn't satisfy us, I'll make it feel the ultimate extreme of agony, then kill it and list it on the trade house for materials — over 100 hunting levels, absolutely no loss."

"Count me in when you kill it. Double the pain, true damage to slay gods and demons."

In the brief exchange over the team channel, the brothers of agony had already preset the Hegemon Sword's future path.

If it has value to exploit, it keeps living; if not, it dies in despair and agony.

At this moment, the Hegemon Sword saw Xia Sheng approaching and was quite curious, asking in a deep voice:

"And this one is?"

"My good brother, grew up together since childhood — basically blood brothers from different parents." Jiang Cheng explained at once.

"It seems your bond runs deep."

"Absolutely. This lifetime, apart from a wife, there's nothing we can't share."

Hearing Jiang Cheng's answer, the Hegemon Sword's heart bared its fangs — an evil plan was born in its mind.

"Deep bonds are wonderful."

The deeper the bond, the more agonizing the loss — especially the moment you personally slay your beloved brother!

Recalling the image of the previous host clutching "Li" and wailing in despair in the pouring rain, it felt it could feast again on a banquet of negative emotions.

(End of Chapter)