Chapter 273: The Swordbearer

Xu Qing left the Sovereign's Hall.

The moment he stepped out, he immediately took out the Purple Heavens Limitless Crown from his storage bag and put it on his head. Before, he had only thought the item was extraordinary, something even the Captain envied. Now, knowing its function and understanding how to use it, Xu Qing couldn't wait to descend the mountain. After putting it on, he immediately formed a hand seal. Instantly, the brightly glowing Purple Heavens Limitless Crown slowly dimmed until it became invisible to the naked eye. Even spiritual sense could not detect it.

Xu Qing was satisfied.

He returned all the way to his residence. As a Crown Prince, he had a cave dwelling on the Seventh Peak, but Xu Qing was accustomed to living at sea. Although his magic ship was gone, he was still temporarily residing in the inn at the port area. He was waiting for Zhang San to finish his busy period.

After returning to the inn, Xu Qing first checked the surrounding arrangements. Only after confirming that no one had arrived during his absence did he sit cross-legged, familiarizing himself with the three arts imparted by Seventh Grandmaster.

"The power of the spells is vast; I need to familiarize myself with them to maximize their combat effectiveness.""The same goes for the deceptive arts; I need to find a secluded place to try them out.""As for the secret art..." Xu Qing sensed the imprint in his mind, and a strange light flashed in his eyes. This art was extremely terrifying; he had never heard of a secret art existing before this.

"I wonder if Saint Yunzi displayed any secret arts during our battle that day." Xu Qing recalled, thinking it was highly unlikely. Even if he did, it couldn't compare to the Nine Springs Below.

"Nine punches to shatter one spiritual aperture. This secret art is most effective when opponents are evenly matched."

Thinking of this, Xu Qing intensified his efforts to simulate it in his mind. After a day of diligently studying and nurturing these three arts mentally, Xu Qing also pressed a drop of his blood onto the forehead of the Substitute Ghost Doll.

The moment the blood landed, the doll's constantly rotating eyeballs suddenly paused. It slowly yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

Xu Qing carefully placed it close to his body, feeling immense satisfaction. He then pondered for a moment.

"The protection of the Limitless Crown can already block most life-and-death crises for me, but this is only the first layer. If I encounter a grave danger that could destroy the Limitless Crown, I have the Substitute Ghost Doll; that's the second layer.""But it's still not enough." Xu Qing thought for a moment, then got up, concealed himself, changed into ordinary clothes, and left the Seven Blood Eyes city. He went to the adjacent urban area of the Heaven-Observing Treasure Sect.

After searching there, Xu Qing finally found what he wanted: a Chaotic Teleportation Talisman. This item could not be bought in the Seven Blood Eyes, but it was available in the Seven Sects Alliance, especially in some large stores of the Heaven-Observing Treasure Sect, though at a very high price. Xu Qing endured the heartache and bought three.

"For the first layer of danger, the Limitless Crown resolves it. For the second layer, the Substitute Ghost Doll. If I face an irresistible force, the Chaotic Teleportation Talisman might work wonders at the moment the doll takes my place."

After completing these tasks, Xu Qing returned to the Seven Blood Eyes urban area. Walking through the streets, he observed the extensively reconstructed buildings around him, deeply impressed by the construction speed of the Seven Blood Eyes. As he walked, he received a telepathic message from Zhang San.

"Xu Qing, I've finished my sect mission here. You can come over if you're free; the Captain and Huang Yan are also here. Also, someone left a letter for you and asked me to pass it on."

Hearing this, Xu Qing grew curious and changed direction, heading to Zhang San's new transportation department location. From a distance, he saw hundreds of massive warehouses there, vastly larger in scale compared to the Seven Blood Eyes' transportation department.

Zhang San was still squatting on a pile of goods, and the Captain was also squatting there, eating an apple. In front of them, Huang Yan was carefully giving instructions to Zhang San. Huang Yan was still holding the Merman Clan lamp he had bought from Xu Qing back then. All familiar faces.

Upon Xu Qing's arrival, all three greeted him.

The Captain was chuckling, Zhang San's eyes gleamed, and Huang Yan patted his belly, sweeping his gaze over Xu Qing and revealing a satisfied smile.

"Xu Qing, I heard you have two life lamps now, haha, congratulations!" Huang Yan said with a happy laugh.

"By my calculations, someone got some good stuff from our master a few days ago. Come on, little A-Qing, let me have a look. Your senior brother will help you appraise it; don't let that old man trick you." The Captain coughed and spoke to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing ignored the Captain, smiled at Huang Yan, then turned his gaze to Zhang San and told him about building a magic ship.

"Exploded again? Did you see the sense of participation I designed into it?" Zhang San, unusually, was not surprised by the explosion of Xu Qing's magic ship. Instead, he eagerly asked another question.

Xu Qing thought back and shook his head.

"No way, did I design it wrong?" Zhang San was a bit depressed. After thinking, he decided that this time it needed to be easier to activate. Then, he took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Xu Qing.

"Do you remember that peer of yours from back then, Li Zimei? I later transferred her to the transportation department. That girl is especially diligent and serious; it's not easy for her," Zhang San said with emotion.

"When the three heavenly talents from the Grand Minister Immortal Sect were in Seven Blood Eyes, they accidentally saw her. Later, somehow they negotiated with the sect and eventually took her with them when they left, saying that her physique was suitable for cultivating the Grand Minister Immortal Sect's arts."

As the Captain looked on curiously and Huang Yan also watched, Xu Qing put the letter into his storage bag without looking at it. His mind conjured the image of the trembling girl outside the restaurant, who had been shamed by the waiter for wanting to take away leftover food.

Seeing that it was getting late, Huang Yan once again reminded Zhang San.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, you absolutely must help me craft this well. It's almost the three thousand three hundred forty-fourth day since my senior sister and I met. I don't dare to give her anything too valuable, as she might overthink it. I can only give her this. Please help me transfer the flame from this lamp into a hairpin; I want to give it to my senior sister as a gift."

Hearing this, Zhang San patted his chest, guaranteeing no problem, after which Huang Yan sighed.

"Sigh, why do you think Seven Blood Eyes came to this broken place? Southern Phoenix Continent is so much better, isn't it, Xu Qing? Why don't you go back to Southern Phoenix Continent? I'm also trying to persuade my senior sister to go back."

Xu Qing seriously considered this. The Captain, who was beside them, also sighed, finished his apple, and took out a pear.

"Speaking of Southern Phoenix Continent, it makes me sad. I had a big plan before, for which I prepared for a long time, even going to the Intelligence Division to find information. I was just about to execute it, but alas, never mind, consider that Blazing Phoenix lucky."

"Your big plan is related to the Blazing Phoenix? What were you going to do?" Huang Yan, who was about to leave, became curious upon hearing this.

Xu Qing also looked over.

The Captain coughed.

"I originally planned to get something from the Blazing Phoenix's old nest, what a pity. But now I have a new plan."

Huang Yan gave the Captain a deep look and decided not to leave, seemingly wanting to see what else the Captain would say. The Captain glanced around, then spoke to Xu Qing and the other two in a low voice.

"Do you know about Sword Holders?"

Zhang San looked bewildered, and Xu Qing was also bewildered. Saint Yunzi had spoken to himself that day, so Xu Qing didn't know what a Sword Holder was. Huang Yan blinked, also showing bewilderment.

The Captain glanced at Huang Yan with a hint of suspicion, feeling that the fat man's reaction was a bit off, but he didn't dwell on it and said in a low voice.

"Sword Holders are the members of the Sword Holding Department, one of the five Supreme Profound Departments of the human race. Its headquarters are in the Imperial Capital Region, with seven palaces established in seven prefectures, and each palace further divided into several courts. Yinghuang Prefecture, for example, has a Sword Holding Court."

"Joining a Sword Holding Court and becoming a Sword Holder means you are no longer bound by sect laws. As long as you don't betray humanity, betraying anything else is fine. To put it plainly, if you become a Sword Holder, you are superior among humans; you are part of the orthodox imperial system, essentially on the imperial payroll. Although the Ancient Emperor Xuan You has gone to the Holy Land, the imperial might still exists, and the banner of humanity still holds deterrent power over other races."

"If you become a Sword Holder, you can directly arrest anyone you dislike. If you dislike someone and can't defeat them, you can issue a bounty; this is different from a sect bounty, it's a human race bounty."

"Dislike Patriarch Lingyun? Put a bounty on him! For foreign races, it's direct suppression. No one dares to touch you; touching you is like killing an official, which means losing your head."

"Moreover, becoming a Sword Holder allows you to cultivate the Profound Nether Secret Arts, which are said to be incredibly powerful. It's rumored that someone once almost killed the Blazing Phoenix with a single sword using a secret art."

Huang Yan was startled.

Xu Qing's expression remained calm; he was accustomed to the Captain's enigmatic way of speaking.

Seeing Xu Qing's expression, the Captain raised an eyebrow.

"Little A-Qing, I recently found out that Saint Yunzi isn't dead. Patriarch Lingyun seems to have used some secret art, at a great cost, and the Alliance Leader also intervened, ultimately saving his life. It's unclear if any hidden dangers remain, but I've learned that he hasn't been mentally broken by his defeat to you. He's currently in seclusion, aiming to break through to the Fifth Flame!"

Xu Qing's expression remained calm after hearing this, only a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"If you become a Sword Holder, with a single decree, Saint Yunzi will immediately tremble!"

"My plan is to become a Sword Holder!" The Captain finished his pear, then took out an orange, peeled it, took a bite, and continued speaking. "That way, when I do big things in the future, if anyone dares to cripple me again, I'll represent humanity in punishing them."

"How does one become a Sword Holder?" Zhang San was intrigued.

"The selection process for Sword Holders is extremely strict, choosing the best of the best, with only five spots available every ten years. Judging by the time, the next selection isn't far off. The Sword Holding Court is located near the Grand Beginning Departed Nether Pillar. I'll prepare during this period and let you know when the time comes." After saying this, the Captain stood up, patted his rear, waved to Xu Qing and the other two, and left the transportation department.

Huang Yan also departed. After Xu Qing and Zhang San discussed some details regarding the magic ship, they left the place at sunset.

Meanwhile, within the Eight Sects Alliance's Lingyun Sword Sect, in a secret place where countless formations converged, there was a massive blood pool. Inside the blood pool, agonizing, inhuman roars and mournful wails echoed day and night. Surrounding the blood pool stood eight massive ancient swords. On each ancient sword sat a person, male or female, none appearing young, their cultivation radiating Nascent Soul fluctuations. They jointly activated the ancient swords, causing them to emit streams of sword qi that formed a net of sword qi suppressing the blood pool. Above this net, there was even the shadow of a colossal Golden Crow, drawing energy towards the blood pool.

Nearby, an old man floated, who was Patriarch Lingyun. He gazed at the blood pool below, his expression grim, yet tinged with heartache, as he softly murmured.

"Grandson, just hold on a little longer. The poison that vile commoner inflicted upon you is too peculiar. Your grandfather has tried every method without much success; I cannot restore you, and even maintaining your life force is at its limit. Only by borrowing the Alliance Leader's Emperor-level cultivation technique's shadow and implanting potent life force within you, constantly allowing it to dissipate, can the poison in your body be balanced."

"However, because of this, it's also clear that the opportunities that vile commoner experienced were significant. Grandson, your name is Saint, representing light. You were born with auspicious signs, destined to walk the path of an ancient emperor. You cannot give up; you must persevere, reclaim your glory, and everything he possesses will be yours!"

Inside the blood pool, there was clearly a skeletal figure, with less than thirty percent of its flesh remaining, horrifyingly grotesque, its wails growing more agonizing, and its eyes filled with madness.

"Xu Qing, I want you dead!"