Chapter 227: Sword Spirit Recognizing an Owner
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
This made his posture quite ugly.
The sword was deep in the ground. In order to exert one"s full force, it was impossible to maintain a straight posture.
The law official also didn"t bother about his appearance anymore. He grabbed the hilt tightly and took up a more stable stance.
He was putting in quite a bit of effort.
However, in doing so, he looked quite comical and the other officials began to snicker amongst themselves.
Before long...
Those snickering officials realized that something was amiss.
The law official had been working the sword for sometime now. He was putting in so much effort the veins were popping out of his arms. His face was completely flushed and he was sweating profusely.
His smile had all but disappeared, sweat dripping from his forehead.
He was using every last ounce of his energy.
However, the blade still remained stuck in the ground...
It did not move a single inch.
All of the officials were stunned by what they saw. Law Official Wan Chong cannot even extract a sword?
How is that possible?!
Wan Chong was quite capable, which explained why he managed to rise through the ranks so quickly. He rose through the ranking boards very quickly as well. Even though his cultivation was slightly delayed as a result of his political ambitions, he already entered the Supernatural State a few years ago.
How can someone in that state fail to extract a sword from the ground?
No one could believe their eyes.
Could it be...
A thought flashed in the minds of all the officials on scene. That was the only plausible explanation, but it was slightly ridiculous.
Perhaps... just perhaps... the blade that Meng Tian left behind...
Had a spirit!
Everyone believed this. After all, it had caused the World of the Sage to go out of control. However, no one believed that the sword would really choose Fang Zhengzhi as its owner.
He was just a commoner who had just broken through to the Heavenly Reflection State. He did not even rank in the top 10 of the Rising Dragon Roll. Furthermore, there was still the Golden Dragon Roll above that.
And this sword?
This sword once belonged to the mighty Meng Tian. Such a sword should be immensely arrogant. Why would it choose Fang Zhengzhi as its owner?
All of them had thought that the blade"s spirit had used Fang Zhengzhi to kill the invading demon.
But now...
It looked like they were all wrong.
"Could it be that this blade has really taken Fang Zhengzhi to be its owner?!"
All of the officials looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. No one had expected something like this to happen.
King Duan frowned deeply. He wanted to give it a go, but he was weaker than Wan Chong. What would he do if he failed to extract the sword?
The heir"s, Lin Tianrong, eyes also glowed icily. He no longer looked at Wan Chong, who was still trying hard to extract the sword. Instead, he turned to look at Yu Yiping.
Yu Yiping"s expression darkened.
If the blade cannot be extracted, then he would be the "main culprit". After all, he had suggested finding an owner...
Yan Xiu, Xing Qingsui, and Nangong Mu were all stunned by what they saw. After the initial shock, they looked at Fang Zhengzhi with conflicted expressions.
They had heard Fang Zhengzhi"s "confession" in the World of the Sage.
"Is there really such a thing?" The three people looked at each other in disbelief. Deep down, they rejoiced.
Ping Yang"s crystal clear eyes looked at the flushed Wan Chong. She too was surprised, but her expression quickly changed to one of anger.
She glanced furtively at Fang Zhengzhi, pouting, "Hmph, shameless person! Did he really manage to lie his way into getting the sword?"
Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wan Chong, who was sweating profusely. He knew what Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and the others were thinking.
In actual fact, he had put in quite a lot of effort to achieve the current situation.
Last night, he spent the whole night awake. After leaving Ping Yang"s residence, he locked himself in his room, telling stories to the sword.
He started with some children"s stories, then progressed on to various martial art novels. In the end, he even narrated the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The whole point was to feel the strong happiness in the blade.
As for the confession?
It had helped a bit. However, to let an arrogant blade like the Traceless Sword want to belong to him, it was far from enough. Stories were the finisher.
Fang Zhengzhi felt happier and more confident as time went by. He began to hum a little tune, "Tug and tug, tug at a carrot..."
However, he did not watch his volume.
The entire court began to fill up with Fang Zhengzhi"s humming. It was quite a comical scene when coupled with Wan Chong"s flushed expression.
The Emperor"s expression began to change slightly as he nodded towards a middle aged man in armor.
"Official Wan, you have labored enough. Why not you leave such a small matter to a general like me?" The middle aged man stepped out from the crowd after getting the nod from the Emperor.
All of the officials heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the middle aged man step out.
"Thank you General Jin. You should not have to engage yourself in a small matter like this. However, I sprained my waist whilst walking in the park yesterday. My strength is simply not up to standard today!" The Law Official immediately let go of the hilt and wiped off the sweat on his face.
He had already been embarra.s.sed. However, he could not possibly continue being stubborn about it. He had already used up all his energy.
"We might be in trouble!" Xing Qingsui was slightly worried when he saw General Jin step out.
Yan Xiu did not speak, but he too was nervous. Even though he was not in the courts, he knew the abilities of General Jin very well.
Even though General Jin was not the most powerful person in the courts, his congenital characteristics made him one of the strongest.
Nangong Mu looked at Fang Zhengzhi, wanting to say something.
However, Fang Zhengzhi was still humming his tune, almost as if he did not see General Jin coming out. He looked rather aloof.
In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi was slightly worried.
However, the more fl.u.s.tered he was, the worse it would get. He simply could not go up against the officials here. He could only let things take its course.
He decided to concentrate on the sword.
In actual fact, he did not want Nangong Mu, Yan Xiu, and the others to be involved. That way, they could just be spectators.
By this time, General Jin had already walked to the sword. He glared at it then took a large step. He did not care about posture. His only intention was to extract the sword.
He did not bother with anything fancy. His hulking arms were extended as he grabbed the sword. His body glowed red, almost like a sun in the throne room.
"Get up!"
All of the officials, including King Duan, the Heir, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping, and the Emperor himself stared wide eyed as General Jin bellowed.
"Kacha!" A loud sound echoed out.
"Is it out?!"
"Did he manage to extract it?"
"General Jin is powerful!"
All of the officials were ecstatic when they heard the loud sound. Any sound represented hope. At the very least, the sword was moving.
"Kacha!" Another sound echoed out.
All of the officials were getting increasingly excited. It was almost as if they saw the light at the end of a dark tunnel. They were all focused on the sword.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping"s darkened face also began to regain some color.
If General Jin could extract the sword.
Then, he would be left off the hook.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you say that the sword has recognized you as its owner. Now that it has been extracted, what do you have to say?" One of the officials stepped out contentedly. This was the official who had been humiliated previously.
After being humiliated, this official decided to take this opportunity to get back at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Is that right?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at him condescendingly. His lips twitched, "Official, not only are you a frog in the well, you"re also... blind?"
"You, how dare you say that I"m blind?!" The official was stunned. His anger built, but he still did not understand what Fang Zhengzhi was saying.
Blind?
Before he could rebut, one of the officials tugged hard at his clothes.
This made the official doubt himself.
His gaze turned to look at General Jin, who was still trying to extract the sword.
Then...
He saw that General Jin"s expression was slightly awkward. More importantly, his hands and legs were trembling vigorously.
It was clear that General Jin had used all of his energy.
Under his feet were two additional craters. These were clearly the result of General Jin digging in his feet in an attempt to extract the blade.
Even so, the sword was still deeply embedded in the ground.
It was almost as if it had melded together with the throne room.
General Jin did not manage to extract it?
The official"s rage disappeared in an instant. He was extremely ashamed. He felt as if he had just swallowed a fly. He decided to retreat without a second word.
"What... what is going on?!"
"Even General Jin cannot extract the sword?"
"The sword really..."