When the Demon God of Manifestation, Zennos, said he was willing to use such exquisite wine as payment, Qingxu's gaze toward Aether immediately went straight.
This was wonderful!
That tiny bottle of wine was far from enough for Qingxu to truly enjoy. Now that such wine could be used as payment—wasn't it just a little sword experience in exchange? What harm was there in teaching Brother Zennos?
Qingxu looked at Aether and broke into a brilliant smile.
"Brother Zennos, you're far too polite. Even without this wine as payment, I've already decided to be your brother!"
"As brothers, if you wish to learn my sword arts, how could I possibly refuse?"
The Sword Demon God Qingxu spoke righteously to Aether.
Mm. He, Qingxu, was absolutely not the kind of person who would sell out his sword techniques for a bit of wine!
After all, the Demon God of Manifestation, Brother Zennos, was his brother!
This was brotherly affection. Brothers exchanging techniques—wasn't that perfectly natural?
Aether cupped his fists. "Then many thanks, Brother Qingxu!"
"Come, let me treat Brother Qingxu to a proper drink first. We can put sword training aside for now."
As he spoke, Aether manifested another bottle of Maotai into his storage space, took it out, and filled Qingxu's cup to the brim.
"Hahaha! Brother Zennos is truly generous. Come, let us drink together!" Qingxu said heartily.
Aether filled his own cup as well and clinked glasses with Qingxu.
When he had manifested this body, he had expended part of his origin. Though he hadn't reached Morax's peak strength, his body was still at the level of a top-tier demon god.
Mere alcohol? A thousand cups wouldn't faze him.
Let Aether demonstrate what it meant to drink wine like water.
"Cheers!"
Aether and Qingxu drank freely and joyfully.
They drank until the next day, when Qingxu finally proposed that it was time to teach Aether swordsmanship.
The two came to an open area in the wilderness near Qingxu Pool. The surroundings were empty—perfect for training.
The Sword Demon God Qingxu looked at Aether and said:
"As the Sword Demon God, my true body is a longsword capable of cleaving everything under heaven, named the Qingxu Sword. That is also the origin of my name."
"Since we speak of swordsmanship, the first thing required is a sword."
"So, Brother Zennos—do you have a sword of your own?"
A sword of his own?
That question truly stumped Aether. His positioning had always been that of a mage. A mage didn't even carry a staff—how would he have a sword?
But for Aether, as the Demon God of Manifestation, this wasn't difficult at all.
If he didn't have a sword, he could simply manifest one.
Aether began to imagine it in his mind.
First, the sword had to match his own temperament. The power of his Authority of Manifestation was white in color, so the design could be clean and simple.
A black hilt carved with patterns.
A silver-white blade.
But if it were only that, it would look a little too plain—no different from an ordinary sword.
As a demon god, it was perfectly reasonable for his weapon to have a bit of "light pollution," wasn't it?
So he designed a groove running along the blade, within which a faint white glow would circulate—perfectly matching the aura of his manifested power.
With the appearance settled, it was time for enchantments.
It needed to be extremely durable, capable of withstanding attacks from top-tier demon gods.
Extremely sharp, able to cut through space.
And also—
…Alright, enough. If he added any more, he'd probably damage his origin again.
Ahem. Aether still had a sense of restraint.
This would do.
Manifest!
In the next moment, Aether felt that nearly eighty percent of his power had been consumed.
Finally, within his space, a sword of extraordinary presence condensed into form.
Qingxu had watched Brother Zennos fall silent for a moment and thought he might be embarrassed about not having a sword.
What was the big deal about not having a sword?
At worst, he, Qingxu, could simply gift him one!
Just as Qingxu was about to speak, Aether beat him to it.
"I didn't have one before. Now I do."
"This sword is called the Skycleaver Sword."
A plain and simple name—just like the sword's outward appearance. Yet within that simplicity lurked lethal power, ready at any moment to erupt with the ability to sever space itself.
This sword meant: Cleave the Sky.
Aether held the Skycleaver Sword in his right hand, gently brushing the blade with his left as his gaze traced its surface, as though admiring a beloved companion.
He truly liked this sword.
On the other side, when Qingxu saw Aether produce such a weapon, he froze on the spot.
This sword—this sword!
Just by its appearance alone, it was extraordinary.
What kind of ordinary sword glowed with white light?!
As the Sword Demon God, Qingxu possessed the highest authority when it came to blades. He could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within this sword.
What a Skycleaver!
A blade that could truly sever space itself!
Among top-tier demon gods, cutting space through sheer technique was not impossible with enough cultivation—but that required supreme mastery condensed into a single strike.
Yet this sword itself already possessed the inherent ability to cleave space. Its sharpness alone had reached that realm.
Could such a sword truly exist in this world?
For a moment, Qingxu even felt slightly ashamed of himself as the Sword Demon God.
Why couldn't his own true body, the Qingxu Sword, cut space?
Perhaps this Skycleaver Sword should be the Sword Demon God instead.
Still, Qingxu quickly recovered his free-spirited composure.
A sword this powerful, in the hands of an ordinary person, would never unleash its true potential.
Thus, he resolved to teach all of his sword techniques to Brother Zennos!
To allow Brother Zennos to wield the full might of the Skycleaver Sword with his understanding of the sword—
then even if his life ended thereafter, he would have no regrets.
"Brother Zennos, this Skycleaver Sword is truly a fine blade!"
"It suits your handsome youthful appearance perfectly. One might even say it was tailor-made for you."
Qingxu praised sincerely.
Of course, Qingxu still didn't understand what Aether had meant by "I didn't have one before—now I do."
This wasn't merely tailor-made.
It was custom-built from scratch—personally designed, engineered, optimized, and fully owned by Aether himself, complete with all intellectual property rights.
Ahem.
Aether made a motion to sheath the sword.
Then he looked at Qingxu and said with a laugh, "Haha, thank you for the compliment."
"Hahaha! Brother Zennos, without further delay, I shall impart all of my sword arts to you at once!" Qingxu said with a bold laugh.
Ah—there was really no need to teach everything.
Why did it suddenly feel like Qingxu was being even more earnest with him now?
Well… this was a little embarrassing.
Looks like he'd have to repay him with even more Maotai.
Being able to learn the sword arts of the Sword Demon God naturally made Aether very happy.
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