At first, Jiang Zuo thought divorcing Su Qi wouldn't be a big deal—that her being in his life or not would make no difference to him.
But the moment he saw Su Qi, Jiang Zuo felt as if countless memories had sharpened into focus, and all of them were of her.
He had known Su Qi for ten years. Ten years. In his countless ages of existence, that was merely the blink of an eye.
Yet these brief memories were his most special ones.
Perhaps even the only memories he had of companionship.
Now that he was starting over, and he knew what Su Qi was truly up to...
Getting him to go through with the divorce wouldn't be so easy. Logically, he could convince himself it was the right thing to do, but his subconscious wouldn't have it. It could even overpower his rational thoughts entirely.
Whenever Su Qi was in front of him, that subconscious impulse would surface.
Jiang Zuo gave a self-deprecating laugh.
He didn't dwell on it. Since he couldn't bring himself to divorce her, and was unwilling to, he simply wouldn't.
All his plans, all his curiosity—he would set it all aside for now.
After leaving the event center, Jiang Zuo returned home.
He needed to inspect today's haul: a Shield and a blade. Among the five weapons he had acquired, the Red Sword was certainly the best of the lot, but it wasn't a good fit for Jiang Zuo.
It was a growth-type sword, but Jiang Zuo was confident it could never grow faster than him, which would eventually render it useless.
The blade he held now was better. Its starting point was at least higher than the Red Sword's.
Jiang Zuo stroked the slightly chilling blade, murmuring, "Cold Moon. It possesses the aura of a Sword Emperor and contains a fatal chilling qi. It freezes the blood like a potent poison and damages flesh and bone."
The blade's starting point was quite high, so Jiang Zuo didn't dare to release its Seal completely.
He would just try to release a sliver of its chilling qi—just enough for his own use.
As for the Shield, it was rather ugly. It looked like it had been crafted from some turtle's shell, and to Jiang Zuo's exasperation, its shape had barely been altered at all.
However, Jiang Zuo could only tell that the Shield was extraordinary. He had no idea what kind of Shield it actually was.
Nor did he know its specific uses.
But it had one advantage: the Shield didn't need its Seal to be undone at all. Its physical form alone could block countless head-on attacks.
'What I truly excel at is offense. For me, the path of slaughter is the correct one.'
The Shield was merely icing on the cake. In reality, Cold Moon alone was enough for him.
The Red Sword wasn't right for him, he had no interest in the Heaven-Breaking Spear, and the Shadowless Dagger was too weak. Only Cold Moon was the Magical Treasure that truly caught his eye.
After putting Cold Moon and the Shield away, Jiang Zuo checked on the egg. It was still sitting there quietly.
Jiang Zuo hesitated. 'Should I wait for it to hatch on its own, or should I speed up the process?'
'Or maybe I should just sell it?'
Jiang Zuo thought for a moment, then decided to ask in the group chat to see if anyone wanted it.
Just as he opened the group chat, he saw Chi Xue Child post a link.
Chi Xue Child: "Fellow Daoists, it's a private, encrypted livestream. Come witness the birth of my Divine Artifact!"
Liuyue Xue immediately replied: "You're already starting the unsealing? I'm still preparing over here. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. What do I do? If I fail to prove them wrong, how will I ever show my face again?"
Demon Cultivator Mo Yan posted a smirking emoji: "I'm the only one who doesn't have to worry. I just showed mine off to my master, and he offered an Eighth Grade item for it. Haha.
I'm not selling.
I'm gonna piss him off."
Reading this, the corner of Jiang Zuo's mouth twitched, though he quickly composed himself.
Liu Yiyi posted a scornful emoji: "Your master must be heartbroken to have a disciple like you. Anyway, what are you all even talking about?"
Chen Yi added: "I don't get it either. What's all this about proving people wrong? What did you guys do?"
Xiao Xiaomo said: "Join the livestream. Chi Xue Child is on, and he's explaining everything."
Jiang Zuo's eyes narrowed. He clicked the link and entered the livestream.
The livestream had a wide field of view. Chi Xue Child was standing in a plaza, holding a Red Iron Sword. The sword was as plain as could be—it looked like a piece of scrap metal.
In the chat, Blade Master Hai Bian asked: "What's Fellow Daoist Chi Xue doing?"
Xiao Xiaomo replied: "Who knows. He just said he was going to unveil a Divine Sword."
Liuyue Xue immediately posted: "That's the Red Sword! 'Its emergence shakes the Nine Heavens, its bloody light bathes fourteen continents.' If Chi Xue Child succeeds in proving everyone wrong, I'm going to do a livestream to do the same!"
Liu Yiyi posted an angry emoji: "What the heck is going on? Why isn't anyone explaining?"
Just then, Chi Xue Child spoke up on the stream. "Fellow Daoists, it seems everyone is here. Now, please direct your attention to the sword in my hand."
Chi Xue Child presented his shabby sword. "This sword is named Red Sword. It is said to be the personal sword of the Blood Venerable from ancient times, and today, it has been obtained by me, Chi Xue Child! I have not invited you all here to show off, but to bear witness.
To witness how I prove all of my senior brothers and my master wrong!"
The camera then panned to a few people standing nearby, all of whom were rolling their eyes. They stared at Chi Xue Child as if he were a complete idiot.
Their junior brother was being so embarrassing, and there was nothing they could do. 'He even has to livestream his own humiliation,' they thought. 'Kids these days are getting wilder and wilder.'
The camera swung back to Chi Xue Child. "I imagine you are all very confused. How could a mere broken sword be called an Ancient Divine Sword? In fact, you are all mistaken! It is merely under a Seal. Once I break the Seal, its fame will surely shake the world!"
Demon Cultivator Mo Yan commented: "Hurry up already, stop dragging it out."
Chen Yi: "[Munching on popcorn].
Yang Mu: "Share some."
Xiao Xiaomo: "Get lost."
Liu Yu: "Why does nobody notice me?"
At that moment, Chi Xue Child finally stopped stalling. He began to infuse the last of his Spiritual Qi into the Restriction Rune.
Blade Master Hai Bian expressed his surprise: "Is that a Restriction Rune? What profound skill! To be able to inscribe a Rune in mid-air is truly remarkable."
Demon Cultivator Mo Yan asked: "Is there something special about that? Does it require a high level of Cultivation?"
"The Cultivation requirement isn't particularly high. It's said that a level of 1.1 is enough, but that's just a rumor. I've never heard of anyone actually succeeding at level 1.1."
Demon Cultivator Mo Yan: "Oh, then it's nothing special. If someone at 1.1 can do it, it can't be that impressive."
Blade Master Hai Bian: "..."
'Now that he mentioned it, that actually made sense.'
Jiang Zuo watched their conversation silently, his eyes fixed on Chi Xue Child. He wanted to know how much of its original power the Red Sword still retained.
Liuyue Xue: "Stop messing around! It's ready! It's almost ready!"
Sure enough, Chi Xue Child had finished charging the Rune.
At that moment, Chi Xue Child gripped his sword and pointed it to the sky. "Shine, my sword!"
'What a cringelord,' was the collective thought of everyone watching, Jiang Zuo included. He was even starting to feel second-hand embarrassment for Chi Xue Child.
But even after a long moment, there was no reaction.
Chi Xue Child was dumbfounded.
Liuyue Xue immediately posted a message: "So much for proving them wrong?"
Demon Cultivator Mo Yan: "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao, what are your thoughts on this?"
Blade Master Hai Bian replied: "This humble Daoist observed the stars last night and calculated the heavenly portents. I have discovered that there is something strange afoot in this matter... and that Fellow Daoist Po Xiao is, in fact, watching it with his eyes open."
Liu Yiyi: "Fellow Daoist Blade Master Hai Bian, why are you so brilliant?"
Chen Yi: "Nice."
Xiao Xiaomo: "Just a member of the popcorn gallery, passing through."