The Purple Ying Sword, the Sword of Kings.

I could see purple ripples of energy circling around its bright and translucent blade. There were tiny oracle bone runes swimming inside the grooves of the sword almost as if they were alive. I had no doubt that the Purple Ying Sword was our greatest reward of this journey. Not only was it a weapon that could evolve, it was a 7-star Outstanding weapon with insane stats. With an upper Attack of 4450 and lower Attack of 3700—or 8150 Attack if you added them together—there was probably nothing it couldn't challenge right now, and this was before mentioning its 105% Attack boost and 50% splash effect. It was the weapon to use, be it for PvP or PvE battles!

Of course, out of all the attributes the Purple Ying Sword possessed, the one that caught my eyes the most was its Outstanding Property, Mountain Crus.h.!.+

It was an effect that gave its user a chance to destroy their opponent's equipment durability and render them temporarily useless. Not only that, it dealt extra damage to buildings and mines as well. Imagine that you were in a siege battle, and the walls were the only thing standing between you and glory. What would happen if you attacked the wall with this sword?

The Outstanding Property had a small chance to trigger, but if it did, I could easily poke a giant hole in the wall! This was the kind of attribute any country in the world would love to have. For example, the Fortress of the Iron Halberd would be in some danger if this sword had fallen into the hands of Vienna's Sorrow. Luckily for us, I was the one who obtained it first.

……

"Big bro…"

It was at this moment Beiming Xue gave me a push and broke me out of my daydreaming. "Wake up already! There's no problem with the Purple Ying Sword, is there? Hmm?"

Lin Yixin let out an evil chuckle and said, "Oh, there is? That's perfect. Here, I'll trade you the Seven Star Veluriyam Sword for it…"

I immediately grabbed the Purple Ying Sword and said in a pitiful voice, "Yiyi… you promised you'd give me any top-tier fighter equipment we find when we gave you the Seven Star Veluriyam Sword, right? That means that the Purple Ying Sword is rightfully mine, right?"

Lin Yixin giggled and raised the Seven Star Veluriyam Sword in front of her. "Sure. The Purple Ying Sword is powerful, but I prefer the Seven Star Veluriyam Sword's appearance more. And remember what Sister Mingyue said? Sister Eve and I look good wielding a pair of sister weapons, don't we?"

She tilted her head at me. It was clear that she was making fun of me.

I was so embarra.s.sed I would have hidden myself in a hole if I could. I couldn't believe that Lin Yixin was embarra.s.sing me like this even though she knew that I liked He Yi.

So I retaliated by hugging her shoulder and kissed her cheek right in front of Beiming Xue, loudly. "Whatever you say, dear. This Purple Ying Sword is mine no matter what, hehe!"

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

The light wanderer blushed like an apple as she punched me. "Control yourself! Beiming is right here..."

Her worries were unfounded though. Looking completely unperturbed, my little sister caressed her Thunder Beast's bald head while saying innocently, "Pay those two no mind, Thunder Beast. When we return to Sky City, I'll buy you some good fodder and help you wash all that sweetness in your mouth!"

Lin Yixin: "..."

Me: "..."

……

Chiang!

The Cyan Netherworld Sword had accompanied me through thick and thin, but it was finally time to switch it out for the Purple Ying Sword. I made up my mind to give it to Du Thirteen later. Although slightly outdated considering the current climate, the Cyan Netherworld Sword was still a Heaven-grade item with great Attack and 10% lifesteal. It was far weaker than the Purple Ying Sword, but that didn't mean that it wasn't an excellent weapon for PvP and PvE.

The moment I equipped the Purple Ying Sword, I felt a tremendous surge of power coursing my body. My muscles strained with excess energy, and I felt like I had to let it out or risk exploding like a balloon. It was such an awesome feeling that I wished that Candlelight Shadow and Vienna's Sorrow were standing before me right now. With the Purple Ying Sword in my hand, I actually felt confident in my chances of beating them 1v2!

I brought up my stats screen and spent a moment to admire the updated stats. Tsk tsk, would you look at these numbers! Although Beiming Xue was the one who scored the last hit on the boss, Lin Yixin and I still got a lot of experience. I was now Level 176, and—

ID: Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand (t.i.tle: Purgatory Thunder)

Cla.s.s: Undead Swordsman (Great Earth Swordsman)

Level: 176

HP: 214290

Attack: 9812~10820

Defense: 15515

Magic Resist: 12950

Reputation: 399400

Tactics: 850(+762)

Luck: 54

……

If I wasn't a monster before, I am now…

My base Attack had finally exceeded 10k thanks to the Purple Ying Sword. The higher a character's base Attack, the higher the flat boost from percentage-based properties of my equipment, skills and mount. My effective Attack should be around 40k, a number I highly doubted anyone in the world had the Defense to withstand. Even Gui Guzi with a s.h.i.+eld would have to lose at least 100k HP from a Barrier Break from me!

Moreover, the Purple Ying Sword boosted my Tactics all the way up to 850. This meant that, if I used a normal Encourage VII to boost my Attack, I could still enjoy a 190% Attack boost, which was only 10% behind my Martial G.o.d. If even a common stratagem like this could perform better than a Famous General Skill, then a G.o.dlike stratagem like Purple Dragon was something any man or woman must have. I heard that a Purple Dragon stratagem skill book that dropped in t.i.tan City was ultimately sold for almost 10 million dollars. Those rich American people were truly insane...

Besides that, the higher the Tactics, the better the effects of the Divine General Skill. This was what I was truly pleased about. If I could boost my Tactics past the 2000 mark, I was certain that I could one-shot even Bloodthirsty Beast Cavalrymen with an unbuffed Ancient Seal! How awesome would that be?

Anyway, back to the present. As I stared at the rubble around me, I felt like testing out the Purple Ying Sword for a bit. So, I launched Thousand Ice Slash at an intact surface of the altar.

Boom!

To my surprise, not only did the sword auras cut through the altar made from huge stones like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter, it sank all the way into the ground and split them like a shallow earthquake. Both girls were stunned by the effects.

"OMG, this Mountain Crush is a bit overpowered, isn't it?" Lin Yixin exclaimed in shock.

Beiming Xue echoed in agreement. "Big bro, if you happen to duel a player in Sky City one day, you must remember to switch out the Purple Ying Sword, okay? If you accidentally destroy the city gate, Princess Karinshan will have your head for sure…"

I nodded. Frankly, even I was growing a bit wary of the sheer destructive power of my own weapon. Like a weapon of ma.s.s destruction that one must consider carefully before deploying, I should avoid using it in my own territory as much as possible.

……

While I was fooling around, Lin Yixin dismounted and picked up a couple of Cyanfire Gems next to the boss's corpse. She pa.s.sed them to me with a smile and said, "Take these Rank 13 and 14 Cyanfire Gems with you. You still have some Rank 11 and 12 Cyanfire Gems with you, right? If not, you can get them from your warehouse and boost your weapon all the way to Rank 14 after we return to Sky City. It'll be a waste not to maximize the power of a G.o.dlike weapon like this."

"Yeah. Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

Finally, Lin Yixin turned around and gazed melancholically at the ruins around us. She sighed. "Our quest is complete, but it's a shame we couldn't save this gorgeous city from being destroyed."

I consoled her, "It's fine. Now that Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger is dead, Vanished G.o.d City will take over this place. Who knows, maybe China will gain a main city, Dharan City, in the near future?"

However, Beiming Xue looked at the motionless Prince Cloudway on the ground and said, "Vanished G.o.d City's best commander is dead though. How can they possibly retake Dharan City ruins after this?"

I frowned. She was right. Without Cloudway, who else in that city was capable of retaking the city?

……

Instinctively, I walked over to Cloudway and put my finger before his nose to test his breathing. Then, I exclaimed in shock, "Huh!? Prince Cloudway… Prince Cloudway is still breathing! Can we still save him?!"

"What?"

Xinran—she had been leaning against a wall and recuperating this whole time—suddenly opened her eyes and asked me for confirmation, "Are you sure, big brother? Is Cloudway really still breathing?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" I nodded strongly.

Overjoyed, Xinran appeared next to me in the blink of an eye and pressed her palm to Cloudway's chest. "Hmm, yes! I can sense a trace of life force inside his body! Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to save Cloudway!"

"But Cloudway's heart was devoured by that animal, b.l.o.o.d.y Finger! A human can't possibly live without a heart, can they?"

"Not necessarily!"

Xinran shot me a smile before asking, "Do you know why a Holy Giant Dragon possesses great life force, big bro?"

"No. Why?"

"It's because a dragon's heart is exceptionally tenacious. Even if they suffer critical wounds elsewhere, their heart is powerful enough to restore all the damage!"

Inspiration hit me, and I immediately faced toward the Winged Silver Dragon.

"Huh?"

Seemingly realizing something, the Winged Silver Dragon immediately backed away with its tail between its legs. "Ah, my dear master's big brother? What are you planning to do?"

I beamed at the Winged Silver Dragon and said, "Oh no, you're asking the wrong question. You should be asking what Xinran is planning to do…"

……

Xinran rose to her feet and said, "Cloudway is a man of excellent character and impressive status. It'll be a shame to let someone with the potential to become one of the most outstanding generals of this continent die here. What I'm saying is that you'll be able to revive a powerful human general just by surrendering a small portion of your heart, Winged Silver Dragon. Surely you don't have anything against this, right?"

The dragon stared at me. "Do I have any other choice?"

Xinran shook her head regretfully. "Nope! If you refuse, I'll just turn you into big brother's dinner! Big brother, have you eaten a Dragonheart Hot Pot before? The kind with a lot of chilli pepper and fish oil added to the soup?"

I licked my lips hungrily. "Nope! Sounds tasty!"

The Winged Silver Dragon groaned in despair. "You… you are both devils…"

……

Swhoos.h.!.+

After that, Xinran appeared in front of her "pet" and knocked it out with a simple punch to the face. Then, she pulled out a dagger from somewhere, cut a 10-cm long wound across the Flying Silver Dagon's stomach, and carefully cut out a small part of its heart. To be exact, the part she cut out was about the same size as a human heart. She st.i.tched the Winged Silver Dragon's stomach after that, and to be honest, her needlework wasn't very impressive. I was fairly certain that the st.i.tches shouldn't look like a five-pointed star.

Finally, she returned to Prince Cloudway and stared at his horrific, gaping chest wound for a moment. She frowned a little before saying quietly, "Cloudway, I will restore you to life now. You must keep living for the future of Vanished G.o.d City!"

Put!

After pus.h.i.+ng the dragon heart into Cloudway's chest, she opened her palm and manifested a hexagram. It wasn't long before the prince's wounds were gone, and the dragon heart was properly connected to his body.

……

"Ahhhhh…"

Cloudway abruptly awoke and coughed loudly for a moment. Once he recovered himself, he slowly knelt before Xinran and murmured with his head bowed, "Thank… thank you for saving my life, Lady Wind Singer!"

Xinran's face was white, and she was breathing rather heavily. The healing had clearly taken a toll on her. Leaning against a broken slab to rest her body, she said, "Prince Cloudway, from now on, you will be known as Cloudway the Dragonheart Knight! Do not disappoint those who place their expectations on you!"

"Yes, lady…" Cloudway replied solemnly and looked up. His face was b.l.o.o.d.y and fatigued.

……

I asked Xinran after looking at Cloudway for a moment, "By the way, Xinran, you put a dragon's heart into Cloudway's chest, right? Are you sure it won't result in a transplant rejection?"

Xinran simply stared at me in confusion. "What are you talking about, big brother?"

I shook my head. "Never mind…"

Shrugging, the girl pushed herself to her feet using the Dragonbone Spear and said, "I suffered quite the serious injuries battling Sophie today, so I'll have to return to the ruins of G.o.d Domain and recuperate. I'll come and see you again when I recover!"

"Yeah. See you!"

After saying her goodbyes, Xinran grabbed the unconscious Winged Silver Dragon with one hand and Ovia's body with the other. Then, she soared into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I stared at the direction she disappeared to and asked no one in particular, "Xinran… Why did she take Ovia's corpse with her?"