Chapter 173 : The Path of Borrowing Swords

Chapter 173: The Path of Borrowing Swords

Inside the bedroom, Chu Huaixu stood up.

Outside the house, the sun had already set, and the sky was gradually darkening.

The night banquet had already begun, yet the protagonist Chu Huaixu had not arrived due to being in seclusion for a breakthrough.

Precisely because of this, these Dao Gate disciples had almost all concluded——this phenomenon must have been caused by Junior Brother Chu!

At this moment, he had already stood up inside the room.

“Didn’t expect it, huh, there’s even a new function like this？” Chu Huaixu was a little surprised.

At the current stage, the 【Heart Sword】 could actually leave the body for a short while!

What the hell kind of madness was this!?

If there was a “temporary storage” location, it could briefly leave Chu Huaixu’s Sea of Consciousness and enter it.

As for what this so-called temporary storage was, it naturally was——a sword!

Moreover, Chu Huaixu suspected that a lower-grade spiritual sword probably wouldn’t suffice.

“The Heart Sword’s grade is too high.”

“If it enters a lower-grade spiritual sword, it might even destroy the sword.” He guessed in his heart.

In that case, if he borrowed a sword from someone again, it would truly be an entirely different matter.

If he went back to that battle involving the Bronze Sword, and borrowed a sword from Han Shuangjiang again, the results could be quite different.

“At that time, 【Zhegutian】 was actually quite handy.”

“But in the end, it’s Big Ice Block’s life-bound sword.”

“In my hands, it just wasn’t that... heart-to-heart?”

Someone else’s would always be someone else’s!

But once the 【Heart Sword】 surged in, it was a different story.

Chu Huaixu could temporarily possess a life-bound sword.

That was a completely different matter altogether.

For a sword cultivator, using someone else’s supreme-grade spiritual sword might not be as effective as using their own mid-grade life-bound sword.

A life-bound object, to a cultivator, was the most special existence among magical treasures.

Chu Huaixu was still a 【Swordless One】.

But just like the tacit understanding previously formed with the Heart Sword, it allowed Chu Huaixu’s body to occasionally slack off a bit.

“To temporarily possess a life-bound sword, for me, the boost in combat power is quite frightening,” he thought.

The Dead Fox immediately popped out a wicked idea.

“Then why would I need to borrow from others? Why not prepare one myself and occasionally pull it out to use?” Chu Huaixu thought.

But the moment that thought arose, he felt the Heart Sword's rejection.

It was like a king upon the throne—even when gravely ill, it could still command all swords to bow. How could it accept such a setup?

Aside from that, the 【Heart Sword】 also conveyed a very important message to him.

That was not to borrow the same sword too frequently.

“You mean, your grade is so high that even a supreme-grade spiritual artifact like 【Zhegutian】 would suffer irreparable damage to its sword spirit if you entered it too many times?” Chu Huaixu asked.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Sword trembled slightly, as if nodding.

“And also, if I’m going to borrow, I should borrow someone’s life-bound sword? Because only life-bound swords possess sword spirits, whereas other swords only have spiritual essence and are more easily destroyed?” he asked again.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Sword trembled once more.

This made him realize that even if he truly prepared a fine sword, it wouldn't have much meaning.

Because it would directly become a consumable.

Only swords with sword spirits met the criteria, and their grade needed to be at least mid-grade.

The higher the grade, the more times it could be used.

Take mid-grade spiritual swords for instance—use it once, and it couldn’t be used again. Otherwise, it might very well break someone’s sword...

This gave Chu Huaixu a bit of a headache.

“I originally planned to knock on Big Ice Block’s door right now and have her bring 【Zhegutian】 over for a test run.”

“But turns out, damn it, that would be wasting a usage.”

But thinking about it carefully, there wasn’t really a need to test it either.

Because the Heart Sword could only leave the body for a mere three breaths of time!

Under normal conditions, a sword cultivator could swing several times in three breaths.

But the Heart Sword wasn’t something that could instantly take control of a sword the moment it entered.

So in reality, Chu Huaixu could only swing once or twice at most.

“But even so, at a critical moment, it could still have a huge effect.”

No matter how one looked at it, this counted as an additional trump card.

Moreover, he always felt its wonders weren’t limited to just this.

Only thing was—it had to be tested in real combat.

At that thought, he suddenly remembered something else.

“Borrowing swords, borrowing swords...”

“Then why did the Dao Ancestor always borrow swords from others?” he wondered.

He had cultivated the 《Sword Refining Art》, and his Spirit Embryo was special—it was the 【Spirit Embryo·Heart Sword】. When the two were combined under fateful circumstances, a sword spirit had actually emerged!

“But the Dao Ancestor had a Pure Yang Body. He had the 【Spirit Embryo·Pure Yang】.”

“He didn’t have any restrictions on not having a life-bound sword.”

“His only restriction was to preserve his pure yang essence...”

Chu Huaixu couldn’t quite figure it out.

Maybe... it was just a personal quirk.

He felt that the Dao Ancestor had willingly walked the path of borrowing swords—and delighted in it.

And he himself, by a twist of fate, might also end up holding a sword scabbard and walking a path of borrowing swords that belonged only to him!

......

......

“Knock knock knock.”

Chu Huaixu knocked on Han Shuangjiang’s door.

The young girl quickly opened it, looked at him, and said, “You’re out of seclusion?”

“Mn, I had a realization and gained a little something.” He spoke lightly.

“You sure about that？” Big Ice Block stared at him as she spoke.

She was already used to Chu Huaixu showing off with that tone—always quietly doing something major, only to act indifferent the next day, occasionally tossing out words like “by chance”.

But today, she could tell this guy genuinely didn’t seem to realize how much of a stir he had caused.

“What’s wrong？” Chu Huaixu asked.

“You stirred up a phenomenon, just like last time in the Cold Pool.”

“I could vaguely hear the sword cries from outside even while in my bedroom.” She relayed everything truthfully.

In addition, she had heard those sky-shaking cries——“Congratulations to the Xuanhuang Champion Chu Huaixu!”

Han Shuangjiang told him all of this too.

Listening to it all, even though he hadn’t heard it personally, Chu Huaixu couldn’t help but feel stirred inside!

How many men in this world could stay calm hearing this?

——A true man’s life should be just like this!

“Let’s go, to the night banquet！” Chu Huaixu waved his hand grandly.

He was the male lead of tonight’s Outer Sect night banquet!

Because this was the First Realm’s Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition, it mostly involved outer sect disciples.

Thus, the Outer Sect’s banquet was the most grand of all.

The sect’s intention was simple—not only had Chu Huaixu and others performed outstandingly, but many others had as well.

The Dao Gate had achieved brilliant results in this competition.

Therefore, it was only right to have all participants celebrate together!

Naturally, those who placed higher were grouped together.

It was also a good chance for the sect’s prodigies to become familiar with each other.

When Chu Huaixu arrived, he saw many familiar faces, including not a few of his past defeated opponents—though Little Xu was absent.

Even the Heir of Prince Rui and his future consort had shown up. Were they just here for the buzz, or did they have another purpose?

Chu Huaixu looked at him, his gaze subtly darkening.

His instincts told him—they were likely here for him.

But his expression soon returned to normal as he walked forward.

As soon as Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang appeared, many people came up to greet them.

Some offered congratulations, while others asked if he had made another breakthrough.

Since the guest of honor himself had arrived late, he naturally had to make a statement.

He smiled and cupped his hands, saying, “Just now, I had some insight at home, so I cultivated for a moment. I didn’t expect to lose track of time. I’ll punish myself with three cups later！”

Ji Sikong, who had lost to him, immediately said, “Eh! Cultivation is important—we all understand! No need to drink as punishment, Junior Brother Chu！”

Senior Sister Chang Le added with a laugh, “Today we should call him Champion Chu！”

“Right right right, Champion Chu it is—hahaha！I’ll drink one as self-punishment！” Ji Sikong said loudly.

Everyone was clearly giving him face, and none seemed to care much about the Heir of Prince Rui, the defeated party.

These Dao Gate disciples who didn’t know the details all thought this heir had acted arrogantly on the platform, with little grace—leaving a poor impression.

So what if you held great power in Moon Country? What’s it got to do with our Dao Gate?

You were already given enough face!

Yet the Heir of Prince Rui remained calm, still wearing a faint smile as he began pouring himself wine.

At this moment, he took the initiative, raising his spirit wine cup and said, “Come, this Heir also toasts Champion Chu！”

Chu Huaixu knew well that as tonight’s lead figure, there was no avoiding being toasted heavily.

And he wasn’t the type to dodge drinks.

Thus, he quickly drank cup after cup, to the point that even Han Shuangjiang by his side looked a little concerned.

Geng Tianhe and others were also present and came forward one after another to toast him.

Thankfully, Chu Huaixu practiced Body Training, and its benefits became clear now!

Logically speaking, a First Realm cultivator drinking spirit wine would easily get drunk.

But he held on like a beast—unfazed by all who came, his eyes merely turning a little hazy.

“He’s usually a Big Eater, but turns out he’s a big drinker too.” Han Shuangjiang chuckled inwardly, feeling a bit relieved.

Quite a few people toasted her today too—after all, she had ranked third in the Eastern Continent.

Later, it was Chu Huaixu who helped block the drinks for her, putting on a show of “Dao Companion” affection that made the crowd burst out in cheers.

After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere grew lively.

With the help of the alcohol, the young ones started loosening up a bit.

A few drinks in, even the hostility toward the Heir of Prince Rui seemed to fade somewhat.

As Chu Huaixu kept drinking, he began to show off his acting skills, pretending to be drunk.

“Damn it, this many people... even a Body Trainer can’t keep up！” he cursed inwardly.

His eyes began to blur.

By the latter half, those with weak alcohol tolerance were already lying all over the place, drunk.

The Heir of Prince Rui poured himself another cup of spirit wine, his steps slightly unsteady as he walked toward Chu Huaixu.

Qin Xuanxiao seemed drunk too.

He pulled Chu Huaixu over to the window, keeping a certain distance from the others as the two stood in the night breeze.

“Come, this Heir... toasts you one more time！” he raised his cup.

Then, Qin Xuanxiao softly called out Chu Huaixu’s “name”:

“Huo Dingyi.”

.....