Chapter Twenty-Eight: What to do if you steal the male lead's cheat ability?
"Brother Ye?"
"Brother Cen?"
The two groups collided, and Ye Chi instinctively tightened his grip on the dark longsword, almost unable to resist striking. He hadn't expected to encounter Cen Dao in this situation, and he didn't know whether to call it luck or misfortune. But in a dungeon like Linglong Pavilion where the protagonist is bound to have a cheat code, he still wanted to avoid it as much as possible. He wondered if fate had a grudge against him, repeatedly thwarting his plans to survive.
Cen Dao seemed oblivious to his inner thoughts. The moment he saw who it was, his tense body relaxed slightly. He put on his usual innocent and harmless smile, but there was an unyielding anxiety in his dark eyes, making the smile look somewhat forced. However, he still chose to feign innocence: "Brother Ye, what a coincidence, you're also here looking for a divine artifact?"
Since he wanted to pretend, Ye Chi didn't want to expose him. The two boys, who were of similar age and status, now wore similar fake smiles, narrowing their eyes without any smile, and said, "I have found my weapon and am preparing to go out and meet up with my master. I wonder how things are going here, Brother Cen?"
After a long and winding journey, the incarnation of Ya Feiyu had mysteriously disappeared. All these factors combined to make Cen Dao's emotions extremely unstable. Even Xu Miaomiao, who was usually good at caring for people, was intimidated by his aura and chose to keep quiet. A group of people followed behind him timidly, and anyone who didn't know better would think that Cen Dao was their leader.
Ye Chi smiled and said, "Brother Cen, don't be too hasty. Seeing you like this, even the weapons will be scared away."
Cen Dao forced a smile: "Yes, yes, Brother Ye is right. I was too anxious."
The group met in the narrow passage and now had to pass each other. Ye Chi turned aside expressionlessly, letting Cen Dao and the others go first. They didn't stand on ceremony, but Cen Dao seemed to be walking in a bit too hastily, and accidentally bumped into Ye Chi's shoulder, causing the latter to stumble.
Ye Chi turned his head slightly, his deep gaze falling on Cen Dao.
After a while, feeling utterly bored, he withdrew his hands, put them behind his head, and walked away on his own.
The deeper you go, the narrower and more cramped the tunnel becomes, and the air gradually becomes less circulated, making you feel stuffy and dizzy when you breathe it in.
Seeing that there seemed to be nothing left to gain by continuing, Ye Chi hesitated, wondering whether he should turn back. But just then, the heavens and earth trembled violently, like an earthquake, slamming him into the air, almost causing him to lose his footing. This shockwave was unusual; it contained spiritual energy, so concentrated that even Ye Chi, a novice in Qi Refining, could clearly sense it. He lowered his eyes to feel it—icy, approaching from afar with a bone-chilling cold, but as it drew near, it seemed to transform into a gentle, pliable force, lightly wrapping around his limbs before slipping past him with a familiar, lingering touch.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and then he opened his eyes—it was his master.
The magical artifact left to him by Ya Feiyu still retained a trace of spiritual power. Ye Chi followed the resonance between this spiritual power and its master, and eventually found Ya Feiyu in a strangely vast cave.
The latter, with his back to him, sensed the presence of the newcomer and, without turning his head, swung his sword without hesitation. Ye Chi subconsciously raised his hand, using his sword to block the fierce sword light. The dark sword emitted a long, resonant sound, and a sudden burst of golden and crimson light appeared before the sword light vanished, leaving the blade of the dark sword seemingly brighter as well.
Ya Feiyu then looked back, a barely perceptible smile appearing in her eyes. Ye Chi was stunned, wondering several times if he was seeing things.
"Your sword is quite nice; it suits you well."
It wasn't his imagination after all...
Ye Chi was momentarily dazed for no apparent reason, then his eyes seemed to be tinged with a faint glimmer, which adorned his dark pupils.
"Master thinks it's cool too, right? It doesn't actually have a name yet, so why don't you name it?" He smiled, revealing a shallow dimple.
The smile was so radiant that Ya Feiyu was slightly taken aback and said, "This is your sword, how can I be the one to name it?"
"But I want Master to name me," Ye Chi persisted. "Anyway, I'm not very educated, so Master's ideas are definitely better than mine, a beggar's. Let Master do it."
He dragged out the last syllable of his sentence, making it cloyingly sweet. The trust implied in his words made Ya Feiyu feel even more uneasy. In both his past and present lives, he had always been an extremely cold person. At this moment, his ears were burning red, but thankfully, the darkness concealed his true nature, so Ye Chi's eyesight shouldn't be able to see it. He cleared his throat and said, "The divine sword recognizes its master, but it won't recognize the name I gave it."
Ye Chi slumped down: "Fine."
His gaze finally settled on the sword. He hadn't noticed it before, but now, upon closer inspection, he realized it was indeed an exceptional sword, so exceptional it seemed almost tailor-made for the protagonist…
...Wait, this can't really be made for the main character, can it?
A flicker of panic crossed Ye Chi's eyes. Come to think of it, the protagonist seemed to have walked behind him just now...? Wasn't the cave behind him the one where he got the longsword?
No way... He actually stole the protagonist's opportunity?
He stared blankly at the longsword in his hand. The ink-black sword seemed to have a life of its own, responding to his call and emitting a buzzing sound.
The sword found deep within the Linglong Pavilion, and also a fortuitous encounter for the protagonist, then this sword must be...
The legendary "Exquisite Sword"?
In the original story, Cen Dao relied on the immense power contained within this sword to forcefully kill Ya Feiyu, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage. This was the murder weapon that killed Ya Feiyu. No wonder its location was so well hidden; this part of the story was originally supposed to be the protagonist's turn.
Damn it, how come he didn't think of that?
Ye Chi slapped his head in regret. The plot had been completely changed, and he was now likely to be included in the protagonist's "killable" list.
Of all times, they had to steal the Linglong Sword...
He remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, Ya Feiyu couldn't help but worry. She slowly walked up to him, condensed a small amount of cool spiritual energy at her fingertips, and touched Ye Chi's forehead. She deliberately lowered her voice, making it sound much gentler: "Why are you spacing out?"
Ye Chi barely regained his senses, his eyes still showing some lingering shock. Under Ya Feiyu's worried gaze, he composed himself, stammered for a long while, and uttered a sentence that left Ya Feiyu bewildered: "Master..."
"Can I put this sword back?"
Ya Feiyu: "...?"
These words seemed to provoke the Linglong Sword as well, causing it to tremble unwillingly, as if asserting its presence.
Throughout the millennia of the cultivation world, cultivators have always been eager to empty the entire Linglong Pavilion of its treasures. If they obtain a fine sword that recognizes its master, they are even more unwilling to relinquish it. There are countless people who have fought tooth and nail over the possession of a good weapon. Over the years, Ya Feiyu has personally witnessed so many that he can't count them on two hands. This is the first time he has seen someone who doesn't want to keep the sword by their side.
This person was even his apprentice.
Ya Feiyu's eyes twitched violently, and he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He really couldn't understand his disciple's thoughts. At this critical moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he should have listened to the sect leader and taken on a disciple in the first place. Why were other people's disciples so easy to take care of, but his disciple kept him speechless?
“This sword is already connected to your consciousness. Unless you die, it will never recognize a new master,” Ya Feiyu answered first, then seemed to feel that saying it was too cold, so he paused and said, “Why do you want to put this sword back? It suits you perfectly.”
No, Master, this isn't a matter of whether it's a good match or not; it's a matter of life and death. Ye Chi thought expressionlessly, but a silly smile appeared on his face as he said, "Mainly, I feel that this sword has too much malevolent energy, and I might not be able to control it. If one day I accidentally suffer a qi deviation because of this sword, I can't bear to let Master kill me."
Ya Feiyu's heart skipped a beat, and his tone turned icy, laced with anger: "Nonsense!"
Ye Chi was taken aback, not expecting the villain to react this way. He pouted and then went even further, using a coquettish tone: "But your disciple really wasn't lying. Your disciple's cultivation is too low, and this sword is stained with too much blood. Your disciple is really afraid that he won't be able to control it. Master wouldn't want your disciple to fall into demonic possession, would he?"
As she spoke, she blinked her bright, watery eyes, making it impossible for Ya Feiyu to say anything harsh.
Ya Feiyu: "..."
I'm truly defeated by this kid. Oh well, what can I do when he's my apprentice?
Ya Feiyu raised his hand to rub his temples, then reached out to take the longsword Ye Chi handed him, weighing it in his palm with a dark look in his eyes.
He had never touched the Linglong Sword in his previous life, only witnessed Cen Dao's fluid swordsmanship when using it. He had previously been dismissive of it, believing that while the sword was powerful, Cen Dao's talent was the main factor. Now that he had actually encountered it, he realized that the sword played a significant role.
Light yet not entirely weightless, one can imagine the imposing presence it would display when wielded. The sword would also react in accordance with its master's will, making the Linglong Sword truly exceptional in this regard.
Is this the Linglong Sword, one of the four most precious treasures in the world? It truly lives up to its name.
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Ye Chi leaned forward slightly and tentatively asked, "Does Master like it? Why don't we give it to Master?"
By diverting hatred, the protagonist wouldn't know that he was actually the one who had chosen the sword as its master. Although doing this was somewhat unfair to Ya Feiyu, it was all for survival. Against Cen Dao, who was still growing, Ya Feiyu, with his villainous aura, might not necessarily die. But as a cannon fodder who transmigrated here, without any aura or cheat codes, facing the protagonist, who had both an aura and cheat codes fully activated, would truly only lead to certain death.
Ya Feiyu's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not refuse. Compared to Ye Chi holding the sword, it would be more reassuring for him to keep the sword in front of him. He nodded and said, "I will return the sword to you when your cultivation has improved."
"Okay." Ye Chi nodded obediently.
If this sword can stay with Ya Feiyu, it will be safe.
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