117: Perfect weapon

The moment the golden light exploded, the entire Main Hall became extremely bright.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were blindingly white, to the point where even shadows vanished.

Shen Xiaochuan squinted, his eyes containing a faint golden hue, barely able to see clearly.

He stood still, his hand still raised in mid-air, staring intently at the light rushing out from the gap in the chest.

Aphrodite widened her eyes, watching the light nervously.

As the light grew brighter, she involuntarily took a step back, her breathing stopping.

A few seconds later, the light suddenly disappeared.

The room plunged into darkness, with only the oil lamp in the corner relighting, its flame flickering, casting the blurry figures of a few people.

"My Lord..." Aphrodite's voice trembled, "I really didn't mess around. I just pressed the button. I didn't know it would be like this..."

Shen Xiaochuan did not answer; his gaze had already fallen into the air.

A piece of clothing was slowly descending.

It wasn't ordinary fabric; it looked like it was made of light.

The skirt shimmered with fine golden light, and its edges had a ring of runes, rotating gently and emitting a faint vibrating sound.

It fell very slowly, as if afraid of disturbing someone.

Shen Xiaochuan reached out and caught it.

The clothing was very light, almost weightless, but a gentle power flowed into his palm.

A System notification sounded in his mind: [Obtained rare-grade equipment "Light Feather Garment", wearer's Charisma +50, daily Happiness +5 points, immune to low-tier charm-type skills.]

He looked down at the clothing, then looked up at Aphrodite.

"Say no more." Shen Xiaochuan interrupted her, his tone peaceful yet approving, "Weren't you afraid I would be angry just now? But that press of yours was very decisive. This shows you are worthy of this clothing."

She opened her mouth, her fingers clutching the hem of her skirt, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"Put it on and try it," he said, "It perfectly matches the courage you just showed."

She bit her lip and finally stopped refusing.

The sisters nearby helped, gently draping it over her.

Once the Light Feather Garment was on, the entire piece of clothing seemed to come alive; the runes began to flow, golden light slid down her arms to her fingertips, and a layer of soft light appeared on her face.

She was originally just an ordinary woman, but standing there now, she made people afraid to look directly at her.

"It looks very good," Shen Xiaochuan nodded, "Wear this from now on, don't put it away."

She lowered her head, touching the sleeves, her voice very soft: "Thank you, My Lord."

"That's enough." He turned and walked towards the remaining two chests, "There are still two unopened, continue."

She didn't move, stunned for a few seconds before following, standing a bit further away from the chest.

The second chest was silver-white, with rune chains wrapped around its surface and blue crystals embedded in the corners.

Shen Xiaochuan pointed: "You do it."

She glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, but still walked forward, placed her hand on the runes, and pressed the button.

Click.

This time there was no strong light, only a layer of silver ripples spreading out like water waves.

The chest lid popped open automatically, and inside lay a small statue.

It was the size of a fist, entirely silver-white, carved into the shape of a woman with her arms spread open. Her face couldn't be seen clearly, but one could feel that she was smiling.

Shen Xiaochuan picked it up, and the System notification appeared: [Obtained rare-grade building decoration "Radiant Statue", placing it in the center of the Divine Kingdom can permanently increase Believers' Happiness by 15%, and attract an additional 200 wandering indigenous people to join every month.]

His eyes lit up.

"This is good," he said, "More effective than distributing food."

Previously, they relied on distributing meat and equipment to keep people, but now with this, it was equivalent to having one more thing in the city that could retain people.

"Build a pedestal in the center of the workshop square tomorrow," he said, putting the statue into his storage grid, "Choose the location well, it shouldn't block the path."

The person beside him replied in a low voice: "Understood."

Aphrodite looked at the empty chest and asked in a low voice: "Should we open more?"

"The third one," Shen Xiaochuan pointed to the last diamond chest, "Clear them all at once."

She took a deep breath, walked over, and placed her hand on the button again.

Click.

The sound this time was different.

It wasn't a crisp sound, but a muffled thud like iron breaking.

When the chest lid opened, a cold wind blew out, carrying the smell of metallic rust.

There was no light in the chest, only a piece of black sword hilt.

It was two palms long, as thick as a wrist, and the surface was covered in cracks, as if it had been struck by lightning many times.

It lay quietly at the bottom of the chest, neither glowing nor moving, but as soon as Shen Xiaochuan approached, his skin felt a bit numb, as if an electric current was crawling over it.

He reached out and took it out.

As soon as he gripped it, a System notification rang in his ears: [Obtained epic-grade weapon fragment "great desolation blade Hilt", requires collecting the three components "Blade", "Handguard", and "Inscription Stone" to reforge. Current binding status: Not activated.]

"It's incomplete?" He frowned.

He thought he would be able to get a complete divine weapon, but ended up with just a part.

However, the material of this thing was special; it was heavy in his hand, not like ordinary iron, and it had a sense of oppression, as if something was locked inside.

He looked at it over and over a few times, then finally put it into his storage grid.

"Even an incomplete one is a good thing," he said in a low voice, "Keep it, there will always be a chance to collect the rest."

Aphrodite looked at the three empty chests, relieved but also a bit disappointed.

"Is it gone?" she asked.

"There is one more," Shen Xiaochuan looked towards the corner.

There was another chest there.

It was different.

The previous three were diamond-grade, silver-white, with rune chains.

This one, however, was grey-brown, its surface smooth, without any markings, and without a lock.

It stood there quietly, as if someone had just casually set it down.

But from the first glance, Shen Xiaochuan felt something was wrong.

It shouldn't be here.

He walked over, crouched down, and reached out to touch the chest's surface.

It was ice-cold, but not the cold of metal or wood; it was more like the chilling cold of stone soaked in a deep well.

"What is this?" Aphrodite also noticed, "I haven't seen it before."

"Spoils of war," Shen Xiaochuan said, "Brought back from the Japanese Kings Domain, it hasn't been opened yet."

He felt around the edge of the chest, finding no buttons and no gaps.

Just as he was preparing to pry it open with force, the chest suddenly trembled slightly.

He immediately pulled his hand back.

"It moved?" She widened her eyes.

Shen Xiaochuan didn't speak, staring at the chest.

Two seconds later, it shook again, heavier than before, as if something inside was colliding against it.

He looked back at the door, confirming that the guards were all outside and no one could see.

"Step back," he said to Aphrodite.

She immediately pulled her sisters back a few steps, holding the child tightly.

Shen Xiaochuan took a deep breath, pressed both hands on the lid, and pried it upwards with force.

It didn't open.

The chest seemed to be welded shut.

He increased his force, his muscles tensed, and the copper gear on the cuff of his work clothes rubbed against his arm, making a rustling sound.

Suddenly, the lid moved on its own.

A sliver of light snaked out from the gap; it wasn't golden, nor was it silver, but an indescribable color, like light leaking from a tear in the night sky.

Then, with a boom.

A beam of light shot up from the chest, piercing through the roof and shooting into the night sky.

The stone roof of the Main Hall was pierced through like paper, and falling rubble turned to ash the moment it touched the light beam.

Shen Xiaochuan was forced to take a step back by the intense light, raising his hand to shield his face.

He squinted as he looked, his heartbeat quickening.

In the center of the light beam, the phantom image of a short blade hung silently.

It was translucent, as if composed of light and data, its edges constantly flickering, with some symbol-like characters appearing and disappearing around it.

He could only see a few words clearly: [Category: Weapon (Unnamed)] [Rank: perfect grade (???)] [Binding Condition: Pending Activation.]

No attributes, no description, no name.

Its existence seemed to be telling everyone that it did not belong to any existing System in this world.

Shen Xiaochuan stood by the light beam, his hand still raised, forgetting to shield the light.

He stared fixedly at the phantom short blade, his mind blank, with only one thought: This thing should not appear at this time.

Aphrodite knelt on the ground, holding the child, looking up, her face full of light.

She couldn't say a word, her breathing even very light.

A few seconds later, the light beam slowly weakened.

The phantom of the short blade slowly descended, returning to the chest, finally turning into a speck of light the size of a fingernail, lying quietly at the bottom of the chest.

Shen Xiaochuan snapped out of it, walked over, and reached out to pick up the speck of light.

As soon as the speck touched his skin, it immediately merged into his fingertip, drilling into his body along his blood vessels, and finally stopped at the location of the Divine Kingdom core, not moving again.

He frowned and turned to ask Aphrodite: "Have you seen this kind of thing before?"

Aphrodite shook her head in terror, holding the child tightly and saying: "My Lord, I have never seen such a thing."

He closed his eyes to sense it, but couldn't read anything.

No skills, no notifications, and even its presence was very weak.

But it was indeed there, like a buried seed.

"This is not something that can be used now," he said in a low voice.

But he knew, it was already his.

"Today's matter," Shen Xiaochuan lowered his voice, his tone firm, "No one can speak of it."

Aphrodite looked up at him, light still lingering in her eyes.

"I... understand," she nodded.

"Including your daughter," he added, "Not a single word can be mentioned."

She hugged the child tightly, as if to hide this secret within her body heat: "I swear."

Shen Xiaochuan said nothing more, walked to the cabinet by the wall, opened a drawer, took out a piece of black cloth, and covered the now-empty mysterious chest.

Then he stood in the center of the Main Hall, looking up at the large hole in the roof.

Moonlight spilled down from above, shining on his face.

The copper gear on his cuff swayed gently, making a faint sound.