22: Repair the horizontal sword

Lu Ze rolled his eyes.

Cheng Ran also realized that her words were a bit ambiguous and continued, "What I mean is, have you experienced any abnormalities in your body? Or have you encountered any insurmountable obstacles during your cultivation?"

Obstacles in cultivation?

Before the System descended, Lu Ze did indeed have obstacles; for about two or three years, no matter how he cultivated, his cultivation did not advance at all.

However, the moment the System arrived, everything was resolved.

Lu Ze thought for a moment and said, "No."

"Is that so? Then that's a bit strange..."

Cheng Ran scrutinized Lu Ze's body, seemingly very puzzled, but she still shook her head, temporarily setting aside her thoughts. "If you think you're fine, then it's fine. If any problems arise, you can come to me anytime."

Lu Ze agreed.

Cheng Ran took out Lu Ze's personal information and looked at it again, saying, "After joining the Demon Subduing Division, you are required to live in a designated place within the Demon Subduing Division, which is a multi-person dormitory. You..."

She paused slightly, looking at Lu Ze with a hint of apology.

"You seem to have always lived alone, so living in a dormitory with others now might be uncomfortable. I will report to the Demon Subduing Division later and arrange for you to live alone."

Lu Ze immediately nodded, "Good."

This was a great help to Lu Ze; living alone made everything more convenient.

"In the jade token I gave you, there is a trace of my specific Spiritual Qi. You should be able to detect it if you carefully sense it. I am not employed by the Demon Subduing Division of Xuanyuan City; this time, I am only on a mission and will stay in Xuanyuan City for a period of time."

"Therefore, if I am not in Xuanyuan City in the future and you encounter any danger or an unsolvable situation, just sever that trace of Spiritual Qi, and I will come."

Cheng Ran suddenly thought of something, looked directly at Lu Ze, and said seriously, "Even if you're on the verge of death, use all your strength to crush that Spiritual Qi! Although I, your master, cannot revive you, I will definitely avenge you! However... if you provoke someone I can't defeat, then just pretend I never said that."

Lu Ze was a bit speechless... Cheng Ran took out a Storage Ring, held it in her left hand, and with her right hand's two fingers together, rapidly drew in the air. Spiritual Qi, inscribed with Talismanic Incantations, attached itself to the Storage Ring.

The moment the last Talismanic Incantation was imprinted, the Spiritual Qi around Cheng Ran stirred, suddenly drawing a trace of Lu Ze's internal Spiritual Qi into the Storage Ring.

A flash of light appeared on the Storage Ring, then dimmed and faded, returning to its normal appearance.

Cheng Ran handed the Storage Ring to Lu Ze. "Inside are some books, basic knowledge for various professions. You can read them first, and once your living arrangements are settled, I will guide you. This Storage Ring has been marked with our Spiritual Qi, so only the two of us can open it."

Lu Ze took it and put it away.

The two exchanged contact information, and Cheng Ran then left.

Lu Ze walked out of the square, looked at the city, which was as usual, and stretched. It was five days until he officially joined the Demon Subduing Division. These few days, he needed to handle some matters, such as repairing his sword.

On the sword hanging at his waist, Little Red was still obediently clinging to the hilt. Lu Ze reached out and stroked Little Red's head. Little Red sensed it and narrowed its eyes in enjoyment.

Compared to yesterday, Little Red's red color was much lighter, and it was also a bit heavier. As it lay on the hilt, it could already make the sword body sway.

Lu Ze turned his head, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, he turned to look to one side and saw Fu Liang's figure emerge from behind a tree.

"Yo, little student, we meet again. Today's assessment tabulation, I didn't even get a chance to properly catch up with you."

Fu Liang stood leaning against the tree, arms crossed, looking leisurely.

Lu Ze turned to face him, "What is it?"

"Look at you, do I always have something to talk to you about when I appear? Can't I just try to butter up you, the first-place winner?"

Fu Liang grinned, flicked his right hand, and a card shot out rapidly, then steadily stopped in front of Lu Ze.

Lu Ze reached out and picked it up. The card was entirely black, warm to the touch, with a special symbol carved in gold. Below the symbol, the character "Lu" was also written in gold.

This special symbol was very familiar. Lu Ze searched his memory and finally found the answer.

This was the symbol of the Xuanyuan City Exchange.

"This is the Exchange black card Young Master Liang just opened for you. With this card, any transaction you make at the Exchange will enjoy the highest discount. This card is universal across all Human Bases, not just limited to Xuanyuan City."

Fu Liang raised his eyebrows, "Using this to curry favor with you, it's pretty decent, right!"

Lu Ze accepted the black card and nodded, "The item is good, I'll take it."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Fu Liang clicked his tongue, then caught up in two or three steps. "No? Are you going to freeload off me again?"

Lu Ze stopped, looked at Fu Liang, "Tell me, what do you really want?"

"Tonight at midnight, the Exchange's night market opens. There might be something you're interested in. Also, I have some matters I want to discuss with you."

"Alright, got it."

Lu Ze nodded and continued to walk forward.

Fu Liang didn't expect Lu Ze to agree so readily and was a bit stunned. After realizing, he looked at Lu Ze's back and suddenly smiled.

Behind him, an old man in a butler's attire approached.

This person had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations. If one were to carefully investigate, they would find that this person's Qi was very restrained, and his breathing was long and deep.

Fu Liang also sensed the person behind him, and the smile on his face immediately disappeared.

"Young Master Liang, the master wishes to see you."

"Got it."

Fu Liang's tone was surprisingly low. "What else did he say? Did he say he was going to lock me up?"

The old man truthfully replied, "No, he just wants to see you."

"Let's go."

Fu Liang straightened his clothes and left with the old man... Lu Ze returned to his home. The door opened, and everything was unchanged.

He tidied himself up a bit, took a shower, and changed into clean clothes.

Then he returned to his bedroom, sat down cross-legged, held the fourth-tier demon core in his hand, and placed the sword horizontally on his lap.

"System, repair the sword!"

"Received!"

"Estimated repair time: three hours!"

As the System's voice faded in Lu Ze's mind, the sword suddenly vibrated. Little Red was startled and immediately scrambled off the hilt.

The sword slowly rose, its blade flying out of the scabbard, standing upright in mid-air.

The fourth-tier demon core also rose with it, standing beside the blade.

Lu Ze closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation!

In mid-air, a strange power instantly crushed the fourth-tier demon core into fine powder!

The powder was guided by this power, spreading out to form an enclosure that enveloped the entire room.

The entire room fell into silence!

Little Red looked at the sword in mid-air, then snuggled onto Lu Ze's lap, wanting to continue sleeping.

It crawled between Lu Ze's legs, and just as it flipped over to face upwards, it saw Lu Ze mysteriously open his eyes. His eyes were lifeless, and a blood-like liquid flowed from them!