16: World of Sword Spirits

The mop-up operation was almost complete.

Big and small battles had resulted in at least 50,000 beastmen slain.

The Grosster Empire's operation this time had achieved significant success!

The beastmen should be suppressed for a period.

However, the Grosster Empire would not relax its vigilance, as it was almost time for the beastmen's 'Awakening'.

The mop-up operation was also to minimize the scale of the 'Awakening'.

The 'Awakening' could not be stopped.

Unless one directly entered the Northern Barren Mountain Range and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of beastmen, it would be impossible to quash the beastmen's 'Awakening' tide.

This military campaign was considered concluded.

Clarissa was also 'unemployed'.

Having experienced the 'joy' of accompanying the army, she now found it too time-consuming and laborious to hunt beastmen individually. Clarissa simply couldn't muster the energy.

Clarissa decided to leave the border and head towards the central part of the Grosster Empire, which was in the direction of the capital.

She wanted to see the world of a big city!

...

Tang Ziheng looked at his source points, which had already exceeded 30,000.

This wave from Clarissa had made Tang Ziheng incredibly rich.

The third world was about to be acquired!

[This world search requires 10,000 source points. Do you wish to search?]

Tang Ziheng rubbed his hands and spent 10,000 source points to search for the third world.

...

This was a world where spiritual power and Blade Spirits coexisted.

Everyone had a moment that changed their destiny.

That was the Awakening of their Blade Spirit at 15 years old!

Anyone could Awaken, but the Blade Spirit's attribute, talent, and growth potential all determined one's future destiny!

And spiritual power was also very important; spiritual power determined the extent to which you could unleash the power and effects of your Blade Spirit!

Even if your Blade Spirit was strong and had good talent, facing someone with far superior spiritual power, its effects might not be effective.

This was 'High-Tier Suppression'.

Bai Mo was a 'ninth-grader' in this world.

This world also had schools, but the subjects studied were different.

He was 15 years old this year, and today, he was going to Awaken his Blade Spirit!

As an orphan, although he had gone through nine years of compulsory education, this final Awakening of his Blade Spirit represented his last chance to change his destiny.

Bai Mo's grades were excellent, almost full marks in every subject, but his spiritual power talent was a bit lacking, though still considered average.

If he could Awaken a very good Blade Spirit, he would be able to attend a key university! Although he could still get in with his grades, he wouldn't be able to enter the martial arts faculty, or if he did, it would be the lowest-ranked martial arts class.

The moment to change his destiny was at hand, and Bai Mo was very excited.

"Next! Bai Mo!"

The teacher on the stage called out Bai Mo's name.

"Here!" Bai Mo stood up excitedly, then his face flushed with a bit of embarrassment, and he quickly ran up.

On the stage was a transparent, floating crystal; this was the Blade Spirit Awakening Stone.

"Put your hand on it, relax! Use your spiritual power to probe..." The teacher gently guided Bai Mo from the side.

Bai Mo took a deep breath...

Ding!!!

Bai Mo felt his mind arrive in a void world...

Immediately after, he saw a sword.

Buzz!

A faint crystal blue katana phantom appeared.

Crystal Ice - Talent: C - Attribute: Ice-type - Special Ability: None

The data for Bai Mo's Blade Spirit was displayed on the side.

"Not bad! Talent C, and it's a relatively rare Ice-type..." The teacher comforted Bai Mo, with a hint of regret in his eyes.

Normally, talent levels range from E to S. Attributes are even more diverse, from the normal Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, to special ones like Wind, Thunder, Ice, Dark, Light, or even more unique ones like pure physical (slashing).

The difference in attributes wasn't significant; at most, it was a difference in manifestation and emphasis.

The Blade Spirit's talent, like one's own spiritual power talent, was extremely important!

It related to the feedback your Blade Spirit could give you and its own growth potential.

Next was the special ability, which could be understood as an innate 'rule'.

For example, some swords could come with 'special effects' that changed the surrounding elemental environment upon appearance.

Or they could increase sharpness, or come with attached skills, and so on.

Bai Mo's Blade Spirit was clearly average; only its Ice-type was slightly noteworthy.

"Thank you, teacher!" Bai Mo walked back to his seat, a bit dejected.

"It's okay! With your grades, you can still get into a key university, and a lower talent doesn't mean everything... Besides, you're not at the bottom, you can still succeed!" Bai Mo's deskmate was the famous school beauty, named Wen Yu.

True to her name, she was very pure and lovely, and spoke softly and gently, but she wasn't a timid girl; instead, she was poised and generous.

"Thanks!" Bai Mo nodded, then slumped down.

Although somewhat disappointed, this couldn't defeat him.

At most, the starting point was a bit more difficult...

[Congratulations! You have obtained the Blade Spirit System!]

Suddenly, a voice rang in Bai Mo's mind.

Just as he was about to jump up in fright, a surge of information flooded into his mind.

Immediately after, Bai Mo understood what this Blade Spirit System was.

Bai Mo thought to himself, "There's actually such a mysterious existence! Such a great creation!"

Bai Mo opened his panel:

Bai Mo

source points: 500

Spiritual Power: 135

Blade Spirit - Crystal Ice

Spiritual Power Talent: C

Blade Spirit Talent: C

Blade Spirit Attribute: Ice

Special Ability: None

Evaluation: You are truly trash! But it's okay, you have me.

Bai Mo's face darkened as he looked at that evaluation.

[Do you wish to spend 500 source points to open the 新手禮包 (Novice Gift Pack)?]

Bai Mo was stunned when he saw this message.

Good heavens! I only have 500 source points, and you want me to spend all of them to open a novice gift pack?! Bai Mo suspected that this system was 'deliberate', setting it up precisely because it saw he only had 500 source points!

Although Bai Mo complained about the system, he knew this was key to changing his destiny!

[Open Novice Gift Pack!]

[500 source points consumed. Novice Gift Pack opened successfully!]

[Your talent has been upgraded to B]

[Your Blade Spirit Talent has been upgraded to B]

[You can choose one of the following three Blade Spirits:]

[Soul Slayer Sword - Hyōrinmaru]

[Soul Slayer Sword - Divine Spear]

[Soul Slayer Sword - Senbonzakura]

Bai Mo was dumbfounded. What were these three swords? They were all called Soul Slayer Sword, and then they had names...

Bai Mo didn't know how to choose.

Just looking at the names... Hyōrinmaru should be... Ice-type, right?

Bai Mo scratched his head, thinking the system wouldn't trick him (500 source points?).

So, Bai Mo directly chose [Soul Slayer Sword - Hyōrinmaru], which might be related to his current Ice-type Blade Spirit.

[Obtained Special Ability: Shi Jie · Bing Lun Wan]

Immediately after, this surge of information poured into Bai Mo's mind.

I... I'm about to soar! Bai Mo was dazed as he digested the information.

"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling down?" The school beauty, Wen Yu, walked over. Seeing Bai Mo in a daze, she thought he was struck by her S-rank Blade Spirit talent and Thunder-type.

Originally, Wen Yu's spiritual power talent was already S, and coupled with her title as school beauty, Wen Yu was famous not just in this school but throughout Huazhou.

She also had the Wen family backing her, and now she had an S-rank Blade Spirit and the special Thunder-type attribute.

She also had a special ability, but during Awakening, special abilities were only visible to oneself. What they specifically were, others couldn't see, but their existence could be displayed, letting others know you had one.

"Ah?! What?" Bai Mo snapped out of it and looked at Wen Yu strangely.

He and Wen Yu had a good relationship... well, because of some very clichéd things, but reality was just that clichéd.

"So you were spacing out!" Wen Yu rolled her beautiful eyes, then told Bai Mo about her Blade Spirit Awakening.

"Congratulations!" Bai Mo looked at Wen Yu with complicated eyes. He had to admit, she was truly flawless, a favored daughter of heaven in every aspect.

The homeroom teacher was extremely excited. The news of Wen Yu Awakening an S-rank Blade Spirit spread like wildfire!

He would definitely get a large bonus!

And with such a 'high-quality' student like Wen Yu, an excellent teacher award was a sure thing!

"Hmph hmph! You'll have to butter me up from now on, I might consider protecting you!" Wen Yu hummed twice, saying proudly.

"Yes, yes, yes! Queen Wen!" Bai Mo cupped his hands, looking fawning.

"The Awakening ceremony is over. Do you have a university in mind?" Wen Yu asked.

"Emm..." Bai Mo shook his head: "I don't know. I'll just apply to various universities when the time comes, and universities will also come to recruit on-site... You, on the other hand, don't need to worry. Universities will come to you, and you can pick freely..."

"Hmph! Of course!" Wen Yu said proudly.

As the homeroom teacher dismissed class.

The surrounding classmates gathered around, congratulating Wen Yu in various ways.

And Bai Mo occasionally received a word of comfort, perhaps as an afterthought.

Everyone was a student; there weren't that many twists and turns. Even if there were, most people wouldn't show it. After all, future achievements would differ; perhaps after today's farewell, they might never meet again.

There was no need to make enemies; an extra friend meant an extra path.

Who knows when you might truly need the help of a 'small fry'.