65: Chapter 65 The Hero's Decline and the Provocation Tactic

Truth Sanctuary. Recovery Zone.

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng sat in his wheelchair, looking out at the rolling snow-capped mountains common to northern sanatoriums.

He held a card in his left hand.

The card was of exceptional quality. The dark gold card surface shimmered with deep, intricate patterns under the reflection of the snow, and every rune embedded along the edges was precisely aligned with the standard coordinates of the Ancient Heroic Spirit Summoning System. It featured a three-layered causal chain nesting, a five-axis soul reconstruction framework, and a complete set of physical regeneration circuits.

Rank 7. SS-Grade. [Ancient Heroic Spirit Awakening Card].

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng stared at this card for an entire morning.

His prosthetic right arm rested on the wheelchair armrest, the silver alloy surface reflecting the dark gold luster of the card. His lower body was covered by a dark gray blanket. There was nothing beneath the blanket.

"Sword Saint Lu Changsheng." A voice came from the doorway. It was cool, low, and carried a sense of detachment that a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl shouldn't possess.

Li Qingyue stood at the entrance of the recovery room. Today, she wasn't wearing her deep blue high-ranking Card Creator robe, but had changed into plain white casual clothes. Her bare feet pressed against the floor, and her long, silvery-white hair was draped loosely behind her shoulders. She carried a small food box in her hand.

"Yo." Sword Saint Lu Changsheng lifted his eyelids. "Rare guest. Is the Rank 9 Peak Supreme personally delivering food to a cripple like me?"

"Just passing by." Li Qingyue placed the food box on the bedside table, her gaze sweeping over the card in his hand. "What are you looking at?"

"This."

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng flipped the card over. A translucent phantom clad in heavy armor appeared on the face of the card. It wore silvery-white armor, wielded a two-handed greatsword burning with golden flames, and twelve wings formed from pure soul energy were unfurled behind its back.

"Ancient Heroic Spirit Awakening Card. Rank 7 SS-Grade. A core component of the Heroic Spirit Summoning System."

His voice was hoarse, but every word carried an irrepressible excitement. "The effect is—fusing the Heroic Spirit's soul with the user's physical body. After fusion, missing limbs can be replaced by the Heroic Spirit's spiritual body. Damaged meridians can be cleared again using the Heroic Spirit's magic power. It's equivalent to reshaping the first body using a second soul."

Li Qingyue's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"There is no record of this card on the market."

"Of course not. This is the Gate of the Underworld guild's trump card research achievement from last year. I had to ask six old comrades just to get my hands on it."

"Gate of the Underworld." Li Qingyue repeated the name.

"What?"

"...Nothing."

She said it was nothing. But those crimson eyes lingered on the card for a fraction of a second longer.

The elemental circuits of the Heroic Spirit Awakening Card magnified instantly in her eyes. The nesting method of the three-layered causal chain, the spatial arrangement of the five-axis soul reconstruction, and the curvature of the magic power conduction node corners. Each was impeccably organized. Rank 7 SS-Grade, it deserved the title.

Only one place felt wrong. The Space Folding framework at the lowest layer of the elemental circuits. The handling of those node corner curvatures was too similar to the seven-axis rotation structure she had seen on Su Bai's blueprints a few days ago. It was too high to be a coincidence.

But it was only similar. Not a copy. The other party had deliberately changed the order of the nodes, breaking the seven-axis into five, changing rotation into translation; superficial patent searches wouldn't find any infringement. This was done by an old hand.

Li Qingyue said nothing. Because there was no evidence.

She walked to the window. Her bare feet stepped onto the windowsill, and she crossed her arms. Those crimson eyes gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains; she didn't speak for a long while.

"What is the success rate of the Heroic Spirit fusion?"

"Thirty-seven percent."

"What happens if it fails?"

"Soul tearing. At best, a permanent degradation of Mental Power; at worst, becoming a vegetable."

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng's tone was very flat when he said this. It was as if he were discussing how the cafeteria food didn't suit his taste today.

Li Qingyue turned around.

"Do you think thirty-seven percent is enough for you to use?"

"It's enough."

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng pressed the card against his chest, a certain something that three years of wheelchair life had never extinguished burning in his gray-blue eyes. "It's better than the other path."

Li Qingyue was silent for a beat.

"The other path—you are referring to the Kyubey Card."

"Nonsense."

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng's voice rose by half a degree. "That thing you showed me last time. Pink lace dress. Twin tails. Bows. Turning into a little loli. I, Sword Saint Lu Changsheng, can accept anything in this life, except for this—"

"Even if it could make you stand up?"

"Even if it could make me fly!"

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng slapped the armrest of his wheelchair. "The name Sword Saint of Breaking Seas was earned with my life! It wasn't traded for women's clothing!"

"So you would rather gamble on this thirty-seven percent."

"Yes."

"Even if losing the gamble means becoming a vegetable, you don't care."

"A vegetable at least wears pants!"

Li Qingyue did not continue the conversation.

She stood by the window, her long, silvery-white hair shimmering with a cold luster under the reflection of the snow.

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

Then Li Qingyue spoke softly.

"Sword Saint Lu Changsheng. What is your current actual combat output?"

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng frowned.

"...Rank 7 Lower. You've known that for a long time."

"Rank 7 Lower." Li Qingyue chewed on these words. "In other words, any random Rank 7 Middle professional could suppress you head-on."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I want to say—"

Li Qingyue turned around. A very, very faint curve appeared on that porcelain-doll-like face, so faint that Sword Saint Lu Changsheng almost missed it.

"I recently took on a disciple, um... his strength is definitely not as good as yours, but with the same strength, you would definitely not be his opponent. Do you want to go and trade a few moves with him?"

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng was stunned. Then he laughed out loud. It wasn't that kind of polite laughter. It was the rough, gravelly laugh mixed with absurdity and a hint of being offended that a veteran would let out when hearing a rookie say they wanted to challenge him to a duel.

"Li Qingyue. Are you here to see me make a fool of myself?"

"I'm serious."

"You want me, a Rank 9 Sword Saint, to go and fight a Rank 2 apprentice?"

"Your current combat output is only at Rank 7. Although the other party is Rank 2, his combat results are quite good."

"That won't do! Even if I only have Rank 7 left, isn't fighting a Rank 2 just a matter of one finger? Even at the same realm, I could suppress him! This is an insult—"

"Then try it."

Li Qingyue interrupted him. Her voice suddenly turned cold.

"If you win, I, in the name of the Truth Sanctuary, will personally help you raise the success rate of this Heroic Spirit Awakening Card to over ninety percent. The whole process will be free. I will provide the materials."

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng's pupils constricted.

"...Are you serious?"

"When have I ever joked?"

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng stared into Li Qingyue's eyes; there were no flaws in those crimson eyes. The promise of a 9th-tier Supreme, witnessed by the laws of the Truth Sanctuary, carried actual binding force.

He took a deep breath.

"Then what if I lose?"

Li Qingyue's mouth curved slightly upward. That curve made Sword Saint Lu Changsheng's spine chill.

"If you lose—you will promise me one thing. We'll talk about what that thing is when the time comes."

"...Your expression is very scary."

"You're overthinking it."

"I don't believe you."

"Then are you accepting or not?"

Sword Saint Lu Changsheng was silent for a few seconds. Then he slapped the Heroic Spirit Awakening Card in his hand onto the armrest of the wheelchair.

"I accept! Why wouldn't I? What's there to be afraid of in fighting a Rank 2 apprentice!"