Chapter 40: Garbage Sword

Watching the glowing, spell-infused long sword streak past his side, Xu Wang instinctively wanted to dive sideways like a football goalkeeper, using his own body to intercept the deadly flying blade.

That way, perhaps just like in the world of The Amazing Spider-Man, he would directly obtain the death rewards from both Xiahou and Yan Chixia.

It was a pity, however.

The sword flew far too fast!

With a swift "whoosh," it flashed right past him!

By the time Xu Wang reacted and made a move to lunge outward, he naturally pounced on empty air.

Agility of 6.

Perception of 8.

Against ordinary people, that was decent enough.

Yet facing extraordinary entities like Xiahou and Yan Chixia, it was still somewhat lacking.

This left Xu Wang feeling rather regretful.

If only they had teamed up and killed him right then and there.

That definitely wouldn't have been a loss.

Leaving aside Xiahou, who was merely a pugilistic expert and essentially a free bonus, Yan Chixia was a true sword immortal.

His power was actually superior to that of the Tree Demon Granny.

Yan Chixia, the wandering swordsman, practiced both Buddhism and Taoism.

Aside from his formidable magical power, the sheer number of treasured artifacts he carried was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

The Xuanyuan Sword, Soul-Locking Needles, Nine-Heavens Divine Bow, Qimen Flying Armor, and mystical scrolls—every single one of them was an exquisite magical instrument for subduing demons and vanquishing devils.

Judging by the rewards obtained from the world of The Amazing Spider-Man, even inanimate objects offered a chance to receive related death enhancement perks.

No wonder Xu Wang felt such a sense of regret.

"Hey! You two, what are you doing coming to Lanruo Temple in the middle of the night?"

After exhausting a great deal of effort to finally pacify Xiahou, Yan Chixia finally had the time to turn around and question Xu Wang and Ning Caichen.

"Lanruo Temple is my home. I'm just coming home to sleep, is there a problem?"

Xu Wang withdrew his regretful gaze from the depths of the dense woods, turned his head, and gave Yan Chixia this answer.

"Yes, this is Brother Wang's ancestral estate. I came to Guobei County to collect some debts and had nowhere to stay. Fortunately, Brother Wang took me in."

Seeing that everyone no longer seemed intent on fighting, Ning Caichen also breathed a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile blooming on his face.

"Ancestral estate? I've never heard of Lanruo Temple having an owner!"

Yan Chixia looked at Xu Wang skeptically and was met with a brilliant smile.

Recalling Xu Wang's behavior just moments ago, Yan Chixia opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his bellyful of doubts.

"I'm not sticking around for your nonsense anymore."

Nearby, the swordsman Xiahou seemed to have finally regained his composure.

First, he glared fiercely at Xu Wang, then turned his gaze back to Yan Chixia. "You're still staying near Lanruo Temple lately, right? I'll come looking for you again in a few days!"

"This..."

Seeing that Xiahou had not yet abandoned the idea of a duel, Yan Chixia hesitated slightly.

However, dodging the issue indefinitely was no solution either, so he finally had no choice but to agree with a helpless sigh.

"Alright! It's a deal!"

Seeing that Yan Chixia had agreed, Xiahou looked back at Xu Wang once more. Seemingly remembering something, he pulled back the step he had just taken.

Looking solemnly at Yan Chixia, he added, "On the day of the duel, let's pick a different place. We don't need any spectators."

"Ha ha, fine!"

The moment Yan Chixia saw Xiahou's reaction, he knew the man had been thoroughly traumatized by Xu Wang.

Never had he expected that there would be someone in this world capable of giving Xiahou a headache. Yan Chixia was instantly overcome with amusement, and his gaze toward Xu Wang grew deeply appreciative.

Although he hadn't said it out loud, Xiahou's clinging persistence, much like a stubborn plaster, was something Yan Chixia found rather irritating.

"Until we meet again, Yan Chixia! Next time we cross paths, I will definitely defeat you!"

With a loud shout, Swordsman Xiahou channeled his lightness skill and darted away swiftly in the direction of Guobei County!

Watching Xiahou's rapidly receding figure, Xu Wang seemed to recall something and cast a glance deep into the dense forest.

That guy seemed to have forgotten to take his sword with him.

Acting on the principle of doing one good deed a day, the honest Xu Wang widened his mouth wide in the direction of Xiahou's departure and began frantically chewing the air!

"What on earth are you doing?"

Yan Chixia looked with bewilderment at Xu Wang's grimacing performance.

Xu Wang blinked and offered a perfectly straight-faced explanation to Yan Chixia: "Xiahou forgot to take his sword. I'm just reminding him."

Yan Chixia was instantly rendered speechless. "If you genuinely wanted to remind him, you could have actually made a sound. You didn't even care to whisper."

Hearing this, Xu Wang placed his hands on his hips and replied as a matter of course, "He's a martial arts master, you see. If I called out softly and he actually ran back, what would I do then?"

At that, Yan Chixia was torn between anger and laughter.

He discovered that this young brother Xu Wang was actually quite entertaining.

Giving Brother Xiahou a bit of a hard time wasn't a bad idea either.

It would let him experience what it felt like to be relentlessly pestered, ha ha!

"Oh, right. Since you're living in Lanruo Temple, remember to pay me rent. If you don't pay money, that's fine too—just take some time to teach me a trick or two, and we'll call it rent."

Just as Yan Chixia was chuckling, a single sentence from Xu Wang abruptly wiped the smile from his face.

"You really are a rather unlovable fellow."

Yan Chixia shook his head, then adopted a solemn expression. "Regardless of whether this is your ancestral estate or not, I advise the two of you to leave Lanruo Temple as soon as possible. It is dangerous here; this is no place to linger."

He said it with utmost sincerity.

Unfortunately, nobody listened to him.

Xu Wang sprinted all the way toward the depths of the dense woods.

As for Ning Caichen, he headed straight back into Lanruo Temple.

He still had chores to do, needing to tidy up his room before going to sleep.

Meanwhile, deep within the forest.

Nie Xiaoqian wore a thoroughly wretched expression, wincing in agony as she pulled the sword embedded in her lower abdomen out of her body.

Having covertly tailed Ning Caichen back to Lanruo Temple, she had originally intended to ambush Xu Wang under the cover of night to fulfill her quota for Granny.

Never had she imagined she would be caught in the crossfire of the battle between Yan Chixia and Xiahou outside the temple.

As a ghost, Xiahou's martial vital energy could inflict a certain degree of harm upon her, but nothing too severe.

However, when combined with Yan Chixia's formidable magical power, it truly made things quite agonizing for Nie Xiaoqian.

Injured as she was at this moment, she would undoubtedly be unable to carry out any operations tonight.

Although this would surely earn her a reprimand from the Tree Demon Granny, Nie Xiaoqian quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Much like how falling ill is miserable, the mere thought of being able to take sick leave and skip work or school suddenly makes the misery vanish.

If she could help it, she still preferred not to harm people.

Right at that moment, the sound of footsteps suddenly drifted over from the direction of Lanruo Temple.

Nie Xiaoqian raised her head and, peering through the dense canopy of trees, swiftly spotted the figure of Xu Wang.

This caused Nie Xiaoqian to knit her brows. With a flick, she vanished from the spot on the spot.

Forget it, I'll spare his life today.

Not long after Nie Xiaoqian vanished, a brilliant beam of light shone in from outside the woods.

Xu Wang's "Scavenger Radar" was blinking away.

Approaching closer and sweeping his flashlight beam across the ground, Xu Wang immediately spotted the archaic sword lying on the dirt.

"Whoa! Which slob threw their trash around? What if it hit some innocent flowers and plants? If nobody wants it, I'm taking it!"

Despite saying that, Xu Wang had already bent down, stretched out his hand, and picked up the sword.

As the former premier swordsman under heaven, Xiahou's personal blade was naturally no ordinary item.

Xu Wang didn't study the quality of swords much.

However, he possessed glowing text.

With a brief glance, a line of text immediately manifested above the ancient long sword.

【General's Sword, Rating 31】

"Whoa! Rating 31, six upgrade slots! Truly wonderful."

Xu Wang felt a surge of delight.

"Still, the name 'General's Sword' is a bit too flashy and doesn't match my vibe. Let's just call it the Trash Sword."

This was currently the highest-rated weapon in Xu Wang's possession.

Even the Drone X-01 Assault Rifle only possessed two upgrade slots, placing it in the same tier as the Vault jumpsuit.

The pipe pistol had a mere single upgrade slot.

Fearing that Xiahou might remember the sword he had dropped, Xu Wang hastily applied the [Lizard Healing Enhancement] onto the blade! Then, stashing the Trash Sword away into his waist pouch, he turned and ran!

Only upgraded items could be carried back to the main world, a detail Xu Wang hadn't forgotten.

Meanwhile, inside the aquatic dwelling.

Nursing her injuries in the privacy of her boudoir, Nie Xiaoqian raised her head.

Right before her eyes, several figures suddenly materialized out of thin air.

At the very center stood none other than the Tree Demon Granny!