Chapter 56: The First Golden Title Appeared

If a martial artist lacks even this bit of competitive spirit, what is the point of practicing martial arts at all?

Following a muffled roll of thunder, the sky returned to normal with no further strange phenomena, as if that rumble of thunder had merely served as a funeral dirge for Zhao Tian, the Son of Destiny.

Very soon, two traits drifted out from Zhao Tian's body.

There was no need to dwell on "Vindictive and Unforgiving"; as for the golden trait, Ye Liuyun immediately chose to fuse it.

"Talent Trait System!
Host: Ye Liuyun!
Realm: Innate Mid-Stage!
Martial Arts: Wind-Slicing Saber Technique, Azure Sun Vigor, Pine Wood Saber Technique, Jade-Shattering Hand, Blazing Flame Saber Technique, Nine-Fold Phantom Body, Overlord Saber.
Talent Traits: Son of Destiny (Gold), Steel and Iron Bones (Purple), Man and Saber as One (Purple), Extraordinary Comprehension (Purple), Swordsmanship Talent (Cyan), Extreme Yang Physique (Purple), Recognizing Women by Scent (Blue), Snow-Stepping Without Trace (Purple)."

The first golden trait had finally appeared.

He had originally thought that the "Steel and Iron Bones" trait, whose experience bar was nearly full, would be the first to turn gold.

He had never expected it to be the Son of Destiny.

To Ye Liuyun's surprise, the original "Lucky" trait was gone.

This was presumably due to their high similarity, causing it to merge into the "Son of Destiny" trait.

"Calculated this way, I suppose I practically had a minor Son of Destiny trait all along."

Thinking back carefully, his journey thus far had indeed been smooth sailing.

With this thought, Ye Liuyun grinned and let the matter rest.

Looking down at the fallen Zhao Tian, Ye Liuyun then gazed at the red dagger in his hand, recalling what Zhao Tian had described regarding its function.

Ye Liuyun squatted down directly and drove the dagger forward.

"Swish!"

Sure enough, the moment it pierced the flesh, the red patterns on the dagger began to shimmer with points of light.

The dagger was also growing progressively hot.

He could feel that under the effect of this red dagger, the various energies contained within Zhao Tian's body were flowing into Ye Liuyun.

Zhao Tian had previously used the red dagger's power to absorb the energy of numerous wild beasts in the mountains, so his physique had long since surpassed that of ordinary people.

After a short while, the process gradually came to a halt.

"I'm full!"

Not all the energy in Zhao Tian's body had been absorbed yet, but the red dagger acted as though it had eaten its fill.

It was not that it had reached its limit, but rather that it required a period of digestion before it could absorb more.

At the same time, the "satiated" spiritual weapon transformed directly into a streak of red light, sinking into Ye Liuyun's wrist.

Fascinated by this phenomenon, Ye Liuyun couldn't resist testing it. With a single thought, the dagger appeared; with another thought, it vanished once more, proving to be exceptionally convenient.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Ye Liuyun stood up in satisfaction.

Clenching his fist, he felt that the energy he had just absorbed had increased his personal strength by more than threefold.

Although he could guess that such rapid advancement would inevitably slow down over time, the enhancement of his physique still put him in an exceptionally good mood.

As expected of a top-grade spiritual weapon, while it did not manifest as directly as Lü Lan's Cold Jade Sword, Ye Liuyun undoubtedly preferred this kind of utility.

"From now on, your name shall be Blood Blade!"

It simply wouldn't do to keep calling it a red dagger.

Ye Liuyun spoke quietly to the red mark on his wrist. With a flick of his hand, the mark faded away, awaiting his next summons.

Since both the trait and the spiritual weapon had been acquired, staying here any longer served no purpose. Ye Liuyun lifted his foot and prepared to leave.

However, he had barely taken two steps when he felt his foot step on something hard and awkward.

Looking down, he saw it was a piece of broken silver.

Picking it up and tossing it in his palm, Ye Liuyun couldn't help laughing. Was this what it felt like to be blessed by fortune—finding money just by walking down the road?

Although Ye Liuyun didn't care about such a small amount of money, he pocketed the silver fragment anyway before continuing on his way.

...

"Is there anyone who hasn't returned yet?"

As dusk approached, Lei Zheng, the Northern Pacification Commissioner, was taking a headcount to see if anyone was still missing.

Among the crowd, Thousand Household Officer Wan Feiliang hadn't paid much attention at first, but after glancing left and right, he suddenly realized he couldn't see Ye Liuyun anywhere. Had Ye Liuyun not returned yet?

Wan Feiliang's expression instantly lit up with joy.

Even if he couldn't exact direct revenge on Ye Liuyun, simply making things unpleasant for the fellow would still be quite satisfying.

"Lord Pacification Commissioner!"

harboring this thought, Wan Feiliang stepped forward two paces.

He had just opened his mouth to speak, but for some inexplicable reason, Wan Feiliang felt his foot go soft, and he stumbled, crashing straight to the ground.

"..."

Faced with this sudden development, to say nothing of Northern Pacification Commissioner Lei Zheng, even the brocade-clad guards nearby looked at Wan Feiliang with expressions that spoke volumes.

Seriously?

Could you be any more humiliating?

You can trip and fall just while walking normally?

Some of the closer guards even quickly took a step back, maintaining a safe distance from Wan Feiliang, terrified that he might try to pin the blame on them and claim they had pushed him.

In truth, Wan Feiliang himself was utterly bewildered as he lay sprawling on the ground.

"If you want to fall, go right ahead; there's no need to give me advance notice."

Watching Wan Feiliang in this state, Lei Zheng merely spoke indifferently, looking as though he couldn't be bothered with him.

For a moment, the surrounding crowd found it even harder to hold back their laughter.

"No! No!"

Recovering his wits, Wan Feiliang scrambled hastily back to his feet.

Disregarding the dust covering his clothes, he blurted out, "Lord Pacification Commissioner, I am reporting! Centurion Ye Liuyun has not yet returned!"

Fearing another unexpected mishap, Wan Feiliang spoke at a rapid pace.

"Hn?"

Hearing that someone had yet to return, Lei Zheng instinctively knitted his brows and was about to speak.

At that exact moment, however, Ye Liuyun's somewhat helpless voice drifted from directly behind Wan Feiliang.

"I say, Thousand Household Officer Wan, although there is some friction between us, you shouldn't frame me like this. I've been standing right here for a while now."

"???"

Wan Feiliang's face stiffened as he whirled around to look.

There stood Ye Liuyun, gazing at him with an expression of utter helplessness.

"Impossible! You definitely weren't standing here just now!"

If he had really been here, how could he possibly have missed seeing him?

With that, Wan Feiliang cast a sweeping glance at the others around them, hoping to find validation from their expressions.

Unfortunately for him, Wan Feiliang's relationships within the brocade-clad guards had never been particularly good to begin with. Even those who had seen the situation clearly had no intention of backing him up, while the majority hadn't been paying attention in the first place and thus remained silent.

"You... all of you!"

At that moment, Wan Feiliang finally understood what it felt like to be ostracized.

Being in the brocade-clad guards truly felt like experiencing workplace bullying.

"Enough!"

Ultimately, a single word from Lei Zheng cut off Wan Feiliang's stammering.

"If you ever dare to waste my time with such trivial nonsense again, I will beat you black and blue right in front of the Eunuch Supervisor, even if he comes here himself."