Chapter 1230: Chapter 1227: Temple Exposed
"You, a sword spirit, absorbing the sword’s energy?" Lin Tian asked, puzzled.
"Brother, you don’t know my suffering. I’m without hands and feet, abandoned in this desolate place, without food or drink. A sword spirit also needs to absorb energy to grow. If I don’t absorb the sword’s energy, I might have vanished into thin air." The sword spirit lamented, seemingly genuine, not pretending.
Lin Tian thought for a moment and suddenly laughed, "You’re only telling half the truth. It’s true that a sword spirit needs to absorb energy, but the Sword of the King wasn’t abandoned here; it was sealed."
"The legend says the Great Mage once warned King Arthur not to lose the sheath of the Sword of the King, otherwise he might be harmed by it. When I first saw this, I thought it was odd. How could the Sword of the King harm its own master?"
"Hehe..." Lin Tian chuckled softly and continued, "Seeing you now, everything makes sense. If I’m not mistaken, the Sword of the King is originally a sword of slaughter, full of killing intent. Without the protective sheath, it might accidentally harm the master. Now, the sword is visible, but not the sheath, making the Sword of the King a dangerous weapon; it’s no surprise they sealed you."
The sword spirit fell silent, eventually speaking, "You’re terrifying, deducing the truth with mere reasoning. You’re right, I am indeed sealed, but it’s not my fault. In that chaotic, dark era, only killing could stop killing and establish a stable dynasty. My birth was destined for slaughter."
"I was born this way; it wasn’t my choice. However, the Swordsmith crafted a special sheath to prevent the Sword of the King from harming its master. This sheath could suppress the sword’s sharpness. But King Arthur later lost the sheath, turning the Sword of the King into a sword of ill omen."
"Naturally, I was sealed. The growth of a sword spirit requires energy. Before being sealed, I absorbed the user’s energy, which had little impact on them due to the small amount. But after being sealed, I could only absorb the sword’s energy. Hundreds of years passed, weakening the sword body, and your power was immense, breaking the Sword of the King with just one punch," the sword spirit explained, making the reasons clear.
Lin Tian nodded in satisfaction. Perhaps the sword spirit left out some details, but the main thread was correct. He asked again, "Now, are you willing to come with me?"
"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" the sword spirit asked, seemingly starting to play tricks again.
"Hm?" Lin Tian merely moved his finger and hummed, causing the light sphere to shake.
"Alright, truth be told, I don’t like you, really don’t. You’re too overbearing and rude, even threatening me. I still want to go with the person you knocked out; his cultivated energy is beneficial to me," the sword spirit said, clearly displeased.
Lin Tian wasn’t angry but rather laughed, "I knew you would say that, and I also know why you want to go with him. His energy is only one reason; the more important reason is that he is still weak, unable to control you. You can do whatever you want, or rather, you want to take advantage of his weakness, control him, and make him your puppet?"
"You... you are truly terrifying, seeing through my intentions entirely. However, I still want to go with him; his energy is indeed very tempting," the sword spirit admired but ultimately refused.
Lin Tian sighed intentionally, "What a pity, like someone who loves pork and thinks it’s the best delicacy, unaware that there are countless tastier foods. Energy is the same; you only know that kind of energy benefits you, unaware of higher quality energy in the world, like..."
He extended his empty left hand, and a purple flame suddenly rose from his palm, causing the light sphere of the sword spirit to tremble violently. If the sword spirit could drool, it would already be a stream flowing down.
"Such... such pure energy." The sword spirit said excitedly.
Lin Tian deliberately released it, and the sword spirit eagerly shot out, rushing toward the flame. But as soon as it touched the flame, it screamed miserably, with the light sphere falling to the ground, dazed for a long time.
"Without my permission, you can’t absorb even a trace of energy from me." Lin Tian laughed, genuinely pleased because the sword spirit finally wavered.
Subduing the sword spirit isn’t difficult, but if it doesn’t truly submit, keeping it around is like having a time bomb; destroying it would be a waste.
Just as Lin Tian planned to entice further, his ears twitched, and his expression changed, "Sword spirit, someone is coming outside!"
His eyes flashed, activating super vision, and the situation outside the ancient tree appeared in his mind; five people were gathered at the top, exploring the entrance, seemingly checking if it was safe. Lin Tian recognized them as the five judges of Reina Sword Saint.
"Sword spirit, five experts have found the underground entrance; you must’ve released energy when unsealed, alarming the instructors at the Knight Academy. They’re all Sword Saint level experts. Think carefully about whether to stay or come with me. If you stay, you’ll likely be sealed by them again." Lin Tian paid attention to Reina and the others’ movements while half-threatening.
"I..." The sword spirit hesitated, seeming to decide, earnestly said, "I must clarify, I’ll go with you, not because I’m submitting to you. We have an equal relationship; you can’t command me to do anything. Moreover, I might return to this person’s side at any time." Naturally, "this person" referred to Li Wenfeng.
"So much nonsense!" Lin Tian said impatiently, reached out, grabbed the light sphere, then opened his mouth, swallowing it.
Inside his stomach, the sword spirit finally reacted, "You actually swallowed the great Sword of the King’s sword spirit into your belly! Too rude, too disrespectful, I protest, I condemn, strongly condemn!"
"Stop your nonsense, are you even considered a person? Yet, you’re talking about respect. Stay put. They’re too close to the temple; if you linger outside, they’ll sense you, and you’ll run nowhere, understand?" Lin Tian said irritably.
"But there’s no need to swallow me." The sword spirit said very aggrieved, reverting to the tone of an innocent young boy.
"If you keep blabbering, I’ll turn around and flush you out in the toilet; see how you maintain your dignity! Enough, let’s get serious; they’ve already entered the tree hole. Are there other exits from the temple?" Lin Tian asked, scanning the temple.
The sword spirit was probably frightened, as the great Sword of the King would be humiliated if flushed down the toilet.
"There’s a hidden door behind the statue; the mechanism to open it is atop the statue’s head," the sword spirit said truthfully, not wanting to be sealed again.