Chapter 276: The Sword Spirit’s Recognition
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xu Que was not the only one standing before the entrance to the cave.
Besides him, the people filling up the other nine places were also queuing up.
Xu Que directly went up to the entrance in an attempt to jump queue. However, there were restrictions—the entrance only opened up a pathway for a single person to move along, and therefore there was no way to cut the queue unless the person in front allowed him to take their position.
At the same time, a system notification rang in his head. Ding! "A restriction spell is detected ahead. Do you want to use 1,000 Acting Tough Points to break the spell?"
Holy shit! 1,000 Acting Tough Points?
System, why don't you become a robber instead?
Xu Que almost jumped when he heard the cost quoted by system. He cursed in his head. Damn it, things are getting more expensive now!
But at the next moment, he calmed down as he thought of the fact that the cave here was clearly older and had a longer history when compared to the Royal Tombs of the Fire Nation. Besides, he could feel that the restrictive spell was really strong. After taking just a few steps, he could already feel a sharp, majestic pressure, as if he was being pointed at by a sharp sword.
The crowd had seen that Xu Que had tried to cut the queue by walking directly up to the furthest elite cultivator in the queue. All the people were staring at him as it was obvious what his motive was.
And then all of a sudden, he turned around and went to the end of the queue. Whilst doing so, he did not forget to make an awe-inspiring excuse for his sudden action. "Adhering to regulations is a good virtue for all young cultivators. For example, queuing up. I personally like this the best. Here I am, excuse me, is this the last position? Don't move from your position, I'm supposed to queue behind you …"
The crowd felt their mouths twitch, speechless at what they were seeing.
You have the cheek to call yourself disciplined?
You must have noticed the restrictive spell, so you have no choice but to turn around, right?
Why is there such a brazen and shameless fellow in this world?
However, the nine elite cultivators queuing in front of him were not bothered by Xu Que at all.
They came from various large, reputable sects and had been chosen from amongst millions of people. They belonged to the category of geniuses and elites!
They did not know why Zhang Li Yun from Jade Sword Sect had been so polite to this fellow. As elites, they tended to have a proud and mighty attitude. Even if Xu Que had a very high status, they wouldn't bother themselves with him.
The elite cultivator in the first position glanced at Xu Que without much emotion. Hmph! He gave a snort and strode forward.
He closed his eyes and sent his soul strength into the cave. Whoom! Sounds of clanging swords were heard from within the cave!
Swoosh!
The next moment, a sound pierced through the air. In a split second, an ancient sword flew out into the hands of that elite cultivator.
The hum of the ancient sword was captivating. Just one sound and one could tell that it was a flying sword with strong spiritual powers. To be able to obtain the recognition of the Sword Spirit within the ancient sword was not going to be an easy feat!
The whole crowd exclaimed at the sight.
"He succeeded!"
"That is Situ Shang, the genius from the Situ Family. He's too strong! He actually earned the Sword Spirit's recognition within such a short period of time!"
"After all, he's number two after Ye Chang Feng, the Legendary Swordsman. He'll definitely succeed."
...
Situ Shang held the ancient sword in his hand. After successfully obtaining the sword, he passed through the restrictions and walked out of the tunnel. His eyes were aloof and indifferent.
Xu Que immediately stared at Situ Shang's ancient sword with great desire. He was worried, and various thoughts went through his head.
Am I going to snatch it? Rob it? Grab it?
Forget it, better not rob it. I'm the Act Tough King. Acting tough is like art, it has to look good. Snatching stuff from a little rookie—nah! The Act Tough King isn't interested in that.
But this fellow is really arrogant. He actually dared to snort at me. What an asshole, I'm going to deal with him later.
Xu Que wore a friendly smile on his face and nodded his head at Situ Shang.
Situ Shang was dumbstruck for a moment. He hadn't expected Xu Que to actually show such a friendly side to his personality by taking the initiative to greet him. Well, even Zhang Li Yun had greeted this person politely. No matter how aloof or arrogant he was, he decided he shouldn't persist in behaving that way anymore. And so he nodded back at Xu Que.
Xu Que did not say anything and continued to look forward.
By now, the second elite had come up to stand in front of the cave. He sent in his Soul Strength as well. The cave resonated with sound and another sword landed in his hand.
The crowd gave another cry of surprise.
But obviously, this kind of luck did not belong to everyone.
When it was the turn for the third elite cultivator, he stood for quite a while as he tried his best to release his Soul Strength to the maximum—but nothing happened in the cave.
Everyone started to shake their heads.
"Seems like he has failed to get the recognition!"
"I know him! He's from Spirit Treasures Pavilion. They usually have a great amount of Soul Strength, and therefore they are best suited for equipment forging and refining."
"Their Soul Strength may be strong but that doesn't guarantee them recognition from the Sword Spirit!"
"Precisely, the Sword Spirit wants cultivators with integrity and a devoted heart towards sword cultivation. People like that tend to have greater success with sword cultivation!"
...
The cultivator from Spirit Treasures Pavilion walked away regretfully.
Xu Que was a vengeful person. He remembered that this fellow had previously thrown him a look of disdain. So now he decided to gloat over his failure.
"Ha, such an easy feat and you failed? Too weak!" Xu Que made a cutting remark.
The cultivator from Spirit Treasures Pavilion stopped when he heard the comment. He stared at Xu Que with hostility.
"Oh no! What are you staring at? Do you think I'm going to pluck your eyes out and trample on them if you keep staring at me like that?"
Xu Que continuedd to casually taunt the cultivator.
"You …"
The cultivator couldn't bear the insults. He wanted to dash over and teach Xu Que a lesson.
Zhang Li Yun from Jade Sword Sect was anxious. He was worried that the matter would blow up out of control, and he quickly stopped him. He shook his head and used his Soul Strength to convey his message to the cultivator. Don't bother with him, he's just an ignorant young lad. He's definitely going to fail later. You can laugh at him then when he does. Later on when my Sect Elders arrive, he's going to have a hard time.
After listening to that, the cultivator glanced at Xu Que one more time with a cold sneer on his face, then turned and walked away.
...
Xu Que had witnessed the scene. Although he didn't know what Zhang Li Yun had said, he was certain that it hadn't been anything nice.
Nevertheless, that did not daunt Xu Que, for he was the Act Tough King with lots of nasty tricks up his sleeves!
Xu Que had his ways of dealing with the situation, even though he didn't know what Zhang Li Yun had conveyed to the cultivator. He turned to Zhang Li Yun, wearing a bright smile on his face."Little Zhang, you shouldn't bully him. It's only natural of him to want to teach me a lesson when I taunted him earlier! Unfortunately, this fellow didn't have the guts. He only dared to move his mouth, and if we are really going to have a duel, he's going to back off! Besides, everyone is equal under the law. You can't just side with me like that. Don't use Jade Sword Sect to oppress others next time!"
He sounded so earnest and sincere that it nearly made Zhang Li Yun and the third cultivator stumble and fall.
The crowd was actually guessing what Zhang Li Yun had said to the cultivator as well. And when Xu Que said that, everyone was startled.
The Jade Sword Sect is protecting this young man?
This is so terrible, no wonder why that young man is so arrogant and Zhang Li Yun had to put up with him. This young man must have a very solid background.
Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for successfully acting tough. The reward is 180 Acting Tough Points!"
Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for acting tough with quick thinking. The special reward is 300 Acting Tough Points!"