Ch638 - Contracting the Han Xing Sword

By the time the Sword Emperor and his entourage arrived at the Sword Forest, over three hundred people had already gathered around it, forming multiple layers of circles both inside and outside the area. The Dragon Emperor’s imposing energy compelled everyone to make way for him.

The group arrived at Liu Mufeng’s barrier just as Jiang Xu was sitting on the ground meditating, while Liu Mufeng stood beside him cooking breakfast—a pot of meat congee.

“Hei, is he here for a meal or to get a contract?” Long Xingtian rolled his eyes at the sight of the two men.

“XiaoXu likes food, what’s wrong with eating something?” Qing Chen glanced at his man helplessly.

“Aiya, Chen’er, did you know that the swordXiaoXu wants to contract is from the Murong Clan’s ancestors? It’s called Han Xing, the Frost Star Sword, which holds profound truths about the cosmos. This sword has a unique spirit; within its blade are forty-nine star maps, each appearing only for three days. If one cannot comprehend the mysteries within these star maps within those three days, they will disappear, thus failing the contract.” As he watched his wife, Long Xingtian immediately began explaining.

“You know about this?” Raising an eyebrow, Qing Chen looked at him with suspicion.

“I’ve tried to contract it before, but I failed.” Long Xingtian rolled his eyes.

“Oh.” Good thing he failed, otherwiseXiaoXu wouldn’t have been able to make his own contract. “Forty-nine star maps, huh? What’s the number of this one?”

“Never seen this one before? What is the number of this star map?” Turning slightly toward Jiang Xu, Long Xingtian asked the Sword Emperor beside him.

“The last one, the forty-ninth. Appeared just over an hour ago.” The Sword Emperor answered honestly as he gazed upon Long Xingtian.

“The forty-ninth? The last one, you say? So my Son-in-Law stands a chance now?” Hearing that it was the final star map, Long Xingtian’s excitement grew uncontrollably.

“Nephew Jiang possesses great aptitude; once he breaks through this star map, he will successfully contract Han Xing.” As the conversation continued, the Sword Emperor began feeling pangs of concern for this beloved weapon.

“The last star map will be difficult to decipher,” Qing Chen remarked with a frown.

“Never fear, others may not succeed, but my Son-in-Law definitely can. You should trust our Son’s vision.” Long Xingtian smiled as he looked at his wife.

Qing Chen laughed upon hearing this. “Since we know the results in three days, shall we wait here for them?”

“Sounds good.” Nodding, Long Xingtian agreed.

Liu Mufeng didn’t dare disturb Jiang Xu even after cooking breakfast, waiting instead until Jiang Xu woke up on his own and came downstairs to eat.

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“Developed them himself? That’s indeed possible; most of my Son-in-Law’s sword techniques are self-created!”

The Sword Emperor was somewhat taken aback by this revelation. “Nephew Jiang’s sword maneuvers are self-created?”

“Yes, my Son-in-Law went to the Heaven Piercing Tower and climbed eighty levels, where he gained enlightenment on the mysteries of the stars. He also obtained fragments of stars from the Middle Heavenly Domain, along with some inheritance from the Star Clan, something about starlight or something similar. In short, he received many things related to stars, after which he created his own sword techniques.”

“So, he used his own sword technique when fighting me?” The Eldest Prince was stunned.

“I don’t know,” Long Xingtian said, rolling his eyes. “I wasn’t there, so who can say?”

“Here’s a recording stone.” As the Eldest Prince spoke, he respectfully handed over a recording stone to Long Xingtian.

Long Xingtian took it and activated it, watching it with his wife together.

This recording stone had been carved by the Eldest Prince’s most trusted subordinate, originally as a gift for him. Who could have known that the Eldest Prince would end up drawing even with Jiang Xu? They thought the Eldest Prince wouldn’t want this recording stone, but unexpectedly, he loved it very much. In order to study Jiang Xu’s sword techniques, the Eldest Prince brought the recording stone everywhere with him and watched it often.

After watching Jiang Xu’s sword moves, Long Xingtian nodded. “Yes, this is it, my Son-in-Law created this set of star sword techniques.”

“Sincerely impressive, Nephew Jiang, at such a young age, he has already begun devising his own sword techniques.” The Sword Emperor never imagined that Jiang Xu was actually so formidable; perhaps the Second Prince was right after all. Fortunately, they had released rumors early on, otherwise, Jiang Xu signing a contract with Han Xing might have caused some trouble.

On the first day, Jiang Xu spent his daytime practicing the sword while observing the night sky at night.

On the second day, Jiang Xu attempted to break through the star map again; he tried five times during the day without success and continued stargazing at night.

By the third day, Jiang Xu tried seven more times during the day with no success, then returned to try again under the stars that night…

As the Eastern sky began to lighten, Qing Chen frowned. “Only two hours left.”

“Yes, only two hours remain. I wonder if my Son-in-Law will succeed.” Long Xingtian said, also frowning anxiously.

Jiang Xu swung his sword several dozen times at the star map but saw it merely shift slightly, without breaking. He landed back on the ground, somewhat dejected, and dropped the weapon in his hand.

Liu Mufeng walked over and embraced his lover tightly, offering warmth amidst their distress.

“Mufeng, I’m afraid I won’t be able to contract Han Xing after all.” Jiang Xu lifted his head from his lover’s embrace and looked up at his husband, expressing his dismay.

“Don’t lose heart, there’s still two hours left.”

“But, but I can’t think of any other way to solve this problem. I thought my method was best, but it didn’t work.” Jiang Xu sounded quite dejected;he had spent much time thinking and pondering before coming up with his solution, so how could it be wrong? Why wouldn’t it work?

Liu Mufeng pondered upon hearing this. “If you believe your method is correct, then perhaps your cultivation isn’t strong enough?”

“I just consumed a medicinal pill, adjusting my state—there shouldn’t be a lack of strength.”

After some more thought, Jiang Xu concluded that it wasn’t likely due to insufficient cultivation.

“Perhaps not, but don’t forget: the Sword’s Master was a Supreme Immortal Emperor, while you are merely an Immortal Emperor. Even if you are at your peak, your strength would still fall short of a Supreme Emperor’s.” Liu Mufeng patiently explained as he gazed upon his wife.

“Then, what should I do? I can’t possibly become a Supreme Immortal Emperor within two hours.” Jiang Xu felt rather disheartened when he reached this conclusion.

“I have a solution.” After some thought, Liu Mufeng came up with an idea.

“What solution?” Jiang Xu curiously asked as he looked at his lover.

“Without using immortal energy, use soul power instead. I can lend you my own soul power, as well as that of the four beasts. With six people’s combined soul power, it would be sufficient to rival a Supreme Immortal Emperor.”

Upon hearing his lover’s words, Jiang Xu instantly perked up from his previous despondency and depression. “That’s right, I can use soul power.”

“En, let us give it a try.”

“Okay!” Nodding, Jiang Xu agreed wholeheartedly.

“What are the two Nephews doing?” The Sword Emperor watched Liu Mufeng and Jiang Xu sitting cross-legged within the barrier, facing each other, then glanced over at Jin Xiao and Xiaoxiao sitting behind Liu Mufeng, as well as Pangpang and Bai Hu sitting behind Jiang Xu. He was puzzled by their actions.

“Indeed, what do the boys want to accomplish?” Even after observing them for quite some time, Long Xingtian still couldn’t figure it out.

“I can’t tell what those six of them want to do either, but I thinkXiaoXu wants to try one last time.” With a frown, Qing Chen couldn’t follow his Son and Son-in-Law’s intentions.

The first step was for the Master and beast companions to fuse their soul powers together. Jin Xiao and Xiaoxiao each placed one hand on Liu Mufeng’s back, lending him seventy percent of their respective soul powers.

After receiving the soul power from his beast companions, Liu Mufeng began to fuse the three soul powers together. He combined his own soul power with the soul powers of the two beasts, forming three strands of fused soul power. Slowly, a sword appeared above Liu Mufeng’s head—a crystalline sword made of pure soul essence, stretching over one meter long.

“Soul Sword! It’s the Soul Sword!” Everyone watched in awe as this scene unfold before them.

Following suit, Jiang Xu also combined his beast companion’s soul powers, and a transparent soul sword appeared above his head as well.

Jiang Xu and Liu Mufeng opened their eyes simultaneously. Liu Mufeng lifted both hands, and Jiang Xu did the same. The four hands faced each other, and the Soul Sword above Liu Mufeng slowly moved toward the Soul Sword above Jiang Xu, merging together into one.

“Break!” Jiang Xu shouted, and the two-meter-long soul sword above his head slashed toward the last star map. Under Jiang Xu’s control, the sword struck twelve times.

With a crisp sound, the star map shattered, and the two-meter-long soul sword transformed back into six strands of soul power and returned to the respective seas of consciousness.

Jiang Xu flew onto the giant rock, grasped Han Xing’s hilt, and effortlessly pulled out this holy sword from within the stone and raised it high up overhead.

A dazzling array of starlight emanated from the blade, and the colossal rock beneath Jiang Xu’s feet began to crack inch by inch until it was reduced to rubble.

Carrying the newly acquired Han Xing Sword, Jiang Xu flew back to his lover’s side, beaming.

“Mufeng, I did it! I got Han Xing!”

“En, congratulations!” Smiling, Liu Mufeng congratulated his wife.

“Heh heh heh…” Laughing, Jiang Xu pressed a kiss on his partner’s lips. “Thank you, Mufeng. You’re so smart. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to contract Han Xing!”

“No need to discuss further; we’ve both had quite a day. Let’s go home.” With that, Liu Mufeng waved his sleeve, opening his barrier.