Chapter Forty-Two: The Broken Sword

Liu Feng looked at the young woman blocking his path and recognized her as one of Zhao Xing’s companions.

“Miss, without evidence, you shouldn’t falsely accuse innocent people,” Liu Feng said calmly, his expression untroubled.

“If anything happens to them, you’ll pay for it,” the beautiful girl replied coldly.

“Do as you please,” Liu Feng answered, paying her no further mind and following the others as they hurried on.

After about an hour, Liu Feng sensed the space ahead widening. They had exited the forest and arrived at the main road. As they walked along, Li Ying took out the beast cores and distributed them among Liu Feng and his companions.

“Friends, this cooperation has been most pleasant. I hope we may fight side by side again in the future,” Li Ying said with a hint of emotion in his voice.

“We understand your character well, Brother Li. Let’s hope our paths cross again,” the others replied, gripping hands firmly.

As they walked and chatted, they soon reached Chiyang City, arriving at the domain of the City Lord’s manor.

The leader strode ahead into the manor. After about a quarter of an hour, he returned.

“Everyone, follow me inside. Please keep quiet and do not disturb the Lord’s business,” he instructed, then led the way into the manor.

The group lined up in an orderly procession and marched in. Liu Feng entered and was struck by the vastness of the grounds—hundreds of acres, with grand, magnificent buildings that radiated an imposing aura.

Following the others through twists and turns for another quarter of an hour, the leader finally stopped before an imposing structure.

“All right, everyone will go in one by one. After the rewards are exchanged, you may leave together,” he said, then headed deeper into the manor, apparently unconcerned with the reward exchange process.

Under the guidance of a guard, the group entered the room one by one to claim their rewards.

Before long, it was Liu Feng’s turn. He stepped into the spacious reward room, illuminated by rare luminous pearls.

Behind a jade-carved desk sat a burly man of about thirty, exuding a powerful sense of authority.

“This is the beast core of the Black Wind Wolf. Please inspect it, sir,” Liu Feng said, taking the core from his storage pouch and placing it on the desk.

The burly man picked up the beast core, examined it, and nodded. “What would you like in exchange? We have spirit stones and elixirs,” he said, gesturing to the items on the table.

Liu Feng saw many spirit stones emitting a dreamlike glow, beautiful and enchanting. Beside them, in a jade box, lay a variety of colorful elixirs, their intoxicating fragrance filling the air and making one’s pores tingle with delight.

There were also knives, swords, spears, each of exceptional quality.

Liu Feng hesitated. Though the spirit stones and elixirs were fine, their grade was rather low, making them dispensable for him.

Suddenly, he felt the beast hide he wore stir; a subtle force emanated from it, shooting toward an inconspicuous object on the table and lingering there for a moment before returning.

Liu Feng looked at the item that had caught the mysterious beast hide’s attention—a sheathed, bronze-hued broken sword, about two feet long. Its blade had been severed by something unknown, leaving a smooth, clean cut.

The burly man noticed Liu Feng’s interest in the broken sword and was momentarily surprised.

“Sir, may I exchange the beast core for this item?” Liu Feng asked, his heart pounding though his face remained composed. He knew that anything attracting the beast hide’s attention would not be ordinary.

“This broken sword is exceptionally hard. No ordinary blade can leave a mark on it. If you want it, you can’t exchange for anything else,” the burly man said, his eyes flickering with thoughts unknown.

“Very well, I’ll take only the broken sword,” Liu Feng replied, picking it up and leaving the room.

“This kid has no idea what he’s doing, treating a broken sword as a treasure. With so many beast cores, he could’ve gotten plenty of spirit stones and elixirs, but he’d rather have a worthless sword,” the burly man muttered, clearly believing Liu Feng had made a poor trade.

Outside, Liu Feng examined the broken sword repeatedly, unable to discern anything remarkable.

“Liu Feng, what did you exchange for—spirit stones or elixirs?” Wang Yun and Li Feng approached as Liu Feng exited.

Somewhat embarrassed, Liu Feng produced the broken sword. “This is what I got.”

“Haha, are you serious? You traded for a broken sword!” Li Feng laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

Wang Yun managed not to laugh, but patted Liu Feng’s shoulder. “Brother, I have to say your taste is questionable.”

Hearing their words, Liu Feng’s cheeks flushed. He too felt as if he’d been duped.

“Don’t underestimate it. I believe it hasn’t yet revealed its true power,” Liu Feng insisted, though he felt awkward.

“All right, it’s a treasure. We must have misjudged it,” Li Feng said.

By now, everyone had exchanged their beast cores. Led by a guard, the group left the City Lord’s manor.

They had barely gone far when five people blocked their way.

Among them, a handsome youth clad in white stepped forward.

He approached Liu Feng, his face full of disdain. “What a yokel—trading beast cores for scrap metal and calling it a treasure.”

Liu Feng replied calmly, “Treasure or scrap, it makes no difference. If I like it, I’m happy to exchange whatever I have for it.”

“Kid, you lack knowledge and make excuses—that’s pure ignorance,” the white-robed youth sneered.

“So you recognize treasures, do you? Care to show me one?” Liu Feng smiled faintly.

The youth’s expression darkened at Liu Feng’s nonchalance.

“Since you’re so eager to see a treasure, I’ll open your eyes,” he said coldly.

The youth drew a longsword from his storage pouch, unsheathing it to reveal a sharp, formidable aura.

He glanced sideways at Liu Feng. “See, yokel? This sword is what a real treasure looks like.”

Liu Feng looked at the sword in his hand, unimpressed. “It’s not as good as my broken sword—how could it be called a treasure?”

The white-robed youth was furious. “Still stubborn, are you? How about a contest—do you dare accept?”