Chương 179: War God — Chapter 180 - Secret Skill, Sword Washing Art

What is a scabbard for? To protect the sword. Wang Xian stroked Ye Miyue's head. Her body, soft as warm jade, stirred something within his heart. But it didn't shake his will.

"You're injured, aren't you?" Wang Xian said softly. Ye Miyue's entire body stiffened.

"That thing in the box is extraordinary..." Wang Xian looked at the flame drifting within the black character and tapped Ye Miyue's brow.

"Even a Seventh Realm Great Grandmaster couldn't just pluck it out easily. And you, a mere Third Realm Martial Artist, dared to touch it recklessly."

"You've got some nerve."

"Relying on your talent to act recklessly." In truth, even without the Profound Ice Divine Flame, Wang Xian could sense that Ye Miyue's aura was off. Especially holding her like this. Before, he would have detected the Eternal Silence Sword Qi lurking just beneath the surface of her body. Now there was nothing. It felt like a stagnant pool. Clearly, the Eternal Silence Sword Qi within her sword body had gone dormant for some reason.

A heaven-sent treasure like the Profound Ice Divine Flame would inevitably affect the surrounding environment, forming an extremely harsh frozen cavern. The Eternal Silence Sword Body was formidable, but she was only at the Third Realm. It could isolate most of the divine flame's power, but forcibly taking the object would certainly cause backlash.

Wang Xian even suspected that obtaining this object would have been impossible for Ye Miyue alone to break through the environment created by the Profound Ice Divine Flame. Most likely, she needed her master's help. Divine flame backlash, countered by her talent's power. Her body would inevitably sustain internal injuries. For a Taboo-tier talent, it wouldn't be too serious. But it certainly wouldn't be light either.

"Injured, and instead of properly recovering..." Wang Xian grasped Ye Miyue's shoulders with both hands.

"You still want to be my scabbard... What, I saved your dad and now you plan to repay me with your body?"

"If someone else saves you in the future, are you going to marry him too?"

"N-no, that's not it..." Ye Miyue understood Wang Xian's meaning and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I'm satisfied with this gift, but if it came at the cost of you getting hurt or even affecting someone else..." Wang Xian patted her crescent curve.

"I wouldn't feel at ease accepting it." Ye Miyue's face flushed bright red from the pat, one hand gripping Wang Xian's arm tightly. She had mustered tremendous courage to say those words. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Now that Wang Xian had rejected her, her heart felt strangely sweet...

"Don't do this kind of thing again."

"Mm..." Ye Miyue gave a soft mm of acknowledgment. But then she seemed to sense something. She suddenly leaped away, clutching her bathrobe, stealing timid glances at a certain spot from the corner of her eye, not even daring to look directly...

"......" Wang Xian. See. Says she wants to be a scabbard. Offer her the sword, and she gets scared. All bark and no bite.

"How serious is the injury?" Wang Xian acted as if nothing had happened.

"Mm..." Ye Miyue's eyes narrowed to a slit, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"Master said, at the fastest, I can't use martial force for a month. Slower, and 2 months for sure to fully recover. Daily training is fine as long as I don't use my talent."

"Day-to-day cultivation is still doable."

"It's just physical weakness from the talent damage, nothing serious..." That was still fairly serious. Wang Xian nodded slightly. About what he'd estimated. If Ye Miyue were at the Sixth or Seventh Realm, with her talent, she probably could have obtained this Profound Ice Divine Flame without injury. A martial artist's talent power grows stronger as the martial artist gradually becomes stronger.

"Where's your master?"

"Huh?" Ye Miyue looked at Wang Xian with a blank expression.

"With your strength alone, you definitely couldn't have retrieved this flame. Your master must have helped, right?" Ye Miyue froze. She hadn't expected Wang Xian to have figured that out too.

"Master is a Seventh Realm Great Grandmaster... and her talent isn't weak either... there wasn't much impact."

"How could there be no impact?" Wang Xian asked.

"Didn't you say that after school starts, your master is about to hold the 'Grandmaster Banquet'? When martial experts from various countries come to challenge her, at that level of strength, even the slightest difference in condition can produce vastly different results in actual combat."

"And with you injured, your master certainly won't let you fight, right?"

"If I don't need to use my talent... it's just sparring. Master said it's fine. And without using my talent, I don't have to control the Eternal Silence Sword Qi, so there won't be any fatalities," Ye Miyue said quietly. Wang Xian shook his head. The girl was still too naive. Or rather, that Principal Luo had protected her too well. The Grandmaster Banquet. It wasn't as if he hadn't experienced one before. If your reputation wasn't that big, it was fine.

The greater the grandmaster's fame, the more experts would come seeking martial discourse and challenges. Tian Du was Dragon Country's international martial metropolis, and Tian Du Jingwu University was one of Dragon Country's top 5. Although being a principal didn't necessarily require possessing the greatest strength. But not needing it was one thing. You couldn't not have it. Take his own Grandmaster Banquet in his previous life.

Although it was held after returning from the alien battlefields, back then not many on Blue Star knew of him, and his fame wasn't that great. Yet even so, quite a few grandmaster martial artists from other regions of Dragon Country, and even one or two from abroad, came to visit and spar. Grandmaster martial artists from within Dragon Country were fine. Generally, in sparring, they'd use at most 50 or 60 percent of their full strength, just going through the motions. Unless there was some deep-seated grudge.

But grandmaster martial artists from abroad were the real deal. Full strength meant full strength. They were there to see exactly what your level of strength was. After all, a Seventh Realm Great Grandmaster was to be registered in the Blue Star Martial Alliance as part of humanity's top-tier combat force. At full strength, even a slightly off condition could lead to defeat. Though it wouldn't affect being listed in the Alliance's registry, it would certainly be a loss of face. Let alone being a principal.

Not just one's own strength, but the strength of one's disciples was even more critical. At a martial university, if the principal's martial strength wasn't top-tier, people could understand and accept it. But if they couldn't educate and pass on the path, that would disgrace the entire university. Wang Xian figured that Principal Luo hadn't told Ye Miyue simply because she didn't want to put that much pressure on her. Such a considerate master, so devoted to her disciple.

Wang Xian looked at the flame burning within the box and fell silent. After a while.

"Y-you... how come that still hasn't..." Ye Miyue's bashful voice came from beside him.

"Would I sheathe my sword so casually without drawing a little blood?" Wang Xian said with amusement. Ye Miyue's face flushed crimson.

"I'll help..."

"Don't." Wang Xian raised a hand to stop her.

"......" Ye Miyue looked at Wang Xian with a hint of stubbornness, her gaze no longer evasive.

"You want to that badly?" Wang Xian laughed.

"I can use..." As soon as Ye Miyue finished speaking, she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. Too embarrassing.

"That won't be necessary..." Wang Xian pondered for a moment.

"I remember the Divine Sword Club has a Secret Skill called 'Sword Washing Art.'""Ever heard of it?" ➤ Next: Innately Gifted — Ascension