“According to our inventory, the Sword Repository lost one low-grade Heaven-grade Spirit Sword, eight Peak Earth-grade Spirit Swords, and thirty-two other Earth-grade Spirit Swords… As for the Mortal-grade Spirit Swords, those are simply too many to count.”
Elder Cigu spread a scroll across the tea table, displaying the details one by one before Nan Xi.
Nearly ten minutes ago, Elder Cigu had dismissed all the elders and disciples within the Sword Repository, leaving only herself and Nan Xi to sit opposite each other at a newly placed tea table in the center of the hall.
As for Elder Song Er, who had turned himself in, he had been escorted directly to the Tianhe Sect’s Heavenly Prison by the elders she had brought along, awaiting further interrogation.
“So, what you’re saying is… all these Spirit Swords were stolen by Elder Song Er?” Nan Xi crossed his arms, trying to make sense of the logic.
“I am afraid that is the case.”
Elder Cigu let out a long sigh.
“During his tenure, Elder Song Er took advantage of his position as the managing elder of the Sword Repository. He secretly replaced the original high-grade Spirit Swords with Mortal-grade ones and sold the high-grade swords on the external market at low prices. As for the money he made, it all went straight into his own pockets.”
*Hiss — *
Nan Xi sucked in a breath of cold air.
No wonder those Spirit Swords on the third floor of the Sword Repository always felt off.
It turned out they had long since been replaced with Mortal-grade Spirit Swords… and then disguised with some flashy special effects to look like high-quality blades!?
“Based on that, is this also why those Inner Sect Disciples always failed when they challenged the trials to obtain these swords?”
“I am afraid that is exactly why.”
Good heavens, the logic finally clicked into place.
‘What a piece of work,’ Nan Xi cursed silently.
The man had replaced high-quality Spirit Swords with Mortal-grade ones and then tampered with the platforms, applying Pressure that far exceeded the spiritual power of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
This ensured the Inner Sect Disciples never stood a chance of passing the challenge and actually obtaining the swords.
If Nan Xi hadn’t rashly broken into the Sword Repository last night and forcibly pushed through the Pressure to take a sword, it was likely no one would have discovered the swap for the rest of their lives.
He had wondered why the weapon he obtained was only a Peak Mortal-grade Spirit Sword.
At the time, he had his suspicions, but he had been in such a hurry to get home that he didn’t give it much thought. Looking back now, the whole thing was riddled with red flags.
“Sigh…”
Nan Xi leaned back against his chair, the tension leaving his body.
“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. I actually took a Spirit Sword from the Sword Repository as well… though it was only a Peak Mortal-grade one. It happened last night, and I just haven’t had the chance to explain it yet.”
“Heh heh heh.” Elder Cigu chuckled softly, looking as though she had expected this. “Peak Master Nan Xi, you finally admitted it.”
“You knew about this?”
“Naturally.”
Elder Cigu sighed with emotion and gave Nan Xi a respectful bow.
“This old woman truly admires the scheme you laid out, Peak Master Nan Xi. If you hadn’t intentionally taken a Spirit Sword, we wouldn’t have locked down the entire Sword Repository. Consequently, we never would have discovered the true thief by conducting a full inventory.”
“Uh…”
“We apologize for forcing you and your disciple to play along with us in this little drama.”
“Ahem, think nothing of it.”
Nan Xi waved his hand. In the face of the greater good, this was a trivial matter.
However…
He truly hadn’t expected Elder Song Er to be so outrageous. The man was bold enough to steal every single Spirit Sword on the third floor of the Sword Repository.
This even included that Peak Earth-grade Spirit Sword that had been forged less than half a month ago.
It was still practically warm, yet he had already fenced it.
The man certainly had nerves of steel.
Thinking of this, Nan Xi suddenly remembered something and looked up at Elder Cigu.
“By the way, I did technically take a Peak Mortal-grade Spirit Sword… do I need to compensate for it?”
Indeed, he was referring to the sword in Xia Xia’s hand, Ban Xia.
He naturally couldn’t bring himself to say he would return it. Since he had already promised it to Xia Xia, there was no reason to take it back. At worst, Nan Xi would find another way to make up for the loss.
“Haha, that certainly won’t be necessary.” Elder Cigu smiled magnanimously.
“You are the Peak Master of Tianquan Peak and have the authority to mobilize any resources within the peak. A mere Mortal-grade Spirit Sword is yours to dispose of as you wish.”
As she spoke, she leaned closer to Nan Xi and added playfully, “Of course, just remember to give us a heads-up next time.”
“Cough, naturally.”
Nan Xi gave an awkward laugh.
“However, since Peak Master Nan Xi mentioned this matter, then…”
Elder Cigu smiled mysteriously. She raised her palm, and a sharp Spirit Sword slowly materialized above it.
The moment the Spirit Sword appeared, an invisible layer of Pressure instantly enveloped the entire hall of the Sword Repository.
It felt as though merely getting close would result in being cut by its sharpness.
‘A Heaven-grade Spirit Sword!?’
Nan Xi’s eyes immediately lit up.
There was no mistake; what appeared in Elder Cigu’s hand was a genuine Heaven-grade Spirit Sword.
Even though Nan Xi had practiced Sword Arts for many years, he hadn’t seen many Heaven-grade Spirit Swords over the years.
“We just recovered this Heaven-grade Spirit Sword from Elder Song Er’s residence. Clearly, he hadn’t had the chance to resell it yet. It is all thanks to your timely plan to catch him, Peak Master Nan Xi. Otherwise, we might have lost this sword forever.”
“Good news, good news.”
Nan Xi clapped. He hadn’t realized he was so magnificent. ‘Please stop praising me, I can’t listen to this anymore.’
Unfortunately, Elder Cigu did not catch his drift.
She chuckled and continued, “This old woman assumes that when you came here last night, Peak Master Nan Xi, your original intention was likely to take this Heaven-grade Spirit Sword.”
“Eh…”
“Heh heh heh. In that case, I shall take this opportunity to do you a favor. On behalf of the Sect Master, I would like to gift this Spirit Sword to you, Peak Master Nan Xi.”
With that, Elder Cigu placed the Heaven-grade Spirit Sword on the tea table and gently pushed it toward Nan Xi.
This…
Could he really just pick up a high-grade Spirit Sword for free?
Nan Xi was a bit dazed. He stared at the Heaven-grade Spirit Sword sitting in front of him, yet he didn’t reach out to take it.
Seeing that Nan Xi was hesitating, Elder Cigu felt a bit awkward. She leaned forward slightly and asked tentatively, “Peak Master Nan Xi, do you have some lingering concerns?”
Opposite her, Nan Xi interlaced his fingers and rested them casually in front of him. He tilted his head back, staring helplessly at the ceiling of the Sword Repository.
After a long while, his gaze fell back on Elder Cigu.
“Just say it. What do you want me to do?”
“…”
“It seems I couldn’t hide it from Peak Master Nan Xi.”
Elder Cigu shook her head, caught between laughter and tears.
“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
Nan Xi shrugged.
He naturally understood this simple truth. Now that the case was solved and the sword he took hadn’t been returned, neither the Sect Master nor Elder Cigu owed him or Tianquan Peak anything.
Under these circumstances, Elder Cigu still wanted to give him a Heaven-grade Spirit Sword.
Unless something unexpected was happening, they clearly had a request.
“We would like to ask you to lead a team to a certain place,” Elder Cigu said sincerely.
“Where?”
Nan Xi raised an eyebrow.
Lead a team?
Was he supposed to take disciples out for training? That would indeed qualify as a request.
Under Nan Xi’s slightly puzzled gaze, Elder Cigu chuckled and revealed the final destination —
“We would like to ask you to lead the team to…”
“Daye Village School.”