Zanxing

Chapter 69 - Unable to Pull (1)

Yanxing took a step back and said, "I'll choose last. You go first, Senior Brothers." She couldn't take away Mu Chengxiao's opportunity; otherwise, the original world would issue a warning. So, being second or third wasn't a bad thing after all.

Tian Fangfang stroked his chin and wandered around, while Yanxing's gaze fell on Mu Chengxiao. The youth didn't seem anxious at all. He casually brushed his hand over the weapons in front of him, his eyes wandering over the swords and blades hanging on the wall.

Since he practiced swordsmanship, he should naturally choose a sword.

Xuan Ling also observed Mu Chengxiao and Tian Fangfang. To be honest, every time new disciples entered the weapon vault to choose their weapons, he felt particularly nervous as a master. The reason was simple: people can misjudge others, but weapons do not. Powerful weapons have their own preferences. Most of the time, the choice of weapon can reveal a disciple's potential.

Although these three disciples didn't seem to have the most outstanding cultivation in the sect right now, each had their own opportunities. They might have trained themselves from the common folk, surprising him frequently. After decades at Taiyan Sect, this was his first time accepting disciples, so naturally, he hoped to receive the best seedlings, showing those self-proclaimed powerful new sects what true talent looked like.

Lost in thought, he saw Mu Chengxiao come to a stop in front of a pile of weapons.

There were at least a dozen weapons stacked haphazardly, including whips, long spears, swords, and halberds. The youth glanced for a moment before bending down to pull out a sword.

Yanxing's heart raced—here it comes! An important scene from the original story was about to unfold!

It was this seemingly ordinary, somewhat damaged iron sword that would ultimately become a fearsome divine blade in the cultivation world. The sword concealed powerful restrictions, but Mu Chengxiao would use the Xiao Yuan Pearl to unlock them, nourish it with blood, and finally awaken its spirit, accompanying him on adventures, slaying demons and gods, and reaching the pinnacle of his life.

Now that Xiao Yuan Pearl was with her, but Mu Chengxiao still drew this sword—did this mean the male lead's aura remained unaffected? So far, the main storyline was still developing as it had in the original.

Xuan Ling observed Mu Chengxiao pulling out the sword, his eyes reflecting surprise. He wanted to say something but held back. On the other side, Tian Fangfang burst into laughter, saying, "This axe is nice! It looks really valuable! I'll take this one, Master!"

The others turned to see Tian Fangfang striding over with a golden axe in his hands, beaming brightly. The axe looked heavy and wide, with an extremely long blade. If swung in hand, it would appear robust and fierce. Whether it was gold-plated or pure gold, the entire axe gleamed with a bright gold hue, so lavish that it made Tian Fangfang resemble a royal chef ready to slay fish.

Regardless, both of them had found weapons they were satisfied with.

Xuan Ling looked at Yanxing and said, "Yanxing, it's your turn."

Yanxing surveyed the weapon vault filled with swords, spears, and halberds, her heart sinking.

She originally planned not to compete with Mu Chengxiao for the protagonist's aura and let him choose first, avoiding the Divine Slayer Sword. But now... the Xiao Yuan Pearl remained silent.

Xiao Yuan Pearl hadn't given her any hints.

Whether in the original story or when choosing manuals in the martial arts hall earlier, Xiao Yuan Pearl had played a significant role, acting like an accurate detector that could always find lost treasures.

But now, no matter how Yanxing urged Xiao Yuan Pearl, it showed no response.

"Come on, Junior Sister," Tian Fangfang looked at her excitedly. "With so many weapons, can't you find one that catches your eye?"

Yanxing thought to herself that there truly wasn't. Nothing was more frustrating than throwing someone with a fear of making choices into a vault filled with weapons.

Mu Chengxiao also stared at her with the Divine Slayer Sword in hand. Under everyone's gaze, Yanxing moved to the corner of the wall, her eyes landing on a silver staff.

She practiced the "Qing'e Nianhua Staff" technique, so she should choose a staff. Since Xiao Yuan Pearl hadn't reacted, she decided to choose for herself. Yanxing stood firm, reached out for the staff, took a deep breath, and tried to lift it... but couldn't.

Yanxing froze.

The staff looked slender and delicate, even shorter than the iron staff distributed by the sect, seemingly made for women. Yet, as soon as she grasped it, it felt as heavy as a mountain; she couldn't lift it at all.

After two attempts, the silver staff remained utterly immovable, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Mu Chengxiao asked, "Can't you pull it up?"

Yanxing withdrew her hand, a burning pain in her palm. "It seems... I can't pull it up."

"That means you don't have a connection with it," Xuan Ling's voice came, his expression somewhat enigmatic. "In the weapon vault, it may appear that the master chooses a weapon, but in reality, it's the weapon that chooses its master. Chengxiao can pull up the Divine Slayer Sword, and Fangfang can handle the Qianyuan Axe, because the weapons recognize them as their masters. If you can't lift this staff, it only means it isn't your weapon. Yours is somewhere else; go choose another one."

Yanxing's gaze dimmed. So it was a two-way choice.

Seeing her hesitate, Xuan Ling asked again, "With so many weapons, can't you find one you like?"

"Yeah, Junior Sister," Tian Fangfang weighed his Qianyuan Axe with satisfaction and smiled, "When I saw this golden axe, I felt as if it had my name written all over it. Look for something that immediately makes you want to hold it; you can't go wrong with that!"

Yanxing replied, "... I don't have one."

She moved to another weapon that looked like a staff, a long halberd. It appeared unremarkable, and Yanxing reached out to try lifting it but felt it was incredibly heavy.

In the end, she couldn't pull up this halberd either.

Next, Yanxing tried a sword, a shield, a whip, a trident, a spear, a long hammer, and a wolf fang club... but none of them could be lifted.

By the end, Yanxing was exhausted and drenched in sweat. Xuan Ling's smile gradually faded, and he appeared increasingly flustered.

"Master," Yanxing, unable to lift any of them, simply sat on the ground and wiped her sweat. "It's no use; I can't lift any of them. It seems there isn't a single weapon here that has a connection with me."

"It shouldn't be like this," Xuan Ling refused to believe the reality. "Your cultivation level isn't the lowest, even if you can't lift a high-level weapon; you should at least be able to lift a mid-level one. How could you not lift a single one?"

"Why not ask the sect master?" Mu Chengxiao suggested. Mu Chengxiao's attitude towards Zhanxing had improved since Liu Yunxin took the Immortal JadeLingzhi, and his attitude toward Yanxing had improved significantly. While it wasn't particularly warm, he no longer treated her coldly.

Xuan Ling pondered for a while but couldn't come up with an explanation. He could only follow Mu Chengxiao's suggestion and said, "Alright, you all go out first. I'll go to the Jinhua Hall and ask the sect master why Yanxing can't lift the weapons in the vault."

Yanxing nodded.