Luo Mingyue caught the sword instinctively, then stood there in a daze.
The moment her fingers brushed against the weapon, a flash of sudden insight struck her mind, and she seemed to hear a voice: "Hit him!"
Luo Mingyue froze.
*What voice? Where did that come from?*
"Hit him! What are you standing there for?"
"Even if you haven't reached the Nascent Soul stage yet, you are still their senior sister."
"With that attitude of theirs, why aren't you slapping them yet? What are you waiting for?"
"Senior, who are you?" Luo Mingyue hurriedly asked in her mind.
"Just hit them first. I'll tell you after you're done. I simply can't bear to watch this anymore," the voice continued.
"Hit whom?" Luo Mingyue asked.
"Anyone. Whoever gets on your nerve."
*Thwack—!*
*Thwack—!*
*Thwack—!*
Three sharp slaps rang out in rapid succession.
Bai Nishang stood frozen, a burning pain searing across her face. Her two yes-men were equally stunned, clutching their faces in absolute fury.
"Senior Sister Mingyue, you hit us?"
"How dare you hit us!" Bai Nishang roared in rage.
"You know I'm your senior sister?"
"It seems I've been too lenient with you all before, which is why you've grown so brazen."
The Sword Sect had strict rules and a rigid hierarchy, ranked strictly by strength. Since Luo Mingyue was the senior sister, it proved she was the strongest among the disciples of her generation.
"If you have any complaints, you are more than welcome to surpass me in next month's sect assessment," Luo Mingyue said coldly. "Surpass me, and I'll let you hit me back. Otherwise, you'd better not show your faces in front of me again—every time I see you, I'll beat you. Especially you, Bai Nishang."
At the end, Luo Mingyue pointed a finger straight at Bai Nishang.
"Fine! Just you wait!" Bai Nishang gritted her teeth. "Let's see what you use to beat me this time." With that, she turned to leave.
*Thwack—!*
But a second later, another slap landed hard across her face, driving Bai Nishang into a frenzy of rage. "Luo Mingyue, I'll fight you to the death!"
"Junior Sister Nishang," someone immediately grabbed her by the waist from behind. "Forget it, she's the senior sister. We shouldn't fight her."
"That's right, Junior Sister. Didn't you find a sword that suits you best? Next month, we'll just knock her down a peg."
"She won't be acting high and mighty for much longer."
As the group left and the surrounding onlookers finally dispersed, Luo Mingyue suddenly lowered her gaze to the thing in her arms. "Senior, are you inside this sword?"
Clasped in her arms was Jiang Chengan. No, rather, she was holding the broken iron sword that Jiang Chengan had transmigrated into.
"You're quite clever, aren't you?" Jiang Chengan rolled over inside Luo Mingyue's arms, using his own head—no, his hilt—to rest against Luo Mingyue's chest.
*Hmm, not very big, but quite comfortable.*
His movement made Luo Mingyue's eyes widen in disbelief.
The sword... was actually moving on its own? And it had rested itself right against her chest!
"Senior, are you a Sword Spirit?" Luo Mingyue thought of a possibility. In her past life, she had heard legends that some formidable magical treasures would develop sentience after countless years of tempering, commonly known as Sword Spirits. This matched Jiang Chengan's situation to a tee.
"Sort of," Jiang Chengan replied vaguely. "Alright, put me down now. It's time for me to sleep."
"Senior," Luo Mingyue's breathing grew hurried. "Will you become my sword?"
"Become your sword?" Jiang Chengan glanced at her with utter disdain. Luo Mingyue was decent-looking, and her chest shape was fine—very comfortable to rest on—but she had no brains. Who knew how much aggravation he would have to endure following her around? Besides, wasn't it nice just lying around in the Sword Tomb? "Not interested."
With that, Jiang Chengan slipped straight out of her arms and thrust himself straight into the ground.
This sight sent another wave of shock through Luo Mingyue's heart. It truly possessed a spirit!
"Senior, I am the top talent of this generation in the Sword Sect. Even the Sect Master has praised my talent in the sword. If you follow me, Senior will certainly never be buried in obscurity," Luo Mingyue hurried to crouch down, speaking to Jiang Chengan.
To the others watching from the sidelines, however, they simply shook their heads, assuming Luo Mingyue was having a breakdown and throwing caution to the wind because of the earlier dispute.
*Not following, not following. Stop pestering me.* Luo Mingyue's talent was indeed decent, but she had no brains, and her chest wasn't all that big either.
"Senior, have you forgotten that I possess the Inborn Sword Body?"
"The only reason I could hear your voice in the first place is because my Inborn Sword Body grants me an innate affinity with swords. If you follow me, I can also chat with you to pass the time so it won't be so dull," Luo Mingyue tried again.
"Still not following." Jiang Chengan refused flatly. So what if she had the Inborn Sword Body? With the rewards he got from checking in with the system every day, he could cultivate five Inborn Sword Bodies if he wanted to.
"Time is running out, everyone hurry up!"
"Disciples who have found their swords may come out now."
The voice of a Sword Sect elder echoed from outside the Sword Tomb.
Luo Mingyue's expression shifted. "Senior—"
"Don't disturb my rest," Jiang Chengan said.
Luo Mingyue suddenly took a deep breath and stood up.
Just then, Bai Nishang happened to walk past her, though the sword she had been holding was already gone, evidently having acknowledged her master and been stored away within her body.
"Senior Sister Mingyue, you can't possibly want that piece of scrap iron, can you?" Bai Nishang chuckled, the slap marks on her face already gone.
Beside her, her two yes-men also stared at Luo Mingyue with malicious grins. "Senior Sister Mingyue has the Inborn Sword Body. Even nurturing a useless sword, she'd improve by leaps and bounds in a single day. We can't compare to that."
"Senior Sister Mingyue, don't forget that this sword was given to you by me. If by any chance you really strike it rich and find a treasure, you must remember your junior brother, you know."
"Oh, right, this junior brother's name is Lu Yan."
"I'll remember it," Luo Mingyue said, casting a glacial glare at the three of them.
Amidst their mocking laughter, Luo Mingyue turned her gaze back to Jiang Chengan. "Senior, forgive me."
She had made up her mind; she was determined to make Jiang Chengan her natal magical treasure.
Jiang Chengan was taken aback.
The next moment, he saw Luo Mingyue bite down hard on the tip of her tongue.
*Spit—!*
A mouthful of vital blood spewed from her mouth, instantly splashing all over Jiang Chengan's body.
Yet just as Luo Mingyue's smile bloomed, it instantly froze.
Her vital blood showed not the slightest sign of merging into the iron sword before her. Instead, acting like ordinary liquid, it quickly streamed right down the length of the blade.
Luo Mingyue stood frozen. As expected of a sword senior who had awakened sentience—even vital blood bonding was useless.
"I said I'm not following, are you ever going to drop it?" Looking at the bright red blood dripping from his body, Jiang Chengan grew somewhat irritated. He liked his retro, all-black look—it was so sleek. Now there were splotches of red all over it. What was this supposed to be?
Besides, he didn't even have hands... he couldn't wipe it off at all.
[Ding—!]
[The system detects that the original plotline has begun to change.]
[Please host find a suitable host vessel and subvert the original plotline.]
[Task Reward: Sword body durability increased tenfold.]
Jiang Chengan's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Luo Mingyue standing before him.