Chapter 31: The Ancient Star-Forged Sword

"Sister, are you tired?"

"Xiao Chen, I'm not tired."

"We have another ten miles to go before we reach Guo Family Village. Are you sure you aren't tired, Xiao Chen?"

"Sister, I'm not tired either. Please stop for a moment; let me wipe the sweat from your face. Can you give me two bags of grain? I'll carry them for you."

"It's alright, Xiao Chen, I'm not tired. Just wipe the sweat off my face for me. There’s a pavilion ahead; let’s go there to rest our feet."

"Yes, Sister. Why are you so good to me?" Gu Chen asked, his heart aching as he wiped the sweat from her face.

"Because you are the only family I have left in this world."

"Sister, if one day I become a bad person—a really, really bad one—would you still acknowledge me as your brother?"

"You silly boy, you are my brother. No matter what you become, aren't you still my brother?"

"Sister believes in you. Even if you truly became a bad person one day, it would only be because this world forced you to!"

"However, there is one thing I must tell you today. You must remember it: money is given by others, but respect is earned by yourself."

"Do not always count on what others can do for you; look more at what you can bring to others."

"Even if you are to be cow dung, be the one that all the flowers fight to bloom in."

Hearing this, Gu Chen burst into laughter. Seeming to understand his sister’s words, he ignored her protests and, with his small frame, grabbed a bag of grain and started running ahead.

"Sister, you're right! A soaring eagle must fly high, a fledgling must leave the nest, and a man must strive for self-improvement."

"Silly boy..."

Gu Qian looked at Gu Chen’s fair face and slender eyes; even at such a young age, he possessed a delicate beauty that rivaled a girl's. Her thoughts drifted far away, and as she gazed at the azure sky, she muttered to herself as if to bolster her own spirit: "Father, Mother, please rest assured. No matter how hard life gets, I will definitely raise Gu Chen. May your spirits in heaven bless Xiao Chen so that he grows up healthy and happy."

"Sister, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and keep up! If we’re late, it’ll be dark. Watch out for ghosts!"

Upon hearing the word "ghosts," Gu Qian forgot her melancholy. She hoisted the carrying pole and hurried forward, trampling the two little "ghosts" of fear that had just sprouted in her heart without even realizing it.

...

Life is short. Gu Chen sat quietly on the rooftop, beneath a sky shimmering with stars. He silently recalled every little detail of his past with his sister. Some memories were painful, yet he didn't want to forget them, for this pain was proof that he was still alive.

The little inner demon sat quietly beside him, constantly absorbing the lingering aura of hostility that radiated from him from time to time. Her power was steadily growing. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she looked at the sky in surprise.

"Look! A shooting star!"

Gu Chen smiled faintly and patted her little head.

"Is it beautiful?" he asked softly.

"Yes," the little inner demon nodded vigorously.

"Shooting stars like jade bullets, precious swords falling in autumn frost."

"The beauty of a fleeting moment is, after all, only a moment; it cannot last."

"No, that's not a shooting star..." Gu Chen and the little inner demon said in unison.

"It seems to be heading southwest."

"Little inner demon, lend me your power again."

"No..."

"Hurry up. This is a grand opportunity. We’ll split whatever we find."

"Are you keeping your word?"

"I am. Enough, don't dawdle!"

"You better not lie to me, or I'll never talk to you again!"

*Hah... she’s acting haughty now!* Gu Chen chuckled inwardly.

"Invert heaven and earth, reverse yin and yang."

Gu Chen felt his feet grow light and the power within him surge several times over. His Chameleon martial soul transformed into a Cat-Owl martial soul, and he sped rapidly in the direction where the "shooting star" had fallen.

When he arrived, he found a rusty iron sword embedded deep into the steep rock wall. With the night vision of the Cat-Owl martial soul, which few could match, Gu Chen locked onto the sword's position at a glance. As his figure closed in, he sensed several powerful auras approaching.

A wicked smile curled on Gu Chen’s lips. He muttered to himself, "Are you even worthy of stealing an opportunity from me?"

"Divine Weapon: Heavenly Net Umbrella, Domain."

Just before the experts arrived, Gu Chen unleashed the first layer of the domain of his Divine Weapon, the Heavenly Net Umbrella, shrouding the rusted sword within it.

"Heavenly Net Devours the Sky." Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Chen pulled the rusted sword into the mysterious space within the umbrella.

A pleasant female voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Little one, you have good luck! That is actually an ancient Starry Sky Sword. It's a pity it’s such a rusty piece of junk; it will require a vast amount of heavenly treasures to repair. Otherwise, with your current abilities, if you held it, you could walk sideways across this entire continent."

"Master Zhaoran, is this a treasure?"

"Of course, and a magnificent one at that."

Lu Zhaoran, dressed in black lace with a shockingly deep neckline, rolled her eyes at Gu Chen, whose consciousness was immersed in the mysterious space.

"Beautiful Master Zhaoran, why are you wearing..."

"Do you like looking at me naked? Then I'll take it off!"

Gu Chen's heart pounded violently, and he hurriedly tried to stop her. "No, Master Zhaoran, now is not the time for me to temper my heart. There are many people outside watching me like hungry tigers!"

"Tch, spineless!"

"My soul power hasn't recovered much; I can only strike once for you. You decide which one to kill."

"No need. These motley fools don't require your intervention!"

Lu Zhaoran looked at Gu Chen in confusion. Gu Chen smiled mysteriously and withdrew his consciousness from the mysterious space.

"Kid, hand over the treasure and I'll spare your life!" A burly man at the Soul Saint level stood in mid-air, shouting at Gu Chen. Around him, seven or eight other Soul Saints and dozens of Soul Kings eyed Gu Chen covetously.

Gu Chen knew these were just the ones on the surface; the real heavyweights were still hiding in the shadows. Hearing the burly man’s arrogant words, Gu Chen didn't get angry. He stretched lazily and said, "Are you all coming at me one by one, or all at once?"

The burly man and the surrounding crowd of Soul Kings and Soul Saints were all stunned. Where did this kid get his confidence?

"Bluffing! Watch me capture you first."

"Seventh Soul Skill: Golden Wolf Avatar!"

The soul power within the burly man erupted, and a massive golden wolf, over twenty feet long, appeared before Gu Chen. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit; the burly man immediately used his seventh soul skill, the Martial Soul Avatar, and lunged at Gu Chen.

Gu Chen remained calm, his hands behind his back, showing no intention of resisting. The burly man instinctively sensed a crisis and froze in mid-air. The next moment, his pupils dilated in terror as his Martial Soul Avatar was cleaved in two from head to tail by a streak of bloody sword light.

The entire crowd was shocked!

From the void at the end of the sword light, a man in black robes, carrying six swords on his back, walked out slowly.

"He... he didn't even activate his martial soul... who exactly is he?" a tall, thin Soul Saint exclaimed.

"Indeed, who is he? I've never heard of such a figure in the soul master world!"

...

"A bunch of things that don't know when they're going to die, yet you still have the mood to gossip..."

"Ghost Servant, kill them all!"

"Yes."