21. Choice

Lin Jiuci glanced at the three glowing orbs, then looked toward Lin Jiugo, who nodded. Polite as ever, Lin Jiuci chose one.

“Thank you, Grandfather,” Lin Jiuci said earnestly, remembering her sister’s lesson that only grandfathers grow beards.

The old seer, who grew a beard to seem mysterious! Children’s honesty was irresistibly charming.

Lin Jiugo selected one orb, and Zhou Yan took the last.

As the light faded, Lin Jiugo inspected his item—a piece of iron?

“Uncle Master, you’re really generous—Nine Heavens Mystic Iron as a gift for our first meeting?” The sect leader’s eyes gleamed with envy; it was a precious treasure.

“You’re not a sword cultivator,” the seer waved his hand dismissively.

Zhou Yan’s item was a dull gray headband.

“Wow, you actually gave away such a treasure,” Li Yun immediately recognized it as a defensive artifact.

“Can’t use it anymore.”

Lin Jiuci’s orb revealed a beautiful bracelet adorned with five elemental gemstones, representing the Five Elements. Besides these, there was a white stone of unknown material.

Lin Jiuci slipped the bracelet onto her wrist—it was exquisite.

“Thank you, Grandfather,” she said even more sincerely.

“Good girl, Jiuci. Uncle will adjust the bracelet to fit, it will hurt a bit,” the Enlightened Yuan Sovereign said as he took a needle and pricked Lin Jiuci’s right index finger. A drop of blood fell onto the bracelet. Just as Lin Jiuci was about to cry, she saw the bracelet shrink perfectly to fit her wrist.

She shook her wrist happily—she absolutely adored it.

“This little one has quite the sweet tongue,” the seer chuckled, smiling at Lin Jiuci’s joy.

“Thank you, Great Uncle,” Lin Jiugo expressed her gratitude, sensing the goodwill behind the gift.

“No need to thank me, you’ll all find good use for these,” the seer replied. “Jiugo, if you have the capability, take your sister on a trip to the Ghost Forest. There you’ll find the answers you seek.”

The three senior brothers, Li Yun and his two companions, exchanged glances. Though they found their uncle a bit troublesome, he was reliable—so Lin Jiugo and Lin Jiuci truly belonged to that family.

“Remember that, Jiugo,” Lin Jiugo didn’t know where the Ghost Forest was, but she committed the name to memory.

“And Ah Yan, if you get the chance, visit the Wild Hollow. I’ll be waiting for your news,” the seer said before returning to the Mystic Pavilion.

Back in the pavilion, the seer reverted to the form of a five-year-old child, drained from the journey.

“Sigh, having key players emerge makes things much easier. The initiative is in their hands. Lin Jiugo, truly impressive,” the child’s mature words belied his youthful appearance.

Unaware of the deeper intent, especially Li Yun and his brothers, the uncle’s journey was simply to deliver gifts to the younger generation.

“Jiugo, want to give the Nine Heavens Mystic Iron to Senior Uncle? He can forge your weapon,” the Enlightened Yuan Sovereign eyed the large piece of iron in Lin Jiugo’s palm, secretly coveting it.

“No need, Senior Uncle. The Golden Sword can absorb it,” Lin Jiugo shook her head. Unknown to others, the unnamed sword and the Golden Sword inside her were almost at war; she had discovered they could devour various ores—absurd as it sounded, she believed it.

Envious murmurs followed—so famous swords had such abilities.

“Do other sword masters know this?” Li Yun pondered previous sword masters but had never heard of such a function.

“Not sure, but the Golden Sword can.”

Lin Jiugo summoned the Golden Sword, which bathed the Nine Heavens Mystic Iron in its light. When the glow faded, the sword returned to Lin Jiugo’s dantian, and everyone noticed the iron had visibly diminished in size.

“What does the Golden Sword do with the ore?” the sect leader asked, puzzled.

“They need nourishment to improve themselves,” was the simple answer, drawing a series of blank stares from the elders.

“Master, is there still a sword without a master?” Zhou Yan, watching eagerly, longed to possess the same famed sword.

“The last one was claimed by your little junior sister,” the sect leader said, biting back his frustration. It was his own disciple, his nephew—he had to hold back.

“Oh,” Zhou Yan’s disappointment was evident as he tightened his grip on the headband, a quiet pang of sadness.

Returning to her room, Lin Jiugo began refining the Nine Heavens Mystic Iron. Anyone watching would see two swords floating above her—one absorbing the iron rapidly was the unnamed sword, which slowly shed its outer shell, revealing its true colors.

A black and red sword gradually emerged, its sharp edge unobscured but the blade mottled and cracked, each fissure telling a story.

Compared to the Golden Sword, this unnamed blade bore a deeper sense of antiquity.

Once the Nine Heavens Mystic Iron was completely absorbed, only one crack remained, now mended. The hilt bore intricate patterns but lacked something, not yet activated; every crack held a tale.

Just as Lin Jiugo had imagined, the repaired crack transformed into a story—a tale of the highest-level Charm King’s strangulation, which left behind a new species called the Charm. Watching the battle footage, Lin Jiugo was astonished. The combat level was clearly higher than her master’s, but she couldn’t see the wielder’s face.

“Heh, wielder, don’t you know all who bear the sword meet grim fates? I await your reckoning,” the Charm King’s last words echoed.

“The wielder,” Lin Jiugo mused, feeling one mystery unresolved and another unfolding.

The day had been overwhelming. Glancing at the bracelet on Lin Jiuci’s wrist, shimmering with six colors, Lin Jiugo wondered if they were destined to become pawns in a larger game. No—if they were to enter the game, she would be the one holding the chess pieces.

A flash of resolve crossed her eyes as she grasped the unnamed sword. Its black and red blade shimmered, as if responding to her determination.

After a month of continuous cultivation, Lin Jiugo’s realm advanced to the second level of the Enlightened Mortal stage. Her muscles and bones were honed steadily, aided by the intense training within the “Thunder Surge” technique. Now, even ordinary spiritual weapons could not pierce her skin.

Under Lin Jiugo’s blunt yet motivating provocation, Zhou Yan had grown much stronger physically, envious of how the Golden Sword had absorbed all the Nine Heavens Mystic Iron. Unfortunately, he lacked any talent for swordsmanship.

“Senior Uncle, Senior Brother really isn’t cut out for swordsmanship. He’s better suited for hidden weapons,” Lin Jiugo whispered to the Enlightened Yuan Sovereign while her brother practiced spellcasting. Watching her brother wield a sword was like witnessing a person utterly blind to reality yet stubbornly persistent—he refused to listen to reason.

“Are you talking about those mortal-world hidden weapons? What style do you think suits your brother?” The Enlightened Yuan Sovereign understood well; his nephew’s patience had finally run out after two months.

“Ahem, Senior Uncle, do you know those needle-like weapons worn on the wrist? Something like this?” Lin Jiugo produced a blueprint and seriously discussed it with him.

Lin Jiugo provided the design; the Enlightened Yuan Sovereign suggested materials, which he then sent to the sect leader.

“Heh, now I remember I truly have a master,” the sect leader muttered, clutching the sound-transmitting paper crane. In less than a year, his nephew had absorbed nearly all the essence of his senior brother.