Li Tao looked at the sword with satisfaction.
A vision unfolded before his eyes.
Mountains of corpses.
A lone swordsman stood in the middle—white robes unstained, yet the blade in his hand dripped endlessly with blood.
As if the sword… was the one bleeding.
He looked at the incoming enemies and charged towards them.
...
At some point, Murong Qing and Aunt Ling stood behind him to see what sort of weapon could excite him to this level.
The first thing they noticed was a sword 3 feet in length lying inside a tattered bag. The blade was bronze, tinged faintly with a dark red sheen. The Sword Handle was slightly worn out due to wear and tear.
Murong Qing asked, "What is so good about this sword?"
Li Tao returned to reality and told her, "This sword is called 'Nameless' and it is a treasured weapon. It was used by a famous warrior in the past. Fighting thousands of enemies alone with this thing in hand is no longer a brag."
"It had surfaced recently… from a grave that should have remained undisturbed."
Murong Qing nodded in understanding. Aunt Ling wanted to ask how he knew about the sword but seeing Murong Qing not interested she kept quiet.
What he said next was like a bomb blasting in their heads, "This sword is an inheritance item. Anyone who can refine this sword with their blood can learn a hidden sword technique inside."
Murong Qing and Aunt Ling were dumbfounded when they heard this.
They who stood at the peak of this world knew how priceless this sword was. It contained a sword technique inside it.
In this world, techniques were crude.
People relied on brute force and Qi—
true skill-based arts were almost nonexistent.
Practitioners use fists and swords along with their Qi to fight.
There are no techniques that could enhance ways of attacking. But, reality gave them a check. There was an exception right in front of them.
But what happened next caused them to drop their jaws.
Li Tao took the bag with the sword still in it and handed it to Murong Qing and said, "This is my gift to you, my love." he pecked her lips while she was still stunned.
Murong Qing looked at him, stunned.
A weapon like this—
and he gave it away without hesitation.
As if its value… meant nothing to him.
Murong Qing subconsciously took the bag in a daze. She wanted to say something but Li Tao's eyes said everything.
"What's yours is mine and ..."
She sighed and took the sword out of the bag. Her aura increased slightly, reaching the peak of the middle-stage of Qi Refining stage.
______________
[Ding! Favorability of Partner +1, Current Favorability 77, Rewarding 1000 points.]
______________
Aunt Ling thanked him.
Upon seeing this change, Li Tao thought of something and asked, "Aunt Ling, Do you still have that Ginseng with you?"
Aunt Ling replied excitedly, "Of course, it is still in my office. I will give it to you."
Li Tao clarified, "No, I don't want it for myself."
"I want to use it to help Murong Qing refine this sword."
Aunt Ling personally went back to the flower shop and returned with a wooden box. She placed the box on the table and handed the elixir to him.
The Compendium of Medicine he received earlier had a recipe to exert the medical power of this Ginseng to the utmost, so he decided to combine it with the inheritance to create a compounding effect.
...
He called A'Qian to bring some slightly aged medicinal plants which was handled within an hour with the help of the Murong Family people.
He then used a pestle to create a decoction using this medicine and handed it over to Murong Qing along with a bag full of spirit stones.
"Qing'er, Before you start refining this sword. Place these spirit stones around you and drink this concoction."
Murong Qing trusted him. She took the things and asked Aunt Ling to help her.
Li Tao wanted to be there but Murong Qing saw mischievousness in his eyes and issued an eviction order.
Li Tao scratched his head and went to the other hall.
....
Murong Qing and Aunt Ling followed his instructions and placed everything in order.
She sat between the neatly arranged spirit stones with the glass containing decoction and sword on her lap.
Aunt Ling watched from the side.
Murong Qing drank the concoction and started refining the sword.
She sacrificed a drop of her blood and the sword was floating in front of her, slightly trembling as if resisting.
The sword trembled violently.
Not in fear—
but in rejection.
It was testing her.
Seeing this she started running The Immortal Cultivation chapter of The Destiny Slashing Art and urged the medical power of decoction and spirit energy radiating around her. Under the double effects of the three, she broke through the Qi Condensing stage directly.
The sword floating in front of her stopped trembling and started shining. Her cultivation was still climbing at a decent pace.
Qi refining level 6... Qi refining level 7... Qi refining peak... Qi Condensation realm broken through!
The First Level of Qi Condensing... Second Level... Third Level...
For a brief moment—
the air around her sharpened.
Even breathing near her felt dangerous.
It stopped a little short of the Seventh level but there was nothing to complain about because her gains were not limited to cultivation level. She had another sword art in her mind and she was already a master in it. The Sword art was called the 'Art of Slashing'. It contained three moves that increased the damage of the sword wielder.[1]
(This world does not have methods of exerting strength so this is nothing short of a cheat.)
At the peak, it could provide an increase of 210% of base strength. With her mastery of this art, she could exert 150% of her base damage. An increase of 50%!!
When she reaches small accomplishments, great accomplishments, and perfection, the damage caused would increase dimensionally.
...
Li Tao was sitting there and asking A'Qian and A'Fu to handle some things for him. He wanted to use this opportunity to win some people who helped the Protagonist at later stages.
"Purchase some small companies other than ones where the Shen and the Lin family are involved."
While he was talking he received feedback from Murong Qing. He was happy for her and asked them to go out for a moment.
________________________________
[Ding 8 times feedback received because the opportunity used belonged to Ye Feng]
[Cultivation: Peak of Qi Refining -> Peak of Qi Condensation realm]
[Martial Arts: True Art of Slashing, max boost: 500%, current boost: 150%]
[Sword of Revenge: Top Class Treasured sword]
________________________________
The system interface flickered again.
Just for a moment.
As if something had taken notice of this abnormal gain.
________________________________
Li Tao closed his eyes and saw a blue dome forming in his dantian. His dense spiritual qi from the Qi condensation realm was now liquified into a few droplets.
He did not take out the sword but got up and walked towards the other hall to check on Murong Qing. He was Aunt Ling standing outside along with some other people from the restaurant.
"Is Qing'er okay?" he asked.
Aunt Ling smiled at him and said, "Qing'er is fine. She wanted to change clothes, so we were waiting for her."
They both waited for a few minutes. The door opened and Murong Qing walked out.
Her temperament was even more refined but it had a sense of sharpness to it. Like a sword hidden in a sheath. She ran towards Li Tao excitedly and hugged him.
"Thank You!"
Li Tao smacked her butt and said, "No thank you in love"
Murong Qing and Aunt Ling's faces blushed after seeing/feeling his bold actions.
Murong Qing bit him on the shoulder and pushed him. Her face was red as an apple at this point.
Li Tao laughed 'hehe'.
His actions caused more damage to Uncle Murong than himself.
The whole day passed by.
...
Li Tao returned home while thinking of the next plot.
If he remembers right, Lin Zhengtian suffered from a relapse and was admitted to the hospital. Even the most advanced equipment couldn't help.
Modern medicine could not touch this condition.
It was never meant to, because this was a cleverly crafted trap set by Divine Doctor Xiao.
At last, The Lin family called the Shen family masters. Ye Feng was also present there but he did not take action because he knew how long this Old man could last.
No one could save him except himself and his master, Shen Lao was on a visit to another city so he was on the way.
Shen Yao and Shen Zhan came forward to help but they could only stabilize the situation but not cure it. It was not without reason, although with their knowledge and experience, they could help relieve the condition but Divine Doctor Xiao has long turned the original disease into a time bomb that only he and his disciple could diffuse.
Seeing their helpless look, The Lin Family was scared for real. If they lose the old man, then their Lin Family will suffer from internal conflict, and without the umbrella of the Li Family, they will definitely collapse.
The Lin family did not ask for Ye Feng to help because of the previous incident either.
Li Tao was getting all these updates from his eyeliners in the hospital.
Li Tao understood Ye Feng's thinking well.
He would wait.
And strike when the situation became desperate, when Shen Lao was also back in the city.
...
Next day,
VIP Ward, City Hospital
A group of doctors were standing in front of the bed, while Lin Zhengtian was sleeping soundly. Shen Yao and Shen Zhan along with other doctors managed to stabilize his situation but he has been unconscious since then.
The Lin family wanted to know the answers but they could only wait for Shen Lao to arrive.
[1] No I did not exaggerate the medical strength. Ye Feng was middle-stage grandmaster when he took this and reached the peak of grandmaster which is the fourth realm of practice while FMC is at the third realm of practice after taking medicine.