âYoung warrior, please, those are our weapons!â
âYoung warrior, you canât do this to us! What would become of us without our weapons?â
âThatâs right, I donât even use a sword, itâs just an iron rod! The Sword Spirit wouldnât have any need for an iron rod!â
âThatâs true. Mine was just an iron baton, why did you have to take it too?â
At that moment, the place was abuzz with clashing noises. Some were upset and crying, some were in fiery fits of rage, whilst a small number of people smiled cynically.
The three cultivators who had obtained the ancients swords suddenly rushed towards Xu Que and surrounded him with sharp murderous intent obvious on their faces.
âGive me back my sword, you bastard!â
âAnd mine!â
âReturn my two swords!â
âŚâŚ.
Xu Que stood there nonchalantly and folded his hands in front of his chest.
âNow, now, calm down everyone,â he said. âI must have given the Sword Spirit such a fright that it gave me all of your weapons. Now get in line and come get your weapons!â
âIâm not getting into any line, you knucklehead! Just fling all the weapons youâve stolen over here and theyâll be returned to their owners, since the weapons are all engraved with the ownerâs personal stamp!â
And then the crowd erupted again into disgruntled cries.
Xu Que then swept his glance coldly at everyone in the crowd.
âYou fools donât know anything,â he said. âDonât you know that my storage ring isnât like any other storage rings? Itâs prone to swallowing weapons, and if you leave something inside it for too short a period of time, something terrible will happen to your weapons. Apart from that, it might even refine your weapons!â
âStop spewing nonsense, you numbskull!â shouted the cultivator angrily. âNo storage rings in the world can refine weapons! Iâm warning you, return my weapons now, or else!â
Xu Que raised his eyebrows and laughed coldly.
âSo you donât believe me, then, huh?â he said. âFine, Iâll give it back to you, but I wonât be responsible for what happened to your weapon! What did you say your weapon was?â
âAn iron rod! Also, give back my brotherâs weapon! Itâs an iron baton!â
âFine. An iron rod and an iron stick. Ah, whatever, whatâs the difference anyway. There you go! Your weapons!â
After searching inside his storage ring for a while, Xu Que suddenly pulled out two identical iron needles and handed it to the cultivator.
Yes, two very thin needles!
Yet they gleamed with a particularly strange light, as if theyâd just been polished. Because of that, these needles looked oddly beautiful!
But wait, something was wrong!
This wasnât right!
Hadnât the cultivator said that his weapons were an iron rod and an iron baton?
Then why had he been given two needles instead?
Something had obviously gone terribly wrong!
The whole crowd had been stunned into silence by the scene that had unfolded right before their eyes.
Needles?
Their weapons had been an iron rod and an iron baton before they were taken inside the storage ring. How had they turned into needles when they came out?
What kind of trick was that bastard playing here?
Whilst questions ran through everyone elseâs minds at that moment, the cultivator in question himself could find no words to say. This was because heâd noticed that on one of the needles, there was indeed his own personal stamp!
âMy⌠my weaponâŚâ muttered the cultivator. âHow did it get this way?â
âHavenât you heard of the phrase âgrinding iron rods into needlesâ?â answered Xu Que. âI told you that my storage ring has a bad habit and you didnât believe me. And as you can see, it has turned your iron rods into needles!â
Xu Queâs expression was one of sympathy, as if there was nothing he could do about it. But in truth, he had set the recovery function in the system at 1%, which meant that 99% of anything that was stored inside the storage ring would remain there. Naturally, with only 1% of an iron rod, all youâd get was a tiny needle!
Everyone else in the room was similarly stunned when they realized that the cultivator had confirmed that there was his stamp on the needle, which meant that it really was his iron rod.
But⌠how had it turned out this way?
How could the storage ring have transformed all those weapons?
Because it had a bad habit?
How could it have such a bizarre defect?
Also, what was that nonsense about grinding iron rods into needles? This guy had to have lost his marbles!
âŚâŚ
The same cultivator then asked another question after getting struck completely dumb for a few moments.
âThen⌠then what about my brotherâs iron baton? What happened there?â
âSimple,â answered Xu Que. âbecause of the phrase âgrinding iron batons into needlesâ!â
ââŚâŚâ
At this point the whole crowd was struck dumb at Xu Queâs puzzling response while Xu Que himself acted as if his answer made the perfect logical sense.
The crowd had seen people lie through their teeth before, but theyâd never seen anyone do it so shamelessly before!
First an iron rod had been ground into a needle, then an iron baton had been ground into a needle as well. How had two different things turned into the same thing in the end?
What if someone had been looking for their sword? Would he invoke another phrase that went âgrinding swords into needlesâ?
âŚâŚ
âNow, who else is going to ask for their weapons?â Xu Que asked the crowd. âYou know, Iâm actually an honest man despite my charms! So if anyone wants to get their weapons then Iâll return them immediately. Do I look like a greedy thief whoâd keep other peopleâs property? Come on⌠anyone? Eh? What are you all acting so shy for? Come on now, this isnât the time to clam up!â
Everyone there looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. No one said a word!
They had been so shocked by Xu Queâs âgrinding iron rods into needlesâ that no one dared to ask for their own weapons!
After all, who would want their dearly cherished weapons and instruments, which had been created and obtained through hard work, to turn into a needle?
âŚâŚ
Seeing that everyone was now wary and speechless, Xu Queâs heart was filled with a certain kind of pride and joyâonce again, the Act Tough King had wowed everyone with his amazing tough acting!
With a series of notifications about his successful tough acting ringing in his ears, Xu Que cleared his throat loudly and addressed the crowd in a haughty tone.
âLet me be honest with you,â he said, âif you take your weapons now, youâll find that theyâve all turned into needles. You must wait for 49 days before retrieving them. By then, youâll find that not only are your weapons the same size and without as much as a scratch, they will also have improved in quality at least twofold! Hmm? Whatâs that? How will you get your weapons after 49 days, you ask?â
The corners of Xu Queâs lips curled up slightly. He then looked directly into Zhang Li Yunâs eyes and patted his own chest.
âJust ask for my name at Jade Sword Sect and youâll get your weapons. As for the collection methodâ just take one and run!â
âIs this true?â someone asked. âWill my weaponâs quality be improved after 49 days?â
âGood heavens! Thatâs amazing! Many thanks, young warrior!â
âMy humblest apologies, young warrior! I regret my disrespectful treatment to you earlier!â
âWeâll collect our weapons at Jade Sword Sect when the time comes. Thank you, young warrior!â
âJade Sword Sect is a renowned school after all! Why would they steal our weapons? This young warrior had been brought here by Zhang Li Yun himself, Iâm sure we can trust himâŚâ
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By that point, many cultivators erupted into jubilant exclamations. It seemed that no one was doubtful of Xu Que anymore. After all, the truth had been proven in front of their eyes, the two iron rods had actually turned into needles. That must mean that the young manâs storage ring possessed a special weapon-refining function!
And since the Jade Sword Sect themselves could guarantee the safekeeping of their weapons, surely there would be no problem, right? Jade Sword Sect was such a reputable school, they wouldnât risk their good name by scamming everyone, would they?
All of a sudden, the entire crowd was overjoyed and relieved that their misfortune had turned out to be great luck!
Well, except for the group from Jade Sword Sect, of course. Especially Zhang Li Yun, whose eyes had widened to the size of saucers in confusion about how things had taken such a bizarre turn. He looked as if he would split out blood any second now.
You awful bastard, since when did you become so intimate with Jade Sword Sect?