Rising Feather

Stab!

Spurt!

Crimson blood splattered all over Ying's face as his sword dug deep into Zhao Ming's insides, piercing his innards and cracking a few unsuspecting bones.

"Hic –!" Zhao Ming bled out.

He tried to scream, but the rushing blood drowned his horrified voice.

He tried to struggle, convulsing in a final attempt to save his miserable life, but it was all for naught.

Aside from the fact that he would never be able to wriggle out from the sword which had pierced his back, Zhao Ming knew within himself that the injuries he had already suffered were far too grievous.

He knew that even if he somehow escaped the situation, he would never survive.

Death was all but assured for him at this point.

Zhao Ming, the first son of Zhao Mo Chuan, heir of the Leafy Spring clan and a Cultivator at the 3rd Realm of the Body Tempering Stage, was defeated so easily, and by a no-name rogue for that matter?

It drove him to the brink of insanity!

Using all his remaining life fore, he fought through the pain and turned his head to deal one final glare to the one who bested him.

As his gaze fell upon the handsome black-haired youth, a hateful thought escaped his conscious.

'Screw you, you accursed rogue! Do not expect to easily wash your hands from all this; my father and my clan will avenge me no matter the cost! Count on it!'

Catching Zhao Ming's bloodshot eyes and pained expression contorted into a most spiteful glare, Ying's lips curved upwards into a smile.

"Hic!!" Just like that, Zhao Ming died, the memory of Ying's dubious smile being the last thing he saw forever etched in his soul.

"Huuuu!!"

Taking a deep breath, Ying pulled his humongous sword out of his dead opponent and heaved it onto his shoulders before turning his attention towards Jiang Chu and Xian Shan.

The duo was still gazing at the scene before them, eyes widened in utter bewilderment.

They simultaneously had a thought; 'who exactly is this person?! How did he manage to defeat three cultivators so easily?! Just what is his cultivation, even?!'

Ying, who could more or less determine their thoughts with a single glance, smiled as he saw their dumb-stricken expressions.

"…..!"

For an entire minute, an awkward silence prevailed.

'T-these bastards…How long are they gonna stay surprised, huh? And what the hell is up with the system? I finished the Quest, didn't I?' Ying thought spitefully.

However, his face did not give away any hints as his….err; awkward, smile remained plastered on his face.

Ding!

'About time.'

[You have successfully cleared the quest ]

"…"

'…That's it? Sigh. Why am I not even surprised…' Ying let out an exasperated sigh as he saw that the system had no intentions of leasing another notification.

It was to be expected this was designed to be the most realistic game of all time, after all… Whatever that even meant...

Ying threw a glance at the three corpses that lay sprawled in different directions.

Truth be told, he honestly didn't feel a shred of remorse for murdering Zhao Ming and his cohort. Aside from the fact that it wasn't the first time he had killed an NPC in a VR game, it also wasn't the first time…

…he had taken a human life.

With these two factors serving as a foundation, Ying was not fazed by his dastardly actions in the slightest.

'….I don't have to err, harvest these guys now, do I?' Ying thought.

A look of hopeless dread crept onto his expression as memories of how he had looted Monster Cores just a few minutes earlier surfaced and overlapped with three lifeless human faces.

Ying shuddered.

'Nope. No way. Not a chance. Not even if elephants started flying somehow.' Ying fervently shook his head as he discarded the thought.

Apparently, he still had plans to retain his humanity...

While still trying to suppress the thought which continuously resurfaced within his mind, Ying's attention was suddenly drawn towards somewhere else.

"Ugh…" It was a groan.

And it came from none other than the wounded Jiang Chu. From the looks of it, the effects of the NPC's adrenaline had finally started to wear down. The terrible pain finally caught up to him.

After a glance, Ying waved his hand. "Take him to a hospital… Or clinic? Or whatever it is you call a medical centre in this world." Said Ying to Xian Shan, he had now lost interest after asserting what the two NPCs could offer him—

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Briskly walking over to where Zhao Ming's limp body lay, Ying bent over the bleeding carcass and stretched out his hand towards the object that lay beside him.

'Whelp, since I can't possibly store a human corpse in my inventory… Or can I? Ah shut up, damned logic! Sigh… Maybe I can loot this instead…' Ying thought controversially as he picked up Zhao Ming's weapon.

He was not yet well versed in the various types of swords which existed, as in the real world, such primitive weapons had become painfully obsolete, but he could at least tell that it was a long sword with a double-edged blade.

'Hmm… Looks expensive.' Ying surmised as he used both his fingers to caress the lustrous silver-like metal.

As he did, an information panel appeared before his eyes.

[

Type: Weapon

Grade: Earth

Description: A sword at the very peak of Earth-grade quality.

An impressive blade masterfully crafted by the moderately popular weapons crafter 'Mo Mei-yin'. It is an ambidextrous blade with a very handy effect.

Requirement(s): None

Effect(s): [Weightless]

]

[

[Weightless]

The blade can become light as a feather, for as long as the wielder wishes it to be at no cost. Of course, the weapon still retains its original force and is only light to whoever is wielding it.

]

As Ying read the text in front of him, a freakish grin appeared on his face, distorting his stunning features into something that could give children nightmares, but who could blame him?

After all, he had just received the solution to one of his—quite literally—biggest problems yet.

Aside from the sleek design and expensive craftsmanship, the blade even had an additional effect!

Any additional effect would have been really swell, at least to Ying, but this one… this particular effect would no doubt prove to be a game changer in fights!

'Kukukukukuhahahaha! Universe…err, algorithm, if this is your way of apologizing for wronging me earlier, well then apology accepted!!' Ying's eyes shone as he gazed at his latest boon.

Although he was not yet aware of the various weapon grades in the game, he could still easily tell that this was an upgrade from his previous unwieldy trash.

'….well, I guess trash is a bit… Ugh, what am I actually feeling sorry for a virtual inanimate object? Just what in the blue blazes is this game doing to me?'

Looking across the large clearing, Ying realized that there were still more things to collect, so after shamelessly patting down Zhao Ming's robes, he moved on to the other two.

He rid them of all the money (coins) they had in their robes and stowed away their weapons in his inventory.

'What's the point of leaving such treasures with people who can no longer use them eh? That's called foolishness. And foolishness costs money.' Ying thought while doing the mental equivalent of a finger snap.

…One was left to wonder; what did he really do with the female corpse? Hmm, don't think we can trust such an opportunistic pers—

'Shaddup! I did absolutely nothing to her...well, err, except loot all of her money and belongings, but that's besides the point!'

…

Anyway, Ying gathered the other weapons (Which were all just 'mortal' grades) and decided that he would keep the short sword as a variety of weaponry in his arsenal could never prove detrimental, but he was also inclined to sell the other great sword.

After all, he had no use for two foolishly large masses of metal in his inventory.

He also managed to rack in a substantial amount of wealth: 1200 bronze, 400 silvers and 89 gold coins, which he assumed to be talés altogether!

And since 10 bronze equated to a single silver, that would approximately be 620 silver talés or 5200 bronze talés plus 89 gold amongst other small jewellery and the like

'Kukukuku…and that's not all. I can still sell off the useless sword as well as the Monster corpses. I'm gonna be rich!' Ying rubbed his hands in excitement. He could practically taste the money he would make from all this.

In the future, he might have to consider becoming a mercenary, as robbing rich young masters was proving to be quite the profitable business.