Great Tidal Sword Art

"…"

Realizing that if the situation was left as is, he would not get be getting anywhere any time soon, Ying sighed and decided to take the initiative.

"Well… Brother, I won the bet, didn't I? I believe it's time I received my reward." He said slowly.

To this, Jiang Chu's eyes winced slightly. He was shocked at how blunt this brother of his was, and how cold his voice was...

Ying acted as though all of this was a granted. As though as long as he won, he was guaranteed to receive what he was promised.

Of course, Jiang Chu himself had no plans of going back on his word. But still...

…Where was his sporting spirit!

He could never have known that to Ying, all of this was nothing but a mere game. And he had already been sure of receiving the reward as long as he 'proved his strength'.

"Very well."

Jiang Chu said and then pulled out a small—about palm-sized—jade-coloured stone from his robes. Tapping it twice, a brown pouch fizzled into reality out of thin air.

Ignoring the loud protests from Xian Shan, Jiang Chu slowly unwrapped the brown pouch with careful tenderness.

Ying grew curious. And slightly annoyed.

'Eh? That stone... some sort of magical….. Storage device?' Ying had suspicions, 'And why the hell is he taking so long to unwrap that thing. Is it diamond, or that precious Xephlon element from earth?'

Soon enough, Jiang Chu was done with his ceremony and a weary black book came into view. The thing looked so old that Ying felt its ancient pages would simply turn to dust if even a subtle breeze blew by.

"What's that?" Ying asked.

"See for yourself." Jiang Chu offered up the book to him with a reluctant expression; he really didn't seem to want to let go of this book. But what choice did he have? His honour as a warrior depended on him going through with the deal.

Ying didn't care about this, though; as he snatched the aged book and brought it to his face, a holographic panel appeared, as well as a system message. What he saw next caused his eyes to widen slightly.

Ding!

[

Grade: Spirit

Description: A powerful sword Art of ancient origins, one of the four great Arts of the Flowing Sword Sect.

]

'Whoa! An actual sword Art and a Spirit grade one at that!'

Ying was a bit surprised. If memory served correctly, then the highest discovered Art should be Earth grade, except, of course, the one which that 'White' person had discovered and subsequently learnt…

…But he didn't really count, or rather; Ying did not want to include him.

"That is my greatest treasure… And because I have lost our bet, I'll let you have it now. Even though I am yet to fully digest its contents." Jiang Chu said whilst biting his lower lip in restrained reluctance.

Ying looked at Jiang Chu and felt a little guilty for all this. Despite him knowing that this person was just an NPC, a bunch of 1s and 0s, it still got to him. After all, this game was simply too realistic. Even the NPCs felt human!

But the pity he felt was not nearly enough to make him give up such a treasure. Ying's covetousness was one of his most predominant emotions after all.

"You fool! I told you not to do it, and then you went and lost. Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Xian Shan yelled as she lunged her small fists at Jiang Chu's body, berating him for his poor choices.

'Sorry brother, but it's just life!'

Ding!

[You have obtained a Spirit-grade Art Scripture!]

Ying did not bother looking up to see if his name appeared in the skies, as he already knew for a fact that there were no achievements of merely obtaining skills, but actually learning them.

His proof being that the two players from earlier had not been lauded for said feat.

Ying practically drooled as he looked at the aged black book, completely ignoring the faked and exaggerated pained noise which Jiang Chu made as Xian Shan tried her best at beating him up.

Disregarding the two young adults, Qing Lo was the first spectator to walk up to Ying, and with an awkward smile on his face, he spoke.

"I understand that the young master requires peace and serenity to study the sacred scriptures, but I don't believe an atmosphere like this would do…" Qing Lo swiftly glanced at the two behind him.

There, quite shockingly, a maid seemed to be lecturing the Young Lady on the principles of noble etiquette, like some sort of older sister.

What was even more bewildering was the fact that Xian Shan actually seemed to be listening to her, head bowed apologetically, seemingly in internal reflection… Ying, of course, did not care for such things.

Picking up on Qing Lo's intentions, Ying nodded wholeheartedly. He wanted nothing more than to just sit somewhere peaceful and cram this skill book into his head.

"Ok then. If the young master will please follow me." Qing Lo said and started walking back towards the main residential area, with Ying following briskly beside him. His escape was so sudden that the others didn't even notice his leave.

…

Creak!

With a loud creaking noise, Qing Lo opened the doors to reveal the Xian family's library. Apparently, the door wasn't locked.

Honestly, Ying was not impressed.

There were just a little over a dozen shelves in the wide space, but the rows were so scanty it was almost pitiful. And although the room was generally spotless, it still had a certain vibe to it, as though it was never used…

…As though it was deserted.

But Ying knew that not to be the case. After all, he had just watched Qing Lo open the door without unlocking it. If this place truly was never used, then common sense dictated that it would be locked up for most of the time.

And to support his claims, Ying soon sighted a bunch of books strewn scattered across a wide table beside the scanty shelves. Some were opened, some were closed, and some were even on the verge of falling off the table.

But it implied that someone had been here, and recently for that matter.

"Hmm? Oh, forgive me for the Young Lady's messiness, she was in the room earlier and forgot to put away the book she used." Qing Lo explained as he tried to clear out the table swiftly.

But not before Ying could snatch hold of a particular book which was half turned, taking in the peculiar image drawn on its open page.

[Red Cyst Leaves]

Apparently, it was a poisonous herb that could be incensed, ground, dissolved or diluted and still retain its poisonous attribute. Underneath its image and description were a number of other things which the plant could do.

Ying's face scrunched up. He wondered why the Young Lady would be reading something like this.

He discerned that the book's page was not turned by the wind as all the room's windows were shut, and so was the only door. Curious, he inquired.

"Hmm? What's this...?" Ying looked at Qing Lo, eyes filled with genuine curiosity and slight fascination at the distinct anomaly.

He turned towards Qing Lo, expecting an answer, but the latter just flinched awkwardly.

He did not respond. Or rather, he didn't want to respond.