The dragon fell onto the ground and gasped for breath. Its size also shrank into that of a small snake.
"Why did you become small?" he asked, looking at the little snake on the ground with doubt.
"That's because of your strength," the dragon said, gritting its teeth.
"Oh," he uttered leisurely. "Sigh, I was hoping to fly across the sky on a mighty dragon. But now it has become a little snake," he said, shaking his head in disappointment as he gazed at the diminutive dragon on the ground.
Nonetheless, he picked up the little dragon from the ground and examined it seriously. Thanks to the soul contract with him, its body had been fully healed. Now it lay there, feigning death.
A small grin formed on his lips as he prodded its bulging belly.
"Ah," surprised by his action, the dragon's eyes widened, and it looked at him warily.
"What's your name?" he inquired. Observing the dragon in its reduced form and considering the soul contract, his voice softened a bit.
"I don't have a name," it replied. How could a dragon have a name? It thought to itself.
"Elara... I will call you Elara," he said with a smile. "As the name suggests, you will be quite beautiful when you grow up."
Elara acted as if she disdained her new name, but deep in her heart, she liked it. Moreover, with the soul contract, the resentment against him had already vanished from her heart.
Dragons are arrogant and proud creatures. They despise the weak and revere the strong.
"Elara, why are you in this forest?" he inquired, recognizing that this was just a low-level forest within the kingdom. Given the absence of natural resources or treasures, the presence of a mythical creature like a dragon was surprising.
"I don't know," Elara's expression reflected doubt. "When I opened my eyes, I found myself in this forest. Then your sword attacked me," she said, looking at the crystal sword floating behind him with hatred.
"Ting," hearing her complain about her own master, the sword vibrated with sound. Oddly, Asher understood what it was conveying. "Master, I was trying to catch this little loach for you," it explained.
A smile spread across his face upon hearing that. Holding the sword, he ran his fingers across its smooth surface.
"What really are you?" he muttered softly, his gaze fixed on the crystalline sword's surface. Surveying the area around them, he noticed that their previous battle had laid waste to a thousand meters of terrain.
"It's not safe to linger here any longer," he thought, attempting to move away from the scene. However, his head suddenly spun, and he lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself looking up at a woman of his age. Two small horns adorned her head, and she wore a black robe that complemented her figure perfectly. Her eyes were entirely black, without any impurities.
"You..." his mouth felt parched. In response to his voice, she promptly offered him a glass of water.
"Master, that sword drained your spiritual energy almost to the point of damaging your heart veins," she explained, opening her mouth to complain about the sword. Glancing behind him, he noticed that the sword was no longer there.
"You are Elara," he stated, his surprise evident as he gazed at the beautiful young woman before him. She was even more stunning than any woman he had seen before.
"Yes, master," a big, innocent smile graced her face. "You won't be able to use that sword for a while, at least not until you awaken your martial spirit. Your heart veins can't contain its energy," she warned him in a hushed tone.
He understood as well. "Sigh, I thought I could become invisible in this world," he lamented, shaking his head, his lingering doubts about the sword persisting.
"Elara, do you believe this is my martial spirit?" he queried, patting her on the head.
Enjoying his touch, she narrowed her eyes slightly. "No, this sword is your soul weapon," she stated seriously. "Master, please remember, don't show this sword to anyone. In this lower plane, few will likely recognize soul weapons. They might mistake it for a treasure and try to steal it from you."
"Alright, I won't use it unless absolutely necessary," he affirmed. Holding a treasure is akin to becoming prey, vulnerable to predators. Without sufficient strength, one cannot safeguard their treasure or their own life.
As he observed the fading sun in the sky, he realized that night would soon fall. If he waited until nightfall to reach the city, he would be left sleeping on the streets.
"Elara, let's go," he declared, rising from his spot. Elara reverted to her snake form, coiling around his hair like a ribbon.
Humming a gentle tune, he strolled towards Skyrise City, blissfully ignorant of the chaotic atmosphere enveloping the city.
At this moment, numerous cultivators had gathered within the city. Most of them hailed from various sects in the vicinity and came from esteemed families.
"Could there be a treasure in the forest?" someone whispered to their companion in hushed tones. Their eyes gleamed with greed as they cast their gaze toward the forest.
"Yes, otherwise, why would those two have fought there? I heard they were both Spirit Sage cultivators!"
The hum of conversation echoed from every corner of the city. Near the city gate, a group of young individuals lounged casually at a tea stall.
They all donned matching blue attire adorned with a sword emblem, a testament to their affiliation with the Divine Sword Academy.
"Brother Austin, do you think there's a treasure?" a female member of the group inquired, her gaze fixed on the handsome man seated at the center. He appeared to be around twenty years old, exuding a sense of calmness.
Austin shifted his gaze toward the forest. As an elite disciple of the Divine Sword Academy with remarkable talent, he had sensed his own martial spirit quiver with fear when the sword appeared.
"If there truly is a treasure, no one would obtain it easily. Only our principal might stand a chance against those masters," he sighed softly.
"These fools fail to grasp the strength of those masters. Attempting to steal treasure from them is simply absurd," another male student scoffed.
"Regardless, let's not concern ourselves with that for now. Our main priority this time was to accompany Junior Sister into the Qi world," Austin said with a serious tone, looking at the quiet girl seated in a corner.
The girl was Ember, the daughter of the Vice Principal of the Divine Sword Academy. Her eyes were covered with a white blindfold. Afflicted by a rare disease, she was blind in the presence of light.
Due to her reserved nature, she rarely interacted with anyone except her father.
Currently, she stared blankly in the direction of the forest. When the sword appeared, a voice echoed in her mind, drawing her attention to the forest.
"Fire Sword Spirit, Chaos Sword Master awaits your awakening."
".."
When he arrived at Skyrise City, the sky had already started to darken. He looked up at the city wall in surprise; it appeared to be made of hard iron. With numerous defense mechanisms such as cannons and archery placements, this wall presented an imposing sight akin to a mighty fortress.
Suppressing the surprise in his mind, he walked toward the gate where many people were standing in a queue. He followed behind them and entered the city.
The customs within the city were different; one didn't need to pay money to enter. Instead, they would only check one's race, permitting only humans to enter the city. This measure was taken to prevent conflicts within the city's confines.
Strict rules against killing were in place. If someone desired to engage in combat, they could challenge their opponent in the arena.
"Interesting," Asher commented as he perused a rule book he had purchased from a store. He found himself captivated by the cultural intricacies of this world. Here, strength dictated the rules while the weak followed them.
He headed towards the Spirit Guild. Every cultivator was required to register with this guild. Those who wished to access portals were obligated to possess identity cards issued by the Spirit Guild.
When he arrived at the Spirit Guild, a gathering of people greeted his sight. Nearly all of them were young teenagers, much like himself. Skyrise City only housed a portal to the Qi world, thus attracting only cultivators who were seeking to awaken their martial spirits.
The emblem of the Spirit Guild was distinctive—a globe adorned with a sword and an arrow. This symbol represented the two kinds of martial spirits that cultivators could awaken.
Those who awakened the sword as their martial spirit were known as sword masters, while those who awakened the arrow were referred to as Magic archers.
Both martial spirits held equal strength. Swordmasters primarily excelled in close-range combat, embodying a more fiery and hot-blooded approach, while Magic archers displayed prowess in long-range attacks.
As he stepped through the front door of the guild, numerous eyes fixed upon him. Some eyes bore scrutiny, while others held a surprise.
Many were taken aback by his solitary arrival. However, certain elders who had accompanied their own children could discern his cultivation level, leaving them astonished.
A twelve-year-old at the Qi Refining Peak stage was an unheard-of feat for many. The typical minimum age for children to begin cultivation was fifteen, a measure put in place to prevent heart vein ruptures.
Yet, there were exceptions. They had heard of the Vice Principal's daughter at the Divine Sword Academy, who reached the Qi Refining Peak stage at the age of thirteen.
"Another talented young one," an elderly man standing near the stairs muttered as he observed Asher.
Suddenly, Asher sensed a pulsing sensation in his heart, accompanied by the excited resonance of the sword in his mind.
"Fire Sword Spirit," a voice resonated within his mind.