Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 271 - 10: Accessories Offer No Attribute Bonuses

January 12, 2018

With the emergence of Bright Silver Armor, the atmosphere in the alley finally began to cool down. The diners swiftly gathered their belongings, preparing to leave.

When the squad leader and the vice squad leader appeared earlier, everyone could laugh and watch the commotion, fueled by alcohol, shouting a few anti-government slogans. But the level of the brigade leader was completely different; he truly represented the face of Shen City's Outer City Patrol Team. Even based on basic respect, it was inconvenient for the diners to continue heckling.

The Outer City Patrol Team of Shen City is actually a prestigious military unit second only to the Shen Family's Personal Guard. Thousands of soldiers sweep tirelessly every day around Shen City, clearing mountain spirits and wild beasts, and chaos demon essence. For millions of civilians, they clear a safe haven; incidents like the demon essence invasion in Yulin Village are just ordinary daily occurrences for the Outer City Patrol Team. In worse situations, disasters of tens of thousands of demon essences sweeping through villages like a tidal wave have happened.

Almost every year, dozens of soldiers from the Outer City Patrol Team die on the battlefield. Though the number seems small, considering those wounded numbers are several times greater than the deceased, the cumulative numbers over the years are indeed significant. The sacrifices of the Outer City Patrol Team are truly immeasurable.

Living in Shen City, to be indifferent to soldiers and sacrifices like these would indeed be heartless.

Initially, several noble families dispersed from Heaven-Reaching City, going to various places to settle their estates and explore the frontier. Among them, the Li Family and Lu Family chose the most remote and impoverished Cyan Cloud Region, while the Shen Family chose the area with the strongest chaos power and weakest order—the most dangerous Huainan Wilderness.

Over two thousand years, QingCyan Cloud yun City has become a prosperous and affluent place, though not comparable to Heaven-Reaching City or Golden Jade City, at least peaceful and stable. Yet, Shen City remains known in Xiangzhou for its perilous nature, where the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind and Earth Spirit Vein stubbornly refuse humans' settlement, creating countless difficulties.

However, the Shen Family still rooted themselves here, earning peace for Shen City's people through daily cleaning, honing one of the world's strongest military forces with the treacherous environment. The strongest are the Shen Family's Personal Guard, who frequently venture into chaos to blaze trails, followed by the battle-hardened Outer City Patrol Team. And the brigade leader of the Outer City Patrol Team is naturally one of the few remarkable individuals in Shen City—Shen Ruoshi's own son, Shen Zicheng.

When the Shen Family came here, it was only natural that the diners couldn't laugh, awkwardly gathered their belongings and left, leaving Wang Jiu and his group unfazed to confront this mighty figure who could cause an earthquake in Shen City with just a footstep.

Shen Zicheng's steps forward were slow, but every step he took on the stone path seemed to inflate time and space, causing the surrounding light and gravity to distort.

Just seeing this scene, Li Wanqing's face turned solemn, taking half a step back.

Time and space inflation is a power possibly owned by Great Cultivators at least Rain Cover Realm or above; even Yuqing True Master, her teacher, only began to possess this divine technique three years ago. In other words, this patrol team's brigade leader in heavy armor might be stronger than Yuqing True Master.

That's definitely not an opponent a 17-year-old girl can handle.

"Wang Jiu, leave it to you."

Wang Jiu nodded, stepped forward against the oppressive gaze of the Silver Armor Cultivator, and said, "The seventh stroke of the Time Stop Talisman on the Shrinking Earth Boots is drawn too heavily, causing an uncontrollable noise in True Essence conversion, making time-space inflation not as manageable."

Shen Zicheng was startled and looked at the Bright Silver Battle Boots beneath his feet, then at the overly handsome young man in white ahead, pondering for a long time before asking, "If the seventh stroke isn't redrawn, the Time Stop Talisman's engrave won't be stable; how can it operate for long?"

Wang Jiu responded without thinking, "Change the material, reduce the fire silver ratio by one percent, add Five Elements Soil to enhance material stickiness, and the talisman will be naturally engraved stably."

"Adding Five Elements Soil changes the entire material's Five Elements characteristics, requiring all talismans and sacrificial refinements to start over, not knowing how many deviations may arise; you're too presumptive!"

Wang Jiu said, "Process the Five Elements Soil's characteristics to integrate with the battle boots' characteristics; isn't that feasible?"

"This..." Shen Zicheng instinctively wanted to refute but had to sigh after thinking deeply, "It indeed seems like that."

After a pause, Shen Zicheng asked with some curiosity, "I'm Shen Zicheng, brigade leader of the patrol team; may I ask where you are an Artifact Refining Master from?"

Wang Jiu said, "I don't understand artifact refining; at most, I have some knowledge in forging swords."

Shen Zicheng was incredulous, "If not an Artifact Refining Master, how could you easily pinpoint the flaws of my Shrinking Earth Boots?"

Wang Jiu retorted, "Why do you think such a simple issue requires an Artifact Refining Master to notice?"

Shen Zicheng was stumped by that but found the young man even more enigmatic, rubbing his hands excitedly, "If I have the chance, I must consult you more; unfortunately, today isn't right timing, as some incompetent subordinates of mine were beaten, and I, as their leader, must avenge them."

Wang Jiu said, "Oh, then come on."

Shen Zicheng took a while, finally glancing at the First Squad's unconscious squad leader and deputy squad leader by the corner, realizing Wang Jiu and his companions were the culprits behind his restless evening, his expression suddenly becoming colorful.

"You all!?" Shen Zicheng exclaimed as he paced around in place, ultimately shaking his head helplessly, "No, the rules can't be broken. Shen City's military never allows defeat! Bring it on, today you don't leave unless you win!"

While shouting aloud, he secretly transmitted a message: "Do me a favor, just admit defeat when it's about time. This endless fighting is pointless, Shen City soldiers never submit, it's a rule passed down for two thousand years. Luckily, you met me, if it were Shen Jinghai, that cold-faced demon, it wouldn't end well."

Before his voice died away, a new voice suddenly joined the secret communication channel.

"It indeed wouldn't end well; the Cyan Cloud Li family has come all this way to flaunt their power in Shen City. If this is settled lightly, Shen Family's reputation would be pointless. Zicheng, you've handled this matter too rashly."

The next moment, Shen Zicheng's expression changed dramatically as he turned around to look at the darkness in the alley's depths: "Shen Jinghai?!"

He then turned to Wang Jiu: "You're from the Li Family?!"

This question posed a serious problem; everyone in Shen City, from 80-year-old women to 3-year-old children, knows the historical enmity between the Shen and Li families. It's practically unheard of in Shen City's two-thousand-year history for its undefeated soldiers to be defeated by a group of teenage Li Family cultivators.

No wonder even Shen Jinghai, Shen Ruoshi's right-hand man, was alarmed and rushed over quickly. But now that he's here, things won't end well.

Shen Jinghai is known among the Shen Family as Shen Ruoshi's loyal hound, an unrefined title. He's a distant relative who almost doesn't count as Shen Family, yet was serendipitously picked by Shen Ruoshi for an important role, eventually rising to the Deputy City Lord's position. In return, his obedience to Shen Ruoshi reached a degree that was considered outrageous; if Shen Ruoshi commands, he obeys unconditionally, regardless of reason.

All Shen Family members understand that Shen Ruoshi's stance on Li Family issues is unyieldingly firm. He would even turn against his talented son, Shen Ziyu, over these issues.

So what would Shen Ruoshi's attitude be regarding these mysterious Li Family members who have continuously defeated several waves of Shen City soldiers? What would Shen Jinghai's attitude be?

At this moment, even Shen Zicheng felt like he was in a dilemma.

Fortunately, Wang Jiu quickly waved his hand: "Oh, I'm not from the Li Family, I currently have the surname Wang."

That's right, such a young yet talented Artifact Refining Master couldn't possibly be one of those despicable Li Family members!

Wang Jiu then gestured behind him: "They are."

"Pfft!" Shen Zicheng almost spat blood.

A moment later, a cold laugh came from the darkness: "Turns out you are from the Li Family!"

With the laughter came a surging pressure! Even Wang Jiu furrowed his brows and raised the White Sword.

However, just as the pressure was about to manifest from invisible to visible, a voice full of surprise sounded in the darkness again.

"How come there's a Shen Family girl here?"

At the alley's end, a young man with flowing long hair stepped briskly forward. Appearing only twenty-five or six, his shiny black hair tied in a ponytail swung at his shoulder, making his skin appear flawless, pure as jade. The glasses perched on his straight nose added a scholarly elegance.

It's hard to imagine, unless familiar, that this person, famous for his stern integrity and ruthless demeanor, is Shen City's Deputy City Lord. Yet seeing him now, even Shen Zicheng felt a headache.

Shen Jinghai ignored Shen Zicheng completely, taking two steps to stand in front of Shen Qingming, scrutinizing her through the lens, making her feel uncomfortable.

While examining, he couldn't suppress his shock, mumbling quietly to himself: "This bloodline, these features, she is indeed a Shen Family member and undoubtedly from the Lord City Lord's lineage! But who might she be..."

Just as Shen Qingming prepared to protest, Shen Jinghai stepped back, first making an apologetic gesture to her, then with a composed expression — a face he hadn't altered even when seeing Li Family members — he approached Shen Zicheng.

"Zicheng, although it's not my place to manage personal affairs, Li Yu has never wronged you over the years; she's the adopted daughter of the City Lord. Treating her like this, isn't it too harsh?"

Shen Zicheng was utterly confused: "What have I done to her? Wait, do you even need to mind my hidden savings!?"

Shen Jinghai still held a somber expression, pointing back at Shen Qingming: "Is that your illegitimate daughter?"