Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 489 - 472: Half-Sword (2)
Zhou Leng followed Li Linhan into Zhao Lianshuo’s house.
Zhao Lianshuo is an Innate, living in a villa community.
In the first floor living room, two tables were set up, with some middle-aged people already sitting among them, chatting loudly and occasionally bursting into laughter.
As Zhou Leng and Li Linhan entered, everyone stood up, smiling and looking towards them, mostly sizing up Zhou Leng.
Zhou Leng glanced around, he had seen most of them before, just a few were unfamiliar.
Among them, Fan Haoshan and Wan Xingde had helped him with fights last year, meeting many times since childhood.
Zhao Lianshuo was a middle-aged man with graying hair, tall in stature, with a prosthetic on his left leg, he walked quickly over, took Zhou Leng’s hand, and introduced him to everyone.
"This is the child of Xiaomin... an Innate now... I saw this kid had some vigor back in the day... hmm?"
Zhao Lianshuo, like an ordinary old man, continuously praised Zhou Leng, and the others nodded with smiles, happy for the child of a fallen comrade’s rise to Innate.
However, Zhao Lianshuo was after all an Innate Master, even if he remained in the early True Liquid Period all his life, he was experienced.
Halfway through his speech, he suddenly turned his head to look at Zhou Leng, observing closely.
The others froze, looking at Zhao Lianshuo in confusion.
Zhao Lianshuo looked for a while, then asked: "You’re in your sophomore year?"
"Yes."
"Just twenty?"
"Yes."
"Good! Good! Good! Xiaomin has brought up a good son. Come, today you sit beside me! We’ll drink without stopping!"
The group were all veterans, guessing Zhao Lianshuo had noticed something, but not sure what exactly.
Only Li Linhan had a vague understanding, it must be that Zhao Lianshuo discovered Zhou Leng was stronger than expected, not an ordinary Innate.
His own son, Li Yuanhe’s talent was far inferior to Zhou Leng, yet he could advance to the True Liquid Period, Zhou Leng’s realm must be even higher.
Some veterans looked at Zhou Leng, this kid, surely will have great achievements in the future.
Already becoming an Innate at such a young age was one thing, but being valued so highly by Zhao Lianshuo was quite another.
After Zhao Lianshuo transitioned to a civilian role, he held the second-highest position in Ruge District, even in retirement, his influence in Rucheng was significant.
Every year at New Year, Rucheng’s first and second officials would visit to pay respects, including him.
During every festival, the Zhao Family in Xiongjing would never forget to send a gift, and when Zhao Tong and Zhao He came to Rucheng previously, they specifically visited Zhao Lianshuo to pay respects and view the relics of their grandfather, Saint Zhao’s Broken Sword.
At that time, Zhao Lianshuo only needed to say a few good words, and Zhou Leng would surely rise swiftly.
After all, Zhao Lianshuo not only shared the same surname Zhao, but also once helped Saint Zhao resolve a crisis due to his familiarity with the Jiangnan terrain.
After everyone was seated, it was like gathering with old friends.
First, they casually chatted, ate, and drank.
After drinking enough, they started talking about those people, and those events of the past.
In the past, talking about these things often brought tears, but as they aged, even though they sighed and were filled with emotion, they had also come to terms with much of it.
Getting excited, they began singing military songs together, Zhou Leng had heard them since he was a child and could sing a few lines along.
After the military songs, the conversation gradually shifted towards the present.
They then started to say how things were back then, and how things are not quite right now...
When they’d spoken enough, some old soldiers familiar with Zhao Lianshuo started to coax him, signaling it was time for the main event.
The others laughed aloud.
Zhao Lianshuo didn’t mind his friends’ teasing, he cheerfully stood up, saying, "You wait, I’m going to get it now."
Before long, Zhao Lianshuo returned, holding a semi-transparent display box.
In the display box, on yellow silk, lay a Demonized Broken Sword.
Without needing anyone to ask, Zhao Lianshuo began to enthusiastically recount a story he had told countless times.
"You guys know, Xiaozhou might not know, I told him..."
"Back then apart from anything else, I had a knack for remembering terrains and maps..."
"Hey, who would’ve thought it would actually come in handy and greatly helped Saint Zhao..."
"Saint Zhao found me clever and brought me to his side..."
"He was very kind, he never had that high and mighty demeanor..."
"At heart, he felt that we were just the same as him, without a trace of arrogance..."
"So, those of us who followed Saint Zhao, all took on his personality. No matter how high or powerful someone was, if even Saint Zhao saw us as brothers, who do you think you are?"
"Had I really wanted to climb the ranks, just with this connection to the Zhao Family, would I have ended up only as the second in command of a district? I just listened to Saint Zhao’s teachings, there are some things we can’t do, nor would we want to!"
"Back then, Ma Xingkong, who is Zhou Leng’s uncle, was such a good person, an outstanding student from Yunhua, yet that Shuizhou gang made such a mess of things? I knew I couldn’t speak up then, because once I did, people would hold a grudge."
"But I was an officer under Saint Zhao, who are you people? I forcibly spoke up at a meeting, and thereafter I couldn’t rise any further. But I have no regrets!"
"Where was I? Oh yes, I hadn’t mentioned the origin of the Broken Sword yet."
"That day, we were chatting with Saint Zhao, and the topic of conversation turned to Demonized Weapons."
"In those days, it was much more difficult than it is now, Demonized Weapons were precious treasures."
"Saint Zhao asked me why I didn’t carry a Demonized Weapon, I said I couldn’t afford them, my war merits had all been exchanged for pills."
"He remembered my dedication and said, how can someone as brave as me be without a Demonized Weapon, it’s unacceptable for someone bleeding on the battlefield not to have a weapon. Then he turned around to find one..."
"Guess what? At that time, Saint Zhao no longer used weapons, and he didn’t have any, hahaha..."
"That moment, his glance fell upon this Broken Sword."
"Let me tell you, this Broken Sword has great significance for him."
"It was a trophy he seized when he was Innate. Later, in a very crucial battle, he used this sword to kill a Demon Master, but the sword broke during the battle. To commemorate that battle, he kept the Broken Sword by his side."
"He had no Demonized Weapons to hand over, nor did he want to take from others to give to me, so he took this Broken Sword and gave it to me."
"He told me, what he has, I should have too, if I don’t have it, then I should get half of it. Half of this sword, he left on the battlefield, and the other half, he left for me."
"At that moment, I was so moved I cried, you wouldn’t understand..."
"He truly has me, truly has us, in his heart..."
"What he gave wasn’t just a sword, he recognized me as a person."
"People always say this is the Imperial Sword, but I never claim it! This half, he gave to me, also to us."
"Tell me, if I took Saint Zhao’s sword, yet still this and that, would I still be considered human?"
...
The more Zhao Lianshuo talked, the more excited he became, starting to ramble about things even Zhou Leng had never heard before.
In those days, he didn’t understand.
Now he understood.
Finally, Zhao Lianshuo said: "You should educate your children well, whoever amongst them excels in the future, I will pass this sword to them! I will never leave it to my own children, just like Saint Zhao didn’t leave the sword in Zhao Palace."
"You must make sure your children remember, we are people, we are Saint Zhao’s soldiers, we are different from them!"
Zhao Lianshuo continued talking for a long while, then as usual recounted some of Saint Zhao’s interesting personal stories, and the atmosphere gradually eased.
Then, everyone started drinking, singing, and chatting again.
Until late at night, Zhao Lianshuo became thoroughly drunk, began to cry inexplicably as he spoke, and was taken upstairs to a bedroom by the others.
He held onto that Broken Sword without letting go.
After tidying up the living room together, everyone gradually left.
Walking out of Zhao Lianshuo’s house, Li Linhan was in even higher spirits because both Li Yuanhe and Zhou Leng had become Innates, which made him look good in front of old comrades, and it was the happiest event in recent years for him.
Being frugal all his life, he was reluctant to take a cab and with the last bus missed, he walked and talked with Zhou Leng. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"Don’t think the old platoon leader just likes to boast, he is truly skilled, he genuinely sits properly, stands straight, otherwise, why would we want to come to his place to gather..."
"Back in those days..."
At the dinner table, Li Linhan was more restrained than usual, fearing people might comment on what happens once the kids become Innate.
When they reached somewhere out of sight, he let go of his concerns, and like any ordinary elder, he talked about the old times just as before.
When Zhou Leng was young, he didn’t quite like these stories, but as he himself went to the battlefield, he gradually accepted those words.
After staying at home for one night, Zhou Leng declined all invitations, returned to the Fierce Beast World to recuperate and began cultivating at an intermediate intensity.
