[Sword Saint Profession System]

[Name: Su Xing]

[Age: 22]

[Profession: Swordsman, Sword Hall Coach]

[Professional Skills: Myriad Swords Return to One Lv. 1 (258/30,000), Pierce Lv. 2 (128/3,000), White Edge Stance Lv. 1 (976/30,000), Mortal Sword Lv. 6 (Complete)]

[Sword Dao Points: 0]

A pale blue system panel hovered before Su Xing’s eyes.

He clenched his fists, feeling the immense power welling within him. Su Xing had a feeling that once he upgraded [Mortal Sword] to the fourth tier, he would experience a massive boost—he might even become virtually invincible among fourth-tier beings.

Following the new upgrade to [Mortal Sword],

the Sparrow Sword inside Su Xing’s body began to grow once more.

Previously, the Sparrow Sword had only reached the position of the spine, but after this upgrade, it had gradually extended to the blade’s edge. Only the final area of the sword’s tip had yet to form.

Su Xing sensed the Sparrow Sword floating beside the Black Sword inside him. Although it hadn’t fully formed, he could already make out its general appearance.

The Sparrow Sword was red from pommel to tip, making it incredibly conspicuous. Its body was small, about a hand and a half in length at most, creating a stark contrast with the half-man-high Black Sword beside it.

The hilt was engraved with the likeness of a sparrow. The guard resembled a small, fiery egg, and looking further up, the blade was wreathed in flames.

As Su Xing carefully observed the Sparrow Sword, he suddenly noticed that the Black Sword next to it had also undergone some changes with the upgrade of [Mortal Sword].

Originally, the Black Sword’s handle—its hilt—was pure white, without a single impurity. Above that, the blade was pure black, which was why Su Xing had named it the "Black Sword."

But now, a small tortoise had appeared on the Black Sword’s hilt. Two white snakes seemed to be coiled atop the tortoise’s shell, their long bodies extending all the way to the tip of the Black Sword’s blade before stopping.

’What is this? A Black Tortoise?’

Seeing the change on the Black Sword, Su Xing immediately thought of the divine beasts from Earth. The similarities between the two were simply too numerous.

This shifted Su Xing’s attention from the Sparrow Sword to the Black Sword.

Su Xing shot up from his chair. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and the Black Sword instantly materialized from motes of black light, lying quietly in his palm.

"CRACK."

The moment the Black Sword appeared, the furniture near Su Xing suddenly let out a "CRACK." It was covered in a dense web of fissures, looking as if it would disintegrate at the slightest touch.

This caught Su Xing completely by surprise. The Black Sword had always been powerful, but if he wasn’t actively using it, it was no different from an ordinary sword. This time, however, its mere presence had shattered the surrounding furniture with its aura alone.

The Black Sword’s power had increased.

Su Xing realized this instantly.

Then, Su Xing slowly raised the Black Sword, holding it horizontally before him. The pattern on the sword was exactly as he had seen it before, like a Black Tortoise resting quietly there, astonishingly lifelike.

Su Xing’s fingers traced the pattern on the blade, and an indescribable aura drilled through his palm and into his heart, making it suddenly tremble.

After a long, long time, Su Xing finally regained his composure. He pondered for a good while but couldn’t put a name to the sensation. However, he could feel with absolute clarity just how enormous an upgrade the Black Sword had received.

Before, if he swung the Black Sword with all his might, he could only blast out two ripples in the air.

Now, with just a gentle wave of the Black Sword, he could create more than ten ripples. Su Xing even suspected that if he unleashed its full power without deliberately holding back, a single swing could blast a thousand-meter area into a vacuum.

[Mortal Sword Lv. 6] signified the completion of the third tier.

As a sword generated at the third tier, only now had the Black Sword truly reached its complete form.

"So this is the Black Sword’s true power," Su Xing muttered in surprise. "Does that mean the current Sparrow Sword isn’t in its true form either?"

’The Black Sword gained the Black Tortoise pattern as [Mortal Sword]’s level increased. Since the Sparrow Sword already has a sparrow pattern, will it one day manifest the pattern of a Vermilion Bird?’

Su Xing thought with some anticipation, then a random idea popped into his head: ’Now that the Black Sword has a pattern and isn’t completely black anymore, should I start calling it the Black Tortoise Heavy Sword instead of the Black Sword?’

"..."

’What’s the damn point of thinking about this?’

Su Xing mocked himself, then shook his head. The Black Sword in his right hand dissolved into motes of black light. He glanced at the wrecked room, casually picked up his phone, bought a whole new set of furniture, and then walked out the door.

Aside from the changes to the two swords, the upgrades to [Myriad Swords Return to One] and [White Edge Stance] from [Mortal Sword]’s advancement also needed to be tested.

Su Xing ran a few simple tests and got his answer. [Myriad Swords Return to One] had reached the level of fifteen longswords.

As for how much [White Edge Stance] had improved, Su Xing had a hard time assessing it, as he no longer had a suitable reference for comparison.

He would have to wait until his next battle to find out the true extent of the improvement to [White Edge Stance].

However, while he couldn’t measure the exact increase in power, Su Xing could still distinguish the changes to [White Edge Stance] with his naked eye.

The most obvious change was that the white edge had become brighter and thinner.

With previous upgrades, Su Xing hadn’t noticed a significant difference. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But this time, he could clearly feel that the white edge had become thinner, like a crescent moon slimming into a waning sliver.

The white edge hung quietly over the tip of the sword, exuding its own sharp aura. With a wave of his right hand, Su Xing made the Black Sword and its white edge disappear from view.

With that, the test was more or less over.

Su Xing could feel that his current self could easily kill five or six of his past self from yesterday.

Su Xing narrowed his eyes. ’With this kind of strength, dealing with a High Priest shouldn’t be a problem, right? Still, I’ve never truly fought a High Priest before, so I don’t know their actual strength. I should be careful.’

With this in mind, Su Xing headed back to the Sword Hall.

Two days passed by quietly.

...

「Two days later.」

It was time for Lu Anning’s appointment.

Lu Anning, dressed in a blue dress and carrying a small handbag, took a taxi to her destination.

Wealth Plaza.

Evening was falling. As night approached, the temperature began to drop. The aromas of various foods wafted freely through the air, and boys and girls came out to have fun in steady streams.

To be on the safe side, Su Xing had arrived at Wealth Plaza early and alone. He bought a serving of takoyaki and leaned against a stone pillar, silently waiting for Lu Anning to arrive.