Chapter 308 s.n.a.t.c.h

‘Xin Country… Could it be the Xin Country on Earth?’

Xin Country was Fang Xingjian’s home country back on Earth.

‘But does Xin Country have a t.i.tular organization?

‘Moreover, these are things from the Ancient Era… Why would there be writings using the Xin Country’s language?’

Looking at the red-colored metal slab, the thoughts in Fang Xingjian’s mind became somewhat chaotic. He could no longer hear the discussions in the surroundings, and he continued to read on.

The writing on the metal slab was very messy, and the person who had written this was clearly in a hurry and very nervous. He must have had written it down in a very agitated state.

“The person who has seen this dragon’s scale, remember, don’t ever borrow the powers of the demonic G.o.ds. Don’t ever borrow the powers of the demonic G.o.ds.

“The only one who can defeat the demonic G.o.ds are only the demon G.o.ds themselves. Remember! Don’t ever let them into our world!

“Remember the sword technique below. It shall be… the key!”

The few words before ‘the key’ was struck off, making it hard for Fang Xingjian to read what was written there.

The note had started with just a few simple lines, but what was written thereafter was a set of sword technique.

Fang Xingjian did not look at the sword technique, but just read the few lines at the very beginning repeatedly.

‘Demonic G.o.ds… Do they have any relation to evil G.o.ds?’ He suddenly recalled what his mother had told him through the Second Prince, ‘Don’t ever cultivate magic prints. Don’t accept the evil G.o.ds’ powers… Are there any relations between the two?’

Although he could understand the words written on the slab, the message it held was very thought-provoking. It was as if a single puzzle had turned into many more puzzles.

Letting out a sigh, Fang Xingjian knew that with the hints he currently had, it was impossible for him to understand all the causes and effects. He could only lower his head and continue to read the contents of the sword technique.

The name of this technique was called Heaven’s Volition Sword Technique. However, rather than calling it a sword technique, it was more like a sword intent. There were no concrete sword moves, but the user would nurture a survival of the fittest sword intent within it.

According to what was written on it, this metal slab was referred to as a dragon’s scale.

The introduction to the sword technique did not mention how to nurture this sword intent either. It only described how to unlock the encrypted Waves on the ‘dragon’s scale’, which would then allow one to absorb the Heaven’s Volition Sword Intent. There was only one Heaven’s Volition Sword Intent, and it could only be cultivated by a single person.

Right now, Fang Xingjian had the Zenith Light Sword Formation for long range attacks, the Ether Sword Ripples for close combat, Terra Ingurgitation when fighting with power, and Boundaries Negation when fighting with speed. He even had a set of Prodigious Demolition Sword which he had yet to master. In terms of battle prowess, he was not lacking in sword techniques he could cultivate.

However, it seemed as if the hidden sword technique in this piece of ‘dragon’s scale’ seemed to hide a great secret, piquing his interest. He really wanted to learn this.

However, he was not the only person who was interested in this Ancient Era’s artifact. Just as Fang Xingjian was reading the dragon’s scale, Sasa, who had come from the Eastern Sand Region and had the reputation of a Sword Saint, was also in discussion with the Head of Department, James.

Sasa looked at the dragon’s scale with a blazingly intense gaze. The reason he was interested in this thing was because he had once read information related to it.

Located on the extreme east of the Empire, the Eastern Sand Region was neighbors to the Sand Country, which was also in the east. The Eastern Sand Region had been often hara.s.sed by the Sand Country over the years, and it was a region plagued with war. There were endless conflicts of various degrees, and the Knights there had to go to war often.

As a level 29 Conferred Knight, Sasa was often in the forefront of battles. He would either be fighting to impede the Sand Country’s experts while they did the same, or secretly targeting some of their geniuses.

Then in one surprise attack, he had unintentionally come across a secret manual of the Sand Country. He was not interested in the martial techniques recorded in the secret manual itself. However, at the back of the manual, there were records of something known as dragon’s scale.

The author of the secret manual had described the dragon’s scale as such:

“In the Ancient Era, colossal dragons filled the air, and a Dragon King soared into the air, trying in vain to devour the sun and become a G.o.d.

“In order to protect the world, the sovereign of all G.o.ds killed the gigantic dragon and used the Dragon King’s scale to record his martial arts intent.

“The dragon’s scale was split into many pieces, and the martial arts intent recorded in them held a great secret which could make one unrivalled.

“Legend has it that the Heavenly Sovereign of the Blood Sea, the founder of the Sand Country, had managed to breakthrough to attain the Divine level and thus made great achievements after getting his hands on a piece of the dragon’s scale.”

Sasa had originally thought the contents written in the secret manual were just one of the Sand Country’s legends and a fantasy of a weak cultivator. However, right now, the metal slab that was placed before him was exactly like the dragon’s scale described in the secret manual.

“Its color was like blood, and it would fluctuate between cold and hot. The divine inscriptions were left behind as records of its intent.”

Sword Arts Department looked at James and said, “Head of Department, this item should be made from the armors and scales of ferocious beasts after they had been killed by powerful experts in the Ancient Era. It was used as paper to record the sword technique.

“I’ve a.n.a.lyzed a similar artifact back in the Eastern Sand Region. Please let me handle the a.n.a.lysis of this as well.”

As he spoke, one of his hands stroke the dragon’s scale gently as he scanned its structure with his Heaven’s Perception, as if it was an electronic scanner. When he saw the existence of things which seemed similar to bone cells, he was even more sure what this was.

‘Dragon’s scale… This really is a dragon’s scale. To think that this thing really does exist. I’ve always thought that it was a myth fabricated by those barbarians in the Sand Country.

‘Heaven is really on my side. With this, I’ll have greater confidence when I strive to attain Divine level.’

Hearing Sasa’s request, Head of Department did not have much objection. It was a request made by an expert who was at the pinnacle of level 29, and there was no way James would not take it seriously. Moreover, if they were to be judged based on their cultivation level, Sasa would have a higher chance of finding out the profoundness behind the Ancient Era’s artifact than Fang Xingjian.

Therefore, James gave it some thought before nodding. He then turned to Fang Xingjian and said, “Xingjian, this project can be handed to Sasa.” With that, he smiled, “You can also join Sasa in this project and gain some experience from it.”

To be honest, the reason James suggested this out of goodwill.

He was too old and did not have many years left to live. In comparison, Sasa, a well-known swordmaster in the southeast who had the reputation of Sword Saint, was not only a level 29 Conferred Knight but also a top notch existence amongst level 29 Conferred Knights.

There were, of course, differences between level 29 experts. The different specialties they had, the number of techniques they had synthesized, the type of jobs they held, and their attributes, could all create a huge gap between strong experts who were all at level 29.

People like the First Prince who were about to attain Divine level would naturally be one of the strongest. They, as well as those who were at level 29 and were ceaselessly trying to attain Divine level, would be cla.s.sified as the first tier.

People with similar talents to the Second Prince and the Governors of the eight major regions, who had a tremendous amount of resources but had yet to find the path for them to take in order to attain the Divine level, were slightly weaker and would belong to the second tier.

Below them would be various senior level 29 experts who belonged to the third tier.

Further down were the young level 29 Conferred Knights in the Regional Academies. They belonged to the fourth tier.

Sasa, as a top notch character amongst senior level 29 experts, was a typical third tier member. He could be moved up to the second tier at any time and had the chance of standing alongside experts who were at the Governors’ level.

Most importantly, James was already old, while Sasa was still young. By introducing Fang Xingjian to Sasa, James was hoping that they could form a good relations.h.i.+p, and Fang Xingjian would then be able to receive Sasa’s support and help.

However, what he did not know was that Fang Xingjian was also very, very interested in the dragon’s scale.

Additionally, Fang Xingjian had the confidence of absorbing the sword intent in it before Sasa could make anything out of it. Therefore, he did not object to James’ proposal.