Chapter 622

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Chapter 622: Number 16: Awaken

Bai Wei placed the Crouching Tiger Sword on the table and asked Xia Longque, "Do you know this sword?"

"Yes," she replied confidently, "but it seems a bit different."

Although Xia Longque could have taken it directly, she resisted the urge and instead asked eagerly, "May I borrow it to take a closer look?"

After some thought, Bai Wei suggested a trade, "Would you lend me your sword to have a look as well?"

Without hesitation, Xia Longque slid her sword across the table towards Bai Wei.

Both exchanged weapons.

Bai Wei lifted the sword, drew it out, and examined it carefully.

Xue Hanlei curiously looked at it, saying softly, "The Grand Xia Longque is a precious artifact of the Ming Country. However, this one doesn’t show any signs of aging. It’s already filled with a strong fighting spirit."

The embodiment of the heroic spirit is the visualization of power and also an attachment of a mysterious concept. When this mysterious concept flows into tangible objects, a sword attached with this mysterious concept no longer remains just a sword from the past. It’s like when a heroic spirit awakens old memories, they are no longer the same person, just like how adding salt changes the taste of water.

For warriors, their weapons are like their right and left hands. The heroic spirit armor is even more precious, equivalent to life itself. It is usually something that others are not allowed to touch. Currently, it’s a special case, at least for Xia Longque, the Crouching Tiger Sword is more valuable than the Grand Xia Longque.

Xia Longque took out her handkerchief, poured some blade oil, and wiped away the bloodstains on the Crouching Tiger Sword, making the whole sword look brand new, without any signs of rust or blemishes, straight and fresh, slightly different from what she remembered.

In her memory, this sword was far from being this beautiful, it was more worn out.

Bai Wei asked. Are you satisfied with it?

"Do you usually maintain this sword?" Xia Longque asked.

"No, I never do." Bai Wei always leaves it soaking in the ocean of the spiritual world, "It’s not as precious, easy to take care of."

"Take care of it?" Xia Longque chuckled, putting down the Crouching Tiger Sword. This is indeed the one I know.

When Bai Wei tried to take back the Crouching Tiger Sword, she caught his pinky finger.

Xia Longque then said. But how did this Crouching Tiger Sword end up here? Can you tell me how you got it?

Bai Wei was puzzled. There’s nothing impossible. This sword was given to me in the past.

"Do you know that heroic spirits are the reincarnation of strong individuals?" Xia Longque asked casually.

"I know."

"But the reincarnation of heroic spirits may not be in the same world; it can also happen in different worlds. The souls of different strong individuals may come to different worlds following mysterious rules," Xia Longque pointed to herself, "I am one of these foreign souls who drifted here and settled down. This big Xia Longque is not a weapon of this world, just residing in this ancient sword, the Crouching Tiger Sword."

She flicked the blade of the katana with her finger, creating a clear sound with a slight buzzing, as if she was not hitting the blade but a tuning fork, the vibrations spreading to the wooden table and then to the glass, creating ripples in the cup.

"The craftsmanship shows that the making of the Crouching Tiger Sword is very unique."

"I can confirm that it is the sword I know, and it is one of a kind."

"It came from another world, why did it end up in your hands?"

Xia Longque whispered. You can take your time to think about it, then tell me what you know.

She paused for a second and then released her grip, adding, "This is important to me. If you can answer me, consider me owing you a favor."

Xue Hanlei perked up her ears and quietly nudged Bai Wei’s heel.

Doing a favor for a second-grade heroic spirit could bring great benefits. Speak up if you can, make something up if you can’t.

Bai Wei sheathed the Crouching Tiger Sword and calmly asked. How big is this favor? Is it big enough for you to let me go?

Xia Longque pondered for three seconds, weighed the matter, and then replied. I can let you leave and won’t chase after you for a day.

"And you won’t leave any trace that can be tracked on us?"

"No," Xia Longque said. It was lucky for me to encounter you this time, and actually, I don’t possess that ability.

"It seems very important to you," Bai Wei pondered.

"The sword is important to me, but I already have Big Xia Longque. I’m curious about how you got it," Xia Longque understood Bai Wei’s thoughts. "Even if you give it to me, I don’t need it."

Xue Hanlei interrupted. So you’re not curious about the sword itself, but about its origin, or… its previous owner?

It was easy to notice that Xia Longque was a bit embarrassed, but she nodded and said. Yes.

"Who is he? What’s your connection with him? And…" Xue Hanlei’s gossip curiosity arose.

"Ahem…" Xia Longque didn’t intend to reveal this information. This was no longer the old world, but the Ming Country. Even if she spoke about it, it would be a forgotten story.

Not all heroic spirits from other realms can regain their memories. Sometimes, choosing not to delve into memories is a good thing. Remembering too much often comes with many regrets that cannot be fulfilled. It takes time to process. If memories pile up too much, it can even lead to a breakdown of the original personality.

Bai Wei took a sip of his drink and thought about how to bring up the topic.

Of course, he couldn’t explain everything to Xia Longque in detail because there were many things he himself didn’t understand.

His eyes landed on the light purple exclamation mark above Xia Longque’s head.

Since it’s light purple, it probably means it’s not very difficult, maybe not as challenging as some of the previous levels?

The trigger needs to be activated.

After all, even the exclamation mark has been delivered to the doorstep.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to turn Xia Longque into an ally, he would have more strategic maneuvering space.

He needs to find a way to make her one of his own.

Fortunately, the triggering time is not long, and the soul’s memory recall often takes only a little time in reality.

The light purple exclamation mark was triggered, blooming like purple petals, flooding memories like tides submerging a beach.

[Number 16, waking up in progress]

…

It’s not a problem for the top ten people to have a very simple life.

Because of various cheats, because of no pressure, life is completely at an easy level.

But starting from the eleventh place, after the probation period ends, the evaluation obtained after each life settlement will be used as the starting capital for the next new life.

For Bai Wei, the most embarrassing days are actually the ten times from the eleventh to the twentieth.

How does it feel to change from being invincible with the system to being a small insignificant fish?

After losing the cheat, he realized he was just an ordinary person.

The various differences made him extremely uncomfortable. He was still stubborn, hadn’t adjusted his mentality, and had already adapted to the good days when the cheat handled everything. Without it, he was just one step away from being useless. From being a genius to being useless, borrowing a phrase from the Sword Demon, ‘How much of a gap do I have!’

From the eleventh life to the thirteenth, most of them failed to live their own lives, repeating failures and setbacks continuously. In the end, life ended in a hasty and gloomy manner, leaving no trace behind.

Every time thinking the next time would be smoother, but next time often turns out worse. By the age of three, the total years lived didn’t exceed ten, with the shortest record being only three days. By the fourteenth or fifteenth life, some tricks were finally grasped, or rather, the mindset gradually adjusted.

Bai Wei didn’t start memory sealing until the thirtieth life. This means that most of the previous memories were directly retained in his mind. Luckily, there were not many memories, so by the sixteenth life, he could still retain them.

In the fifteenth life, Bai Wei was a blacksmith, working honestly for over twenty years, crafting many divine weapons and learning to create unique mechanisms. He was considered a skilled craftsman but limited to that. His research was too advanced; the mechanical updates surpassed human abilities. He thought it was a good thing, but he clearly forgot that the revolution in production would further push wealth consolidation, leading to the rise of capital at an exceptionally fast pace.

To alleviate this situation, the only solution was to open up new markets, which involved primitive accumulation.

However, the country was fundamentally agricultural and could not withstand such disturbances.

In the end, instead of progress, the national strength regressed, creating class conflicts among merchants, farmers, nobles, and officials.

While Bai Wei was researching new machinery, he was sentenced to death. The monarch didn’t want to kill him, so he imprisoned him to continue working. Since then, Bai Wei stopped studying machinery and focused on perfecting the technology of making weapons. One day, he felt he had reached the limit of his talent and, unable to continue, he took the concealed mechanical device and went on a rampage, similar to the Tornisdock, piercing through the castle. Afterward, he arrived at the roadside and enjoyed a bowl of stewed noodles… curse!

He lived for quite a long time, but when his life came to an end, it felt like he had only been gone for two months. His mindset remained young, with hardly any changes, as the two talents he gave himself were called ‘an inspiration’ and ‘not in a hurry.’

Once the fifteenth life was chosen, he moved on to the sixteenth life.

The title of the Sixteenth World is called "The Ordinary Life of an Ordinary Person".

It means you can’t rely on any special talents or skills, just on your own abilities to live your life.

It’s like a test, challenging you to prove yourself without any special advantages.

Failing the test is okay, just learn from it and try again next time.

Bai Wei doesn’t have many options, if he continues to perform poorly, his future will get more difficult.

He hopes his life will be a bit easier this time, even if he ends up in a tough situation like working hard in construction.

He found himself in a world full of monsters during a time of war.