Chapter 828: No Need for Novelty
Qi Xuansu had not tested the sword in advance, which was a major oversight, to say the least. He had made a careless assumption, much like a general retreating to a canal bank only to realize he had foolishly forgotten to build any pontoon bridges.
To be fair, there were some objective reasons. But mainly, he had far too little time for any type of preparation.
After receiving Green Cloud, he had to participate in the auction. Then, he immediately flew back to Jade Capital. Upon arrival, he barely had a moment to breathe, needing to attend numerous meetings and cram knowledge about Fenglin before heading to Qizhou, where he was stationed at the Seaview Tower, a crowded place with Daoists and court officials alike. Not wanting to attract attention or reveal his hand, Qi Xuansu stayed holed up in his room. Soon after, he was deployed to Fenglin, where he encountered the Yamata-no-Orochi upon reaching the borders. Then came his journey with the wounded survivors back to the army camp.
Qi Xuansu had to admit that he did have chances to try the sword, like when he fought the Yuki-Onna. But like many seasoned Jianghu fighters, he had the bad habit of keeping a trump card for the most critical moment. So in truth, the real problem was his assumption. He thought the threshold for using a semi-immortal object was just it being slightly uncooperative or perhaps oppressively heavy. He did not expect it to be that difficult.
In the end, it came down to inexperience. The crux of the issue was that the Heavenly Preceptor had not mentioned it.
Normally, an elder would give a word of caution if such a threshold existed, but the Heavenly Preceptor had said nothing, which misled Qi Xuansu into believing Green Cloud could be used directly.
He had been fooled by the Heavenly Preceptor’s benevolent facade.
Qi Xuansu forgot that such great figures loved testing their juniors for sport. Even Zhang Yuelu had to endure about a hundred trials to earn the Heavenly Preceptor’s recognition and support. So why should Qi Xuansu be recognized without reason?
Moreover, someone of the Heavenly Preceptor’s stature would not care for such details, as it was always others who had to interpret and grasp his intent.
Besides, this was just a trivial test, one that would not place Qi Xuansu in mortal danger. Thus, Qi Xuansu’s real problem was choosing the wrong moment and almost (quite literally) stabbing himself in the foot.
The inscription within the sword was left behind by the Holy Xuan. However, it was not by the young Holy Xuan. That was because when the Holy Xuan first held Green Cloud, he was merely a Xiantian Being and lacked the cultivation to make such an imprint. This inscription was left during his prime, when few could match him in cultivation.
The Holy Xuan had excellent relations with two generations of Heavenly Preceptors—Zhang Luanshan and Yan Feiqing. So, borrowing the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords would not have been difficult. Besides, who would dare cross someone of his stature?