Evan Lin's brows furrowed, his gaze turning sharp. Spiritual qi within his Spirit Platform and Spirit Well began to stir, slowly gathering between his left and right hands.
His left hand gripped Dustleave, the ancient sword, now wrapped in spiritual qi and gleaming with divine light.
In his right hand was the Black Iron Box. As the spiritual qi surged into it, it flowed in smoothly like water, causing the pitch-black box to gradually heat up and emit streaks of black radiance.
"Rise!"
Evan Lin called out softly. The Black Iron Box slowly floated up, hovering and spinning gently above his right palm.
In the next moment, Evan Lin's left hand tightened around Dustleave's hilt, the sword tip pointing forward as he thrust fiercely toward the Black Iron Box.
As Dustleave's blade touched the surface of the Black Iron Box, the tip halted its momentum. Evan's left hand trembled slightly, and Dustleave's tip swiftly danced across the box, carving out intricate patterns.
"First Sword: Split Heaven and Earth!"
Evan Lin shouted in a low voice, eyes widening slightly. His left wrist twisted quickly as he extended his right hand, a burst of flame erupting from his fingertips.
At the exact moment Dustleave's tip stopped, the flame was unleashed, instantly enveloping the Black Iron Box. Under the searing heat, the sword patterns etched on the box became even clearer.
After a long while, Evan slowly opened his eyes, the red glow fading from his gaze.
He reached out and gently took the floating Black Iron Box into his hand. With a flicker in his eyes and a thought, whoosh—the ancient sword Dustleave shot out of the box and instantly appeared in Evan's grip.
"Just as I thought—a small spatial stone. I may not have the power to refine it into a real storage artifact yet, but I can definitely turn it into the core of a sword formation."
"Too bad I've only got Dustleave for now."
Evan shook his head slightly, then with another thought, Dustleave slipped back into the box.
"I'll call you the Four-Directions Sword Casket. Once I hit up Southriver Sword Sect and snag three more good swords, I’ll have a full Four-Directions Sword Array. That’ll be more than enough to wipe out any small fry."
Evan chuckled, a hint of exhaustion in his eyes.
"Just opening the casket’s pocket space with the first sword and creating a spirit pool with the second already took most of my energy. When I get all four swords together, I’ll need to whip up a bunch more Nourishing Spirit Pills."
Thinking about this, Evan went quiet for a moment and let out a long breath.
The three Maiden Spirits and the Fire-Python Spirit that had been guarding the room saw Evan get up and instantly whooshed back into their artifacts.
As they vanished,
BAM!
Someone outside kicked Evan’s door wide open.
Hearing the crash, Evan turned to look.
"Are you okay?!"
At the door stood Irene Xu, still in her flight attendant uniform, looking super anxious as she stared at Evan sitting on his bed.
"I'm fine. What's up?"
Evan blinked in confusion. Irene had a kitchen knife in one hand and a broom in the other, looking ready for battle.
Seeing that Evan was unharmed, Irene glanced around the room suspiciously, still puzzled. "I swear I heard a huge commotion in here just now."
"I knocked forever and no one answered! I thought there was a burglar or something—scared me half to death! Why didn’t you open the door? Were you doing something you shouldn’t in here?"
Irene finally relaxed, set down the knife and broom, then glanced over at Evan’s trash bin.
Inside were a few crumpled tissues he hadn’t tossed out yet.
Evan followed her gaze and looked over as well.
Both of them stared at the trash, where the tissues were all balled up.
The atmosphere suddenly got super awkward.
You know how it goes—guys use up tissues, girls rack up the electric bill.
Irene instantly seemed to get it. Her cheeks went crimson. After a moment of panicked silence, she glanced nervously at Evan and stammered, "You’re a senior now, you should focus more on studying and cut down on... other stuff. Of course, a little is okay, just don’t go overboard..."
"Huh?" Evan was stunned.
Seeing Evan play dumb, Irene just felt even more flustered, her mind spinning.
Before Evan could explain, Irene turned and hurried out: "I’ll cook something good for you tonight, you kids never know how to take care of yourselves."
"And you’re always up late, too…"
She kept talking as she practically sprinted away, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Evan sat on his bed for a while, finally piecing together what Irene was thinking. He sighed—there was just no way to explain this kind of thing.
"Well, that was awkward."
He stretched lazily.
Irene was a flight attendant, after all—pretty and classy, never short of admirers.
After leaving Evan's room, she leaned against the wall, patted her chest, and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Irene Xu, what were you thinking, kicking his door down like that?!"
Her cheeks were burning. "You knocked, he didn’t answer—of course he was busy! So embarrassing!"
She tried to calm her messy thoughts, but her curiosity only grew: in that moment, who was Evan thinking about?
Was it Stella Huang, one of his classmates, or maybe even Irene herself?
The last possibility made her cheeks burn even hotter. Flustered, she ducked straight into the kitchen to hide.
Evan sat on his bed for a while, finally piecing together what Irene was thinking. He sighed—there was just no way to explain this kind of thing.
"Well, that was awkward."
He stretched lazily.
Irene was a flight attendant, after all—pretty and classy, never short of admirers.
After leaving Evan's room, she leaned against the wall, patted her chest, and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Irene Xu, what were you thinking, kicking his door down like that?!"
Her cheeks were burning. "You knocked, he didn’t answer—of course he was busy! So embarrassing!"
She tried to calm her messy thoughts, but her curiosity only grew: in that moment, who was Evan thinking about?
Was it Stella Huang, one of his classmates, or maybe even Irene herself?
The last possibility made her cheeks burn even hotter. Flustered, she ducked straight into the kitchen to hide.