Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 69 - Stalled Selection (1)

Zanxing took a step back. “I’ll pick last. Senior Brothers, please go ahead.” She couldn’t snatch away Mu Cengxiao’s opportunity, or else the original world would issue a warning. So, being second or third wasn’t so bad.

Tian Fangfang rubbed his chin and wandered around, while Zanxing’s gaze landed on Mu Cengxiao.

The young man didn’t seem to be in a hurry, casually running his hand over the nearby weapons, his eyes wandering over the swords hanging on the wall.

Since he practiced swordsmanship, it was only natural for him to choose a sword.

Xuan Lingzi also observed Mu Cengxiao and Tian Fangfang. To be honest, he always felt particularly nervous when new disciples entered the armory to choose their weapons. The reason was simple: people could misjudge others, but weapons could not. Powerful weapons had their own choices. Most of the time, one could gauge a disciple’s potential from their selection of a weapon.

Although these three disciples’ current cultivation levels might not be the most outstanding in the sect, each had their own opportunities. Perhaps they had cultivated independently in the mortal world, which was quite surprising. Having been at the Taiyan Sect for decades, it was Xuan Lingzi’s first time accepting disciples. Naturally, he hoped to receive the best disciples, to show those self-proclaimed powerful new sects what his disciples were capable of.

Just as she was thinking, Mu Cengxiao stopped in front of a pile of weapons.

There were at least a dozen or more weapons stacked haphazardly here, including whips, long spears, swords, and halberds. After looking for a while, the young man bent down and pulled out a sword from among them.

Zanxing’s heart skipped a beat. Here it comes, here it comes! This was an important scene from the original story! She thought excitedly.

It was this seemingly ordinary, even somewhat damaged iron sword that eventually became a terrifying divine sword in the cultivation world. This was because the sword contained hidden restrictions. However, Mu Cengxiao used the Xiao Yuan Pearl to unlock the restrictions on the sword, then irrigated it with blood, causing the divine sword to eventually develop a spirit, accompanying Mu Cengxiao to achieve great feats, slaying demons and gods, and reaching the pinnacle of his life.

Now that the Xiao Yuan Pearl was with her, Mu Cengxiao still chose to pull out this sword. Did this mean that the protagonist’s halo was unaffected? So far, was the main storyline still developing according to the original?

Seeing Mu Cengxiao pull out the sword, Xuan Lingzi’s gaze flickered with surprise. He seemed like he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent. On the other hand, Tian Fangfang burst into laughter, “This axe looks great! It seems quite valuable! I’ll take this one, Master!”

Turning their heads, they saw Tian Fangfang striding over, holding a golden axe, his smile particularly radiant. The axe appeared heavy and wide, with an exceptionally long and large blade. If swung in hand, it would appear rugged and powerful. Whether it was gold-plated or made entirely of gold, the entire axe shone in a crimson-gold color, exuding luxury to the extent that Tian Fangfang seemed like a royal kitchen assistant ready to slaughter fish.

Nevertheless, both of them seemed to have found satisfactory weapons.

Xuan Lingzi turned to Zanxing. “Zanxing, it’s your turn to choose.”

Zanxing looked at the array of swords, spears, and halberds hanging in the warehouse, feeling a sinking sensation in her heart.

Originally, she had thought not to compete with Mu Cengxiao for the protagonist’s halo and let him choose first, as long as he avoided the divine sword. But now… the Xiao Yuan Pearl remained silent.

The Xiao Yuan Pearl did not alert her.

Whether in the original plot or when selecting secret techniques in the martial arts hall before, the Xiao Yuan Pearl has always played a significant role. Like a precise detector, it could always discover lost treasures.

But now, no matter how hard Zanxing tried to activate the Xiao Yuan Pearl, it remained unresponsive.

“Come on, Junior Sister,” Tian Fangfang said excitedly, watching her, “With so many weapons, isn’t there one that catches your eye?”

Zanxing thought to herself, Indeed, there isn’t. Nothing could be more frustrating than tossing someone with choice anxiety into a warehouse full of choices.

Mu Cengxiao also held the God-Slaying Sword, staring at her. Under the watchful eyes of those present, Zanxing walked to a corner of the room, her gaze falling on a silver staff.

She practiced the Qing’e Flower-Picking Staff Technique. Therefore, her natural choice would be a staff. Since the Xiao Yuan Pearl remained unresponsive, she would make her own choice. Zanxing stood still, reaching out towards the staff, took a deep breath, and tried to pick it up… but couldn’t.

Zanxing was stunned.

The staff looked slender and delicate, even shorter than the iron staff distributed by the sect, seemingly designed for a woman. However, as soon as she tried to hold it, it felt as heavy as a mountain, and she couldn’t lift it no matter how hard she tried.

She attempted twice, but the silver staff remained unmoved, making the atmosphere awkward.

Mu Cengxiao asked, “Can’t you lift it?”

Zanxing withdrew her hand, feeling a burning sensation in her palm. She said, “It seems… I can’t lift it.”

“Then it means you have no affinity with it,” Xuan Lingzi’s voice came, his expression somewhat mysterious. “In the armory, it may seem like the master chooses the weapon, but in reality, it’s the weapon that chooses the master. Cengxiao can wield the God-Slaying Sword, and Fangfang can handle the Qianyang Axe because the weapons have recognized them as their masters. If you can’t lift this staff, it only means that it’s not your weapon. Your weapon is elsewhere. Go choose another one.”

Zanxing’s gaze dimmed slightly. It turned out to be a two-way selection process.

Seeing her hesitating, Xuan Lingzi asked again, “Are there really no other weapons here that you like?”

“Yeah, Junior Sister,” Tian Fangfang said contentedly, weighing the Qianyang Axe in his hand. He smiled and said, “As soon as I saw this golden axe, I felt like it had my name written all over it. Just look for something that you feel a strong urge to hold in your hand. You can’t go wrong with that!”

Zanxing replied, “… There isn’t.”

She walked over to another weapon that resembled a staff, but this one looked like a long halberd. Zanxing reached out to try and pick it up, but it felt unbearably heavy.

In the end, she couldn’t lift this halberd either.

Next, Zanxing tried swords, shields, whips, tridents, spears, maces, and spiked clubs… but none of them could be lifted.

By the end, Zanxing was sweating profusely, and the smile on Xuan Lingzi’s face gradually faded, replaced by a growing sense of concern.

“Master,” Zanxing gave up trying to lift the weapons and sat down on the ground, wiping away her sweat. “I can’t do it. I can’t lift any of them. It seems that none of the weapons in the arsenal have any affinity with me.”

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Xuan Lingzi refused to accept the reality. “Your cultivation level may not be very high, but it’s not at the bottom either. Even if you can’t lift high-grade weapons, you should still be able to handle middle-grade ones. How can you not be able to lift any of them?”

“Why don’t we ask the Sect Leader?” Mu Cengxiao suggested, perhaps feeling pity for Zanxing. Mu Cengxiao had been much kinder to Zanxing since Liu Yunxin had started using the Xianyun Lingzhi. Although they weren’t exactly close, he wasn’t as dismissive as before.

After some consideration, Xuan Lingzi couldn’t come up with a better idea, so he agreed with Mu Cengxiao’s suggestion. “Alright, you all go ahead. I’ll go to the Jinhua Hall and ask the Sect Leader why Zanxing can’t lift any weapons from the arsenal.”

Zanxing nodded in agreement.