This kind of thing had never happened before.
But at this moment, watching the overflowing sword light, that sharp white Sword Qi that seemed to slice through everything, Aquarius vaguely understood.
What was originally a solo ritual, because of Wen Xishu’s entry, now had the possibility of being broken.
Plus that arrow from Sagittarius, which made the heart barrier in the ritual something that could be destroyed. That was the main reason.
In short, because of these two variables, the two who entered the Good and Evil Corridor actually walked back out.
They weren’t devoured by evil, but instead, relying on some tremendous obsession, broke through the heart’s barrier.
This truly was unprecedented; even Aquarius himself was seeing it for the first time.
When those two figures appeared again, Wen Xishu was covered in blood and looked rather wretched.
His head was split and bloodied, yet his gaze was incomparably firm.
"I won."
He didn’t say anything else, just let the blood flow, and then glared at Aquarius with a vicious look.
Wen Xishu had indeed won.
To emerge from the Good and Evil Corridor generally meant turning into a slave of "evil."
But obviously, Wen Xishu hadn’t changed, and the man beside him—whose whole style screamed wuxia, his long robes fluttering, white clothes whiter than snow—hadn’t changed either.
Not only had Liu Jianxin not been swallowed by evil, but because he’d seen some quality in Wen Xishu, the dust in his own heart had been washed away.
His gaze was like sword light, fixed on Aquarius. Not just him—Wen Xishu, and Sagittarius as well, were all staring at Aquarius.
Aquarius rather disliked being stared at like this:
"Hmph... Archer, do you know what this means? Forget it, I can’t explain it to you people. I’m done playing, I’m going home!"
Aquarius’s two bodyguards, two Red House–level monsters, blocked the way in front of him, while under Aquarius’s own feet, a strange Array appeared.
A vortex.
Wen Xishu had seen vortices many times; the vortex that belonged to Aquarius led to the Good and Evil Corridor, and naturally no one dared to chase him into it.
Seeing that Sagittarius still hadn’t made a move, Aquarius seemed a bit smug.
Wen Xishu really wanted Sagittarius to just kill Aquarius outright.
But he also knew that would trigger some enormous, unknown upheaval.
He was a little unwilling—was he really going to summon Sagittarius on loaned Tower Power Value, burning massive resources... only for Sagittarius to end up doing nothing?
Yes—before he managed to summon Sagittarius, Wen Xishu’s conditions for summoning Sagittarius weren’t yet mature; he was still a long way from a perfect ending.
That meant he’d overdrawn a massive amount of attributes to summon him.
Of course, as long as he ultimately achieved the perfect ending, he could make up those attributes later.
In principle, he wouldn’t lose out.
It was basically getting on the bus first and buying the ticket later. But when it came to Aquarius, if Sagittarius could only serve as intimidation, it still left Wen Xishu very displeased.
Aquarius, all smug like a little girl, stuck his tongue out at Wen Xishu and made a face:
"I’ll tell other people what I know! Archer, you’re a disgrace to the constellations!"
Sagittarius’s expression grew even more grave.
The fact that Wen Xishu possessed the Heart of Fusion could not be exposed; the fact that Sagittarius had helped Wen Xishu and could be summoned by him might let others deduce that Wen Xishu possessed the Heart of Fusion.
Sometimes, information itself was a form of deterrence.
If Aquarius left his attack range, then offense and defense would switch, and it would be Aquarius’s turn to use this secret to threaten him.
Thinking this, Sagittarius suddenly released the arrow.
With a bang, the giant sapphire-colored bowballista snapped and launched a sharp arrow!
Aquarius’s pupils shrank instantly.
He hadn’t expected Archer to actually shoot at him.
The two Red House–level bodyguards naturally wouldn’t just sit there and let their master be shot.
But how could they possibly have the ability to intercept Sagittarius’s arrow?
This arrow severed Aquarius’s Array.
Aquarius’s retreat was temporarily cut off.
Aquarius reacted quickly as well:
"Go capture him!"
That "him" naturally referred to Wen Xishu.
In the eyes of the constellations, Wen Xishu was a Tower Climber and couldn’t use violence.
Wen Xishu, covered in wounds at the moment, also didn’t look capable of any violence.
But the two Red House monsters had their paths instantly sealed off by streaks of sword light.
Liu Jianxin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking calmly at the two humanoid monsters.
His enemies, naturally, weren’t Aquarius.
"Don’t move. Or I’ll kill you."
He stood there with his hands behind his back, white Sword Qi behind him condensing into the shapes of swords.
In that moment, he truly became the version of Ye Jianxin he’d always imagined in his mind.
It was just that he only had a sword shaped from Sword Qi, an illusory blade. He was still missing a real sword.
Liu Jianxin was in no hurry; he simply beckoned with his hand.
On the other side of Deep City, in that shabby rental room, a Wooden Sword hanging on the wall began to tremble slightly.
When he was a child, his father had whittled that sword for him from a piece of found wood.
To have such a sword in childhood made him the most dazzling kid among his little buddies.
Though as time passed and they reached middle school, they gradually got into video games, into the internet...
Some hero’s skin seemed to be what they yearned for more, but in Liu Jianxin’s eyes, that sword his father carved was still the coolest.
The Wooden Sword finally felt the summoning.
In that moment, it was given a great mission.
After a faint tremor, it broke free of all restraints, flew out of the rental room, turned into a streak of flowing light, and tore through the sky toward him.
When the Wooden Sword appeared in Liu Jianxin’s hand, it, like that man shedding his school uniform to become a Hero, transformed into a real sword.
Ye Jianxin’s sword.