Free Web NovelChapter 2850 - The Little Boss
Li Sansheng appeared over a stretch of churning lava somewhere in the River of Destiny, Lu Hongpao in tow.
Li Sansheng cleared his throat, then bellowed, “Come on out and welcome our guest, you old turtle!”
The lava churned like seawater as a massive, black head emerged from its depths, like a towering divine mountain filling every last inch of space.
Its eyes were like twin blazing suns, glittering, golden, and imposing.
Lu Hongpao gasped.
On their way here, Li Sansheng told her that they were going to a place known as the Cavern of Swords. Apparently, a long, long time ago, the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City had left three of his personal weapons here. An old turtle had quietly watched over them ever since.
When they arrived, and Lu Hongpao saw that massive turtle break through the surface of the lava, she realized that this was no ordinary turtle. Rather, this was an incomparably terrifying existence.
Its aura was at least as terrifying as a Heavenly Sovereign’s!
As a Heavenly Sovereign, Lu Hongpao naturally knew that the waters of the River of Destiny were home to countless mysterious, unknown lifeforms, including several powerful enough to threaten a Heavenly Sovereign’s life.
Lu Hongpao had seen some with her own two eyes.
However, she’d never seen anything like this massive turtle!
“You’re here again, you useless wretch?” said the turtle, its voice booming like a thunderclap.
Li Sansheng stomped his feet and cursed it out. “Who are you calling useless? I only just fought Zhi Wuzhong, you know! How can you call me useless? If you’d been there, you’d have been scared out of your shell!”
The old turtle exclaimed, “Zhi Wuzhong?”
“That’s right!” said Li Sansheng, suddenly smug. “Rather, it was just an imprint of him. It was nothing compared to me.”
Lu Hongpao’s gaze was strange. She’d already witnessed the famed fearlessness of Sword Sovereign City’s experts for herself, but she wouldn’t have guessed that an honest, simple-looking sword cultivator like Li Sansheng would boast so shamelessly. freёwebnoѵel.com
The turtle fell briefly silent, then laughed coldly. “An existence like Zhi Wuzhong likely saw no need to make trouble for someone as lowly as you. If you two actually fought, I’ll kneel and call you ‘grandfather’!”
Li Sansheng grinned, but before he could say anything, the turtle glared. A massive claw appeared out of nowhere, forcing Li Sansheng underwater.
As the lava burned away his skin, he yelped and shrieked, “Let go of me! Grandpa Turtle, no, Great-Grandpa Turtle! Keep this up, and you’ll really burn me to cinders!”
The turtle said slowly, “Did the Big Boss send you here to borrow a sword to save that little girl?”
Little girl? Lu Hongpao’s gaze grew strange, but inwardly, she was quite pleased. The ol’ turtle’s words are music to my ears!
“Let go of me!” Li Sansheng shouted from the lava.
“Answer me first,” said the turtle.
Li Sansheng cried out, “That ‘little girl’ is the Big Boss’s reincarnation’s dear friend and confidante! She almost died in battle to save him just now!”
The turtle couldn’t help but feel moved. It was instantly solemn and respectful. “Miss, I was negligent earlier. Please don’t take offense.”
Lu Hongpao shook her head, then pointed to Li Sansheng, who was still trapped beneath the lava. “Might you perhaps let Fellow Daoist Li go before we talk?”
Li Sansheng looked utterly wretched; even his eyebrows had been burned off. Lu Hongpao almost couldn’t bear to look at him.
The turtle smiled. “Since you asked, I’ll spare the useless wretch just this once.”
The massive claw holding Li Sansheng in place vanished, freeing him instantly. He shot into the firmament, then opened his mouth to curse the turtle out. “Damn you, you old...”
But then, the turtle glared at him, and Li Sansheng’s curses came to an abrupt halt.
The cultivators of Sword Sovereign City weren’t afraid to die, but it was a different story when they were up against their own. They knew when it was in their best interest to wimp out.
“The Big Boss said that Miss Lu should cultivate in seclusion here for the time being. You’re to be her Dao Protector, you old tortoise,” Li Sansheng said irritably. “That’s the situation, so let me just ask you this: do you agree?”
The turtle said with unprecedented solemnity bordering on piety, “This old servant shall assiduously carry out the Big Boss’s orders!”
How many years had passed? The turtle had finally lived long enough to receive the Big Boss’s orders once more!
The thought filled its heart with excitement. A long time passed, yet it was unable to calm down.
Li Sansheng went on to explain Lu Hongpao’s situation in detail.
After learning that her body was destroyed and that her soul was down to its last thread of vitality, the turtle’s eyes filled with doting. “Rest assured, miss. I’ll be sure to help you rebuild your body and rise again, like a phoenix reborn amidst the flame. I’m sure that that’s what the Big Boss is hoping to see.”
Lu Hongpao was stunned. As a Heavenly Sovereign, she understood her current predicament better than anyone. She had no expectation of regaining her former strength anytime soon.
Yet the turtle said it could help her be reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes!
For a moment, she only half believed it.
“Your sword was destroyed, too?” said the turtle, looking increasingly moved. “Miss, you’re a Heavenly Sovereign, yet you paid such a grievous price to help the Big Boss’s reincarnation. It’s truly worthy of respect!”
As it spoke, the surrounding space shook, and two swords flew into the air and hovered before Lu Hongpao.
The first was as dazzling as the misty light of the nine heavens, searingly radiant and billowing with the light of the Grand Dao.
The second was only seven inches long. It was a flying sword as thin as a willow branch, and it scattered fragments of stars. The blade was thoroughly wrapped in blood-red cloth, obscuring its true appearance.
“Miss, these are two of the swords the Big Boss left here. The first is called Flowing Waters, the second, Midnight,” said the turtle. “Please choose one as your new personal weapon!”
Li Sansheng couldn’t hide his jealousy. “Hey, you damn turtle! When I came to borrow a sword, you did everything you could to stand in my way, yet now, here you are, offering a sword to someone of your own free will. Don’t you think such blatantly differential treatment is over the line?”
The old turtle said, “How can a useless wretch like you compare to the confidante of the Big Boss’s reincarnation?”
Something suddenly occurred to the turtle, which said, “The sword in Li Sansheng’s hands, Snow Cap, was also left here by the Big Boss. You’re welcome to select it, too. Take whichever you like!”
Lu Hongpao was a Heavenly Sovereign, yet even she felt startled—and flattered.
She hesitated, but in the end, she refused. “I’m in no state to use a sword right now.”
The turtle seemed quite understanding. It said gently, “Everything will be okay, Miss. Please, rest assured. Everything in the Cavern of Swords is at your disposal.”
With that, the turtle raised its head, and the world of lava transformed. A black palace appeared deep within the molten rock.
“Before he entered the cycle of transformation, the Big Boss placed his weapon, Small Serenities, inside that palace. You’re a sword cultivator, too, Miss, so you’re welcome to cultivate inside,” the turtle said with benevolence.
The turtle didn’t explain, but Li Sansheng stiffened, and his eyes filled with disbelief.
Small Serenities!
That was the sword that had accompanied the Big Boss for longer than any other. Its spirit was famed for attainments in the Dao of the Sword second only to the Big Boss himself.
Thus, the cultivators of Sword Sovereign City called the spirit “the Little Boss!”
The Big Boss was aloof and antisocial. He was almost always either deep in seclusion or out exploring. It wasn’t at all unusual for him to vanish for tens of thousands of years at a time.
Even when the city’s denizens saw him, it was for but a fleeting glimpse!
Moreover, he was habitually silent. He often went thousands of years without saying a word. His cold, taciturn nature was world famous.
Fortunately, Sword Sovereign City had the Little Boss to oversee things. The sword spirit attended to the city’s affairs and even transmitted the Dao, guiding the city’s sword cultivators and clearing up their doubts.
It was to the point that the city would have been fine if anyone else had left, but it couldn’t survive without the Little Boss!
“I just knew Small Serenities was still around. That means the Little Boss is still here, too. I just knew it... Wonderful! Wonderful!” Li Sansheng murmured in a daze.
Lu Hongpao instantly realized that Small Serenities had to be extraordinary.
“You needn’t overthink things, Miss, and you needn’t refuse. This shall be your home going forward,” the turtle said benevolently. “You can just focus on your cultivation without worrying about a thing.”
But when the turtle looked at Li Sansheng, its kindliness turned to distaste. “What are you doing here? Don’t you see you’re unwanted? Hurry up and scram!”
Boom!
A wave of lava rose, sending Li Sansheng flying.
“Damnit! That blasted tortoise is only getting ruder and ruder as time passes!
Li Sansheng was frantic with anger.
He patted his butt, then strode off.
Zhi Wuzhong’s involvement presented a potential lethal threat. He had to report back to the Big Boss as soon as possible.
......
The heart devil sprawled out in the rusted sheath, legs crossed as he flipped through the message Li Sansheng had just sent him.
The message included every detail of Lu Hongpao’s battle, culminating in her entering the Cavern of Swords to cultivate.
“So, that greedy guts Zhi Wuzhong showed up. Tch, tch. He sure knows how to show off! He seriously thinks Su Yi is unworthy of being his enemy? What a blow to my self-esteem!
“No, this won’t do. I’ve got to teach him a lesson. I’ll barge in when he’s in seclusion, set all manner of fruit and seeds in front of him, then refuse to let him eat any of them! He’ll die of sheer greed! Let’s see if he’s still so arrogant then!
“And that little turtle sure isn’t treating Lu Hongpao like an outsider. It’d give her anything she asked for. Don’t tell me it thinks she’s going to be its mistress one day? What a pain in the neck,” grumbled the heart devil.
He went on like that for a while, then let out a deep sigh, his interest waning. He’d done Su Yi a massive favor, but Su Yi had no idea. Will that kid distance himself from me after this? Should I explain? Should I tell him that everything’s been resolved, and that I actually stepped in already?
Forget it! How could I disregard my face like that? What need do I have to explain myself to him?
So what if he’s upset? That’s his problem!
He’ll understand who really treats him the best when he next sees Lu Hongpao.
The thought instantly lifted the heart devil’s spirits.
As for the changes to the Far Shore of Destiny, the destruction of Sword Sovereign City, and the changes in store for the River of Destiny?
He was a heart devil. None of that had anything to do with him!
Su Yi would have to deal with all that himself!
Later that day, the little silver boat carrying Su Yi through turbulent spacetime shook as it appeared over the River of Destiny.
Before Su Yi could respond, it fell into pieces, scattering into a rain of light.
