Chapter 3037: The Artifact Spirit of the Tower of Radiance (Two)

“I- it’s my… m- master’s… descendant…” A stuttering voice rang out from the Tower of Radiance. It was extremely feeble.

Gongsun Zhi was overjoyed when he heard that. He became extremely excited. How many years? Just how many years had it been? He basically spent every single day looking forward to the artifact spirit of the Tower of Radiance’s awakening. All of his callings in the past had ended in failure, and all of his anticipation had ended in disappointment.

He never thought that on this day and at this moment, he would finally see the artifact spirit awaken again. All these years of effort had finally paid off, which left Gongsun Zhi so excited that he trembled all over.

“Fantastic. Fantastic. Sir artifact spirit, you’ve finally appeared. You’ve finally appeared.” Gongsun Zhi danced around out of joy. “Sir artifact spirit, what’s your situation right now?”

“Master’s… descendant, a foreign enemy has invaded me… which has taken a very great toll on me… I’m… very feeble right now,” the artifact spirit’s voice rang out.

“Sir artifact spirit, can you give me the right to allocate the three remaining protector swords to me right now? So I can choose who wields them?” Gongsun Zhi seemed to only ask about the artifact spirit’s situation as a formality. He did not care too much about the invading foreign enemy that the artifact spirit mentioned. Right now, his mind was simply filled with a desire to obtain the right to allocate the three remaining protector swords.

After mentioning his desire, Gongsun Zhi eagerly waited for the artifact spirit’s reply. He became extremely nervous.

“Master’s… descendant… I’m very… feeble right now, so I don’t have sufficient power… to mobilise the last three… protector swords.”

Gongsun Zhi was greatly disappointed, but he still asked hopefully, “Then how can you recover your strength as soon as possible?”

“Time…”

Immediately, Gongsun Zhi deflated like a balloon. The Tower of Radiance was a sovereign god artifact. If a god artifact like that required time to recover, who knew how long it would take. He could not afford to wait until then at all.

“Sir artifact spirit, I wield Godslayer’s sword that ranks first right now, and I possess my ancestor’s bloodline, but the five other wielders of the protector swords do not listen to me at all. Even my identity as the hall master is merely a title without any substance. As a result, I hope you can help me out.” Gongsun Zhi seemed to make up his mind about something. He bowed deeply and mustered the courage. “Please forgive me, but I hope sir artifact spirit can recognise me as your master. Only when I’ve truly gained control over the Tower of Radiance can I consolidate my status in the Radiant Saint Hall.”

“Also, in the current world, I’m probably the only remaining descendant of my ancestor, so in terms of qualification, I technically deserve to inherit everything that belongs to my ancestor. Since my ancestor forged the Tower of Radiance, it makes perfect sense for me to inherit it.” As he spoke, Gongsun Zhi suddenly straightened himself out. He became extremely enthusiastic as well, saying proudly, “In the current Saints’ World, there’s probably no other person aside from me who is qualified to inherit the Tower of Radiance.”

After saying that, Gongsun Zhi just stood on the peak of the mountain with his chest held high, waiting for the artifact spirit’s reply nervously and restlessly, together with a deep sense of anticipation. He could not help but imagine how authoritative and mighty he would be in the Radiant Saint Hall once he obtained the Tower of Radiance.

He had a total of two objectives the entire time for awakening the artifact spirit. The first was to obtain the right to allocate the last three protector swords so that he could nurture a force of his own.

The second was to control the Tower of Radiance and become its master.

This time, the artifact spirit fell silent for a good moment before replying with its broken voice, “You’re… not from the imperial clan… You can’t… inherit the Tower of Radiance. The Tower of Radiance… can only be inherited… by the imperial clan… Only the imperial clan… can truly unleash… the power of the Tower of Radiance… too.”

Gongsun Zhi shuddered violently. The artifact spirit’s words plunged deeply into his heart like a knife, immediately shattering all of his dreams.

Gongsun Zhi’s expression changed drastically. His face immediately became twisted, becoming extremely hideous. He said hysterically, “No, I am from the imperial clan. I am the only member of the imperial clan in the world, as well as the only one who can inherit the Tower of Radiance.”

“Artifact spirit, I possess my ancestor’s bloodline, which is the bloodline of a Grand Exalt, so tell me, why aren’t I a member of the imperial clan? Why aren’t I a member of the imperial clan? Throughout the entire world, just who dares to call them a member of the imperial clan and just who has the right to be a member of the imperial clan apart from me?”

“Members of the imperial clan… are… created by the world. You’re not… from the imperial clan… so you have no right… to inherit the Tower of Radiance. However… since you are master’s descendant, I can… help you… and make all the protectors… listen to your command… Unfortunately… I don’t have enough power right now… or I should be… taking back the five… protector swords.”

“Master’s… descendant, go call the five… other protectors… over.”

Hearing that, Gongsun Zhi finally received a bit of consolation despite his mind almost caving in. He could not obtain the Tower of Radiance, but if he could control the protectors, then that was quite a nice outcome too.

Composing himself, Gongsun Zhi immediately left the Tower of Radiance. Very soon, Bai Yu, Han Xin, Donglin Yanxue, Xuan Zhan, Xuan Ming, and him entered the Tower of Radiance from outside.

The six wielders of the protector swords had all gathered in the Tower of Radiance.

It was also at this moment that the artifact spirit’s voice rang out, “The third protector sword, Openfield’s sword… the fourth protector sword, Cliffgrinder’s sword… the fifth protector sword, Deepflow’ sword… the eighth protector sword, Wavebreaker’s sword… the ninth protector sword, Mindwaker’s sword… have all experienced an accident. They should not have ended up in your hands. Since you wield the protector swords, then you must follow the will of the first protector sword, Godslayer’s sword. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to… take the protector swords from you.”

When they heard that, everyone’s faces changed apart from Gongsun Zhi, whose face was filled with complacency. Their current strength and status completely originated from the protector swords. Once they lost the protector swords, they would fall from heaven high above to an abyssal hell.

……

…

After leaving the Tower of Radiance, Gongsun Zhi, Bai Yu, Han Xin, Donglin Yanxue, Xuan Zhan, and Xuan Ming all gathered in the discussion hall.

Gongsun Zhi was in high spirits, and his face was filled with arrogance. He sat on the hall master’s throne with great enjoyment and stared at the five unsettled protectors below with a slight smile. He said, “You must have all understood what the artifact spirit said. If you want to continue wielding a protector sword, if you want to continue as a protector of our Radiant Saint Hall, then you must follow my orders. Otherwise, I’ll get sir artifact spirit to take the protector swords away from you.”

“Right now, I need you to express your opinion and clarify the stance you will take!” Gongsun Zhi stared at the five protectors and hinted at something different altogether. He felt extremely satisfied inside. His gloom and displeasure from failing to get the Tower of Radiance to recognise him as its master had vanished long ago.

Han Xin, Bai Yu, and Donglin Yanxue’s faces became extremely ugly and sunken, while Xuan Mng looked at his father, Xuan Zhan. Clearly, he would be following whatever choice Xuan Zhan made.

Xuan Zhan glanced past Bai Yu, Han Xin, and Donglin Yanxue before saying indifferently, “Since the artifact spirit has spoken, the five of us will obviously obey the artifact spirit’s orders!”

Hearing how Xuan Zhan had actually made the decision in their place, Donglin Yanxue and Bai Yu immediately became furious. However, right when they were about to speak up, Xuan Zhan’s voice drifted through their ears, along with Han Xin’s.

“We’ll hold Gongsun Zhi off for now. The artifact spirit of the Tower of Radiance truly does possess the ability to take the protector swords from us. I personally don’t mind, as I’ll still have the same status in the Radiant Saint Hall even without the protector sword, but once you lose your protector swords, Gongsun Zhi will never spare you given the kind of person he is. By then, it won’t just be you. Perhaps even the clans behind you will be dragged into the matter.”

“Your priority right now is to keep the protector swords. If I’ve guessed correctly, the first thing Gongsun Zhi will do after gaining authority will be to seek revenge from Jian Chen and take back the Grand Exalt’s cultivation method, the Method of the Exalted Saint. If you really want to protect Jian Chen, then you need to protect your protector swords first, as only when you possess the protector swords will you be able to interfere with him.”

Bai Yu and Donglin Yanxue immediately fell silent after hearing Xuan Zhan’s advice. Then they expressed reluctantly that they would follow the artifact spirit’s orders with Han Xin.

“Hahahaha, good, good, good. Very good. Our Radiant Saint Hall has never been so united ever since the protector swords appeared. I order you right now to search for Jian Chen’s whereabouts immediately with everything that you have. The Method of the Exalted Saint has been lost outside for many years now. It’s about time for it to return.”

“Once we obtain the Method of the Exalted Saint, we’ll destroy the Martial Soul lineage immediately. I’ve sworn on my ancestor’s name that as long as I am still around, the Martial Soul lineage won’t have a single successor at all. I’ll kill them as they emerge.”