Monster Paradise

In the next few days, Lin Huang did not continue going to the ruins and secret zones in the Great Heaven Territory. Instead, he decided to relax, act like a tourist, and stroll around Heavenly Sword Planet.

Although he had not found Jin Wu, he had completely expected that; very quickly he put the matter behind him.

The travel itinerary sent by Great Heaven¹ was very detailed. Both big and small tourist spots on Heavenly Sword Planet were clearly listed, including the recommendation ratings of three to five stars. There were also various food and specialty shops on the planet that were also marked with recommendation star ratings and detailed addresses for authentic local goods, as well as the normal price of items.

Lin Huang walked around with the two Sword Servants for a whole day, and they only managed to visit only one-fifth of the places on the itinerary.

The next morning, Lin Huang and the two Sword Servants came to a handicraft shop.

This shop was a five-star one recommended by Sword11; it was a place that sold sculptures.

All of the sculptures had been hand-carved by the proprietor and they were exquisitely beautiful.

According to the information provided by Sword11, the owner of the shop was just an ordinary person who did not have cultivation potential, but who gained insight into the meaning of Sword Dao through carving. Although it was only the most rudimentary entry-level stage of level-1 Sword Dao, it was also quite remarkable. One had to know that many sword cultivators who had elevated to transcendent level might not necessarily even understand level-1 Sword Dao.

Based on that alone, Lin Huang became interested in both the shop and the shop owner.

As soon as he arrived at the door of the shop, Lin Huang saw a wooden signboard. The three words “Carved Heart Pavilion” on the signboard were obviously carved by the shop owner.

From afar, Lin Huang had already felt that there was a faint inner meaning to it.

Although it was very shallow and light, it was indeed a character that could only be sculpted by a person who had grasped the meaning of Sword Dao.

“Carved Heart… This shop owner’s manner of expression is certainly not small.” Lin Huang smiled faintly and entered the shop with the two Sword Servants.

The store area was not large; it was an estimated 30 to 40 ping¹.

Several large cabinets against the wall extended from the floor to the roof. The shelves inside were all full of palm-sized sculptures.

Most of these sculptures were a variety of monsters; a few were human beings, but none of the sculptures were repeats.

In addition to the cabinet against the wall, two large tables had been placed in the room, covered with black cloth, and used as display stands.

The sculptures on the tables were densely arranged, and they were no longer sized like the standard ones in the cabinet. Here, there were sculptures both big and small. The big ones were about half a meter high and the small ones were just the size of a thumb.

Lin Huang glanced at the sculptures on the tables with their varying heights and could not help raising his eyebrows.

“Boss, there are some pieces on these tables that you didn’t carve, am I right?”

Lin Huang said this because he felt that most of the sculptures on the table did not have a sense of inner meaning like the shop owner’s own carvings.

“Some of these are my early failures, some I collected from various places, and a small number of them were carved by several of my apprentices.” The shop owner glanced up at Lin Huang, seemingly surprised by Lin Huang’s perception.

Lin Huang glanced over the tables. Suddenly a sculpture caught his attention.

It was a three-legged Golden Crow with a height of almost 30 cm; the material used for the carving was ordinary ebony.

The carving on the Golden Crow was average. The main problem was that the lines were too rigid. It looked a bit like a novice’s work, but what caused Lin Huang to feel puzzled was the faintest traces of inner meaning hidden within the sculpture.

If he had not mastered Sword Dao true meaning, it would have been difficult for him to even have sensed this inner meaning.

What puzzled Lin Huang even more was that the inner meaning was different from that of the shop owner.

He picked up the Golden Crow sculpture and examined it carefully. He then noticed that the base of the sculpture was inscribed with two words-—”Jin Wu”!

When he saw these two words, Lin Huang’s mind received a mild shock.

He immediately initiated his Divine Telekinesis and scanned the sculpture carefully.

Under a Divine Telekinesis scan, the issues with this sculpture became more apparent. There were problems in the detailing. It gave off the feeling of a novice who had not learned to sculpt.

Other than that, however, Lin Huang did not sense anything.

Just as Lin Huang was about to question the shop owner, Yin Yin’s voice suddenly came.

“The aura of this sculpture—Yin Yin feels that it is slightly familiar…”

“Is it related to Teacher Great Heaven?” Lin Huang asked quickly.

“Yin Yin doesn’t know, she can’t remember…” Yin Yin still did not give a definite answer.

Although he did not get the desired answer from Yin Yin, Lin Huang speculated that even if this object was not directly related to Great Heaven, it might be related to the “Jin Wu” whom the Club was looking for.

He glanced at the other wood carvings, then searched carefully again with Divine Telekinesis; there were no other sculptures similar to this one.

He then walked towards the shop owner with the Golden Crow sculpture.

“Boss, how much is this?”

The proprietor lifted his head to eye the Golden Crow that Lin Huang was holding, then glanced back to Lin Huang again. “If you want it, I’ll give it to you for free.”

“Why? Isn’t it worth anything?” Lin Huang asked deliberately for the sake of getting more information.

“This was carved by a child two months ago when he was sitting in on my free class. For a novice to have carved something like in his first class shows he has quite a bit of natural talent. Unfortunately, after that free class he hasn’t been here again,” the store owner explained, “If you like it, take it.”

“Can I ask for the child’s particulars?” Lin Huang asked again.

“Why are you asking about this?” The shop owner looked at Lin Huang rather warily.

“I am a cultivator and I have been looking for an apprentice. After seeing this sculpture today, I think that this child may be the one I am looking for,” Lin Huang used Sword11’s pretext. When he had finished speaking, his figure slowly levitated from the ground, indicating his identity as a cultivator.

When the shop owner saw that Lin Huang’s feet were floating off the ground, he was stunned for a while. It took a moment for him to gather his senses and ask rather diffidently, “You just need one look to know if there is cultivation potential?”

“One look is enough for me.” Lin Huang nodded with a smile as he slowly descended to land on the floor.

“Then could you help me look?” The shop owner asked with some embarrassment. He was in his fifties but still dreamed of becoming a cultivator.

“You have chosen very well with your path of sculpting. Don’t worry about cultivating,” Lin Huang replied with a smile.

Although he did not get a clear answer, the shop owner understood the meaning behind Lin Huang’s words. His face turned red and he did not dare pursue the matter further.

“I’ll ask my apprentice, those who attended the free class should have had their details recorded.”

When he finished speaking, the shop owner quickly contacted his apprentice and asked for personal information Lin Huang had requested.

“The child’s name is Wu Hao; he is 16 years old. His address is Meteor Street…”

When he read out the address, the proprietor’s face changed slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Huang noticed this and asked immediately.

“Meteor Street is a slum and it is very chaotic there…” The shop owner muttered softly after he finished, “No wonder he only came for the free class…”

“Thanks!” Lin Huang tossed the owner a Divine Stone and disappeared with the two Sword Servants.

Stunned, the proprietor stared in the direction where the three of them had stood before they disappeared. A moment later, he came out of his daze. When he saw the black Divine Stone in his hands, his eyes widened suddenly and his words became incoherent.

“This…this is…a Di- … Di-… Divine Stone?!”