Chapter 216: A Greedy Sword

In the past, the major empires had dispatched agents to infiltrate the Chiyan Imperial Palace in search of the Supreme Heaven. The problem, however, was that they didn't even know what the Supreme Heaven was. Searching for it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and their efforts naturally ended in failure.

It was no wonder Yan Moxie was excited. The Supreme Heaven was an unavoidable hurdle for the Revolutionary Army. If they wanted to overthrow the Chiyan Empire, the most critical step was seizing the Supreme Heaven. Otherwise, no one could defeat the Chiyan Imperial Family while they possessed it.

"The rule for using the Supreme Heaven is equivalent exchange."

Equivalent exchange?

Yan Moxie grew even more excited, as if he had just heard the world's ultimate secret. "And then?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"There is more, but... it will cost extra."

Yan Moxie's feverish excitement cooled instantly, as though a basin of cold water had been dumped over his head. He truly could not afford to pay more. Any more, and he might as well sell the entire Revolutionary Army to the Seven Deadly Sins.

"Forget it, then."

Su Mu nodded, sparing himself the need to lie. He only knew this much about the Supreme Heaven; anything beyond it would just be blind fabrication.

"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency Pride. I will report to headquarters. The mithril activation technology will be brought to you shortly." With that, Yan Moxie hurried away. He had to relay the intelligence on the Supreme Heaven to the Revolutionary Army's headquarters immediately.

A long while later, Yan Moxie returned looking visibly relieved. He held a thin booklet bearing the words "Mithril Activation" and handed it respectfully to Lust.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing put on a show of seriously flipping through the pages, then nodded at Su Mu. What did a fortune-teller know about technology? However, he figured the Revolutionary Army definitely wouldn't dare provide a fake.

"Vice-Commander Yan, I look forward to our next collaboration," Su Mu said coolly. The two men then slowly vanished from where they stood.

Only after Su Mu left did Yan Moxie finally let out a long breath of relief. Facing a lawless powerhouse like Pride, his nerves had been taut the entire time, terrified that a single wrong word would spark a fight.

...

...

Bronze Coffin Company.

"Can you understand it?"

"I recognize all the individual words, but strung together, I don't understand a thing." Nangong Mengli playfully pursed her lips. Ever since Murong Zhuo's death, her disguise when facing Su Mu had grown increasingly thin, occasionally even revealing a girlish demeanor fitting her age.

Su Mu's eyes flickered slightly. Skilled at reading people, he could naturally see right through Nangong Mengli's mindset. However, he didn't point it out, instead maintaining a deliberate aloofness—commonly known as stringing her along.

He highly valued Nangong Mengli's abilities and deeply understood a certain principle: controlling people with benefits meant they would scatter when the benefits ran out; controlling people with power meant they would abandon you when the power was lost. Only by binding someone by the heart could one secure their long-term loyalty.

The possessor of the Highest Sequence of the Silver Law was well worth this level of treatment.

"Looks like we need to find a professional."

"Mhm. This involves a massive amount of transcendent materials. It requires the interaction of multiple transcendent materials with mithril to ultimately produce the activation effect. To find an expert in this field, I'm afraid we'll have to kidnap one from the Federal Pharmaceutical Company."

"That won't be necessary. I have a better candidate in mind." The image of a girl with a hime cut, dressed in a JK uniform, surfaced in Su Mu's mind.

Mu Qing.

By his calculations, the Ceaseless Recovery potion that Mu Qing was preparing should be just about ready.

"Who?"

"You'll meet her if the chance arises. Oh, right, this is for you." Su Mu brought out a Silver-White Mask and handed it to Nangong Mengli.

Nangong Mengli took the mask. Looking at the smiling face of Envy carved into it, she couldn't help but smile faintly. "The Seven Deadly Sins lost a top member. Are you asking me to replace him? Your... Excellency Pride?"

Su Mu said gently, "Not replace. Xueyuan was a fake, but you are real. This position was always meant for you."

Nangong Mengli gave a radiant smile, her eyes curving into crescents as she accepted the Envy Mask. "Are you implying I'm the jealous type?"

Su Mu smiled silently and gave no answer.

...

...

Night.

Inside his room, Su Mu examined the black rod in his hand. This was one of the legendary Twelve Swords of Royal Power—the Demonic Sword: Void Devourer!

The moment he gripped Void Devourer, he could feel a greedy sense of hunger radiating from it. His stamina and spiritual energy were draining wildly, surging into the sword.

"I need to feed it until it's full before I can use it? Interesting."

The corners of Su Mu's mouth curled up slightly. He immediately mobilized his vast spiritual energy, actively pouring it into Void Devourer in a frenzy. A moment later, his spiritual energy had been entirely devoured, yet the blade remained unsatisfied, attempting to swallow the physical strength within his body as well.

"Quite an appetite."

He covered Void Devourer with a black cloth and promptly hypnotized himself to sleep. One minute later, he opened his eyes. His spiritual energy had instantly replenished, and a crystalline blue light flashed explosively in his gaze.

He poured his spiritual energy into Void Devourer once more. This time, the hunger radiating from the blade gradually dissipated.

Shing!

The black sword was drawn. Under the moonlight, the snow-bright blade gleamed with a sharp, chilling light.

"Is it full already?"

Su Mu tried swinging Void Devourer. He didn't use any force, merely giving it a light wave, but the surrounding air instantly churned. Boom!

The violent sword qi detonated like a sudden clap of thunder. Bang!

The windows of the entire room shattered with a crash, showering glass fragments across the floor. More than that, the room looked as though a tornado had ripped through it. The wardrobe, bookshelves, desk, and chairs were all overturned by the terrifying sword pressure.

Su Mu narrowed his eyes. He held Void Devourer horizontally before him, studying it closely. His handsome face reflected in the snow-bright blade.

"So the magnitude of power is determined by how much energy it devours? Then let me see your limit!"

He hypnotized himself back to sleep, replenishing his spiritual energy before continuing to channel it into the sword. Void Devourer let out a joyful, soft hum, as if approving of its new master's generosity.

Yet the infusion continued. Su Mu repeatedly fell asleep and woke up, woke up and fell asleep. He cycled through this dozens of times, pouring oceans of spiritual energy into Void Devourer. Such sheer volume had long surpassed that of a Gold-tier powerhouse. And this time... Void Devourer's hum grew louder.

But it was no longer a hum of joy; it was more like a tremble, as if the sword was about to burst at the seams.

Su Mu swung Void Devourer casually. The terrifying sword pressure from before did not reappear; the blade had become thoroughly submissive, moving entirely according to his will.

He even discovered that Void Devourer had actually begun to nourish him in return. A cool, refreshing surge of power channeled from the sword into his body, rapidly restoring his previously depleted stamina and spiritual energy.

At this point, he finally understood Void Devourer's true function. This sword was clearly a storage device. It could store the energy it absorbed, then unleash it in a burst, or use it to nourish its master.

But the drawback was that there was a storage fee.

Void Devourer itself consumed a certain amount of energy. If you stored power in it and left it unused for a period of time, you would find when you tried to use it again that all the power was gone—embezzled entirely by Void Devourer.

A greedy storage device.