Ryen understood perfectly why everyone was so eager about the draw-blade sword.
Smiling, he picked up the blade from the table.
With a soft pull, the long katana slid free of its sheath.
A faint violet radiance shimmered along its surface, and an unsettling aura surged forth,
an aura so eerie that anyone seeing it for the first time would immediately feel the sword was steeped in ill omen,
as if countless resentful souls clung to the metal.
"This is the demonic blade Sizhi.
It is called a demonic blade for a reason, it's not just a name."
Ryen swung it lightly, letting the edge hum through the air.
"Do you remember how I told you this weapon is forged?"
Zhongli nodded slowly.
"To temper it, one must slay five thousand living beings… absorbing five thousand souls."
Ryen inclined his head.
"In this world, the blade may not feel particularly sinister.
But remember, any weapon called a demonic blade or demon-forged blade is never something that submits easily to its wielder."
"In Teyvat, if this sword kills an enemy, it still absorbs life force.
And the more it kills, the stronger it becomes.
Because Sizhi can evolve."
"If this blade is carried, and ten thousand lives are cut down, it advances to its final form,
the Blood Blade Sizhi."
"At that point, you gain another powerful offensive art: Wave Blade – Gentiana.
An ultra-long-range armor-shattering sword arc, combined with instantaneous high-speed thrust."
"The fully evolved Blood Blade Sizhi is terrifying.
With enough technique, it can instantly kill the vast majority of enemies."
The room fell silent.
Sizhi was powerful, yes,
and its ability to evolve was even more astonishing.
But killing ten thousand foes?
Absorbing ten thousand souls?
What kind of nightmare demon king was this sword originally made for?
In Teyvat, this would be an absolutely forbidden weapon,
far more sinister than Ryen's life-stealing staff.
"My advice," Ryen continued mildly,
"is to never feed this blade with real lives in Teyvat.
That's too brutal."
He pointed upward toward the floating Sky-Island base.
"There are mob-farms up there. Plenty elsewhere too.
If you want to evolve the blade, go farm mobs, don't kill living beings."
"But advancement also requires rare materials, Soul-Light and such.
So there's no need to rush."
"In any case, even in its base form, Sizhi is already extremely strong.
Its special properties will probably behave even more dangerously in Teyvat."
"To wield it, you must first have a will strong enough to ignore the blade's seductive pull and bloodlust.
This sword has no consciousness of its own,
but the influence of slaughter is very real."
Sliding Sizhi back into its sheath, Ryen looked around calmly.
"So, who wants it?"
Lumine blinked.
"You're not keeping it yourself?"
Ryen snorted softly and pulled out the Enma Blade instead.
"I already have a magic blade.
Why would I need this one?"
"The magic blade's tier is far above this.
Even if Sizhi evolves into the Blood Blade, it still can't compare to Enma."
"Sizhi has some spatial properties, yes,
but nowhere near the Enma Blade."
"In my previous world, the Enma Blade could cleave apart the realms of the living and the dead."
Ryen himself didn't care for Sizhi,
but everyone else certainly did.
Sinister or not, a weapon is only as moral as its wielder.
Many eyes gleamed with desire.
Ei's lips pressed together, her gaze burning.
Compared to Musou no Hitotachi, this sword was undeniably stronger, especially with spatial slashes.
Musou no Hitotachi was a divine relic, but its value to Ei was sentimental.
Sizhi, by contrast, felt made for her.
Slaughter?
She had walked battlefields for centuries; she had ended more lives than she could count.
If anything, she was one of the few who could truly control a weapon like this.
With Sizhi, her strength might jump several tiers,
an unbelievable leap for an Archon already near the pinnacle.
"Ahem…"
Tartaglia coughed lightly, eyeing the blade with hopeful shamelessness.
"Since it's so dangerous, maybe I should, "
"Don't even think about it."
Lumine shot him a glare.
It was obvious:
if Ryen wasn't using the blade,
it would be distributed among them.
And draw-blade swords were absurdly rare.
At present, only two existed in the entire MC world:
Ryen's Enma Blade, and this demonic sword Sizhi.
Even Hu Tao, who didn't specialize in swords, was tempted.
Ryen chuckled and added:
"One more thing: draw-blade swords scale with technique."
"Combo count and skill level matter.
Your evaluation ranges from D to SSS."
"Below SSS, Sizhi might not perform much better than a diamond sword."
"But at SSS, and especially at the theoretical maximum rating,
this blade…"
He paused and looked at Zhongli.
Zhongli suddenly felt a bad feeling creeping up his spine.
And sure enough, Ryen used him as the example again.
"Even if Zhongli wore full enchanted diamond armor with the Jade Shield active,
one slash breaks the shield.
The second slash kills him."
"So my recommendation is:
this sword should go to someone deeply skilled in sword or blade arts."
"And with a strong enough will not to be affected by the slaughter it accumulates."
At this, Ningguang and several others lost interest.
But Ei, and the few naturally inclined toward martial blade-arts,
became all the more eager.
Now that they finally had a reference point for Sizhi's power… the temptation was undeniable.
Having such a concrete benchmark helped everyone truly understand how terrifyingly strong the demonic blade Sizhi was.
It absolutely lived up to the title of a "demonic sword."
Lumine blinked, scanning the group,
and noticed that quite a few people were skilled sword-wielders.
After a moment's thought, she muttered,
"…We should discuss this."
The group exchanged looks, then huddled together to whisper among themselves.
Meanwhile, Ryen reclined comfortably in his chair, admiring the Ice Staff with obvious delight.
Zhongli spoke quietly:
"I recall you said most draw-blade swords can be forged and evolved manually."
Ryen nodded.
"That's right. Even Sizhi."
"At its core, Sizhi originates from the most basic form of draw-blade swords,
the unnamed wooden puppet blade."
"The ancestor of all iai blades. It has no special powers and the damage is modest…
but its significance is profound."
Zhongli nodded thoughtfully, glancing again at the demonic sword on the table.
"A weapon born from devouring life… it is indeed not something the average warrior could control."
Ryen arched a brow.
"Don't tell me you want it?"
Zhongli shook his head.
"A blade infused with spatial force would tempt any sword user.
Although I specialize in polearms, I have not neglected swordsmanship."
"However, at least for now, I do not require it."
After a brief pause, he added:
"The true essence of an iai blade lies in instantaneous draw and explosive force.
In that sense… Ei is the most suitable wielder."
Ryen chuckled.
"I think so too.
But let them decide, the draw-blade module is coming anyway."
"Sizhi is powerful, yes. But among all iai blades, it's not the strongest."
"In fact, my Enma Blade mainly excels because its spatial capabilities are bizarre.
If the full draw-blade module arrives, the blades I want are Chaos or End of All Things."
He sighed softly.
"Those two are the real unmatched blades.
With a single strike, anything in this world, even that goblin we just fought with its absurd HP, would be cut down instantly."
"But their forging requirements are extreme.
Even if the module appears, it's uncertain whether they can actually be crafted."
Zhongli wasn't especially concerned with such things.
After a moment of quiet, he said:
"I intend to resurrect Guizhong soon."
Ryen immediately sat up straighter, setting aside his staff with a grin.
"You finally made up your mind?"
Zhongli nodded.
"With your next batch of modules about to unlock, if I bring Guizhong back now, she can still catch up with our progress."
Ryen gave him a long, knowing look.
"So it's not because you're jealous of me spending time with Ganyu and the others every day?"
Zhongli exhaled patiently.
"Heavenly Principles have yet to be resolved.
Personal emotions are irrelevant."
"And besides, there is nothing unspeakable between Guizhong and me.
My conscience is clear."
Ryen rolled his eyes.
Who knows if he's stubborn or just defensive…
"Anyway, Guizhong's soul fragment has been in this world long enough.
Putting it off forever is pointless."
"Just revive her already.
Otherwise Cloud Retainer and Madam Ping will continue pestering you every day."
Zhongli sighed.
That, indeed, was his concern.
Reviving Guizhong was not difficult.
But once she returned… he had a feeling his peaceful days were over.
Yet if he didn't revive her, Cloud Retainer and Granny Ping would never stop lecturing him.
Either way, there was trouble, so better to cut the knot cleanly.
While they chatted, Lumine and the others finished their discussion.
As Ryen predicted, the sword ultimately went to Ei.
It was the most reasonable choice.
The demonic blade Sizhi was an ominous weapon, and only someone with Ei's iron will could dominate it fully.
Her mastery of sword arts was unrivaled, even surpassing Zhongli if judged solely on blade technique.
For Sizhi, Ei was undoubtedly the optimal wielder.
And with the draw-blade module coming soon, everyone else could simply craft a blade that suited them,
there was no need to fight over this one.
Holding the demonic sword, Ei was clearly delighted.
With a single arc of her blade, a wave of killing intent rippled through the air.
"Demonic blade… and its final form, Blood Blade…"
She stared at Sizhi, whispering softly:
"I will evolve you into the Blood Blade Sizhi."
Ryen truly didn't understand why people insisted on talking to their weapons.
Did they think the blade would talk back?
He shook his head.
"Come on. Let's go watch Zhongli do something important."
"He's finally going to revive Guizhong!"
At that, Cloud Retainer and the others immediately perked up.
After confirming Zhongli's agreement, they hurried excitedly toward the courtyard.
Meanwhile…
In Sumeru,
Dehya and Nilou had just arrived at Haravatat.
~~----------------------
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