Unlike the Elder's Spatial Pouch, a Ring had much more space.
"Compensation for my mental trauma," Tian Wudi justified the theft shamelessly.
He checked inside the ring.
His eyes lit up.
"Oh? 5,000 Spirit Stones. A High-Grade Spirit Artifact Sword 'Blue Wave'. And... a map?"
He pulled out a piece of parchment. It was a map leading to a hidden location in the nearby 'Desolate Beast Mountain Range'. Marked with a red X.
"The 'inheritance' that Gu Yan was secretly searching for?" Tian Wudi smirked. "Well, it belongs to me now."
He kicked Gu Yan one last time to make sure he stayed unconscious until morning.
Then, he wrote a note on a piece of paper and stuck it to Gu Yan's forehead.
NOTE: "Thanks for the wife. Thanks for the money. If you tell anyone, I will release the memory crystal recording of you crying while I cultivated with your wife. Stay obedient. - The Swine Sovereign."
He didn't actually have a memory crystal, but Gu Yan was too stupid and paranoid to know that. The fear of public shame would keep him silent.
Tian Wudi climbed out the window, merging into the night.
"Now that I am at the Peak of Body Tempering," Tian Wudi thought as he ran toward his woodshed, moving with surprising agility. "I need to condense a Spirit Core. I must go to the mountains. I need fresh blood of beasts to stabilize my new strength."
But first, he had to pack. His life as a lowly pet was over. From tomorrow, the entire dynamic of the Gu Clan would shift.
Back in the room, Madame Xue opened her eyes slowly. She wasn't asleep.
She looked at her ruined husband on the floor, then at the open window where the pig had left. She touched her lower abdomen, feeling the warm, strong power swirling there.
For the first time in her life, she felt... powerful.
A strange smile appeared on her lips.
"Lord Zhu..." she whispered, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "Forget Gu Yan. I will follow the Pig."
In this world, loyalty is cheap, but power is eternal. And she just tasted true power.
—----
It was another beautiful morning but the entire Gu Clan estate was buzzing with confused whispers because something strange had happened at the Main Hall.
The servants whispered that the Acting Clan Leader, Gu Yan, had suddenly declared "Closed Door Cultivation."
He refused to see anyone. He refused to attend the morning meeting. He simply shouted from behind his locked door that he was contemplating the Dao and anyone who disturbed him would be executed.
Of course, nobody knew that the "Dao" he was contemplating was actually a shattered nose, two broken legs, and a note stuck to his forehead that called him a cuckold.
Meanwhile, inside the broken woodshed, the culprit of this chaos was having a very nutritious breakfast.
Tian Wudi sat on his pile of hay. In his hand, he held the 'Blue Wave Sword.'
This was a High-Grade Mortal Artifact. It was forged from Deep Sea Cold Iron. It shimmered with a blue light and radiated a chilling aura that could freeze a drop of water in mid-air. In the market, this sword would sell for 8,000 Spirit Stones.
"A good sword," Tian Wudi nodded, his pig eyes assessing the blade. "But a pig cannot hold a sword. My fingers are too sausages-like. I cannot perform the delicate wrist flicks required for swordsmanship."
So, he did the logical thing.
He opened his mouth wide.
His jaw unhinged slightly, revealing rows of sturdy, white teeth that were now reinforced by his Stage 9 cultivation.
He bit the blade.
CRUNCH.
A horrible sound of grinding metal filled the shed. If a swordsman saw this, they would cough up blood in anger. A precious artifact! Being chewed like a stick of sugarcane!
Tian Wudi chewed vigorously. "Hmph. Tastes like mint. A bit hard on the molars."
According to his Supreme Swine Sovereign Scripture, matter is energy. He did not need to wield the sword to use its power. He needed to assimilate it.
He swallowed the shards of metal.
His stomach roared. Gurgle. Hiss.
The gastric acid, enhanced by his demonic cultivation, dissolved the Deep Sea Cold Iron. The essence of the metal flowed into his bloodstream. It didn't go to his dantian; instead, it traveled to his tusks and his skin.
"Refine!"
A blue light flashed over his pig body. His two tusks, which poked out from his lower lip, grew slightly longer. They turned from a dull yellow bone color to a shimmering, metallic white.
He shook his body. His skin became tougher, infused with the metal properties. Now, regular blades would not even scratch his itch.
"Excellent," Tian Wudi burped, expelling a small cloud of blue frost. "Now I have the defense of an Iron Wall and teeth that can pierce armor. I am ready for the mountains."
He stood up, intending to leave the Clan. He had the map from Gu Yan's ring. The destination was the Desolate Beast Mountain Range. There, he would hunt beasts, eat their cores, and reach the Spirit Gathering Realm.
However, as he kicked the broken door of his woodshed open, he found his path blocked.
"There he is! Surrounded him!"
A group of twenty disciples stood in the yard. They held spears and swords.
In the center of the group, sitting on a wooden wheelchair, was Gu Bo.
Gu Bo looked miserable. His chest was wrapped in thick white bandages because Tian Wudi had broken his ribs yesterday and for some reason he is facing difficulties healing them even after eating expensive pills.
His face was pale. But his eyes were filled with venomous hatred.
Standing next to Gu Bo's wheelchair was Mu Ling.
Tian Wudi's eyes brightened.
She was wearing a red dress.
It was a crimson martial robe that highlighted her waist and made her skin look like creamy jade. She looked uncomfortable standing there, her hand resting on her sword hilt, her expression complex.