The Peerless Emperor (TPE)

"Use your imagination?" Upon hearing Lin Qian's words, the appraiser was momentarily stunned, clearly not understanding what Lin Qian meant.

Lin Qian took the broken sword from the appraiser's hands and pointed to the fracture in the blade, explaining, "Master, please observe—there's a small hole in the center of the sword's blade."

"From a blacksmith's perspective, this hole was likely created by a sharp attack that pierced the blade from the tip, causing the blade to break apart like this. I assume that's what you and others have concluded as well?"

After Lin Qian finished speaking, the appraiser nodded slightly. Some blacksmiths in the crowd also nodded in agreement. They had also come to the same conclusion regarding the small hole in the blade.

Blacksmiths are naturally knowledgeable about soul tools, and seeing that small hole in the blade, compared with the cracks along the sword, it wasn't difficult to deduce that the force which shattered the blade originated from within.

Not far away, Zhang Keren heard Lin Qian's explanation and scoffed.

This broken sword had been placed in the treasure-betting event by Zhang Keren himself. His clan's top blacksmiths and appraisers had examined it thoroughly and reached the same conclusion about the small hole. Confident in their assessment, Zhang Keren had left the sword uncleaned and unrepaired, offering it as it was.

According to the rules of the treasure-betting event, all items on display must be left in their original condition, without any spiritual liquid used to clean the marks of age or perform any repairs.

"But what if this small hole was part of the sword's original design?" Lin Qian suddenly asked, addressing the appraiser.

The appraiser stood frozen, staring blankly at Lin Qian, unable to respond.

It wasn't just the appraiser—many of the blacksmiths in the crowd were also left speechless.

Lin Qian's question had raised a possibility they had never considered.

But if the small hole was part of the sword's design, what was its purpose?

"Internal Path!" a blacksmith from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan suddenly exclaimed.

Upon hearing this term, the appraiser and other blacksmiths present immediately recalled what the term "Internal Path" referred to.

Internal Path is a blacksmithing technique used when certain materials within a soul tool possess powerful energies. To better harness this energy, tiny pathways are carved into the tool to allow the energy to flow through the item.

This technique is challenging to master and requires specific materials, making it a skill that not many blacksmiths possess.

At least among the blacksmiths present, none of them had ever used the Internal Path technique themselves, though they were aware of its existence.

"If this small hole in the sword is indeed part of an Internal Path, then the blade must have once contained powerful energy. The sword likely broke during a battle when the energy within the path became unstable and erupted," the appraiser mused, seemingly coming to a realization.

As Lin Qian continued to speak, he picked up a jade bottle from the appraiser's table and said, "Exactly. So this sword must have had a powerful material embedded within it to work in conjunction with the Internal Path."

With that, Lin Qian poured the bottle's contents—a cleaning solution—over the broken sword.

The cleaning liquid flowed from the jade bottle in a continuous stream, unaffected by the surrounding seawater, and washed over the sword.

As the solution cleansed the blade, the layers of grime and age marks were washed away, revealing a powerful spatial energy emanating from the sword. Everyone around could feel the immense spatial fluctuations coming from the blade.

Even the seawater around the broken sword began to compress and expand.

At that moment, Lin Qian concentrated his soul power into a sharp point and struck the half-transparent crystal at the base of the sword's hilt.

The sharp tip of Lin Qian's soul power cracked the crystal, and fractures spread across its surface until it shattered completely.

With a crisp sound, the semi-transparent crystal broke apart, and a fist-sized, crystal-clear stone emerged.

Lin Qian caught the stone with ease, nodding in satisfaction. "As expected, the crystal at the base of the hilt was merely a container holding this spatial stone. The sword itself was designed to harness spatial energy. The blacksmith who crafted this soul tool was truly skilled."

Gurgling sounds filled the air as the Eight-Armed Sea Clan members gasped in shock, staring at the spatial stone in Lin Qian's hand.

Even the humans nearby couldn't tear their eyes away from the transparent crystal.

But no one looked more miserable than Zhang Keren.

A spatial stone—an entire fist-sized spatial stone!

Such a large spatial stone was incredibly valuable, enough to sustain the entire Eight-Armed Sea Clan for a thousand years.

"The relic from which this sword was taken had produced numerous treasures. How could it be that this one item held no value?" Zhang Keren's thoughts were in turmoil as he realized the mistake he had made.

He had originally partnered with the Bloodthirst Hall to set up a trap for Lin Qian, but it seemed that he was the one who ended up ensnared.

Now, just when he thought he had succeeded in swindling Lin Qian, he realized he had actually played himself.

Zhang Keren finally understood why Lin Qian had looked at him with such a condescending gaze.

"If I were to sell this spatial stone to the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, how much do you think it would fetch?" Lin Qian asked the appraiser, waving the stone in front of him.

"Are you really going to sell it?" The appraiser was astonished that Lin Qian was willing to part with such a valuable item.

Spatial stones were rare and expensive, but Lin Qian didn't seem to care. After all, his empire had plenty of spatial crystals that were of even higher quality than spatial stones.

But spatial crystals were too precious for Lin Qian to sell—they were reserved for his own use.

As for this spatial stone...

"Of course I'll sell it. After all, it was generously passed on to me by someone else. Turning it into soul crystals is a good deal—I won't feel bad about it at all. Wouldn't you agree, Clan Leader Zhang?" Lin Qian asked with a friendly smile, directing his gaze at Zhang Keren.