Darting forward like lightning, Lu Yun grabbed the dull orb that radiated faint sword energy. A tremor passed through him as the Sugato Sword emerged to devour the pearl. 

Moments later, a new pearl emerged on the unadorned hilt of the sword, plainly the weapon’s crowning glory. Somehow, it’d been lost in the underworld at some point and then fell into Ding Lei’s hands, where it’d languished all this time.

A silent cheer sounded from the sword’s spirit. The pearl was the heart of the treasure, from which weapon spirits could be nurtured. Now that it’d returned to the sword, its spirit would become more mature as well.

“Finally, the Sugato Sword is whole again!” The weapon’s power had grown by fifty percent with its completion. Only now did Lu...