Chapter 17: Breaking Through to the Sword Qi Realm
"…Tentacle?"
Lala turned around with a puzzled expression. A huge red tentacle was stretching out from inside the refrigerator, lashing straight toward her. Franklin reacted instantly — he grabbed Lala and pulled her behind him, quickly retreating from the bizarre fridge.
"What the hell is that? Lala, is your refrigerator broken or something?"
Lala scratched her head in confusion, as if she hadn't expected anything like this to happen.
"I remember it was perfectly fine when I put it in. Could it be because I invented this gadget so long ago that it's malfunctioning now?"
Franklin was speechless. At that moment, some hazy memories surfaced — if he remembered correctly, all of Lala's inventions tended to have some kind of hopeless flaw.
Before he could think any deeper about the past, the door to the home economics classroom was suddenly pulled open.
"Franklin, Lala, what are you— Ahhh!!!"
A girl with a dark blue bob haircut stood frozen at the door, staring in terror as the massive tentacle whipped toward her. Apparently too frightened to even react, Haruna Sairenji fainted on the spot.
Seeing this, it was too late for Franklin to save her. The tentacle wrapped tightly around Haruna, and then a giant red octopus crawled out of the refrigerator. Its disturbingly human-like perverted grin made Franklin glance at Lala in bewilderment.
"What on earth did you catch? Why is it so disgusting?"
Before Lala could respond, Franklin channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes — activating the Eye of True Sight.
Centaurus Giant Octopus
Origin: Centaurus
Race: Octopus (Demon Clan)
Body Cultivation: Early First Origin Stage
Spiritual Cultivation: None
Skills: Constrict (Bind), Slime Secretion (Lubricate), Ink Spray (Pollute)
Combat Power: 101
Seeing the details, Franklin breathed a sigh of relief. Its combat power wasn't higher than his — it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. But just as that thought crossed his mind, a tentacle suddenly wrapped around Lala, whose strength was far above his own.
And she didn't even struggle — she was instantly subdued. Franklin's mind exploded with frustration.
"Lala, what are you doing?!"
"My tail… my tail's been grabbed… I don't have any strength…"
Hearing her weak voice, Franklin grew even more exasperated.
"You're like a Saiyan — you lose your power when someone grabs your tail."
"Sorry… Lin. I didn't mean to… but my tail really is sensitive. The rest… I'll leave to you."
Seeing Lala give up struggling so easily, Franklin almost coughed up blood. He focused his thoughts — a rune of swordlight flashed in his right hand. A black blade — the Guardian Sword, its dark body etched with golden runes — appeared in his grip.
He didn't hesitate. With a sharp slash, he brought the blade down on the giant red octopus. He had expected to finish the fight with one strike, but the blow felt as if it had hit cotton — the tentacle simply bounced it aside.
After several attempts, Franklin realized that even the Guardian Sword couldn't harm the creature. The octopus's expression grew more and more obscene, which only disgusted Franklin further. He quickly formed a seal — fire element gathered at his fingertips.
Sensing the lethal threat, the octopus immediately pulled Lala and Haruna in front of itself as shields, grinning even more lecherously. The sight made Franklin feel like he'd swallowed a fly.
Just then, the sound of shattering glass rang out. Zastin made a dramatic entrance through the window, radiating overwhelming presence — and even struck a pose.
"Hahaha! Son-in-law, out of options already? This is a natural property of certain lifeforms. This ingredient's power isn't particularly high, and its abilities are limited — but it's extremely resistant to ordinary weapons—"
"Shut up and save them first!"
Franklin sighed in relief at Zastin's arrival, but the man just wouldn't stop talking.
"True. Watch closely, son-in-law!"
Just as Zastin drew his sword, a massive blue squid crawled out of the refrigerator behind him.
"Zastin, behind you!"
"What?"
The warning was too late. As soon as he turned, the squid sprayed a mouthful of filthy ink straight into his face. Watching Zastin fail so spectacularly after such a dramatic entrance, Franklin couldn't fathom how these people had become rulers of the galaxy.
To avoid being attacked from both sides, Franklin formed a seal with both hands — water spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips. With a flick of his will, a stream of water slithered like a serpent, bypassing the red octopus and washing all the filth off Zastin's face and body.
"Apologies, son-in-law. That caught me off guard. To deal with these two 'ingredients,' you'll need to break through to the Sword Qi Realm. Their bodies are coated with a layer of mucus that protects them from blades…"
"Enough talk — just do something already!"
Just as Zastin was about to demonstrate, a massive pincer suddenly extended from the refrigerator, clamping down on his blade. Despite his strength, Zastin was grabbed and thrown aside by a gigantic crab.
The roof shattered as the crab burst through it. With three monsters rampaging wildly, the two octopuses tugged back and forth over Lala and Haruna, tearing at their clothes until they were on the verge of exposing themselves.
Franklin was frantic but helpless. Every time he tried to form a seal for a spiritual attack, the red octopus would sense it and pull Lala in front of itself. Fireball Technique was too wide-ranged — it would hit her too.
Zastin was completely tied up fighting the giant crab, leaving Franklin even more anxious.
"Son-in-law, you were just one step away from the Sword Qi Realm yesterday. Now it's up to you."
Hearing this, Franklin sighed helplessly. He could only calm his mind and contemplate the bottleneck. But with Lala and Haruna's ragged breathing and the noisy chatter of students gathering outside on the sports field, his state of mind only grew more chaotic.
"Young master, what is my name?"
"What is my name… What is my name! What is my name!!!"
All at once, a cool sensation rose from the crown of his head and spread through his entire body. Franklin suddenly understood — the reason he was stuck at the bottleneck was that he lacked a reason to move forward. His subconscious didn't understand why he needed to reach the Sword Qi Realm.
That was what had been holding him back. But now, he understood. His goal was to protect — to protect everything he held dear.
Just like the Guardian Sword's name, he would protect his family, his friends, and everything he loved. With that realization, all the chaotic noise in his heart vanished. The bond between him and the sword in his hand grew stronger and deeper.
With a single slash, the tentacles binding Lala and Haruna were severed instantly. Freed from their restraints, Franklin's gaze turned cold as swordlight flashed again and again — countless arcs of blade qi tore through the two massive creatures, reducing them to chunks in an instant.
Seeing this, Zastin stopped holding back as well. His figure flickered, his lightsaber slid back into its sheath, and the giant crab that had been evenly matched with him moments ago collapsed into a pile of mangled limbs.
Franklin stared at the scene in disbelief — and was met with Zastin's deliberately clueless expression.
"Ah, what a thrilling battle. I almost lost, you know. But as expected, you're the remarkable one, son-in-law — breaking through mid-battle and stepping into the Sword Qi Realm in a single day. Your talent truly is extraordinary."
[Special Mission: Special Auxiliary Growth Quest — I Have a Sword (1/16) Completed. Reward: Guardian Sword Rank Increased]
[Ding: Special Mission Triggered]
[Mission Log: Special Special Auxiliary Growth Quest — I Have a Sword (2/16)]
[Mission Difficulty: D]
[I Have a Sword (2/16): Touch the threshold of the Sword Dao and successfully step into the Sword Path — the Sword Light Realm.
Reward for success: Guardian Sword Growth +50%.
Failure penalty: You will be forever stuck at the Sword Qi Realm, unable to progress any further.]
[Time Limit: 100 days in this worldline]
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