"I have always hated evil with a passion, kindness is forever in my heart, and I never tell lies."
Stelle declared with absolute conviction, her eyes full of resolute belief, and then added to March 7th, "Don't worry, March—if your master won't drink, I'll drink with you. Tonight we each take a bottle, just the two of us, and we won't stop until we're drunk!"
"No wonder you're my partner through life and death! Now that's real loyalty."
March 7th nodded with a smile. Although Stelle's leap-frogging train of thought often gave her a great deal of trouble, when something truly mattered, Stelle always came through.
But there was one thing she still could not quite understand.
With puzzlement clouding her brow, she asked, "Why 'drink until we're drunk'? Is this beverage some kind of cocktail?"
"No. There isn't even a drop of alcohol in it."
Yanqing shook his head without hesitation.
Please don't call it a cocktail like that—you'll make it cry alongside the Adeptus' Temptation!
He spoke in a mysterious tone: "If you can force yourself to finish a whole can, your brain won't be much different from being blackout drunk. Most people just need a single sip to remember it for life."
After careful consideration, Yanqing abandoned the idea of trying to persuade her otherwise.
He had been the same way as a child—after being misled by some heartless scoundrel, he insisted on drinking this thing.
His master tried to block him from every direction, but nothing worked. Worse yet, because people who actually enjoy this flavor are so absurdly rare, he even developed the strange belief that if he grew to like it, he would seem uniquely special.
But reality would always prove one thing without mercy: there are reasons why so few people like it!
Even if he told March 7th, she would still give in to her curiosity. This was the shared memory of ninety-nine percent of the people on the Xianzhou Luofu.
"I'll prepare a few bottles of Immortal's Delight today."
Yunli had the same opinion.
There's an old saying: 「"Teach a person and they'll never learn, but teach them with experience and they'll learn quickly."」
"But rather than thinking about how to hold a celebration, shouldn't you be thinking about your dream of becoming a Sword Champion? You've only got two trash cans left in your quota."
"Ah—right."
March 7th looked at the seven remaining trash cans on the shelf, and at long last tension settled into her chest.
At this point, when it came to anything related to swordsmanship, she only had that [Pure Yang Supplementary Manual]. If she didn't get a good Curio now, did that mean she really had to rely on that so-called 'Cliff-Dropping Sword Technique'?
The book made it sound very reasonable, but what if she couldn't execute it properly and the technique failed?
Wouldn't that technique turn into an actual cliff drop?
She couldn't fly! If she failed once, she probably wouldn't get a second chance!
"Hsss~ haa." Head lowered, lips pouting in grievance, she muttered with a trace of dejection, "My luck was clearly so good today. How did it end up like this?"
She glanced at the shelf, then took a deep breath and straightened up.
March 7th's gaze swept across the remaining trash cans one by one.
In her heart, she silently recited her prayer.
Dear Cute Curio Little Trashcans, if you can grant me a high-grade Curio that will let me become a Sword Champion, I swear I'll take the most photogenic set of pictures of you, hang them in the most conspicuous spot in the Astral Express display room, and let them travel across the entire universe with the train of the Trailblaze Aeon, Akivili!
This time March 7th didn't open two at once like before. Instead, she placed her small hand on a single trash can that caught her fancy and quietly, repeatedly chanted her wish.
Little Trashcan, please don't pull that thing where 'the good stuff is always in the last one'. Trust me—that's not cool at all! And my poor little heart can't take that kind of torment.
After muttering for a while more, she worried that her inner thoughts might offend the trash can, so she backed down one step.
Fine, it can be the last one—but only if it gives something good in the end!
March 7th squeezed her eyes shut, afraid that even the slightest extra movement would reveal yet another green can.
The onlookers all sighed repeatedly—it was painful to watch what this had done to her mentality.
Opening trash cans was truly a psychological battlefield. Whoever invented this idea would definitely suffer karmic retribution.
Even Stelle felt bad and began drafting how she should comfort March 7th if a green glow appeared.
Only Sylvester was unhurriedly sipping from his ornate porcelain bowl. Not because he had seen too many customers in the Deep Pond, nor because he lacked sympathy for March 7th.
It was because he had already used the [Eye of True Sight] to examine every single can ahead of time.
The truest thing he said today was that March 7th really was lucky.
"O Trash Can God above—open!"
March 7th flicked the lid open with a crisp pa! and immediately clapped both hands over her eyes.
Stelle, Yanqing, and Yunli all exhaled heavily, ready to see the color. They didn't even need to see the Curio itself—one look at the light and they'd rush in to comfort her.
They stared into the trash can—
And saw a sight they had rarely ever witnessed.
From within the metal trash can, a faint golden light slowly rose!
Yunli and Yanqing blinked, utterly disbelieving, wondering if their eyes had betrayed them. But as the noble golden radiance grew brighter and brighter, they were forced to accept reality.
They had seen golden Curios before—but they had never gotten one!
Yanqing had only touched a few that Feixiao let him borrow. And now his disciple had pulled one herself?
He could only wield purple-grade Curios!
He touched the hilt of his Massacre Ruler at his side, feeling a sudden wave of inexplicable sourness.
Stelle slapped her hands together in regret.
She had just come up with comforting words! And now they were useless!
Well—no, she amended internally—they'd be great for comforting herself.
Once, a [Reverse Cornucopia Curse] dwelled in her body. She never cherished my luck. Only after losing it did she truly regret…
One person regretted, two were stunned like statues, and all three had their eyes swallowed by the golden blaze without moving an inch.
After a moment, March 7th peeked her eyes open cautiously.
But her hands were empty. She looked toward the counter—Sylvester was smiling at her, and aside from tea and snacks, nothing else was visible.
Had she been so nervous she hallucinated?
What a shame—her heart had been pounding like crazy. She thought she'd actually drawn some top-tier Curio.
"Miss March, congratulations. Your dream of becoming a Sword Champion is about to come true."
Seeing her dazed look, Sylvester said with a gentle smile, "You just pulled a golden Curio. Neither of your two masters have ever obtained a powerful Curio at that level. Even more precious, it matches your wish perfectly."
Though Sylvester didn't inject special emotion into his words, in March 7th's ears, they were nothing short of heavenly music.
"What?"
Her lips trembled.
She had thought obtaining a conceptual purple Curio like her masters' was already incredibly strong. She never imagined she would surpass them outright.
The surprise was too great—far beyond her expectations—leaving her unable to express her excitement at first.
After a moment, her brain finally finished loading all her emotions.
"I, this young lady, am the number-one Sword Champion in the universe, March 7th!" With a triumphant cheer, she raised her tiny fist and leapt into the air.
She asked eagerly, "Shopkeeper Sylvester, where's the Curio? How do I use it?"
Sylvester smiled faintly. "It's already in your body. This Curio grants you dominion over all blades. If you will it, you can wield your masters' [Massacre Ruler] and [Avalon] as easily as your own."
His tone deepened, turning resonant and profound: "Its name is—[Unlimited Blade Works]."