But then she felt she was overreacting. After all, this old house was left by her mother before she passed away, and there was a formation in the courtyard meticulously designed by a Mountain-Moving Realm cultivator. Even if it had fallen into disrepair over the years, it shouldn’t be so easily infiltrated by any evil spirits or demonic forces...

Picking up the longsword again, Emily Thompson recalled her earlier loss of composure and blushed even more. “Broken sword, it’s all your fault. You’re making it impossible for me to practice properly.”

It was just a casual complaint, but in the next moment, Emily Thompson suddenly heard a clear voice ring out in her mind.

“Idiot, it’s obviously you who made a mistake in your sword technique.”

“...” Emily Thompson was stunned for a full half minute before she let out a shriek, threw the longsword away, and rushed back to her room to grab a stack of demon-warding talismans, holding half in her hand and trembling as she scattered the rest around the sword.

“Y-you, what on earth are you?!”

The sword spirit was also taken aback by this question.

Before falling into slumber, he was the Celestial Sword from Beyond, known by everyone on the Nine Provinces Continent. A person might not know their own parents, but they could not be ignorant of the savior of the continent—the Celestial Sword from Beyond. So, no one had ever asked him such a foolish question to his face.

However, since the other party had asked, he decided to answer seriously. After thinking for a moment, the sword spirit introduced himself: “I am the sword spirit of the Celestial Sword from Beyond, reincarnated through a hundred-day blood sacrifice by the Nine Immortal Lords, gathering the essence of the Nine Provinces. After my final battle with the Great Demon Emperor, I fell into a long slumber, and have now awakened at your call.”

“...”

“Given that my explanation was concise and accurate, I believe you now understand my identity. So, moving on to the next question: are you my mount?”

“Huh?”

Seeing the girl’s blank expression, the sword spirit didn’t mind. After all, there could only be one answer to this question.

To become the mount of the Celestial Sword from Beyond was an opportunity no cultivator could refuse. Back then, William Thompson was chosen as the chief mount because of his unparalleled sword-forging skills, and the other eight Immortal Lords were envious for a long time.

And since the other party didn’t object, it was time for the third step.

Signing the master-servant contract.

Now, the sword spirit was extremely weak, unable even to move on his own. During this period, he naturally needed a mount to carry him, and the girl Emily Thompson was the one he had chosen.

Although this mount was even weaker than he was, she had awakened him, so the sword spirit wasn’t about to be picky.

The process of signing the contract was very simple. The sword spirit took a bit of the girl’s bodily fluid rich in her vital energy—that is, the sweat from her sword practice—and a bit of her essence—that is, her current full concentration. He then merged them with himself, and the master-servant relationship was established.

At the moment the contract was completed, the sword spirit heard the girl’s panicked inner voice through the contract channel.

“What the heck is this thing?!”

“I’m not a ghost, I’m a sword spirit,” the sword spirit earnestly corrected Emily Thompson’s thoughts.

The girl blurted out, “Ghost, sword spirit, it’s all the same! Wait!? Y-you can hear what I’m thinking?!”

“Of course, that’s a basic function of the master-servant contract.”

The girl exclaimed in shock, “What master-servant contract? Did you just acknowledge me as your master?!”

The sword spirit replied, “No, you acknowledged me as your master. I acknowledged you as my mount.”

“...” Emily Thompson stood there, mouth agape, feeling like she could barely breathe. “What did you say? Mount?”

The sword spirit laughed, “Yes, congratulations! You’ve been chosen as the mount of the Celestial Sword from Beyond. From now on, you will serve me as your master, at my command, sharing my power and wisdom... Now, tell me how you feel.”

A moment later, the girl’s inner scream thundered through the contract.

“Help!!!”

Chapter 002: Your Name

Fortunately, the girl’s panic only lasted a moment before she calmed down.

Unfortunately, the mount girl’s lack of comprehension was truly astonishing.

The sword spirit spent a long time but still couldn’t convince the girl that this master-servant contract was a heaven-defying opportunity for her. All his passionate explanations were met with constant suspicion.

“I’m warning you, don’t—don’t even think about doing anything like mind control or possession! There are plenty of cultivators in my family who know how to exorcise demons. They’ll make sure you’re reduced to ashes!”

“I won’t erase your mind or possess your body. You awakened me from my slumber, so I owe you a debt of gratitude, and I will repay you sincerely.”

“So your so-called repayment is turning me into your mount?!”

“Yes, isn’t that wonderful?”

“Not wonderful at all! And I don’t need your gratitude!”

“But I do. Repaying kindness is a basic virtue.”

“...”

After bickering for a long time with no progress, the sword spirit had to admit his plan was flawed. After a moment’s thought, he gently said to the girl, “Sorry, I was too presumptuous just now. There’s something I should have confirmed with you first.”

“What?” The girl was quite wary.

“You must be mentally challenged, right?”

“You’re the one who’s mentally challenged!”

“I see. If I’d known you were mentally challenged, I would have used a more detailed and gentle way to explain things, to help you understand the situation—unless you’re severely challenged, in which case there’s no need to explain, just enforce it.”

“You—?!”