Seeing that Huoxuan didn't believe him, Arthur didn't argue. He simply held out the Magic Scepter and offered it to her.
"Whether it's real or not," he said, "you'll know the moment you try it."
Huoxuan took the scepter, but instead of testing it immediately, she examined it carefully.
It looked like nothing more than an ordinary wooden stick—at most, it had a pretty gemstone embedded in it.
Even the gemstone didn't seem special at a glance.
Unable to find anything odd about it, Huoxuan finally asked, "How do you use this thing?"
"Simple," Arthur replied. "Just wear it."
Huoxuan slipped it into her belt.
Then she formed a few hand seals and cast several basic techniques.
Born with innate fire affinity, Huoxuan naturally used fire-element arts. In an instant, heat waves rolled outward, scorching the air.
Arthur casually waved his hand and dispersed the heat, warning, "Take it easy. Don't burn my house down."
Huoxuan didn't hear a word.
She was completely lost in shock.
Because after casting those techniques… her spiritual power hadn't decreased at all.
She still didn't know whether this thing truly provided infinite energy.
But the fact that it could replace spiritual power consumption alone was already unbelievable.
And if simply carrying it was enough to activate its effect…
Wouldn't that mean even an ordinary person could cast techniques—as long as they knew how to form hand seals?
The thought made Huoxuan's eyes brighten.
She suddenly had an intense desire to dissect the principles behind the Magic Scepter and see if she could craft something similar.
But she forced that thought down.
First, she needed to confirm whether this thing was genuinely an "infinite source."
Arthur saw Huoxuan begin forming seals again—this time she even summoned her flying sword, muttering under her breath.
He instantly recognized the technique she was about to use.
He hurriedly stopped her. "I'm not against you using the Ten Thousand Swords Art, but don't cast it here. Don't ruin my garden."
The Ten Thousand Swords Art was a technique only Shu Mountain elders were qualified to learn.
Once unleashed, one sword became two, two became three, and three gave rise to ten thousand—forming thousands upon thousands of sword shadows in the sky.
How many it created depended entirely on the caster's spiritual power.
And right now, with the Magic Scepter on her…
Huoxuan was effectively limitless.
Given her temperament, Arthur had no doubt she'd try to fill the entire sky over the Zen Garden with sword shadows.
Only then did Huoxuan snap back to reality.
Casting it here really was… a terrible idea.
But if not here, where?
When Huoxuan entered the Zen Garden, she was within Shu Mountain's territory.
Was she supposed to go outside and wreak havoc on her own sect?
Having no better solution, Huoxuan could only ask Arthur.
"Then where do you suggest I try it?"
Arthur thought for a moment. "How about Kunlun? It's vast and sparsely populated, nothing but snowy mountains. You won't have to worry about hurting anyone."
Huoxuan frowned. "I'm just testing a sword art. Why would I run that far?"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten how we entered the phoenix clan's pocket realm in the first place? That entrance is still there. Step out through it, and you'll be in Kunlun."
Only then did Huoxuan remember—there was indeed an exit in the Zen Garden that led to Kunlun.
She mounted her flying sword and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something.
She turned back and asked, "You're really letting me walk out with something this valuable? Not afraid I'll just disappear with it?"
Arthur smiled. "I trust your character. You won't do that. Besides—an artifact has its owner. This thing is bound to me. I can recall it any time."
Hermione's eyes lit up at those words, and a mischievous little thought took shape.
Huoxuan laughed and gave Arthur a thumbs-up. "Straightforward. I'll go out for a bit. We'll talk later."
With that, she flew off.
The moment Huoxuan left, Hermione tugged lightly at Arthur's sleeve.
In a sweet, deliberately adorable voice, she said, "Cousin… since you can recall artifacts whenever you want, can you make that Magic Scepter into a necklace too… and let me keep it?"
She tilted her head up, looking at him with wide, watery eyes.
Arthur had no idea where she'd learned this "playing cute" technique, but… she really was adorable.
And with that expression, it was obvious what she wanted.
"Alright, stop it," Arthur said helplessly. "Yes, I'll make that Magic Scepter into a necklace too. As for whether you get to keep it… that depends on how you perform in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament."
He said "depends," but in truth, no matter how Hermione performed, he was going to give it to her anyway.
Just like she said—if he ever needed it, he could simply recall it.
Hermione cheered, "Yes! Cousin, you're the best! Don't worry—I'll definitely do well!"
Then she leaned in and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
Arthur's expression tightened.
He pinched her cheeks and kneaded them mercilessly until she squeaked.
The two of them were still messing around when Hermione's eyes suddenly caught the glasses in Ranni's hand.
After what had happened with the Magic Scepter, Hermione immediately guessed what they were.
She asked, "Since when does Ranni have a pair of glasses like that? Don't tell me those are the Nerd Glasses?"
Arthur nodded, confirming it.
Hermione pressed on, "What do they do? And are there any other items?"
"They boost learning efficiency by twenty-five percent," Arthur replied. "And there's also the Fairy Aura. I probably don't need to explain what that does."
As he spoke, he took out the Fairy Aura and handed it to Hermione.
The moment she took it, she felt the magic inside her slowly recover.
Even her exhaustion began to fade.
How could she not understand what it did?
Seeing Hermione close her eyes in contentment, Arthur added, "Keep it for now. The third task of the Triwizard Tournament is coming soon—you'll need it."
Hermione immediately tucked it into her pocket.
At that moment, Huoxuan suddenly appeared beside Arthur.
She patted her generous chest, exhaled deeply, and finally looked like she'd recovered.
Arthur was curious.
Not about… the chest.
About why she'd looked so frantic when she first came back.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
Huoxuan waved a hand. "Ah, I went out to test whether your treasure really has infinite energy with the Ten Thousand Swords Art."
"But I split too many sword shadows—and the people of Kunlun noticed."
"They thought I was attacking their mountain gate, so they started throwing desperate techniques at me without giving me a chance to explain. I had no choice but to run back."
Arthur understood immediately.
No wonder Huoxuan hadn't returned through the Kunlun exit.
She'd used the mark Arthur had left on her to return directly to the Zen Garden.
He chuckled. "You really don't know moderation. Aren't you afraid your sect master will expel you?"
Huoxuan blinked. "What does this have to do with our sect master?"
Arthur reminded her, "You made a huge commotion in Kunlun using Shu Mountain's signature technique. That's basically dragging Shu Mountain into a mess."
"If Kunlun marches to Shu Mountain demanding an explanation, how do you plan to answer your sect master?"
Huoxuan snorted confidently. "Relax. They attacked me from far away—they didn't even see my face. I'll just deny everything."
Arthur didn't say a word.
He simply looked at her.
Huoxuan began to feel uneasy under his stare. "What? Is there a problem?"
Arthur said calmly, "Do you think a sect as big as Kunlun doesn't have Recording Stones?"
Recording Stones were common in the eastern cultivation world—stones that recorded images, essentially surveillance devices.
Most sects placed them around their territory to monitor movement near their mountain gate.
Shu Mountain had them too.
Arthur himself had learned about them last summer. During his trip through Kunlun, he had constantly suppressed the Recording Stones around their sect.
He could guarantee Huoxuan hadn't paid attention to that at all.
Fortunately, the Kunlun exit inside the Zen Garden was hidden well enough that the Recording Stones couldn't see it.
Otherwise, Kunlun might have tracked Huoxuan's trail and followed it all the way here.
They still wouldn't be able to enter the Zen Garden without Arthur's permission, but having the exit discovered would be a nuisance all the same.
After Arthur's reminder, Huoxuan finally remembered that detail as well.
She slapped her thigh. "Then I have to go destroy all their Recording Stones!"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "And you're not worried they'll surround you and beat you again?"
Huoxuan hesitated.
Even with infinite energy, she couldn't fight an entire sect alone—let alone destroy their Recording Stones while under siege.
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