A smug and irritating voice boasted,

"Your blood is strong, but you're weak kiddo. Luckily for you, I maximized the efficiency of every technique I used. Since each movement was perfectly executed, your body remained quite safe in my hands. The energy was directed outwards and you avoided the brunt of it. That being said, while there was almost no energy directly aimed at you, the amount of strain caused by simple gravitational forces and the inertial force from moving so fast definitely stopped your heart and tore most of your meridians, to say nothing of your muscle and bone structure.

I had to sacrifice the last of my stored power to keep you alive. You paid a heavy price. But know this! While you will experience excuciating pain when you wake, your longevity and overall body constitution have been greatly improved! I modified a few things and your meridians have been...tweaked. Suffice to say, my forbidden techniques are truly awesome!"

Lineir didn't like the sound of this at all.

"Excruciating pain...couldn't you have healed me a bit more?" This voice appeared to be an expert who had once survived losing physical form. If such a person was warning him of "excruciating pain" he didn't think he wanted to wake up again. "Can I just sleep it off?"

The voice scoffed, and for a second, he thought he caught a flickering image of its owner in his mind.

"Sleep it off? If you don't wake up in the next thirty seconds, you're dead! I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to. I spent all my energy modifying your meridians over the last hour, and let me tell you, boy was it a job! I can't exactly call it my greatest work. Mediocre ingredients are simply unsuitable for creating a masterpiece, but a master can create greatness from nothing!"

Lineir was irate,

"You call yourself a master, but what kind of master grinds the stone to dust while carving out a sculpture? You may not care, but it was MY body that was almost buried back there! What if I went insane when you used my face to enter the undead heart! You gave my face no face at all!" Lineir was outraged. The sight of so much under right against his face had truly been disgusting. He was almost certain that for his next nine lives he would have karma exceeding even the great Buddha himself after such an ordeal. The voice chided him as if he was a child, changing the subject,

"Now, now, I had to do what needed to be done. It was for your own good really! Would you have preferred it if everyone had died? Speaking of which, since you didn't die, how would you like to be my disciple? You've seen true power now. I've never known a man that could resist after a taste!" The voice sounded almost seductive. Lineir shuddered. he had just seen far too many rotting tongues and other "organs" in the undead heart.

"**** off pervert! I know you're an immortal sword which can pierce the Heavens, but when I get to the city, I'm selling you off to the highest bidder and I'll never go hungry again!"

The voice was silent for a second, and then exploded indignantly,

"What the hell, do you even have ears? No, I'm in your head that's not the problem. You definitely heard me! So, are you missing a brain?! I just offered you a chance to become so powerful you wouldn't even need to eat unless you wanted to! The only hunger a man should have when he hears me, is a burning in his britches, and he should immediately accept with eyes wider than the full moon!"

For a second, Lineir thought he saw a flash of a figure again, but it was gone far too quickly for him to make out.

"And for the last time, I am not an immortal sword! I am a soul in a sword, and even if I was a sword, I would hardly be a mere immortal sword! F****ing peasants. You'd think after seeing my power, which can't be seen in this whole continent by the way, you'd show a little more respect!"

Despite this tirade, Lineir did not back down!

"You think you're special? Excellent! I can sell you for more! Lots more! Let me wake up so I can write this down...mmm yes, let me see...more special than an immortal sword, definitely worth at least a fortune, possibly two!" With a grunt, Lineir wrenched open his eyes and only to find possibly every person in Brackenrock staring at him over the top of the city walls. Each and every one of their faces was filled with intense greed. White-robed figures floated in the sky and were rapidly advancing towards Lineir in the Deadzone.

"We know you're out there young man, and that you found a great treasure! Hand it over and we'll let you live. Refuse and you will die wishing you had!" They called out in great sonorous voices bolstered by Qi.

While he quaked in his boots, Lineir could almost imagine a smirking pair of lips by his ear whispering,

"So, what was that about selling me? Also, that excruciating pain I mentioned will hit you as soon as the last of my Qi finishes clearing up your meridians. I suggest you run before that happens...unless you want to start off the torture early for those old men."