Awakening the Divine Spark
Chapter 217: Not becoming an artificer.

Chapter 217: Not becoming an artificer.

Sharing secrets had never been easy for Lee, but after thinking things over, he told Xiao Lian his story.

Surprisingly, his old friend was much more fascinated by the driving and flying artifacts during Lee’s first two lives than acquiring the overlord’s seal. Only after Lee explained the principles of combustion engine to the best of his abilities, they turned back to his problems.

The first thing Xiao Lian did was he completed the drawing of the seal. Unfortunately it didn’t lead them anywhere.

Xiao Lian was positive the overlord’s artifact was somehow responsible for Lee preserving his memories after the reincarnation as well as the sparks inside his Dantian.

Being an elemental lord he had much deeper understanding of the concept of consciousness and sparks. That, in turn, allowed him to guess that the Overlord of the Voidforge has created something that allows a person to fuse their spark with their consciousness prior to becoming an elemental lord.

Lee had three of those and technically none were his own, although after being born again he was using the elemental particles on a level an early stage elemental master would. It would’ve been fine if not for the side effect – the excruciating pain he felt the moment the balance between the sparks was disrupted.

He had spent this whole life honing basics, but unfortunately it was only on a physical level. It was basically impossible for a person to practice elemental skills if they were in a constant agony.

"What if you tried to focus the flow all three elements at the same time?" Xiao Lian asked.

"You think I never thought of that?" Lee asked in return.

"Sure, but have you tried focusing them on an object? Like during crafting." Xiao Lian grinned.

"You want me to become a blacksmith?" Lee said.

"An artificer. And I’m not suggesting you become one. Practice as one." Xiao Lian said, "Obviously, an artificer normally uses their own element, commonly fire, but there are things that we craft that require multiple elements and that’s when we imbue artifacts with elemental sparks."

"You’re idea is for me to become an accumulator of elemental particles that can be used during crafting." Lee stated.

"Hahaha! Not everything is about you, Lee!" Xiao Lian laughed, "You can create magical things while growing at the same time."

As an artificer with centuries of experience, Xiao Lian immediately thought if multiple applications if he could wield the power of several elements. For example, defensive gear like armor or robes for beginner cultivators that were resistant to fire and water. Or traps, utilizing the attack of three elements at the same time, making them particularly deadly.

Of course, he would have to test thousands of things before judging whether it was possible to utilize several elements in a weapon, but at least for now no one had achieved that.

Lee was happy to give Lian’s idea a try and they moved the conversation to Xiao Lian’s workshop. Since Xiaogong was full of artisans, he didn’t have to hammer anything himself or pick up a needle to sew. That allowed him to take private lessons from the Patriarch of the Xiao clan and learn how to transform ordinary items into artifacts.

The first part was the easiest for Lee to learn – placing the correct runic symbols on an object. Be it drawing, carving or inlaying, he had done all of that before and only had to follow Xiao Lian’s instructions.

Unsurprisingly, this was the most important part of the process. Depending on the runic symbols used, the item was going to acquire the necessary characteristics. If incorrect ones were used, or the right ones in the wrong order – the item was wasted.

With wide eyes Lee watched how Xiao Lian drew an example of runes on a piece of paper, inventing a new type of artifact on the spot.

Xiao Lian wasn’t the Patriarch for nothing. His precision and speed was remarkable, to not speak of application of the fire element. After honing these skills fer centuries he could confidently consider himself to be one of if not the very best artificer of the continent.

This time, though, he felt like he had gone back in time and was thrilled to see the expression on Lee’s face. Long ago he had the same look when he saw Lee copy the cultivation techniques in the sect’s library. Now the tables had turned, and for a change he could show off.

Lee, of course, didn’t intend to compete with the expert, but following Xiao Lian’s instructions applied the runes on a piece of armor. Afterwards he drew with his index finger along the lines, channeling fire, earth and water particles at the same time ... until he got to the fourth symbol when his finger ruptured, spraying blood on the armor.

"Fuck!" Lee instinctively cursed.

While he bandaged himself, Xiao Lian fell in deep thoughts. After pondering for a while, he asked, "Does it always happen when you use all three elements at the same time?"

"It used to." Lee said, "I haven’t done anything like this in years and hoped it could work."

"But how do you counter the imbalance if you use only one element?" Xiao Lian asked.

"I don’t. I either don’t do anything and crawl up in agony the moment I can’t bear the pain, or if I use all three, I never allow the particles flow together. For example, I channel the fire particles, imbuing my weapon. At the same time I cover my body, or rather – parts of it, with earth particles, creating kind of an armor. The water particles I directly discharge in the form of sweat." Lee said.

"You fight like that?" Xiao Lian asked, not believing his ears.

"I tried, but found it impossible." Lee said, "In the end I kind of found a middle ground when I go through all three parts in succession, one after another. The pain isn’t as bad, although it limits my combat abilities."

"Psychopath!" Both of them heard Qi Yujian curse. It sounded almost as if she was present in Xiao Lian’s workshop, but then she realized she let them know she was eavesdropping, and a more distant shout followed, "I’m watching you two! Don’t do anything stupid!"

After earlier hearing about her skills, Lee wasn’t surprised that now three people knew his secrets. He didn’t mind since the other two could be considered his friends. The problem was that he felt uncomfortable knowing someone, almost like a god, was watching his every move.

Xiao Lian, on the other hand, could only awkwardly smile at his wife’s antics, and pretend he didn’t hear anything.

He said, "So basically you’re fucked. You can’t use all energies at the same time. A person can fully focus only on one object. The illusion that people get of them being able of doing several things at the same time is only caused by their consciousness quickly switching between different tasks. If there were only two elements, you probably could find a way, but three ..."

"Yep, I’m completely fucked." Lee agreed, "I spent more than a decade to come to this conclusion and there is no way out."

"So you can’t cultivate?" Xiao Lian’s expression turned sour.

It clearly meant that Lee could never become an elemental master, to not speak of reaching the heights of an elemental lord. And even if Lee died a natural death, he would be gone in less than a hundred years. He, on the other hand, had few centuries left in him.

"I can and I do. After I was born, my power grew immensely. I feel like the three sparks are my own. The problem is that I constantly have to discharge the excessive elemental particles to relieve myself from feeling bloated. I’m not sure if you remember, but that started on the Serrakar Plateau." Lee said.

"Wait!" Xiao Lian had a sudden realization, "So you live in constant pain?"

"That’s the price I have to pay for moronic decisions." Lee shrugged, "After a while you get used to it. Although sometimes I feel like I’ll go insane."

"Damn! So there’s nothing that could be done ..." Xiao Lian said.

"Mhm." Lee nodded.

"You two idiots!" Qi Yujian’s curse interrupted them, but then she realized she let her lip slip again, and added, "Wait a moment, I’ll come to you."