Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 72: Magic Artifact - Part 2

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Magic Artifact - Part 2

"Next, I just need to successfully perform the sacrificial refinement thirty times to enter the First Layer of the Sacrificial Refinement. The Spiritual Light Shield should be a low-rank magic artifact. According to the booklet, one layer of refinement should be sufficient." Lin Xin steadied his mind and began to swiftly activate his skill.

The skill was one hundred percent successful, and the refinement of the Spiritual Light Shield quickly concluded.

The final key step.

He picked up the shield, bit the tip of his tongue, and gently sprayed onto the shield.

Pfft.

Saliva mixed with fresh blood splattered all over the shield...

"Ugh... my first time... lack of experience."

Lin Xin felt somewhat embarrassed. Fortunately, nobody witnessed this scene. He quickly found a towel to wipe off the saliva on the shield.

By then, the fresh blood that had adhered had been unknowingly absorbed and disappeared by the shield.

What others needed days to accomplish, he had completed in just a little while.

"Let’s test its power."

Lin Xin stood up and gently tossed the small shield in front of him.

In an instant, he felt a massive surge of Inner Qi rushing out of his body like a tide, all of it flowing through an unknown channel. In just two seconds, half of the Inner Qi in his body was gone.

The Spiritual Light Shield spun in mid-air and actually hovered in front of Lin Xin. The black shield surface slowly began releasing a faint white light.

The white light enveloped Lin Xin from head to toe, forming an oval, egg-shaped light cocoon.

"Is this the Spiritual Light Shield?" Lin Xin touched the light cocoon with his hand, feeling its smooth and icy surface, akin to glass.

He furrowed his brows and contemplated for a while.

Suddenly, he extended his finger again, closed his eyes, and solemnly tapped lightly on the inner wall of the cocoon.

Hiss...

A soft sound and the whole cocoon slowly rippled, seeming to thicken slightly.

Lin Xin’s eyes widened as a glint of joy flashed through them.

"So that’s how it is... that’s how it is..." A look of sudden realization crossed his face.

"Attribute points can actually affect the magic artifact!" he muttered to himself, unable to suppress his excitement, speaking in a volume only he could hear.

Right when he had activated the Spiritual Light Shield, he suddenly felt a faint stream of air rushing out from within, seemingly wanting to enter the Spiritual Light Shield. This stream was not Inner Qi but something more ethereal and with even subtler fluctuations.

Upon hesitation, he released this stream, allowing it to rush into the channel connected with the Spiritual Light Shield.

The result was the scene before him.

The Spiritual Light Shield had been enhanced... and his attribute panel also showed a change.

All attributes remained the same, but there was one additional skill at the bottom.

’Spiritual Light Shield +3—Defense 16+3.’

"The base defense of the Spiritual Light Shield should be that 16, and the added 3..." Lin Xin recalled the stream he had released just now.

He tried touching the inner wall of the cocoon with his hand, his mind moving with intention.

Hiss...

Instantly, the Spiritual Light Shield thinned a little.

He looked at the skill again.

’Spiritual Light Shield—Defense 16.’

Indeed...

"Attribute can influence the heart-blood sacrificial refinement of the magic artifact... impressive... truly impressive!" Lin Xin couldn’t help but want to laugh out loud.

This way, a very ordinary magic artifact in others’ hands could enhance much more power in his!

He suddenly remembered that he still had one attribute point unused. He decisively added it to defense.

Immediately, his attributes changed to:

Attack—3, Defense—4, Evasion—1, Constitution—1.

The enhancement of the Spiritual Light Shield also changed to ’Spiritual Light Shield +4—Defense 16+4.’

"Just not sure what effect adding 4 points to defense will have."

Lin Xin was hopeful.

In the following days, he found a secluded spot in the nearby mountains and woods, peacefully utilizing the Spiritual Light Shield, mastering all its various characteristics.

Only after he became completely proficient and understood its detailed applications did he prepare everything and head to the Formation Hall mentioned by Grandma, the place for disciple exchanges.

*********************

Huang Hua Lin

Clang!

The longsword struck Lin Xin’s Spiritual Light Shield, scattering bits of white light.

In a circular clearing within a dense forest.

No less than ten innate disciples sat in a circle on chairs, watching the two people in the center sparring.

The person holding the sword had a free and easy expression and movement technique with a trace of lightness, constantly moving around Lin Xin, thrusting and slashing without a break.

The Spiritual Light Shield continuously splattered tiny white light spots which dissipated quickly before they even hit the ground.

Lin Xin stood still, allowing the opponent to attack continuously. He occasionally struck back, thrusting his longsword and stirring up tiny white light spots in front of his opponent. It was clear that his opponent also had a Spiritual Light Shield.

"Elder Brother Huang, how is it?" During a lull in his opponent’s attacks, he asked with a small smile.

"Good! You’ve completely mastered the Spiritual Light Shield so quickly, much faster than us. You truly deserve to be the disciple personally appointed by Elder Yu." The sword-wielding man laughed heartily, praised, and sheathed his sword.

He was Huang Songzi, a leading figure among the innate disciples in the Formation Hall. His cultivation level was unknown, but it was definitely above the eighth layer of Innate.

"However..." he then looked at Lin Xin’s Spiritual Light Shield, "I always feel that your Spiritual Light Shield is slightly stronger than ours. Logically speaking, these magic artifacts are mass-produced, so their power should all be the same, right?"

Lin Xin was momentarily startled; he hadn’t added any attribute effects. Could it still be noticeable?

"I always feel that you haven’t activated the Spiritual Light with full strength," Huang Songzi continued.

"Elder Brother Huang, Disciple Lin is personally appointed by Elder Yu, he naturally wouldn’t be limited to this small amount of skill," someone said mockingly from the side.

Lin Xin looked up and saw among the group that had gathered around, one young man looking at him with some hostility.

"Disciple Song, a magic artifact integrates external materials with oneself. Its specific effect depends only on the material and the accompanying formation. You’ve reached the seventh layer; you should know this, right?" Huang Songzi said seriously. He looked puzzled at the man, unsure of his attitude that day.

The man surnamed Song sneered coldly.

"Elder Brother Huang, aren’t you just trying to curry favor with someone favored by Elder Yu?"

Huang Songzi immediately looked displeased. He indeed intended to be friendly towards Lin Xin, but it was not as severe as sycophantic fawning.

Lin Xin observed this clearly from the side.

"This brother, Elder Brother Huang enjoys helping others and has a generous nature. Helping me test the power of the magic artifact isn’t wrong, right? Besides, I’ve only just advanced to Innate and am far behind Elder Brother Huang. Aren’t your words... somewhat inappropriate?" he intervened.

"What? Just advanced to Innate and you no longer know your own limits? You want to meddle in my and Elder Brother Huang’s matter? Wait until you reach above the sixth layer!" the surnamed Song stared coldly at Lin Xin.

After finishing, he narrowed his eyes at Huang Songzi and walked away.

His two fellow Innate followers closely followed, one of them sneering at Huang Songzi.

"Elder Brother Huang, well done with sucking up."

Huang Songzi’s face reddened slightly, and he stared coldly as they left.

Lin Xin watched them walk away. When they were almost ten meters away,

"Above the sixth layer, I will come looking for you," he suddenly spoke out, his voice carrying far.

Immediately, there was silence all around.

Surnamed Song’s group turned around, all somewhat surprised to look at him.

Huang Songzi was also somewhat dazed, staring at Lin Xin.

Not just him, even the other nearby Innates, several of whom were quietly cultivating Qi, also opened their eyes.

"Disciple... this matter..." Huang Songzi wanted to say something in a low voice.

"Hahaha, good, good, good! Lin Xin, you’ve got guts!" the man surnamed Song suddenly burst out laughing, then strode away.

The others also looked at him somewhat oddly. Recklessly challenging a cultivator far beyond his own cultivation was clearly unwise.

Lin Xin remained silent; it was clear they were targeting him. Huang Songzi was just collateral damage. He hadn’t expected people from Elder Huang Songzi’s side to take action so quickly.

"Interesting..." he hooked his lips slightly, not feeling afraid. If he were scared of challenges, it would have been better to stay and enjoy riches in Red Pine City from the beginning; why bother coming here to suffer?

Elder Yu’s intentions had been made very clear; what he needed to ensure now was not to let Elder Yu lose face.

Moreover, after several missions, he had begun to somewhat enjoy this tumultuous, unknown-filled life.

What if the opponent was of the seventh Innate layer? With many trump cards, now with a magic artifact and attribute enhancements on him, continuing to be as timid and cautious as before would really be shameful.

Since he had to confront the situation anyway, what difference did provocation make?

"Elder Brother Huang, Song Jing was specifically targeting Disciple Lin," someone in the observing Innates whispered insightfully before turning to leave.

Huang Songzi also came to realize this.

The remaining few either remained silent or just sat spectating. Everyone who entered the Innate did not want to involve themselves, afraid of being implicated. After all, everyone’s goal was to break through in their Qi Cultivation.

"This Song Jing, he absolutely won’t wait for you to actually reach the sixth layer to make his move. This upcoming Sword-Listening Conference will be held in the Cave, and injuries or disabilities are inevitable. Disciple, you really shouldn’t have provoked him face-to-face..." Huang Songzi sighed.

Lin Xin shook his head slightly.

"They came for me, there’s no avoiding it."

"But..." Huang Songzi still wanted to say something

"Elder Brother Huang, if it’s unavoidable, isn’t it better to clarify it directly? It’s better than him suddenly stabbing me in the back, right?," Lin Xin replied with a smile.

Seeing this, Huang Songzi no longer said more.

"Well then... Disciple, you must be very careful," he said.

Following this, the remaining people began to wield their magic artifacts under Huang Songzi’s arrangement.

Most were using Spiritual Light Shields and Yang Charm Swords; there wasn’t a single Soul-Wrapping Bell.

Lin Xin also began to specifically compare the differences between his and other people’s magic artifacts, and indeed, as stated in the Sacrificial Refinement Decree pamphlet, the power of the magic artifacts was primarily determined by materials and the formations on them. Sacrificial Refinement was just a method to enable them to fully exert their power, not simply using the magic artifact to smash someone. During more advanced sacrificial refinement processes, one could also retrieve usage methods from the magic artifact itself.

He systematically compared the Spiritual Light Shields of other Innate experts and found this to be true; everyone’s Spiritual Light Shields had power differences, but they were minimal, regardless of whether they were at the eighth layer or the fourth layer of Innate. The artifacts’ power was the same; it was only the proportion of their own consumption that differed, nothing more.

He had no choice but to participate in this upcoming Sword-Listening Conference, so he needed to understand everything that needed attention.