Chapter 212: My Imperial Weapon Can Still Be Saved

The Wind Rises Across Kyushu

In the training room, Lu Ye channeled spiritual power into the Mountain Blade, controlling it with a thought.

It wasn't smooth at first, but he quickly grasped some essentials based on his Fourth Senior Brother's teachings. The Mountain Blade, enveloped in fiery-red spiritual power, swayed and floated, like a toddling child.

Before Lu Ye could feel happy, the spiritual power wrapped around the long blade dissipated, and it fell heavily.

He quickly composed himself and continued practicing.

This process progressed very slowly and consumed a lot of his spiritual power. If he hadn't been in the training room, Lu Ye really wouldn't have been able to last long.

In the training room, the consumption and replenishment of spiritual power could basically maintain a balance, so Lu Ye could always keep his spiritual power abundant, and even have enough left over to open his next spirit aperture.

His days were now more fulfilling than before.

Previously, besides cultivating, Lu Ye would study the scriptures brought back from Madam Yun, absorbing various knowledge about spirit patterns and then constructing them. He would also spare time daily to go to the Mirage Realm for combat training. Now, in addition to these two things, he had also added the art of artifact manipulation to his practice.

Not only that, but after reaching the seventh level of cultivation, he could also cultivate the second spell recorded in the Vermilion Lotus Ascension Art.

The first spell was the Fire Phoenix Art, which he cultivated at the fourth level. The second was the Fire Dragon Art...

Perhaps because he was accustomed to constructing spirit patterns, learning spells wasn't difficult for Lu Ye. This was also why he was often mistaken for a spell cultivator. His casting speed was no worse than that of a true spell cultivator, but he lacked some versatility. A true spell cultivator wouldn't master only one or two spells.

Lu Ye managed to cast the Fire Dragon Art in less than half a day, much simpler than artifact manipulation.

Spells that could be cast at the seventh level were undoubtedly much more powerful than the Fire Phoenix Art and also consumed more energy. After Lu Ye found an uninhabited spot in the station and tested the power of the Fire Dragon Art, he no longer focused his attention on it.

For him, since he had chosen the path of a weapon cultivator, he naturally intended to follow it all the way. As for spells, having a few for defense was enough; there was no need to delve too deeply into them.

His current focus was mainly on artifact manipulation. Having reached the seventh level of cultivation, if he couldn't manipulate artifacts, how could he fight others?

He still entered the Mirage Realm once a day. Although each entry cost fifty contribution points, the life-and-death combat experience gained there was invaluable, not something that could be exchanged for any amount of contribution points.

To Lu Ye's dismay and indignation, after he reached the seventh level, entering the Mirage Realm meant he once again had to deal with strange bugs. However, this time, the bugs emerging from the mist were no longer comparable to cultivators at the sixth level but were on par with his own cultivation, each one comparable to the seventh level!

It seemed the monster bugs encountered in the Mirage Realm were indeed related to one's own cultivation level.

Judging from previous experiences, Lu Ye would probably need to clear all nine checkpoints in one go before cultivators would appear from the mist to fight him.

He had just advanced to the seventh level and was still practicing artifact manipulation. It would be extremely difficult to clear all nine checkpoints in one go, so he could only take it slowly.

Five days quickly passed, and Lu Ye really couldn't bear it anymore. The main reason was the slow progress of his artifact manipulation practice these days.

He wasn't someone who couldn't handle setbacks, but after seeing Chen Yu's artifact manipulation skills yesterday, he couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged.

Currently, among the seventh-level cultivators in the station, there was only Chen Yu besides him. Lu Ye naturally wanted to see how others manipulated artifacts, so he sent a message to Chen Yu, asking him to come and demonstrate. As a result, Chen Yu's artifact manipulation was incredibly smooth. The artifact transformed into a streak of light, darting back and forth within thirty zhang, as nimble as a flying bird.

In the end, Chen Yu even said that his artifact manipulation skills were not refined enough and that he had made a fool of himself in front of Lu Ye.

If Chen Yu's display of artifact manipulation was considered "making a fool of himself," then Lu Ye felt his own was utterly embarrassing. He asked Chen Yu, and Chen Yu said that after advancing to the seventh level, he had managed to cultivate artifact manipulation in just three days, whereas Lu Ye...

Returning to the station, he went to his Second Senior Sister for a meal.

Feeling depressed, the only way to resolve his sorrow was to stuff himself with food.

As if sensing something amiss, Shui Yuan asked, while serving him food, "Is there anything bothering you at the station?"

"Mmm, yes," Lu Ye replied indistinctly.

"Then what's wrong?" Shui Yuan asked, puzzled, in a soft voice.

Lu Ye swallowed the food in his mouth and sighed, saying, "I found that I have no talent in the art of artifact manipulation. What others can do in three days, I probably can't achieve in a month."

Shui Yuan said, "Every inch has its strength, every foot has its weakness. Everyone has something they're good at. Little Junior Brother, you have such high talent in the way of spirit patterns; Madam Yun praises you constantly. You can even kill enemies beyond your level. But a person can't be good at everything. Don't worry too much about it." Although there were now many disciples in the sect, Shui Yuan still called Lu Ye "Little Junior Brother." To her, these three words held a very special meaning, because it was thanks to this Little Junior Brother that the Blood Sect was able to continue.

"I understand the logic," Lu Ye said, "but I still feel a bit unwilling to accept it."

"Then... after dinner, I'll give you some pointers?" Shui Yuan offered, "Although my talent in artifact manipulation isn't as high as your Fourth Senior Brother's, it's still not bad."

As a dignified True Lake Realm cultivator, how could her artifact manipulation skills be poor? The reason she had asked Lu Ye to consult Li Baxian earlier wasn't because she was lazy, but because Li Baxian's talent in artifact manipulation was truly astonishingly high. When ordinary cultivators first advanced to the seventh level, they usually manipulated only one artifact. As their cultivation increased and their control over spiritual power improved, the number of manipulated artifacts might gradually increase.

But after Li Baxian advanced to the seventh level, he immediately manipulated nine artifacts. His control over his spiritual power reached an incredible degree. This was also one of the reasons why the Sword Master of the Northern Profound Sword Sect valued him so much.

Li Baxian's art of artifact manipulation, combined with his identity as a sword cultivator, was why he could rank tenth on the Spirit Stream Ranking with his Heavenly-level eighth-layer cultivation. The last time Yan Xing fought him, he was directly struck by hundreds of sword lights, making him doubt his life.

After dinner, Shui Yuan accompanied Lu Ye to the plaza and stood thirty zhang away, saying with a smile, "Little Junior Brother, go ahead and attack with your artifact."

Lu Ye glanced around, and seeing no one else, he took out his spiritual artifact from his storage bag.

Seeing that he took out the Mountain Blade, Shui Yuan's brow furrowed slightly, and her expression became a little serious.

Over there, Lu Ye had already begun channeling spiritual power into the blade and said, "Please guide me, Senior Sister."

He wasn't worried about hurting Shui Yuan. Not to mention the huge difference in their strength, even at this distance of thirty zhang, Lu Ye couldn't even reach her.

Spiritual power clung to the long blade. As Lu Ye's thought moved, the long blade left its sheath, transforming into a fiery-red streak of light and darting towards Shui Yuan.

A look of surprise appeared in Shui Yuan's eyes.

The streak of light wasn't too slow, but it certainly wasn't fast. It was much slower than the artifact manipulation Lu Ye had seen from others in the Chess Sea. If seventh-level cultivators' artifact manipulation was all at this level, then it posed no threat to him at all. Even if dozens of artifacts attacked him at once, he could easily evade them.

The streak of light stopped at a distance of ten zhang from Shui Yuan. In other words, Lu Ye's artifact manipulation could only cover a range within twenty zhang.

He controlled the long blade, making it fly a few times in the air, returning it before the spiritual power channeled into it was depleted, and put it back into its sheath.

"That's basically how it is," Lu Ye scratched his head.

This was the result of his five days of practicing artifact manipulation.

He summarized his progress: First, its range was far too short compared to others; engaging in combat with such limited range would surely put him at a great disadvantage. Second, its speed was slow, and its destructive power was weak. Third, its duration was short; he could only maintain the artifact's flight for a few breaths before having to retrieve the Mountain Blade. Otherwise, if the spiritual power channeled into the blade was depleted, he wouldn't be able to control it, and it might even be captured by an enemy.

Shui Yuan walked towards him and extended her hand, saying, "Let me see your blade."

Lu Ye drew the Mountain Blade and handed it over. Shui Yuan channeled spiritual power, and a soft light enveloped the long blade as she examined it.

A moment later, she said with a strange expression, "Little Junior Brother, have you been practicing artifact manipulation with this blade the entire time?"

"Yes."

Shui Yuan was exasperated. "This blade's enchantments are completely unsuitable for artifact manipulation. Why would you use it to practice artifact manipulation? Moreover, this blade is too heavy. Didn't your Fourth Senior Brother tell you to choose a good spiritual artifact before practicing artifact manipulation?"

Lu Ye thought for a moment. "No."

Shui Yuan slapped her forehead. "That fellow is truly irresponsible."

"Is it a problem with the blade?" Lu Ye asked, half anxious, half hopeful, like a terminally ill person suddenly hearing someone say they could still be saved.

"It's the blade's problem," Shui Yuan explained. "This blade has no enchantments suitable for artifact manipulation, and its own weight is considerable. That's why your artifact manipulation range is short and its speed isn't fast. And... Little Junior Brother, you must have seen others manipulate artifacts in the Chess Sea; didn't you notice the difference between yourself and them?"

"I did notice a difference," Lu Ye admitted, "but I thought it was my own problem."

Shui Yuan sighed. "You're quite something to actually succeed in manipulating an artifact with such a blade."

"Then what kind of spiritual artifact is suitable for artifact manipulation?"

"Firstly, it needs to be light. Of course, not just any lightness is good; if it's too light, its lethality will be insufficient. It depends on your own choice. Secondly, you need to consider the enchantments within the spiritual artifact. It must at least have a 'spiritual storage enchantment'. Otherwise, just like you experienced earlier, the artifact will have to be recalled after only a few breaths of being manipulated. How can you manipulate an artifact then? A spiritual storage enchantment allows your spiritual power to be stored within the artifact, allowing for more sustained artifact manipulation."

Lu Ye let out a long breath. "So that's how it is."

Shui Yuan looked at him apologetically. "Ultimately, it was our oversight as your senior siblings." The main reason was also that the Blood Sect hadn't accepted new members for so many years that Shui Yuan didn't really know how to guide others in cultivation anymore. As for Li Baxian, he was only focused on teaching Lu Ye the knowledge of artifact manipulation and completely forgot about the spiritual artifact itself. Perhaps he assumed Lu Ye had a suitable spiritual artifact for manipulation.

She then explained in detail to Lu Ye about the enchantments suitable for artifact manipulation.

Lu Ye kept it in mind and excitedly headed towards the Heavenly Secret Hall, saying, "I'm going to find a suitable spiritual artifact."

His heart was uplifted. My artifact manipulation skill can still be saved!