Chapter 359: About to Be Born

With the grandmasters and elders of the major sects in the Morning Star Sea departing for the outskirts of Half City, the space before the shop transformed entirely into a training ground for their disciples and the younger cultivators.

As the throng of these youthful practitioners steadily swelled, those who had finished watching Shushan and Zhu Xian quickly congregated in front of the storefront.

The sword-riding techniques of Emei and Qingyun, though possessing a higher threshold of entry compared to that of the Shushan Sect, paradoxically proved slightly simpler to practice.

This was because Shushan’s sword control paid little heed to the material of the blade—though superior materials were naturally preferred—and once one’s inner Qi reached a profound depth, flying petals and falling leaves could all serve as weapons, allowing even ordinary wooden swords to be commanded; thus, it demanded an exceedingly high mastery over Qi.

Conversely, the sword-riding arts of Emei and Qingyun first required finding a spiritual weapon brimming with spiritual aura, one that ideally possessed a nascent spirituality of its own, so that one could achieve the object-manipulation of the Qingyun Sect or the unity of man and sword and sword-riding flight of the Emei Sect.

Naturally, the threshold of spiritual power went without saying; among the younger generation within the shop, even those who were not core disciples of the major factions were exceptionally gifted geniuses, and save for the young lad Zou Mo, everyone else far surpassed that baseline of spiritual energy.

To ensure these elite disciples could master the sword-riding art, these factions had clearly spared no expense—take, for instance, the highly spiritual longsword beneath Liu Ningyun’s jade-like feet, which shimmered with a pale blue, crystalline luster and had been forged from the exceedingly precious Deep Sea Black Jade.

At this moment, she clearly intended to fly out from the front of the shop once more; a streak of blue sword-light flashed across the sky, and she drifted away into the distance, exceptionally elegant and carefree.

Several female disciples led by Mo Xian watched with envy writ large across their faces: "When will we ever be as excellent as Senior Sister Liu..."

Teetering precariously upon a spiritual sword as they practiced before the shop, they cast disdainful glances at those cultivators who were still practicing various forms of sword-riding strikes.

It was obvious that sword-riding flight was vastly more difficult than ordinary sword-riding attacks.

On one hand, it was the difference between swinging a iron sword weighing dozens of pounds versus wielding a great sledgehammer of one or two hundred pounds; on the other hand, bearing one's own weight into the high skies and ensuring one did not plummet during high-speed movement was a feat whose difficulty could not be compared to ordinary sword-strikes, where one only needed to mind the blade itself.

...

The Wuwei Daoist Alliance.

"Master." Within the artifact-refining chamber, Li Haorand appeared leading two middle-aged refiners, each holding a tray covered with a silk veil. "Regarding the replication of the Haotian Mirror, we have ultimately selected three precious materials to serve as the main body of the dharma treasure."

He lifted the first veil to reveal a square jade box; upon opening it, waves of crystalline, translucent light shimmered from within, and as the light dissipated, it revealed a box of translucent white crystals, each the size of a rice grain and clear as ice.

Next, he uncovered another tray, which held a completely white stone with a smooth exterior; upon closer inspection, strange spiritual runes seemed faintly adrift upon its surface, making it an exceedingly peculiar celestial stone.

The final tray held a long box containing a flat object about the size of a palm; it was neither metal nor jade, resembling instead something of a bony texture.

"A box of Dragon Black Crystals aged over five thousand years, a piece of meteoric stone from beyond the heavens, and the last piece is a remnant bone unearthed from an ancient ruin, possessing excellent spirituality."

Jun Yangzi nodded in approval: "You have worked hard. To think that even by gathering the strength of the entire Wuwei Daoist Alliance, we could only find three materials fit to serve as the main body for the replica of the Haotian Mirror... However, this remnant bone is quite good, crystalline and translucent, bursting with spiritual energy."

Evidently, though it was a replica, they intended to forge a fraction of its true power; otherwise, going to such tremendous trouble would be utterly meaningless.

"The remnant bone was sent by the Yundian Region," Li Haoran said. "They wish to join this research."

"What are they coming here for?" Several artifact refiners immediately flared up with anger. "Are they not the lackeys of the Three Saint Sect? Now that they see our Wuwei Daoist Alliance growing stronger by the day, they want to poke their noses in?"

Jun Yangzi smiled: "Has the compensation from last time not been finalized yet? Speak with His Majesty and have this remnant bone counted toward it. As for the Yundian Region wanting to meddle..."

"We can grant them a single slot and see what they intend to do first."

"What else could they want?" Duan Buyi said displeasedly. "They just feel that we have spent more time on this research and want to steal our craft."

"There is no need to worry about that," Jun Yangzi said. "Owner Fang's shop stands right there; we are merely one step ahead, and sooner or later others will catch up. We might as well seize this opportunity to learn from their Yundian Region, whose artifact-refining essentials are more advanced than our own Wuwei Daoist Alliance."

This was the foundation of their refining knowledge, and if there was a chance to strengthen it, they naturally would not abandon the opportunity.

"Moreover, I always feel that the Three Saint Sect has been plotting something lately. Although the previous crisis was averted, the way the major factions look at us now seems rather off," Jun Yangzi added. "To guard against unforeseen disasters, if we can bind the Yundian Region to our warship, our pressure will be significantly lessened."

"Brother Jun Yangzi speaks the truth!"

...

It was not just the Wuwei Daoist Alliance; the major factions of the Morning Star Sea were also stepping up their research into replicating the dharma treasures. Such terrifyingly powerful super spiritual treasures and unprecedented methods of refining, backed by the support of most of the Morning Star Sea's major forces, allowed these artifact refiners to indulge themselves to their hearts' content. Before them lay piles of various rare materials for their choosing, and they studied the structures of one super magic treasure after another, forging an unprecedentedly terrifying weapon. Such an environment for artifact refining left absolutely nothing to be desired.

...

"Little boss, are these things in your shop really that powerful?" Ning Bi asked, still somewhat skeptical as she spun the joystick with her hand.

"Perhaps not," Owner Fang replied with a straight face, currently controlling Iori Yagami to unleash another Ya Otome combo. "The things in my shop are exceptionally trashy."

"..." Ning Bi countered, "Sister is asking you, with so many good things in your shop, aren't you afraid of being robbed?"

"I am, can you cover for me while you're at it?" Owner Fang had already calmly finished off Ning Bi's Athena Asamiya with a single combo; she had never seen anyone say they were afraid with such utter composure.

"...You don't even know how to let a lady win, yet you have the nerve to say that." Evidently, Owner Fang had talked the conversation into a dead end, casually pulling off a three-character sweep to defeat all three of Ning Bi's characters without sparing her an ounce of face.

Owner Fang casually lit a cigarette: "A game like King of Fighters depends mostly on one's innate talent. Playing the way you do, you won't even beat Orochi by next year, let alone choosing Orochi or unlocking Orochi's spells."

"I'll play again tomorrow!" She truly needed to catch her breath!

A gust of fragrant wind brushed past, and she had already walked out.

Owner Fang scratched his head in confusion: "Huh? Weren't we playing just fine a moment ago?"

...

Meanwhile, at the back mountain of the Nanhua Sect, a new change was brewing.

A sinister voice rang out, laced with a hatred that had been suppressed for an unknown number of years: "Soon, tell those of the Feng family to speed up. This deity will soon break through this damned restriction!"