38. Upgrading the Flying Sword

"The jade slip contains only the most basic knowledge of artifact forging. To have learned the art of forging from it is already quite impressive. From here on, I'll need to use attribute points to further improve my skills," Chen Fengyun mused. That very night, he raised his artifact forging technique to Mortal Level, Seventh Tier, spending four attribute points. His mastery of forging had become remarkably advanced.

Sure enough, after his mastery improved, Chen Fengyun noticed that the grade of his flying sword could now be upgraded as well, though he would need some additional materials. Upon returning home, he retrieved several materials he'd found in the cave of Master Yuanhua—copper essence stone, violet lanthanum iron, solar pole stone—all necessary for forging.

He suddenly recalled the meteorite at the foot of Mount Qingcheng, renowned for its extraordinary hardness. "Perhaps it could also be used as a forging material," he thought. Making an excuse to visit his grandmother, he set off for the small town.

He left at night, flying by sword from his grandmother’s house and arriving in just three minutes. By then, the town was deep in slumber. From afar, Chen Fengyun used his spiritual sense to redirect several surveillance cameras away from the meteorite, then approached and touched it, but found that it no longer contained any special energy.

"I wonder if the flying sword can cut through this meteorite," he pondered, summoning his sword to try. To his surprise, it could just barely cut through the stone.

In the realm of forging materials, this “meteorite” was known as “Heavenstar Stone”—the remnant of a celestial body consumed in the sky, famed for its hardness and a staple forging material.

"Since this meteorite is useful, I might as well store it all in the miniature cave-heaven," Chen Fengyun decided. But he worried that its sudden disappearance would draw the attention of local authorities. Still, he had already evaded every camera on his way in, so he shouldn’t be traced.

The meteorite itself was over thirty cubic meters in size and weighed more than a hundred tons—far too massive for his spiritual sense to send it directly into the miniature cave-heaven. He would have to cut it into pieces first.

Carefully, he spent half an hour slicing the meteorite into a dozen pieces, then stored them one by one in his cave-heaven, placing them around the earthen plot—an effort that nearly exhausted his spiritual sense.

He rested in the dark nearby until his energy recovered, then quietly left, returning all the surveillance cameras to their original positions.

The next morning, early risers in the town were shocked to discover the meteorite had vanished, leaving only a large pit scattered with a bit of soil—no other traces remained.

The incident quickly attracted local police and even some special departments, but no clues were found and no conclusions drawn.

As the story spread, rumors abounded: some said the meteorite was actually an alien spaceship, disguised as stone, which flew off after recharging; others claimed it was an alien being that had crashed and, after recovering, left on its own; still others speculated that another country or organization had secretly taken it for research, to use its materials in building spaceships for interstellar migration.

In short, countless versions circulated, but no one knew the truth, and the authorities, unable to explain, could only announce that the stone had been removed for blocking the road.

Chen Fengyun merely smiled when he heard these rumors. He had already found a secluded spot in Mount Qingcheng and, combining the meteorite with other materials, had upgraded his flying sword by one level.

However, just as he sought to further enhance his sword, he discovered he was out of attribute points. Thus, he had no choice but to visit the antique market in Rong City again, searching for old relics imbued with special energy.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang. Oh, I think I did pretty well, actually."

"Hello, Principal Liu. Yes, I'm feeling good about it—the results shouldn’t be bad, I suppose."

There was still a day left before the college entrance exam results would be released. The leaders and teachers at No. 5 High School could no longer sit still. Over the past two days, Chen Fengyun had received calls from his homeroom teacher and several subject teachers; now, even the principal was calling.

Without exception, everyone was concerned about his exam results. Some had already asked after the exam, but now, on the eve of the results, they were inquiring once more.

Strolling through the antique market, Chen Fengyun scanned each shop with his spiritual sense, picking out the oldest relics and searching through them one by one, steadily accumulating attribute points.

Over the past three days, he’d gained five attribute points from the market. He’d spent one to raise his flying sword to Mortal Level, Seventh Tier, and kept the remaining four in reserve.

At this point, his cultivation system panel displayed the following information:

Spiritual Root: Yellow Grade Peak
Spirit: Yellow Grade Early Stage
Cultivation: Qi Refining, Seventh Layer
Techniques: Heaven and Earth Star-Burning Art (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier), Golden Bell Shield (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier)
Skills: Array Formation (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier), Medicine (Mortal Level, Third Tier), Artifact Forging (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier)
Artifacts: Flying Sword (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier), Spirit Gathering Banner (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier), Profound Yin Mirror (Mortal Level, Seventh Tier)
Special Items: Miniature Cave-Heaven
Attribute Points: 4

Indeed, the system panel now included a "Special Items" section, with only the miniature cave-heaven listed. It seemed the cave-heaven did not qualify as an artifact.

Speaking of the miniature cave-heaven, Chen Fengyun entered it with his spiritual sense to observe the seeds he had planted. The ordinary seeds had begun to sprout, pushing up through the soil, but the seeds he had high hopes for—those filled with spiritual energy—remained dormant.

He didn’t know if they would germinate or grow into the spiritual plants he hoped for, but he continued to water them daily with spring water. Still, he wondered whether anything could grow without sunlight in the cave-heaven.

Unbeknownst to Chen Fengyun, as he searched for relics with special energy in two shops, a man with hawk-like eyes occasionally glanced up to observe him.

"Fourth Brother, is this the young man you mentioned?" After Chen Fengyun left, the hawk-eyed man sent a photo of him to someone and asked.

"Second Brother, that’s him—his name is Chen Fengyun. He’s mastered external martial arts, possesses great strength, and is a martial prodigy. During a fight, he completely learned my Eight Trigrams Step and Eight Trigrams Palm," replied the other, who turned out to be the goateed elder Yang Wanshi.

"Very well. Now that he’s been found, I’ll investigate him first," the hawk-eyed man replied, then made several phone calls, secretly instructing people to look into Chen Fengyun.