Soul Emperor Martial God

"Primordial Artifact, the Sect's first treasure? Heh."

Xiao Yi shook his head and chuckled.

It was only after he arrived at the Royal Capital that Xiao Yi learned of the existence of Primordial Artifacts.

They are divine weapons, superior to Spiritual Artifacts.

As for why their renown isn't more widespread,

firstly, they are too rare, and secondly, they come with usage limitations.

A Martial Artist can use a Spiritual Artifact during the Postnatal or Innate Realm, greatly enhancing their strength.

But no matter how extraordinary your talents, without the Earth Origin Realm Cultivation, you simply can't use a Primordial Artifact.

The power within them requires the support of an Earth Element Golden Core to control.

Primordial Artifacts are also categorized into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

Their rarity is such that even within the Sect, only a few elders possess them.

And this Shadow Sword in front of him? It's merely a low-grade Primordial Artifact.

Could it be the Sect's most treasured artifact?

Xiao Yi didn't believe it.

He shook his head, turned around, and left.

Without an Earth Element Golden Core, he couldn't feel the power of the Primordial Artifact.

Looking any further was pointless.

As he was leaving, he glanced at the Six Gold Puppet Balls.

The Six Gold Puppet Balls could release six puppets with the power of Earth Origin Ninth Layer.

Moreover, these puppets were masters of the Sword Dao.

However, these puppets had the strength of Earth Origin Ninth Layer but were merely hollow shells.

They didn't possess much or strong Sword Dao knowledge.

In contrast, the puppets in the Sword Pavilion trials,

though their own strength wasn't very strong, contained Sword Dao knowledge from a Heavenly Origin Realm Elder.

Those were the true treasures.

If he could exchange for those puppets,

Xiao Yi wouldn't spare any sword points.

After leaving the treasures area,

Xiao Yi didn't leave the Treasure Vault.

Others were still dizzily picking items.

Only he had already selected his items and was leisurely wandering around.

About two hours later,

the others reluctantly finished selecting their items and left the Treasure Vault.

Most people chose treasures that could enhance their cultivation.

For instance, Zhou Yueyao chose a personal Jade Pendant.

Named Winter Sun.

The Winter Sun Jade Pendant was gentle to the touch. Wearing it close to the body had the effect of warming in winter and cooling in summer.

And it could increase the speed at which a Martial Artist absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy by more than ten percent.

Meteor Sword Master and Fierce Tiger Sword Master chose two Elixirs.

These Elixirs were sixth-grade, and the effect was to enhance the comprehension of the Sword Dao.

But the effect only lasted within seven days.

"Xiao Yi, what did you choose?" Zhou Yueyao suddenly asked with interest.

"I saw you wandering around alone just now."

"And you even went to the area with the important treasures."

"I must remind you, some items in the treasure area are not allowed to be used in this assessment."

"Like those puppets."

"Uh," Xiao Yi touched his nose and didn't say much.

...

After leaving the Sect Treasure Vault,

the group headed to the vast forest next to the Sect.

With only half a month left, no one dared to slack off.

Some meditated, some contemplated the Sword Dao, and others sparred with each other.

In short, everyone was training hard.

Only Xiao Yi, alone, distanced himself.

He returned to the cave where he and Ye Ming and others had stayed before.

"Wandering Cloud Kill Step," Xiao Yi whispered to himself.

His steps became mysteriously agile and shifting.

He trained for a whole day.

In the evening, alone in the cave, he reflected on the day's step technique.

Then, he delved into the Ice Sword Gang Technique.

Time gradually passed, day by day, and he continued the same routine.

His Qi Spring was too vast, and he couldn't cultivate like a normal Martial Artist.

In this short half month, the two things that could increase his strength were the Wandering Cloud Kill Step and the Ice Sword Gang.

Ten days later.

Outside the cave, a figure, no, precisely, a phantom,

moved rapidly, flickering in and out of sight.

Though seemingly untraceable, it was incredibly exquisite.

The phantom was Xiao Yi.

"Ten days' time, although the Wandering Cloud Kill Step isn't fully mastered, it's already proficient,"

Xiao Yi said with a satisfied smile.

By now, it was already dusk.

Xiao Yi returned to the cave, starting to delve into the Ice Sword Gang again.

After a while,

while sitting cross-legged in meditation,

Xiao Yi suddenly felt an astonishing chill.

Surprised, he opened his eyes.

Looking down, a face full of joyful surprise.

Surrounding the cave, a layer of frost had formed unnoticed.

Gradually, the frost transformed into solid ice.

Eventually, the ice turned into a layer of ice crystals.

The ice crystals, clear and flawless, resembled a mirror, reflecting his image.

Xiao Yi tapped on it with his hand.

The ice crystals remained undamaged and emitted a crisp 'clang clang' sound.

Frowning, Xiao Yi threw a full-force punch.

With a loud bang,

the ice crystals trembled, but only a few ice shavings were knocked loose.

And Xiao Yi's fist was already glowing red.

It wasn't from the recoil, but from directly contacting the ice crystals,

where the cold from the ice crystals had frostbitten him.

"Ouch," Xiao Yi inhaled sharply.

"Such strong, piercingly cold ice crystals."

"Just like that Ice Puppet, the epitome of extreme cold."

"I've finally mastered the Ice Sword Gang Technique."

Even the physical strength of an Earth Element Fifth Stage was frostbitten.

Plus, these ice crystals weren't even used for an attack, but merely formed naturally.

If they were indeed utilized in combat,

the power of extreme cold would definitely be terrifyingly formidable.

Days passed, one after another.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

Today marked the last day of the half-month training period.

Outside the cave,

There was a small river.

At this moment, there was a figure above the river.

Beneath the figure, the river had turned to ice, and ice sculptures stood tall.

The figure moved rapidly, flickering in and out of sight.

With the movement of the figure,

swarms of ice shavings flew through the air.

Yet, no matter what, the ice shavings couldn't touch the figure at all.

Instead, as soon as they got near, they were destroyed utterly by the sword in the figure's hand.

If anyone were watching, they would surely be amazed.

And they would also feel a profound sense of loss,

for those ice sculptures were exquisitely beautiful,

like true works of art.

Yet as the figure moved, they were continuously destroyed.

Underneath the sky full of ice shavings,

the figure seemed to become an essence of slaughter.

Beautiful, transcendent, powerful, and yet terrifying.

"Break!" the figure shouted loudly.

Instantly, the ice shavings dispersed.

The river resumed its flow,

And the deadly figure became ordinary again.

The figure was Xiao Yi.

Right now, he was full of confidence.

"Ten days of understanding, five days of practice."

"The Ice Sword Gang, finally somewhat accomplished."

Xiao Yi smiled satisfiedly, then left the cave.

Emerging from the forest, the Great Elder of the sect was already waiting.

All the Sword Masters and new disciples had returned to this place as well.

Xiao Yi arrived belatedly, causing a wave of puzzlement on everyone's faces.

But for some reason, they all felt as if Xiao Yi had changed.

There was a peculiar aura about him.

It was as if, in their eyes, he was no longer the same competitor,

but a Martial Arts master worthy of their admiration.

"You, always the last one to show up," Zhou Yueyao said with a chuckling tease.

"No sense of time at all," Zhong Wuyou said coldly.

"If you were like me, once an assassin,"

"You would have died hundreds of times already."

The Fierce Tiger Sword Master frowned and said, "Northern Mountain Sword Master, where have you been this past half-month?"

"You haven't been simply wandering around, have you?"

Xiao Yi laughed and said, "The forest itself holds beautiful scenery."

"Watching the river flow, white clouds drift, and the sunset dip is also an enjoyable matter."

"Only a fool would believe your nonsense," Jie Mo muttered with a curl of the lip.

"Enough," the Great Elder said loudly, cutting off everyone's chatter.

"The third round of the assessment is about to begin."

"The location is at the Sect Square."

"There is a Martial Arts Arena on the square."

"I remind you, this assessment round will be attended by the Ten Elders."

"Other regular elders will also attend to watch."

"Whether you get an opportunity depends solely on your performance."

With that, the Great Elder turned and led the way.

Everyone hurriedly followed.

...

...

First update.