From a distance, one could see priceless materials being tossed one after another into the Small Universe Furnace by Master Ma Fan. His hands never stopped changing hand seals, and beneath the furnace, formation after formation flickered with dazzling light, a dizzying spectacle to behold.
Refining an Artifact was an incredibly taxing endeavor that demanded both mental focus and physical energy. It was by no means something that could be accomplished in a single stroke—the slightest mistake at any point could undo all progress.
Yang Kai had little experience in the art of Artifact Refining, but he was well-versed in alchemy. Though the two were different disciplines, they shared many commonalities.
Master Ma Fan's Heaven and Earth Tempering Method was extraordinarily profound and utterly unique, and Yang Kai watched with rapt fascination, unable to tear his eyes away.
As more materials were fed in, something resembling molten iron gradually accumulated inside the Small Universe Furnace, while the countless impurities within the raw ingredients were purified out by Master Ma Fan through a series of specialized techniques.
At one point, the grand formation beneath the furnace shifted once more. Master Ma Fan let out a thunderous shout, and the aura of his World Force erupted from within his body and flooded outward.
Amid a barrage of crackling explosions, Master Ma Fan's withered frame began to swell, segment by segment. In the span of a single heartbeat, the frail old man on the verge of death transformed into a titanic giant standing a hundred zhang tall, his head piercing the heavens!
The giant's hair whipped wildly, his face flushed red by the furnace light. Every muscle on his body bulged with explosive power. He reached a hand into the Small Universe Furnace, seized the iron-like material within, and placed it on an enormous tempering anvil. Then he reached to the side, grabbed a colossal hammer, and brought it crashing down.
CLANG... CLANG... CLANG...
With each strike, the entire star trembled. The deafening sound echoed throughout the whole Small Universe World. Sparks flew in every direction, each one carrying enough destructive power to obliterate heaven and earth, but the giant paid them no heed, letting them scorch his body as they would.
After nine full days of hammering, the giant suddenly tossed the half-finished piece back into the Small Universe Furnace, summoning even fiercer solar flames to scorch it while adding more Artifact Refining materials into the mix.
Another nine days later, the half-finished product was extracted once more and subjected to another round of hammering.
This cycle repeated over and over, with nine days as each period. The half-finished piece oscillated endlessly between the Small Universe Furnace and the tempering anvil.
A massive longsword gradually took shape. Even as a mere half-finished product, Yang Kai could already feel a terrifying and overwhelming power radiating from within the blade. His heart trembled—if a half-finished product could already exude such dread, then what kind of horrifying power would the completed sword possess?
After a full eighty-one days of this process, Master Ma Fan suddenly bellowed: "Boy, get over here!"
The Boss Lady had clearly been waiting for this moment. The instant she heard the call, she channeled her power, wrapped Yang Kai within it, and flew them both to Master Ma Fan's side. Standing at the giant's feet, the two of them were as tiny as ants.
"Blood!" Master Ma Fan shook the longsword in his hand and held it before Yang Kai, his voice a deep, resonant hum.
Yang Kai stared at the giant blade, which was over ten zhang long, and couldn't help but feel a bit speechless. Still, he understood that the Artifact Refining must be reaching its final stage. Master Ma Fan wanting his blood was presumably to brand the Heaven-Slaying Sword with his mark. Once that was done, only he would be able to activate its power—anyone else who seized it would find it useless.
Not daring to delay, he pressed two fingers together and drew a line across his palm. Blood welled up immediately. Yang Kai clenched his fist and held it over the surface of the great sword. The blood streamed down from his palm and dripped onto the blade.
A sizzling sound rang out. The drops of blood did not immediately merge into the sword. Instead, they transformed into tiny blood dragons that writhed and coiled across the blade's surface.
"Hmm?" Master Ma Fan let out a sound of surprise and looked at Yang Kai with astonishment. "Dragon blood? You're of the Dragon Clan?"
Even the Boss Lady turned to stare at Yang Kai in shock.
She had no idea that Yang Kai carried the Dragon Clan's bloodline. Back when he had accompanied General Sichen to track down his relatives and rescue Miemeng, Miemeng had warned Yang Kai to keep this secret from others as much as possible. Though the Dragon Clan was powerful, they also had no shortage of enemies across the Three Thousand Worlds. If others were to learn of this secret, it could bring all manner of trouble.
Miemeng had also told him that should he ever face a danger he truly could not overcome, he might choose to reveal the secret of his Dragon Clan bloodline to intimidate others and buy himself a chance to escape.
On the whole, in the Three Thousand Worlds, the Dragon Clan bloodline was a double-edged sword. It might bring Yang Kai endless trouble, but it might also shield him when he needed it most.
And so Yang Kai had always made a point of hiding this secret.
Within the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he had used the Dragon Transformation Secret Art on a few occasions. But those who witnessed it were either his own people or already dead.
"Hahaha, you're of the Dragon Clan? Splendid!" Master Ma Fan's laughter boomed like thunder. "Keep going—don't stop! Give me more dragon blood!"
It seemed that dragon blood was immensely beneficial to the Heaven-Slaying Sword as well.
Hearing this, Yang Kai could only continue to shed his own blood. His recovery ability was extraordinarily powerful—his dragon-veined body combined with the wood-element force of the Tree of Immortality meant that ordinary wounds healed in the blink of an eye. To keep producing dragon blood, he had to constantly irritate his wounds to prevent them from closing too quickly.
As time passed, the golden dragon blood gradually spread to cover the entire surface of the great sword.
"That's enough." Master Ma Fan gave a low shout and once again cast the longsword into the Small Universe Furnace.
The Boss Lady turned to look at him, studying him from head to toe as though seeing Yang Kai for the very first time.