Several days later, Yang Kai looked at the rather ugly ring on his finger and let out a soft sigh.
His knowledge of artifact refining was, after all, quite shallow. He had originally intended to forge a spatial ring, but after all his efforts, what had taken shape was a drab, dark thumb ring with absolutely no aesthetic appeal to speak of.
Fortunately, while the thing was ugly, its functionality was not lacking. Yang Kai used the laws of space to carve out a sizable interior compartment, more than enough to hold a great many items.
He paid a visit to the treasury, gathered some supplies he might need, and stored them all in the spatial ring.
Dan Chengzi hadn't been wrong. Baili Yunsang might genuinely intend to groom him as the next Sect Leader of Xuandan Sect. A decade of secluded cultivation in solitude, combined with Yang Kai's enormous contributions, was more than enough to prove his devotion to the Xuandan Sect.
After the Elder ceremony, the Xuandan Sect had been quietly building momentum, furiously promoting Yang Kai's reputation.
A thirty-year-old Spirit Pill Master. The youngest elder. The future hope of the Xuandan Sect—every accolade was heaped upon Yang Kai's shoulders, and for a time, his fame surged throughout the entire Divine Weapon World!
The entire Xuandan Sect, from top to bottom, took pride in him!
Hidden Sword Manor—one of the Ten Great Sects of the Divine Weapon World.
The so-called Ten Great Sects were not fixed. They shifted with the Divine Weapon Contest held once every century. Only those who obtained a divine weapon qualified as one of the Ten Great Sects—it was an honorary title. While in some sense it also symbolized strength, that was by no means absolute.
One of the current Ten Great Sects was a sect whose overall strength was not particularly outstanding, but because a heaven-defying individual had appeared within its ranks and seized a divine weapon during the last Divine Weapon Contest, the sect behind him had also risen to become one of the Ten Great Sects.
Hidden Sword Manor had a long and storied lineage, standing for a thousand years without falling. In that millennium, it had on multiple occasions obtained the divine weapon Qingxu Sword and on multiple occasions held a place among the Ten Great Sects. One could say that across the entire Divine Weapon World, Hidden Sword Manor was indisputably one of the leading powers. Even without a divine weapon guarding it, no one dared look down on this sect's strength in the slightest.
Not to mention that the divine weapon Qingxu Sword now resided within Hidden Sword Manor.
Beneath the night sky, a full moon hung high, casting its cold, clear light.
At the pinnacle of the tallest tower, a figure materialized like a specter, utterly silent.
Yang Kai stood at the highest point of Hidden Sword Manor, gazing down upon this thousand-year-old behemoth of a sect. The Qingxu Sword at his waist suddenly began to hum and vibrate ceaselessly.
Looking down, Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
The Qingxu Sword at his waist had been forged at great expense by the founder of the Xuling Sword Sect, a replica of the true divine weapon. In itself, it was merely a spirit weapon.
But regardless, between a replica and the genuine article, there was always some subtle connection. Had that not been the case, Yang Kai would not have deliberately worn his own Qingxu Sword—he could have simply stored it in the spatial ring.
He had nearly finished refining the Medicine King Cauldron. Just one final step remained before complete refinement. Once he took that step, he would surely obtain a thread of the origin power of the Divine Weapon World. But the world would also generate tremendous repulsive force, expelling him from the Divine Weapon World. When that happened, he would have to leave whether he wanted to or not.
Having come all this way, Yang Kai naturally wanted to squeeze out every benefit he could.
The origin power of the Divine Weapon World had been split into ten parts. The Ten Divine Weapons were the materialization of these ten portions of origin power. To gain more, he needed to refine more divine weapons!
Hidden Sword Manor was his first target, because the divine weapon Qingxu Sword was here!
Yang Kai was very curious—what would happen if he refined all Ten Divine Weapons? Would he be able to devour the entire world-force of the Divine Weapon World and strengthen his own Small Universe? If so, he could very well advance directly to the Seventh Rank of Opening Heaven!
As for whether anyone would discover him, there was no need to worry. His strength in the Divine Weapon World was already unmatched. If he went about this so stealthily and still got caught, he might as well not live.
Besides, the divine weapon was masterless. Even if he stole the Qingxu Sword, Hidden Sword Manor would have no way of knowing who had done it.
The fact that the divine weapons were masterless was something Yang Kai had specifically learned from Dan Chengzi. When he had been refining the Medicine King Cauldron earlier, he had found it very strange. In theory, since the Medicine King Cauldron was within the Xuandan Sect, it should have had an owner.
But in truth, Yang Kai had not sensed any foreign presence within the Medicine King Cauldron at all. Lan Yin had said as much back then—no one in the Xuandan Sect had been able to refine the Medicine King Cauldron.
The Medicine King Cauldron was like this, and so were the other divine weapons!
Those so-called Weapon Masters had merely obtained these divine weapons. In their hands, the divine weapons were simply sharper weapons than spirit weapons, incapable of unleashing their true power.
Throughout all of history, countless heroes and champions had sought to become the true masters of a divine weapon, but none had ever succeeded. There were even precedents of those who suffered backlash from a divine weapon, sustaining grave injuries or even dying.
From an outsider's perspective, the divine weapons were manifestations of this world's origin power. For the people of this world to refine that origin power, unless they possessed the vision and strength to transcend this world, it was impossible—they would only be courting destruction.
However, every divine weapon represented the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. The benefits a divine weapon could bring were immeasurable. Take, for example, the Qingxu Sword here in Hidden Sword Manor—if one could comprehend some of its mysteries, it would greatly elevate one's own mastery of the sword.
Everyone in Hidden Sword Manor practiced the sword. Over a millennium, they had obtained the Qingxu Sword multiple times. As a result, Hidden Sword Manor harbored countless sword masters of extraordinary skill.
The Qingxu Sword at Yang Kai's waist continued to hum. Though the sound was faint, the experts within Hidden Sword Manor had extraordinarily keen senses. No one had noticed Yang Kai when he arrived, but now they sensed something.
A low shout rang out from the shadows: "Who goes there, skulking about?!"