Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 341
The examination room fell into darkness, as if nothing had happened. But the remaining particles of spiritual energy in the air were still glimmering like fireflies, telling of the shocking turn of events just a moment earlier.
The hearts of all the audience almost stopped beating.
They were truly stunned by the final attack.
Inside the VIP room, refiners from the Mo family fell into their seats helplessly.
Refiners from the Huangpu family, when realizing that Huangpu Xiaoya would most likely be faced with the creator of such an unparalleled deadly saber in a few days, narrowed their eyes.
The college students from the two supreme universities in the relaxation room both exclaimed in disbelief. Xie Anan even jumped to her feet excitedly.
"Master Li Yao won!"
Yes, although Li Yao's weapon collapsed only three seconds after Mo Tianshui's weapon did, the time was more than enough for a Cultivator to do many things.
In a real battle, the Cultivator who carried Blood Dragon Tooth would be able to slay their enemy ten times in the three seconds!
Besides, after taking in Edgeless' pieces, the critical strike of Blood Dragon Tooth was too formidable. Ten times was unnecessary. One attack should be enough to obliterate the enemy!
The host completely lost his calmness and started yelling. "What an unexpected outcome! Although something was wrong with Li Yao's handmade chip, he seemed to have foreseen the situation earlier and modified his saber profoundly! The winner of this match is Li Yao, whose Blood Dragon Tooth has consumed Mo Tianshui's Edgeless!"
The sunny smile was frozen on Mo Tianshui's face. There was not a replacement.
He couldn't remember a suitable expression to wear upon meeting failure at all.
His lips were still curled. But there was a plethora of emotions in his eyes—shock, shame, resent, confusion, and frustration—which made his face extremely weird.
"It—"
His lips trembling for a long time, Mo Tianshui finally regained the ability to speak. He gnashed his teeth. "It was within your expectations that your saber would shatter?"
"Correct."
Reviewing and analyzing a competition was an excellent way of communication. Li Yao didn't mind sharing his experience with Mo Tianshui, the talented genius from a noble family. He quickly sorted through his thoughts and explained it carefully to him.
"Although I tried several times in the Great Illusionary Land, this is the first time I've made a chip with my bare hands in reality.
"Iron-Knight-II control chip is too complicated for me. Therefore, what I carved was actually an 'Iron-Knight-I' that is relatively simpler.
"But even so, a manually-made chip definitely cannot compare to the chips made by magical equipment in regards of stability and resistance.
"Faced with such an expert like you, it's almost a sure thing that the competition would last five or even more rounds. When dozens of standard units of spiritual energy were poured into the blade, my manually-made chip was bound to break down.
"But it was impossible for me to abandon the control chip and switch to a whole different design in the beginning, because all the materials I chose were based on my original scheme. I was more dependent on the crucial materials than you were.
"The unexpected change of rules were much less in my favor. No matter how I changed my design, many materials I selected would be wasted.
"Therefore, I made up my mind to carve a chip that would be relatively unstable and adjusted my design by adding another gadget that I've been thinking about for a long time. It was a gamble."
"And you won it."
Mo Tianshui's eyes were crimson. The frustration of failure gradually disappeared from his face, replaced by infinite enthusiasm about magical equipment.
A refiner could lose or die, but they must know the reason of their failure!
He took a long breath and drove away the last bit of his exasperation. The sense of failure just now had been shattered by him. He then asked earnestly, "You were wagering on the second form of Blood Dragon Tooth?"
"Yes."
Li Yao nodded and said, "The Blood Dragon Tooth I refined has two forms—the regular form and the critical strike form, which was automatically triggered when the blade was sabotaged to the point of destruction.
"In the critical strike form, thousands of electric arcs are unleashed from the inside of Blood Dragon Tooth. All the scraps are restricted, and the damage of the blade is three times higher than in the normal form.
"Besides, when Blood Dragon Tooth is in the critical strike form and tears the enemy's weapon apart, it can devour the pieces of the hostile weapon and further increase its damage to over five times its original!
"But as you saw, the critical strike form can only last for three seconds at best.
"It is like the final roars of a deadly animal when it's fully burning its vitality before its death!"
Mo Tianshui closed his eyes and pondered for a while. He mumbled, "An enemy unfamiliar with the weapon would definitely be relaxed briefly when they break your saber apart.
"But they won't know that Blood Dragon Tooth is at its strongest when it is broken. By tearing their weapons, its strength can be even further improved.
"With such an unparalleled saber, you might be able to kill an enemy who is twice as strong as you with its critical strike.
"I admit my failure today. Fellow Cultivator Li's strategies are indeed incredible. You have my admiration.
"However—
"There is something that is still baffling me. What's the mechanism of the critical strike form? Could Fellow Cultivator Li explain it to me roughly, if it is not related to anything confidential?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "I can only say that the core of the electromagnetic force field is… the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes."
Mo Tianshui was dazed for a moment. He was deep in thought. A moment later, his eyes were shining as he asked, "Are you referring to the hypothesis of Fiend Star, the master of classical refining theories who has become quite popular on the Spiritual Nexus recently?"
"Yes."
Li Yao explained, "Master Fiend Star proposed that the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes could be applied to modern magical equipment, which has raised quite an intense debate on the Spiritual Nexus. I've been following the topic.
"Most people despised Master Fiend Star's idea and thought that it was totally impractical.
"Yes. From the viewpoint of today, the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes are quite primitive and obsolete in regard to their spiritual energy model.
"Such ancient runes' transformation of spiritual energy has a very low efficiency. The enhancement they provide is poor. Not to mention that they are also very unstable and can only last several seconds. It is utterly unsuitable to work as a steady, persistent attack unit of magical equipment.
"There are dozens of rune arrays of the thunder class in the modern Cultivation world that can replace the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes perfectly and deal equal damage.
"Therefore, most people thought that Master Fiend Star's theory was unrealistic.
"But they were all wrong!
"The greatest value of the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes is not entailed in its attacks.
"Despite the primitiveness and unstableness of the runes, they have a very special feature.
"When the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes are triggered, a lot of spiritual energy of the thunder class will escape because of the deficiencies of the spiritual energy model. The spiritual energy will then generate an electromagnetic force field whose form can be shaped at will!
"With a few preset telepathic thoughts, the force field can be modified into whatever shape a Cultivator desires.
"For example, I built the force field into the form of a saber!
"The electromagnetic force field in the form of a saber mixed with abundant metal scraps bursting out all the energy within several seconds. That is the critical strike form of Blood Dragon Tooth!
"And that is how the Twelve-chain Thunder Runes should be properly used."
Mo Tianshui's face color changed. "You agree with Fiend Star's theories?"
Li Yao replied in a smile, "Yes. Master Fiend Star's theories have given me a lot of inspiration. I am an admirer of Master Fiend Star and agree with all his theories. I will try my best to put his theories into practice in the future, too!"
Hearing that, everyone present began whispering again.
Many in audience were uttering meaningless 'Ah Ah' sounds to let out of their extreme shock.
Some of the audience, on the other hand, were confused. They asked their friends, "Who is Fiend Star?"
They immediately sensed contempt from nearby spectators.
Although Fiend Star's classical refining theories had been quite a hit on the Spiritual Nexus and attracted the attention of many refiners, most of the discussions had been contained to the theoretical level. Nobody thought that they could be put into practice.
However, Li Yao had applied one of Fiend Star's theories into a real battle in such a professional match and proved it to be brilliant!
Within the next minute, the queries for 'Fiend Star' on the few main search engines on the Spiritual Nexus increased by dozens of times!
It was an outcome that Li Yao had hoped to achieve.
He had put a lot of thought into it and decided to keep using the alias of 'Fiend Star, Specialist in Classical Refining Theories'.
The capability that he'd been demonstrating recently only confirmed that he was a competent practical refiner. Even if he were to join one of the three main crystal suit centers, he would most likely be engaged in the real, hands-on refining work.
He probably wouldn't be invited to the conferences themed with the cutting-edge theories.
After all, his supersonic hands that carved a chip without any aid were not papers that could be read in a pure academic meeting.
But as long as the popularity of 'Fiend Star' grew until it was acknowledged by everyone to be a master in classical refining theories, he would be able to participate in the discussions about the most advanced theories of refining.
Moreover, his methods of refining had obvious traces of the ancient techniques. It was quite possible that somebody would link him to Fiend Star.
It was a better idea to disguise it first before anybody found out the truth. Hearing his declaration, people would think of him as a worshipper of Fiend Star. Then there would be nothing odd about his methods of refining being mixed with ancient techniques.
Skyhill Sword Seminar was the best opportunity to increase the popularity of 'Fiend Star'. Was there any time better than right now to brag about himself?
Chapter 503: Best Explanation |
Mo Tianshui seemed to have found a treasure. His face was beaming with excitement as he said, "I've read Fiend Star's theories before, too. But I thought that they were too invalid and impractical. I didn't know that it was because I was too shortsighted to notice the delicacies of his theories!
"It seems that I need to study Master Fiend Star's theories deeper in the future. I hope I can have another match with Fellow Cultivator Li someday!"
"I very much look forward to it," said Li Yao sincerely.
Mo Tianshui was indeed a super expert. Li Yao was uncertain that he could defeat him again in a match with different rules.
Such high-level competition would be of great help to improve the Cultivation of both parties no matter which side won.
Mo Tianshui hesitated for a moment, but he still failed to contain his curiosity and asked, somewhat embarrassedly, "Fellow Cultivator Li, if you don't mind me asking, can you tell me how you trained your hands to achieve such a lightning-like speed?"
Li Yao thought for a moment. Xie Anan had seen his training with Purple Ring Sword Ants previously. Right now, he had exposed his true capability, and Xie Anan was likely to tell her friends now that it was unnecessary to keep it a secret.
Besides, such a training method was not anything confidential. It was recorded in many notes from ancient times. Anyone determined enough could practice it in the first place.
Figuring everything out, Li Yao did not intend to keep it to himself anymore. He said seriously, "Have you ever seen Purple Ring Sword Ants at four o'clock in the morning?"
Mo Tianshui was dazed, not having the slightest clue what the question was about.
Li Yao explained, "Four o'clock in the morning is the period belonging to the tigers according to the ancient Cultivators. It is the time when day and night shift. It is also the darkest moment before dawn.
"Moreover, it is the best time of rest for Purple Ring Sword Ants.
"If you wake up them, the Purple Ring Sword Ants become infuriated into the most rampant state. They become crazy like the most aggressive tigers.
"If you train with the Purple Ring Sword Ants at four o'clock in the morning day after day, your hand speed will surely improve significantly."
Li Yao's words raised chaos in many refiners' minds.
Increasing the perception and the speed of one's hands with the Purple Ring Sword Ants was an 'ancient secret art' that many refiners knew about. But most people scorned it and took it as the jibber-jabber of insane Cultivators.
It had never occurred to them that the method was a real thing!
For a moment, many of them felt that their blood was freezing.
They all knew how painful it was to be bitten by the Purple Ring Sword Ants, and yet this guy chose four o'clock in the morning, when the ants were most furious and brutal, to do his training?
This was truly one mad monster! No wonder his hands had broken the sonic barrier despite merely being at the Building Foundation Stage.
In the auditorium, Tu Yongqing's face was partly red and partly pale.
He had been quite unlucky this year. He had come across a strong enemy in the second round and was eliminated from the game in 101st place. Therefore, he could do nothing but watch as a spectator.
He remembered that, a few days ago in the sword-tasting get together, he had slated 'Purple Ring Sword Ant Training' in public. Ashamed, he was thinking of digging a hole right now so that he could hide himself.
With thousands of pairs of dumbfounded eyes fixed on him, Li Yao left the field through the teleportation array.
He was fatigued. Carving a chip with his bare hands had consumed too much of his energy and soul power. Right now, his hands felt like they were on fire, and yet there was a sense of numbness as if they did not belong to him. He needed to find a place to train and recover them immediately.
At the other end of the teleportation array, in a spacious hall, somebody was waiting for him.
It was Huangpu Xiaoya, another talented heir from a noble family of refining.
In the second round of competition, the total damage of the three pieces of magical equipment that she had refined was even higher than that of Li Yao's works and Mo Tianshui's. She ranked first currently.
Huangpu Xiaoya did not hide her aggressiveness at all. The electric arcs inside her eyes were shining ten times more brightly when she saw Li Yao was coming.
Her hands had been surrounded by lightning since she didn't know when, which were spluttering and breaking her skin apart.
Before the blood flowed out, it was already vaporized into scarlet mist by the lightning.
Li Yao was quite familiar with the phenomenon.
It was not because she wasn't in control of her hands but because her hands were too desperate for a real fight!
Huangpu Xiaoya snapped her fingers. Electric arcs were dancing on her fingertips. They tied up a finely-made jade bottle and sent it to Li Yao.
"This is the special hand-nourishing liquid of the Huangpu family that contains 136 Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Every drop was made by experts in my family slowly over several years.
"Your hands must have suffered heavy injuries from the supersonic movements just now. They may look fine on the outside, but tiny damage must be all over your veins, nerves, and bones now.
"You won't be able to completely recover them in another five days. Your hand speed will drop by 5%.
"Our Huangpu family is best known for the marvelous nourishing liquid we make. This bottle of liquid should be able to accelerate the healing of your wounds and recover your hand speed to 100% of its original or even higher within three days!"
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. He took the bottle without any hesitation and put on a big smile. "Many thanks."
Her eyes absolutely still, Huangpu Xiaoya gazed at his hands, as if they were a piece of great artwork, and as if she was going to gobble up his hands in one mouthful. She replied, "There is no need. You should know what I want.
"I don't want any regrets in my victory. That's all.
"Try and get yourself well. I'm looking forward to competing with you in your best state!"
…
When Li Yao walked out of his personal chamber, the hundreds of reporters waiting outside went crazy.
Countless camera flashes were blinking. Hundreds of questions flooded at him like a boiling tide.
"Contestant Li Yao, you've risen to fame after one battle today by defeating the talented heir of the Mo family!"
"Contestant Li Yao, can you tell us more about your life? I'm told that you've been under the tutelage of a strange master before. Who was he exactly? Was he really the sole successor of a school from hundreds of years ago?"
"Contestant Li Yao, you said yourself that your training was based on the Purple Ring Sword Ants. As far as I know, such a way of training can be really cruel and excruciating. How did you manage to withstand that unbearable pain?"
Li Yao frowned. He had no opinions about reporters. But now that he had abruptly become famous from an unknown, somebody was definitely going to investigate him. It might be better to spread some of his stories first right now.
Moreover…
Li Yao thought of something. He smiled and said, "My time is limited, and I have to continue my training when I'm back. Therefore, I will answer one of your questions.
