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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Old Ancestor did not mention what became of that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in seclusion, but since this Soul Rending Thorn was now in the hands of this Old Ancestor, then that Eighth-Order Master’s fate could be easily guessed.
Even if both were in the Eighth Order, two cultivators could have vastly different strengths, especially when comparing those who came from great forces with deep heritages such as those Cave Heavens and Paradises and rogues without any foundation to depend on.
Yang Kai had once been chased down by Bright Sun Divine Monarch Cheng Yang in the Shattered Heaven when he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he was still able to get away from him in the end somehow.
However, if it had been an Eighth-Order Master from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises back then, he wouldn’t have been so lucky.
That was the difference.
Even though Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had also been in the Eighth Order back then, she had the foundation to advance to the Ninth Order, so how could a vagabond Eighth-Order Master with below-average strength compare to her?
With her taking action personally, the previous owner of this Soul Rending Thorn probably did not fare well.
Still, it had to be said that the man did have some talent to be able to develop this Soul Rending Thorn. If this thing was used well, it could help one defeat a far stronger foe. The developer of this Soul Rending Thorn mainly came up with it to defend himself against Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but if the gap in strength was too wide, it was still impossible for it to have any effect.
The Soul Rending Thorn was both a profound Secret Technique and also a type of artifact, and neither was of any use without the other. With only the Secret Technique but without the artifact, one would be unable to perform the technique, but with only the artifact and without the Secret Technique, it would still also be impossible to use.
The Secret Technique and the artifact were both indispensable.
And, just as the Old Ancestor said, there was nobody that could truly use this thing to its fullest potential but Yang Kai.
To Yang Kai, this was a huge boon.
After bidding farewell to the Old Ancestor, Yang Kai sent out a message and quickly received a reply, after which he went straight towards one of Great Evolution Pass’ walls.
In just a few moments, he arrived and saw a figure working restlessly on a certain part of the wall.
Yang Kai went up to him and greeted, “Grandmaster.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan was busy at work. The World Force in his body was surging and he was sweating as hard as rain. Without even lifting his head, he answered, “You’ve come just in time. Help me with this.”
Currently, the busiest group of people in the entire Great Evolution Pass were the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters. Great Evolution Pass had only been recovered half a year ago, so many things needed these professionals’ help fixing and setting up. All of the Array Masters and the Artifact Refiners were too busy to even pay attention to anything else.
As one of the only few Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters in Great Evolution Pass today, Grandmaster Ma Fan naturally had even less free time than others.
Moreover, he was more motivated to work than anyone else because this was Great Evolution Pass, the place the ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise had guarded. Although it had been lost for 30,000 years, the Human Race was finally able to snatch it back from the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
Ma Fan would put everything that he learned in his life to good use so that Great Evolution Pass could become an impregnable fortress where the mistakes of their ancestors from 30,000 years ago would never be repeated!
He also knew that Yang Kai had the skills of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and this was enough to act as an assistant, which was why Ma Fan even accepted a call from Yang Kai earlier. If it had been anyone else, Grandmaster Ma Fan wouldn’t have bothered speaking to him in the first place, must less ask for his help so carelessly.
Yang Kai naturally did not refuse. He went up and asked how he could help, and soon began immersing himself in work alongside Grandmaster Ma Fan.
From the moment Yang Kai arrived until the job was done, almost half a month passed. It was not until Grandmaster Ma Fan had completed the superstructure of a large artifact that they finally stopped.
Both of them were exhausted and left the remaining matters to others to finish up as they found a secluded place to adjust their breathing.
It was only half a day later that Grandmaster Ma Fan finally opened his eyes and took out a wine bottle to wet his lips. After smacking his lips in satisfaction, he sighed, “I’m getting old. I would never be this tired in my youth. I’d be in good spirits even after working non-stop on Artifact Refining for a few years.”
Yang Kai laughed, “You’re still in your prime, you’re not old at all.”
Grand Master Ma Fan glanced at him, “So, what have you sought me for?”
Yang Kai quickly answered, “I came to ask Grandmaster to refine some artifacts for me!”
Saying so, he handed over the jade slip that he had prepared earlier.
Grandmaster Ma Fan accepted it and poured his Divine Sense inside to check it, soon frowning as he asked, “Where did you get this from? It’s quite a sinister thing.”
The jade slip that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao gave to Yang Kai was comprehensive, containing both the Secret Technique and the refinement method of the Soul Rending Thorn. Even though it was not a confidential, or even a particularly important matter, it was still given to him by an Old Ancestor after all, so Yang Kai could not casually pass it around without her permission. So, what he handed to Grandmaster Ma Fan was merely the refinement method, which he had transcribed into a new jade slip.
Even though it was merely the refinement method and was lacking the corresponding Secret Technique, someone of Grandmaster Ma Fan’s capability could tell at a glance what the usage of this thing was. If it were created, there was no telling what kind of treachery and chaos it could facilitate, and that was why he commented on it being sinister.
“The Old Ancestor was the one who gave it to me,” Yang Kai explained, as there wasn’t a need to hide it.
Grand Master Ma Fan was slightly taken aback, but then he took a closer look at the jade slip and said in wonder, “Is there an accompanying Secret Technique for this artifact?”
Yang Kai gave him a thumbs up at once, “Great Master’s vision is truly sharp.”
Grand Master Ma Fan looked up at him, “Since it was given by the Old Ancestor, I won’t ask any questions. Still, I must remind you that using this thing will surely cause grave injury to yourself, so you’d best only use it when absolutely necessary.”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “Rest assured, Grandmaster. I know what I’m doing.”
“En,” Grandmaster Ma Fan rose without commenting further, “Come with me.”
Yang Kai followed behind him.
Great Evolution Pass had its own Refining Hall now.
In fact, since Great Evolution Pass’s reoccupation by the Human Army, the higher-ups had given top priority to establishing a functioning Refining Hall and Pill Hall, two key places that Great Evolution Pass’ foundation would be built on.
However, most of the Artifact Refiners were busy outside, so when the two of them stepped into the Refining Hall, not many people were inside.
Hundreds of Warships were moored at the large square outside of the Hall, both big and small, making for quite a spectacular sight.
These Warships were all in need of repair. When the East-West Army departed from the Royal City to Great Evolution Pass, the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters had already fixed up many of the Warships, but that was only a patch-up job as time was limited.
After arriving at Great Evolution Pass, the priority was to restore Great Evolution Pass, so most of the Warships had yet to be fixed and were thus all moored here.
They had to wait until the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were finally free before they could be worked on.
After arriving at an open furnace, Grandmaster Ma Fan asked, “Are all the materials ready?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
In fact, the material requirements for the Soul Rending Thorn weren’t high. Apart from one or two rare items, it was mostly comprised of ordinary materials.
On second thought, it was not surprising since it was created by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was hiding in seclusion in the Shattered Heaven. He naturally had to consider his access to materials, and if the materials needed were too rare, then he would not be able to get them.
After taking out all of the materials, Grandmaster Ma Fan’s Divine Sense surged for a while, and then he tossed the jade slip back to Yang Kai, “I made a few modifications that may enhance their power, but considering that there is still an accompanying Secret Technique, I dare not guarantee that the modifications will be compatible. Have a look at it yourself. If it’s fine, then we will refine the artifacts based on this.”
Yang Kai received the jade slip and looked over it. After a moment, a delighted look appeared on his face, “Sure enough, Grandmaster has discerning eyes. These changes are subtle, but enough to increase the power of these things by about 10%. As for the Secret Technique, it is relatively flexible so it won’t be affected.”
It could be said that the Secret Technique would not be troublesome to perform for anyone as long as they were a cultivator. Only, not everyone could afford the cost of casting it.
So, Grandmaster Ma Fan’s changes had no negative effects.
Since it was confirmed that everything was fine, Grandmaster Ma Fan began refining without dallying.
In fact, Yang Kai himself could have refined them; after all, he was also a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner. However, he was going to be using them against Territory Lords, so having Grandmaster Ma Fan work on them would naturally help to guarantee the Soul Rending Thorns’ might. Moreover, if he were to refine them himself, it would take far longer.
Day after day, Grandmaster Ma Fan refined Soul Rending Thorns while Yang Kai provided some help from the side.
Various subtle Artifact Refining techniques were performed by Grandmaster Ma Fan’s hands, and he did not try to avoid being seen either, oftentimes working with the intent for Yang Kai to observe more closely.
Under these circumstances, Yang Kai was able to make a considerable improvement in the Dao of Artifact Refining, which he had to admit was a surprise.
The first Soul Rending Thorn took Grandmaster Ma Fan a month to complete. The completed Soul Rending Thorn was just like a long needle the length of a finger. It was dark all over, as if it had been coated with a strong poison.
But in fact, this thing was not poisonous at all.
Yang Kai picked it up and studied it, using his Spiritual Energy to refine it a little and found that nothing unusual happened, which meant that the refinement was a success.
He thought that Grandmaster Ma Fan would be able to refine the Soul Rending Thorn faster and faster as time went on, but every single Soul Rending Thorn took him an entire month to finish.
This proved one thing, that though it was Grandmaster Ma Fan’s first time refining this artifact, he had still achieved his limit from the very start, which was why the time consumed in its creation did not decrease with subsequent attempts.
A year later, 12 Soul Rending Thorns were successfully refined and the materials Yang Kai prepared were all used up.
Only then did Grandmaster Ma Fan’s hand stop, “Is this enough?”
Yang Kai grinned, “It’s enough.”
He trusted that the Territory Lords also would not be foolish enough that he would be able to use the Soul Rending Thorns 12 times. It would be best if he only had to kill off a few Territory Lords before they all retreated.
12 of them had been created just in case the unfortunate happened.
Now that the Soul Rending Thorns were ready, Yang Kai bid farewell to Grandmaster Ma Fan and returned to Dawn’s courtyard so he could begin refining them.
The courtyard was still quiet with all of Dawn’s members busy with work outside; however, he did happen to bump into Feng Ying who had returned to check on Ning Qi Zhi’s injuries.
After a brief exchange with Feng Ying and making sure that Ning Qi Zhi’s injuries showed no signs of deterioration, Yang Kai did not find the need to visit him again either.
It was hard enough for a badly injured member to be left to recuperate quietly by himself while everyone was out busy, so it was not good to visit him constantly either.
Just as he was about to walk away, Feng Ying pulled him to a quiet place and whispered, “Squad Leader, can our Squad take on any more people?”
Yang Kai had no idea why she suddenly brought this up and replied, “Blood Crow and two others are joining Dawn so we just happen to have 50. We’re already full, you know that.”
Feng Ying said, “I know, but can’t you go and have a talk with the Army Commander and ask if we can add one more person?”
Yang Kai did not understand, “Who is it that you are so concerned about?”
Miao Fei Ping’s future wife
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.