Intermediate God Artifact

Time flew by, and the years passed like a shuttle.

Immersed in cultivation and making steady progress, Linley felt that time was passing incredibly quickly. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, four hundred years had quietly slipped away.

On this day, Linley had rare leisure and relaxation, enjoying the gentle attentiveness of the maids, when a familiar voice came from outside and reached the room.

"Linley, I didn't disturb your cultivation, did I?"

It was Thomas's voice, carrying a hint of delight.

Linley instinctively released his Spiritual Sense to investigate and, sure enough, saw Thomas and Donald outside the room.

"You didn't."

Linley replied with a smile. With a wave of his hand, he opened the door, and the two soon entered with delighted expressions.

The maids tactfully served tea and water. The three sat around the table, and Linley recalled thoughtfully, "By my calculation, the two of you should have almost finished nurturing your Intermediate God Artifacts, right?"

"That's right."

Thomas took out a sea-blue suit of armor without shoulder guards. Its surface was covered in silver wave patterns.

Donald's Intermediate God Artifact was a dark-red saber, with a ruby embedded in its hilt. Its icy blade was reflective enough to show a person's face.

Linley took them and dripped his blood onto each one to acknowledge ownership. The armor merged into his body, and he swung the saber in his hand a few times to get used to it. Quite satisfied, he nodded and said with a smile, "Thanks. I'll owe you for now and repay you later."

Thomas laughed heartily and said readily, "Of course. You're the strongest person in our Tianlan Tribe. With these two Intermediate God Artifacts supporting you, our chances of subduing the Red Demon Tribe will be even greater this time."

Donald said somewhat regretfully, "Linley, you're a Lightning Element Mid-level God, while I'm a Fire Law Mid-level God. The attributes don't match perfectly."

Divine Artifacts were also divided by attribute, though this mainly affected offensive Divine Artifacts. Matching attributes produced a greater amplification and allowed them to display their full power perfectly. Defensive Divine Artifacts, by contrast, did not have high attribute requirements and were essentially unaffected.

The Tianlan Tribe had four Mid-level Gods. Linley cultivated the Lightning Element Law, Thomas cultivated the Water Law, Donald cultivated the Fire Law, and Dennis cultivated the Destruction Rule. None of their paths overlapped.

Among the four Low-level Gods, Karl cultivated the Earth Law, Jess cultivated the Fire Law, George cultivated the Destruction Rule, and David cultivated the Lightning Element Law.

David's attribute matched Linley's, but unfortunately, he was a Low-level God. If Linley used his Divine Artifact, its amplification of attack power would be inferior even to Donald's Fire Law Intermediate God Artifact.

Dennis had also nurtured an Intermediate God Artifact to sell. It was another suit of armor. Normally, defensive Divine Artifacts cost more than offensive ones, so most of the artifacts meant for sale were naturally defensive.

Donald's Divine Artifact had originally been a backup for himself. His previous artifact was of somewhat poorer quality, and he had planned to replace it. However, since Linley needed one now, he gave it to him.

Although both were defensive Divine Artifacts and their attributes made little difference, Linley still chose Thomas's.

Linley smiled indifferently. "It's fine. The attributes are merely different. The difference in attack power isn't that great."

Though he said that, he knew perfectly well that once he had the time, he would need to find suitable materials and forge one or two offensive Divine Artifacts that suited him best. For now, he would make do. Matters that could only be accumulated bit by bit over time could not be rushed.

Donald rubbed his nose and said with a bitter smile, "Only a genius like you, Linley, has the right to say that. Still, you've fused Mysteries, so naturally this slight difference in attack power doesn't matter."

Thomas nodded enviously. "You're already fusing a third Mystery. The few of us have lived for more than a hundred thousand years, yet we still haven't even crossed the threshold of fusing two Mysteries."

Donald sighed helplessly and said emotionally, "That's right. The gap between people is often greater than the gap between people and dogs. Without talent, nothing works. Hard work is just a waste of time. I'll consider myself blessed by the Overgod if I can independently become a High-level God."

"Haha!"

Linley could not help laughing and scolding him. "Don't put on such a miserable act in front of me. A Mid-level God who's lived for more than a hundred thousand years is already doing pretty well. As long as you don't die, you'll always have a chance. You're both still very young."

Thomas and Donald nodded in agreement, wearing slightly embarrassed smiles.

Although Linley was putting things in a positive light, he was absolutely right. In Hell, Mid-level Gods who were only a hundred thousand years old were quite young. There were even plenty of Low-level Gods who had lived for several million years, despite having far worse talent than them.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Linley became serious. "What plans do you have for the Red Demon Tribe?"

Donald shook his head and said indifferently, "What plans could there be? We'll just kill our way over and be done with it. But we have to wait until Dennis comes out of seclusion."

"Of course. A Mid-level God expert is ultimately high-end combat power. We can't be short one person!"

Linley nodded, his expression calm.

Dennis had gained some inspiration and had already been cultivating in seclusion for nearly a hundred years. Linley had known about this for a long time.

The Four Major Rules were rather special. In theory, they formed a single whole and had no Mysteries. However, during the actual process of mastering them, cultivation could vary from person to person. By imitating the Laws and dividing them into detailed Mysteries for comprehension and cultivation, everyone could follow the same destination by different routes, each with its own characteristics.

Take the Death Rule, for example. Most people focused on soul attacks, but some focused on soul control, and some even fused the two.

The three chatted for a few more moments before going outside and flying straight into the sky. About a hundred meters above the ground, they each took out their Divine Artifacts and sparred with one another, exchanging some combat experience and techniques.

Linley deliberately suppressed his strength and speed, maintaining them at roughly the same level as the other two. Once they began fighting, he immediately felt considerable pressure. Gradually, he was forced onto the defensive, only occasionally finding an opportunity to counterattack.

One day after another...

Ten years passed.

"Whoosh!"

A saber slashed out, its cold light razor-sharp.

"Bang!"

Donald and Thomas were forced back dozens of meters.

"Linley, you learn far too quickly."

Donald spoke with a face full of envy.

Thomas also gave a bitter laugh and sighed. "You've learned all our combat experience—and you're even stronger."

Linley smiled. "You two have worked hard."

As it turned out, someone capable of fusing even Mysteries could absorb and digest combat experience and turn it into his own style with astonishing speed. It could even be said to be effortless.

Ultimately, this was a high-level power system in which overwhelming one's opponent through a higher realm was king. So-called experience and techniques were, at most, icing on the cake. Experts learned them extremely quickly.

In power systems from certain low-level martial arts worlds, something like the Dugu Nine Swords could never exist. Claims that someone with no energy, relying only on moves and techniques, could become incredibly powerful were nothing but solemnly delivered nonsense.

Over the years, Linley's understanding had developed in one direction: when using a saber-type Divine Artifact, his moves contained no fancy tricks or elaborate routines. There was always only one move—slash!

Slash from every possible angle! Return to simplicity!

Donald said admiringly, "Your progress is far too fast. I thought it would take at least a hundred years."

He was also a saber-wielding God-level expert, so he felt this more intensely than Thomas did. The experience he had accumulated bit by bit over more than a hundred thousand years had been effortlessly learned by someone else in ten years. The psychological disparity was immense.

"Haha, that's because you taught me well."

Linley smiled. Only he himself knew that the assistance provided by Magnetic Field Power had accounted for half the effect during the learning process. He had grasped every detail of his opponents' moves, absorbing them as swiftly as a sponge soaked up water.

Just as the three were speaking, a familiar Spiritual Sense swept over them.