Speculation

Lu Wanshan immediately gripped the refined Magic Sword in his hand and channeled his spiritual power into it. The palm-sized sword instantly expanded to its normal size, about 1.2 or 1.3 meters long, revealing a sharp blade that emitted a piercing sword light.

The Magic Sword seemed to light up in an instant; visible, silvery-white spiritual power flowed along the Magic Patterns like bright, white spirit snakes—a truly magnificent sight!

Subsequently, the entire blade was enveloped in this dazzling radiance, and it even began to emit waves of chilling cold.

The power of the surrounding heaven and earth was vaguely stirred, making the aura even more terrifying.

He looked at the result, which matched his expectations, and sighed with deep emotion.

The main reason was that he could currently only engrave one Magic Pattern onto the sword, so the power was not as satisfactory as he had hoped. If he could engrave three, the power would certainly be a cut above what it was now.

Then he could truly cement his reputation as an Artifact Refiner. Although he would only be able to refine Low-grade Magic Tools, he would still be an Artifact Refiner nonetheless.

However, he could currently only engrave a single Magic Pattern. Whenever he tried to engrave more, the multiple patterns would always conflict with one another, and he had yet to find the reason why.

This was the reason for his sigh; every Artifact Refiner longed to master more Magic Patterns.

Right now, he was merely an entry-level Artifact Refiner, and he didn't quite have the confidence to back himself up yet.

Still, he firmly believed that if he were just given a little more time, he would definitely be able to fully cement his status as a Low-grade Magic Tool Artifact Refiner.

It was obvious that the more Magic Patterns engraved on a Magic Sword, the more powerful it became. In particular, it could mobilize more of the surrounding heaven and earth's power, making the effects of its deployment more pronounced and its destructive force far greater.

This was why so many Artifact Refiners were obsessed with pursuing the engraving of multiple Magic Patterns on Magic Swords.

Moreover, engraving multiple Magic Patterns onto a sword would give rise to many problems.

After all, each Magic Pattern had a different function; some were for amplification, some were auxiliary, some favored wind attributes, while others favored water attributes, and so on.

Because of this, conflicts would arise. If they could not be harmonized, the Magic Sword would shatter, resulting in the destruction of the entire weapon.

This was why one had to be exceptionally careful when engraving Magic Patterns.

Before engraving, one had to determine the function of the Magic Patterns to be used and how they would interact with one another.

The best result was for multiple Magic Patterns to achieve an effect where 1+1 was greater than 2. At the very least, one had to ensure that the multiple patterns did not interfere with or destroy one another.

Therefore, before engraving Magic Patterns, one needed to understand the attributes of the person who would be using the Magic Sword, as well as their usage habits and the like.

Only after understanding this basic information could an Artifact Refiner select the Magic Patterns they had mastered to engrave, thereby crafting a Magic Sword that was perfectly suited to its master.

This was why so many cultivators were keen on commissioning personalized Magic Swords.

Currently, Lu Wanshan had only mastered a portion of the basic Magic Pattern engravings; many other patterns would have to be mastered slowly throughout his future career as an Artifact Refiner.

After all, mastering those Magic Patterns was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Of course, the number of Magic Patterns mastered was the ultimate goal that all Artifact Refiners obsessively pursued.

However, to master the carving of more Magic Patterns or Spirit Patterns, one's cultivation realm must be elevated. Otherwise, certain Magic Patterns cannot be inscribed without a specific level of strength or sufficient spiritual power.

This is especially true for complex, higher-level Magic Patterns!

During the carving process, one must control the lines, the intensity of the force, and the tolerance of the Artifact Embryo, among other factors, to successfully carve a perfect Magic Pattern.

Every step requires constant, repetitive training. This is why it is said that those who practice the hundred arts are "fed" by resources; the cost of investment is simply too great for an ordinary person to bear.

However, Lu Wanshan is still very young, and he will certainly have the opportunity to climb higher peaks in the future.

After all, his starting point is different from those other Rogue Cultivators; he is now the master of an Artifact Refining Workshop!

Those other Rogue Cultivators are likely still struggling to figure out where their next meal is coming from.

This is the advantage of having a clan. Clan members help one another and stand united, achieving the effect of huddling together for warmth. Only such a clan can grow like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger!

Lu Wanshan tossed the Magic Sword in his hand into the air, his lips moving rapidly as he formed a Magic Formula with his hands.

The Magic Sword in the air grew larger and larger, reaching three zhang in length and three chi in width, shining with an extraordinary brilliance!

Then, with a forceful wave, the giant sword in the air plunged toward the courtyard floor like an arrow released from a bowstring!

BOOM!

The earth seemed to tremble. A cloud of dust erupted, and mud and stone splattered everywhere!

A massive crater appeared in the courtyard, with wisps of heat rising from its edges.

The giant Magic Sword was embedded deep within the pit.

Seeing this result, Lu Wanshan couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. After all, the Giant Strength Magic Pattern was not just for show.

With a strike like this, an opponent would certainly have to struggle to resist, or they would be knocked flat on the ground!

He then retrieved the Magic Sword from the ground.

He immediately began the refining of the next Magic Sword. After all, to run an Artifact Refining Workshop, one must have some products on the shelves, or else he would be the laughingstock of others.

Following that, he began his great endeavor of artifact refining...

On the other side, after Lu Wanyuan finished handling matters at the Artifact Refining Workshop, he hurried home without a moment's delay.

Earlier, within the tattered second-tier artifact refining legacy provided by Shopkeeper Liu, he had discovered that the inheritance contained a great many Spirit Pattern designs.

This was an unexpected joy. Of course, he also had his eye on the procurement and distribution channels. When he entered the courtyard, he saw that the workshop had clearly been inspected by many people, but no deal had been reached for such a long time. Especially after the other party came out, he had roughly guessed the man's thoughts and intentions.

Therefore, he had allowed the other party to reach their expected goal. After all, he had waited for such a long time precisely for this. Of course, he would not give it to the other party so easily, so he had demanded their relevant channels. Having these channels meant having a path, and having a path—regardless of whether it would be successful—was far better than starting from scratch.

Besides, as long as the product quality was up to standard, these channels could certainly be maintained.

Of course, the quality of the products was an entirely different matter.

He had also requested the other party's inheritance and experience. Seeing that the man was so old, he figured the man clearly had no intention of continuing his cultivation and simply wanted to return to the secular world to enjoy his remaining years, which wouldn't affect him in the slightest.

He had even analyzed the pros and cons for the man; as long as the man wasn't a fool, he would certainly agree to his proposal.

And the outcome had developed exactly as he had expected.

Now, the Lu family possessed a First-order Artifact Refining Inheritance, along with the newly acquired Second-order Artifact Refining Inheritance. While the Lu family's layout in artifact refining could be said to have just begun, it was sufficient to handle the current situation. As long as they could fully master these two artifact refining inheritances, the Lu family would begin to have a steady source of legitimate income.

Thinking of this, he couldn't wait to return home to share this joyous news with everyone.

Of course, he also had another thought in his mind: if these Magic Patterns were all restriction diagrams, didn't that make them the legendary formations?

If that were the case, then shouldn't the ultimate foundation of these Magic Patterns be formations? If so, the Lu family would certainly need to cultivate a Formation Master among their future generations.

Only then could the Lu family reach a position of unique dominance in artifact refining, because having a Formation Master meant they would be able to innovate and create new Magic Patterns and Spirit Patterns.

After all, those original Magic Patterns and Spirit Patterns were likely created by those Formation Masters and passed down through the generations!

To build a powerful family, one must make plans early. Only then could a family be passed down for a long time, rather than waiting until talent was needed to suddenly remember to cultivate it.

If a family operated with that kind of mindset, it would certainly not go far.

This was also the reason why Lu Wanyuan and the others had decided early on that each of the siblings would be responsible for a specific skill among the Hundred Arts.