Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong

As Lin Mu's Dou Qi suddenly withdrew into his body, a three-foot-long sword slowly emerged before him amid waves of violet flames.

The instant it came into contact with the air, the violet flames seemed to solidify, turning into translucent purple crystals that clung to the longsword and left violet flame patterns upon its blade!

Lin Mu was overjoyed. With a flick of his finger, the longsword seemed to respond to his will, descending before him with a series of hums. This was proof that the sword had resonated with Lin Mu!

"By adding essence blood during the artifact refinement process, then using Soul Power and Dou Qi for dual tempering, a weapon can actually gain a portion of intelligence!"

Lin Mu sighed in amazement.

[Congratulations, Host, on becoming a Third-Grade Artifact Refiner. You have obtained three random rewards.]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: the evolved technique of Three Thousand Lightning Movement: Nine Thousand Lightning Arts! One Sixth-Tier ice-attribute magic beast magic core, and one Spirit Entering Pill!]

Lin Mu opened his mouth. He had thought this round of artifact refinement would reach above the third grade, yet it had only reached the third grade. Still, for his first attempt, Lin Mu was already extremely satisfied with such a result.

What excited him even more were the system's three random rewards.

"Nine Thousand Lightning Arts can summon nine layers of heavenly lightning and create lightning phantoms. Once mastered, one step can cover a thousand miles. Phantom and true body become impossible to distinguish, allowing one to create nine thousand phantoms!"

A blazing light seemed to flash in Lin Mu's eyes. He had thought a technique like Three Thousand Lightning Movement was already powerful enough, but the system had completely evolved it. Now, it seemed that the Nine Thousand Lightning Arts was even more terrifying!

"As for the Sixth-Tier Magic Core, it may come in handy for artifact refinement in the future. But this Spirit Entering Pill is rather interesting—it can directly raise anyone below the Dou Ling realm to the peak of Dou Ling, while also cleansing the marrow and tempering the body!"

Lin Mu mused before putting away the Spirit Entering Pill.

"Whoosh!"

With a thought from Lin Mu, the violet longsword suddenly thrust forward. Violet sword light instantly condensed, and as it slashed out, it tore apart all the surrounding air. The ground beneath his feet shattered, leaving behind a massive sword scar a hundred meters long.

"Just a third-grade weapon can already unleash such terrifying power. I truly wonder how frightening ninth-grade and imperial-grade weapons must be."

Lin Mu rose to his feet and put away the longsword in his hand. "What matters most now is cultivating the Nine Thousand Lightning Arts. But there are no mountain ranges nearby containing the power of heavenly lightning. It seems I'll have to search for one."

Lin Mu's figure vanished into the Monster Beast Mountain Range. Though the range was filled with magic beasts and was certainly an excellent place for hunting them—

—it was unsuitable for cultivating the Nine Thousand Lightning Arts. Like Three Thousand Lightning Movement, its fundamental requirement was the power of heavenly lightning. One had to fully absorb the heavenly lightning power between heaven and earth in order to aid one's cultivation.

"If I want to find a place containing the power of heavenly lightning, I can probably only ask around in the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Capital."

Lin Mu did not believe that anyone in small places like Wutan City or Qingshan Town would know such information.

Lin Mu moved at incredible speed. His black-and-white wings spread open, and in the time of a single breath, he shot several miles away. Moreover, he made no effort whatsoever to conceal the aura of a Dou Emperor. The many experts along his route could only hurriedly avoid him upon sensing that aura.

"The Jia Ma Empire truly has hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There is actually such a young Dou Emperor expert."

In the sky, an expert at the Dou Ling realm caught sight of Lin Mu's face in that fleeting instant. He was utterly astonished, then could only sigh helplessly.

"Sure enough, I'm old. The achievements of such a young Dou Emperor are impossible to measure. It really is the world of the young now!"

"Heh heh heh..."

The air around him gradually turned scorching. Lin Mu looked down and, sure enough, saw nothing but a desert. The desert was simply too vast; its edges were nearly impossible to see.

Yet amid this desert, a house stood out rather abruptly. It was not large, but with Lin Mu's strength, he could easily sense that the air around it was not as dry as elsewhere.

"The owner of this house must be Hai Bodong. The area around it is faintly enveloped in an icy aura, something ordinary people would scarcely notice."

"Perfect. Let me go meet this angel investor."

Lin Mu landed on the ground. At that moment, an old man reclining in a chair inside the house suddenly opened his cloudy eyes, and ice seemed to condense within them.

"A Dou Emperor expert? Why has he come here?"

"Could it be..."

Hai Bodong stood up, killing intent beginning to show in his eyes.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Lin Mu walked in. Upon noticing Hai Bodong, he waved. "Old sir, aside from selling maps, do you provide any special services here?"

"Such a young Dou Emperor? Who exactly is he..."

Hai Bodong thought grimly, though he still revealed a smile. "Hehe, little brother, I only sell maps here. If you're looking for special services, you should go to Chunxiang Kiln in the Imperial Capital."

"It seems that old sir was once from the Imperial Capital as well. This place is still far from the Imperial Capital, yet you know it so clearly."

Lin Mu smiled as he casually picked up a map from the table. After briefly looking it over, he sighed somewhat disappointedly. "It seems there is no place nearby that contains the power of heavenly lightning."

"..."

How could Hai Bodong fail to hear the probing intent in Lin Mu's words? It seemed Lin Mu definitely knew his identity, though Hai Bodong had no idea who Lin Mu was.

Furthermore, he was currently only at the Dou Ling realm and was no match for a Dou Emperor expert like Lin Mu at all.

"Hehe, who exactly are you? Someone from the royal family, or an expert from somewhere else?" The smile on Hai Bodong's face faded. Even if he was no match for the other party, as Dong-ge, who only fought top-tier battles, when had he ever feared anyone?

"As expected of the Ice Emperor. Your insight is indeed extraordinary." Lin Mu smiled. "However, I am not from the royal family. I only came here to gather the information I need."

"Information?"

Lin Mu nodded. "I have a technique that requires a place rich in lightning power for cultivation. Unfortunately, I found nothing after searching for quite some time. I had originally planned to go to the Imperial Capital for information, but I happened to come across this place."

"Lightning power..."

Hai Bodong fell silent for a moment. Lin Mu had not expected Hai Bodong to know anything, nor did he intend to make things difficult for him. His gaze swept over an inconspicuous fragment of a map in the distance, and he prepared to leave.

"I know of a place that may meet the conditions you described," Hai Bodong's voice quietly rang out.