First Battle

"Right, you can use the other things yourself, but don't use this one."

Hart pulled out a black crystal that glimmered faintly red.

The crystal radiated an aura of exalted power, making its extraordinary nature immediately apparent.

"This is a God Spark. Refine it with your blood, and you can become a god. But this kind of god is the weakest of all deities, and you'll basically be unable to improve through your own cultivation in the future."

Hart deliberately left out the fact that one had to reach at least the Saint Realm to refine it.

That way, if Qi Fei couldn't resist the temptation and tried to refine the God Spark right away, he'd still have a chance to regret it.

"Your talent earned my father's approval, which means you can surpass at least ninety-nine percent of Highgods. Don't ruin your future."

Hart cautioned him.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. I won't."

Qi Fei naturally wouldn't do something like that.

Becoming a god by refining a God Spark put one at the bottom of the divine pecking order. Not only was one's combat strength low, but one also lost the chance to refine a Sovereign Spark.

Qi Fei wouldn't do such a thing even if he had a screw loose.

"Good."

Hart nodded and handed him the Ring.

Qi Fei took it, then refined the gifts from his three senior brothers one by one with his blood.

First was the Greatsword from Third Senior Brother, the one he'd received first.

Only after refining it with his blood did Qi Fei realize that the sword wasn't as vicious as it looked.

It was probably because its previous owner had been a powerful practitioner of the Life Attribute, so the Greatsword leaned toward that attribute too.

After refining it, Qi Fei's Life Dou Qi and Magic Power flowed into the Greatsword of their own accord. In return, the sword sent back two forces that were purer and more brimming with vitality.

The two forces nourished Qi Fei, filling him with a warm, soothing sensation.

It seemed Third Senior Brother's Greatsword had been chosen with care, too.

Next was the armor from First Senior Brother.

The moment Qi Fei dripped his blood onto it, the armor, which had been dormant, seemed to awaken. Its surging killing intent grew so dense it was almost tangible.

If Qi Fei hadn't had a Soul Defense Artifact, he might not even have been able to stand before the armor.

With a thought from Qi Fei, the armor's killing intent receded. It then transformed into a streak of light and merged directly into his body.

Qi Fei rapped his exposed hand with a knuckle. The sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Though nothing seemed to be protecting him, the armor was already in effect. Any physical attack against Qi Fei would be weakened and repelled.

Even without Divine Power, which meant he couldn't unleash the armor's true power, it was still enough to withstand attacks from ordinary Saint Realm experts.

Of course, this wasn't the armor at its coolest.

At Qi Fei's silent summons, the armor slowly appeared, covering his entire body.

Cool.

Qi Fei praised it silently.

If he added some special effects later, he could go to Toei and pass himself off as a Kamen Rider.

Still, this form was cool, but it was far too cumbersome.

Perhaps because of its special materials, Qi Fei's current body as a Level 8 Warrior could barely manage to take a step while wearing the armor.

Running and jumping were out of the question.

So, after moving around a couple of times, Qi Fei obediently put the armor away.

While refining these two artifacts, though, Qi Fei had noticed a problem.

The aura of the Soul Defense Artifact his teacher had given him was far stronger than that of these two artifacts.

His two senior brothers' gifts had to be among the finest High-God Artifacts, at the very least, and this one was even stronger than both of them.

Could it be a Sovereign Artifact?

Qi Fei couldn't help thinking so.

Normally, Chief God Envoys and Chief God Offspring were only permitted to possess one Sovereign Artifact.

Old Bei had given him one right from the start. He really was generous.

As Qi Fei pondered all this, he refined Second Senior Brother's Space Ring.

The Space Ring was nothing special. Once it absorbed Qi Fei's blood, he could see inside.

His first reaction was that it was a mess. All kinds of odds and ends were piled haphazardly inside, like a mountain of trash.

His second reaction was that Second Senior Brother had given him a lot.

Hundreds, even thousands, of God Sparks of all kinds; a small mountain of artifacts; boxes upon boxes of Soul Gold Beads... There were even several Space Rings inside. Who knew what they contained?

To be honest, Second Senior Brother might not have put much thought into it, but his gift could well have been the most valuable of the three.

But when Qi Fei remembered that their father's welcoming gift to him might be a Sovereign Artifact, his excitement faded. He gave the contents a couple of glances, then turned his attention elsewhere.

He'd better focus on improving his strength first.

"I'll teach you how to identify these things later, so you won't end up not knowing how to use them," Hart said after Qi Fei finished refining the Ring.

"Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei thanked him.

"It's nothing. Think of it as a chance to familiarize yourself with the valuable things found in other planes."

Hart waved it off.

Mostly, he was worried that there might be something dangerous in there that could accidentally kill Qi Fei.

If that happened, their father would probably hang him up and beat him for several hundred years.

"All right, you've got your gifts. Time to start practical training."

As Harvey spoke, his body began to grow. In the blink of an eye, he was the same height as Qi Fei.

"I'll only use the strength of a Level 8 Warrior. Be ready."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei gripped the Greatsword, looking ready.

Harvey shifted his foot slightly and became a purple-gold blur, lunging straight at Qi Fei.

"So fast."

Even though Qi Fei was also a Level 8 Warrior now, he could only make out a vague silhouette.

So he had no choice but to hold his sword across himself, trying to block Harvey's attack.

But the impact he'd expected never came.

"Why block with your sword? What's your armor for?"

Senior Brother Harvey stopped in front of Qi Fei, the smile gone from his face.

"Fighting isn't about brute force. Use your head. What did I just say?"

"You'll only use the strength of a Level 8 Warrior, Senior Brother."

As he answered, Qi Fei understood what Harvey meant.

A Level 8 Warrior couldn't even get through the defenses of an artifact-grade suit of armor. He could simply let the armor take the hit, then counterattack.

"Don't blindly trust the information you gather before a fight, but don't ignore it completely, either."

Harvey cautioned him.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei nodded.

Then the battle resumed, and Harvey lunged at him again.

Qi Fei focused all his attention on Harvey's movements, searching for an opening to counterattack.

Then he saw Harvey's razor-sharp claws shoot toward his face.

Even though Qi Fei knew the claws couldn't hurt him, he still instinctively shut his eyes in the face of the threat.

At least this time, he remembered to counterattack.

So, even as he closed his eyes, Qi Fei swung his sword at Harvey.

But the counterattack was pointless.

Harvey simply twisted aside and dodged the Greatsword, then changed a thrust into a grab, seized Qi Fei by the collar, and slammed him to the ground.

By the time Qi Fei opened his eyes, he was already lying on the ground.

"Never let your awareness lapse, no matter what."

Harvey looked down at Qi Fei.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei answered while lying on his back.

But right then, Harvey's tail came whipping toward him, aiming straight for his face.

Qi Fei swung at the tail, but it dodged nimbly like a venomous snake. Its momentum undiminished, it slammed toward Qi Fei's face.

But at the last moment, its tip stopped right in front of him.

"Good."

Harvey drew back his tail, which had come to an abrupt stop.

This time, even though it had almost hit Qi Fei in the face, he hadn't closed his eyes. Harvey was quite pleased.

Being able to take advice mattered more than anything.

With a light curl of his tail, he pulled Qi Fei to his feet.

Harvey fought Qi Fei for several more exchanges, repeatedly trying to catch him off guard by aiming for his face.

At first, Qi Fei still occasionally squeezed his eyes shut and jerked his head aside to dodge blindly. But after a few more rounds, he gradually adapted and managed to keep his eyes fixed on Harvey.

"Good. You're adapting quickly. Your combat talent is pretty decent."

Harvey encouraged Qi Fei, who was panting hard.

"Thank you for the praise, Senior Brother."

Leaning on his sword just to stay upright, Qi Fei took the chance to recover the Dou Qi inside him.

He'd adapted so quickly partly because his talent had stacked up, but also because of the bits of combat experience shared by the others.

Under the pressure Harvey brought to bear, Qi Fei quickly digested that experience and gradually got used to the feel of clashing blades.

"All right, warm-up's over. From here on, I'll use Dou Qi."

As Harvey spoke, he casually cast a healing spell on Qi Fei.

"A hit to the head, heart, or spine counts as a kill. Two hits to the chest or abdomen, and a hit to a limb disables that limb. Same goes for me. How does that sound?"

One of them was a Saint Realm magical beast, while the other had god-grade armor. A Level 8 Warrior's strength couldn't break through their defenses.

That was why Harvey had made these rules.

"I'm fine with it."

Qi Fei wouldn't refuse, of course.

Practical training should be as close to real combat as possible.

"Get ready. This time, I'll attack with the intent to kill you."

Before Harvey had even finished speaking, his tone grew colder, and a bone-chilling killing intent welled up.

"Yes."

As he replied, Qi Fei decided to step out from behind the protection of the Sovereign Artifact and face Harvey's killing intent directly.

His senior brother said he would act with the intent to kill him, but he wouldn't actually be the same as someone who wanted him dead.

If he couldn't even handle this level of killing intent, he might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.

"Phew—"

Qi Fei slowly let out a breath.

As he'd expected, it was far weaker than the killing intent attached to the Purgatory Armor. As for the Overgod's pressure, it didn't even come close.

His Life Bead slowly emerged from Qi Fei's wrist.

The boost from his eight Physical Jewels acted on his body, giving him strength and speed far beyond those of a Level 9 Warrior.

Of course, the greater boost came from his Will Jewel.

In the Heavenly Jewel Change system, once one's Life Beads reached Ten-Bead, they could connect with the world around them and command the elements of every attribute.

At Eleven-Bead, one could even control the world within a limited area.

This potential had become especially pronounced after the Supreme God of Destruction strengthened it.

Three clearly distinct forces—life, destruction, and fire—wound around Qi Fei, making him look like a seasoned Saint Realm expert.

"That boost is really something."

Looking at Qi Fei, Harvey couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.

No wonder their father valued him. This boost was even stronger than that of a Dragonblood Warrior their father had created with Sovereign Essence Blood.

"Senior Brother, you can use Saint Realm-level strength now."

The powerful force gave Qi Fei confidence.

In other words, he was getting cocky.

"Fine. I'll use the strength of an early-stage Saint Realm expert."

Harvey nodded.

With a boost like Qi Fei's, Harvey felt that if he continued using strength below the Saint Realm, he might actually lose control of the situation.

"Good. Here I come."

Qi Fei rested the Greatsword on his right shoulder, lightly pushed off with his toes, and shot forward like lightning.

At the same time, he twisted at the waist, driving the Greatsword in his hands.

This was the first time he'd taken the initiative to attack Harvey.

"Not bad. You're not all show."

Harvey dodged the slash with a sidestep, then struck the side of the Greatsword with his right claw, landing the blow with pinpoint accuracy.

His claw had only moved casually, yet it seemed to carry the weight of heaven and earth, throwing the already-missing Greatsword even further off course.

Qi Fei's balance was thrown off, and at the same time, the Greatsword's sudden departure left his center wide open.

Harvey seized the opportunity and thrust his left claw toward Qi Fei's chest and abdomen.

Qi Fei released the hilt with his right hand, joined his fingers, and swept his hand diagonally upward like a blade.

Three kinds of Dou Qi coiled around his hand and erupted with astonishing force.

"Honestly, controlling three kinds of Dou Qi at once is impressive. But take a guess—why haven't I done the same?"

A layer of red Dou Qi wrapped around Harvey's left claw, like semi-transparent armor made of energy.

The instant the energy armor collided with Qi Fei's Dou Qi, it effortlessly shattered it and seized Qi Fei's right hand.

"Ha. It's over."

Harvey gave a light tug, bringing Qi Fei's head right in front of his claw.

The outcome was decided.

Harvey then released him and folded his arms as he watched Qi Fei.

Qi Fei's expression was complicated.

He hadn't expected to win in the first place, but getting taken down in fewer than three moves was still pretty humiliating, wasn't it?

After taking a moment to steady himself, Qi Fei reviewed the fight in his mind.

"Is it because of the limit?"

Qi Fei asked.

"Correct."

Harvey snapped his fingers with one of his claws.

Honestly, Qi Fei couldn't begin to imagine how he managed to do that.

"The three kinds of Dou Qi fight in completely different ways. Controlling all three at once means your control over each one is weaker than mine."

Harvey explained.

That meant Harvey could easily break through Qi Fei's three currents of Dou Qi one by one.

Qi Fei recalled how the fight had gone.

The three currents of Dou Qi seemed to coil around one another, but in practice, Harvey had still dealt with each separately.

For them to fight as one, the different attributes of Dou Qi would probably have to be fused completely.

But only a Soul Mutator could manage that. It was far too elusive.

Qi Fei drew the life- and Destruction-attribute Dou Qi coiled around his body back into his dantian, leaving only the flames that continued to flicker.

"Phew—focus your attention on the Fire Attribute Dou Qi."

Qi Fei's eight Will Jewels likewise focused solely on maintaining the Fire Attribute.

The next moment, the flames around Qi Fei surged.

"Not bad."

Harvey encouraged him.

Now Qi Fei finally looked a little like an experienced Saint Realm expert.

"No, it's not enough."

Qi Fei still remembered how Harvey had sent his Greatsword flying.

At this level, he was nowhere near a match for Harvey. So Qi Fei urged his Will Jewels on with all his might, linking them to the elements of the world.

Power, get over here!

He roared deep within himself.

As if answering his roar, the Fire Element naturally gathered on Qi Fei's sword.

Soon, the Greatsword, originally blue-green, was coated in a layer of blazing light.

For some reason, Qi Fei thought of the fireball Beirut had demonstrated for him.

The next moment, the light on the sword suddenly drew inward.

Yet its power hadn't diminished in the slightest. On the contrary, the sword radiated a terrifying aura.

Then Qi Fei swung the Greatsword at Harvey.

A force like a Flash Flood poured out of the Greatsword and engulfed Harvey.