First Battle

"Right, you can use the other items yourself, but absolutely do not use this one."

Hart flipped out a black crystal that emitted a faint red glow.

The crystal radiated an aura of high status, making it impossible for anyone to overlook its extraordinary nature at a glance.

"This is a God Spark. You can become a Deity by dripping your blood on it to refine it, but this type of Deity is the weakest among all Deities, and in the future, it is basically impossible to improve through self-cultivation."

Hart deliberately didn't mention that one needed to be at least at the Saint Realm to refine it.

That way, in case Qi Fei couldn't resist the temptation and wanted to refine the God Spark right now, he would still have a chance to regret it.

"The fact that your talent could gain my father's approval means you can at least surpass ninety-nine percent of Highgods. Do not ruin your own future."

Hart cautioned him.

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

Qi Fei naturally wouldn't do such a thing.

Refining a God Spark to become a Deity belonged to the bottom of the contempt chain among Deities. Not only was the combat power low, but one would also lose the opportunity to refine a Chief God Spark.

Even if Qi Fei were out of his mind, he wouldn't do something like that.

"That's good."

Hart nodded and handed over the ring.

Qi Fei took the ring and then dripped his blood one by one to refine the gifts from his three senior brothers.

First was the greatsword from the Third Senior Brother, which had been given first.

After Qi Fei dripped his blood to refine it, he discovered that this sword was not as ferocious as it looked.

It stood to reason that since the original owner was a powerhouse with the life attribute, the greatsword also leaned toward this attribute.

After Qi Fei refined it, the life Dou Qi and Magic Power within his body spontaneously surged into the greatsword; in return, the greatsword sent back both powers, now more refined and brimming with vitality.

Nourished by these two forces, Qi Fei felt a wave of warmth throughout his body.

It seemed that the Third Senior Brother's greatsword had also been carefully selected.

Next was the armor given by the Eldest Senior Brother.

After dripping his blood, the previously dormant armor seemed to be activated, and the surging killing intent became almost tangible.

If Qi Fei didn't have a Soul Defense Artifact, he might not have even been able to stand before this suit of armor.

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

Qi Fei tapped the back of his exposed hand, and the sound of metal clashing rang out.

Although it looked like there was no protection now, in reality, the armor was already in effect; any physical attack against Qi Fei would be weakened and blocked.

Even if Qi Fei didn't have divine power now and couldn't unleash the true power of the armor, it was enough to block attacks from an average Saint Realm expert.

Of course, this wasn't the armor's coolest form.

At the call of Qi Fei's heart, the armor slowly emerged, completely enveloping his body.

Cool.

Qi Fei secretly praised.

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

However, while this form was cool, the burden was too heavy.

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

Running or jumping was something he couldn't even dream of.

Therefore, after moving around a bit, Qi Fei honestly retracted the armor.

However, while refining these two artifacts, Qi Fei discovered a problem.

That was, the Soul Defense Artifact his teacher gave him had an aura far stronger than these two artifacts.

The ones his two senior brothers gave him must at least be among the best of the Highgod artifacts, yet they were still stronger than those.

Could it be an Overgod Artifact?

Qi Fei couldn't help but have such a thought.

Under normal circumstances, a Chief God Envoy or a Chief God Offspring would only be allowed to possess one Overgod Artifact.

Old Bei gave him one right at the start; he was truly generous.

While Qi Fei was pondering these things, he refined the Second Senior Brother's Space Ring.

The Space Ring was nothing special; after absorbing Qi Fei's blood, he could see the internal space.

Qi Fei's first reaction upon seeing it was that it was messy; various sundries were piled up haphazardly inside, like a mountain of trash.

His second reaction was that the Second Senior Brother had given him so much.

Hundreds or thousands of various God Sparks, artifacts piled into small hills, Soul Gold Beads counted by the box... there were even several more Space Rings inside, and he had no idea what was stored in those.

To be honest, although the Second Senior Brother was not particularly attentive, the gift he gave was likely the most valuable among the three.

But once he thought about how the welcome gift from their father might be an Overgod Artifact, the excitement in Qi Fei's heart faded quite a bit, and he withdrew his attention after only a couple of glances.

It was better to focus on improving his strength for now.

"I will teach you how to identify these things later, so you don't end up not knowing how to use them."

Hart said this after Qi Fei had refined the ring.

"I am sorry to trouble you, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei expressed his gratitude.

"It's a small matter, just consider it a way for you to get familiar with valuable items from other planes in advance."

Hart said nonchalantly.

The main reason was that he was worried that if there was something wrong inside, it might accidentally kill Qi Fei.

If that happened, he reckoned he would at least be hung up and whipped by his father for a few hundred years.

"Alright, you've taken the items, now it's time to start practical combat training."

As Harvey spoke, his body gradually grew larger, and in the blink of an eye, he was the same height as Qi Fei.

"I will only use the strength equivalent to a Level 8 Warrior, so pay attention."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei gripped his greatsword, looking as if he were prepared.

Harvey moved his feet slightly and transformed into a purple-gold shadow, charging straight at Qi Fei.

So fast.

Even though Qi Fei was also a Level 8 Warrior now, he only managed to catch a somewhat blurry figure.

Thus, he had no choice but to hold his sword horizontally in front of him, attempting to block Harvey's attack.

However, the expected impact did not come.

"Why use your sword to block? What is your armor for?"

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

"Combat isn't just about brute force; use your brain. What did I just say?"

"You said you would only use the strength of a Level 8 Warrior, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei understood what Harvey meant as he answered.

As a Level 8 Warrior, he couldn't even break through the defense of the divine armor, so he could rely entirely on the armor to tank the hit and then launch a counterattack.

"You shouldn't believe all the intelligence you gather before a fight, but you shouldn't ignore it entirely either."

Harvey instructed.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei nodded.

Subsequently, the battle began again, and Harvey lunged forward once more.

Qi Fei focused all his attention on watching Harvey's movements, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Then, he saw Harvey's sharp claws coming straight for his face.

Faced with the threat of the claws, even though Qi Fei knew this wouldn't hurt him, he still closed his eyes instinctively.

However, he at least remembered to counterattack this time.

Therefore, while closing his eyes, Qi Fei swung his sword toward the Harvey in front of him.

But this kind of counterattack was meaningless.

Harvey simply twisted casually to dodge Qi Fei's greatsword, then changed his strike into a grab, seizing Qi Fei by the collar and slamming him onto the ground.

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

"You must never interrupt your perception at any time."

Harvey looked down at Qi Fei on the ground.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Qi Fei replied while lying on his back.

But just at that moment, Harvey's tail whistled through the air, striking straight toward Qi Fei's face.

Qi Fei swung his hand to slash at the tail, but the tail dodged as nimbly as a viper, slamming toward Qi Fei's face with undiminished force.

But in the end, the tip of the tail stopped right in front of Qi Fei.

"Very good."

Harvey retracted his tail, which had stopped abruptly.

Even though it had nearly smashed into Qi Fei's face this time, he had not closed his eyes, which made Harvey quite satisfied.

Being able to listen is more important than anything else.

His tail hooked gently, pulling Qi Fei up from the ground.

Subsequently, Harvey exchanged several more blows with Qi Fei, repeatedly attempting to ambush Qi Fei's face during the process.

At first, Qi Fei would occasionally close his eyes and tilt his head to dodge blindly, but after a few more times, the gradually adapting Qi Fei was able to keep his eyes locked on Harvey.

"Very good, you adapt quickly; your combat talent is quite decent."

Harvey encouraged the panting Qi Fei.

"Thank you for the praise, Senior Brother."

Leaning on his sword to stay upright, Qi Fei was seizing every moment to recover the Dou Qi within his body.

In truth, the reason he could adapt so quickly was not just due to his innate talent, but also the fragments of combat experience shared by others.

Under the pressure brought by Harvey, these combat experiences were rapidly digested by Qi Fei, allowing him to gradually grow accustomed to the sensation of blade-to-blade combat.

"Then, the warm-up is over. Next, I am going to use my Dou Qi."

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

"The head, heart, or spine counts as a kill if struck once; the chest or abdomen takes two hits; and if a limb is struck, that limb becomes unusable. Of course, the same applies to me. How about it?"

One of them was a Saint Realm Magic Beast, and the other possessed a god-level armor; the strength of a Level 8 Warrior simply could not break through their defenses.

Therefore, Harvey established these rules.

"I have no problem with that."

Qi Fei certainly would not refuse.

For practical combat training, the closer it is to a real fight, the better.

"Get ready. This time, I will truly act with the intent to kill you."

Before Harvey even finished speaking, his tone gradually turned icy, and a daunting killing intent welled up spontaneously.

"Yes."

As Qi Fei replied, he decided to step out from the protection of the Overgod Artifact to face Harvey's killing intent head-on.

Senior Brother said he would act with the intent to kill, but it was impossible for it to be the same as someone who truly wanted him dead.

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

"Hoo—"

Qi Fei slowly exhaled.

As he expected, it was far inferior to the killing intent attached to the Purgatory Armor, and as for the pressure of the Supreme God of Destruction, it was even further behind.

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

The enhancement of the eight Physical Jewels acted upon his body, making Qi Fei's strength and speed far exceed that of a Level 9 Warrior.

Of course, the greater enhancement came from the Will Jewel.

In the system of Heavenly Jewel Change, once the Life Bead is cultivated to the Ten-Bead level, it inherently possesses the power to connect with the outside world and command various elemental forces.

Upon reaching the eleven-bead level, one can even master the local environment.

This potential appeared particularly prominent after being strengthened by the Supreme God of Destruction.

Life, Destruction, and Fire—three distinct forces coiled around Qi Fei, making him look exactly like a seasoned Saint Realm expert.

"This amplification effect is truly remarkable."

Watching Qi Fei's appearance, Harvey could not help but exclaim in wonder.

He is indeed someone valued by Father; this amplification effect is even stronger than that of the Dragonblood Warriors created by Father using the Essence blood of an Overgod.

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

The immense power brought confidence to Qi Fei.

In other words, he was getting cocky.

"Alright, I will use the strength of the early Saint Realm then."

Harvey nodded.

Given the extent of Qi Fei's amplification, Harvey felt that if he continued to use power below the Saint Realm, he might end up flipping the boat.

"Good, then here I come."

With the greatsword resting on his right shoulder, Qi Fei tapped his toes, and his figure shot out like lightning.

At the same time, he exerted force from his waist, driving the greatsword in his hand.

This was his first time taking the initiative to attack Harvey.

"Not bad, you're not just all show."

Harvey dodged the slash by turning his body, while his right claw accurately swiped at the side of the greatsword.

Even though he had only swung it casually, that right claw seemed to carry the weight of the heavens and earth, causing the already off-target greatsword to lose control even further.

Qi Fei's center of gravity was disrupted, and at the same time, the departure of his greatsword left his midsection wide open.

Harvey seized this opportunity, thrusting his left claw straight toward Qi Fei's chest and abdomen.

Qi Fei released the hilt with his right hand, turned his palm into a blade, and slashed diagonally upward.

Three types of Dou Qi coiled around his palm, erupting with astonishing power at that very moment.

"Honestly, controlling three types of Dou Qi at once is indeed impressive, but take a guess—why didn't I do the same?"

Harvey's left claw was wrapped in a layer of red Dou Qi, resembling a translucent energy armor.

The moment this energy armor collided with Qi Fei's Dou Qi, it easily 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 right claw.

The outcome was decided.

Harvey then released his claws and stood with his arms crossed, watching Qi Fei.

Qi Fei's expression was complex.

Although he hadn't expected to win, being taken down in less than three rounds was just too embarrassing, wasn't it?

After struggling to adjust his emotions, Qi Fei began to analyze the battle in his mind.

"Is it because of the upper limit?"

Qi Fei asked aloud.

"Correct."

Harvey snapped his fingers with his claw.

To be fair, Qi Fei couldn't imagine how he had managed to do that.

"The combat styles of three types of Dou Qi are completely different; controlling three at once means your control over each individual strand is inferior to mine."

Harvey explained.

This meant that Harvey could easily defeat each of his three strands of Dou Qi one by one.

Qi Fei recalled the process of the battle just now.

The three strands of Dou Qi had appeared to be coiled together, but in reality, Harvey had been dealing with them individually.

To make them fight as one, he would likely need to have the different elemental attributes of Dou Qi completely fused together.

But that was something only a Soul Mutator could achieve; it was far too ethereal and out of reach.

The Life and Destruction attribute Dou Qi coiled around Qi Fei's body were withdrawn into his Dantian, leaving only the constantly flickering flames.

"Hoo—focus all attention on the fire attribute Dou Qi."

All eight of Qi Fei's Will Jewels were also adjusted to maintain only the fire attribute.

The next moment, the flames on Qi Fei's body surged violently.

"Not bad."

Harvey encouraged Qi Fei.

Now, Qi Fei finally looked a bit like a seasoned Saint Realm expert.

"No, it's still not enough."

Qi Fei still remembered the way Harvey had swatted away his greatsword.

If it were only to this extent, it would be far from enough to rival Harvey, so Qi Fei pushed his Will Jewels to their limit, connecting with the elements of heaven and earth.

Power, get over here!

Qi Fei roared in the depths of his heart.

As if responding to his roar, fire elements naturally gathered on Qi Fei's sword.

Soon, the originally cyan greatsword was coated in a layer of scorching radiance.

Inexplicably, Qi Fei thought of the fireball Beirut had demonstrated for him.

The next moment, the radiance on the sword suddenly retracted.

Yet, the power it held did not diminish in the slightest; on the contrary, the blade began to emit a heart-palpitating aura.

Then, Qi Fei swung the greatsword at Harvey.

Power like a mountain torrent erupted from the greatsword, engulfing Harvey.