Qi Fei's First Consolidating Equipment

"Little Fei, I haven't seen you for a few days. What have you been studying lately?"

Weiyang wore the kind, benevolent smile of a neighbor's grandmother who would give candy to children.

"I'm learning how to design Consolidation Scrolls."

Qi Fei answered truthfully.

"That's truly impressive. Here, take this Master-level Consolidation Scroll design blueprint and have some fun with it."

Weiyang immediately took out a blueprint and handed it toward Qi Fei.

Then, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by Ye Ruichen.

"Weiyang, isn't that blueprint a bit outdated? My disciple is already capable of designing Master-level Consolidation Scrolls on his own."

Ye Ruichen boasted with a smug look on his face.

"He's that talented?"

Weiyang's first reaction was one of disbelief.

But this old guy Ye Ruichen wouldn't lie about something so easily verifiable.

Could it be that this was actually true?

Weiyang scrutinized Qi Fei carefully, as if she could see talent overflowing from the top of his head.

"What are you staring at, you old hag?"

Ye Ruichen stepped forward to block Weiyang's line of sight.

"It's a real pity that such a genius disciple is wasted on you."

Weiyang sighed with deep emotion.

How did this old thing manage to stumble upon him?

"Say whatever you want, but Little Fei is my disciple now."

Ye Ruichen said triumphantly.

"Little Fei, would you like to learn the craft of a Consolidation Master from me instead? I have a Legendary Set here, you know?"

Weiyang sneered and sidestepped Ye Ruichen to try and entice Qi Fei.

"Heh, a mere Legendary Set? I've already prepared one for my disciple."

Ye Ruichen waved his hand grandly and pulled out the design blueprints for the Abyssal Boundless set he had created himself.

"Take a good look, both of you. This will be the pinnacle that you two will struggle to reach for the rest of your lives."

He excitedly laid out the nine and a half blueprints in a row before him.

Greatsword, chest armor, back armor... the design for every component of the set was incredibly intricate, far surpassing that of an ordinary Legendary Set.

And the tenth blueprint, which was only half-finished, was covered in dense annotations.

Looking from afar, Qi Fei even felt a strange sense of aesthetic beauty.

"The tenth piece... you actually managed to take that step?"

Weiyang's voice trembled subconsciously as she spoke.

It wasn't just her; Xing Tianyi, who was watching from the side, was also completely stunned at this moment.

In the past, the three of them had all designed Legendary Sets, but they had never been able to break through the limit of a nine-piece set.

Yet Ye Ruichen had actually done it, and in such a short amount of time.

Xing Tianyi was so shocked he couldn't even find the words to speak.

"I suppose you could say I barely managed to break through."

Ye Ruichen was so proud his tail was practically wagging in the air.

But Weiyang and Xing Tianyi had no intention of bickering over that.

They stepped forward cautiously to examine the Abyssal Boundless blueprints, studying every single line and every symbol on the pages.

Ye Ruichen quieted down at this point, waiting silently for the two of them to finish their inspection.

After a long while, both of them let out a long sigh, finishing their contemplation one after the other.

"How did you manage to do it?"

Xing Tianyi asked with a complex expression.

In the past, he had always been the most skilled among the three of them.

But he never expected that while he was stuck at the ninth piece, unable to even find the right direction, Ye Ruichen would be the one to take that step first.

It was truly... hard to believe.

"I'm not entirely sure myself."

Ye Ruichen recalled the state he had been in over the past three months.

"If I had to put it into words, I suppose it would be giving it my all?"

"Giving it your all?"

Xing Tianyi and Weiyang's faces were filled with confusion.

At any given time, a Consolidation Master must give their all when creating a Consolidation Scroll; otherwise, the best-case scenario is failure, and the worst is being backlashed by the energy within the Forming Liquid.

Would Ye Ruichen have a breakthrough because of this?

That couldn't be right, could it?

"I'm not talking about the focus required during creation, but rather dedicating my entire being to this endeavor."

Ye Ruichen knew his answer sounded a bit absurd, so he explained it to the two of them.

"At the very beginning, when I was creating these blueprints, I viewed it as a task—just like any other task in the past."

He recalled his past experiences.

Designing a set for Qi Fei was no different from creating scrolls for strangers who could afford his price.

"Back then, let alone completing the design for a nine-piece set, I couldn't even find a direction."

Ye Ruichen sighed with a smile, seemingly mocking his own past foolishness.

"It wasn't until Qi Fei gradually revealed his talent as a Consolidation Master and drew his first Consolidation Scroll by hand that my mindset slowly began to change."

He looked at Qi Fei.

"It wasn't that I had to design a set for Qi Fei, but that I wanted Qi Fei to wear a Legendary Set designed by me."

"From that moment on, I found myself filled with passion every day, as if there were infinite inspiration in my mind at every waking moment."

"That is why I was able to complete this work within three months."

Ye Ruichen withdrew his gaze and, with a look of nostalgia, put away all the design drawings.

"It's that simple?"

Weiyang asked in disbelief.

"This is not simple at all."

Xing Tianyi countered.

He, on the contrary, could understand what Ye Ruichen meant, and the look he gave Ye Ruichen couldn't help but carry a hint of admiration.

Having delved into the path of a Consolidation Master for so many years, even if one once had passion, it had long since been burned away.

The state Ye Ruichen had been in could be called a stroke of fortune.

"Weiyang, how long has it been since you felt genuine happiness from the birth of a Consolidation Scroll?"

Seeing that Weiyang was still somewhat puzzled, Xing Tianyi sighed.

"..."

Weiyang did not answer, or rather, she had already answered.

"Alright, the breakthrough experience has been shared, so it's time to talk about business."

Ye Ruichen said at the right moment.

"Helping you create this scroll, right? No problem."

Xing Tianyi didn't even need to think to know what Ye Ruichen's business was.

"And completing the design for the tenth piece."

Ye Ruichen added.

Although he could slowly grind it out on his own after taking that step, they were old friends of many years, after all, and he wanted to give Xing Tianyi and Weiyang a hand.

If all three of them could take that step, it would be a fine story indeed.

"Really?"

Both Weiyang and Xing Tianyi couldn't help but reveal a hint of surprise.

"Of course it's real, but whether it's creation or design, you both have to follow my lead."

Ye Ruichen said with a smug look on his face.

"No problem."

Xing Tianyi agreed decisively.

For him, participating in the design of the tenth piece would be of great benefit to himself; there was nothing to hesitate about.

"Sister Weiyang, what about you?"

Ye Ruichen leaned in toward Weiyang, the person he had bickered with for most of his life, wearing a smug smile.

"Fine."

Weiyang sighed.

After all, she had truly lost to him this time.

"Hahaha, in that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go, time to craft some scrolls."

Ye Ruichen beckoned to the group, his spirits high.

Six days later.

The first scroll was completed.

"Truly peculiar."

Qi Fei admired the Consolidation Scroll in his hand, which depicted a two-handed greatsword.

This was the first piece of the Abyssal Boundless set, the Qianlin Greatsword.

The power fluctuations far exceeded those of a Master-level Consolidation Scroll, the drawing curves were nothing short of perfect, and it spontaneously inhaled and exhaled the energy of heaven and earth as if it were breathing...

Everything about it demonstrated to Qi Fei just how powerful this Consolidation Scroll was.

"Master, can I use this scroll right now?"

Qi Fei looked toward Ye Ruichen.

"I personally wouldn't advise using it just yet. Using Consolidation Scrolls in quick succession allows one to better grasp the power within and makes success much more likely."

Ye Ruichen understood his disciple's impatience, but he still discouraged Qi Fei.

He couldn't guarantee absolute success with this scroll.

If Qi Fei failed, it would take at least five days before a second one was ready to use.

While five days wasn't a long time, the loss of continuity would negatively impact the success rate.

"But, I have a feeling I can succeed on the first try."

This wasn't a lie; Qi Fei truly had that feeling.

Besides, in the original story, Zhou Weiqing could achieve a one-hundred-percent success rate in consolidation just by swallowing a bead from a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger; there was no reason why he couldn't do the same with equipment enhanced by the Supreme God of Destruction.

"Since that's the case, then give it a try."

Although Ye Ruichen found it a bit strange, he immediately stopped feeling surprised when he considered his disciple's talent.

If he could design a Master-level Consolidation Scroll from scratch in three months, what was the problem with successfully consolidating a piece of equipment on the first try?

"The method of consolidation is to channel your Physical Jewel to communicate with the scroll..."

Before Ye Ruichen could even finish his sentence, he saw the scroll in Qi Fei's hand erupt with brilliant light.

Then, the scroll transformed into a stream of light and merged into Qi Fei's first Physical Jewel.

"He actually succeeded just like that?"

Weiyang, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.

"Success."

As he spoke, the first Physical Jewel, composed of both Ice-Seed Jade and Dragon Stone Jade, fell into Qi Fei's hand.

A dark golden radiance rose from within it, enveloping Qi Fei like a protective barrier.

This was the hallmark of God-level consolidation equipment: the Consolidation Body-Protecting Divine Light.

Unless the gap in strength between the two parties was truly massive, it was equivalent to providing the user with a moment of invincibility.

To put it another way, it was like the transformation special effects of a Kamen Rider.

After the dark golden radiance faded, the two-handed greatsword appeared in Qi Fei's hand.

Because the set was incomplete, it was entirely dark golden in color, which gave the greatsword a somewhat ornamental feel, an impression further reinforced by the intricate patterns along the spine of the blade.

However, the fierce aura emanating from the greatsword itself instantly wiped away that impression.

Anyone who saw it would be left with only one thought: this was a weapon of slaughter.

"Excluding the inherent enhancement of the Physical Jewel itself, the boost to strength and agility is roughly twofold."

Qi Fei tried swinging the greatsword in his hand.

The multiplier was the same as Zhou Weiqing's, but considering that Zhou Weiqing's was a pure strength boost, while his own was a dual-attribute boost to both strength and agility—while also incorporating about seventy percent of his Heavenly Power—the Abyssal Boundless set was theoretically stronger than Zhou Weiqing's Hate Earth No Ring set.

In other words, it could at least rank in the top five in the world.

However, in terms of versatility, Hate Earth No Ring was far superior to Abyssal Boundless; after all, not everyone could possess dual-attribute Physical Jewels for strength and agility.

Of course, since these were custom-made sets for individuals, versatility didn't really matter.

Still, the fact that his old master could design such an outrageous set was a bit terrifying.

"Wait, twofold?"

The three of them, who were still marveling at Qi Fei's one-shot success, suddenly snapped to attention.

"It's twofold, is there something wrong with that?"

Qi Fei re-evaluated the changes in his body's stats and confirmed it was indeed a twofold increase.

"In our projections, the boost was supposed to be 1.9 times."

The three of them looked at each other in dismay.

Abyssal Boundless was, after all, primarily focused on Heavenly Power amplification; it shouldn't have been able to reach the limit for strength and agility boosts.

"Huh?"

Qi Fei summoned the Qianlin Greatsword repeatedly.

He finally confirmed it: it was indeed a two-fold amplification.

"I suppose it must be that your own Physical Jewel is special, Xiao Fei, allowing the amplification effect to reach its limit."

Other than that, Xing Tianyi truly couldn't think of any other explanation.

"If I had known this, I should have been even more extreme, completely abandoning strength and speed to put all the amplification into Heavenly Power."

Ye Ruichen said with regret.

Since the strength and speed boosts were supported by Qi Fei's own special Physical Jewel, if he had put everything into strengthening Heavenly Power, just how terrifying would the final set on him have become?

"That's enough out of you."

Weiyang slapped Ye Ruichen on the back.

"What would you have done if Xiao Fei's Physical Jewel could only increase it by a small margin?"

Going from 1 to 1.1 and from 1.9 to 2, although both only increased by 0.1, the final results were worlds apart.

"That's true."

Ye Ruichen reined in his thoughts a little.

He was just talking, anyway.

"Alright, let's continue making the scrolls."

Xing Tianyi beckoned the two of them.

"I have an idea."

Ye Ruichen said, holding up a finger.

"Since Xiao Fei can succeed on the first try, why don't we just make the whole set at once?"

"Agreed."

Weiyang accepted immediately.

Although the difficulty of the set components increased as they went on, their ultimate goal was the tenth piece, so the increase in difficulty was not an issue at all.

Xing Tianyi naturally wouldn't refuse.

Being able to reduce repetitive crafting and push forward quickly was much easier than they had initially anticipated.

While the three God Masters began to get busy with the second scroll, Qi Fei split half of his consciousness to enter the Shared Space.

Then, he connected with the other Qi Feis through the remaining mental energy.

In an instant, three figures appeared in the space.

"They're here, they're here."

Dou Po Qi Fei rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Ever since he heard Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei say six days ago that he was about to get the equipment, he had been looking forward to this day.

"This is our first piece of Molding Equipment..."

Before Shen San Qi Fei could finish his sentence, Dou Po Qi Fei reached out and touched half of Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei's body.

"What were you just about to say?"

Dou Po Qi Fei turned his head and asked.

"...Nothing, can it strengthen Dou Qi?"

Shen San Qi Fei asked after a moment of silence.

"I'll try."

Dou Po Qi Fei disappeared for an instant, then re-entered the space.

"It works, the amplification rate is the same as it is for Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei."

He said excitedly after entering.

"As expected of something reinforced by the Supreme God of Destruction, the versatility is truly high."

While Coiling Dragon Qi Fei sighed in admiration, he reached out and touched Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei.

Although he wasn't lacking in weapons, he still had to take advantage of the multiplier boost that came with this greatsword.

As for it conflicting with the positioning of the divine artifacts he already possessed?

Pfft, this wasn't a custom design meant for him, so as long as it could be used, that was enough; why be picky?

Besides, with the way his divine artifacts were all set, there wasn't a single thing that didn't conflict, was there?

"Indeed, when a big shot makes a move, it's just different."

Shen San Qi Fei also reached out and touched him.

Although he rarely fought anyone, how could he pass up this new toy?

There were plenty of slots anyway, so he might as well use it.