Your Artifact Forging Is Way Too Fake

The next day, after some follow-up work, the flying Spirit Artifact was declared complete and ready for use. When Xiao Yan stepped out of the tent, he saw Huo Yuhao soaring through the air.

"Its flight speed and maneuverability are considerably inferior to a Dou Wang's," Yao Chen said, floating nearby as he recorded the data.

After test-flying for a while, Huo Yuhao hovered in midair and closed his eyes to assess his Dou Qi consumption. Then he said, "Since it can draw upon Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, its Dou Qi consumption should be far lower than that of a flying Dou Technique." With that, Huo Yuhao prepared to test the artifact's offensive capabilities.

Two sky-blue spirit inscriptions on the front of the wings lit up. Wind-element energy circulated around Huo Yuhao, condensing into feather after feather of energy.

[Wind Feathers]!

Under Huo Yuhao's control, the wind feathers filling the sky shot downward like arrows loosed from a bow, accompanied by piercing shrieks through the air!

Puff puff puff puff! The solid ground was instantly riddled with countless tiny holes.

After using this spirit-inscription skill derived from the Dou Technique Ice Phoenix Feathers, Huo Yuhao's face went pale, and the Dou Qi within him was instantly drained dry. He controlled the flying Spirit Artifact and slowly descended to the ground.

"That's amazing!" Xiao Yan ran over eagerly, sounding even more excited than Huo Yuhao, the creator. He slapped Huo Yuhao hard on the shoulder. Huo Yuhao had only just landed and had yet to steady himself when the sudden blow made him stagger, nearly falling to the ground.

"I'm afraid even a Da Dou Shi would have a hard time blocking that!"

Huo Yuhao steadied himself. Fortunately, the Heavenly Cycle Art inside him had remained in operation, and in that brief moment, much of his Dou Qi had already recovered. Looking at Xiao Yan's irritatingly smug grin, he revealed an equally malicious smile.

"It's not quite at that level. It can only bully Da Dou Shis who have just broken through." Yao Chen floated down. After sensing that Xiao Yan had broken through to become a Two-Star Dou Zhe, he nodded at him before continuing with his assessment of the flying Spirit Artifact.

"That was the effect when Yuhao, its creator, used it personally. This spirit inscription derived from Ice Phoenix Feathers has power only between mid- and high-level Black Grade, yet its consumption rivals an Earth Grade Dou Technique. Its value isn't high."

Huo Yuhao's smile made Xiao Yan's skin crawl. He turned his face away and asked, "It can already fight a Da Dou Shi, and you're saying its value isn't high? Yuhao is only a One-Star Dou Master!"

Putting away the flying Spirit Artifact, Huo Yuhao explained, "In my teacher's and my vision, a Dou Master or Da Dou Shi using a Third-Grade Spirit Artifact should, depending on the type of artifact, have sufficient suppressive power against Da Dou Shis in terms of offense at the very least if it's a weapon... Also, I'm already three stars."

"Three-Star Dou Master?" Xiao Yan was stunned.

Huo Yuhao examined Xiao Yan's condition, and that malicious smile appeared on his face again.

"Let me see. Not bad, you're already a Two-Star Dou Zhe, and you just broke through too. As expected of a genius!"

"You—"

"Mhm, your Spiritual Sea has also been opened." Huo Yuhao took out the Purple Cloud Wings from his ring and tossed them to Xiao Yan. "You can cultivate it now. I've just about finished studying it too."

Xiao Yan caught the scroll in a flurry. The little bit of displeasure from Huo Yuhao's mocking words vanished instantly. He clutched the scroll tightly in his hands as though afraid it might fly away.

Having finally obtained the flying Dou Technique he had long awaited, Xiao Yan was in no hurry to cultivate it. He put away the scroll and watched Huo Yuhao and Yao Chen begin sorting through the pile of "junk" scattered across the ground, unable to resist complaining.

"I thought your artifact-forging method would be something incredibly advanced, but in the end, you're hammering metal and carving patterns. It has no style at all."

Yao Chen laughed and scolded, "You brat, now you're looking down on it? Then don't use it if you've got the guts! As long as it improves your strength, who cares whether it looks good? Besides, Yuhao's artifact-forging method is still only in its infancy."

Xiao Yan scratched his head awkwardly and tried to change the subject. "By the way, Ya Fei told me that the common high-grade weapons on the Battle Qi Continent all have Magic Cores embedded in them. Yuhao, don't your Spirit Artifacts need them?"

Huo Yuhao was currently dealing with the pile of failed weapons on the ground. Calling it dealing with them was generous; he was merely packing up the scrap metal and piling it in a corner of the valley. Hearing this, he explained to Xiao Yan, "I've studied them. Those high-grade weapons with embedded Magic Cores can only slightly enhance the power of Dou Techniques of the same attribute. And the Magic Core's energy dissipates quickly. They're not even as useful for increasing one's strength as a First-Grade Spirit Artifact."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao took out a weapon embedded with a Magic Core and a First-Grade Spirit Artifact and handed them to Xiao Yan. Then he took out a medicine bottle containing Spirit-Guiding Elixir refined by Yao Chen. "One of the main ingredients in Spirit-Guiding Elixir is Magic Cores."

"I remember now. You even pour medicine into them. That's... that's so shabby."

Xiao Yan covered his face. In his mind, the beautiful image of "immortal-cultivation artifact forging" from the novels of his previous life was shattering into pieces.

At that moment, Yao Chen seemed to recall something and fell into thought beside them. Those wind elements gathered just now, if they were used to...

As the fluctuations of Dou Qi settled, Xiao Yi Xian opened her eyes, unable to hide the joy flashing through them. After this period of cultivation, she had successfully broken through to become a Three-Star Dou Zhe. The moment she broke through, Xiao Yi Xian lifted her clothes and checked the Seven-Colored Hidden Thread on her lower abdomen. After confirming that the line had barely changed, she jumped up in delight.

"Brother Yuhao, Teacher, I broke through—"

"Teacher, what are they doing?" Before she could finish, Xiao Yi Xian saw the two people confronting each other in the clearing and could not help asking.

Yao Chen handed Xiao Yi Xian a slice of watermelon. "Oh, the two of them are getting ready to spar again."

Xiao Yi Xian accepted the watermelon, taking small bites as she stood beside Yao Chen and watched the fight.

"How many times has Xiao Yan challenged Brother Yuhao now? Hasn't he been beaten enough lately?"

At this moment, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Yan stood about fifty paces apart. Every muscle in Xiao Yan's body was taut, his eyes and spiritual power both locked firmly onto Huo Yuhao as he tried to catch an opening.

Huo Yuhao flexed his wrist and looked at Xiao Yan with a relaxed expression.

"Same old rules. We'll use Dou Qi of the same level. This is a good chance to see how much Xiao Yan's footwork has improved lately."

Before his words had even faded, Huo Yuhao had already launched the attack. There was no visible exertion from his legs, yet his entire body shot straight toward Xiao Yan. He was astonishingly fast, but there was not the slightest sound of wind. In the blink of an eye, Huo Yuhao appeared before Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's pupils suddenly contracted. Even with the aid of spiritual power, he could not see Huo Yuhao's path of movement. He sensed surging Dou Qi gathering in Huo Yuhao's right fist—the operating method of Eight Extremes Collapse, a technique he knew all too well. At the critical moment, Xiao Yan's soul nearly fled his body. Before his mind could react, his body had already moved on instinct.

A faint explosion sounded beneath Xiao Yan's feet. His legs responded through the muscle memory developed during this period, successfully using Explosive Step to dart sideways.

"Are you trying to kill me—" Having narrowly avoided that lethal blow, Xiao Yan had barely begun to roar in fury when he discovered that Huo Yuhao, who should have been unable to stop himself, had vanished instantly. Looking more carefully, he saw that Huo Yuhao was still standing where he had been, with no Dou Qi gathered in his right hand at all.

"Not bad. Your speed is acceptable now." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, acknowledging Xiao Yan's Explosive Step this time.

"Was that Simulation?" Xiao Yan had seen Huo Yuhao use this skill before and thought he understood it well enough, but facing it head-on now, he could not distinguish it at all. That bone-piercing sense of danger, the fierce wind rushing at him—there had not been a single flaw.

What Xiao Yan did not know was that if he had thought it was merely a mental illusion and remained where he stood without dodging, that punch would have truly smashed into his face.

"Your speed is passable, but what about your agility?" Huo Yuhao did not explain. With a point of his right index finger, an ice spike formed instantly and shot straight toward Xiao Yan.

Crack! Dou Qi exploded beneath his feet as Xiao Yan used Explosive Step again. While dodging the ice spike, he charged at Huo Yuhao, preparing to use the Eight Extremes Collapse he had already mastered.

Just then, Huo Yuhao flung out several more ice spikes, completely sealing off the unavoidable path directly in front of Xiao Yan, as well as the directions to either side where he could dodge.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to be skewered like candied hawthorn, a smug smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He pushed off with his toes, his trajectory drawing an irregular Z shape. He evaded the ice spikes by turning at nearly right angles, and rather than slowing down, he accelerated as he charged at Huo Yuhao once more.

"Ha ha! Take this! Eight Extremes Collapse!"

A trace of satisfaction appeared in Huo Yuhao's eyes. He did not dodge again, deciding to give Xiao Yan a chance to clash head-on. He threw out a punch as well, colliding with Xiao Yan's fist.

Bang!!!

A sound like clashing metal rang out. Xiao Yan felt a terrifying force surge wildly through his fist, and in an instant, his entire body was sent flying backward like a baseball struck by a bat!

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, merely took two steps back.

"How is that possible?!" Ignoring his fist, which had instantly become red and swollen, Xiao Yan's voice was full of disbelief. "That was Eight Extremes Collapse containing six layers of force!"

"Teacher?" Xiao Yi Xian looked up.

"That fool thinks Yuhao hasn't learned it?" Yao Chen spat out a stream of watermelon seeds.

"Your physical condition is still lacking. Wait until I modify the Golden Body Formula a bit more." Huo Yuhao rubbed his fingers together, feeling them go slightly numb.

"Alright, your agility passes too. Now let's see your limits?"

[Octagonal Omnidirectional Spikes]!

It was like a hailstorm. A barrage of ice spikes swept through, leaving no blind spots.

When the ice spikes vanished, an ice sculpture gleamed beneath the sunlight.