Thunderclap Sword

"Set aside the matter of the Dao Child for now?"

"Yes, Xiao Lin." Zheng Huayuan scratched his head awkwardly, looking rather embarrassed.

"I was too confident just now and failed to consider everything carefully.

"Revealing the Dao Child's identity still carries risks. It would not be a good thing for you right now, Xiao Lin."

Zheng Huayuan explained to Dong Lin.

"This disciple understands."

"Mhm. But the Sect Master promised you the reward of choosing any one item from the Cavern Repository. Come with me and take a look."

Dong Lin followed Elder Zheng to the Cavern Repository. Looking up at the ten enormous gates, each dozens of meters tall, he hesitated for a moment.

"I don't really lack anything right now."

Dong Lin found himself in a difficult spot. His days had been too comfortable; when something could be obtained for free, he did not even know how to take it.

Watching Dong Lin seemingly come down with a full-blown case of choice paralysis, Zheng Huayuan said with a smile:

"You want everything, so you can't choose?

"Opportunities like this will surely come again for you, Xiao Lin. From what I can see, you seem to be lacking a weapon that suits your hand.

"Why not go inside and choose an immortal sword to your liking?"

Elder Zheng's words awakened Dong Lin at once. He truly did lack a weapon.

Lightning Arts were simply too useful, to the point that Dong Lin had subconsciously assumed he lacked no means of attack.

He had been wavering only between defensive equipment and things that assisted cultivation.

"An immortal sword is the standard equipment of an immortal cultivator!"

Regardless of one's swordsmanship, a fine offensive artifact undoubtedly improved one's combat strength.

Besides, flying on a sword was the norm among many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

Once he completed Foundation Establishment, a fine immortal sword would be perfect to refine into his natal treasure.

"Then I'll listen to Master and choose an immortal sword."

Holding the Sect Master's token, Zheng Huayuan led Dong Lin through the golden gate that housed the immortal artifacts.

This gate was not a physical object. Like Dong Lin's Spirit Chamber from before, it had been constructed from spiritual power.

When someone wished to enter, it could turn intangible and allow passage.

Dong Lin looked over the artifacts one by one. They were dazzlingly numerous, their mysterious radiance soaring skyward, and his eyes nearly blurred from the sight.

More than ten thousand artifacts were arranged in a certain order beyond the gate. It seemed that even higher-grade artifacts lay farther behind.

They were separated off by additional protective measures.

To pick up a bargain in the sect treasury like the protagonists in those tales—

For example, discovering that an unassuming ancient artifact was actually a damaged sacred artifact from antiquity—

That was almost impossible within Heaven Sect.

Dong Lin felt that every single dharma sword suited him.

Helpless, he looked toward his master.

"Hahaha, Xiao Lin, your eyes have gone dizzy from looking, haven't they? There are indeed too many, making them hard to choose from.

"I'll help you pick out a few that suit you."

With that, Zheng Huayuan strode into the area where the dharma swords were displayed and looked around.

Before long, he picked up a sword and tossed it to Dong Lin.

Dong Lin hurriedly caught the flying dharma sword.

"This Thunder Spirit Sword is High Black Tier. Take a look first."

As he spoke, Zheng Huayuan began searching through the pile of swords again.

"This Dragon Mystic Sword is good too. The artifact refiners in the sect can already produce small batches of identical dharma swords."

"You can't handle an Earth Grade one. How about trying this Half-Earth Grade Thunderclap Sword? It might be a bit of a stretch, but give it a try first, Xiao Lin."

Dong Lin's eyes lit up. "Let's take this one, Master."

The immortal sword's blade was dark silver, and five Thunder Marks ran along its spine. Faint lightning glimmered across them, making it greatly to Dong Lin's liking.

"If you want to wield a Half-Earth Grade artifact with flexibility, you will need to wait until at least after Foundation Establishment.

"These five Thunder Marks can each be infused with one Lightning Art. When activated in battle, they can catch the enemy off guard."

"Five Lightning Arts?" Dong Lin immediately had some ideas of his own.

"Once you reach Foundation Establishment, the Thunder Pool at the entrance can help you refine lightning-attributed artifacts more effectively.

"We'll discuss that in detail when the time comes."

After returning to the Thunder Division with Elder Zheng, Dong Lin hurried back to Thunderwave Hall.

He could not wait to pull the Thunderclap Sword from its sword case.

Runes were generally used more often in formations and artifact refinement, and Dong Lin knew very little about them.

Unlike talismans, which were single-use, runes engraved upon artifacts could generally be used repeatedly, so long as they were properly maintained.

Dong Lin slowly controlled a ball of lightning and sent it into one of the Thunder Marks.

The Thunder Mark immediately flickered between light and dark, while lightning flashed across the entire blade.

"Heavenly Stellar Earth-Thunder really works!"

Dong Lin's breathing quickened. If five Thunder Marks could hold five different Heavenly Stellar Lightning Arts—

And all five were activated together in battle, merging the five lightning bolts into one, what kind of sight would that be?

Dong Lin had already gained some understanding of the might of five bolts of lightning striking down together during cultivation.

Heaven, Earth, Water, and Divine Society—when five types of lightning mixed, they could undergo an utterly terrifying transformation.

Dong Lin's current knowledge of the immortal path was still insufficient to describe that power.

He only vaguely felt that such lightning was the ultimate destination of the Great Dao of Lightning.

And once Dong Lin gained initial mastery of all five Lightning Arts, he would be able to reveal the first glimmer of that power.

Nothing was certain yet. This was merely Dong Lin's own deduction.

Filling all five Thunder Marks took Dong Lin almost an entire day.

Heavenly Stellar Earth-Thunder seemed especially effective against spirits and ghosts.

However, Dong Lin had yet to encounter such mysterious and unfathomable things as ghosts.

Mountain and wilderness spirits, on the other hand, were everywhere.

"When I have time, I'll test the power of Earth Thunder."

Heavenly Stellar Earth-Thunder might not possess the immense focused destructive power of Mystic Spirit Heavenly-Thunder.

But it had flexibility comparable to Yellow Spirit Earth-Thunder, while its destructive effect far surpassed Yellow Spirit Earth-Thunder.

Ever since comprehending Heavenly Stellar Earth-Thunder, Dong Lin had no longer used the perfected Yellow Spirit Earth-Thunder.

Early the next morning, Dong Lin went to the Scripture Repository.

The Cavern Repository also had a place where cultivation arts could be exchanged. Dong Lin had not carefully studied whether the two differed in category.

However, unlike the Cavern Repository, even the books and low-tier cultivation arts here in the Scripture Repository could be borrowed and read for free by disciples.

At the Cavern Repository, contribution points were required for exchange.

The Scripture Repository was a nine-story tower, with every floor at least ten meters high.

On each of the first three floors stood several hundred sandalwood bookshelves.

They held vast quantities of biographies, historical records, classic tales, and, most importantly, immortal cultivation arts.

The first floor of the Scripture Repository mostly contained books for the Qi Refining Stage. Even on the second floor, there were only some Black Tier cultivation arts for the Foundation Establishment Realm, while most were Yellow Tier foundational immortal arts.

The third floor was the main collection area for Black Tier cultivation arts.

As for the fourth floor, it seemed that direct disciples could now apply to enter, but it presumably contained Earth Grade cultivation arts.

Even if they were shown to Dong Lin, he might not necessarily understand them yet.

Dong Lin went to the movement-art section on the second floor.

Black Tier cultivation arts were quite difficult for Dong Lin.

Dong Lin did not aim too high while his hands were low. He planned to begin with Yellow Tier movement arts.

Unlike Lightning Arts, where he possessed such talent, Dong Lin had no confidence in being able to cultivate movement arts across tiers.

Movement arts differed from primary cultivation arts, which could be cultivated from Qi Refining all the way to the peak.

Apart from those movement-art supreme techniques with exceedingly ancient inheritances, which could be divided into stages and began with foundational cultivation from the Qi Refining Stage—

Ordinary movement-art cultivation arts were instead divided according to the cultivator's realm.

Cultivators of whatever realm cultivated movement arts of the corresponding tier. Only monstrous geniuses might be able to cultivate across tiers.

Even then, they generally required guidance from experience, because the principles of higher realms ran through them.

With cultivation a full stage lower, it was difficult to comprehend the mysteries within.