Strengthening the Bound Divine Artifact

Months passed, and in the blink of an eye, midsummer arrived.

The blazing sun hung overhead, bathing the earth in fierce light and heat. Everything flourished beneath it.

In the small courtyard, Lin Chen rubbed his hands together, his eyes full of anticipation.

[Idle map: Fierce Wolf Mountain]

[Idle rewards: 40 experience points, 9 spirit stones, one ordinary spirit herb. End idle session?]

[Yes!]

[You obtained 40 experience points, 9 spirit stones, and one ten-year-old Tiger-Patterned Grass.]

Lin Chen closed his right hand, and a dark green spirit herb appeared in his palm. Gray-yellow veins crisscrossed its leaves like tiger stripes, and it gave off a faintly wild aura.

"A ten-year-old spirit herb?"

"I didn't expect a spirit herb to drop on top of the usual experience and spirit stones. This should be the main ingredient for a Tiger Strength Pill. It can increase a martial artist's strength by fifty pounds."

After examining it for a while, Lin Chen carefully put away the Tiger-Patterned Grass. Later, he would ask the family's alchemist to refine it into a Tiger Strength Pill and gain another fifty pounds of strength.

"Whew. The Tiger Strength Pill was a bonus. Time to get down to business."

Lin Chen steadied his mind, and his gaze sharpened.

"System, show me everything you've got."

"Add points!"

With a thought, Lin Chen spent all 40 experience points in an instant.

The next moment, a gentle warmth surged into his body without warning, drawing a soft groan from him.

At the same time, countless flashes of insight burst through his mind. His understanding of the Eight Extremes Fist soared, and everything that had once baffled him suddenly became clear.

Lin Chen understood.

"So that's how it works..."

"This is the true essence of the Eight Extremes Fist!"

Lin Chen instinctively lowered into a horse stance and assumed the opening posture of the Eight Extremes Fist. His fists followed his thoughts as he began running through the forms.

As his fists drove forward, the warmth that had appeared from nowhere stopped coursing aimlessly through him. Instead, it seeped into his tensed muscles and vibrating bones, even flowing with his blood into the finest details of every exertion.

This was the brilliance of the Eight Extremes Fist:

As a superior martial art, it did not train skin, flesh, and bone step by step like those third-rate techniques. It treated the body as a whole, tempering every part at once and transforming it completely.

At last, as Lin Chen finished a full sequence of the Eight Extremes Fist, a rapid series of cracks sounded from his body.

The sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm—achieved!

"Whew..."

Lin Chen let out a long breath and clenched his fist.

He could feel that he had grown much stronger.

"The feeling of getting stronger never gets old."

"Every breakthrough used to take ages of training, followed by a careful push past the bottleneck. Now it just happens, smooth as can be."

Murmuring to himself, Lin Chen looked at his character panel. A broad smile spread across his face.

At that moment, he truly understood a certain saying and agreed with it wholeheartedly: The path to salvation lies within.

"My path to becoming strong lies within!"

Lin Chen spoke softly, his gaze growing firmer.

After taking a moment to feel out the changes in his body, Lin Chen checked his experience bar. Reaching the seventh level of the Body Tempering Realm now required 50 experience points.

His idle earnings, meanwhile, had risen to 10–12 points a month.

"Fifty experience points for the next breakthrough?"

The further one advanced in martial arts, the more dramatic the gains from each breakthrough. Naturally, each level would demand more experience than the last.

After a moment's thought, he closed his right hand, and an iron sword appeared in his grip.

The sword was utterly ordinary, forged from common iron. It looked no different from the standard weapons used by his family's guards.

But the moment Lin Chen held it, it felt as responsive as his own arm, as though it were part of his body.

"No wonder it's my bound divine artifact. Even as a low-grade iron sword, it fits me perfectly."

Lin Chen gave an appreciative nod and turned his palm over again. Seven or eight weapons and pieces of armor clattered to the ground.

He had collected this equipment over the past few months so his bound divine artifact could devour it and grow.

[Rank 1 ordinary spear detected. Devour it?]

[Rank 1 fine armor detected. Devour it?]

[Rank 1 superior bracers detected. Devour them?]

A string of prompts appeared. Lin Chen chose yes to every one.

The iron sword gave a faint tremor, releasing a pull.

In the next instant, wisps of light rose from the weapons and armor. Like rosy clouds drawn from morning mist, they streamed into the iron sword.

The spear's steel shaft quickly dulled and cracked. The sturdy armor became useless scrap, while the metal patterns on the bracers crumbled away as though worn down by centuries...

In little more than a dozen breaths, the fine weapons and armor were gone. Only a pile of worthless scrap metal remained.

The iron sword, meanwhile, had absorbed their essence. Its quality rose rapidly, and its appearance changed beyond recognition.

The once-plain blade now reflected a dark gleam like mysterious iron. A cold light gathered along its edge, hinting at a sharpness that made his skin prickle.

Lin Chen flicked the blade with a finger.

Clang—

Its clear ring lingered in the air.

[Bound Divine Artifact]: Iron Sword (Rank 1, top grade)

"So it really can keep growing by devouring other weapons..." Lin Chen gave his wrist a light twist. The sword traced an arc of light through the air with a faint, razor-sharp whistle.

"With a divine artifact this sharp, I should be able to fight above my level and defeat a martial artist at the seventh level of the Body Tempering Realm."

Lin Chen murmured to himself.

More importantly, the higher his bound divine artifact's rank, the more often it could land critical hits and greatly improve his idle farming efficiency.

That was what mattered!

Gripping the iron sword, Lin Chen entered the idle map again.

[Map: Fierce Wolf Mountain]

[Recommended level: 1–10]

[Idle rewards: 17–19 experience points per month. Very small chance of spirit stones, spirit herbs, equipment...]

Looking at the idle rewards, Lin Chen couldn't help grinning.

After breaking through to the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm, he had been earning only 10–12 experience points a month.

Now he would earn 17–19. His idle farming efficiency had increased by at least half.

That was a huge leap forward!

"It would've taken five months to reach the seventh level of the Body Tempering Realm. Now... three months should do it."

"Maybe I can enter the Spirit Martial Realm before I turn twenty."

Lin Chen calculated silently.

As far as he knew, martial cultivation in the Great Qian Dynasty was divided into five major realms.

They were the Body Tempering Realm, Spirit Martial Realm, Profound Martial Realm, Earth Martial Realm, and Heavenly Martial Realm.

Regardless of talent, every martial artist had to wait until their bones had fully developed at fourteen before they could formally begin training.

"In Kaiyang City, anyone who reaches the tenth level of the Body Tempering Realm before twenty is considered outstanding. Anyone who enters the Spirit Martial Realm before twenty is recognized as a genius."

"At my current idle farming rate, I should reach the tenth level of Body Tempering within two years. With the family's resources to help me then, I'll have a good shot at the Spirit Martial Realm."

Lin Chen stroked his chin, pretending to ponder.

"Could it be... I'm actually a genius?"