The Tier 3 Starshatter Sword

The skies over Kaiyang City had changed.

The struggle for supremacy between the Lin Family and the Li Family had become the Lin Family's sole dominion.

And the Li Family had become its subordinate lineage.

At first, some people doubted it was true.

But as Lin Family disciples began taking over several Li Family shops across the city, all doubts vanished like smoke.

Kaiyang City truly belonged to the Lins now!

For a time, the city buzzed with talk. Speculation and conspiracy theories were as countless as stars in the sky.

Some said Lin Family Head Lin Hai had broken through to the Profound Martial Realm in one stroke and subdued the Li Family through sheer strength.

Others said a traitor within the Li Family had given the Lin Family a fatal hold over them.

Still others whispered mysteriously that some sect might be secretly backing the Lin Family.

Opinions flew in every direction, but no one knew the truth.

As the snow melted and winter gave way to spring, four months passed in the blink of an eye.

Behind the Lin Residence.

Lin Chen sat on the ground, his eyes lightly closed. A faint golden glow surrounded him. It was not dazzling, but warm and lustrous as jade, brightening and dimming in rhythm with his breathing.

Several months had passed since the Li Family submitted, and the situation in Kaiyang City had settled completely.

The Lin Family had taken control of the city's major markets and shops. The Li Family had stepped back to manage a portion of its businesses, while the younger members of both families had begun exchanging what they knew and sparring with one another.

Lin Chen, meanwhile, had taken Li Yuan's "Golden Bell Shield" and spent the past few months cultivating it.

"Whew..."

Finishing his practice, Lin Chen slowly breathed out a mouthful of stale air.

He raised his right hand. At a thought, a pale golden film emerged beneath his skin and quickly covered his entire arm.

This was the Li Family's upper-tier Spirit-Grade Martial Art, the Golden Bell Shield.

Once cultivated to mastery, this defensive art could form a thick layer of golden light over the body. Blades and spears could not pierce it, water and fire could not harm it, and it was especially suited to close combat.

"The Golden Bell Shield is perfected."

Lin Chen murmured, satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

Only a few months had passed since the Li Family presented him with this secret art, yet he had already cultivated it to perfection.

There were two reasons for his rapid progress.

First, he was already a Profound Martial Realm warrior, so cultivating a Spirit-Grade Martial Art naturally came more easily.

Second was the nature of the Golden Bell Shield. This art did not demand insight or potential. With enough martial resources to temper the body, cultivation would yield twice the results for half the effort.

And Lin Chen had taken enough resources from the Li Family to support his cultivation of the Golden Bell Shield from entry level to perfection.

With both advantages combined, he had perfected it in mere months.

"As I grow stronger, I can obtain more martial resources. Even without experience points for Attribute Allocation, I can still make progress..."

Lin Chen smiled, rose, straightened his clothes, and headed for his father's courtyard.

When he arrived, neither of his parents was there.

After asking a maid, Lin Chen learned that Lin Hai had gone to the Li Family, while his mother, Liu Mubai, was in seclusion.

With the Lin Family ruling Kaiyang City alone, its martial resources had grown considerably. The lineage elders had also shown good judgment, sending plenty of cultivation resources to Lin Chen's parents to help them advance.

The sky was growing dark by the time Lin Hai finally returned.

"Father."

Lin Chen rose to greet him.

Lin Hai nodded, then took a Storage Ring from his robe and handed it over.

Lin Chen accepted it and swept his spiritual sense through it. His brows lifted slightly.

Spirit Stones were piled inside like a mountain. At a glance, Lin Chen estimated there were around fifteen thousand.

There were also dozens of jade boxes, neatly sorted and filled with materials such as Profound Ice Iron, Molten Fire Crystal, and Azurewood Marrow. Every one was a precious material needed to forge a Profound weapon.

Spirit Martial Realm warriors used Spirit-Grade weapons, while Profound Martial Realm warriors wielded Profound weapons.

"Sorry for the trouble, Father."

Lin Chen smiled.

His Life-Bound Divine Artifact was currently only at the peak of tier 2. To raise it to tier 3, it would have to devour other Profound weapons.

But Kaiyang City had never even had a Profound Martial Realm warrior, much less a Profound weapon. Lin Chen could only use his old method: gather materials and refine his Life-Bound Divine Artifact to a higher grade.

So after the Li Family submitted, Lin Chen had drawn up a list and had the two families search together.

Now all the materials had been gathered. The most precious among them was Stardust Sand.

The material was exceedingly rare. It was said to form from fragments that fell from the stars of the nine heavens. None could be found in Kaiyang City; a Lin Family elder had gone out of his way to win it at an auction elsewhere.

Having decided to refine his Life-Bound Divine Artifact into a tier 3 Profound weapon later, Lin Chen changed the subject.

"Did something happen at the Li Family today, Father?"

Lin Hai nodded. "Li Yuan has entered seclusion."

"Oh? He's already at the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm, and he's gone into seclusion?"

Lin Chen's gaze sharpened.

"Yes. He's probably planning to break through to the Profound Martial Realm."

Lin Hai sighed softly. "It seems losing to a single sword strike that day affected him after all."

"What are his chances?"

"If breaking through were that easy, he'd have done it long ago. Why wait until now?"

Lin Hai shook his head. He was not optimistic.

"He's forcing a breakthrough this time. His chance of success is less than five percent. If he fails, he could be gravely wounded—or worse..."

Lin Hai did not finish, but Lin Chen understood.

"He's decisive, at least. He knows the Li Family can rely on us now. Even if his breakthrough fails—or he dies and his path ends—his family will have no worries for the future. That's why he dares to stake everything on this attempt."

Lin Chen had put his finger on the heart of the matter.

As for whether Li Yuan succeeded or failed, Lin Chen did not much care.

Li Yuan was only at the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm while Lin Chen was at the first level of the Profound Martial Realm. That looked like a gap of an entire major realm, but this was actually the closest they would ever be in strength.

After all, Lin Chen had defeated Li Yuan with one sword strike months ago not merely because he possessed True Essence at the Profound Martial Realm level. More importantly, he had imbued his sword with the power of Sword Intent. That was what had secured his victory in one stroke.

Otherwise, having only just broken through to the Profound Martial Realm, without switching cultivation methods or learning a Profound-Grade Martial Art, he could never have won so easily.

The gap between the first level of the Profound Martial Realm and the Tenth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm might be like a chasm, but to defeat an opponent at the latter level, he would still need... at least a few moves.

But from now on... things would be different.

As time passed and his passive cultivation gains grew, Lin Chen would only become stronger faster and faster.

By then, even if Li Yuan did break through, the gulf between them would likely be wider instead. Perhaps Li Yuan would no longer even be worthy of making him draw his sword.

Back in his room, Lin Chen took out the Greenedge Sword and began refining his Life-Bound Divine Artifact in earnest.

Of course, calling it refining was generous. He was simply providing materials for the Life-Bound Divine Artifact to devour and advance on its own.

That was simply how the Life-Bound Divine Artifact worked.

Profound Ice Iron, Azurewood Marrow...

With a wave of Lin Chen's hand, materials of every color covered the floor. Spiritual energy rose from them and wove together into a many-hued mist.

The Stardust Sand resembled stars in the night sky, specks of silver light flowing through it of their own accord. It looked wondrous.

"Go!"

At Lin Chen's thought, the Greenedge Sword gave a clear, lingering hum. Its tip pointed downward, and an invisible suction burst from it.

The many-hued mist rising from dozens of spiritual materials streamed into the blade. Light coursed across it as its quality rapidly climbed and it began transforming into a Profound weapon.

After roughly a dozen minutes, the colorful mist thinned, but the sword's glow grew ever brighter.

At its edge, a chilling point of light gradually condensed—a manifestation of pure destructive power.

Finally, the Stardust Sand floated into the air and merged with the Greenedge Sword. Starlight immediately enveloped the blade.

When the light faded, a snow-white sword hovered silently in midair. A faint silver radiance seemed to ripple across its length, giving it a sacred, extraordinary air.

A Profound weapon: the tier 3 Starshatter Sword!

Lin Chen held out his hand.

As though it possessed a spirit, the sword gave a joyful chime and flew into his palm.

It felt slightly heavy in his grasp. A sense of connection, as natural as moving his own arm and fingers, welled up within him.

Stranger still, when his True Essence flowed through the blade, it seemed to move much faster and take on a trace of the stars' distinctive chill and sharpness.

At a mere thought, without him even deliberately activating it, a dense layer of pale silver starlight appeared over the blade.

"What a sword!"

Lin Chen's eyes shone as he exclaimed in admiration.

Only a Profound weapon could withstand repeated bursts of True Essence!

A keen light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

"My Life-Bound Divine Artifact is ready. Everything is in place. It's time to set out."

Several days later, Lin Chen bade his father farewell, left Kaiyang City, and headed for Yunlan City.