In Great Cang, weapons and Treasured Artifacts were divided into six major ranks, from lowest to highest: Yellow Rank, Black Rank, Earth Rank, Heaven Rank, Saint Rank, and Divine Rank.
Each major rank was further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.
Divine-rank weapons had vanished without a trace thousands of years ago.
Now, Saint Rank was universally acknowledged as the strongest.
Chen Mu knew Jiang Tian possessed peerless talent in Artifact Refining.
But he had never imagined that, at just fourteen, Jiang Tian could already forge Saint Rank weapons that billions could only dream of encountering.
On second thought, though, perhaps it was nothing to be surprised about.
At thirteen, Jiang Tian had already been able to forge Heaven Rank weapons and Treasured Artifacts with ease.
Was breaking through to Saint Rank in a single year really that difficult?
If he maintained this pace, Chen Mu had every reason to believe that Divine Rank Weapon, lost for millennia, might appear in the world again!
"Amazing! As expected of our Tianyuan Holy Land's number-one Artifact Refining master!" Chen Mu gave him a thumbs-up and praised him.
What else could he do?
The words "Praise me, hurry up and praise me" were written clearly across Jiang Tian's face and in his eyes.
Chen Mu simply couldn't ignore them.
More importantly, with a younger cousin who admired him this much, Chen Mu had no reason not to get along with him.
That way, he could enjoy an even more leisurely, carefree life.
"Hehehe! You're too kind, cousin." Despite his words, the corners of Jiang Tian's mouth were practically climbing into the sky.
"..." Beside them, Ye Qingcheng appeared calm and expressionless.
Inside, however, towering waves had already erupted.
To her astonishment, the rumors were true. Tianyuan Holy Land really did have an Artifact Refining prodigy with limitless prospects, the greatest in ten million years, without equal!
Forging a Saint Rank weapon at fourteen was even more outrageous than the rumors!
What surprised Ye Qingcheng even more was that such a figure behaved like an obedient little fanboy in front of Chen Mu.
A casual word of praise from Chen Mu made his smile bloom like a flower, the corners of his lips twitching as he struggled to contain his wild joy.
Was this really something a cultivator with a low yellow-grade spiritual root could accomplish?
The young master must have a powerful side I've never seen!
"So, what weapon did you actually forge?" Chen Mu asked casually.
He wanted to get this little routine over with quickly and send Jiang Tian back where he came from, so he could stop interrupting his sunbathing.
Jiang Tian stopped talking and keeping him in suspense. His right hand swept over the Spatial Ring on his left.
A flash of light appeared.
Thud!
A heavy sword casket slammed onto the ground.
"This is called the God-Slaying Sword Casket, meaning even gods can fall beneath its swords. It contains twelve Saint Rank weapons, all controllable with mental power."
God-Slaying Sword Casket... Godslayer Sword...
Although it was a coincidence.
That didn't stop Chen Mu from feeling that Jiang Tian was targeting the system.
And, as luck would have it, his system's ability to withstand emotional blows was pathetically weak.
Calling it the God-Slaying Sword Casket was bad enough, but you even have twelve Saint Rank weapons!
Where is the system supposed to put its face now?
System: [...]
Twelve Saint Rank weapons?!
"..." Ye Qingcheng's expression shifted slightly. She could barely keep her composure anymore.
"Cousin, this God-Slaying Sword Casket is yours."
Hearing Jiang Tian's words, Chen Mu reminded him, "If you turn it over to the Lineage, you'll earn plenty of Honor Points and praise from the elders. Give it to me, and you won't get anything."
"I don't lack things like Honor Points. The elders? How could they be more important than you, cousin?" Jiang Tian declared without the slightest hesitation.
"All right, cousin! The fire in my forging furnace is still burning, so I'll head back first. Once I've forged a new protective Treasured Artifact, I'll bring it over."
Before Chen Mu could speak, Jiang Tian waved and ran off.
"Hey!"
Looking at the God-Slaying Sword Casket before him, Chen Mu had actually wanted to tell Jiang Tian.
Even if you give this to me, I can't use it with my Low-Grade Yellow Rank talent...
Where would I get the spiritual energy?
But Jiang Tian had run off so quickly that Chen Mu hadn't had a chance to speak.
System: [Special emphasis!!! The host may freely use all Treasured Artifacts and items rewarded by this system, regardless of rank differences or spiritual energy costs!!!]
As he read the system notification that popped up before him, Chen Mu's preconceived understanding of the system was completely shattered.
Why does it feel exactly like a little wife who's been wronged?
Then he noticed Ye Qingcheng staring longingly at the God-Slaying Sword Casket.
An idea came to Chen Mu. "If you want it, that's not out of the question. Perform well from now on, and perhaps I'll reward you with it when I'm in a good mood."
He would dangle a grand promise in front of her first.
As someone who had been reborn, Chen Mu had seen more than his share of techniques for dangling grand promises.
He was putting what he'd learned straight into practice.
He rolled over. His front had gotten enough sun.
Then he hinted, "Hiss, my lower back seems a little sore."
"Young master, if you don't mind, shall I massage it for you?" Ye Qingcheng stepped forward.
"Sure." Chen Mu agreed immediately.
Courtesy?
What even was courtesy?
Right now, he just wanted someone to give him a massage.
"Yes, yes, yes! Right there!"
"As expected of the Sky Sword Sect's genius. Even your talent in this is incredible."
"Oh! That feels good!"
Ye Qingcheng's finger technique surpassed Chen Mu's expectations.
In his previous life, even setting her looks aside, those skills alone would have made her the top attraction! Her appointments would have been fully booked!
Most importantly, as she massaged him, she also used spiritual energy to relax his meridians and improve their flow.
The comfort doubled! Multiplied several times over!
If anyone from the Sky Sword Sect had seen this scene, their jaws would surely have dropped.
The aloof beauty they remembered, who should have stood high above everyone, admired only from afar, their sect's greatest female prodigy in a century, was now kneeling beside a man, massaging his shoulders and kneading his back with painstaking care...
Were they sure this wasn't a joke?
Chen Mu didn't care what they thought.
His own enjoyment was what mattered.
He had thought he was starting in hell. Instead, awakening a worthless talent had made his life smooth sailing.
No ability to protect himself? His Quasi-Emperor father had simply dragged a sect's holy maiden over to serve as his bodyguard.
His younger cousin had even delivered Saint Rank weapons just in time. Even if he didn't use them, merely bringing them out would be enough to frighten and intimidate a whole crowd!
And he had also bound himself to a... fragile-hearted system.
Its fragile heart wasn't like an ordinary fragile heart, either.
The more fragile it was, the more he benefited.
Only two words remained in his mind: All set!
This life was giving him more and more to look forward to!
"Young master, am I pressing too hard? I'm not hurting you, am I?" Ye Qingcheng's cool yet gentle whisper reached his ears.
"No, it's wonderful. Keep going," Chen Mu said lazily.
Knock, knock, knock!
His eyelids grew heavy, and he had just begun to feel drowsy when, unexpectedly, another knock sounded at the door.
"Is this ever going to end? Has my Qingyun Prefecture become a tourist attraction?" Chen Mu said helplessly.
A visitor was a guest, after all. He couldn't simply refuse to let them in.
Ye Qingcheng rose to greet the visitor.
The door creaked.
When she opened the courtyard gate and saw who had arrived, Ye Qingcheng's beautiful eyes widened, filled with shock and surprise.
Great Cang's top Talisman Refiner, Li Xuanyuan!
She couldn't understand why the venerable old man would appear here.
Was he here to see... the young master?
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