"As patriarch of the Lu Household, I need to remain with the lineage for long stretches to guard against scoundrels attacking. I actually don't go out very often."
"Your Grandpa Changgeng and Grandpa Xuanming have definitely killed more people than I have. I'd estimate at least several hundred each."
At this point, Lu Changfeng could not help sighing with emotion.
"Your Grandpa Changgeng and Grandpa Xuanming deserve a great deal of credit for the prosperity the Lu Household enjoys today."
"It was all thanks to them fighting outside to seize resources for the lineage."
"We old fellows have limited potential. The Lu Household's future will still depend on you, little Chenxing."
That was the truth.
Regardless of the faction.
Resources were always preferentially allocated to prodigious disciples.
Investment and returns had to be proportional; otherwise, wouldn't resources simply be wasted?
Hearing this, Lu Chenxing instantly felt a heavy burden settle onto his little shoulders, but he was willing to bear it.
The Lu Household had treated him well.
Without the wholehearted assistance of these old gentlemen of the Lu Household.
He would probably still be going "waa, waa, waa" in his mother's arms.
Although his rise was only a matter of time with the system, it would inevitably have been delayed by several years, or even a decade or more.
Whether something unexpected might happen in the meantime remained unknown.
Thus, Lu Chenxing was deeply grateful to the Lu Household and these lovable old gentlemen.
As the saying went, a kindness of a single drop should be repaid with a gushing spring.
He was a kindhearted person to begin with.
When he rose in the future, he certainly would not forget the kindness the Lu Household had shown in nurturing him today.
The Lu Household, Heavenly Traversal Peak.
Returning here, Lu Chenxing felt a sense of peace well up within him, the feeling of returning to a familiar home.
He had been away for six or seven days.
And had taken so long to return.
Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming had also been worried back at the lineage.
When they saw Lu Chenxing, their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, could finally settle.
Both came forward to ask about his trip.
As they listened to Lu Chenxing boast about his killing spree in the Sky-Surpassing Mountain Range.
They were so amused that they kept chuckling.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone dispersed to attend to their own cultivation.
Lu Chenxing likewise continued his unique "cultivation."
Over in Great Xia on Blue Star.
Among the relatives summoned by the higher-ups, they were fortunate enough to find three people with high-grade spirit roots, as well as over a dozen with middle- or low-grade spirit roots.
This proportion was already very high.
Thus, the second batch to begin immortal cultivation consisted of sixteen people.
Their total resource quota was fifty thousand spirit stones.
As for Lu Chenyu, after discussing it, everyone decided to allocate more resources to him and nurture him into a leading figure on the same level as Zhang Weiguo.
As for wasting resources.
They would not be.
Simply being Lu Chenxing's younger brother qualified him for this.
Great Xia had always kept one possibility in mind.
That one day, Lu Chenxing would return from the cultivation world.
Thus, treating his family a little better would also earn them more of his goodwill in the future.
Of those who could stand at Great Xia's summit, which was not an old fox seasoned by age? They would not oppose the protagonist as though tired of living, like certain fools.
Lu Chenyu had likewise been utterly shocked upon learning that his older brother was not dead.
He had even been so excited that tears streamed down his face.
As for immortal cultivation.
He was looking forward to it too.
Moreover, Lu Chenyu had a fierce determination pent up inside him.
He wanted to grow stronger, strong enough to cross between the two worlds, go to that cultivation world to find his older brother, and bring him back so their parents could see him again.
With a conviction in one's heart, boundless potential would erupt.
Among the same batch of cultivators, Lu Chenyu progressed especially quickly.
His lead gradually grew from a small margin at first to a large one.
This also greatly satisfied Great Xia's higher-ups.
The resources were going to a prodigy rather than a mediocrity, so they were not being wasted.
Time hurried by.
Another month passed.
Research into pills and spirit talismans had made considerable progress, but neither had been fully cracked, and there were still no finished products.
This left Great Xia very dejected.
They had spent nearly half a year researching with the strength of the entire nation.
Fortunately, artifact refining had not only remained steady but had even exceeded expectations.
Law artifact production had been optimized and improved while maintaining the original quality.
Their internal structures were more stable and could withstand more spiritual power.
This also meant more spiritual power could be infused into them, allowing them to unleash greater might.
One could only say that Great Xia truly lived up to its name as an industrial superpower.
Its talent in this area not only reigned supreme across Blue Star-even the cultivation world's top artifact refiners would have to bow in acknowledgment of their superiority.
Top artifact refiners merely refined artifacts according to their predecessors' guidance and experience, supplemented by the elusive insights they gained during their usual refining.
They would not delve too deeply into the roots of things.
Besides, people were not machines.
They could not execute every step with flawless precision.
But Great Xia.
Could do it!
Thus, the output of the new batch of law artifacts remained unchanged, limited by the quantity of materials.
Their quality, however, far surpassed the samples provided by the Lu Household.
After receiving them, Lu Chenxing handed them all to Lu Changgeng without examining them closely. It was Lu Changgeng who noticed something amiss while putting the law artifacts away.
"Hm? Wait, something's off about these law artifacts."
Something was off?
Lu Chenxing, Lu Changfeng, and Lu Xuanming were all together.
The law artifacts were a matter of great importance.
Thus, whenever he received them, Lu Chenxing would summon the three old gentlemen.
The three looked over curiously.
They saw Lu Changgeng mobilize the spiritual power within his body and infuse it into the flying sword in his hand, sensing it carefully.
"The amount of spiritual power it can hold has increased by roughly a third. That means this flying sword's might is a third greater than that of the original high-grade law artifact. You could call it the finest of the fine among high-grade law artifacts!"
As he spoke, Lu Changgeng put away this high-grade law artifact flying sword and picked up a supreme-grade law artifact flying sword.
"This supreme-grade law artifact flying sword is the same. The might of its spiritual power is a third greater than that of the sample we provided."
Lu Changfeng and Lu Xuanming also stepped forward, each taking a law artifact and infusing spiritual power into it to sense it carefully.
They discovered the same issue.
Every single law artifact in this batch was a cut above the previous ones in quality.
No more and no less-a third each.
It looked as though they had come from the same person's hands.
That person's artifact refining was remarkably consistent, actually achieving the same degree of improvement with every law artifact.
But so many law artifacts.
Refined by a single artifact refiner within one month.
Wasn't that refining speed a little too inconceivably fast?
Lu Changfeng and the other two did not pursue the thought any further. There was little point.
Seeing this, Lu Chenxing also had a guess.
Great Xia must have gained a deeper understanding of artifact refining, allowing them to produce finer, higher-quality law artifacts.
At this moment, Lu Chenxing was considering a question.
Great Xia's research into the art of artifact refining should also count as cultivation.
Then why had he not received any related feedback?
Or was it because he had not practiced artifact refining himself?
That was a question.
He would need to test it next.
If Great Xia's artifact-refining experience could also be fed back to him, he could become a top artifact refiner just by lying down.
And not just artifact refining-once the other auxiliary paths were cracked.
He would automatically become a top master in those fields as well.
If that truly was the case, sooner or later, Lu Chenxing would become an all-round immortal cultivator.
Although his strength alone certainly could not come close to matching the power of Great Xia's production lines.
Refining artifacts, making pills, and drawing talismans when he had nothing to do would still be better than doing nothing.
He had to find something to do.
He could grow stronger just by lying down.
But he could not really just lie flat, could he?
Even as a baby, he ought to have some fighting spirit!
"This batch of law artifacts can fetch higher prices!" Lu Changfeng's eyes lit up.
Lu Changgeng followed up.
"Patriarch, if we frequently sell so many law artifacts at the same market, I'm worried we'll attract the attention of people with ill intentions."
Bandit cultivators were rampant in the cultivation world.
Many people presented themselves as followers of the righteous path.
But no one really knew what they were like behind the scenes.
Lu Changgeng's concerns were not unfounded.
He had visited the market at Mist Spirit Mountain several times, and each visit had involved transactions of enormous sums.
There was no guarantee he would not be targeted.
"Then we'll go to another market this time. Travel a little farther-go to Spirit Spring Market."