Luo Feng's Weapon

Four months had passed since Luo Feng woke up. He had stabilized, and his Battle-qi had long since returned to its peak, most perfect state.

His planned journey to gain experience had been interrupted by his battle with Kenyon. Although that battle had brought Luo Feng to the threshold of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth, and he needed only a few years to fully comprehend it, all he would lack then was further Battle-qi cultivation. When the time came, he would naturally break through and become a Saint Domain expert.

But now, Luo Feng's heart was in turmoil. Since his rebirth, everything had gone smoothly for him: he had been an unparalleled genius in Phillips, fought the Peak of the Ninth Rank magical beast Silver Dragon as an Eighth-level Warrior, successfully comprehended Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy, gone undefeated against opponents of the same rank during three years of challenges in the imperial capital, and even dared to challenge a Saint Domain expert. His path had been so smooth that he had somewhat lost himself.

He had become cold and conceited in the way he treated people and handled things. He had once been arrogant enough to challenge a Saint Domain expert as an Eighth-level Warrior, thinking that even if he couldn't win, he could rely on his speed to avoid defeat. Who would have thought that his opponent had merely gone easy on him out of regard for their friendship despite their age difference? It wasn't that he had truly been capable of hurting him. How laughably arrogant he had been, looking down on everything because he thought his rebirth gave him an advantage.

During the battle with Kenyon, Luo Feng had faced a life-and-death test in the final exchange and crossed the threshold of Drawing Upon Heaven and Earth, but his state of mind was no longer whole. Even if he were given several years or more than a decade, and even if he entered the Saint Domain, the crack in his state of mind would slow his progress. That was something Luo Feng did not want to see.

During this time, Luo Feng hadn't cultivated. He had simply sat quietly by the lake, staring blankly at its tranquil waters, his eyes dim and his whole bearing indescribably dispirited. For more than twenty years, he had never relaxed in the slightest. While others enjoyed themselves and played, he had gritted his teeth and cultivated through hardship. While others enjoyed family affection and love, he had trained alone in the Magical Beast Forest. Had I been wrong?

Cold, proud, even conceited-that was the truest description of who he was now. Was it really because my cultivation kept rising along the way that I became more and more blindly confident and conceited?

Luo Feng's gaze grew unfocused, and a helpless smile tugged at his lips. My cultivation advanced too quickly, and my state of mind couldn't keep up. I let myself become blind.

Luo Feng held his head in both hands and thought it over again and again, but still found no answer. "Ah! Ah! Ah!" In the end, he couldn't help roaring aloud.

Luo Feng struggled to his feet, his hair disheveled and his appearance a mess. He stared sharply at the lake, killing intent spreading around him. There was no trace left of his former carefree, unrestrained bearing.

Just then, a breeze rose, brushing past Luo Feng's face and blowing through the trees. A pleasant, melodious sound gradually reached his ears, and his state of mind calmed a little.

"What's that sound? It sounds a little like a qin, so lilting and melodious," Luo Feng murmured as he heard the breeze pass through the trees. As a classical music talent in university in his previous life, Luo Feng had developed a great interest in music. After being reborn here, however, he had never touched a qin. He had always been busy cultivating, busy figuring out how to improve his strength and create a legend of his own here. He had thought he had almost completely forgotten the qin, yet now that sound was imprinted clearly in his mind.

"The qin," Luo Feng murmured, his gaze unfocused. As a child, he had practiced the qin diligently every day. He had been captivated by the beauty the guqin brought him, and afterward had fallen helplessly in love with it, never stopping for more than ten years. Luo Feng had always been a man of perseverance, and he had achieved quite a bit with the guqin in his previous life. Now, it was the qin that had calmed his heart.

Luo Feng stood in the wind with his arms spread, his face full of enjoyment as he listened to the sounds coming from the woods, unable to pull himself away.

After a long time, Luo Feng opened his eyes. His expression was utterly serene, seemingly impossible to connect with his earlier disheveled, dispirited state. "Haha, I understand! I've realized it! I was too obsessed with pursuing power before, so much so that I lost myself. No, it was all wrong. I shouldn't have had so many shackles," Luo Feng said with a laugh. Since his rebirth, Luo Feng had accumulated far too many shackles, causing his state of mind to lose its way step by step with each increase in strength.

At that moment, Luo Feng understood his mind and saw his true nature, looking straight into his heart and seeing through every illusion. His true heart would no longer be easily clouded.

His heart was like a clear mirror, seeing through every illusion.

Understand the mind and see one's true nature! Look straight into the heart!

Now Luo Feng clearly understood his true heart. He had his own pursuits: he wanted to protect his younger brother, reach the peak of cultivation, and witness his own legendary path. Luo Feng swept away every obstacle in his heart, and his state of mind, once faintly cracked, was now whole and flawless.

"Lost? Dispirited? Helpless? Haha, break apart, all of you! Understand the mind and see my true nature! I am who I am. I am Luo Feng! With my true heart, I'll carve out a path of my own and forge a legend of my own!" Luo Feng roared.

At that moment, Luo Feng let go of all his shackles. His state of mind rose to unprecedented heights, the Battle-qi within him circulated at tremendous speed, and his understanding of his realm deepened greatly.

In an instant, Luo Feng became an afterimage and darted toward the woods. He weaved through the trees, seemingly searching for something, yet unable to say what it was.

"Ha, this is the one! This Iron-Black Snow Wood should be tens of thousands of years old, shouldn't it? In more than twenty years, this is the first time I've felt such an urgent desire," Luo Feng said with a smile. For the first time, he was so eager to make a qin.

As a classical music talent in university in his previous life, Luo Feng knew the guqin like the back of his hand. Before, cultivation had always occupied his thoughts, but now he knew that the sound of the qin could give him an unparalleled advantage in cultivating his state of mind and soul. His old passion had been rekindled-his passion for the guqin.

A guqin was made by gluing together a long, narrow soundboard of paulownia wood, though other softwoods were also used, and a bottom board of catalpa wood, though other hardwoods were also used. Its exterior was coated in Chinese lacquer. The wider end of the qin was its head, beneath which were seven small tuning pegs called zhen. Thirteen small circular markers called hui were inlaid along the outer side of the soundboard, marking the positions of harmonics and stopped notes. Seven strings were attached across the soundboard, arranged from thickest on the outside to thinnest on the inside, and the instrument was laid horizontally on a qin table to be played. Compared with many instruments, the guqin had several distinctive features: its strings had a greater effective vibrating length than those of ordinary instruments, a wide range of vibration, and a deep, full, tranquil, and ancient tone; the soundboard also served as the fingerboard, with no frets or bridges, while the sound holes opened through the bottom board and projected sound downward; and it possessed more than a hundred usable harmonics, more than any other instrument.

Generally speaking, the yueshan, chenglu, guanjiao, longyin, and yintuo were all made from attractive, high-grade hardwoods, such as ebony, red sandalwood, and rosewood. In short, the materials chosen for every part of a qin were exceptionally select. Its manufacturing process was also highly complex. Thus, a good qin was naturally worth a great deal, but none of that was a problem for the current Luo Feng. Most incredible of all, materials more precious than the ebony and red sandalwood of his previous life could be found almost everywhere on the Yulan Continent.