Chapter 179: The First Treasure Distribution
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
He flicked his finger, and three balls of light appeared in the sky.
Even Yue Hongyan shared the three disciples' curiosity as they examined the three balls of light.
In one of the balls floated a tiny black flag that was about as big as a palm. The banner and the pole of the flag were completely black. Its entire body spun as it appeared abnormally active.
As the flag flew in the tiny space, the void around it rippled like water in a pond after a rock had been thrown into it.
In the second ball of light, a sword without its scabbard brimming with a malicious killing intent as well as unholiness floated. With a swish of the sword, one could feel its murderous intent. It was truly startling.
Looking at the sword was like looking at a mountainous pile of corpses and a river full of blood. It was indeed uncomfortable.
In the last ball of light was a golden plate. Platinum-colored light shone from it, and every single ray of light appeared exceptionally sharp as if it could cut open space itself.
Lin Feng pointed at the black flag and said smilingly, "All of you recognize it, yes?"
Xiao Budian smiled as he replied, "Of course, this is the Black Wind Flag."
Lin Feng nodded and then introduced the other two items. "This sword is known as the Dragon Slaying Sabre. It possessed an immensely strong killing intent, and based solely on its offensive properties few Aurous Core stage items could match it."
Zhu Yi looked at the Dragon Slaying Sabre, arched his eyebrows and said, "What a ferocious sabre!"
Xiao Yan, however, looked at the golden plate and asked, "Why do I feel such a strong pressure when I face this item?"
Lin Feng smiled and replied, "This golden plate is called the Tiger Soul Golden Plate. Strictly speaking, it could not be termed a magic item, but only a cage."
Xiao Budian inquired, "A cage?"
"Yup. This golden plate was forged after I had killed the Gengjin Tiger King and obtained the essence of his Demon Soul. From his Demon Soul essence, I forged a tiger soul that possessed the power of an Aurous Core cultivator but without any sense of self-awareness."
Lin Feng then explained, "Whoever among you that obtains the Tiger Soul Golden Plate can release the tiger soul trapped within it during a battle. It will be a good assistant, and as long as you have the plate you can control it."
"While the three items all belong to the Aurous Core stage, they can be said to the first amongst equals."
"For more powerful magic items, none of you can control them and hence, unusable." Before Lin Feng appeared a flash of green light, and then a green bronze crucible appeared. The amount of mana and power within it was indeed startling.
The Green Bronze Ding of Emptiness' appearance made the Black Wind Flag, the Dragon Slaying Sabre and the Tiger Soul Golden Plate appeared insignificant.
Lin Feng smiled, "Among the three of you, whoever first forms his aurous core shall get the Green Bronze Ding of Emptiness."
Xiao Yan and the rest became excited upon hearing the news. They exchanged a look, which was filled with a competitive spirit.
Lin Feng lightly tapped the light ball with his finger, and the Black Wind Flag floated before Xiao Yan.
"Xiao Yan, regardless of your Nefarious Almighty Sword or the Crash of the Eight Trigrams that you have taught yourself, you possessed more than enough offensive power. In fact, the Nefarious Almighty Sword is beyond your ability to control."
Lin Feng then said, "Under these conditions, what you need is agility and speed. Hence, I bestow upon you the Black Wind Flag, and I hope that you would come up with good uses for it."
Xiao Yan nodded his head vigorously. He understood Lin Feng's intent in distributing the goods. He was fully aware of his own abilities and limitations. The Crash of the Eight Trigrams could be used for both defensive and offensive purposes, whereas his trump card the Nefarious Almighty Sword had no downsides when it came to either offence or defence.
Whereas he did need to improve on his agility, if not he would be easily outclassed by nimbler opponents.
The Black Wind Flag could move between spaces in a matter of seconds, and that was what he sorely needed. Furthermore, it had uses beyond just combat and hence could be said to be extremely useful.
Lin Feng gave the Black Wind Flag to Lin Feng, and then he handed the Dragon Slaying Sabre to Zhu Yi. "Zhu Yi, this sabre belongs to you now."
Respectfully, Zhu Yi took the sword from Lin Feng as he thought in his heart, "Does master think that my Way of the Facile Blade, while volatile in battle, lack destructive powers?"
While he knew that amongst the three items, the Dragon Slaying Sabre was the most ideal for him, but doubts nagged his heart. "This sabre is way too offensive. If I did not use it properly, then it would appear less suited for a king and more for a butcher."
Lin Feng understood Zhu Yi's thoughts completely, and he said, "Do you think that this sabre has too much killing intent and is hence, unsuited for you?"
Zhu Yi was silent for a while, before nodding his head. "Master is indeed wise. The sabre does not correspond with my notion of swordsmanship. There is even a chance that this sword may turn around and kill me."
"How could I not know your swordsmanship and your personality?" Lin Feng replied quietly. "It was exactly because of those reasons that compelled me to give you this sabre."
Zhu Yi was startled. Lin Feng would definitely not con him intentionally, and hence he must have his reasons for this arrangement.
Lin Feng looked him deep in his eyes, and said, "Among my disciples, you have the steadiest mind while you too possess the strongest self-control. Hence, you are most suited for this sword. At the same time, this is a challenge to you too."
On one hand, he hoped that Zhu Yi could control this sword and not let its power corrupt him and turn Zhu Yi into a butcher.
At the same time, he hoped to use the Dragon Slaying Sabre to test Zhu Yi and improve his willpower. He hoped that Zhu Yi would become more resilient and calm and collected.
With the threat of the Dragon Slaying Sabre, Zhu Yi would be compelled to train harder.
The higher one's mastery was, the more likely one could control the Dragon Slaying Sabre. Should Lin Feng use the Dragon Slaying Sabre, it would obey his commands like all other weapons.
Zhu Yi's breathing slowly normalized as his expression became serious. He bowed towards Lin Feng and said, "I would not disappoint you, master."
Lin Feng smiled slightly and thought, "Different people will need different methods. As for this type of people, one will need to constantly stimulate him and let him know that you have high hopes for him. That is the best method."
From a practical perspective, the Dragon Slaying Sabre was the aptest weapon for Zhu Yi amongst all Aurous Core items.
Xiao Yan's Nefarious Almighty Sword and Xiao Budian's Infinite Thunderstorm, which they mastered during their Foundation Establishment stage, could already threaten Aurous Core stage cultivators.
Zhu Yi's Way of the Facile Blade had many incarnations and could be appropriately applied to different battles. It had no obvious weakness or strength, and against similarly skilled opponents he could select the best way to defeat his opponent without showing any sign of weakness.
However, while facing Aurous Core stage cultivators, if they were to come at him head-on and use their superiority in terms of mana to fight him, then he would be placed in a very awkward position. He did not have any skill that could allow an underdog to achieve victory.
And now, the Dragon Slaying Sabre, which could be said to the first amongst equals amongst all Aurous Core stage weapons, would nicely complement him.
Xiao Budian, noticing that Zhu Yi and Xiao Yan were given the Dragon Slaying Sabre and the Black Wind Flag respectively, then looked at the Tiger Soul Golden Plate and said gleefully, "Is that mine, master?"
Lin Feng nodded his head and said, "Cherish it."
"Thanks, master," Xiao Budian whooped in joy. Evidently, Lin Feng had deliberated through before allocating each weapon to each person. He tried to give each item based on the recipient's potential, and hence maximize their strength.
The clever Xiao Budian should recognize that his Infinite Thunderstorm had its limitations.
Among Lin Feng's four disciples who had derived their own spells from the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams, Xiao Budian's Infinite Thunderstorm was the most powerful.
Hence, given enough time, Xiao Budian could elevate the power of the Infinite Thunderstorm to a level whereby no Foundation Establishment stage cultivator could match. Even Aurous Core stage cultivators had to be careful.
Wang Lin had yet to enter the Foundation Establishment stage and hence could be excluded for now. Xiao Yan's Crash of the Eight Trigrams, while strong, could not defeat Xiao Budian's Infinite Thunderstorm despite Xiao Yan almost approaching the Foundation Establishment Stage.
During the internal spar earlier on, Zhu Yi was pummelled relentlessly by Xiao Budian. Had Xiao Budian not panicked at the end, Zhu Yi would not have been able to turn the table around and obtain victory.
The problem, however, was time. If insufficient time was given to Xiao Budian to gather the power of the wind and thunder, then the power of the Infinite Thunderstorm would be adversely affected.
By giving him the Tiger Soul Golden Plate, Lin Feng had effectively given him a guardian. During a battle, it could help him buy time and increase the power of the Infinite Thunderstorm.
As long as Xiao Budian had enough time, his Infinite Thunderstorm would be a terrifying threat.
Xiao Yan and company were delighted to obtain the magic items. Each of them used their heart to master it and as they did so Lin Feng turned and looked at Yue Hongyan.
The young girl stared at the three items as an expression of admiration came to her face.
Lin Feng smiled in his heart. Without saying anything, he continued to bring everyone up north.
Exiting the Kunlun Mountains, one could see an endless expanse of yellow desert stretching into the horizon.
At the point where the Kunlun Mountains intersected with the Hanhai Desert sat a strange old town. That was the westernmost important town of the Great Qin Empire, Shazhou.
West to Shazhou was a giant desert. The auras of Heaven and Earth were in chaos there and hence, it was inhospitable for normal people. Even for cultivators, they would face great dangers within.
In such a chaotic environment, the powers of a cultivator would massively decrease.
Conversely, certain races that had lived for thousands of years in the desert and had adapted to its harsh environment could flourish. They dug for exquisite items in the desert and traded them with Man.
After much time and effort, the Pavilion of Heavenly Trade successfully obtained the confidence from the tribes of the desert to do business with the other desert races. They also obtained the tacit approval of the Great Qin Empire to run Shazhou.
Once Lin Feng and company entered Shazhou, a gust of hot wind assaulted their senses.
Both sides of the street were filled with merchants and stores of all types. Before a storefront stood many customers picking their wares.
The sound of bargaining, advertising and people seeking out small loans from one another caused Lin Feng to feel as if he had returned to a normal city.
In reality, however, barring the few streets near the city gates, all those engaged in trade in the city center of Shazhou were cultivators.
There were normal-looking human cultivators and cultivators from the desert with exotic appearances.
"Senpai, what's going on in front?" Yue Hongyan inquired suddenly.
Lin Feng followed her gaze and saw two people walking together side-by-side. While one of them appeared slightly shy, his eyes brimmed with unbridled passion as he looked at his partner.
"What else can it be, it's naturally..." Just as Lin Feng was about to say something, he paused as he noticed the other person's appearance. All of a sudden, he was at loss as to what he should say.