Yun Shang County, the blacksmith's shop.
…
Lin Zhao calmed his agitated heart, gently raised his hand, and immediately a Natal Flying Sword, Ming Yue, appeared and circled above his palm. He took a deep breath, his gaze swept over it, and he found that this time, Ming Yue had tangible attributes. It was indeed a cherished treasure unique to the "Swordsman" profession in "Tian Xia" –
[Ming Yue] (Flying Sword)
Rarity: Immortal Grade
Level: 1
Damage: Kill +35%
Attack Speed: 3 seconds/attack
Natal Divine Ability: [Frost]
…
His heart fluttered once more. The Ming Yue before him was truly a bug-like existence. Its rarity was Immortal Grade, and what Moon Pond Senior Sister gave would not be too bad. Its level was 1, currently blank. The +35% damage was self-explanatory. When Ming Yue was summoned to launch an attack, its damage would be 135% of normal damage. As for the attack speed, it could fly out once every 3 seconds to launch an attack. This was also quite heaven-defying.
Natal Divine Ability was equivalent to a flying sword's skill.
Currently, the level 1 Ming Yue possessed only one skill. When Lin Zhao clicked on the "Frost" icon, the flying sword's skill was displayed in full –
[Frost]: Deals 300% damage to the target and inflicts a frost effect, reducing movement speed and attack speed by 50% for 5 seconds. Skill cooldown: 9 seconds.
…
This was already extremely heaven-defying in terms of damage, and it also had a more heaven-defying slow effect. It was an invincible skill for one-on-one duels.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and retracted Ming Yue into the Sword Lake. Immediately, the flying sword transformed into a streak of white light and merged into his body. This completely refined flying sword was already one with his flesh and blood, and could be summoned from anywhere, thus often catching opponents off guard.
It was time to learn skills. He hadn't learned his level 50 skills yet!
Lin Zhao returned to the Old Sword Immortal and paid 5g to learn the level 50 Swordsman exclusive skill –
[Qi Control Sword] (S-rank): Control the sword with Qi, dealing 300% ranged damage to targets within 60 yards. Cooldown: 7 seconds.
…
Qi Control Sword, a long-range single-target kill, dealing 300% damage. This was the current trump card for Swordsmen. Lin Zhao strode to the training ground and triggered the Qi Control Sword skill with a thought. The next moment, the Qing Lu Sword on his back echoed in its scabbard. With a clang, it unsheathed itself and shot towards a wooden dummy in the distance, dealing a full 4000+ damage!
"So that's how it is."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly, understanding. Qi Control Sword wielded his own佩剑, which was completely different from summoning the Natal Flying Sword from the Sword Lake to kill people. However, regardless of which it was, the Swordsman profession became elegant from this point on, no longer merely an infantryman who swung a sword to hack, which was rather crude.
Just then, a chime echoed through the main city.
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Attention all players, as a player has awakened the Sword Lake and possessed a Natal Flying Sword, successfully triggering the [Sword Refining Stone] system. All Swordsman players can purchase Sword Refining Stones from the system shop, or obtain them from monster drops!
…
Here it comes, another money-grabbing system!
Lin Zhao, fully prepared, took a deep breath and opened the Sword Refining Stone system in the shop. Even so, the types and prices of Sword Refining Stones listed still made him gasp –
[Sword Refining Stone]: A rock used to sharpen flying swords. Its refining effect is very ordinary. Price: 100 General Currency
[Sea God Rock]: Hard lava from the seabed. Its effect on sharpening flying swords is quite outstanding. Price: 10,000 General Currency
[Azure Flame Rock]: A Sword Refining Stone refined by immortals using azure flame. Its refining effect on flying swords is superb. Price: 1,000,000 General Currency
…
This was truly expensive, practically sky-high prices!
Lin Zhao attempted to open the system for refining flying swords. Immediately, the entire Sword Lake appeared. By investing Sword Refining Stones, it would automatically refine the sword. Each Sword Refining Stone invested would last for 12 hours, meaning a flying sword could consume at most two Sword Refining Stones per day. Therefore, the better the quality of the Sword Refining Stone, the faster the flying sword's upgrade speed!
Indeed, Tian Xia was still Tian Xia. The peak Sword Cultivators of Tian Xia were all built with spirit currency. This eternal truth remained the same. To build a high-level flying sword in the game required massive financial support!
Lin Zhao frowned, regretting choosing the One Sword Three Heroes path a little. For himself, Ding Chi, and Zhang Jun, three Swordsmen, if they wanted to become Sword Immortals each, it would be impossible without investing a large sum of money. Thus, the studio's financial pressure would continuously increase, which was not a good sign. As for now, Lin Zhao had a question: should he nurture this flying sword himself, or should the studio? Who would bear this considerable expense?
After thinking for a while, he decided to do it himself for now. He still had a little private savings.
Therefore, he bought two Sea God Rocks at once. After all, the refining effect of Sea God Rock was a hundred times that of Sword Refining Stone. Using Sea God Rock to refine the flying sword Ming Yue was already treating it with respect. As for Azure Flame Rock, he wouldn't even dream of it. The value of a small piece of Azure Flame Rock was 1,000,000 General Currency. The piece that Moon Pond Senior Sister left him back then was huge, and its value was self-evident!
"Swish~~~"
A piece of Sea God Rock was cast into the Sword Lake. Immediately, Ming Yue, as if being held by the hilt, began to grind its tip against the Sea God Rock with a "clang clang clang" sound. The sharper the tip, the higher the flying sword's level and the stronger its killing power. This feeling of slow nurturing made Lin Zhao quite enjoy it. Although the cost was a bit high, the attributes of Ming Yue were there. It was an absolute killing tool, and any further investment was worth it.
"Beep!"
A message arrived from Chen Xue: "Did you trigger the Sword Refining Stone system?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "It's a coincidence. I obtained a flying sword."
Chen Xue smiled slightly. "That's normal. For the first player to officially become a Swordsman and coincidentally awaken a Sword Lake, it's reasonable for the system to reward an ordinary flying sword."
Lin Zhao was a little speechless but didn't reveal it. Ming Yue wasn't a reward, and it wasn't ordinary; it was a genuine Immortal Grade flying sword! The Sword Lake wasn't awakened by coincidence either; he already had it. However, he didn't explain too much to Chen Xue. He knew his own ultimate skills and didn't need to make them public so soon. So, he smiled and said, "It's ten o'clock. The Chaos Temple opens at twelve noon. When should we eat?" Da Feng Novel Network
"Eleven o'clock."
Chen Xue said, "I told Sister Ju Zi that we'll have a few simple dishes for lunch. We'll eat a bit and then go online. What about you? What will you do in the remaining hour?"
"I'll practice skills in the training ground."
Lin Zhao said, "I'll practice the Swordsman's level 50 skill, Qi Control Sword, a bit, and strive to reach level 3 or so after entering the Chaos Temple. Then the damage will be higher, and I might even be able to instantly kill squishy targets."
"Mhm mhm!"
…
Thus, players came and went in Yun Shang County, while Lin Zhao, dressed in white, hid in the training ground practicing skills. He continuously cast Qi Control Sword at the wooden dummies. With each tremor of the wooden dummy, his skill proficiency increased slightly. He also practiced the proficiency of skills like Qi Burst, Sweeping Thousand Armies, and Rising Dragon Slash, aiming to raise all his skills to level 6 as soon as possible and maximize his strength to the greatest extent possible.
At eleven o'clock, he logged off to grab a quick meal and then logged back in.
"Swish!"
When he reappeared, he was still in the training ground. Chen Xue started forming a team. After all ten members of the Scarlet Moon Knights joined the party, Chen Xue smiled and said, "The coordinates for the Chaos Temple refresh randomly. Should we spread out and wait in the map? Whoever gets in first can navigate for everyone, which will save time and avoid wandering around."
"Okay!"
Lin Zhao nodded in agreement. "Let's all spread out. Once the coordinates refresh, we'll figure out the fastest way to get there."
"Mhm mhm!"
Thus, Chen Xue assigned coordinates, and the ten members of the party dispersed. Lin Zhao, carrying his Qing Lu Sword, headed straight for a patch of forest in the east, stopping at a location halfway between the county town and the eastern border of Yun Shang County. He watched players coming and going around him, remaining motionless. He even saw people from Flourishing World Peony and remained indifferent. As a result, some idle personnel from Flourishing World Peony saw the "man in white" standing in the forest and dared not move, nor even approach, for fear of being killed if they went over.
Lin Zhao glanced at his skill list. Qi Control Sword was level 3, with current damage at 330% and an attack range of 60 yards. With his attack power, he indeed had the possibility of instantly killing enemy ranged professions, at least Starry Sky Mages, Nomads, and Array Masters who didn't have their shields up. As for leather armor class professions, it depended on how tough the opponent was. For heavy armor, unless a critical hit occurred, it would be impossible to instantly kill someone with Qi Control Sword.
Wait a little longer, the map was about to open!
He continued to practice his skills on some small monsters around him, and time ticked by. Not long after, it was exactly twelve o'clock. At the very moment it struck twelve, a chime echoed through Yun Shang County –
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Attention all brave adventurers, the entrance coordinate for the [Chaos Temple] has appeared in [Yun Shang County] (8262, 19882)!
…
"It's in the far north!"
Lin Zhao glanced at the map. "Who's closest?"
"Me."
Chen Xue said, "I'm very close to there, about a five-minute journey."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao directly crushed a town scroll and said, "Chen Xue, you go first. Everyone else, return to the city and kill our way through the north gate."
"Mhm mhm!"
The next second, Lin Zhao appeared on the east gate plaza and quickly sprinted north, sword in hand. He wished he could learn Sword Flight right now and fly directly north. What a shame… Perhaps Lin Zhao's current strength was still at the lower five realms of Sword Cultivation, so he didn't have that ability and still had to rely on his legs.
At the north city gate, two Swordsmen from the Flourishing World Peony guild hesitated. One of them said in a deep voice, "Should we block the gate and prevent the Scarlet Moon Knights from even leaving?"
"That makes sense…"
The other Swordsman's eyes lit up.
Just then, someone arrived like a gust of wind, it was Lin Zhao. His Qing Lu Sword was held low as he sped forward, his eyebrows sharp and his clear eyes fixed directly on the two individuals.
Immediately, the two Swordsmen from Flourishing World Peony fled in panic, not even daring to look back.
Eight chapters completed. Brothers, remember to vote for the Sword Immortal with your recommendation tickets!!!