The real world, the Scarlet Moon Knights studio, dinner time.
"Pop!"
Ding Chi opened a bottle of red wine, his expression solemn, and said, "Everyone gets a share of this bottle of wine today. Drink less if you have leveling missions tonight, but you must drink. After all, our studio has produced the first Ninth Realm Nascent Soul big shot in the national server, right, big shot?"
He grinned obsequiously at Lin Zhao, bowing and scraping.
"Lawyer Ding."
Lin Zhao's voice was gentle, and he said with a smile, "Come closer, otherwise I'm afraid my foot might not be able to kick you!"
Chen Xue and Shen Xingchen chuckled in unison.
Luo Man poured a shallow amount of red wine, lightly clinked her glass against Lin Zhao's, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, brother, on entering the Nascent Soul realm. There's nothing else to say, I'll drink it, you're welcome!"
With that, she tilted her long, fair neck and drank it down in one gulp, quite uninhibited. Lin Zhao was slightly stunned. Fortunately, she was a knight and not a sword cultivator; otherwise, if this fellow grew up, he would undoubtedly be a spectacle in the national server. A female sword immortal, invincible when drinking, would probably be like this. He smiled. In fact, Luo Man was good at everything – beautiful, with a great figure, just too boisterous. At a glance, one could tell she was a woman that men couldn't control.
"What does it feel like to have become a Nascent Soul sword cultivator?"
Shen Xingchen asked with a smile.
"Not yet, for now," Lin Zhao shook his head and said, "I can refine my first natal flying sword. I'll start refining it as soon as I log in later. After that, I'll do medium refining and minor refining for the rest of the flying swords. In short, for a sword cultivator above level 120, after entering the Nascent Soul realm, you can wield up to 19 flying swords."
"Damn..."
Ding Chi was stunned, "Really?"
"Really!"
Lin Zhao nodded, "But the Ninth Realm isn't that easy to break through. I only managed to break through by chance after enduring countless hardships."
"That's about the gist of it."
Chen Xue smiled, her dimples showing, "Previously, an official member of 'Tian Xia' privately revealed that if you rely on endless mode to advance your cultivation realm, the player's limit would probably only be the Golden Core realm. After that, no matter how good your equipment or how high your level, your combat power will be re-evaluated and the difficulty adjusted when entering endless mode. It's basically impossible for players to reach the Ninth Realm through endless mode. After the Ninth Realm, you have to rely on the game's story progression or some fortunate encounter."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, "That seems to be the case. By the way, Ah Xue, Xingchen, how have things been in the game lately? Peaceful?"
"Not peaceful."
Chen Xue smiled, "Ding Chunqiu and the entire 'All Villains' group have been causing trouble. Now, the 'Bearer of Coffins' lineage of the ghost race is growing stronger step by step in the depths of the forest in Jizi Forest. Basically, from Jizi Forest to Luoyan Mountain, and then to the area around Xijian River, the survival environment for players from other guilds is extremely harsh. It's easy to be ambushed and killed by players who have joined the ghost cultivators while leveling up there."
"So brazen?"
Lin Zhao frowned, "Are guilds like Xinghe, Canglong, and Xunxian just watching?"
"Mm."
Shen Xingchen said, "After the 'All Villains' group became disciples of the Bearer of Coffins, their strength improved too quickly. According to current intelligence, Ding Chunqiu is already level 130, the highest in the entire server, with two Sword Womb Lakes and two flying swords. Jumouzhi is level 129, a mage with dual magical artifacts. Qiu Qianren is level 129, a divine archer with dual magical artifacts. There are also many elite members of 'All Villains' whose strength is very high. Leveled up through PK is much faster than for ordinary players. Coupled with the generous rewards from the sect, their strength has already widened the gap with ordinary elite players. Therefore, none of the guilds like Xinghe, Xunxian, and Canglong want to march south alone; that would be sending themselves to their deaths."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded, "I'll go meet them when I have a chance. This situation can't go on. If these players like Ding Chunqiu truly nurture the 'Bearer of Coffins' lineage to the point where they can threaten the human faction, it will truly become a disaster."
"Mm!"
Ding Chi said gravely, "If you personally go, it should be no problem to kill Ding Chunqiu alone, but be extremely careful if you encounter more of them. This group is no longer what they used to be."
"I know, I'll be careful. No rush, let me get a handle on the various divine abilities of the Nascent Soul realm first."
"Mm!"
...
After dinner, Lin Zhao logged in.
"Swish!"
His character appeared in front of Tian Ran Ju. He carried his sword, Li Quan, and walked towards the pavilion in the center of the lotus pond, which was quieter. It was there that Xiao Jiu'er had refined her natal flying sword, Bai Yu. Now that Lin Zhao was about to refine his first natal flying sword, it was naturally best to do it there.
"Sir."
Wu Zhi stood by the edge of the lotus pond as a guardian and said, "You are going to refine the flying sword Ming Yue as your first natal flying sword, aren't you?"
"Mm, that's what I was thinking."
"Very good."
Wu Zhi smiled, "The flying sword Ming Yue has the divine abilities of frost and moonlight, and its five elements are water. It's a good embryo for a great path close to water. This lotus pond itself is a treasure with abundant water fortune. It is very suitable for you, sir, to refine the flying sword Ming Yue with the water fortune of this lotus pond. This way, your first natal item will be a great path close to water."
"There are actually such sayings."
Lin Zhao smiled, "I understand. I'll start refining now, you just guard me."
"Yes!"
Wu Zhi stood outside.
Lin Zhao sat cross-legged in the small pavilion, summoned the flying sword Ming Yue, and then activated the refine button. Instantly, as if divinely inspired, he began to channel his spiritual energy, continuously tempering the quality of Ming Yue. The first Sword Womb Lake vibrated with a "buzzing" sound, and the entire lake spun above the spiritual void.
At this moment, Ming Yue was not only absorbing the foundations of the Sword Womb Lake and the spiritual void to refine itself but was also crazily absorbing the water fortune of the entire lotus pond. As a result, although Lin Zhao sat still, threads of dark blue water fortune surged from all directions in the lotus pond, continuously gathering around Ming Yue, nourishing this already quite remarkable immortal sword embryo.
A full two hours later, the refining finally showed signs of progress.
After absorbing a large amount of water fortune and its own cultivation foundation, the blade of Ming Yue became brighter and sharper. Especially at the tip of the sword, a chilling moonlight glow appeared, as if a single stab could pierce through any solid object in the world. At the same time, the appearance of the flying sword also changed slightly, displaying strands of water fortune energy. The entire first Sword Womb Lake was filled with the scene of abundant water fortune, as if this flying sword had come to life and possessed sentience.
Concurrently, a bell rang in his ear, and the first natal item was finally refined!
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations, your flying sword [Ming Yue] has been successfully refined to a high degree and has become your first natal flying sword. The following enhancements have been obtained: Damage +100%, Divine Ability Effect +100%, Attack Speed increased to 2 seconds/time, and you will gain a certain advantage in battles against non-natal artifacts!
...
It's done, the first natal flying sword!
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. The power of Ming Yue was now even more extraordinary. Normal damage was doubled, and the flying sword skill effects were doubled, meaning the damage of Moonfall was doubled, the slowing effect of Frost was doubled, and the attack frequency had become once every two seconds. One could imagine that in future player battles, it would be a scene of overwhelming victory!
"Sir."
Wu Zhi floated down and smiled, "You were too focused on refining the sword earlier, so I didn't disturb you. The Sword Immortal Lin from Fusou Great Wall has arrived and is at Tian Ran Ju, currently guiding Tong Yu's cultivation. So, for dinner?"
"Naturally, we must entertain her well!"
Lin Zhao laughed and said, "Miss Lin is here, don't hide anything good, bring it out to entertain her."
"Yes!"
"By the way."
Lin Zhao took out the half-eaten lobster from his inventory. Player inventories were natural refrigerators, keeping things fresh. He directly handed the lobster to Wu Zhi and said, "Have Dong Cang stew it into soup."
"Mm!"
Tian Ran Ju.
Lin Zhao stepped into the living room and saw Tong Yu standing, while Lin Wanhua was sitting, guiding Tong Yu's swordplay with a wisp of sword intent. Although Lin Zhao was also a sword cultivator, he was too lazy to eavesdrop and sat to the side, smiling at Tong Yu. The master taught diligently, and the disciple learned diligently; it was good. After imparting her swordplay, Lin Wanhua sent Tong Yu to meditate and nurture her sword intent on the mountaintop. She wouldn't even have dinner, being exceptionally strict.
"Miss Lin."
Lin Zhao looked at Tong Yu's retreating back and said with a smile, "Practicing swordplay is fine, but not letting her eat dinner is too harsh. Tong Yu is growing, so her diet must keep up."
"Harsh?"
Lin Wanhua pursed her lips and smiled, "We'll send her some food after we finish eating."
"Mm."
"By the way."
Lin Wanhua stood up, took off the storage bag from her waist, and said, "Lin Zhao, I came this time to congratulate you on entering the Nascent Soul realm, and I've also brought some small gifts."
"Oh?"
Lin Zhao was surprised and smiled, "The gifts from Miss Lin must be extraordinary."
"Naturally."
Lin Wanhua waved her hand, and immediately twelve long swords exuding an ancient aura lay across the table. Some of the ancient swords had obvious wear and tear, but it did not affect their profound heritage. Although these swords were not immortal swords, they were mostly not far from it, all being ancient sword embryos of the highest grade.
"..."
Lin Zhao was dumbfounded and said, "Where did these... come from?"
Lin Wanhua smiled slightly, "A few days ago, I traveled to Man Yuan with my sword and killed some witch spirits hidden in the depths of the forest. These were obtained along the way. It just so happens that you need a batch of flying sword embryos for minor refining now. Although these swords have no names, they are all swords left behind by ancient sword cultivators. After minor refining, they will naturally be formidable."
Lin Zhao did not stand on ceremony and took them all into his possession, saying with a smile, "Thank you, Miss Lin. I'll treat you to lobster soup later."
"Oh?"
Lin Wanhua's beautiful eyes were like water, showing a hint of anticipation.
...
Night fell, and Jizi Forest was silent.
In a clearing, Ding Chunqiu held a blood-stained long sword. After killing another batch of players who came to provoke them, he was already level 131. His eyes were almost red with bloodlust. He said solemnly to the core players of 'All Villains' around him, "Brothers, I just got word that Su Xinghe, Xian Bai, and Yi Shi Cang Liang are about to join forces to suppress us in Jizi Forest."
"Boss!"
A level 125 sword cultivator frowned and said, "Just tell us what to do! We'll follow you. We've been having fun killing and setting fires these days, and we've earned a lot. In less than a month, we've made over 500,000 in universal currency. Heh heh, the two old guys at home who usually nagged me actually praised me for the first time in a while. Damn, it felt pretty good."
Ding Chunqiu sneered and said, "The so-called T1 guilds in the national server want to join forces to suppress us, that's perfect. We'll let them know what the general trend is. Next, I will recruit a large number of people in the national server and launch an 'One Man Carries a Coffin' event, calling on everyone in the national server to join us, eat well, and live well. We will grow stronger step by step and create more glory!"
Everyone applauded in unison.