CHAPTER 77

VALLEY OF SECTS

Seven figures stood in front of a single table, appearing somewhat gobsmacked as their expression, however varied, reflected only a single emotion: confusion. Atop the table were five items, alongside a single-page note that had only a few lines inscribed at the top, the rest being empty. Aeala walked forward and picked up the note, casually reading it.

“Welcome back! I hope none of you died? Great! Anyway, I figured out what’s happening, so I went out to get us some resources in preparation. I left what I had in the storage so that Shaneine can start crafting two types of talismans: communication and locator talismans. The more the better. I’ve crafted items for everyone except Aeala and Freya. You two are too weak. I can’t hold back when crafting! Anyway, I’ll be back in about three months. Old man Van will come around every once in a while to coordinate with you guys. Aeala should take the lead since she’s the only one with any people-skills. Good luck and see ya! Your dearest, greatest, most-powerful, Lino the Wind God!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Silence befell the small room as various eyebrows began to twitch, alongside lips’ corners. They always knew he thought rather highly of himself, but never thought it was to this extent. Aeala merely smiled faintly, shaking her head. She put the paper down and look at the four items on the table; at the far left was an exquisite-looking longbow, appearing extremely sturdy in its make. She picked it up and, without looking at its stats, handed it over to Shaneine. The latter appeared indifferent when picking it up, but after checking its stats, even the ever-expressionless face had lips parting into a massive gap of shock. Next to the bow was a pair of shiny daggers, whom she handed over to Lucky. Despite her supposed hatred of Lino, she also couldn’t stop bawling over the weapon. Naturally, the secrets of their make was not reveled; nonetheless, it was still a pair of Legendary-tier weapons, something one couldn’t come across even with luck.

Next to the daggers was a massive shield, over a meter high and thicker than a person’s waist. Yet, Aeala lifted it up rather easily as the shield weighed barely twenty or so kilograms. Fish took the shield with enthusiasm because he spotted Lucky’s and Shaneine’s reactions. He couldn’t wait to see what kind of a wonder he’s been gifted.

[World Defender - Epic]

Level: 75

Durability: 6500

Defense: 2100

+30% to Constitution

+10% to Strength

Special Effect: infusing Qi into the shield creates a 15x15x10 barrier around the wearer for 15 seconds. The barrier has three times the shield’s base Durability.

Special Effect: unsealing the shield with Qi increases its base weight by 1000 times.

Note: Extremely sturdy and powerful behemoth of a defender; crafted from condensed blood of , it’s tougher than diamonds in its make, providing wearer with massive boost in defense.

Fish nearly fainted upon seeing the shield’s stats; forget base stats which were simply insane beyond measure, two special effects alone were enough to net hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of gold coins at popular auctions. He could only weep in joy that their Lady had befriended such an idiot who never spared an ounce of strength when crafting an item, even if he wouldn’t be using it. Next to the shield was a massive warhammer, purely silver in its hue, with strange, metallic sheen covering its surface. Though Aeala tried, she was unable to pick it up; she wagered the warhammer weighed in hundreds of kilograms. Kraval instead calmly approached and picked up the warhammer with one hand, immediately sensing a strange, other-worldly sense of familiarity with the weapon.

[Celestial Crusher - Unique]

Level: 70

Damage: 1909-8309

+50% to Strength

-20% to Speed

Special Effect: Infusing Qi into the weapon can expunge its head forward for nearly a mile like a cannonball; the further the distance traveled, the greater the damage dealt.

Special Effect: Every third consecutive swing increases both Speed and Damage of further swings by 5%, with maximum being 150%.

Special Effect: Due to [Unique] make, weapon can be further evolved

Note: The latest item on the Celestial Series of the up-and-coming blacksmith, Celestial Crusher’s focus is on overbearing strength and momentum. Only fierce and stout people are able to wield it.

Even Kraval felt his emotions being riled up when he saw the weapon. Although, overall, it appeared slightly weaker than Fish’s at the moment, and far more so than Lucky’s, due to its unique special effect of evolution, it meant there was a chance to ever surpass them in the future. Besides, even if it never evolved, it was still a weapon perfect for him, and would be the cause of envy for everyone who looked at its stats.

The last of the items on the table included a pair of swords; they appeared slightly longer than meter in length, with strange, gray sheen exuding from the blades’ surface. Aeala picked them up and felt strange energy try to invade her body, quickly handing the swords to Smite who accepted them with some hesitation. Although he looked forward to a new weapon, he wasn’t that excited over who made it.

[Phantom Blades - Unique]

Level: 80

Damage: ?

+150% to Speed - Attack Speed - Movement Speed- Agility

Special Effect: Weapon’s Damage is directly linked to the number of slain creatures with Devil Qi. It can grow indefinitely.

Special Effect: Upon slaying 1000 creatures with Devil Qi, besides the weapon’s growth, wearer will also receive a title: Demon Slayer, further increasing damage to all Devil Qi creatures by 50%.

Special Effect: Blades of swords can be turned into phantoms, passing through physical objects at will and attacking Souls directly. Great amounts of Qi required.

Note: Weapon specifically crafted to battle Devil Qi cultivators, be it beasts or people. Due to its unique craft, weapon has no ceiling.

Smite sighed for a moment as he finished reading the weapon’s stats; indeed, if one looked from one side, his weapon appeared to be by far the best of the bunch. On the other hand, it was only so when he was battling creatures with Devil Qi. However, he knew why Lino crafted it that way; after all, incoming war would raise this weapon’s damage to massive numbers, which would ensure it can be used against anyone in the future. The group altogether quickly realized they had underestimated Lino’s capabilities as a blacksmith; they’d merely seen him as a fighting monster before, someone who should never be looked at as a simple Soul Realm cultivator. They now realized, though, that he’s perhaps even more talented when it comes to crafting; for all their experiences combined could not even conjure up an item that came even close to any of the five he’d forged.

**

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the small courtyard of Archangel’s Darkness Mercenary Group, a lone figure walked down a winding road, surrounded by trees and deep falls beneath the cliffs. Above the figure was a massive mountain, road directly piercing into its belly. Lino’s steps were even and steady, and he appeared to be lost in thought. He was entirely enrobed in his black cloak, so much so that even the people closest to him would fail to recognize it was him. Along the road, he’d occasionally run into another person, but outside of courteous nod, he didn’t have much interaction with anyone. He left the town about a weak ago and headed further east after purchasing a map from Velin. His intention was simple: gather as many resources as possible. Randomly wandering around the world and hoping something would fall out of the bright sky onto his feet was rather stupid, so he first formulated a plan before departing, heading directly for a single valley: Valley of Sects. It was a massive valley, hundreds of thousands of miles across in all directions at the very least, and was rather popular around these parts as it housed most of the Sects that appeared here. From little information he’d gotten, Lino learned that in order to survive here, every sect had to at least be Third-tier Sect, and that there were even three First-tier Sects located at the heart of the valley.

His plan wasn’t as noble as his intentions; he decided to simply rob them. After all, he didn’t have enough time to make connections and show off his crafting abilities so that they would hire him for a large sum. Though that was the plan, he still hoped he could succeed as a blacksmith rather than a thief; not because he had some moral qualms about the act, but because he’d rather not make enemies with everyone here. Most of these Sects were on the level of Main Su Family, and those Second-tier and First-tier Sects were even far more powerful, so much so that Lino could hardly even fathom. He decided he’d work his way up, from the very bordered region at the edge of the valley where the weakest of Sects resided, to the very heart of the valley. If it was just him, he definitely wouldn’t risk it; however, thousands of people, including some he was quite willing to call friends, were waiting back in that small town. There were some hearts he couldn’t bring himself to break, and he’d rather break his own than theirs.

In the end, he was rather confident in stealing and robbing due to the cloak which should increase his sneaking abilities at night to the point where very few people would be able to spot him. After all, he managed to sneak into the Palace of the Umbra Capital under the eyes of Purity Realm cultivator, and he wagered he could even do so in front of those of a higher realm. A sly grin emerged on his face as he thought about the riches which were simply waiting for their rightful owner - Lino that is - to pick them up.