Hu Ding’an, an Imperial Guard, came bearing custom-made artillery shells, intending to flatten the Heaven-Stepping Sect. He ended up blown to smithereens.

Not only that, but not a single soldier he brought with him survived.

Outside the Heaven-Stepping Sect, rivers of blood flowed.

In a world where might is right, mercy can sometimes mean extinction.

After the great battle, the disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect spontaneously began to clean up the battlefield.

After several incidents, the disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect had grown more united, and Lin Hao’s prestige had soared ever higher.

"Senior Brother, how on earth did Senior Brother Lin do it?" a Heaven-Stepping Sect disciple asked the senior brother beside him as he cleared away a corpse.

"Senior Brother Lin’s methods are profound and unfathomable. I’m afraid I could think for a hundred years and still not understand. So, I’ve decided not to even try." The senior brother’s eyes flashed with adoration as he replied.

The disciple who had spoken first nodded, then added, "Sometimes I get this strange feeling that Senior Brother Lin isn’t even human. He’s a god. Otherwise, his cultivation isn’t that high, so how can it be that nothing seems to stump him?"

The senior brother nodded in deep agreement.

Similar conversations were repeated among the Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples, and it wasn’t just them. Even Elder Gu couldn’t help but ask Lin Hao, "Uncle-Master, how did you do it?"

"Some time ago, I entered the Tongming Sea and came across a message left by a sect senior. From it, I learned that our sect has a Mountain Guarding Array, likely left behind by a Great Emperor," Lin Hao explained with a smile.

In reality, he hadn’t encountered any sect in the Tongming Sea, but Lin Hao had inherited Chu Tiandu’s memories, so the second half of his statement was true.

This was the ancestral land of the Heaven-Stepping Sect. Thousands of years ago, the sect had been besieged, and even peerless experts wielding Tier Four Spiritual Artifacts couldn’t shake it in the slightest. These mere artillery shells were naturally nothing to worry about.

"So that’s how it is," Elder Gu said, a look of sudden realization on his face.

He had ten thousand reasons to believe the claim that the sect possessed a Mountain Guarding Array.

How could the sacred lineage of an Emperor Venerable be defiled by mere ants?

"If I’m not mistaken, about a hundred of those shells are quite rare. Let’s go find them." Lin Hao didn’t dwell on the topic, changing the subject.

At these words, both Wu Taichu and Elder Gu’s eyes lit up.

The three of them immediately set out to find the shells.

「Three hours later...」

Looking at the ninety-nine artillery shells on the ground, Lin Hao clucked his tongue in amazement.

"The imperial royal family is truly something else. Ninety-nine Thunderstorm Bombs... what a grand gesture."

"Grand Uncle-Master, what is a Thunderstorm Bomb?" Wu Taichu asked.

He had never heard the name before.

"A so-called Thunderstorm Bomb is an artillery shell where, during the production process, an Artifact Refiner uses special inscription techniques to create an Array. This allows a shell of the same size to hold ten, dozens, or even a hundred times the amount of explosives. The deadliest part is that if a Martial Artist tries to interfere with it using their True Essence, it will detonate prematurely."

At these words, the color drained from Wu Taichu’s face.

Ten or even a hundred times the amount of explosives... one could only imagine the destructive power if they were to detonate.

Elder Gu, who was standing to the side, was even more horrified.

He had just been in contact with the shells, so he knew Lin Hao wasn’t exaggerating.

"Uncle-Master, then what is the payload in these Thunderstorm Bombs?" He needed to estimate their power.

"The average is around ten times. Thirty-six of them are only nine times, and the three strongest don’t exceed twelve times. The rest are split evenly between ten and eleven times," Lin Hao said casually after a quick glance.

If the Artifact Refiner who created these Thunderstorm Bombs could hear Lin Hao’s words right now, their jaw would drop in shock.

Lin Hao had merely glanced at them, yet he could describe them in such intimate detail. It was terrifying.

Even Wu Taichu and Elder Gu were shaken, and they saw the same shock in each other’s eyes after exchanging a look.

They didn’t know Artifact Refining, but they were intelligent men. For Lin Hao to be able to state the payload of these Thunderstorm Bombs in such detail with just a glance was somewhat unnerving.

After the shock came elation.

’If Lin Hao can state the payload of these Thunderstorm Bombs, doesn’t that mean he also knows how to refine them?!’

’This...’

The two of them gasped, their hearts pounding in their chests.

In fact, their guess was correct. Lin Hao did indeed know the refining process. Not only that, he could even create shells ten times more powerful than these Thunderstorm Bombs.

Of course, these Thunderstorm Bombs weren’t of much use to him at his current level, and he wasn’t one to put the cart before the horse.

The urgent priority was refining Spiritual Artifacts.

"Master, please gather the disciples. I need to pick some assistants," Lin Hao said, turning to Wu Taichu.

Wu Taichu didn’t ask why. He simply nodded and left.

"What about me?" Elder Gu asked.

"Elder, please secure the Thunderstorm Bombs, and then go get some rest. It’s best not to touch the Annihilation Demon Saber again, or it will lash back at you." Lin Hao glanced at Elder Gu, picked up a few Thunderstorm Bombs to put in his storage spirit ring, and then spoke.

Elder Gu was startled, but then nodded.

After obtaining the Annihilation Demon Saber, especially at the moment he’d twisted off Hu Ding’an’s head, a demonic nature had surged out from it. Luckily, Elder Gu had reacted quickly, but it had still managed to damage his Origin.

This kind of injury was very subtle; even Wu Taichu hadn’t noticed it. Elder Gu had no idea how Lin Hao had seen it.

However, he wasn’t one for gossip and simply buried his questions deep in his heart.

The two left, and Lin Hao also headed off in a certain direction.

Before long, Lin Hao had stopped outside a courtyard.

From a distance, he could see a girl carving something on a piece of stone with a carving knife.

Next to her, the discarded stone pieces were piled up into a small mountain.

This girl was, of course, Lian Lanxin.

Lian Lanxin’s expression was one of intense concentration. She didn’t even notice when Lin Hao pushed open the gate and walked in.

Lin Hao didn’t disturb her, merely standing quietly behind her to watch her carve.

She was still carving that stone dragon; the one Lin Hao had left without eyes was right beside her.

However, the one she was carving now was clearly very different from the one beside it.

But when Lin Hao saw it, he nodded. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

To imitate the form is to only capture the surface. But to imitate the spirit is to capture the precious jade within.

Of course, the best is still to possess both form and spirit.

However, for Lian Lanxin to be able to imitate it to this degree was already far beyond Lin Hao’s expectations.

But as he kept watching, Lin Hao’s expression suddenly turned a little strange.

Because he realized that what Lian Lanxin was carving was clearly him.

Although it was him, Lian Lanxin had managed to imbue the carving with the spiritual charm of a dragon and the aura of a ferocious tiger.

On the stone, Lin Hao looked like a Divine Dragon about to take flight, and also like a tiger ready to descend the mountain. A coiled dragon and a crouching tiger; the presence was magnificent and powerful.

This was absolutely the pinnacle of stone dragon carving.

Unfortunately, just like the original stone dragon, the only flaw was that neither had eyes.

Lian Lanxin still hadn’t noticed Lin Hao. She picked up her carving knife and prepared to carve the eyes several times, but she never made the cut.

Lin Hao didn’t alert her, instead taking a few steps back.

He could see that Lian Lanxin was completely focused, in a strange, trance-like state. He couldn’t disturb her.

Besides, Lin Hao was very much hoping that Lian Lanxin’s knife would fall.

Lin Hao could guess what she was thinking. Because the original stone dragon’s eyes had not been dotted, even if Lian Lanxin was confident, she wouldn’t dare.

This was a hurdle.

If she couldn’t overcome it, she was destined to only ever look up to Lin Hao in the field of Artifact Refining.

But as long as she crossed this hurdle, her future would be limitless.

Lin Hao waited quietly, standing there for a full half-hour.

Finally, Lian Lanxin moved.

The carving knife in her hand fell abruptly. Her blade moved like a swimming dragon, completing the motion in one smooth stroke.

The moment the eyes were finished, the Lin Hao on the stone became vivid and lifelike, as if a living person.

The figure on the stone seemed to establish a unique aura with Lian Lanxin, and by extension, even Lian Lanxin herself seemed to grow taller.

It was a feeling that could only be understood, not expressed in words.

Lin Hao knew Lian Lanxin had leveled up.

From now on, the sky was hers to fly in, the sea hers to leap through.

"Yes!" At that moment, Lian Lanxin came back to her senses. Seeing her masterpiece, she couldn’t help but pump her fist in triumph.

Behind her, the sound of applause rang out.

Lian Lanxin’s body stiffened, and she whipped her head around.

CLINK.

The carving knife fell to the ground.

"Big Brother..." After a flash of joy, Lian Lanxin shuffled her feet, trying to hide the stone carving behind her.

"No need to hide it. I saw. Congratulations, Lan Xin," Lin Hao said with a smile.

Lian Lanxin looked up, her apprehensive gaze turning joyous.

"You’ve succeeded. Starting today, I will teach you the true art of Artifact Refining," Lin Hao said, smiling.

Lian Lanxin smiled, a pure and beautiful smile.

She had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

"Come, I’ll take you somewhere first," Lin Hao said, also very pleased.

Lian Lanxin didn’t ask questions, obediently following behind Lin Hao.

However, when Lin Hao reached the iron chains on Heaven-Stepping Peak that led to the God-Proving Platform, he ran into a problem. Lian Lanxin was actually afraid to step onto the chains.

The reason Lin Hao had asked Wu Taichu to gather the disciples was, naturally, to re-establish the Divine Weapon Hall.

And to re-establish the Divine Weapon Hall, Lian Lanxin had a very important role to play. She had to be there.

"Lan Xin, wait here for a moment. I’ll go get Master to come get you," Lin Hao said to Lian Lanxin after a moment’s thought.

Who would have thought that as soon as he moved, Lian Lanxin would grab his clothes.

Lian Lanxin blinked her big eyes and said, "Big Brother, can’t you do it too?"

"That’s not really appropriate. Men and women should keep a respectful distance," Lin Hao said hesitantly.

Before, he wouldn’t have cared. But after his trip to the Danling Sect, where he had seen the bodies of two women in quick succession, he had become a little more aware.

"I’m not afraid," Lian Lanxin said, shaking her head.

With her saying that, what else was there for Lin Hao to worry about?

"Hold on tight."

Wrapping an arm around Lian Lanxin, Lin Hao stepped onto the iron chains.

Even while carrying another person, Lin Hao moved as if walking on flat ground.

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, the two embraced. The man handsome, the woman beautiful, they looked just like a pair of celestial lovers.

At least, that was what many people on the God-Proving Platform were thinking.

Because Lin Hao’s speed was so fast, it wasn’t long before the Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples on the God-Proving Platform saw the two of them. Looking at the pair, they all had the same thought.

Lin Hao landed with Lian Lanxin in a pavilion at the edge of the God-Proving Platform.

Although many people had been waiting for a long time, not a single one complained. In their hearts, Lin Hao was like the Guardian God of the Heaven-Stepping Sect. Looking at him, they felt nothing but respect.

Now, seeing Lin Hao appear, the entire crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to him, waiting for him to speak.