While the entire nation was still celebrating the China team's victory, Song Miaozhu quietly recalled her little paper servants and resumed her cultivation.
She had often worried about lacking a spiritual artifact capable of direct attack. Her creations excelled at defense and utility, but their offensive power was lacking. After watching the tournament, that anxiety finally faded.
The Global Cultivator Tournament had made one thing abundantly clear—between ability and raw power, it was strength that decided the outcome.
When Master Le Pengkun's Spirit-Breaking Tang Blade clashed with Japan's Bloodcry Katana, the latter was chipped and dulled almost instantly.
The vine-bound spirit beast from Nigeria couldn't endure more than a few collisions with Master He Zhen's tiger-bear fan beast.
The American team's Eye of Illusion failed to detect the little paper servants hidden nearby and couldn't see through the paper mist shroud surrounding Xiaozhu Mountain.
Even the most powerful strike unleashed by the highest-ranked cultivator in the competition had been unable to pierce the armor of her Paper Spirit Armor.
No wonder the SEIU had adopted a grading system for spiritual artifacts based on strength, mirroring the ranking system for cultivators.
Compared to strength, special abilities mattered far less.
Abilities varied between artifacts and could not be forced. Strength, however, was something every spiritual crafter could influence.
A spiritual artifact's creator could nurture it with their own spiritual power, steadily increasing its strength.
Artifacts bought from others stayed fixed in power. What you bought was what you got, with no room for growth.
Miaozhu had finally come to understand: marveling at others' strange and wondrous artifacts was fine for inspiration, but her true focus should remain on the ones she crafted herself.
If her artifact's ability fell short, its strength could compensate. No matter how impressive a spiritual artifact might be, it still needed the support of a strong cultivation base to reach its full potential. In the end, schemes and clever tricks could never surpass raw power.
As long as she maintained her cultivation advantage, no one could take her down unless they drained her completely of spiritual energy and reserves. Attrition was their only hope.
Now that she had the safest possible cultivation environment, there was no need to worry. Even the world's top-tier cultivators could not enter her Xiaozhu Mountain. She could finally focus on her cultivation and her study of the Secret Art of Paper Crafting without distraction.
Whatever level others reached, whatever rare artifacts they acquired, it didn't matter much to her anymore. A few little paper servants monitoring the outside world would be enough to stay connected without falling out of step with society.
Just as she was deep in the rhythm of her paper-crafting and quietly accumulating spiritual power, hoping to move closer to a breakthrough in the Yellow Spirit Realm, a little paper servant stationed under the old pagoda tree contacted her.
Ever since the spiritual tide had arrived, Miaozhu had made a habit of checking in on the stone river ox guarding the Xiao Li River.
She discovered that it was indeed absorbing spiritual particles from the air, growing brighter with spiritual light and showing signs of transforming into a true spirit artifact.
But even during the spiritual tide, the portion of spiritual energy reaching that stretch of river was limited.
To accelerate its evolution, and for easier observation, she had excavated the stone ox from the riverbed and secretly transported it to Xiaozhu Mountain. It now rested beneath the old pagoda tree, on the foundation of her former home. A little paper servant had been assigned to watch over it.
Her spirit residence sat atop that very tree, where she normally cultivated and crafted her paper artifacts. During spiritual tides, Xiaozhu Mountain absorbed the densest spiritual energy in the area. The ox absorbed far more here than it ever could beneath the river.
Now, in the images transmitted by the little paper servant, the river ox's spiritual glow had reached saturation. It looked like it was on the verge of transforming.
Miaozhu immediately stepped out of her residence and brought out her Spirit-Seeing Bronze Mirror.
This was no ordinary mirror. She had traded for it last year using a Blue Spirit-grade Spirit-Gathering Fortune Doll that she had carefully cultivated to absorb spiritual energy with greater efficiency. In exchange, she had received this mirror from Master Yang Shuqin, who had once raised it for personal use. Only in her efforts to catch up to the other elite masters had she been willing to part with it.
This upgraded Spirit-Seeing Mirror could not only provide detailed readings on spiritual artifacts, but also appraise ordinary objects—such as the stone ox, which had not yet become a true artifact.
When she held up the mirror, its surface shimmered and displayed its appraisal.
Previously, the mirror always read: Unclaimed spirit artifact undergoing transformation.
This time, however, it had changed to: Unclaimed spirit artifact, transformation nearly complete.
Less than a minute later, the text flickered once again.
Transformation complete. Spiritual soul has emerged. Unclaimed spirit artifact...
Miaozhu furrowed her brow. "Spiritual soul? What does that mean?"
Before she could puzzle it out, the stone ox stirred to life. Its simply carved eyes turned. The heavy body twisted as it glanced around, seemingly aware for the first time. Then, it suddenly kicked off the ground and bolted downhill.
Miaozhu had let it absorb her spiritual energy for so long, yet it acted like she didn't exist.
Luckily, she had anticipated this. Previous attempts to pour spiritual energy into it and claim it as her own had all failed. She had expected the creature to act unruly once it awakened.
The moment it moved, she flung out a handful of multicolored paper figures. Upon landing, the paper figures transformed into strong, imposing paper soldiers who grabbed hold of the fleeing ox.
Despite its heavy appearance, the freshly transformed ox was no match for her well-trained soldiers in terms of power. One paper soldier was enough to pin it down completely. The others surrounded it, cutting off any route of escape.
Enraged, the stone ox bellowed and spewed a stream of water at the soldiers. But the paper soldiers, though crafted from paper, were impervious to both fire and water.
The water blast struck with force at first but quickly lost momentum. The soldiers didn't even flinch. Their Paper Spirit Armor remained untouched.
Realizing its attack had failed, the stone ox let out a furious howl. It crouched low and released a low-pitched growl. Spiritual energy rippled outward, but the effect wasn't immediately clear.
Miaozhu took this opportunity to check the mirror again.
Unclaimed spirit artifact. Spiritual soul detected. Capable of absorbing unclaimed spiritual energy. Specializes in water-based techniques. Can form a connection with nearby water veins and manipulate the waters within a certain range.
Seeing this, Miaozhu's expression changed. Xiao Li River was nearby. If the ox managed to connect with it, the consequences could be disastrous.
She immediately ordered, "Interrupt its casting!"
The paper soldiers were already attuned to her will. Before she finished speaking, they launched into action. What had been a containment strategy became a swift, brutal takedown.
One soldier delivered a heavy kick that sent the ox tumbling. Its spiritual ripple sputtered out, and the spell was forcibly disrupted.
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The original translation 'Three Rivers Nation' I change into Nigeria. Because it has 3 famous river (Niger, Benue, Yobe Rivers) and famous for their agricultural beside China. I'm not sure if it was the Author mean.