"Void Sand? What do you need that for?"
Qi Minghe stared, momentarily stunned.
Lin Feng offered only a faint smile.
"Does your esteemed shop sell Void Sand?"
"Well..." Qi Minghe's expression tightened, realizing his overstep. An awkward cough escaped him.
"Naturally. Grade-One Void Sand costs ten low-grade spirit stones per gram. How much do you require?"
"Ten stones per gram? That's steep..."
Lin Feng's mind raced at the price. After a brief pause, he replied:
"Three grams will suffice."
"Very well. Xiao Die, fetch three grams of Grade-One Void Sand."
Qi Minghe gestured to an attendant before turning back. "Anything else?"
"Actually—do you carry Grade-One Frostgrass Sap?"
"Frostgrass Sap?" Qi Minghe's eyes narrowed with surprise. "That's a talisman-making material. We don't deal in those—my apologies."
(Though talismans fall under the broad category of artifacts, they belong to an entirely separate craft. Talisman Masters—rarer than Artifact Forgers—require innate talent distinct from metallurgy or enchantment. This branch of the Wanbao Pavilion sourced pre-made talismans from regional hubs, never raw ingredients. In a backwater like Azure Cloud City, even mid-grade talismans were scarce luxuries.)
Lin Feng shrugged, unfazed.
"No matter. I'll hunt for it in the free market later."
The Golden Token
While waiting, Lin Feng's gaze snagged on a palm-sized token Qi Minghe had been examining—its surface etched with fading, intricate runes.
"Manager Qi... might this be an aura-type artifact?"
Qi Minghe raised an impressed eyebrow.
"Sharp eyes, young master. Indeed, a top-grade aura artifact—though utterly ruined now. It couldn't withstand even a low-grade artifact's strike. A regular customer pawned it off earlier. We rarely accept such damaged goods, but I bought it privately as a courtesy."
Lin Feng leaned forward, feigning fascination.
"Truth be told, I collect damaged artifacts. This piece intrigues me. Would you consider parting with it?"
"Collect?" Qi Minghe nearly choked. A mere Qi Refining initiate dabbling in scrap? Suspicion flared—was this boy a spoiled heir liquidating family treasures?
Masking his thoughts, he offered a thin smile.
"Take it for ten stones. It's merely clutter to me."
"Done!"
As the attendant Xiao Die returned with the sand, Lin Feng paid forty stones total—thirty for the sand, ten for the token. He pocketed both, the cool metal of the token already humming against his skin.
Whispers in the Workshop
Back home, Lin Feng bolted his door and exhaled. Moonlight streamed through the lone window, illuminating his spoils.
Inventory:
Repaired Storage Ring (pristine spatial cube: 2m³ capacity)
Golden Token
System Prompt:
Damage: 95%
Repair Materials: Grade-II Gold Essence Ore, Grade-I Fire-Attribute Beast Core
(Beast cores demanded hunting peak Grade-I beasts—creatures whose ferocity matched late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Suicide for someone at his level. Yet coins could bypass bloodshed...)
He carefully poured the Void Sand onto the cracked storage ring. Crimson light erupted, swallowing the room in a silent inferno.
"Repair."
The glow vanished. The ring gleamed like new. Half the sand remained. Testing its stability, Lin Feng grinned—no spatial tremors, no energy leaks. With a thought, he vanished the leftover sand into the ring's depths.
(Caution: Never wear it openly. In Azure Cloud City, a storage ring was a death warrant painted on one's finger.)
A Father's Shadow
Next, his fingers brushed the ring hidden beneath his robes—a worn band of twilight ore. His father's final gift.
System Prompt:
Damage: 10%
Unrepairable
"Not broken... just beyond my current skill. Must be spirit-grade or higher..."
Frustration warred with determination. In his past life's game, skills leveled through repetition. How many artifacts until "Beginner" rank? Until he could touch this legacy?
He pressed the cold metal to his forehead.
"I'll master this power. I'll tear through every shadow hiding you. Mother... Father... I swear I'll find you."
Breaking the Barrier
Dumping ninety spirit stones onto his threadbare quilt, he crossed his legs. The stones pulsed like captured stars.
Last night's repairs had nudged his cultivation core. Now, with this hoard...
"Time to shatter the wall to Qi Refining Level 4."
The room held its breath. Only the whisper of Lin Feng's spirit cycles and the stones' rhythmic glow remained—a symphony of rising power.