On his way home, Lin Feng stopped at two more artifact shops. After bundling up several dozen damaged artifacts, purchasing a large quantity of materials, he headed straight back home.
After organizing the acquired damaged artifacts and taking stock of his 'assets', he found he still had over five thousand eight hundred low-grade spirit stones. Plenty for cultivation for a while.
Setting his plan for the coming period, Lin Feng wholeheartedly began restoring the damaged artifacts one by one. After restoring over twenty in a row and feeling his true qi depleted, he took out the Gathering Spirit Array and entered a cultivation state...
Spirit stones turned to dust in Lin Feng's hands. Assisted by the array, he cultivated deep into the night, only stopping and going to sleep when he felt he had reached his 'limit'.
...
After that, Lin Feng embarked on an almost fanatical cultivation routine. Every day, apart from eating, sleeping, and restoring artifacts, all his remaining time was devoted to cultivation.
This time, armed with a higher-grade cultivation technique and an infinitely reusable Gathering Spirit Array, his cultivation progress was immeasurably smoother than before. Add to that the ample supply of spirit stones and the aid of his restoration ability, Lin Feng's cultivation base soared at an unprecedented speed. For the first time ever, he felt: perhaps his innate aptitude for cultivation wasn't as poor as he had originally thought...
What Lin Feng didn't realize was that his current cultivation conditions were essentially no different from those enjoyed by the core disciples of fourth or fifth-tier sects. Such a drastic increase in cultivation speed was perfectly logical.
Since switching to the "Profound Flame Art", Lin Feng's daily consumption of low-grade spirit stones had increased to fifty. This was absolutely an extravagant amount. Furthermore, he almost daily went to Zhenwei Pavilion for a midday meal of 'spirit food', costing another forty to fifty spirit stones. Adding the stones needed to power the Gathering Spirit Array, his daily expenditure reached a staggering one hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Spending a hundred low-grade spirit stones a day—if this news got out, it would probably make the jaws of many in Qingyun City drop...
The initial stockpile of over five thousand low-grade spirit stones was nearly depleted in barely ten days. But this quickly ceased to be a problem. After selling off a batch of accumulated artifacts, Lin Feng once again had a large influx of spirit stones. Most went back into cultivation, the smaller portion used to purchase more damaged artifacts and materials...
Though initially, Lin Feng had tried to avoid selling restored artifacts back to the shops where he bought the damaged ones, this became unavoidable after multiple transactions. Later, he simply started buying damaged artifacts from other smaller shops, while uniformly selling the restored artifacts at 'Wanbao Lou' (Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion). Each time, he sold them and left immediately, saying little, appearing quite 'mysterious'. He hadn't even told anyone his real name.
Qingyun City had many cultivators, and the demand for magic artifact-level equipment was extremely high. Lin Feng only occasionally brought out a batch of 'new' artifacts, so he didn't cause much disruption to the local artifact market nor attract much attention.
Under such superior conditions, even with the poorest innate aptitude, progress at the Qi Refining stage couldn't be slow. In just twenty days, Lin Feng advanced to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. Two months later, he successfully reached the ninth layer and began his sprint towards Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
Previously, it had taken a full ten years just to reach the third layer of Qi Refining. Now, it took barely over four months to go from the third to the ninth layer. This was something Lin Feng had never dared to imagine before. Feeling his cultivation base surge day by day, he had never felt more confident about the future. He also yearned even more fervently to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible, hoping that might unlock the secret of the spatial ring his father had left...
During these two months, Lin Feng also paid special attention to news of the He family whenever he went out. Rumors said the He family's 'bounty' for the killer of He Yuan had now increased to ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. Yet, despite such a heavy reward, there was still no news heard of the He family obtaining any clues about the 'killer'. This greatly reassured Lin Feng; gradually, he almost forgot about the matter entirely.
Without danger or obstacles, Lin Feng's life settled into a routine that was both regular and fulfilling.
Finally, one morning two months later, Lin Feng was greeted with a massive surprise...
...
That morning, as usual, Lin Feng started by restoring a batch of damaged artifacts, planning to begin cultivation once his true qi was depleted.
"Restore."
Holding a superior-grade magic artifact in his hand, Lin Feng mentally commanded the restoration. A moment later, the red glow before him dissipated, and the notification of completion appeared in his mind.
"Ding..."
"Skill level increased. Current Level: Initiate."
But right at that moment, an extremely abrupt sound echoed in Lin Feng's mind—or rather, a stream of information flashed into his consciousness—leaving him utterly rooted to the spot.
"..." After a solid two or three seconds of stunned silence, an expression of boundless ecstasy flashed in Lin Feng's eyes as he burst out laughing, "It upgraded! Haha! Finally upgraded!"
—After waiting so long, the Restoration Technique had finally leveled up!!
Although he received the upgrade notification, there was no control panel to check like in a game. After the initial excitement subsided, Lin Feng forcefully calmed himself and pondered for a few seconds. He then reached out, picked up a gauntlet from a pile of damaged artifacts on the table before him, and focused his mind.
"Equipment damage level: 85%" "Materials required for restoration: 20 grams of Tier 1 Purple-backed Spider Silk."
A stream of information appeared in his mind. Lin Feng's eyes lit up with delight, "20 grams?! It... it finally shows the quantity! So upgrading adds functions!"
He hadn't expected that upgrading the Restoration Technique from 'Apprentice' to 'Initiate' would add the function of displaying the precise quantity of materials required for repair. This was an unexpected boon. Seeking to verify his earlier hypothesis, Lin Feng put down the gauntlet. With a flip of his right hand, he took out from his spatial ring an artifact he had prepared long ago...
This was a three-feet long sword, slightly over two fingers wide, entirely silver-white. Its design wasn't particularly special, but it exuded a heart-palpitating sharp aura. Though covered in cracks, it couldn't hide its keen edge.
This was a superior-grade magic treasure. Lin Feng had bought it from an artifact shop. Though damaged by about eighty percent, this sword was still one of that shop's 'treasured pieces'. It was said that the artifact forger who crafted it had originally intended to forge a flying sword but failed, resulting in merely a superior-grade magic treasure. Lin Feng had liked it at first sight and spent a considerable sum to acquire it. Even though he couldn't repair it back then, he had prepared it for the future. Additionally, he had prepared several other treasures of the magic treasure grade, precisely for when the Restoration Technique leveled up.
Taking out this long sword, Lin Feng immediately concentrated his mind.
"Equipment damage level: 80%" "Materials required for restoration: 6 cubic centimeters of Tier 3 Verdant Vein Stone, 50 grams of Tier 3 White Anvil Sand, 35 cubic centimeters of Tier 3 Wind Elemental Essence Ore."
As the information surfaced in his mind, Lin Feng murmured joyfully, "Indeed, I can repair magic treasures now! Hmm... as expected of a superior-grade magic treasure, it actually requires three different Tier 3 materials..."
Forging magic artifacts generally required Tier 1 or Tier 2 materials. Magic treasures demanded at least Tier 3 materials. Forging spirit treasures required even higher Tier 4 or even Tier 5 materials. Of course, this wasn't absolute; it also depended on the forger's skill. A master forger could forge an artifact surpassing one made by someone else using Tier 4 materials, even if using only Tier 3 materials himself.
Though Lin Feng longed to try repairing it immediately, he was powerless without the required materials. He decided on the spot to go to Wanbao Lou to buy the materials. However, before that, he took out several other prepared magic treasures. After checking each one sequentially, he compiled and organized the list of materials required for their restoration, and only then did he head out.
...
Familiar with the route, Lin Feng arrived at Wanbao Lou and walked straight into the main hall on the first floor.
"Young Master Lin, hello. Have you come to sell artifacts again?"
A delicate-looking young woman approached him. It was Xiaodie, the clerk. Lin Feng was considered a 'regular' at Wanbao Lou. Worried about trouble with the He family, he went by the name 'Lin Yun' when dealing with outsiders.
"Not selling artifacts this time. I'm here to buy materials." Lin Feng smiled at Xiaodie and asked, "Is Manager Qi in?"
Xiaodie replied, "Manager Qi had some business to attend to and stepped out. But several supervisors are here. What materials do you wish to purchase, Young Master Lin?"
Lin Feng took out a list and handed it over. "I need these materials. Do you have them all?"
Xiaodie took the list and examined it carefully, then exclaimed in surprise, "All Tier 3 materials? And so much... Young Master Lin, do you want all of these?"
"Yes, everything listed." Lin Feng nodded. "Please arrange it for me promptly. I'm in a hurry."
"Of course. Please have a seat in the rest area. I will prepare them for you immediately." A hint of delight appeared in Xiaodie's eyes. She acknowledged and turned to walk deeper into the hall. The materials on Lin Feng's list were quite valuable; she would earn a substantial commission, naturally worthy of joy.
Lin Feng walked over and sat down in the rest area on one side of the hall. A clerk promptly brought fragrant tea. He waited about ten minutes before seeing Xiaodie approach, followed by a middle-aged man carrying a sizable bundle.
Xiaodie stopped before Lin Feng and said softly, "Young Master Lin, this is Supervisor Xu."
"Young Master Lin? A pleasure. I am Xu Ru. Thank you very much for your patronage. These are the items you requested. Would you kindly verify if they are correct?" The slightly plump, amiable-looking middle-aged man placed the bundle before Lin Feng with a broad smile.
"Troubling you, Supervisor Xu." Lin Feng nodded. Without further ado, he immediately began inspecting the items.
Over these days, he had also bought and studied numerous books on various rare treasures and materials, gaining a certain understanding. He quickly finished his inspection, satisfied. "As expected of Wanbao Lou. Everything is correct, I'm very satisfied. How much?"
...
Moments later, Lin Feng left Wanbao Lou carrying a large bundle of materials, his heart content.
And just after he left, a middle-aged man in a cyan robe entered the main hall on the first floor. It was Qi Minghe.
"You said Young Friend Lin was just here? And he bought many Tier 3 forging materials?"
After hearing Xiaodie's report, Qi Minghe was greatly astonished. He held Lin Feng's purchase list for a long time, a thoughtful gleam flickering in his eyes.
"What exactly is this kid's background? Could he really be an artifact forger? A Qi Refining stage forger? How is that possible... Or is he the disciple of some forger?"
"That seems very likely. That would also explain why he can occasionally bring so many artifacts for sale. But buying so many materials is a first, and all Tier 3 materials... So his master must be at least a Tier 3 forger?"
"A Tier 3 forger... Is there such a person hiding in Qingyun City? If the opportunity arises, it would be worthwhile to make his acquaintance..."