Since advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, Lin Feng hadn't tested how many artifacts he could repair consecutively with his True Essence fully replenished. He had initially estimated it might be roughly double his previous capacity. The actual result, however, far exceeded his expectations and filled him with immense joy...
One hundred and fifty-three artifacts – including three Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures and over twenty High-Grade Spirit Treasures – were completely repaired within a single night!
Although he needed to meditate for two hours midway due to excessive True Essence depletion, by dawn, even the final Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasure lay perfectly restored in his hands. He had significantly surpassed his repair quota for this session.
"After Qi transformed into True Essence, its purity and sheer volume have increased by an immeasurable factor," Lin Feng mused, looking at the repaired gauntlet in his hand, a gleam of excitement flickering in his eyes. "Truly worthy of being considered the genuine threshold of cultivation! If Foundation Establishment is like this, I can scarcely imagine the power of the Golden Core stage, the Nascent Soul stage, or realms beyond..."
As he meditated to recover his True Essence, his thoughts continued: "This means I can handle more commissions daily. In other words, my rate of earning spirit stones will be even faster than anticipated... Excellent."
His primary goal in coming to Biquan City was to amass significant wealth, ideally securing all the resources needed for his cultivation journey ahead. That way, upon returning to Qingyun City, he could cultivate peacefully under the best possible conditions.
"Once I present this batch of artifacts tomorrow, more business should pour in. Likely, there will be many more high-grade artifacts... Hopefully, plenty of High-Grade and Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures..."
"There are so many cultivators in Biquan City; surely many possess Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures? Even some Golden Core cultivators still use them... I wonder if it might attract one or two Golden Core cultivators? It's a pity I can't repair Spiritual Artifacts yet. If I could, just fixing a few for Golden Core cultivators would yield a massive income..."
This thought prompted Lin Feng to flip his right hand, summoning his own Spiritual Artifact flying sword.
"Equipment Damage Level: 3%" "Cannot repair."
After the last upgrade of his Repair Technique, when he had both repaired and enhanced this sword, its damage level was 1%. Since then, Lin Feng had fought numerous intense battles. He had even used this sword to forcibly destroy the Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures of He Wenyang and Li Sha. These conflicts had inevitably increased the sword's damage level by another 2%.
"I wonder when the Repair Technique will upgrade again... If it takes too long, the increasing damage level of this sword could become a serious problem..."
Lin Feng frowned slightly, sighing inwardly. He was about to put the sword away when his expression froze. A sudden idea struck him, his eyes darting rapidly as he muttered to himself, "The Repair Technique information shows the damage level, but states 'Cannot repair'... Is it because it can't identify the necessary materials, or is it truly impossible to repair? What if I already know the materials needed..."
Excited by this bold hypothesis forming in his mind, he declared, "Worth a try!!"
Decision made, Lin Feng eagerly retrieved the spatial ring dedicated to storing materials. He quickly searched its contents, pulling out several specific items:
One piece of Fourth-Grade Cyan Pattern Stone.One pouch of Fourth-Grade White Anvil Sand.One piece of Fourth-Grade Wind-Attributed Essence Ore.
These were precisely the materials he remembered needing to repair this sword!
However, back when he had repaired it initially, the sword was only a High-Grade Spirit Treasure, requiring Third-Grade materials. Lin Feng now used Fourth-Grade materials, reasoning that since the sword's grade had increased, the repair materials should also be of higher quality.
Realistically, Fourth-Grade materials are typically only sufficient for refining or repairing Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures. Even a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact usually requires Fifth-Grade materials for its creation. The original smith who forged Lin Feng's sword had attempted to create a Spiritual Artifact using only Third-Grade materials – indicating either profound foolishness or exceptionally masterful artifact refining skills. Regardless, they had failed, resulting in only a High-Grade Spirit Treasure.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Feng held the materials in his left hand and placed them onto the sword held in his right. He focused his mind and commanded internally: "Repair!!"
—That's right! Despite the system displaying "Cannot repair," Lin Feng was attempting to force the Repair Technique!
"Fwoosh!!"
The instant the thought formed, flames flickered before Lin Feng's eyes! A burst of crimson fire erupted into existence!
"It really works!!"
Seeing the flames appear, Lin Feng's eyes blazed with ecstatic joy. But that joy instantly turned to shock as his pupils contracted violently. An unimaginably powerful suction force erupted from his hands, violently draining his True Essence!!
The sensation of True Essence consumption during artifact repair was familiar territory for Lin Feng. But the speed at which it was being drained now was utterly incomparable to repairing even Supreme-Grade Spirit Treasures. Within just two or three breaths, he felt nearly half of his True Essence reserves vanish!
"Whoosh!!"
Just as Lin Feng reeled in horror, the terrifying suction vanished as abruptly as it began. The roaring flames before him dissipated into the air.
"Hah... Hah..."
Lin Feng's shoulders slumped. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he gasped for breath, his eyes wide with lingering shock. The suddenness and intensity of the event had truly frightened him.
Then, a new piece of information appeared in his mind, instantly banishing the shock and replacing it with overwhelming elation: "Repair successful." "Equipment Damage Level: 0." "No repair needed."
... "It worked... Haha!! It actually succeeded!"
Lin Feng stared blankly for a second, then burst into unrestrained laughter. He gazed at the sword in his hand, his eyes brimming with pure, unadulterated joy.
—He had forced the Repair Technique, and it had genuinely repaired the 3% damage on his flying sword!
This wasn't just about fixing a minor flaw on his sword; it was an earth-shattering new discovery!
It meant that even if the skill couldn't identify the necessary materials and displayed "Cannot repair," if he prepared the correct materials and activated the Repair Technique, repair was still possible!
Although the True Essence consumption had been terrifying, that seemed reasonable. It was, after all, a "forced repair" exceeding the current level of his skill. The high cost was acceptable. The crucial point was... it could be done!
This meant that even if the Repair Technique didn't upgrade soon, he no longer needed to worry about his sword accumulating damage. More importantly, it meant Lin Feng's repair business could accept much larger commissions and earn far more spirit stones!
Biquan City had nearly ten Golden Core cultivators, most with significant status and backgrounds. They likely possessed Spiritual Artifacts. If even one or two needed a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact repaired and happened to know the required materials, Lin Feng could take the commission. Just one such job could easily surpass the income from all his business over the past two days!
"My flying sword is likely only a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact... Repairing just 3% damage was that strenuous. It seems that even with 'forced repair,' given my current realm, I can probably only handle Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts... But that's sufficient! Golden Core cultivators in these parts likely rarely possess Mid-Grade or higher Spiritual Artifacts anyway. As long as I can get commissions for Low-Grade ones, it's perfect."
Lin Feng contemplated this, his mood excellent. He stored the sword, took a spirit stone into his hand, and began meditating intently to recover his depleted True Essence...