The words hung in the air, electric with possibility: "Spatial Ring."
Luo Zhen's eyes, which had been scanning the room, snapped into focus. A spark ignited within them.
A Spatial Ring. Alongside its cousins—the spatial bracelet and the spatial belt—it was one of the four legendary storage artifacts. To put it simply, they were personal pocket dimensions. Game-changers.
Anything with the word "spatial" in its name was a cultivator's ultimate quality-of-life upgrade. And for Luo Zhen, it was a dream he'd been chasing for what felt like an eternity.
The reason was simple: convenience. Imagine being able to carry anything, from a mountain of supplies to a single precious herb, without a second thought. Just toss it into the void, and when you need it, summon it back with a mere flicker of intention.
For a human, it was a luxury. For a demonic beast like Luo Zhen, it was a necessity.
Lions and tigers didn't have pockets, and neither did he. Without hands or the knowledge of tools, logistics were a nightmare. You only started getting a break once you cultivated a demon core and reached the rank of Demon General. At that point, your upper body might shift into a more human-like form, granting you a precious pair of arms. But even then, you were clumsy, a far cry from the natural dexterity of a human.
This constant, nagging frustration was why the idea of a spatial artifact had become an obsession.
He'd gotten his hopes up once before, when the System first unlocked its integrated store. He'd scrolled through the menus, heart pounding, only to be met with a cold, digital denial: No spatial-type magic artifacts available.
The news had floored him. In his experience, the System was practically omnipotent. And while spatial rings were rare, they weren't exactly divine treasures. Any cultivator worth their salt who reached the Demon King realm usually had one. Yet, this supposedly all-powerful System couldn't scrounge one up.
The System's explanation had been uncharacteristically humble. "I am not a god," it had stated plainly. "There are some things I do not have, and some things I cannot do."
Fair enough. Luo Zhen had let it go with a sigh.
But now, the very thing he had yearned for was resting in the palm of his hand. He turned the exquisite black ring over and over, feeling its cool, smooth weight.
"System," he said, his voice low. "Walk me through it. How do I make this mine?"
"The ring is still bound to Pang Feiyun," the System explained. "His blood essence is imprinted on it. You need to wipe his mark and replace it with your own. The store has an Imprint-Breaking Talisman designed for exactly this purpose. Just redeem one."
Following the instructions, Luo Zhen acquired the talisman. As he activated it, a strange energy enveloped the ring. A moment later, a single, viscous drop of crimson essence was squeezed from the black metal, hissing as it evaporated into nothingness under the talisman's power. The final tie to its old master was severed.
"Pang Feiyun's imprint is gone," the System confirmed. "Now, just place a drop of your own blood on it. The ring will do the rest."
"Let's do this."
With a gentle flex of his power, Luo Zhen drew a single drop of his serpentine blood and let it fall onto the ring. It vanished instantly, absorbed without a trace. In its place, a new bond snapped into place—a clear, humming connection between his mind and the artifact.
He closed his eyes and pushed his consciousness forward.
Suddenly, he was standing in a vast space that stretched for hundreds of square meters. Tucked away in a corner was a pile of loot—a treasure trove left behind by its former owner. A quick survey revealed spirit stones, potent pills, and rare materials for forging artifacts. Classic cultivator stash.
Luo Zhen quickly sorted through it, cashing in the items he had no use for with the System. Then, he gathered his own belongings—including the sacks of spirit stones from his recent battles—and with a single thought, willed them into his new sanctuary.
A whisper of dark light flashed, and the bulky sacks around him vanished. All that remained was the elegant black ring in his hand.
"This is incredible," he breathed. "Storing things will never be a problem again."
He slid the ring onto his index finger. At first, it hung loose, a size too large. But then, another pulse of faint light emanated from it, and the ring resized itself, cinching down to a perfect, snug fit.
A grin spread across Luo Zhen's face.
After admiring his new acquisition for a few more moments, he turned his attention to the city. With a powerful flick of his tail, he propelled himself toward his residence in Flying Sand City.
The moment he was back within his own walls, he issued a swift command: every lesser demon was to clear out, and the gates were to be barred. He was not to be disturbed.
With his privacy secured, he could finally begin. It was time to forge the Thunder Cloud Saber.
The System had been clear: the thunder stones he'd acquired were of exceptional quality and quantity. If he forged them correctly, the blade could easily reach the pinnacle of top-tier magic artifacts. But there was a way to push it even further. By empowering the blade with his own Furious Thunder Strike ability during its creation, he could elevate it into something more—a pseudo-magic treasure.
Anticipation thrummed through him. Reaching into his new spatial ring, he summoned the materials, laying them out before him.
He began by placing a heavy-duty furnace on the floor and dumping all the thunder stones inside. Then, he took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of azure thunder-flame from his mouth. The furnace should have melted instantly under such heat, but Luo Zhen's control was absolute. He channeled the full force of the flames directly into the stones, leaving the container itself untouched.
The solid stones began to glow, then liquefy, spitting out tiny arcs of electricity as they dissolved into a shimmering, blue magma. Half an hour later, the transformation was complete. The molten mass inside the furnace was a miniature sea of lightning, its surface and depths swirling with raw, untamed power.
Under the dual assault of the internal lightning and external flames, impurities were slowly burned away, leaving only pure, elemental essence.
While the magma purified, Luo Zhen busied himself setting up a complex formation array on the floor, using the other materials he'd gathered. At its center was a perfectly shaped, saber-long groove. The plan was simple: once the magma was pure, he'd pour it into the groove, and the array would solidify it into the final shape of the Thunder Cloud Saber.
As he waited, the System's voice echoed in his mind. "Host, remember: as the blade begins to solidify, you must strike it with your Furious Thunder Strike. That is the moment of empowerment."
"I know," Luo Zhen nodded, his focus unwavering. He and the System had gone over this countless times. His unique ability to call down the storm, combined with the lightning-attuned nature of the blade, was the key. One perfectly timed strike would be the difference between a great weapon and a legendary one.
Another half hour crawled by. Finally, the last of the impurities in the molten thunder stone burned away, leaving a liquid core of pure, dazzling energy.
This was it. Seizing the moment, Luo Zhen carefully poured the entire contents of the furnace into the saber-shaped groove of the formation array.
CRACKLE!
The sound was like a thousand lightning strikes hitting a lake of oil. A deafening, piercing sizzle filled the room as the superheated, electrified magma met the cool energy of the array. A low hum resonated through the floor as the two forces battled for dominance.
Wasting no time, Luo Zhen began adding the supplementary materials, tossing them into the groove where they dissolved into the molten core. While the thunder stones formed the soul of the blade, these other elements were crucial for stabilizing it.
As they merged, the magma began to cool, its form solidifying. Paradoxically, as it hardened, the light it emitted grew even more intense, the crackling energy within it becoming more and more concentrated.
Just then, an audacious idea took hold.
"System," Luo Zhen asked, his eyes gleaming. "What if I add some iron essence to the mix?"
Iron essence was a core component in forging true magic treasures, a level above mere artifacts. If he added it now, could he push the Thunder Cloud Saber even higher?
"Don't waste your time," the System replied flatly. "The refining method and primary materials for the Thunder Cloud Saber have a hard ceiling. It can never become a true magic treasure. Adding iron essence would be pointless. If you succeeded in creating a true treasure, it wouldn't be the Thunder Cloud Saber anymore; it would be an entirely different weapon."
"Fair point." Luo Zhen rubbed his nose, abandoning the idea.
Inside the array, the blade was almost fully formed, its edges sharpening as the magma cooled into a solid, recognizable shape.
And that's when the world outside exploded.
The very air in Flying Sand City began to thrum with power. A fierce wind kicked up out of nowhere as the primordial energy of heaven and earth went into a frenzy. In the eastern part of the city, this energy swirled into a massive, visible vortex, funneling down like a tornado of pure power into a single, unseen point.
Every demonic beast in the city felt it. They poured out into the streets, their heads tilted towards the sky, chattering in confusion and awe.
Luo Zhen felt it too. The forging could wait a moment; he had to know what was going on. Stepping outside his now-empty residence, he joined the crowds gathering in the street. From the hushed, excited whispers around him, he pieced it together.
One of the city's two Demon Kings was forging a magic treasure. The vortex was the final step—the king was drawing upon the raw power of the world itself to complete the process.
Relief washed over Luo Zhen. It wasn't an attack or some catastrophe. He sealed his gates once more and returned to his work.
Back in the now-scorched room, he watched the saber cool, his mind drifting. "There are only two Demon Kings here," he mused aloud. "Pang Hong and King Wu. I wonder which one it is."
"I performed a scan," the System interjected. "It appears to be a human-like figure with four arms forging a shield-type treasure."
"That settles it. It's King Wu."
Of the two local powerhouses, Pang Hong was a demon horse, while King Wu's true form was a massive centipede. The name "Wu" was a simple pun, as the character for his name sounded the same as the first character in "centipede." You had to admit, it had a certain ring to it. He'd adopted the title "King Wu" both because he was a king and because, after being exposed to human culture, he thought it sounded incredibly badass.
His human form was as unique as his name. While most Demon Kings could transform into a flawless human disguise, King Wu retained four arms. But when you remembered that his true form had hundreds of limbs, four arms suddenly seemed pretty reasonable.
Shaking the stray thoughts from his head, Luo Zhen refocused.
Another half hour passed. The Thunder Cloud Saber was complete. It had the form of a blade, but its internal elemental energy was still a chaotic storm. It wasn't a true weapon yet.
"Host, now!" the System's voice was sharp, urgent. "Strike it now! Empower the blade!"
Luo Zhen was already moving. He gathered his power, his body crackling with latent energy, and unleashed his ultimate skill.
Furious Thunder Strike!
KRRR-CRACK-BOOM!
A pillar of raw lightning, as thick as a tree trunk, tore through the sky. It blasted through the roof of his residence as if it were paper and slammed directly into the nascent blade.
The building didn't stand a chance. It disintegrated in a flash of light and a deafening roar. Luo Zhen, who had already leaped clear, was still caught by the shockwave and thrown tumbling through the air.
The explosion was second only to the massive energy vortex across town, and it drew the eyes of every creature in Flying Sand City.
But Luo Zhen didn't care. His gaze was locked on the epicenter of the blast.
After a few agonizing seconds, the blinding light faded. There, embedded in the center of a newly formed crater, was a long, blue saber. It hummed with power, arcs of lightning dancing across its surface.
The Thunder Cloud Saber was born.
And from the sheer density of the aura pouring off it, he knew. It had transcended the limits of a magic artifact. He had created a pseudo-magic treasure.
He approached it slowly. The blade was three feet, three inches of fluid, graceful steel. Naturally formed, cloud-like patterns swirled across its surface. But its most striking feature was the halo of pale blue electricity that enveloped it, bathing the ten-meter area around it in an ethereal glow.
"Congratulations, Host," the System said, a rare note of approval in its voice. "You have succeeded. Now, claim it. Give it your blood."
"Gladly."
Nodding, Luo Zhen stepped into the crackling field of energy. He drew a single drop of his blood essence and let it fall onto the blade.
The saber erupted in a blinding flash of light, far more brilliant than before. For ten solid seconds, it pulsed with power, and then, as suddenly as it began, the light receded, drawing back into the blade until it looked like a simple, well-crafted blue sword.
But that was just a facade. All that power, all that lightning, was now coiled within, waiting for his command.
Suppressing a surge of triumphant joy, Luo Zhen reached down and grasped the hilt. He felt the power thrumming through his arm, a perfect extension of his own will. He closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness, reading the properties of his new creation.
Name: Thunder Cloud Saber
Quality: Pseudo-Magic Treasure
Active Skill: Thunder Blade Qi.
Passive Skill 1: Reduces incoming lightning-attribute damage to the wielder by 20%.
Passive Skill 2: During thunderstorms, the power of Thunder Blade Qi is increased by 30%.
Wielder: Luo Zhen.