MARTIAL ADVERSITY, VOLUME 8 - Season 12 Episode 6

Hearing that Yang Kai was going to give her so many high-grade materials and that she was free to refine them into anything she wanted, Yang Yan’s spirits immediately soared to the Heavens as a terrifying light flashed across her eyes. Wiping away her tears with great difficulty, she took a deep breath and shouted, “I won’t let you down, and no material that enters my hands will ever be wasted!”

“I’ll wait and see.”

“Where did you get all these materials from? Your strength isn’t very high, so it’s impossible for you to have killed many Eighth-Order Monster Beasts,” Yang Yan asked curiously.

“I picked them up,” Yang Kai said casually.

It really could be said that he simply picked these things up. All these materials came from the Monster Beasts Gui Che and his team hunted and originally belonged to them, but after they died, Yang Kai had simply picked up their Space Rings to acquire them.

“Where did I pick these up from? I also want to pick up such things…” Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai with an eager expression.

Holding a list Yang Yan had written up, Yang Kai took another trip to Heavenly Fate City and purchased a number of ores and materials.

After all, Artifact Refining required not just Monster Beast parts but also a variety of metals and crystals.

After receiving these ores, Yang Yan immediately dove into her Artifact Refining, sealing up her stone room to ensure she was not disturbed while she worked.

Yang Kai could clearly feel a strong Yang Attribute energy fluctuation coming from her stone room every day, but he didn’t go to inquire about her specific progress.

As long as she produced some results, he would be able to judge Yang Yan’s ability.

The materials Yang Kai had taken out and given Yang Yan were only some lower grade things he thought he couldn’t use and would just end up selling. If Yang Yan could really refine them into artefacts, their value would definitely increase and he would have some big gains when he took them to be sold. If they ended up being destroyed though, Yang Kai wouldn’t mind too much.

A month passed by peacefully. Without the daily interruption of Yang Yan, Yang Kai’s everyday life was filled with free time, and with the Aura Gathering Spirit Array on Dragon Cave Mountain playing its role, a thin layer of fog had now gathered, symbolizing the buildup of World Energy. Although this fog was by no means dense, it made Dragon Cave Mountain look a bit more like a spirit mountain.

Over time, the aura here would become richer and more abundant.

Wu Yi came to visit him twice, but each time she seemed to wear an unhappy look, as if things in her family weren’t going well. Both times she simply chatted with Yang Kai and relaxed for a while before leaving.

One month later, and as Yang Kai was meditating in his stone room, he suddenly heard the door to Yang Yan’s stone room, where she had been engaging in Artifact Refining, creak open and immediately afterwards, a rapid sound of footsteps entered his ears.

Looking up, Yang Kai saw Yang Yan standing at his door with a flushed look on her face, holding up her long black robes while breathing somewhat raggedly and staring at him with excited eyes. There was a pleased and confident look upon her face.

“Can I come in?” Yang Yan looking around curiously, asking somewhat nervously. One day, Yang Yan had barged in uninvited and Yang Kai had pinched her neck and thrown her out. Ever since that day, Yang Yan had become somewhat afraid to step into this stone room at will.

Yang Kai nodded, asking with some anticipation, “Finished the refinement?”

Yang Yan laughed without saying a word, trying to be mysterious, “Close your eyes first; I’ll give you a surprise!”

[What kind of surprise could there be?] Yang Kai thought with a weird expression on his face, but he still closed her eyes.

The next moment, the look on his face changed, because inside his stone room, a number of energy fluctuations that belonged to Saint King Grade artefacts appeared. Opening his eyes, Yang Kai saw Yang Yan pointing to a row of neatly arranged artefacts in front of him.

“I didn’t waste a single piece of material you provided or ore you bought. These are the results, four Saint King Grade artefacts,” Yang Yan sat down cross-legged and picked up a mace-like artifact and began explaining, “This one was made from the teeth of that Eighth-Order Thunder Cloud Leopard along with some matching ore. I smelted the ore and the Thunder Cloud Leopard’s skull together then used its sturdy teeth for the spikes. A rough artifact like this is suitable for men with brawny builds. En, it’s a powerful weapon, a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artifact!”

After describing her work, Yang Yan handed the mace to Yang Kai.

Accepting it, Yang Kai began carefully examine this mace and soon nodded in approval. He could tell that Yang Yan had efficiently and effectively used these materials to the limit of their ability and that this artefact was well refined, as long as it could find the right owner, it would definitely display great power.

“This dagger was forged with the Blazing Blue Flame Rhinoceros’ horn as its primary material. Although it’s not very sharp, the horn of a Blazing Blue Flame Rhinoceros itself has some special attributes which make it excellent for destroying barriers, so this artifact’s role isn’t designed for fighting but rather for adventuring. I think there should be many people who are willing to buy such an item. En, it’s also a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact,” Yang Yan said, handing the light blue dagger over to Yang Kai.

Picking up the next one, Yang Yan continued, “This soft whip was made from the Diamond Dragon Beetle’s antenna, it was the hardest one to refine as the primary materials are quite fragile in an unprocessed form. Fortunately, I was the one who worked on it, if it was handled by another Artifact Refiner, you’d only be able to cry about the loss of materials now. This weapon is suitable for young women. Since you were the one who obtained this antenna, you should understand the true horror of the Diamond Dragon Beetle. Once you get struck with this soft whip, it’s not your flesh that will hurt, but your bones. If you get hit by this whip a few times, your bones might even break. This is a Saint King Grade Mid-Rank artefact!”

Yang Kai took the soft whip from her again and poured his Saint Qi into it before slashing it around the stone room suddenly, causing Yang Yan’s face to go pale for fear she would be struck by accident.

After waiting for Yang Kai to put away the soft whip, Yang Yan excitedly picked up the last artifact, her movements quite slow and cautious, as if she was holding a delicate piece of artwork, her eyes flashing an infatuated light.

“This is the work I’m most proud of this time!”

Yang Kai looked down at her hands and discovered that what Yang Yan was holding was simply a pair of palm-sized wings. These wings sparkled brilliantly and were constantly shifting colours, giving them a truly beautiful appearance.

Needless to say, this artefact was refined from the wings of the Illusionary Cloud Butterfly. It was also the highest grade artifact, Saint King Grade High-Rank!

“Saint King Grade Mid-Rank should have been the limit of the materials you gave me, but with this item I poured in all of my skill and managed to raise its grade by a level. For a long time now, I have wanted to refine an artefact in the shape of a pair of wings; unfortunately, I had never found suitable materials” Yang Yan held the pair of wings carefully as she stared at them, growing more satisfied with every moment, glancing up at Yang Kai every now and then with a look of longing even a blind man would be able to see.

Yang Kai stretched out his hand to her, and Yang Yan unwillingly handed over the pair of wings, emphasizing nervously, “Be careful, don’t break it.”

“Isn’t this thing mine?” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.

“It’s indeed yours, but it was made by me, so naturally I have a responsibility to keep it safe and make sure you don’t spoil it…”

“Can a Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact be so easily broken?” Yang Kai chuckled.

Yang Yan opened her mouth to object but didn’t know what to say, quickly shaking her head and beginning her description, “Although Star Shuttles are convenient for travelling, in a fight, these wings can increase a cultivators speed and mobility and in a critical moment even provide a boost with some protection. This artefact is worth at least thirty thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal, but if it were to be put up for auction, it would definitely be sold for much more, perhaps as much as forty thousand. There are too many rich people in the world after all, simply hateful!”

As she said so, Yang Yan waved her fists angrily, as if annoyed that she was so poor.

“Thirty thousand?” Yang Kai frowned, remembering that when he bought his Star Shuttle, which was the same grade, it had only cost him twelve thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals back on Water Moon Star.

Although they were the same grade of artifact, the value of this pair of wings was undoubtedly much greater than a Star Shuttle, so it wasn’t surprising for it to be worth such a price. On top of that, its appearance was incredibly beautiful, so presumably, there would be many men willing to pay a huge fortune for it so they could gift it to their favourite woman.

“Are you willing to buy this for thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals? ” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan and asked.

Yang Yan nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice.

“Then I’ll sell it to you,” Yang Kai threw the pair of wings to her.

Yang Yan caught it in something of a stupor, only a while later saying awkwardly, “I don’t have that many Saint Crystals …”

Saying so, she blushed furiously.

“I know, I didn’t want you to pay up immediately, just consider it a loan. En, I’ll be asking you for Artifact Refining services for a while and will deduct your reward from these thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystal, when you finish repaying me, you’ll be debt-free, until then, you’ll be my exclusive Artifact Refiner.”

“Thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals worth of commission?” Yang Yan was immediately frightened, “Do you know how much remuneration I should collect from you for the artefacts I refined for you this time?”

“How many?”

“I was going to charge you a thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal… That’s my reward for a whole month of hard work. Thirty thousand pieces, that would take me at least thirty months, or two and a half years without any rest to pay off, wouldn’t it?” Yang Yan’s face drained of all coloured, suddenly feeling like she had suddenly been abducted to join a gang of evildoers.

“Two and a half years isn’t very long, there’ll always be a time when you finish paying off your debt.”

“If I can’t pay it off?” Yang Yan said while nearly crying, she had never had so many Saint Crystals and couldn’t even imagine what thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals looked like.

“You can pay off the balance with your body,” Yang Kai grinned, sweeping his eyes over her luscious curves and nodding, “En, I’m actually quite interested in your type.”

Yang Yan’s face only went paler, staring down at the wing artefact on her palm, wishing she could smash Yang Kai’s evil face with it, but unable to bring herself to do so.

After thinking about it for a while, she said solemnly, “I have to ask you first, do you have enough materials for me to continue refining? Since it’s to pay off your debts to me, you need to continue providing me with a steady stream of materials. If I can’t even refine artefacts, how am I supposed to obtain my freedom?”

[This little girl isn’t stupid!] Yang Kai originally wanted to simply set up his identity as a creditor who could never be paid back, but this foolish Yang Yan had suddenly become sharp.

“You don’t have to worry about the materials. En, take these things for now,” Yang Kai said, dumping out another big pile of materials in front of Yang Yan.