Chapter 61: Black Gemstone! Speed is Invincible!
Made from refined platinum, with a Big Dipper carved on it!
Big Dipper Sword!
Kaidi handed over the sword to Shen.
Shen looked at the sword with the carving of the Big Dipper. It was heavy and had a primitive unsophistication. The ancient design with the seven stars made it look even more dignified and vigorous.
“Although it's impressive and ‘higher-quality’ compared to the swords you have, I still expected something better.” Shen could feel her disappointment. Possibly, she the sword didn't have enough treasure energy.
Shen let out a defeated sigh, “My princess, legendary and divine treasures are not so easy to acquire... Why not search this cave carefully? I’m sure you will find some good stuff”—
“Daddy, let me hold it, let me hold it.” Luan Luan saw the pretty sword in Shen’s hands and started bawling with the desire to hold it.
What could Shen do? He smiled and placed the sword on the floor!
Luan Luan exerted all her force in an attempt to pick it up before she gave up gloomily, calling it a lousy sword, and went out to the hall to look for bird eggs.
Kaidi felt worried for the girl and followed after Luan Luan.
Shen tested the Big Dipper Sword, it had no edge nor peak. It was created by the accumulation of the forces of the galaxy. When swung, it would be as if there were a meteor shower. It created tremendous pressure as if one was swinging mountains and rivers.
“A good sword! If I don’t get any results from my test, I’ll upgrade it. Its might will surely increase!” Shen said to himself.
In the immense pressure, Shen practiced a full set of basic sword movement before finally recalling his promise with Luan Luan that he will cook something delicious for her.
He quickly washed up in the Immortal Realm and changed into a clean set of clothes. He made two big bowls of All-purpose Nourishment Soup and prepared a dish with vegetables planted inside the Immortal Realm. Luan Luan was only a little girl, so he wanted her to take balanced nutrition.
Shen took a bowl of nourishment soup and the dish outside of the Immortal Realm, causing the delicious smell to spread in the whole cave.
As Kaidi kept Luan Luan distracted, she didn’t notice him disappearing. And seeing the delicious food she was overjoyed.
The good thing was that Luan Luan did not ask questions, especially when she tasted the delicious food. After taking a bowl of fish soup, she patted her satisfied tummy.
The next three days, Shen cultivated in the overbearing pressure, allowing to experience better progress with his Absolute Strengthening Technique, as it becomes more refined, more active, and the tenacity of his meridian channels also increased by a lot.
What was more surprising he felt an increase in his blood energy, but he had yet to feel any change in his vitality. While he wanted to train in this place more, he had to return to Skysword Sect.
In the meantime, Kaidi absorbed the treasure energy from the Big Dipper Sword and reached the peak of 3rd Big Realm (Martial King Realm). She searched inside the hall thoroughly but she failed to find any hidden mechanism. But it was not in vain as she found two gems, a red agate, and a black gemstone!
The red agate and black gemstone was a type of magical gem that existed in the world of nine continents. They enhanced cultivators statistics according to the type of gems. Each of them was especially precious and hard to acquire.
The red agate was embedded in a necklace, as it exuded a fiery halo. Shen immediately recognized it as he read about this item in a book. It was called Fire Jade Dragon Necklace! He hurriedly checked its status.
[Red Agate Necklace
A necklace embedded with a 5th-grade red agate.
Effect: 40% increase in strength.]
As always the name of the item is overly simplified in Absolute Upgrade. Like how this Fire Jade Dragon Necklace was named Red Agate Necklace. He proceeded to upgrade the red agate. A fiery light flashed.
[Red Agate Necklace +1
Effect: 42% increase in strength.]
‘Hmm, one upgrade actually increased its effects by 2%.’ thought Shen. He knew he wasn’t using Absolute Upgrade to its best, so lately, he ran many tests on it.
He proceeded to upgrade the necklace in quick succession.
[Red Agate Necklace +5
Effect: 50% increase in strength.]
“Five upgrades is the limit for this agate, does this have anything to do with its grade?” Shen gulped as he thought. A total of 10% added to its effect. An overall increase of 50% power. What is overpowered? This is!
He looked at Kaidi. Even though she reached the peak of the Martial King Realm, she could barely match up to Shen’s strength. While Shen was ridiculously powerful compared to any normal cultivator of the same grade, he still couldn’t match a peak Martial King's power.
As Kaidi is from the Treasure Race her attack prowess was weaker compared to cultivators. If she had the red agate, he wouldn’t have to worry about her during any expedition.
“Kitty! This is for you. It will compensate for your lack of power.” Shen handed the Fire Jade Dragon Necklace to Kaidi.
Kaidi only glanced at him disdainfully—did he think she saw her full ability?—but she didn’t take the Necklace from his hand, rather extended her neck.
Shen smiled as he placed the necklace on her smooth delicate neck. He gave a satisfied nod when he saw the red agate look perfect on her pale white neck. He was about to touch her neck that seemed as smooth as jade but stopped half-way.
Kaidi saw what Shen was trying to do, and rushed back to Luan Luan. Her cheek took a shade of healthy pink, but Shen failed to get the view of this beautiful moment.
Shen embarrassedly smiled, he found his self-control really weak last few days. Like how he would get the sudden urge to hug Kaidi, or try to kiss her.
While Kaidi didn’t express her dislike or reject his funny behavior, she felt unhappy that he always stopped half-way. Was he being considerate of her feelings? She didn’t know.
Shen took his attention to the black gemstone.
[Black Gemstone
A 4th-grade black gemstone.
Effect: 20% increase in speed.]
The black gemstone enhanced one’s speed! In Martial Arts speed is invincible! It was a grade lower than the red agate but felt happy nonetheless. He eagerly upgraded the black gemstone. Compared to his high attack power, he found his speed lacking.
[Black Gemstone +5
Effect: 25% increase in speed.]
“It’s a 4th-grade black gemstone, but I was still able to upgrade it five times. The percentage dwindled by half, but the number of upgrades didn’t change. It's safe to assume the higher the items quality the better increase I get and also the number of upgrades doesn’t depend on the grade material either!” while Shen had doubt in this regard, he finally proved his hypothesis, “But then again, what does it depend on?”
This was one of the major problems that hindered him from using the Absolute Upgrade to its fullest. Since he couldn't just figure it overnight, he pushed this thought until the next time he gets to experiment with it.
Next, he rummaged through items he ‘collected’ from the Zheng Clan and found a few pendants. He chose one with that looked classy and high-quality. He embedded the gemstone in the pendant and wore it on his neck.
Swirling energy passed through his body. He executed a set of sword movement and found his speed much faster than before! The black gemstone not only increased his movement speed, but also his attack speed!
He again understood why martial artist valued speed more than strength! Now he could dodge attacks faster than before and also execute techniques faster! It’s like adding a pair of wings on a tiger's back!
“Luan Luan, let’s go! Daddy will take you somewhere good.” Shen said thoughtlessly as he started sweating profusely. Didn’t he sound like an uncle trying to lure a child?
“Yes, we can finally leave this place. Daddy, where shall we go?” Luan luan jumped into Shen’s arms and said happily.
“Skysword Sect!”
Shen summoned the black bird, and they flew towards the direction of the Skysword Sect.
The freezing winter had already arrived and Shen had used the fur of the Blood Jade Giant Tiger to make a simple set of clothes for the lass. While it can be used to keep warm, it did not look good. However, since it was worn by a little girl with the beauty sufficient to cause the fall of kingdoms and cities, she looked astonishingly adorable and beautiful.