Commanding Wind and Cloud
chapter-280

Chapter 280: Making Regress or Making Progress?

“Princess…”

“Get away.” Lucifer Lucy kicked Rafal over, activated her bloodline power, and walked toward the inner areas of the Ancient Desert Sea. “Qian Jin, you are doomed today.”

The moon was high in the sky, expelling the daytime heat. The Ancient Desert Sea turned as cold as an ice cellar.

The roaring wind hadn’t stopped with the disappearance of the sun. Instead, it was further intensified and mingled with the freezing temperature, filling every corner of the entire Ancient Desert Sea.

Fanta Kunge felt that he had been frozen into an ice cube. Holding two bronze sabers in the desert, he tried to absorb the metal essence in them.

Compared with the daytime heat flux which was a great help in absorbing the metal essence at a fast speed, the coldness at night slowed down the absorption by nearly one hundred as all the metal essence had been frozen by the cold current.

Fanta Kunge had no way to complain, as it was the task arranged by Qian Jin. Although the absorption of the metal essence was fast in the daytime, it happened at night at a much slower speed was accompanied by the consumption of extensive warrior power, which was not only helpful to train the warrior power, but also capable of solidifying the metal essence taken in.

Moreover, the metal essence absorbed in the daytime was like the gold liquid streamed from the furnace, which, after the freezing process at night, turned increasingly solid.

“If you cannot control the frozen Gold Essence Warrior Power freely, you will be doomed if you run into an enemy in possession of ice element warrior power in the future.”

Once the Gold Essence Warrior Power was frozen, one’s body would become as stiff as iron and steel, which incapacitated his actions. The minute you found yourself able to move freely at the low temperatures, the minute you could pull yourself away from the sand, and you would find yourself much stronger than before.

Qian Jin leaned against the wall and played with the magic core of the Sand Python he got from Duren Burg. It was a magic core full of wonder, which contained not only magic power but also all the essence toxins ever produced by a Sand Python.

There were numerous demon beasts in the world, each carrying their respective capabilities. Some of them hid their toxins in their bodies, and some in their teeth, while the most lethal toxins existed in their magic cores.

The toxins were also a kind of magic, which, when combined together, could be utilized into miscellaneous spells.

There were nineteen magic arrays in the Sand Python’s magic core, with each containing different abilities. The biggest magic array was the one that produced toxins.

Those intoxicated would feel no pain but were instead caught in a state of paralysis. The most destructive toxins were those that could poison people to death without them even knowing.

Luckily, Sand Python happened to possess such a toxin magic array.

The Hydra Bloodline Warriors were born with a special flair for devouring things, which could be awakened by revamping an immature altar. After activation, this inborn ability would help them devour the magic arrays in the magic core and turn them into their own ability.

Which one carried toxins among the nineteen magic arrays? Duren Burg was confused, so were most of the people in the world.

“How’s it going? Have you figured it out?” Duren Burg jumped out the cave and stood by Qian Jin. “In case you fail to identify it, let’s find a professional rune master.”

“No, that’s not necessary.” Qian Jin threw the magic core back at Duren Burg. “The one in the middle is what you want. After swallowing this magic array…”

“I know.” Duren Burg patted Qian Jin’s shoulder. “Give the magic core to Gabriella, right? I’m also touched by her persistence. This magic core could be of use to her for a long time.”

Qian Jin smiled as he took out the magic core of the Sand Scorpion King from his warrior dimension. The toxins of Sand Scorpion all came from the tail, while its magic core contained only sand spells such as sand thorns, sand storms, and sand shields.

All these could be used on magic empowerment runes, while the most intoxicating runes were the biggest magic array in the center.

Sand Ball Spell was not about transforming the sand into balls. It was a spell helping the Sand Scorpion change the forms of their husks into a ball to be hidden in the sand. Whenever a prey passed by, they would transform into their original shapes and release an attack.

Of course, such changes could also help these Sand Scorpion escape the hunt by many other demon beasts.

“If one could see through this magic array…” Qian Jin knocked the magic core, “No armor needs to be worn on him or be placed in the warrior dimension. As in that case, everybody will have an iron ball, which upon pressing, will immediately change into a set of armor.”

“In your dreams.” Duren Burg grinned, “That is the ability of Saint Item Sets.”

“Saint Item Sets?” Qian Jin shifted all his attention to Duren Burg. Hailed as the paramount armament, the Saint Weapons were superior to Soul Weapons. No forge master could make Saint Weapons; all present Saint Items and Weapon were passed down from the predecessors.

“It is said that the Zence Empire is seeing constant progress…” Qian Jin passed Duren Burg a cigarette. “The use and research of warrior power, as well as the magic power, is gaining greater success. Why have forging skills deteriorated?”

Duren Burg shrugged and smiled nonchalantly. “What’s strange about this? The forge masters in the past were focused on forging Saint-level Items, but nowadays the forging practitioners only rack their brains to use fewer materials to make more expensive equipment. They are pursuing totally different things.”

Qian Jin nodded his head. It was undeniable that the blacksmiths hadn’t regressed in the strict sense, yet the manufacturing orientation was shifted. In the past, no attention was paid to the amount of metal used for forging as long as high-level items could be made; but now, forge masters kept reducing materials which gave rise to the overall deterioration in the quality of the equipment.

If the deceased forge masters of Saint Weapons could be brought to life again, given the same materials as the present forge master and drawn a competition between them, the deceased masters would be defeated by the current masters as the current master had been studying how to reduce materials and making large fortunes day in and day out.

“In fact, materials must be consumed sufficiently.” Qian Jin shook his head. “To reduce them proves a wrong way.”

“Alright.” Qian Jin turned back to look at Duren Burg. “I thought of one way to make the Hydra Bloodline Family agree on your using the altar on the premise that you don’t go back to their family.”

“Really?” Duren Burg bounced from the ground immediately and looked at Qian Jin blankly. Although he had the magic core of his dream and was clear which magic array should be devoured, it was impossible for him to walk onto the altar of the Hydra Bloodline Family.

Every bloodline warrior family was endowed with ingrained pride, which couldn’t be erased even in the face of the royal family and the emperor.

“It’s beyond imagination…” Duren Burg nodded his head at Qian Jin and slumped down on the sand, “I have been pondering for a long time about activating my bloodline power randomly and try my luck. As for going to the Hydra Family – Pam Family? How?”

Qian Jin pointed to the cave behind him. “It’s all about the water there. As having soaked the Sand Python for long, and in combination with the special environment there, the water was given the special effect of awakening the bloodline power of snake-type bloodline warriors. If we exchange the water with the Pam Family, won’t they agree with your entering the altar?”

Duren Burg was set on thinking. Every bloodline warrior family was eager to have all their members awakened the bloodline power, but no family had ever achieved so. In this sense, to awaken the bloodline power of few more warriors, or have the current bloodline warriors to achieve a higher awakening would be of boundless value.

“It seems feasible, but…” Duren Burg wore a worried face, “But the source of the water will pose a challenge. As you know, no bloodline warrior family treats others hospitably. In the case that they got information on such special water, they won’t be friends with us just because we have provided them a certain amount of water.”

Qian Jin nodded his head softly. If the Hydra Bloodline Family knew the existence of such water source, they would force to take it nine out of ten times. How could they let such an opportunity to solve the issue that long plagued them pass by?

“So let’s find a dry pool, take some water there and pour it in.” Qian Jin shrugged his shoulder and said: “We can say we found it there.”

Duren Burg gazed at Qian Jin in silence, thumbed up, and kept shaking his head. “You have really shocked me. You usually seem to be a little slow up there… How did you think up such cunning plan in this situation? It seems that you were born a sly dude; we are really natural friends.”

Qian Jin looked at Duren Burg speechlessly. Such a good scheme was described as a cunning plot by this guy…

A full moon had risen up in the center of the sky. Qian Jin broke open the sand which had been frozen as stiff as iron and steel, pulled Fanta Kunge out, and came back together to the cave for a rest.

The familiar small village was as tranquil as before in the Endless World.

Seeing Qian Jin walk into the yard, Blake was stupefied. “How could he have made up for the Warrior Heart without spirit and formed a real Warrior Heart in such a short time? What kind of Warrior Heart is that?” Blake thought.

Qian Jin was also shocked at the sight of the people standing in the yard. Apart from Blake, the blacksmith shop had also welcomed Eulalia and Adams, who were not in a smooth relationship with each other.

And…why was the black medicine vat in the yard too.

“Masters…” Qian Jin looked his two masters hesitantly, not knowing what to say.

“Hum.”

Adams and Eulalia exchanged a look and uttered a cold “hum” at the same time. They then turned their heads away, raised their chins high, and looked up to the sky. Obviously, if they were not in Blake’s Blacksmith Shop for the moment being, they might have already started verbally beating each other and performing a typical street fight between the mystic pharmacist and the ordinary pharmacists which was commonly seen in the Zence Empire

Blake rose up, knocked his pipe at the bottom of his shoe, and then raised his head to look at the squabbling two sides. “Get started.” He said.

On hearing this, Eulalia and Adams behaved like two wronged children and walked to Qian Jin.