That was no ordinary Holy Artifact shield! While Qian Jin lacked the skill to forge Holy Artifacts, his discerning eye was sharp, and he was supremely confident in assessing the tier of weapons and equipment.

Yet, at the time, he only possessed half the shield! And by the time he obtained the other half... that half had already shattered, fusing within his own body.

Now, Qian Jin’s body was arguably even sturdier than the half-shield had ever been. Only a being of the Heaven Refining Spiritual Gate level could truly inflict damage upon him; even peak Battle Souls found it incredibly difficult to injure his body barehanded.

Currently, this half-shield, placed in anyone else's hands, would serve as little more than a piece of equipment. Only in Qian Jin’s hands could it unleash its true potential.

Now, the only person capable of finding this hidden treasure was Qian Jin himself. All of this...

A smile, laced with profound irony, touched Qian Jin’s face. All of this, astonishingly, was thanks to Qian Zhanxuan!

“Comrade, are you certain?” Fen Tu Kuang Ge instantly perked up. A Holy Artifact set! He had witnessed the power of Holy Artifacts before; what kind of might could they unleash when worn? Even without reaching Sainthood, one could surely stand against a true Saint-level expert, right?

Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s eyes shone with a strange mixture of light and doubt. “A mysterious person? If they possessed a Holy Artifact set, why give it away? If you had such a thing, would you just hand it over?”

Qian Jin glanced at the visibly excited Duan Feng Bu Er. This Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline warrior couldn't possibly overlook this issue. No one would kindly sneak over to gift half a shield, let alone reveal the location of an entire Holy Artifact set.

Since he was aware of all this, why hadn't he gone to claim it himself? Duan Feng Bu Er was no fool; he would naturally consider this problem... but...

“But...” Qian Jin turned the half-shield in his palm. “Now that you know there’s trouble involved, would you choose not to take it?”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce chuckled. He had focused too much on the conspiracy aspect, overlooking another crucial point: regardless of the hidden dangers, everyone would still move to claim it—a Holy Artifact set! Even knowing there was a plot, even knowing there were problems, everyone would fight for it.

If for no other reason, they had to fight for it for the sake of the Newcomer King Tournament!

By the time the Newcomer King Tournament arrived, the older generations of the major clans would certainly spare no expense, pouring all their support into ensuring the younger generation triumphed.

It had always been this way, but this time, it concerned the ultimate bloodline power—determining who was truly the strongest. The battles would only be more brutal than any previous iteration.

Holy Artifacts would absolutely appear on the Newcomer King’s stage! They represented the deep reserves of the great clans, and they were the critical weakness that Qian Jin and his peers lacked.

Even if Qian Jin could forge Soul Weapons, if he used them in battle rather than to achieve Sainthood, they could surpass Dou Weapons, but they could never surpass Holy Artifacts!

The gap between a Soul Weapon and a Holy Artifact was simply too vast, too immense—just like the difference between a peak Battle Soul expert and an expert who had entered Sainthood.

“The Ancient Desolate Sand Sea has always been rumored to hold countless treasures. Even if this treasure turns out to be fake...” Qian Jin smiled. “We can still look for other treasures. I imagine the Fen Tu Clan also possesses quite a few treasure maps whose authenticity they can’t verify, right?”

“That’s true. If there’s a chance, why not try? Besides, the material of this shield itself is quite fascinating,” Mu Ne Zhen Ce observed, glancing at the teapot near Qian Jin. “Surely, using a shield made of such fine material for a mere trap would be too wasteful? There should be something real inside, at the very least.”

Qian Jin continued to study the half-shield in his hand, his mind replaying the details of the other half fused within him, constantly comparing and researching, deeply immersed in a hypothetical forging process.

There was indeed a shortcut to forging better equipment! It was to observe superior equipment! Qian Jin had studied the hammer from Black Uncle’s blacksmithing set in the Endless World, learning a great deal, which significantly increased his certainty in forging Soul Weapons now.

Seeing this shield again, comparing it to the cross-section of the other half that had been broken apart, Qian Jin suddenly understood things he had only seen in forging notes but could never truly grasp.

“So that’s how it is... so that’s how it is...” Qian Jin clicked his tongue repeatedly. Although he still lacked the skill to forge Holy Artifacts, his confidence in forging Soul Weapons had greatly increased. The primary source of this advancement wasn't the half-shield in his palm, but the half-shield inside his body.

That shattered half-shield, stimulated by the half-shield in his hand, allowed Qian Jin to experience the entire forging process of that piece as if it were happening live!

In the barren desert, beneath a giant lava volcano spewing choking, searing hot currents, dozens of different hammers struck different parts of the shield at different moments. Just as Black Uncle had said, one hammer alone could never forge truly top-tier equipment.

Just as without top-tier materials, one could never forge top-tier equipment.

The vast quantities of materials, enough to make even Qian Jin greedy, were constantly added to the shield...

This forging technique looked familiar? The more Qian Jin watched, the more familiar it became, until his mouth unconsciously fell open—wasn't this the technique of the Eighteen Hammers of Ascension Peak?

However! There were many techniques he had never seen before!

Qian Jin only knew the first five strikes, but now the techniques of all eighteen strikes were being utilized. Every hammer blow carried a technique and momentum that could shake the heavens and earth; it seemed if the forger truly wished, one strike could sever mountains and rivers and sway the stars.

Gradually, Qian Jin forgot that others were beside him. He simply watched quietly as the forging process reflected in the shield unfolded. His Earth Fire Heart Battle Soul surged forth completely unrestrained at this moment, and the Battle Soul condensed from his Third Battle Heart rose again, creating a vortex of attraction.

It seemed as if it were trying to forcefully pull the scenes of the forging process into the vortex! However, this time the imagery was far beyond comparison with any past martial skill; it was not easily absorbed by the vortex.

It was difficult... painstakingly difficult to pull it in, bit by bit!

Qian Jin didn't even notice the changes in his own body, having become utterly absorbed in the experience.

Slowly... slowly...

Qian Jin realized he was no longer just observing from the side. At some unknown point, he felt as if he had truly entered the body of the forger; he was the forger.

Observation and experience were two completely different concepts!

In this near-realistic experience, every hammer strike was astonishingly brilliant to Qian Jin, and each blow brought him a new breakthrough in his understanding of forging.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Duan Feng Bu Er sat quietly to the side watching Qian Jin, not daring to interrupt him with another sound.

Mu Ne Zhen Ce also maintained a quiet focus. The expression on Qian Jin’s face was not confusion, but a special state of enlightenment. Though he didn't know what triggered this insight, when such a state of understanding appeared, it was best not to disrupt it.

Enlightenment was a very peculiar state, sometimes taking ages to encounter, but always bringing new breakthroughs when it did.

The hammer! Duan Feng Bu Er watched as the Battle Soul of Qian Jin’s figure, clad in black armor with an indistinguishable face, began to twist and change again!

“Holy crap!” Duan Feng Bu Er couldn't help but utter a soft curse. Battle Souls, once formed, typically maintained their appearance; at most, they underwent minor alterations as a sign of strength enhancement.

A massive form was gradually transforming into a hammer—this was a phenomenon Duan Feng Bu Er had never heard anyone speak of.

“Freak!” Duan Feng Bu Er shook his head, sighing as he watched Qian Jin’s rapidly morphing Battle Soul.

Mu Ne Zhen Ce rolled his eyes and glared at Duan Feng Bu Er. How dare this guy call others freaks? Wasn't he a freak himself? He hadn't reached Sainthood but possessed the nascent form of a Soul Domain, and no one knew what special abilities those peculiar eyes truly held.

Mu Ne Zhen Ce even suspected that Duan Feng Bu Er could awaken his next stage of bloodline power at any moment but was deliberately suppressing it, as if accumulating something more!

“All of you are freaks!” Mu Ne Zhen Ce retorted to Duan Feng Bu Er.

“And you’re not a freak?” Duan Feng Bu Er smiled at Mu Ne Zhen Ce. This kid had cultivated a freakish path as a spiritual magician. Although his personal physical combat destructive power was the weakest, in a team battle, his support role was no less critical than anyone else’s.

In life-and-death battles, victory often hinged on a razor-thin margin, separating life from death. When Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s mental interference succeeded, he became an absolute killing tool!

Mu Ne Zhen Ce maintained his stylish composure. “I am also a freak.”

Bang!

The Earth Fire Heart Battle Soul above Qian Jin finally condensed into a massive war hammer! It was carved with countless intricate patterns—the marks of Battle Seals!

The War Hammer Battle Soul slowly descended from the sky and settled into Qian Jin’s palm. Though the hammer was several times larger than Qian Jin, holding it gave absolutely no sense of awkwardness, only the feeling of latent power capable of destroying the earth.

Qian Jin slowly raised his eyelids, suddenly opening them wide. He looked at the war hammer in his hand and smiled thoughtfully—Six Hammers!

He had truly mastered at least six strikes of the Eighteen Hammers of Ascension Peak! He never expected that a shattered half-shield would bring him benefits beyond imagination. But the price for these benefits was even greater: a human life! The life of a relative!

If he could, Qian Jin wished he had never condensed his Battle Soul, wished he hadn't gained these benefits, as long as Uncle Fabredus could be resurrected.

“Qian Jin, treat the people still alive around you well,” Mu Ne Zhen Ce said, patting Qian Jin’s shoulder, and casually drawing the teapot near him into his own Battle Realm. “The dead should be remembered, but you must treat the living well. Otherwise, what meaning or value will your remembrance hold once they too are gone?”