Chapter 382 - 236: Magical Artifact 2

Chapter 382: Chapter 236: Magical Artifact 2

"Elder Li, do you happen to know what exactly these dharma treasures are?"

Su Xing had an unorthodox background, after all. Aside from the sword granted to him by the system, he had never seen a so-called dharma treasure before. This was his first real opportunity to obtain one for himself, so of course, he wanted to get a clear understanding.

"Haha, it’s normal that you don’t understand."

"Dharma treasures are simply weapons for Extraordinary Beings. They aren’t that different from ordinary swords, sabers, darts, or spears. The only distinction is that conventional weapons can’t channel Extraordinary power, while these can."

Li Longxuan said calmly.

The principle was simple. A stronger weapon could naturally handle more potent Extraordinary energy. It could even amplify that energy, thereby increasing its owner’s combat effectiveness.

"So, what’s the current state of research on dharma treasures in the modern world?"

Su Xing asked.

"Actually, you should be well aware of this. The combat suit our special organization in Cang City has been researching is a type of dharma treasure, we just haven’t been able to perfect it. In the modern world, different regions are at different stages of research. The most advanced are probably Capital City and Modu."

"As for other places, they mostly just use dharma treasures recovered from ancient tombs, from resurrected Extraordinary Beings, or found in Secret Realms. They generally lack the ability to create their own."

"Capital City and Modu, thanks to their advanced manufacturing processes, were the first to establish a classification system. They use a grading scale—A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H—to define dharma treasures."

"A Grade-A dharma treasure corresponds to a Tier Eight Transcendent. Each grade below that corresponds to the next lower tier of Extraordinary Being. Given your current strength and the sincerity Dragon Gate is showing, you should just go ahead and pick a Grade-A one."

Li Longxuan explained. However, his words sparked a question in Su Xing’s mind, and he asked:

"What about above Grade A? No Tier Nine Extraordinary Beings have appeared yet, but it’s basically confirmed that they exist. Shouldn’t there be dharma treasures above Grade A as well?"

Su Xing asked.

"In theory, yes. But we’ve never found any, so there’s no official classification above Grade A."

Li Longxuan explained. After a long moment, he suddenly remarked with a sigh, "People like us didn’t understand Tier Nine at all before. Now, it seems likely that Tier Nine weapons are so rare because it’s incredibly difficult to forge a weapon capable of withstanding the power of Source Essence."

’Indeed...’

After reaching Tier Nine, all Extraordinary Beings used a unified form of energy: Source Essence. Although each individual’s Source Essence was unique, they were all the ultimate product of energy’s origin. Even in ancient times, such power was surely not a dime a dozen.

Therefore, there must have been very few people capable of forging weapons that could handle Source Essence. Even fewer of those weapons would have been passed down through the ages. It was no surprise, then, that no Divine Artifacts above Grade A had ever been found.

But this also meant that on his trip to Dragon Gate, Su Xing was about to obtain a dharma treasure of the highest known grade. Realizing this, he finally appreciated the immense sincerity Dragon Gate was offering.

"Elder Li, this black robe... what grade of dharma treasure is it?"

Su Xing asked, picking up the black robe beside him.

Li Longxuan glanced at it and chuckled. "I’m not an artificer, how would I know? But I can sense that it’s quite powerful."

...

’That was a completely useless statement.’

After all, the Black Shadow, while only at Tier Seven, had used this very robe to withstand a full-power blow from Lin Tianhan, a Tier Eight Transcendent. The gap between Tier Seven and Tier Eight was immense, and the fact that this dharma treasure could bridge it, even for a single attack, spoke volumes about its quality.

As for the robe seemingly being an evil dharma treasure that grew stronger by absorbing human blood, Su Xing couldn’t care less. He had killed plenty of people himself. In the battles at Dragon Heaven Building and the repeated clashes with the Spiritual Sect, the body count was likely in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.

But Su Xing had always believed he wasn’t one to slaughter the innocent. Therefore, in his hands, this dharma treasure would certainly not become an evil weapon.

"Whatever. I’ll go check out the Treasure Pavilion first."

Su Xing thought for a moment. Dragon Gate’s martial arts didn’t have anything as novel as the Cyan Cloud Sect’s fusion of immortal and martial techniques. Even their founder, the original Dragon Gate Master, had only practiced the common Martial Dao and never managed to break through to Tier Nine. He had simply hammered out Dragon Gate’s reputation with his iron fists.

However, the fame of the first Dragon Gate Master had nothing to do with him. Right now, dharma treasures were his biggest weakness. It would be good to go take a look and broaden his horizons.

At this thought, Su Xing climbed out of bed, only to find he wasn’t wearing anything. He casually grabbed his clothes from a nearby table and pulled them on.

"You should go."

Li Longxuan said, looking at Su Xing.

"This avatar of mine is low on energy. I shouldn’t move around too much. I want to save enough to watch your match."

"Alright."

Hearing this, Su Xing nodded, left the room, and stepped into Dragon Gate’s residential area.

As soon as he stepped outside, Su Xing felt the dense Spiritual Qi in the air. Its richness made him realize that this place must also be a Secret Realm.

It made sense. The Cyan Cloud Sect was situated in the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, so it was only natural for Dragon Gate to have its own. Su Xing glanced around and noticed that Dragon Gate’s architectural style, compared to the elegant, ethereal aura of Cyan Cloud Sect, had a more worldly, lived-in feel to it. It was more like something out of the ancient Xia Country.

It resembled the grand courtyards of wealthy young masters, just magnified countless times over. Within these courtyards, Dragon Gate Disciples were training, their movements creating sharp whooshes that cut through the air.

’Dragon Gate has a lot of disciples.’

Su Xing mused to himself. From what he could see, Dragon Gate had far more disciples than the Cyan Cloud Sect had when he’d visited. The average cultivation level of both sides, however, seemed to be about the same.

"Y-You must be Elder Su, right?"

A girl’s voice suddenly sounded from beside him. It was a young voice, not one that sounded like it belonged to someone who had lived since the era of depleted Spiritual Qi. Su Xing turned his head to glance at her.

Sure enough, she had the air of a student about her, complete with the classic high-school ponytail. Forget being an old monster from the era of depleted Spiritual Qi; Su Xing figured she wasn’t even as old as Lu Anning. He asked:

"How do you know who I am?"

"Um... probably everyone in Dragon Gate knows about Elder Su by now. We all heard that a very powerful young man came to visit, and that he’s supposedly not much older than us."

"You sound very young. How did you end up here?"

Su Xing asked.

The girl replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Because I wanted to become an Extraordinary Being, my mom sent me here. I showed a little talent as a Martial Artist, so they let me stay."

"I see. That’s quite impressive."

Su Xing said with a smile.

After hearing the girl’s explanation, Su Xing understood how this area differed from Cang City. The regions around Luocheng and Liu City had many surviving sect Secret Realms, which allowed them to establish a system like this.

In Cang City, on the other hand, there were almost no other sects besides the Martial God Hall and the Spirit Sect. Since both of those factions were hostile to the special organization, ordinary people in Cang City only had two choices: join the special organization or become a Loose Cultivator.

Sequencers naturally joined the special organization. However, those with talent for the Martial Dao, Qi Cultivation, or even the path of a Confucian Scholar might never become Extraordinary Beings simply because there was no one to discover and develop their potential.

’Come to think of it,

this is a pretty serious problem.

It’s significantly impacting the actual combat strength of Cang City’s younger generation.’

’After I get back, maybe I can talk to Li Longxuan about this. It would be great if I could gather them all and teach a class. Besides, I’ve always wanted to teach a class at the organization, but the timing was never right, and I never had a chance to bring it up.’

’When I get back this time, I can bring it all up at once. By then, my own rate of improvement should reach a whole new level.’

Thinking of this, Su Xing chuckled to himself. He then noticed the little girl’s confused stare, cleared his throat, and said:

"Do you know the way to the Treasure Pavilion?"