Qin Lun switched off the Projector and sighed, looking at the Gold Evaluation Card in his hand. In two days, it wouldn’t be his anymore.
Kelly, acting on behalf of Lost, had ultimately bought this Mid-Magic World Gold Quest Evaluation Card. Besides covering fifty thousand Shattered Crystals for the team costs, she paid an extra hundred thousand Shattered Crystals and several Reflex Training Scrolls. However, this was just a small part. The key item was a high-quality Artifact Spirit intended for the World Tree Longbow.
This was also Qin Lun’s original intention. Lost had close ties with the Moonlit Elf race, and the Elves certainly wouldn’t lack wood-aligned Artifact Spirits for World Tree items. As part of the payment for the Gold Card, Kelly revealed some additional information about quest evaluation cards.
Qin Lun now knew that evaluation cards Silver and above were very precious. However, besides exchanging them for materials from the Shattered Starry Sky exchange list, he still didn’t know their other uses and was somewhat puzzled about this.
Kelly’s intel cleared up that part of the mystery. According to her, every time the Shattered Starry Sky invaded an alien world, it gained some unique World Laws based on the World Exploration Degree and World Origin plundered by the Apostles.
Many items on the Shattered Starry Sky’s exchange list for Apostles were formed by consuming the Star Void’s resources based on these World Laws.
However, creating some of the most precious equipment and artifacts required enormous resources; even the Shattered Starry Sky couldn’t mass-produce them. Therefore, Apostles needed to pay a certain price.
This price wasn’t Shattered Crystals or Exchange Vouchers – the common currency – but their invisible contributions to the Star Void. These invisible contributions consisted of two points: first, an Apostle’s title. The higher the title, the greater their proven contribution to the Star Void, which naturally raised their purchasing permissions.
The second was the quest evaluation card; specifically, one rated Silver or higher from that specific world. This indirectly proved the Apostle had plundered a great deal of that world’s origin power, thereby qualifying them to purchase a replica of that world’s treasure crafted by the Shattered Starry Sky.
The Toril World was an alien world with an immensely vast background. It wasn’t just home to legendary and demigod creatures; it had several pantheons of actual deities. Though classified as a peak Mid-Magic World, its top-level combat capabilities were no less than some High-Magic Worlds.
As the Shattered Starry Sky’s development of Toril reached a certain stage, it could replicate some legendary items and Divine Artifacts from Faerûn. To purchase such replicas of legendary items or artifacts, a Gold Evaluation Card originating from that same world became a mandatory prerequisite.
Of course, even after learning these secrets, Qin Lun didn’t regret selling this Toril Gold Card. Every legendary item or Divine Artifact was incredibly valuable. Even with the Gold Card, it would be a very long time before he had the additional resources to purchase even one, let alone an artifact.
According to Kelly, the entire Lost team possessed only one Divine Artifact, held by the Team Leader as a treasure guarding their foundation. Even the Leader wouldn’t normally use it on missions, bringing it out only during dangerous team battles.
Having solved the Artifact Spirit problem for the World Tree Longbow and now holding an extra hundred thousand Shattered Crystals, Qin Lun no longer concerned himself with external matters. He even stopped trying to sell the Undead Sacred Artifact in his possession. Although he couldn’t use the Undead Sacred Artifact, trading it for Shattered Crystals felt like too much of a loss. It was better to hold onto it for future exchanges for things he needed.
Qin Lun was no longer the green Probationary Apostle just entering the Star Void. His gear and skills had begun forming an initial system; while his needs narrowed, the quality requirements skyrocketed.
For the period after that, Qin Lun, along with Frank, Didi, and Sif, immersed themselves in the Training Ground. He used the Master-level Technique Scroll obtained from Toril World on his dagger skill, elevating his Dagger Advanced Mastery to a Master-level Technique.
He used all of the Mid to Low-level Reflex Training Scrolls he’d gotten from Kelly on his Single-Handed Cold Weapon skill, pushing it up to Advanced Mastery. Because only with Single-Handed Cold Weapon Mastery could he use Frostwind Chaser’s signature skill – Frostwind Chaser.
However, something Qin Lun found incredibly frustrating happened: the improvement in his single-handed cold weapon skill surprisingly didn’t include swordsmanship!
When he wielded other single-handed weapons, Death Notice displayed that he possessed Single-Handed Cold Weapon Mastery. But when he switched to Frostwind Chaser or any other single-handed sword, Death Notice’s description reverted to his former Single-Handed Cold Weapon Proficiency, which was an intermediate-level skill.
Puzzled, Qin Lun specifically sought out Kelly for an explanation. Even the Female Martial Artist was momentarily stumped when she first heard about it. Later, the violent woman specially went to consult Ghostblade, Lost’s other deputy team leader.
Ghostblade was a High-Rank swordsman. Though he specialized in blades, not swords, blades and swords shared similarities so it wasn’t completely wrong to ask him. Ghostblade hadn’t encountered Qin Lun’s situation either. Still, he was deeply immersed in the Path of the Sword and Blade. After hearing about the youth’s training, he proposed two possible explanations.
The first was that Qin Lun himself lacked pure innate talent for swordsmanship, so he couldn’t elicit a response from the Sub-Legendary weapon. In other words, Frostwind Chaser didn’t acknowledge Qin Lun’s mastery of single-handed weapons as valid for it.
The second was that Qin Lun’s swordsmanship technique simply hadn’t reached the proficiency level required to wield Frostwind Chaser. While the Shattered Starry Sky’s Law data acknowledged Qin Lun possessed Single-Handed Weapon Mastery, in actual practice, he only possessed the “feeling” for sword-type weapons granted to his Law Body. His application in real combat and adaptability in techniques hadn’t reached a Mastery level.
Truthfully, Ghostblade only explained halfway before Kelly fully understood. Feeling exploited over the Gold Card and doubly bitter about a favor being erased, the violent woman of Lost used this opportunity to mock Qin Lun ruthlessly.
But Qin Lun was no longer the out-of-control Serial Killer fresh from Federal Zone 91. Over half a year living within the Shattered Starry Sky, experiencing decades compressed into Quest Worlds, had gradually erased his naivete and innocence.
He no longer relied solely on textbook psychology knowledge; both his IQ and his previously weaker EQ were now air-tight. Kelly’s mockery couldn’t wound him. His unchanging smiling mask, present from the start, left the violent woman returning crestfallen after arriving triumphantly.
Of course, deflecting mockery was one thing; Qin Lun actually took Kelly’s information very seriously.
Faced with both shortcomings, he didn’t give up on Frostwind Chaser. Instead, he invested even more training time and bought another batch of Reflex Training Scrolls for the Training Ground. He used up not only the hundred thousand Shattered Crystals Kelly gave him but also sold the last two charges of the Synchronicity Temporal Apparatus.
The instructor teaching Qin Lun swordsmanship in the Training Ground was still the same voluptuous Rakshasi Woman as before. She was only an entry-level professional swordsman, far surpassed by Qin Lun’s current combat power.
But Qin Lun felt the Rakshasi Woman’s aggressive teaching style perfectly suited rapidly improving his swordsmanship in a short time, so he swallowed his pride and invited her back. For this clumsy yet eager swordsmanship student, the Rakshasi Woman gradually changed her opinion, patiently teaching him and sharing her insights and techniques generously.
Though her martial power level wasn’t high, the Rakshasa Race, renowned for bravery and skill in combat, possessed high natural talent for swordsmanship. Sword masters abounded in their race. Hired officially by the Devil’s Horn authorities as a sword instructor, her own talent was evident.
Her situation was the reverse of Qin Lun’s. Her combat power wasn’t high because she was young and lacked extensive adventure experience, but her swordsmanship talent was outstanding. Sometimes, outside training, Qin Lun would reciprocate her teachings by sharing some adventure stories.
Due to the Shattered Starry Sky’s strict rules preventing Apostles from revealing Quest World details, he framed them as fictional stories, which the adventure-hungry Rakshasi Woman greatly enjoyed.
Besides the Rakshasi Woman’s teachings, Qin Lun occasionally invited Elf Elder Mafa Moliya to act as a guest instructor. Joining the Order Front had made him even closer friends with Mafa, who already got on well with him.
“Qin Lun, why are you spending such a high price to master a martial art that doesn’t suit you?” Mafa asked during one post-training break, both men sitting sweaty on the Training Ground floor, discussing swordsmanship.
“A Jungle Hunter excels at ranged attacks but lacks close-combat ability. I need to compensate for that,” Qin Lun replied. “The other reason is because of this sword.” He paused, then pulled Frostwind Chaser from his Storage Space and tossed it towards Mafa.
Unless forcibly taken by another Apostle, an Apostle’s gear belonged to them. Left too far, it would return, so there was no worry about others stealing it.
Mafa flipped his wrist, catching the sword lightly. He stood, slashed it a few times, his eyes instantly brightening. He looked back in surprise. “A Dark Gold sword?”
“No, Sub-Legendary!” Qin Lun replied calmly, shaking his head with a faint smile. “You know how rare high-quality gear like this is. Improving martial arts is easier for Apostles. So I have to try mastering swordsmanship!”
“Sub-Legendary?” Mafa’s expression changed. He touched the Void Beast Serum vial inside his robes and sighed. “Sometimes, I really envy you Apostles. I’ve only known you about half a year, right? An ordinary person then, yet now you have a Legendary item worthy of being a clan’s treasure-guard.”
“Mafa, don’t envy us. No matter how strong an Apostle is, they are only shooting stars. Though half a year here feels like a lifetime for many, most Apostles in the Star Void don’t even survive six months,” Qin Lun cautioned, glancing at the handsome Elf. “You have your own life and a beautiful daughter. Enjoy your life!”
“I know. Even a one percent chance isn’t enough to risk the Void Beast Serum. It’s just… a feeling.” Mafa forced a wry smile. “By the way, earlier, when sparring with you, I felt traces of Rakshasa swordsmanship starting to form within you. To forge your own sword path later, you must hire several instructors.”
“Why? Is my current instructor lacking in swordsmanship?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, curious.
“Haha, it’s not her. I’ve met her; her swordsmanship talent is high. But you don’t understand Rakshasa sword philosophy. Their sword arts lean towards slashing and chopping, not slicing and thrusting,” Mafa explained with a smile.
“Actually, given the structure of sword-type weapons, a thrust packs more force than a slash. A slash only inflicts a wound, but a thrust can pierce through a body. Which wound is more lethal?”
“So the swordsmanship I’m learning now…” Qin Lun frowned, concerned.
“Mhm, the path you’re learning… actually incorporates blade techniques. It’s more of a hybrid blade-sword martial art,” Mafa stated seriously.
“Thank you, Mafa. I understand what I need to do,” Qin Lun replied sincerely, already wondering if he should check the Auction House for introductory blade technique scrolls.
“Qin Lun, I deploy again in a few days,” Mafa said abruptly, his tone softening.
“Deploy?”
“Mhm. For a Moonlit Elf war on another Suspended Continent,” Mafa murmured.
Frowning, Qin Lun remained silent. Apostles and Star Void natives led separate lives. Why mention a war? Mafa knew he wouldn’t accept a war contract.
“Haha, don’t scowl! I wasn’t trying to recruit you for the war,” Mafa said meaningfully, his gaze steady. Then he whispered, “But… if I don’t return… I hope you can watch over my daughter, Adeline.”
“Understood.” Qin Lun’s reply was simple and swift.
“I won’t ask this for free. These are my personal notes on swordsmanship insights; I give them to you now! Though Apostles can’t learn directly, they should prove helpful.” Mafa pulled a simple, ancient booklet from his robe and tossed it to Qin Lun.
“Now… show me your real strength! Your combat power outside swordsmanship!” Mafa flourished Frostwind Chaser dramatically and pointed it straight at Qin Lun.
“You’re sure?” Qin Lun asked, his smile turning strange.
