Chapter 001: Murder and Robbery

　　A modern city, inside an old-style apartment building. Sigh! James Clark sat with a worried face, holding a short sword over a foot long and two fingers wide, its whole body crystal yellow, with a few black spots on it.

　　“Last month I finally reached the realm of ‘Qi Introduction into the Body’. It wasn’t easy. Now I can control a flying sword, but it’s just too hard to make one! Over five hundred jin of top-quality red copper, three hundred jin of red steel, hundreds of thousands spent on gold, silver, and jade dust, and in the end, I only managed to make one, and the quality is far from pure.”

　　James Clark is a Daoist cultivator, apprenticed to the ‘Artifact Refining Sect’. As the name suggests, this ‘Artifact Refining Sect’ specializes in crafting magical tools. In the cultivation world, it’s a very small sect, so small that other Daoist sects don’t even know it exists.

　　James Clark was lucky. Just after entering university, full of youthful passion and eager to do good deeds, he became the successor of the ‘Artifact Refining Sect’ after saving a beggar on the roadside with a bottle of mineral water. That beggar, who called himself David Turner, took him as a disciple.

　　Who would have thought that after learning Daoist cultivation from David for just a month, David would leave behind a ‘General Outline of Artifact Refining’, stretch out his legs, and die. It turned out that David had gotten into a fight with a disciple of the Shushan Sword Sect over a piece of yellow cloud crystal on Changbai Mountain, and was beaten badly by several disciples. James Clark rescued him, but he was already on the verge of death. And so, James Clark rightfully became the head of the ‘Artifact Refining Sect’—though he was the only member.

　　He thought he’d had a stroke of luck like the protagonists in countless wish-fulfillment novels, and from then on would be unrivaled in heaven and earth. Who knew he’d still have to keep a low profile.

　　The night was cool as water, a bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft pale blue glow. It was midnight. On the balcony, James Clark took out a few pieces of sparkling jade, formed a few hand seals, and set up a small concealment array to prevent his aura from leaking out during cultivation. Ever since he started cultivating, James Clark had resolved that unless he was strong enough, he would never reveal himself, lest he end up like that old ghost David.

　　James Clark sat cross-legged in the array, five hearts facing the sky. A beam of moonlight shone on his head and then disappeared. Threads of cool energy flowed along his meridians to his dantian, and James Clark immersed himself in the moonlight, using the spiritual energy of the moon to temper his body, expand his meridians, and increase his true power.

　　‘Qi Introduction into the Body’—for Daoist cultivators, the first step is to cultivate a breath of true qi within oneself. Ordinary people who practice qi may only sense it after five years, and only after ten years can it circulate through the whole body. But to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body and temper the flesh requires decades of bitter effort.

　　James Clark could be considered a prodigy. In just five years, relying on the second-rate cultivation techniques of the ‘Artifact Refining Sect’, he forcefully broke through all the meridians in his body and reached the realm of Qi Introduction into the Body. The sect’s qi-cultivating techniques may be second-rate, but its array techniques are first-rate, as artifact refining is built upon arrays. Unfortunately, the ‘General Outline of Artifact Refining’ records many brilliant methods for refining magical tools, arrays, pills, talismans, and swords, but even the most skillful housewife cannot cook without rice. To refine even a slightly better flying sword, the steel, iron, and copper required would be measured in tons.

　　With no other choice, after graduating from university, James Clark used his knowledge of artifact refining to start a business dealing in antiques and jade. First, to make money—these days, nothing can be done without money. Second, to see if he could find any treasures left behind by immortals among the antiques. Every generation of the Artifact Refining Sect may have been weak, but their skill in appraising treasures is unmatched by any other sect.

　　After years of hard work, James Clark had accumulated a fortune of several million. Though not a tycoon by modern standards, he was at least free from worries about food and clothing. But to refine a decent magical tool, aside from rare materials, jade is the best for storing true essence and carving arrays. A single piece of top-quality jade could cost over ten million. Over the years, James Clark had only managed to collect a few small pieces of Lantian jade, enough to set up a few minor arrays.

　　Waking from meditation, James Clark felt his true essence had grown a bit thicker. “Hmm! The Dao is long and winding, no need to rush. One day, I’ll achieve the Great Dao!” Twisting his fingers, “Go!” The flying sword shot out from the crown of his head, turning into a yellow light and circling around him. “The materials aren’t great, but to get this far is already not bad. My cultivation isn’t enough. If only I could produce Samadhi True Fire to refine away the impurities, maybe it could carry me!” James Clark thought to himself. Imagining himself riding a flying sword above the drifting clouds, traveling across famous mountains and rivers, James Clark couldn’t help but yearn for it.

　　“Huh! There’s a fluctuation in spiritual energy—someone is using magic!” Being able to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body, he was naturally sensitive to it. Even though it was just a slight fluctuation, James Clark still sensed it.