Chapter 374 – Metal Essence … … … The pale youth traced his chin. He watched Mu Qianyu from afar, darkly saying, “I just remembered a legend about Divine Phoenix Island’s Saintess. It’s quite interesting…” “Legend of the Saintess? What legend?” Lei Jingtian seemed to remember something, but he wasn’t sure of himself. Zhou Lie’s ears pricked up to listen. But what happened next left him speechless. His junior-apprentice brother bluntly said, “I saw some ancient texts that were found within the South Sea about Divine Phoenix Island. The legend was…” As he spoke to here, the conversation immediately switched to true essence sound transmission. This caused Zhou Lie to be extremely morose. He had been suffering because of this fellow recently, it was like he was acting against him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 This pale fellow was truly abhorrent. He didn’t know what was going on. It seemed as if this punk knew many matters about many things. Zhou Lie simply didn’t know where he had read and heard about so many events. As Zhou Lie was daydreaming, the pale youth finished speaking. Lei Jingtian rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Then, the pale youth said to Zhou Lie, “Go challenge Lin Ming afterwards. If Mu Dingshan or Mu Xiaoqing come up, I’ll deal with them. It’s enough for you to fight Lin Ming.” This command made Zhou Lie very uncomfortable. He really didn’t want to answer him, but apparently this was also the intent of his master, so he could only agree. At this moment, onstage, Lin Ming looked at the long spear in Xiao Chi’s hand. He had used the Heavy Profound Soft Spear for a long time, so he was able to determine that the spear in Xiao Chi’s hand was nine feet nine inches, the exact same as the Heavy Profound Soft Spear. This spear was an entirely gold color all over, he had no idea what material the spear shaft was made of. It was like metal, but it was also very flexible. Lin Ming saw Xiao Chi shake his spear, and the spear trembled, creating a large flowery image. This spear’s elastic properties were much better than the Heavy Profound Soft Spear’s. This was a low-grade earth-step treasure spear. No… perhaps it was even a medium-grade earth-step treasure spear. Lin Ming was surprised to discover that he wasn’t able to actually determine the grade of this spear. He suspected that it was a medium-grade earth-step flexible spear. But to forge such a high grade flexible spear from metal was not something an ordinary refining master could do! Xiao Chi noticed the look in Lin Ming’s eyes, he was very familiar with this look. When a martial artist saw a weapon that they liked, they would often reveal this expression. He smiled as he said, “Lin Ming, are you sure that you want to use that Heavy Profound Soft Spear? I noticed that in every match you’ve had to separate some of your true essence to protect your spear, causing your combat strength to be reduced. If you like, I can lend you a spear.” With Xiao Chi’s eyesight, he was naturally able to see what material Lin Ming’s spear was made from. It was Heavy Profound Soft Silver. To mortals, this was a rare and priceless material. But in a large sect, it was no different than common iron. Lin Ming’s eyebrows rose, “You have many earth-step treasure spears?” Xiao Chi smiled. “Correct. My Golden Bell Mountain is the greatest refiner faction within the entire Five Element Region. Within the entire area of several million miles, the best refining masters are all located within my Golden Bell Mountain. Especially spear refining masters – there are countless numbers of them at Golden Bell Mountain, and that is because the main weapon of my Golden Bell Mountain is the spear! Lin Ming’s eyes shined; a sect whose main weapon was the spear! “Spear, pikes, halberds, lances… the most charming of these is of course the spear. The spear is the king of 100 soldiers! And the best spear refining masters are those Revolving Core masters who are proficient with metal origin energy, and have also comprehended the Concept of Metal. Only then can one create the best possible flexible spear!” Lin Ming took a deep breath. Concept of Metal! To create a spear using the Concept of Metal, just what kind of approach was this? Of the Five Element Region’s seven great sects, each sect was extremely proficient in their correlated elements, and also had an extremely high comprehension of that element’s Concept. The Concept of Metal, in addition to the top metal materials of Golden Bell Mountain, could allow an originally hard metal to turn into soft and flexible steel! Perhaps this level of skill could only be achieved once one understood the Concept of Metal and also comprehended the Laws that governed the structure of metal. In addition, they were all metal-attribute martial artists. The quality of the spears they forged could be imagined! ‘This world truly has capable geniuses being born every moment. How laughable that I used to think that metal could never be used to create a top quality spear. It seems that I was nothing but a frog in a well. If there was really a Peerless Emperor refining master, even creating a heaven-step flexible treasure spear from metal might not be too difficult.’ As Lin Ming thought this, he radiantly smiled and said, “Senior-apprentice Brother Xiao, we shall be friends over wine, but opponents on the field. Today on this stage I have continuously defeated four opponents! However, this match with you is the one that I am most looking forward to! I’ll be honest with Brother Xiao. Before now, I have never fought against an opponent that used a spear!” “Haha, I just happen to be the opposite. Ever since I was child, all of the martial artists around me used spears. I only practiced spear play, and only looked at pictures of spears. But even though I’ve done so for 20 years, I still haven’t had enough! Junior-apprentice Brother Lin spoke well. The chance for me to fight you in a fair match is extremely rare. Without accident, I won’t have an opportunity to fight Junior-apprentice Brother Lin again in the future. In this match, I will also put forth everything I have!” As Xiao Chi spoke, he lifted his right hand, a golden light flashing in his palm. A moment later, that golden light condensed into a golden metallic liquid, as if it were liquid gold. “Mm?” Lin Ming probed with his sense, and was able to feel an extremely pure and strong metal origin energy coming from that golden liquid. “Metal Essence! It is the same as a Flame Essence, a spiritual existence of the world. This Metal Essence is bred from within heavenly materials or at least earth-step treasures. After all sorts of rigorous and difficult conditions are met, it will finally be born if it there is a heaven-defying lucky coincidence. If I relied on this Metal Essence, I could use it to create my life’s treasure weapon. Of course, I don’t have this ability, but it is still a possibility…” Xiao Chi placed the Metal Essence in his palm on the spear shaft. Then, an incredible scene took place. The Metal Essence seemed to be alive as it spread along the spear. A moment later, the entire spear was covered; the Metal Essence had even seeped within! After that, Xiao Chi’s spear was officially upgraded to a medium-grade earth-step treasure! Not only that, but it was a top medium-grade earth-step treasure! Lin Ming was shocked. Metal Essence could actually enhance a treasure by a single grade? It had to be known that a medium-grade earth-step treasure was able to tempt the heart of Revolving Core powerhouses. As for a high-grade earth-step treasure, that was enough to cause Revolving Core masters to go into a maddened frenzy. Flame Essence, Metal Essence, Water Essence and so on… along with Wind Souls and Thunder Souls, each and every kind of these spiritual existences that their own unique functions. The strange and magical things of this world could always cause one to fill with a sense of astonishment, novelty, and shock. If… he could obtain his own Metal Essence and fuse it into the Purple Comet Spear with a special technique, just what would happen then? Could his Purple Comet spear become a heaven-step treasure? Thinking this, Lin Ming was at first excited, then he immediately shook his head, ruefully smiling. Heaven-step treasures were mostly weapons that only a Peerless Emperor could qualify to use. If he wanted to have his Purple Comet Spear become a heaven-step treasure, he would most likely need a similar heaven-step Metal Essence. This was no easy matter at all. However, even if he had a low grade Metal Essence to use, it would still be able to greatly improve the quality of the Purple Comet Spear. The majority of the Purple Comet Spear’s weight was concentrated in the spearhead. The spear shaft itself was too light. Not only that, but the Violet Electricity Spirit Bamboo also lacked a sense of texture; there were many faults that could be found within this spear. “Lin Ming, let me ask you again, are you sure you want to use that Heavy Profound Soft Spear? I can lend you a low-grade earth-step treasure spear. Although the quality might be be too great, at least it will still be better than your spear by a great margin.” Xiao Chi asked again. He had a magnanimous and generous disposition, truly a man worth knowing. He did not take advantage of someone when they were in a helpless situation, and had the aura of a true gentleman. However, the Five Element Region disciples weren’t feeling too well about Xiao Chi’s actions. Of course, because it was Xiao Chi, no one dared to loudly oppose him. They could only privately whisper to each other. “Is there a mistake? He wants to lend this fellow a spear?” “He’s already running so rampant with such a garbage spear. Just what will happen if he has a better spear? Isn’t Senior-apprentice Brother Xiao just shooting us in the feet?” “These Divine Phoenix Island bugs obviously have no one capable of forging spears. But what would happen if they learn how to forge spears from Golden Bell Mountain’s spears?” “Senior-apprentice Brother Xiao is too reckless. How can he give someone like this away?” Although this Five Element Region disciples spoke in hushed tones, Lin Ming had extremely good hearing, and was able to listen to everything with extreme clarity. Lin Ming simply didn’t care for this nonsense talk. He cupped his hands across his chest, bowing to Xiao Chi as he said, “Before now, the four opponents that I continuously defeated were either scum or villains. When I first met Brother Xiao, I felt like I was meeting up with an old friend. Good friends drink wine together. Naturally, the best wine and the best wares must be brought out. Only then can a truly hearty time be had. Since we are facing against each other, I will not be stingy in my actions.” As Lin Ming spoke, he put away the Heavy Profound Soft Spear, and slowly extracted the Purple Comet Spear from his spatial ring. Xiao Chi was a man who truly understood the spear. Lin Ming would need him to appraise this spear; how to join a Metal Essence to it, and just what type of Metal Essence would be the best. And another reason that Lin Ming had taken out his Purple Comet Spear was to fight in his top condition, and use this match to increase his own understanding of spear techniques. Until now, his spear skills were limited to the Foundation Spear Technique. Golden Bell Mountain had thousands of years of accumulated spear techniques. Towards such a heritage, Lin Ming naturally had an extremely vibrant yearning. The Purple Comet Spear appeared, a purple light radiating outwards. Within the deep purple spear shaft, one could faintly see nine bamboo nodes. Between the deep purple, there were also countless dense red lines, just like blood vessels that ran through it. This was what was left behind from the Sacred Flame Parasol Tree after it was blended into the Violet Electricity Spirit Bamboo. The spearhead was eight inches long with a high ridge and thin edge, and an icy cold emitting from it. It was forged from the fusion of Profound Thunder Stone, crystallized Vermillion Bird flames, and Purple Comet. All of these materials were priceless treasures. Lin Ming hadn’t infused the spear with true essence, but the entire spear shined with a faint touch of thunder and fire, causing the air around it to slightly tremble. It was like an unrivaled divine weapon had appeared, slaughtering the world. Seeing this dazzling spear light, Xiao Chi suddenly froze, his heart full of wonder. This spear was actually a top high-grade earth-step treasure! “The spearhead is made from Purple Comet? But also Purple Comet that was refined?” Xiao Chi found this hard to believe. Purple Comet was a top quality metal that was good enough to create a heaven-step treasure. Besides his Golden Bell Mountain, there were actually others capable of refining Purple Comet? He didn’t know what material the spear shaft was made from, but looking at the vast inherent power of thunder and fire, it was an inestimable top quality material. Lin Ming just happened to have a dual thunder and fire attribute body; could this treasure spear possibly have been especially forged for his unique body? Thinking this, Xiao Chi gasped. Just who had forged this spear? Everyone present naturally had an extraordinary breadth of experience. When Lin Ming took out the Purple Comet Spear, it instantly became the focus of the audience. This was a top high-grade earth-step treasure spear! It was something that even Revolving Core masters would go crazy with jealousy over!