Yun Jin was silent for a while before she couldn't help but ask Shan Dian, "If it's so painful to digest all this… junk, why not just spit it out?"
Shan Dian responded with righteous confidence, "Spitting it out takes effort too. If it weren't for you, Young Master, wanting to help me deal with it, I wouldn't bother. I'll digest it eventually anyway."
Yun Jin: ???
She turned to An Tong again, unable to process what she just heard.
Seriously.
Was there anyone normal left in Wushuang Sect?
Well, to be fair, Shan Dian wasn't exactly human to begin with.
An Tong looked a little stunned too. With a helpless expression, he said, "Shan Dian's personality is… a bit lazy. But I guess it's understandable?"
Understandable?
Absolutely not!
Yun Jin took a deep breath and forced a kind, motherly smile. "Shan Dian, keeping this junk in your stomach isn't good for your body. Sure, vomiting it all out is troublesome, but for the sake of your health, just spit it out into the secret realm. Yes, these ores are a pain to process, but since you've accepted me as your Young Master, I'll take care of all of it for you, no matter the cost."
Shan Dian fell silent.
Yun Jin's heart skipped a beat.
Had she overplayed her hand? Did Shan Dian see through her?
She coughed lightly, just about to say something else when Shan Dian suddenly let out a wail.
He sobbed as he cried, "Young Master! You're so good to me! You'd go through so much just for my health! Wuwuwu, I can't be this selfish. I'll just digest the junk myself, slowly."
Yun Jin was dumbfounded.
Wait, was he… overacting now?
No, don't digest it yourself!
She coaxed and pleaded with Shan Dian, and An Tong also joined in to persuade him. Only then did Shan Dian, with a deeply moved expression, finally regurgitate the massive pile of "junk" from his stomach into the secret realm.
Yun Jin stared at the heap, which was practically a small mountain of materials, and sucked in a breath.
She had a fair amount of materials herself.
But most of hers were just basic components.
Shan Dian's stash, though, was in another league entirely.
What kind of materials could remain undigested for a thousand years inside a Mahayana-phase giant tortoise?
Only the absolute best.
Yun Jin quickly sorted through everything, categorizing and organizing the materials.
She now had everything she needed to upgrade the Tai'a Sword.
Combined with her own collection and what Wushuang Sect had in storage, it would be enough to upgrade Tai'a all the way to five stars.
A five-star Tai'a Sword would be able to accompany her even through her Unity stage.
But...
To forge a five-star Tai'a, her smithing skills were still lacking.
After a moment's thought, Yun Jin turned to An Tong. "Bring me copies of all the refining manuals in the sect."
An Tong blinked. "All of them? Young Master, there are many different schools of refining. Each one has its own techniques and philosophies. If you want to learn forging, it's best to pick one school to start with."
"No need. Just give me everything," Yun Jin said flatly.
She wasn't planning to study the manuals in the traditional sense anyway.
The system would simplify the refining process for her. Its streamlined methods were far more convenient than those intricate techniques.
However...
Reading through the manuals would still increase her proficiency.
Three hundred days should be enough to raise her to a fifth-rank refiner.
At that point...
She'd be able to elevate the Tai'a Sword's star level with ease.
Seeing that she was determined, An Tong nodded in agreement.
"One more thing," Yun Jin continued. "I want to quickly comprehend the fire-based Law. Right now, I'm still missing the Fiery Temper and Flame Mastery super insights. Gather every fire-type manual in the sect and bring them to me."
Three hundred days.
She wanted to see if she could master both of them.
If she succeeded...
Once she had all five fire-type super insights under her control, she would be able to command the entire Fire Law.
Back then, even with just one super insight, she had easily defeated Zhao Wuji during his Unity phase while she was still in Divine Transformation.
It was clear that in the later stages of cultivation...
Cultivation level alone wasn't everything. A cultivator's grasp of the Laws often mattered more.
If she could push her cultivation to the Unity phase, upgrade the Tai'a Sword to five stars, and fully master a Law—
Then Yun Jin believed...
She might even have a chance to break into the Mahayana stage.
After all...
In this world, there were fewer people who had mastered a complete Law than there were Mahayana cultivators.
Most Mahayana cultivators might not even comprehend a single super insight. Their edge was purely in raw cultivation.
Since she couldn't catch up in cultivation right away, she'd make up for it through insight into the Law.
She wasn't entirely sure what her true strength would be after mastering a Law...
But it was worth finding out.
"Last thing," Yun Jin said. "An Tong, take me to the deepest part of the armory. Then ask all the weapon elders to release their full pressure."
An Tong thought he had gotten used to Yun Jin's erratic ways, but even now, he paused in shock before urgently saying, "Young Master, you mustn't! These weapons may be damaged to varying degrees, but if they release their full might, your current cultivation won't be able to withstand it. If anything goes wrong, your Primordial Soul could collapse—you might end up completely broken!"
"It's fine," Yun Jin said calmly. "I know my limits."
She wasn't seeking death.
Her soul realm was currently stuck at the peak of Divine Transformation.
Lately, everything had gone too smoothly. She hadn't faced any strong opponents directly, so the latent power of her Primordial Soul had never been forced out.
She needed stimulation—pressure intense enough to draw that power forth.
These weapons had all seen countless battles. Their auras were sharp and intense—exactly the kind of force that could stir her soul.
Once she raised her soul realm...
She could break through to Unity at any time.
And with a higher cultivation, she'd be much more prepared for the chaos to come.
An Tong hesitated, clearly wanting to say more. But when he saw Yun Jin's composed profile, he couldn't bring himself to object.
In that moment, he thought she really did resemble the old master.
Once they decided on something, they never looked back.
He led Yun Jin deep into the armory.
At first, they passed through the outer chamber filled with basic weapons.
That was where the cultivators from Tianxing Sect were currently training.
But as they moved inward, the aura of the weapons grew sharper and more intense. Even without actively releasing their power, there was a palpable edge in the air.
On the way, Yun Jin saw familiar swords from the Sword Tomb realm.
With a wide grin, she greeted them. "Oh hey! Isn't this Senior Ice Jade Sword?"
Ice Jade Sword shuddered reflexively. A moment later, realizing Yun Jin was now her Young Master, she forced a smile. "Is there something you need, Young Master?"
Yun Jin chuckled. "Not really. Just came to chat with everyone."
"Oh, and there's Senior Qing Mu Sword… Senior Yun Wu Sword…"
She went down the line, greeting each sword one by one.
All of them had the sudden urge to flee.
Even though she was technically one of their own now...
Just seeing Yun Jin made them tremble. It had become a conditioned response.
"Hmm, looks like a few elders aren't here yet. I'll keep heading in."
Yun Jin continued walking deeper.
The swords finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yes, go further in.
The deeper weapons were more durable.
As long as she didn't come back for them, everything would be fine.