Chapter 17: The Spiritforged Weapon Path

Chapter 17: The Spiritforged Weapon Path

Li Tie, determined to defeat the Malevolent Fury axe, continued receiving full financial support from the Banquet Drunk Squad.

They purchased Sacrificial Power from gold farmers like Li Zheng at a 50:1 exchange rate, then transferred the power to Li Tie using in-game guides. This delighted Li Zheng’s group immensely.

As they mined together, they resumed discussing this in their party chat:

Murderous Intent Stirred: Just checked the live stream—hehe, Chestnut Brother’s explanation cracked me up. Their situation’s basically a bunch of young gamers funding a grandpa for his soul journey grinding.

Game Bricklayer: Stop laughing and keep mining. Every ore gives us hundreds of profit.

Leopardheadzerocharge: I’ve heard of the Banquet Drunk Squad from my previous game Conquest Days. They’re a powerful guild. Rumor says they’re all rich kids. Hope we maintain long-term cooperation.

Starving to Eat Soil: Dug up an Essenceflow Stone! Eating out tonight, hahaha!

Family Shared Godfather: Brothers, let’s save up to buy better mining picks first. Don’t rush to sell Sacrificial Power. Only by leveling fast can we maximize profits later.

…

While the party banter continued, a region-wide system alert suddenly popped up:

[Challenger Alert (Dizhong Mountain Range): Player Ironforged has successfully contained the primordial monster Malevolent Fury. Reward: 10,000 Sacrificial Power; unlocked free second Stellar Vein inlay slot.]

“Holy crap!”

Miners from the Emperor of Grind Clan erupted in stunned exclamations.

Opening the Stellar Vein interface, they discovered a new Life Soul option.

The Life Soul displayed was a blood-red battleaxe. Crimson light surged across its surface, the blade glinting with cold sharpness, the haft etched with ghostly runes entwined with complex totems—exuding overwhelming dominance.

[Malevolent Fury (1st Generation Primordial)]

Monster Trait: All physical attacks gain the Brute Force effect, enhancing damage by 50%.

Purchase Cost: 1,000 Sacrificial Power.

…

Seeing the new Life Soul option, the Emperor of Grind Clan players suddenly lost their humor.

Nearby, cheers erupted—clearly the Banquet Drunk Squad celebrating Li Tie’s victory.

Starving to Eat Soil: “Whoa~ He actually won.”

Game Bricklayer: “Expected. That was our proposed attrition strategy. Keep mining, but hold off selling Sacrificial Power. Hunting monsters clearly generates more power. We need to level up faster.”

Li Tie’s success spurred the Emperor of Grind Clan to reconsider their strategy—prioritizing power growth over selling resources.

Five hours later…

Another Iron Shellworm swarm struck. As the Emperor miners frantically mined, they followed the Banquet Drunk Squad’s lead and evacuated.

Shellworm swarms were common in Gloomspire Caverns. Prolonged mining attracted dungeon-dwelling Dungeonkin swarms.

Their current gear couldn’t handle Dungeonkin-controlled Shellworm armies. To avoid a one-hour respawn cooldown, retreat was the wisest choice—only reentering once the swarm passed.

Outside the cave, the world remained in gloomy crimson. Day and night held no meaning here, only an eerie crimson crescent moon (Zone Tier) hanging eternally.

As players prepared to hunt monsters in the Crimson Plains, another region alert appeared:

[Challenger Alert (Dizhong Mountain Range): Player Ironforged has successfully contained the 1st-generation primordial Shattered. Reward: 10,000 Sacrificial Power; unlocked free third Stellar Vein inlay slot.]

The notification stunned everyone.

Only hours later, Ironforged had soloed another primordial.

Many players scrambled to hunt primordials in Crimson Plains and Ancient Battlefield regions, coveting the lucrative rewards.

By the next morning, another alert erupted:

[Challenger Alert (Dizhong Mountain Range): Player Ironforged has successfully contained the 1st-generation primordial Soul-Stealing. Reward: 10,000 Sacrificial Power; unlocked free fourth Stellar Vein inlay slot.]

Chaos ensued in region chat:

Game Bricklayer (Crimson Plains): Ironforged big bro, taking apprentices? Take us along for primordial grinding!

Family Shared Godfather (Crimson Plains): Insane! Solo three primordials? He’s stronger than our entire squad combined!

Cute Toddler (Ancient Battlefield): Where’d Ironforged find so many primordials? Our team wants to try too!

Marble (Ancient Battlefield): We just encountered a 1st-gen primordial, but its hunt level was 27. We got wiped. Ironforged must’ve fought low-level ones—so jealous!

Drunken Healer (Ancient Battlefield): He’s probably hunting the recent spawns in “Spirit Forge Valley.” We’re heading there now.

…

Amidst the chaos, Li Tie ignored the region chat entirely.

He was busy answering a video call from his granddaughter.

The screen showed her still in Ember Chicken form, excitedly shouting:

“Grandpa! We want to see your Spiritforged Weapon challenge!”

“Alright.” Li Tie nodded, hiding the floating video interface.

He stood before his fourth Spiritforged Weapon challenge.

Before starting, he opened the Stellar Vein enhancement panel.

Spending 1,000 Sacrificial Power to remove the initial Gargoyle Life Soul, he then inlaid Malevolent Fury, Soul-Stealing, and Shattered Life Souls into his Stellar Vein.

Next, he spent the remaining 30,000 Sacrificial Power to upgrade his Body Forge Rank—10,000 per level.

Three white flashes later, his Body Forge Rank reached 3, allowing him to inherit all attributes from three monster forms simultaneously.

Stepping forward, he entered the Spiritforged Weapon’s perception range.

Instantly, the remaining Sweeping blade and Nether Phantom staff shot toward him.

Li Tie lightly stomped his right foot. Behind him, three Spiritforged Weapon shadows embedded in his Stellar Vein materialized, swirling around his body.

Three ability traits surfaced in his mind:

[Malevolent Fury Lv1]:

All physical attacks gain Brute Force effect, enhancing damage by 50%.

[Soul-Stealing Lv1]:

All physical attacks gain Soul-Stealing effect—inflicting mental shock and leaving a lingering Soulforge Brand burn.

[Shattered Lv1]:

All physical attacks gain piercing and Shattered effects.

Guide Notification: Evolution points gained in primary form are shared across all monster forms.

…

Facing the incoming Sweeping blade, Li Tie reached out—Malevolent Fury axe materialized.

Crimson light surged from his right hand across his body, Malevolent Fury’s trait amplifying his strength.

“Die!”

The axe swung, intercepting Sweeping head-on. The metallic clash sent Sweeping flying.

But Li Tie released Malevolent Fury, letting it return to orbit him.

The Soul-Sundering Spear appeared in his hand—neither metallic nor iron, its deep blue-violet hue resembled condensed starlight. The slender shaft hummed faintly with inner resonance.

Sweeping charged again.

Crash!

The spear struck—tip meeting blade. Sweeping flew back, bearing a ghostly blue mark.

Without Malevolent Fury’s power boost, the force sent Li Tie sliding two meters backward.

Steadying himself, he released the spear. As it hovered, he didn’t switch to Shattered blade. Instead, the three Spiritforged Weapons fused midair into a golden greatsword.

Watching the live stream, the Banquet Drunk Squad erupted in voice chat:

Nightowlandmidnightsnack: “Ahhhh! Master Iron’s so cool! My idol for years! Even dismantled his starter monster form—he’s going full Spiritforged Weapon Path!”

Shelledheart: “This is everything! I’ve been craving a Spiritforged Weapon build. Who needs a Black-Scaled Serpent? Even his weapon switches look epic!”

Beaverbeats: “Finally a Stellar Vein path I love! Spiritforged Weapon makes Bonefire+Hawk-Headed Demon ranged perception builds look so basic!”

…

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end