Chapter 56: Accessories Are More Useful Than Attributes!

As the massive beam of light dissipated, the referees around the martial arts stage were all drawn toward it.

“What happened? Get over there and check it out!”

A reporter from the *Cultivation Daily* was also attracted by the light. Although there was usually nothing worth reporting in the Audition Match, her journalistic instincts were sharp.

There was definitely some breaking news over there!

On the martial arts stage, Ling Jie of the War Spirit Sect was kneeling on one knee, clutching his eyes while letting out low groans. Meanwhile, his opponent, Chen Yin, was gripping a powerful long spear. He looked at him with eyes as soft as water, full of doting affection. Seeing that Ling Jie was in a state of ambiguous pain, he gave a wicked smile and called out tenderly…

“Ouch! Who hit me on the head?” the little reporter cried out, clutching her head and looking around in dissatisfaction.

The editor-in-chief of the *Cultivation Daily* irritably gave her two more raps on the head. “Take proper notes! Who told you to add all that nonsense? Record what’s actually happening!”

“Yes, yes!” The little reporter grumbled as she crossed out the text in her notebook and began writing again.

“A rainbow piercing the sun appeared on the martial arts stage, suspected to be… wait! Is this the effect of a cultivation technique or a magical treasure?”

The intense white light from moments ago had caused the audience to lose their vision temporarily, to the point that many could not see the situation on the stage clearly.

Only Lin Shu and Lu Zhiyun had put on a pair of pitch-black magical glasses ahead of time, so they remained unaffected.

“Senior Brother! Is… is this the method you told Senior Brother Chen about?” Lu Zhiyun clicked her tongue.

“Though this move can’t kill the enemy, it can help him seize the initiative and take control of the offensive!” Lin Shu laughed.

Lin Shu had previously told Chen Yin that since he couldn’t figure anything out regarding the magical treasure’s attributes, he should simply add some accessories to it!

Just now, after Chen Yin shouted “Watch the spear,” Ling Jie’s gaze had instantly focused on the spearhead, fearing it would suddenly change its trajectory.

In reality, the spearhead hadn’t changed at all. Instead, the spear shaft had transferred pre-stored spiritual energy into the Solar Stone on the spearhead.

The Solar Stone was a special type of spirit stone. Its texture was hard, comparable to black iron, but most importantly, it could emit light.

As long as spiritual energy was injected, it would emit a sun-like glow. These stones were generally used for lighting in magnificent buildings.

Ling Jie never imagined that the honest and old-fashioned Chen Yin would actually refine such an underhanded magical treasure.

What was even more despicable was that the spearhead had been black until just a moment ago. The moment it emitted light, it turned white, shedding a special layer of paint designed specifically to hide the existence of the Solar Stone.

He had wondered why the other party was only using the spear shaft for defense; he hadn’t expected it was all for this moment.

At this moment, Ling Jie was blind. Thick liquid seemed to be dripping down both sides of his face—his eyes were likely bleeding.

He circulated his spiritual energy with everything he had to treat his eyes.

For someone at the Peak Golden Core stage, this kind of injury could be healed in less than ten minutes. As long as he focused on the treatment, he could definitely fight again.

But would Chen Yin give him that chance?

Lin Shu adjusted his glasses and stood up excitedly, cheering for this fellow disciple who had never won before.

“That’s it, Chen Yin! Defeat him and prove yourself!”

“Senior Brother! I’ve got it! Arghhh!” Chen Yin roared.

The scene became incredibly passionate, and even the crowd turned their eyes toward this particular match.

However, in the next moment, Chen Yin’s thrust went wide. The spear whizzed past Ling Jie and stabbed into the ground.

“This is it!” the little reporter realized instantly.

‘This is the bond between men!’

Imagine it: after going through countless hardships, you finally defeat a nemesis you could never overcome before. But at the moment of victory, you find closure. In that instant, all past grievances are forgotten with a smile. If things went as expected, Chen Yin’s next move should be to pull Ling Jie up and give him a brotherly hug.

She wanted to record this moment properly, so she pulled out a Recording Stone.

On the stage, however, Chen Yin pulled up the misplaced spear and stabbed again. Only this time, it was even wider. He repeatedly performed the cycle of missing the target, pulling the spear back, and missing again…

“How exactly did you get hired by our *Cultivation Daily*?” The editor-in-chief shook his head helplessly and pointed at Chen Yin. “Can’t you see his eyes are bleeding too?”

The little reporter finally understood!

Chen Yin had also fallen for it!

That wasn’t right! Had Chen Yin not prepared any light-shielding equipment for himself?

“Damn it! Senior Brother! It’s my first time playing dirty, I forgot to wear them!” Chen Yin said through gritted teeth.

He had a pair of magical sunglasses in his storage bag; he had just forgotten to use them.

He had no experience playing dirty! He would have to pay more attention next time!

Lin Shu and Lu Zhiyun both held their foreheads, at a loss for words. This fellow disciple was truly too honest.

Seeing that his opponent wasn’t moving, Ling Jie instantly understood what was happening. The other guy couldn’t see either!

Immediately, he poured all his energy into healing. Chen Yin also realized things were going south and immediately put down his spear to follow suit.

In less than ten minutes, both regained their sight and glared at each other like tigers eyeing their prey.

“That was dirty, Chen Yin! I didn’t expect you to know such a trick. Too bad your brain still isn’t very bright!” Ling Jie lunged forward again, throwing a heavy punch.

Chen Yin calmly took the magical sunglasses out of his storage bag and put them on before thrusting his spear again.

“It’s useless! As long as I close my eyes — ” Ling Jie’s arrogant trash talk came to an abrupt halt.

Close his eyes…

And then what? Wait to be stabbed?

The thing Chen Yin was wearing could definitely protect against the light, but he had nothing!

“Ling Jie, my spear will flash whenever it thrusts and stop flashing when I pull it back! Moreover, I can adjust the brightness based on various small movements! How can you compete with me!”

This was the first time Chen Yin had opened the door to a new world.

For the first time, he realized that it wasn’t just through refreshing attributes that one could improve a magical treasure. Installing some incredibly underhanded accessories could also change one’s predicament!

Ling Jie was miserable.

If he closed his eyes, he would take a spear thrust. If he didn’t, he would be blinded for a while and have to heal his eyes, during which he would take three or four more stabs…

As for the **[Damage Reflection]** attribute? Unless Chen Yin was stupid, he certainly wouldn’t strike Ling Jie’s magical gauntlets!

There was no way to trigger it!

“Heh heh heh! Feel the pain I’ve endured all these years!”

“It’s all thanks to my Senior Brother’s guidance! I finally realized that equipment refining could be played like this!!!”

Chen Yin laughed mischievously, a complete departure from his usual gentle style. Watching this scene, the reporter was suddenly unsure how to write her report.

But Chen Yin had just mentioned a person…

‘Senior Brother?’

The little reporter immediately shifted her attention to the person who had been cheering for Chen Yin. Unfortunately, there were only two empty seats left.

In the end, the battle concluded with Chen Yin of the Heavenly Chasm Sect suffering a slight injury to his right arm (he had almost cramped up from stabbing so fast) and a complete victory over Ling Jie of the War Spirit Sect.

The opponent’s body was covered in minor punctures, but fortunately, his life was not in danger.

A truly celebratory occasion!

***

In a small alleyway, Lin Shu led Lu Zhiyun as they ducked through the shadows.

“Senior Brother! Why are we running?” Lu Zhiyun asked, confused.

“Junior Sister! Isn’t that obvious? If we don’t run now, this whole mess is going to be blamed on me again!” Lin Shu’s teeth were nearly gritted to pieces.

It was true that he had guided Chen Yin on the accessory modification method, but those subsequent underhanded designs had nothing to do with him!

Things like “flashing when thrusting and dimming when retracting” and “adjustable brightness” had absolutely zero to do with him!

Chen Yin wasn’t the only one competing today. Lin Shu found it hard to imagine what kind of nonsense the other disciples would pull to ruin his reputation.

He couldn’t afford that “Senior Brother’s guidance.” From this day on, he was going to expel himself from the sect!

Lu Zhiyun couldn’t help but burst into laughter with a soft *pfft*.

The two only stopped once they were far from the martial arts stage and had reached an old residence.

“Senior Brother, what are we doing here?”

Lu Zhiyun peeked inside. The small house was dilapidated, but the courtyard was spacious. It looked like a hidden, secluded location.

Lin Shu smiled and took off his sunglasses. “Next, I’m going to sell some things here that can make us a lot of money!”

Lu Zhiyun glanced at the sunglasses and understood immediately. “Senior Brother! You mean… you refined these?”

She had thought they were made by the disciples in the Refining Department. She hadn’t expected it to be Lin Shu.

“Of course! This is also part of my plan!”

Lin Shu intended to make his appearance as a rogue cultivator. In that case, the advertising space he won couldn’t be used for the Heavenly Chasm Sect, or it would expose the fact that he was involved with them.

So, he planned to establish his own business—small sales with high profit margins that wouldn’t blow his cover.

“So Senior Brother, you plan to… you plan to sell the ultimate moves of the Refining Department?” Lu Zhiyun was shocked.

By Lin Shu’s logic, he intended to manufacture magical treasures that could effectively counter the disciples of the Heavenly Chasm Sect.

“That’s right!” Lin Shu nodded. “But I won’t just sell them to anyone. If the price is high enough to match the value of an advertising spot, then I’ll sell it to them.”

“But… but doesn’t that count as betraying the sect?” Lu Zhiyun asked worriedly.

Lin Shu shook his head and reached out to flick Lu Zhiyun’s forehead. “Junior Sister, you’ve been following me for so long, how can you still be so innocent?”

“I said I would only provide countermeasures for magical treasures. I never said I would provide countermeasures for talismans, arrays, pills, poisons, spirit pets, or anything else!”

Lu Zhiyun gasped.

‘Evil cultivators! They truly have countless tricks!’

The two chatted for a while, and after Lin Shu showed Lu Zhiyun the layout of the area and calculated that the Audition Match should be over, they headed home.

Just as the door to Lin Shu’s small house closed, the door to the neighboring house opened.

Shen Miaoyu held a fruit basket and froze for a moment.

‘Did Elder Qin mention we had neighbors here? Or could it be…’

Had a hidden agent of the Divine Origin Sect proactively come to find her, the Saintess?

Shen Miaoyu shook her head and disappeared into the dark alley.