Artifact Chapter 12: Here Comes the Protagonist

Chapter 12: Here Comes the Protagonist

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Lu Ming had read the cultivation manual several times, but he didn’t know what to do. The phrase ‘the air starts in gaseous state, then turns into solid’ ¹ alone made him ponder for a long time, but he still could not understand it.

As the saying went, there were no years in cultivation, only the accumulation of months and months, so that the thick and thin, in fact, there was no fast method of quick success. In addition there was the natural gap between the superiority and inferiority of spiritual roots. In just 24 hours, if one wanted to master the use of spiritual energy, it was not easy.

Lu Ming sighed quietly, simply closed the book, eyes tightly closed, carefully feeling the flow of aura in his body.

As time passed, 233 was waiting anxiously on the sidelines. The twenty-odd hours that passed seemed like a snap of the fingers. Lu Ming still closed his eyes tightly, lips pursed. If not for the slight fluttering of eyelashes from time to time, 233 thought he had fallen asleep.

The little fat dragon obediently sat aside and did not dare to disturb him, until five minutes short of the twenty-four hours, finally he could not help but softly call out, “Host, how are you practicing?”

Lu Ming heard the voice, slowly opened his eyes, sat on the spot and stretched lazily, his eyes filled with a trace of laziness. His voice was also a little hoarse, obviously he had just woken up.

233 looked at Lu Ming incredulously, dumbfounded for a long time before stammering, “Master, Host, did you just… Were you sleeping?”

Lu Ming opened his drowsy eyes, nodded and said, “Is it time?”

233 saw Lu Ming looked like he didn’t care and cried out, “Only five minutes are left, Master! If you can’t destroy the Liuli Stone, you’ll be treated like a demon cultivator in Cultivation World! All the dominance values accumulated before will be deducted!”

Lu Ming’s eyes twitched and he said with interest, “I’ve saved up dominance value before?”

233 wiped away tears, “A month ago, you drove away He Qingqiu, and also cleaned up the group of bullying boys, while saving the young man who picked firewood to sell. A total of three percent has accumulated for dominance value. Now, if the task of destroying the Liuli Stone is not completed, not only will this three percent be deducted, but even five percent will be deducted.”

Lu Ming lamented in his heart, he didn’t expect to experience so many things after only half a month of coming to this other world. He Qingci’s life was really not ordinary, bumpy and rugged.

Fortunately, Lu Ming could bear it in his heart. Thinking of this, Lu Ming got up from the ground carelessly, his eyes were as sharp as obsidian, and he smiled strangely, “If I can complete this task, will my dominance value increase by 5%?”

233 was still a bit overwhelmed, froze and said, “Of course.”

Lu Ming smiled gently and said, “Time’s up, let’s go back.”

Lu Ming’s voice just fell when a strong pressure immediately surrounded him. He closed his eyes, holding back the discomfort and his stomach churning until the rustling sound of the cold wind blowing in his ears slowly ended, then opened his eyes.

Looking around, Lu Ming found himself back in the main hall of the He Family Sect Ancestral Hall again, his hand still clinging to the Liuli Stone, maintaining the same posture as when he left.

The people around him no longer dared to call for his death, so it was He Yuanqi’s words that had an effect. The cold gaze of He Qingqiu standing behind him made it a little difficult for Lu Ming to deliberately ignore it.

Lu Ming quietly took a deep breath, turned his body’s aura, and grabbed the energy that was constantly being sucked away by the Liuli Stone in his palm. The Liuli Stone was unable to absorb the aura for a while, and its power suddenly became more and more powerful, and the speed and power of absorption increased several times instantly.

Not far from Lu Ming, Yunji stood beside Yun Xu and frowned, “Shixiong, if this continues, this kid’s aura will be drained sooner or later, and I’m afraid that his life will not be saved then.”

Yun Xu glanced at him and said coldly, “Why pity this demon cultivator? The He family head also does not know what medicine is sold in the gourd, he can still look at it coldly, why should we worry blindly?”

Yun Ji sighed and said, “It’s a pity that the water attribute of the earth’s spiritual root qualification, if he is practicing the orthodox cultivator of the art, even if he did become an inner disciple, he may be personally taught Immortal law but the Sect Leader.”

Yun Xu interjected, “Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Yun Ji nodded his head and did not speak again.

Lu Ming was still gritting his teeth and holding on, knowing that once he slackened off, the aura gathered in his palm would not only fail to destroy the Liuli Stone, but would completely drain the aura away. Then, the aura he had just recovered would completely disappear and he would no longer be able to practice Immortal Technique. In this way, the Dominance Value mission could not be completed, and what awaited him would be a lifetime of bumming around, living a lifetime in a pouch with the skin and identity of He Qingci.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming’s eyes that were blurred gradually became clear, and the thunder-like ringing in his ears weakened. He exhaled hard and poured his body’s scurrying aura into his palm, releasing it completely in a flash.

The dazzling light suddenly spread out like a huge wave, accompanied by a scorching airflow, and came face to face with the crowd. Everyone hurriedly waved up their sleeves to cover their eyes, until the light gradually dimmed, only to open their eyes towards the explosion.

Everyone in the room looked at the black-haired, black-eyed teenager in front of them. He had a thin body but could not hide the compelling aura emanating from himself. In their memory was a cowardly young master who was bullied and humiliated, but now seeing the colorful Liuli Stone and such a splendid scene, the boy was like a phoenix bathing in his fiery rebirth. The people present no longer dared to despise him even a little. The hearts of all the people seemed to gradually realize that the past He Qingci had completely transformed in this moment.

Lu Ming’s mouth was slightly hooked, and he reached out to wipe away the blood from his lips. His eyebrows were as indifferent as ever, and the waves in his eyes had not risen. He opened his mouth slightly, his voice was low and melodious, as if a nightingale was whispering, “The Liuli Stone has been destroyed by me, if you want to accuse me of being a demon cultivator, then go find another stone to test me again.”

Lu Ming paused, his gaze was harsh as he swept towards the crowd, his voice was so cold that there was hardly a trace of temperature, “Someone who dared to frame me today will have to bear the consequences when the conspiracy is uncovered, I, He Qingci, will not let them off easily.”

He raised his hands high, and a huge ball of light quickly condensed in the palm of his hand. Beneath the crowd’s shocked and fearful gaze, the ball of light with great speed smashed only half a meter away from He Qingqiu. With a terrifying loud sound, the marble floor was immediately smashed out with a large hole, and even far away, they could feel the heat.

He Qingqiu was scared by the sudden ball of light, both his legs went limp, and he was no longer under the control of his limbs. He fell to the ground with a miserably pale face, his body could not stop shivering. His original high-minded look was now full of fear, looking at Lu Ming’s gaze with boundless fear, as if he was looking at some flood beast.

Everyone in the room shuddered at Lu Ming’s warning-like actions, and for a moment, the entire hall was suddenly silent, all of them trembling with fear and trepidation of absolute power.

233 proudly looked at the crowd’s reaction. He really wanted to jump up now to applaud and cheer for his master. If the Liuli Stone could not be destroyed, the only way left was to disappear in place. He didn’t expect Lu Ming to not only be able to use his aura flexibly, but also to absorb the years of accumulated aura inside the stone at the moment of the final explosion of the Liuli Stone, which was even more effective than practicing for years.

233 smugly thought, my master really has potential to steal the show from the male protagonist! He was worthy of this hand-picked master!

Yun Xu and Yun Ji were a little overwhelmed by the scene in front of them, although the destruction of the Liuli Stone made them feel incomparable flesh pain, but they cherished talent. If this He Qingci could enter Kunlai Mountain to cultivate, then this would undoubtedly be an injection of fresh vitality for Kunlai. Moreover, he had the entire He family behind him, even if he was not favored in the past, it did not mean that there was no possibility of becoming a He family Sect Patriarch in the future.

After weighing the pros and cons, they opened their mouths and said to He Yuanqi, “I think today’s incident is very fishy, why don’t we investigate who is behind it? But the Liuli Stone has been destroyed, so we can’t continue to test your son’s true qualifications.”

He Yuanqi smiled faintly and said with light eyebrows, “The destruction of the Liuli Stone was unexpected. In addition to investigating this matter thoroughly, the He family will certainly do its best to repair the Liuli Stone and give an explanation to Kunlai.”

233 poked his head out and whispered to his master, [Host, quickly take on the task of restoring the Liuli Stone!]

Lu Ming frowned, [I know nothing about this Artifact Refining method, how can I repair the damaged magic Artifacts?]

233 said urgently, [Anyway, this is a very important step in the mission of dominance value, you have to take it no matter what!]

The corners of Lu Ming’s mouth twitched and he sighed helplessly and nodded towards He Yuanqi, “Father, since the Liuli Stone was damaged by me, it should be repaired by me.”

He Yuanqi was slightly stunned and said, “You know the method of refining Artifacts?”

Lu Ming smiled back and said, “How can I know if I don’t try?”

Yun Xu then interjected, “Your son is not only smart and sensitive, but also has an extraordinary temperament, this magic Artifact can be restored by him.”

He Yuanqi frowned for a long time without answering. He Qingqiu recovered from the fear of the aura and his heart was full of jealousy and anger. He coldly smiled and said, “Big brother has excellent qualifications, I think he will soon be able to fix the Liuli Stone. The two Daoists are busy with business, and can not wait forever. In my opinion, it would be better to set a deadline.”

He Yuanqi pondered for a moment and asked, “Qingci, how many days will it take for you to fix it?”

Lu Ming smiled faintly and said, “Just one day.”

He Qingqiu gave a loud laugh and said with contempt, “This Liuli Stone is a top-quality treasure Artifact, now it has been damaged. Can you repair it in one day? Don’t brag!”

Lu Ming was not annoyed, still lightly said, “A day later will see the true knowledge. Then we will know whether I am bragging or not.”

He Yuanqi looked at Lu Ming with satisfaction and said, “Then let’s take one day as the deadline. Tomorrow at 10 o’clock, Qingci must fix the Liuli Stone without delay.”

Lu Ming lowered his eyes and replied, “Yes.”

◆◆◆◆

After the spiritual root test, Lu Ming stepped out of the He Family Sect Ancestral Hall with the others. When he raised his eyes, he found that it was already late, and he listened to the bell and drum lightly, and realized that it was already the eleventh hour.

Xu Zhongyan was frightened in the hall, and left in tears after a few words of advice for Lu Ming, who also did not delay, carrying the little fat dragon towards his courtyard slowly.

The night wind was a little cool, the moonlight poured on the stone road. Looking at the ground and his dappled shadow, Lu Ming suddenly felt some depression at the bottom of his heart. Today he had experienced too many things; ups and downs, mixed with many unpredictable dangers. This also made him more aware that if he did not become stronger, it would be much harder for him to live in this world peacefully.

Lu Ming walked through the rockery and was about to leave when he was suddenly drawn to a low whisper.

Lu Ming stopped in his tracks, took a few steps back, and alertly peered quietly toward the source of the sound. He saw a young man covered in blood, now falling in the lush grass moaning in pain. Moaning, as if he were undergoing a violent torment and torture.

Lu Ming quickly walked up and picked up the fallen teenager, in the bright moonlight, the teenager immediately reflected in Lu Ming’s eyes.

The boy’s face was very handsome, as if it were a perfect masterpiece carved by the heavens. His smooth forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and was frowning tightly. His eyes were tightly closed, and a shallow muttering escaped from his mouth from time to time.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, Lu Ming could clearly see the right side of the teenager’s cheek. There was a strange shape made up of black dark lines that were slowly emerging, as if it was continuously growing. If thai were so, then in a short time, it would cover the teenager’s right forehead and cheek. Coupled with his body constantly emitting black magic, the teenager looked like a demon, truly bizarre.

Lu Ming pupils shrank, and his breathing suddenly tightened. Three words instantly emerged from the bottom of his heart and made him feel a sudden chill around his body.

Sang Wusheng!

233, “…This is really a great destiny.”

Lu Ming took a deep breath and looked at the handsome young man lying unconscious in his arms, his eyes cloudy and uncertain.

…Should he consider strangling him right now?

 

 

 

 

 

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