Chapter 81: Spell Improvement

In the intricate art of artifact refining, spirit patterns were the circuitry of power.

By standard definition, spirit patterns were arranged in interconnected triads. A single group of three linked patterns qualified an item as a Low Grade Magical Artifact. Three such groups, if networked together into a larger system, created a Middle Grade Artifact. Six groups? That was the realm of High Grade treasures.

Wu Yuan’s new mace had three groups, technically placing it near the Middle Grade threshold. However, they were independent circuits, not an integrated network. Furthermore, the patterns were repetitive—three iterations of similar functions rather than a diverse array.

“It’s crude,” Wu Yuan admitted to himself, hefting the weapon. “It lacks the elegance of that Mountain Goat Demon’s staff. But elegance doesn’t crush bones.”

This Gu Duo was designed for one purpose: hunting kaiju-class monsters.

The stronger the Demon Beast, the tougher its hide. Small, precise artifacts like needles or daggers might pierce a vital point, but high-level beasts weren’t stupid; they protected their weak spots with layers of Spiritual Qi and hardened scales.

Against a mountain of muscle, you needed a mountain of metal.

Wu Yuan envisioned the impact. A single swing of this massive mace, backed by his monstrous strength, wouldn’t need to find a gap in the armor. It would simply cave in the entire ribcage. Recovery abilities meant nothing if half your torso was paste.

“The [Stone Wood Horn Arrow] is excellent,” Wu Yuan mused, “but against vitality-focused tanks, it’s just a nuisance. It’s better suited for fast, agile targets.”

He gave the mace a test swing.

WHOOSH!

The heavy head displaced the air with a terrifying, low-frequency howl. The pressure wave alone kicked up dust from the cavern floor.

Beside him, Big Old Black turned pale, cold sweat instantly soaking his fur.

“Ancestors above…” the black rat stammered, backing away. “If I took a hit like that… I wouldn’t even be a corpse. I’d be soup.”

The weapon was dense. Even with Wu Yuan’s supernatural strength, it felt reassuringly heavy in his grip. It commanded respect. It demanded fear.

The three spirit patterns etched into the copper were chosen with “Shocking Wisdom”:

[Thousand Jun]: A gravity amplifier that multiplied the kinetic force of the swing.

[Armor-Piercing]: A penetration field designed to shatter Qi defenses and thick scales.

[Mind-Meld]: A synchronization interface allowing Wu Yuan to control the weapon with his Divine Sense, making the heavy metal feel like an extension of his own limb.

“This will last me a long time,” Wu Yuan said, nodding with satisfaction. He turned to his lieutenant. “Good work, Blackie. I couldn’t have managed the furnace alone.”

Big Old Black grinned, baring his yellow teeth. “Serving the Sect Leader is my duty!”

As he spoke, he stuck his hip out, theatrically displaying the mace hanging at his own waist. It was Wu Yuan’s “practice piece”—a smaller Gu Duo with only a single group of spirit patterns. It barely qualified as Low Grade, but to Big Old Black, it was a legendary treasure perfectly suited to his cultivation.

With the artifact complete, Wu Yuan’s understanding of spirit patterns had skyrocketed. Theory was useless without practice, and his hands-on experience had unlocked new perspectives.

He sat down to audit his spell arsenal.

“I have a problem,” he muttered. “I have no range.”

His offensive capabilities were terrifying in melee, but his ranged options were pathetic. [Dark Spirit Thorn] and [Poison Attraction Technique] were decent, but against higher-level foes, they were becoming obsolete. His other spells—[Blood Surge Art], [Nine Spirits Essence Absorption]—were buffs. The rest were utility cantrips like [Spirit Rain] or weak [Fireballs].

“I need to streamline my build,” Wu Yuan decided, pacing the cavern. “My combat style is locked: Body Tempering plus Heavy Weapons. Spells should be for crowd control, debuffs, and reconnaissance.”

“[Blood Surge] covers physical buffs. [Poison Attraction] covers AOE damage. I’m missing hard CC (Crowd Control) and deep scouting.”

If the spell didn’t exist, he would invent it.

“Control…” Wu Yuan stroked his whiskers. “I can modify the [Rat Swarm Divine Ability].”

This ability had manifested spontaneously back when his colony first reached a critical mass—a bloodline gift born of collective consciousness. He had used it against the monkey tribe, but back then, his swarm was too small to make it effective.

The principle was sound: resonating the shrieks of thousands of rats to create a psychic shockwave that assaulted the enemy’s Sea of Consciousness.

“But relying on the swarm is a weakness,” Wu Yuan analyzed. “If I’m alone, I’m powerless. What if… what if I became the swarm?”

He tapped the Karma Pearl.

[White Intel: feasible. Divine Sense can mimic the resonance frequency of the swarm.]

“Excellent.”

Wu Yuan closed his eyes. He focused on his Sea of Consciousness, visualizing the chaotic, screeching noise of thousands of rats, then compressed it into a single mental pulse.

HUMMM.

An invisible ripple shot out from his mind, passing through the walls of the treehouse.

Outside, Big Old Black was strutting along, admiring his new mace. Suddenly, his world tilted.

THUD.

The large rat collapsed face-first into the dirt, eyes rolling back in his head. A team of medic rats, already used to their Sect Leader’s “experiments,” sighed and dragged his twitching body off toward Little White and Little Gray’s clinic.

“Power is good,” Wu Yuan noted, rubbing his temples. “Stealth is excellent. But the cost…”

His vision swam. His head throbbed. The Spiritual Qi cost was manageable, but the strain on his Divine Sense was severe.

“My mental stats are too low. I need a physical carrier for the sound.”

He switched tactics. instead of pure mental projection, he would use his throat. Demon Beasts naturally possessed terrifying lung capacity and vocal cords infused with Qi.

He channeled his Blood Qi and Demon Power into his throat, fusing the physical roar with the psychic frequency.

“ROAR!”

It wasn’t a squeak. It was a guttural, primal bellow that sounded like a landslide.

The treehouse shook violently. Dust rained from the ceiling.

Outside, every ordinary rat within a 50-meter radius dropped dead instantly, their hearts stopped by the vibration. Even the evolved rat demons nearby clutched their heads, blood trickling from their ears and noses, and fled in terror.

Being efficient workers, they didn’t forget to drag the dead rats with them as they ran—waste not, want not.

“Accidental friendly fire,” Wu Yuan noted dryly. “But effective.”

By using his voice as a medium, the range increased, the damage spiked, and the mental burden dropped significantly.

“I’ll call it… [Ten Thousand Roars Spirit Sound].”

It was a work in progress. Right now, it was just a rat’s scream. If he studied tigers, lions, or dragons later, he could upgrade the frequency.

“Shocking Wisdom strikes again.”

Next: Perception.

“Bibo’s [Perception Fluctuation] patterns are good, but I can go deeper,” Wu Yuan mumbled, pacing again. “If I combine [Qi Conduction] patterns with my sensory organs…”

He paused. His hand was halfway to his face when he stopped.

Slap!

He slapped his own cheek. “Idiot! Have you forgotten the pain? Never test on the main body first!”

He consulted the cheat code. “Karma Pearl!”

[Green Intel: The five senses are biological interfaces for the spirit. Spirit patterns can amplify these signals significantly.]

Wu Yuan’s eyes lit up. “It works!”

“Safety first. Let’s try the skin.”

He carefully wove a small web of Spiritual Qi on the back of his left paw, inscribing a sensitivity-enhancing array directly into the epidermis. He connected it to his nerves.

“Activate.”

He brushed his paw against the air.

“YOWWW!”

Wu Yuan leaped three feet into the air, clutching his wrist. He held the paw away from his body, trembling.

The sensation of air molecules hitting his fur felt like sandpaper. The chaotic signals flooded his brain—texture, temperature, pressure—amplified a hundred times over. It was overwhelming.

“Too much! Too much!”

He panted, waiting for the spell to fade.

“The sensitivity boost is insane. It’s not just physical touch; it amplifies the mental feedback loop. It’s… uncomfortably intense.”