The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

In the capital, in the eastern frontier, in the northern region, in the southern wilderness… in the core cities of countless provinces, huge spirit transmission screens were displaying astonishing news about this duel and analyses of some battle scenes!
"A battle at the peak of the Human Realm has occurred in Yanxia City, Southwest Province! Young Jiang Xuan has decisively defeated Huang Jianchen, the genius of the Huang family in the capital!"

"A blade shatters the demon realm! A classic demonstration of the ultimate offense and defense of the Human Realm!"

"Detailed analysis of this battle."

A perfect blend of precise defense and deadly counterattack! A must-read for all low-level cultivators!

Many experienced and discerning veteran cultivators and military experts, after carefully analyzing the circulated battle clips, all gave them high praise.

"Brilliant! These two have reached the pinnacle of the Human Realm in terms of foundation, combat skills, willpower, and on-the-spot adaptability! It's a textbook-level peak duel!"

"That young man named Jiang Xuan's swordsmanship is as simple as it used to be, and his control over power is exquisite! Especially those last few strikes that broke through 'Thousand Ghosts Transformation Prison'—the timing, angle, and power were impeccable! This battle is worth studying and learning from repeatedly by all cultivators!"

"There are always people more capable than you, and there are always higher levels to reach! The Southwest Province is full of hidden talents and powerful figures!"

Jiang Xuan's name, along with this duel that was unanimously recognized by the empire's powerful figures as a "classic battle at the peak of the Human Gang Realm," seemed to sprout wings and, for the first time in a true sense, flew out of Yanxia City and the Southwest Province, quietly spreading across the vast territory of the Ziyao Empire!
In the western border of the empire, at a certain encampment of the Ironblood Army.

Inside the tent, a young military officer with a burly, towering figure and a resolute face was facing a palm-sized "Spirit Evolution Disc".

The light and shadow projected onto the plate were clearly the scene of Jiang Xuan slicing through the Ghost Realm with his last few strikes and Huang Jianchen admitting defeat in a sorry state!
This young man is none other than Ning Meng!

"Hahaha! Good! Well done, Brother Jiang Xuan!"

Ning Meng slapped his thigh and burst into deafening laughter, his face full of excitement and pleasure.

"Huang Jianchen! You've finally met your match! You put on airs in the capital, then went to Yanxia City to bully people, and you've finally met your match! Hahaha, that's satisfying!"

His eyes gleamed with excitement as he rubbed his large, fan-like hands together.

"Next year! Next year when I go back to the Forbidden City to report for duty, I'm going to find that bastard and have a good 'catch-up,' making him relive the embarrassment he suffered today! Hahaha!"

The Forbidden City, the headquarters of Shidingzhai.

Inside an elegant and luxurious study, Shi Yu was listening to his subordinates' report.

When he heard the news that "Jiang Xuan defeated Huang Jianchen of the Huang family in the capital city in a head-on confrontation at the Yanxia City arena," his hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

A glint of light flashed in his deep eyes, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh? You defeated Huang Jianchen? That guy who survived in the Huang family's 'Black Prison Secret Realm'? Interesting..."

He put down his teacup, tapped his fingers lightly on the rosewood tabletop, pondered for a moment, and then gave instructions to the steward standing beside him.

"Send a message to the Yanxia City branch. During the centennial celebration, send that young friend Jiang Xuan a top-tier 'Purple Jade Invitation,' inviting him to attend as the 'Chief VIP' of my Shidingzhai. Remember, be respectful, be courteous, and do not show the slightest negligence."

"Yes! Young Master!"

The manager felt a chill run down his spine and quickly bowed in agreement, knowing full well what was going on.

The position of "Chief VIP" carries immense weight! The young master has truly taken this young man named Jiang Xuan to heart and is about to invest heavily in him!

In the early morning, the thin mist had not yet completely dissipated.

Jiang Xuan boarded a slightly old-fashioned spirit-patterned shuttle and headed to the spirit-patterned master commune located in the city center.

The carriage was packed with all sorts of passengers, the air thick with the smells of sweat, the aroma of breakfast, and various chatter.

More than ten days have passed since that epic gladiatorial showdown that shook the entire city.

However, the intensity of this battle in Yanxia City was like a boulder thrown into a lake, the ripples of which had not yet subsided.

Inside the carriage, most of the conversations still revolved around the names "Jiang Xuan," "Huang Jianchen," and "Little Swordsman."

"Have you heard? Yesterday, Old Li's kid from the west side of the city insisted that he had grasped the essence of 'Jiang Xuan's One-Slash Technique,' so he chopped down the old locust tree in his backyard. As a result, his dad chased him down three streets! Hahaha!"

"Tsk tsk, you haven't seen it, but nowadays, when martial arts instructors teach their students, they always mention 'you must be able to exert force as precisely as Jiang Xuan' and 'you must have the same mentality as Jiang Xuan'!"

"But speaking of which, Huang Jianchen's eventual surrender was truly... tsk tsk, he completely disgraced the powerful clans of the capital, didn't he?"

"Little Swordsman has probably suffered a major setback this time..."

Jiang Xuan leaned against the corner of the carriage, listening listlessly to the discussions that concerned him, his face calm as if he were listening to someone else's story. The clamor of the arena had long since faded away, and his life had returned to its usual routine.

He cultivated, went to the Spirit Pattern Master Commune to receive missions and earn resources, and occasionally drank and chatted with Xue Jin in the courtyard.
He was relieved to find that, as he had expected, those scions of powerful families like Qi Yunxiao and Yuan Shu no longer dared to openly cause trouble.

This allowed him to focus wholeheartedly on his self-cultivation and quietly await the upcoming provincial examination.

Just then, the sound of an argument between a young boy and girl in the front row caught his attention.

The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with her hair in two buns, her cheeks rosy, and her voice filled with admiration.

"Brother A Niu, stop talking nonsense! Lord Jiang Xuan is truly amazing!"
He didn't get lucky!
Those few strikes of his were so cool! Even the genius from the capital couldn't beat him!
He's my idol!

A dark-skinned boy named A Niu stood nearby, pursing his lips with a disdainful look.

"Pshaw! Idol? Ah Mei, what do you know! It's all hype! I think he just got lucky! Those rich kids in the capital, they spend all their time partying, what real skills could they possibly have? If I were in his shoes, maybe I could..."

"you shut up!"

The girl, Amei, stomped her feet in anger, her face turning even redder.

"You are not allowed to slander Lord Jiang Xuan! You are not even as good as one of his fingers!"

"How can I be inferior? I..."

Listening to this childish yet lively argument, Jiang Xuan couldn't help but smile wryly.

An idol? Him? This feeling is really... novel and a bit absurd.

His subtle smile was caught by Amei, a girl who turned her head away in a huff.

The girl thought he was mocking her, so she immediately glared at him fiercely, pouting her lips high, her eyes seeming to say something.

What are you laughing at! You're not even worth a single finger of Lord Jiang Xuan!

Jiang Xuan was both amused and exasperated. He touched his nose and turned his face away awkwardly.

Just then, the spirit-patterned shuttle shuddered slightly and stopped in front of the imposing gate of the spirit-patterned master commune.

"We've arrived at the commune!"

Jiang Xuan felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly squeezed off the bus with the crowd. He could vaguely hear the girl Amei muttering angrily behind him.

"Hmph! Another arrogant fool! He's not even worthy to carry Lord Jiang Xuan's shoes!"

Jiang Xuan shook his head, a sense of helplessness rising in his heart. Fame... didn't seem to be all good things.

The feeling of being talked about, compared, or even stared at for no reason wherever you go is hardly pleasant.

Composing himself, Jiang Xuan entered the Spirit Pattern Master Commune, easily ascended to the second floor, and headed towards the secret room area where missions were specifically assigned.

Just as he reached the door, a figure crept up to him furtively; it was Chu Feng.

"Jiang Xuan! Good morning!"

Chu Feng wore a mysterious smile and lowered his voice. "I have big news! Want to hear it?"

Jiang Xuan glanced at him and walked straight toward the mission light curtain wall.

"Not interested in."

"Hey, don't go!"

Chu Feng quickly stopped him, moved closer, and lowered his voice.

"It's about Shi Ding Zhai! Their Yanxia City branch is going to hold a grand centennial celebration on the eighth day of next month! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Yanxia City! It's said to be extremely grand, with invitations extended to all the prominent figures in the city! Most importantly..." He deliberately paused, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Miss Liu Qingyan will personally attend and perform her heavenly music! It's truly celestial music!"

As Chu Feng spoke, his eyes gleamed with gossip and encouragement.

"Jiang Xuan, you helped Miss Liu repair that ancient musical instrument! Your connections are incredibly strong! Just imagine, if you could get an invitation to the celebration, go in and see what it's like, and maybe even make a name for yourself in front of Miss Liu... hehe, that's an opportunity that many people would kill for! How about... I help you think of a way?"

He hinted to Jiang Xuan that he could use this connection.

However, Jiang Xuan's reaction disappointed Chu Feng once again.

He didn't even turn his head, his gaze intently scanning the scrolling task list on the light screen wall, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion.

“I’m not interested. What do I care about celebrations or heavenly music? I’m only concerned with improving my strength as quickly as possible, preparing for the provincial examination, and…” He paused, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"The third challenge of the Azure Cloud Avenue in the Heavenly Secret Realm".

Chu Feng was speechless, but he persisted in trying to persuade him.

"Oh dear, Jiang Xuan! Why are you so stubborn? That's the centennial celebration of Shidingzhai! Miss Liu Qingyan's performance! So many people would kill to get in! This will be incredibly beneficial for you to expand your network and understand the upper echelons of society! You might even meet some important figures from the capital..."

"Chu Feng."

Jiang Xuan finally turned his head and looked at him calmly.

"I've said it before, I'm not interested. Connections? Circles? Those aren't what I'm after. Competence is the foundation of everything."

His tone was firm and unquestionable.

Looking into Jiang Xuan's clear and determined eyes, Chu Feng knew that further persuasion would be futile, so he could only sigh helplessly and mutter to himself.

"Fine, fine, you're so high and mighty... Ah, this is an opportunity so many people dream of..."

Jiang Xuan ignored Chu Feng's rambling and turned his attention back to the mission screen.

This time, he no longer limited himself to the familiar task of crafting mid-grade human-level spiritual artifacts.

His gaze swept over the various tasks labeled with terms like "unique weapons," "special equipment," "for spirit plant masters only," "beast control ring for beast tamers," and "core components for puppeteers."

"This... a high-grade human-level 'Water-Splitting Thorn' requires the inscription of a composite spirit pattern of 'Water Concealment' and 'Wave Breaker'?"

"Hmm... the 'Spirit Gathering Flower Pot' is designed for spirit plant masters. It requires a constant temperature and humidity to gather spirit energy, and the spirit pattern circuit must be integrated with the rhythm of plant growth..."

"'Soul-Locking Rings' are used by beast tamers to subdue ferocious beasts, requiring both mental intimidation and blood-calming effects..."

"The miniaturization of the puppet's power core requires stable energy output and a 30% reduction in size..."

Jiang Xuan quickly tapped on the light screen, accepting several tasks with different styles and full of challenges.

He needs to hone his spiritual rune skills in these uncharted territories and understand the core principles and compatibility of different spiritual artifacts.

This is not only to earn resources, but also to lay the foundation for his grander goal: to forge the legendary spirit-patterned battle armor!

That is a supreme treasure that perfectly fuses powerful spiritual runes with special battle armor! Once successful, it would be enough to make all the Cave Heaven Realm experts in the empire pursue it madly! And if he wants to reach that realm, his current foundation is far from enough.

These seemingly unorthodox weapon-forging tasks were precisely the whetstones that broadened his horizons and solidified his foundation.

Immersed in the flow-like process of refining, time flew by.

Just as Jiang Xuan was about to leave after successfully repairing and optimizing the spirit patterns of the two strange weapons, Chu Feng rushed over again with an extremely strange expression on his face, as if he had seen a ghost or was trying to suppress a laugh.

"Jiang...Jiang Xuan!"

Chu Feng, panting, looked at him with a complicated expression and handed him a gorgeous card made of extraordinary material and inlaid with dark gold patterns.

"Here, it's for you!"

Jiang Xuan took the card with a puzzled look. It felt warm to the touch and carried a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

The front of the card features Shi Ding Zhai's unique bronze incense burner emblem, with the words "Centennial Celebration - VIP Invitation" written in ancient seal script below.

"An invitation from Shidingzhai?"

Jiang Xuan frowned slightly.

"For me? I don't know their manager."

Chu Feng's expression became even stranger.

"Yes! I was wondering the same thing! Just now, a well-dressed servant from Shidingzhai personally delivered it, specifically asking to hand it over to you! He even specifically instructed that the manager had personally invited you!"

He paused, then asked tentatively.

"Was it... that Miss Liu got it for you? I knew it, your connections would definitely be useful..."

"Not her."

Jiang Xuan directly refuted Chu Feng's guess. He held the invitation letter, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a shrewd and capable figure appeared in his mind, with a calculating glint in his eyes.

A knowing smile appeared on his lips.

"So it was her... Manager Su from Muwan."

"Manager Mu?"

Chu Feng was stunned.

"You know her? How could she..."

"We met once and did some small transactions."

Jiang Xuan gave a brief explanation, then affirmed.

"However, since she delivered it this way, she won't reveal my identity on her own initiative."

She should have this much sense of propriety.

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his gaze towards Jiang Xuan became even more complex, filled with disbelief.

The manager of Shidingzhai personally invited him? Just how many unknown relationships and secrets is this guy hiding? He felt he was increasingly unable to understand this calm young man before him. (End of Chapter)