Jing Yan's face instantly darkened. He just couldn't help himself.
He used to have a complete command of Moon-Freezing Triple Waves, a Middle-grade martial system of sword skills. Back then, he thought this skill set was nearly perfect. There were barely any flaws that he could detect.
But now, after he examined it with the Arch of Heaven, he discovered that just like the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, there were at least ten different imperfections in this martial system.
It took a second for Jing Yan to finish analyzing Moon-Freezing Triple Waves and conclude that the system had 13 flaws.
"After the skill is refined and all the flaws are fixed, I wonder how much stronger this martial system will become?" Once he accepted the situation, Jing Yan felt a growing sense of anticipation.
The Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves had become a lot stronger after he refined it with the Arch of Heaven. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for him to kill that many Spiritual Beasts in the Blackrock Mountains. That single skill had contributed significantly to his successful hunting trip.
Swoosh!
Jing Yan started refining Moon-Freezing Triple Waves.
Although he had spotted the flaws immediately, fixing them wasn't as easy. If it hadn't been for the Arch of Heaven, it would have been very challenging to fix the flaws with Jing Yan's current abilities, even if he knew they existed. If he concentrated solely on that one task, he might have been able to fix a couple of them, but it would have taken him several years.
The thing was, every martial system he knew had been refined by numerous warriors, including some super powerful ones. As a result, it was quite difficult to spot flaws in even a Low-grade martial system.
"What? It costs that much Vital Qi to fix imperfections?"
After the time of one cup of tea, Jing Yan furrowed his brows.
With the help of the Arch of Heaven, Jing Yan had no problems with the technical aspects of fixing the flaws of Moon-Freezing Triple Waves. But he noticed that it was consuming a massive amount of Vital Qi to do so.
When he refined the Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, he had noticed that he also needed Vital Qi for the task, but as a Low-grade martial system, it hadn't required much Vital Qi to fix. The Vital Qi inside Jing Yan's own body had been more than enough.
"Spiritual Stones!"
Almost without hesitation, Jing Yan took out Spiritual Stones and began to absorb them. One after another, the Spiritual Stones turned into fine powder as Jing Yan drained their Vital Qi.
At the same time, the flaws in Moon-Freezing Triple Waves were fixed one by one.
Seven days passed.
"Phew!" Jing Yan let out a long breath, eyes glistening with excitement.
"The refinement is finally completed. Now, the Moon-Freezing Triple Waves should be perfect." A smile bloomed across Jing Yan's face.
Yet when he glanced at the ashes of Spiritual Stones on the floor, his smile became a little bitter.
In refining Moon-Freezing Triple Waves, he had consumed more than 200 Spiritual Stones. That number was rather alarming.
If the refinement of a single Middle-grade martial system cost so much, how many Spiritual Stones would he need to refine a Top-grade or even a Supreme-grade martial system?
Jing Yan shook his head helplessly. He really didn't have a choice. No matter how much it cost him, he had to keep refining.
"Luckily, as I absorbed the Spiritual Stones' Vital Qi to fix the loopholes of Moon-Freezing Triple Waves, my own strength also grew a lot," Jing Yan said, attempting to comfort himself.
Before he refined Moon-Freezing Triple Waves, Jing Yan's rank had just reached the Sixth Heaven. Now that the skill was refined, Jing Yan was nearing the peak of the Sixth Heaven. He had one foot inside the door of the Seventh Heaven now.
A Sixth Heaven warrior was still Middle-ranking, but once they hit the Seventh Heaven, a warrior would be considered High-ranking. The gap between those two was immeasurably huge and incredibly difficult to surpass.
For example, if the difference between warriors at the Fifth Heaven and the Sixth Heaven was like a small creek, then the difference between warriors at the Sixth Heaven and the Seventh Heaven was a great river.
"Today is, again, the day of the monthly abilities test for disciples of the family!"
"I'm gonna give it a try!"
Jing Yan set aside the thought of consuming more Spiritual Stones and smiled. He then left his yard, heading to the Martial Arts Performing Stadium.
On the same day of every month, the Jing Clan's Martial Arts Performing Stadium would welcome a big crowd of disciples of the family. By passing the abilities test, those warriors would receive rewards according to their rank.
For family disciples at lower ranks, passing the abilities test was an important way to obtain Spiritual Stones. Other than that, venturing into the Blackrock Mountains was about their only option, which meant that they might lose their lives at any moment. Such trips were usually far too dangerous for the Jing Clan's lower-ranked disciples. Even if they dared to risk the trip, they wouldn't go beyond the foothills of the mountains.
Jing Yan certainly wasn't coming to the abilities test for the reward of Spiritual Stones. Now that he was at the Sixth Heaven, the test would give him 20 Spiritual Stones. At this moment, a mere 20 Spiritual Stones weren't much for him at all. The reason he showed up for the test was to put on an act for the other disciples to watch.
Among them, quite a few jackasses had been making fun of Jing Yan for his constantly falling rank. This time he planned to shut them up by showing off his strength.
Once he stepped inside the Martial Arts Performing Stadium, Jing Yan turned his gaze to the testing crystal. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.
"Look, Jing Yan has come for the abilities test again!"
"No kidding! He came for the test last month, too. I was there when he took the test. Haha, his rank was the Third Heaven. Even I am better than that," said a short and skinny Fourth Heaven disciple, grinning.
"How does he have the nerve to show up?"
"Alas, he put on such a shameful display for a measly two Spiritual Stones, didn't he?"
"I think the old Patriarch's spirit must be turning over in his grave."
When the Jing Clan's disciples in the stadium saw Jing Yan, many started mumbling sarcastically about him.
Some even made the assumption that Jing Yan's rank might have already fallen to the Second Heaven this month.
Jing Yan smiled coldly when he heard their cruel remarks. Yet he didn't say anything. Instead, he picked a random spot and stood still, waiting for the Elder hosting the test to call his name.
He would shut all of those jerks' mouths with his strength.
Jing Yan decided that after today's test, he would immediately go back to his room and get ready to use the Soul Crystal to break out of the Sixth Heaven and reach the Seventh Heaven.
By the time of the next month's abilities test, he would pass it as a High-ranking warrior.
As Jing Yan relaxed, his eyes half-closed, he suddenly heard a contemptuous voice call out behind him.
"Jing Yan, you really are stunningly shameless!"
Jing Yan slightly frowned as he glanced over his shoulder.
It was Jing Lucheng, who ranked at the Seventh Heaven.
Jing Yan knitted his brows a little more tightly as he saw the man. There had never been any personal conflict between him and Jing Lucheng. In fact, they weren't very close at all. There was no reason for Jing Lucheng to have a grudge against him.
So why would he come after Jing Yan like this?