Chapter 221

Chapter 221: One Shot, One Soul

The system’s notification sound indeed gave Zhou Luo a jolt of surprise.

He had worked so hard for so long with his other wives and concubines, yet never expected to achieve success with this newly arrived concubine in just one go.

Was the Li Family deliberately responsible?

Zhou Luo felt things seemed a bit too coincidental.

Therefore, he didn’t look towards the system immediately. Instead, he stared very seriously at Li Ying, who lay beside him.

"Tell me honestly, what other purpose do you have in marrying over?" Zhou Luo’s gaze was intense as he looked at her, his expression somber and extremely serious.

Li Ying appeared timid, shrinking under the quilt with only her pale, delicate shoulders visible. Her lips moved slightly; she originally wanted to say there was no other purpose.

But Zhou Luo asserted dominantly: "This isn’t the Li Family. If you lie to me, your days will not be easy from now on."

Under these words, Li Ying hesitated for a long time before finally speaking truthfully.

It turned out that before she came, her father had made her take a medicinal herb, claiming it could improve the chance of conception.

The goal was naturally to prevent Zhou Luo from neglecting her, hoping to bind him through a child.

After all, the status of a concubine had always been low. Since the Li Family wanted to establish a connection with Zhou Luo, merely sending a concubine wasn’t enough.

But if she could bear a child, the significance would be completely different.

Apart from this, the Li Family harbored no other intentions.

Having heard her words, Zhou Luo nodded slightly.

He reasoned that even if the Li Family had ill intentions, sending only a woman with a damaged cultivation foundation wouldn’t achieve anything of substance.

"Do you know the name of that herb?" Zhou Luo inquired.

Rather than these concerns, he was more interested in that herb that could enhance conception.

"I think it’s called Dream Blue Flower," Li Ying answered after thinking.

Hearing this name, Zhou Luo showed an expression of confirmed understanding.

As a Spiritual Planter, he had previously sought out medicinal materials that could boost a woman’s chance of conception. However, most had negative effects on the human body or the child.

Thus, Zhou Luo had later abandoned the idea.

But this Dream Blue Flower was a rare herb without harmful effects.

It was basically unavailable on the market. He had once asked people at the auction house to inquire about it, but there had never been any news.

Therefore, hearing it was this very herb, he immediately asked, "How did the Li Family acquire this stalk of Dream Blue Flower?"

Li Ying shrank deeper under the covers. "Our family cultivates it," she said timidly, "though the yield is very small."

Hearing these words, Zhou Luo became excited internally.

No wonder the Li Family prospered with numerous descendants, capable even of bestowing a woman with fifth-grade spiritual roots. It seemed it was all owing to the merits of the Dream Blue Flower.

It was just that the Dream Blue Flower’s yield was so low, the Li Family hardly had enough for their own use. Naturally, they wouldn’t sell it on the market.

"It would be wonderful," he thought, "if I could get a stalk to plant in Zhou Garden."

Zhou Luo thought privately, planning to find time and seek it from the Li Family later.

After finishing his questions, Zhou Luo didn’t say much more. He only told her to rest, then left the room.

Back in his own room, Zhou Luo settled his mind and looked toward the system’s lottery page.

The white lottery page remained eternally unchanged.

Zhou Luo silently recited, and the golden sphere of light began spinning rapidly.

By now, he was quite calm and detached; whatever he drew would be acceptable.

Under his watchful gaze, the golden sphere of light finally stopped on a Cultivation Skill.

Another Cultivation Skill!

Zhou Luo’s spirit tensed.

Last time, he drew Taming Skills. What would it be this time?

For a moment, he grew somewhat expectant.

Whatever skill it was, it would be good. If it were a Second Level skill, that would be even better.

Currently, his only Second Level skill was poison making.

But the materials for Second Level poisons were hard to come by. He had been searching before, to no avail.

After all, all the main ingredients required for Second Level poison reached Second Level rarity. Such herbs weren’t easily found in a small place like Maple Leaf City.

He only refined the Bone Corruption Powder last time because he got lucky—he spotted an unrecognized main ingredient at a vendor stall.

Refining it again now would be very difficult.

Poison making wasn’t an orthodox pursuit anyway. Zhou Luo still hoped to progress in one of the four major skills.

Ideally, becoming a second level Pill Master; that would resolve refining the Foundation Establishment Dan.

Amid Zhou Luo’s thoughts, the system’s voice finally spoke.

[Congratulations, host! Obtained first level weapon refining techniques!]

[Reward automatically added to host’s inventory. Please check!]

Hearing the words "weapon refining," Zhou Luo felt as if his breath halted for an instant.

His earlier anticipation instantly transformed into fierce excitement and joy.

He gazed ecstatically at that lottery page, almost wanting to grab it and kiss it twice.

The four major skills were now complete.

It was the weapon refining techniques he’d been longing for!

Zhou Luo felt incredibly lucky today.

Originally, he’d been considering how to deal with those three damaged top-grade magical artifacts.

Now he finally had a chance to repair them.

Once those three damaged magical artifacts were successfully repaired—a cultivator wielding four top-grade magical artifacts could utterly dominate anyone at Qi Refinement. Even against Foundation Establishment, combat wasn’t out of reach.

He couldn’t guarantee victory, but escaping would be feasible. At least he wouldn’t risk getting instantly killed.

Zhou Luo was exhilarated and immediately looked at the icon in his backpack.

[Grade One Weapon Refining Techniques: After use, directly comprehend full-level Grade One weapon refining techniques and corresponding artifact compendium.]

He didn’t hesitate at all and used it.

The next second, various knowledge of weapon refining and understanding of numerous artifacts emerged freshly in his mind.

Those memories etched themselves deeply into his mind, becoming an inseparable part of him.

Simultaneously, techniques like Fire Control Art—gained as a weapon refiner—required no further learning; he could wield them instantly.

Now, he had clearly advanced from a Little White to a master.

Provide him a furnace, and he might craft a magical artifact on the spot right then.

Zhou Luo’s fingers itched with restlessness, yearning for a practice session even in the dead of night.

Yet he ultimately suppressed the fervent excitement inside him.

Then, he laid out the three damaged magical artifacts on the table.

They were the Xuanying Tower from the Lu Family’s high-tier formation master, the bell acquired later, and the golden-threaded jade robe.

Previously, he assumed the gaps on these magical artifacts weren’t too serious.

But now as a weapon refiner, he perceived instantly how much those missing sections compromised each entire artifact.

No wonder the Qinyuan Sect offered such top-grade magical artifacts as rewards.

Given this level of damage, they barely outmatched mere high-tier pieces, impossible to equal genuine top-grade magical artifacts.

Fortunately, he had drawn weapon refining techniques.

Otherwise, facing enemies later while foolishly overconfident in using these artifacts for defense could’ve got him killed painfully.

The three top-grade magical artifacts had roughly equal damage, yet the Xuanying Tower suffered worst.

Though only one gap showed, it crippled the artifact’s energy flow, slashing activated power output by at least a third.

No wonder his high-tier Golden Bell had fought that Xuanying Tower evenly back then.

The other two top-grade magical artifacts also bore significant harm.

Zhou Luo knit his brows tightly, combing through weapon refining techniques in his mind to consider repairs for the three top-grade magical artifacts.

Actually, restoration wasn’t hard; the challenge lay in finding materials.

He planned to visit the auction house tomorrow and inquire.