The first light of dawn was breaking as Su Ling'er awoke from a nightmare to a sharp, stabbing pain.
The memory of being forged and tempered a thousand times in the Artifact Refining Pavilion yesterday still echoed relentlessly in her mind.
She tried to move, but every inch of her body, from muscle to bone, screamed as if it were about to fall apart.
Although she had successfully advanced to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment thanks to the Sword Refining Skill and that inhuman forging, the agony of being hammered repeatedly like a piece of stubborn iron was still fresh and vivid with every recollection.
She dragged her body, which felt like it barely belonged to her, and struggled to get out of bed, only to collapse powerlessly back onto it.
Just as she was tossing and turning, wondering how she would get through the day, a Sound Transmission Talisman floated unsteadily before her.
Her eldest brother's voice emerged from it:
