Of course, there was still a lot of work ahead; I had to become much stronger so that even the King of Darkness would fear touching me. But for now, I need to master my best creation, which will significantly increase my strength. The artifact had two modes: with daggers drawn and with daggers sheathed. Switching between them didn't require space magic, so that was the first thing I tried.
The six daggers, with a characteristic sound, flew out of their sheaths and hung in the air in a specific order. Turning my head, I could see them all, even pick one up and examine it more closely. I did this with each dagger; it was important for me to determine exactly where they were located in order to correctly use the spatial claws later.
The next step in training was using one dagger, controlling its flight, and hitting a target with it. Naturally, I don't have eyes on my back, so I have to focus on my other senses; space magic helps a lot with this. Thanks to it, you can feel the space around you, within certain limits, of course. Also, internal energy improved the perception of surrounding objects, as well as the connection between the shield and the other daggers, helping me determine their location.
Choosing one dagger, the upper right one, I raised my right hand, pointing at the nearest tree, simultaneously focusing on the selected dagger. Hand movements to some extent simplify the control of spatial claws; this is especially important in the early stages of developing space magic. The dagger slowly floated towards the tree, tip first. Gradually, as it came fully into my field of vision, I tried to increase its speed. The dagger literally shot off, gaining enormous speed, a whistle was heard, and the tree trunk disintegrated into splinters, so the tree almost fell on me. Yes, it turned out to be a deadly thing, although the tree wasn't thick.
After that, it was time to return the dagger. This function was embedded in the artifact itself, so I decided to trust it. Another whistle sounded, and the dagger was flying at me! I hurried to dodge it; I absolutely didn't want my head to repeat the fate of the tree! However, the dagger also changed its direction; it was too late to struggle, so I accepted my fate and didn't move. Images of both my lives flashed before my eyes, and I was already preparing to die, but the dagger flew past my face. I turned my head to see what had happened and saw the dagger, its tip pointing at the ground again, hastily braking and taking its place.
Yes, the return function works in a peculiar way; I need to think about how this can be corrected in the next model, otherwise, I might go gray prematurely. The next step was controlling the dagger in flight, changing its trajectory and speed, a smoother return, and a sharp launch from its usual position. I only worked with one dagger, and even that required great concentration, especially at the moment of return and launch. Before, I simply threw daggers at the enemy, giving them maximum acceleration; now, I wanted to kill two or more "birds with one stone," so to speak.
So, I spent the whole day training, and by the end, I was even starting to achieve something. As for the energy regulation function, I was able to fully appreciate it during this time. No, of course, I assumed its effectiveness based on the prototypes, but the difference in the initial materials makes itself known. As a result, I was satisfied with it; it performed its task perfectly.
After diligent training, I headed back to Bo City. I planned to go to Xiamen again, sell the souls, and buy vessels for them. Now I plan to start training and exterminating many servant-level beasts, so I absolutely don't want to lose such a profitable source of income. Let Mo Fan struggle with his stubborn talisman; I tamed my tooth long ago, or rather, found common ground.
Speaking of this dragon tooth, lately, I've constantly had the feeling that it's preparing for another breakthrough to the level of a spiritual instrument of the nebula. But apparently, it needs many more souls of various monsters. Mo Fan always had it easier with this; he found some unique, energetically powerful artifacts and raised the talisman's level through them. But, unfortunately, I have no idea where to find them.
The journey to Bo City should have taken about half a week, if not more. So, I decided to leave immediately after training. Fortunately, I'm not a topographical idiot, or it would be difficult to get out of here. The journey was quite peaceful, although there were monsters of various levels along the way, but they had no chance against me. However, I didn't dare to practice my artifact control on them, which I probably should name? Well, I don't know; I've never been good at coming up with names.
On the third day of the journey, I encountered a small group of one-eyed wolves, numbering three individuals. Something had diminished their numbers in these parts. Seeing this group, I realized it was perfect for combat testing of my daggers, or rather, one of them, as I hadn't tried controlling two at once yet.
Summoning the artifact, I switched it to its open state and directed my favorite upper-right dagger towards the nearest wolf. A whistle was heard, and its head was crushed into dust. Meanwhile, its two brothers reacted and turned their heads towards it. The dagger, describing a small arc, slightly reducing speed, darted towards the second wolf. Another whistle, and another wolf fell dead; it hadn't even fully managed to turn its head! The last one was definitely in shock, but there was nothing it could do. Another small arc described by the dagger, the whistle of the air being cut, and another head flew off from a powerful blow.
Even I felt a little uneasy from this power. Meanwhile, the dagger, shaking off blood in flight, returned to its previous position. I stopped being afraid of this on the first day, so I barely paid attention to it, marveling at the artifact's power and speed of attack. In just a second, three mid-level servant monsters were no longer alive, and their soul shards were safely eaten by my tooth. Moreover, all this was thanks to a single beginner-level spell and a couple of grams of space element energy. This is incredible power, especially since I used only a single dagger, and what will happen when all six come into play!?
"Not a bad thing!" Asura commented excitedly. "With it, you can easily kill hordes of small fry!"
"Calm down," I said, recovering from the sight. "Right now, I can only unleash, perhaps, one-sixth of this artifact's power. Now, try to talk about artifact-making being a useless pursuit." There was no response.
I didn't stand around watching the headless wolf corpses for long and continued on my way. But I made a mental note to intensify my training with this artifact; it's too powerful. The rest of the journey was absolutely calm, and in my training, I progressed to exterminating large groups of one-eyed wolves numbering about ten individuals. It was harder in terms of dagger control, but due to its speed, I managed to kill all the wolves so freely that only the last couple managed to understand what was happening. This is definitely an artifact not for my level, especially if its full potential is unleashed! Although there are likely no other mid-level mages with the space element besides me.
Upon reaching Bo City, I took a bus and traveled to Xiamen. I planned to sell only the souls; the prototypes that were more or less decent, and there were about ten to fifteen of them, I definitely didn't plan to blow up. Firstly, they are only useful for space mages. Secondly, there are no space mages weak enough to buy such an artifact. However, they had to be disposed of somewhere. So, I decided to sell them on the market as permanent artifacts in the form of ordinary shields, hoping to get at least three million per piece? After all, their durability is noticeably lower, at most they can withstand a high-level servant, but the fact that it's a permanent artifact should positively affect the price.
I only reached Xiamen by evening, so I had to find a room for the night. Actually, it wasn't a problem; in big cities, you can always find an inexpensive hotel and spend the night. Also, today, for the first time in a long time, I took a bath; of course, it wasn't an ordinary bath, but a healing one. Moreover, it was quite special, if the old man's books were to be believed, and I had no reason not to believe them.
As soon as I submerged myself in the scorching hot water, I felt incredible relaxation. I relaxed so much that I momentarily lost control of my energy, and all the steam dispersed, and an electric discharge passed across the water's surface. But I quickly regained self-control and began cultivating as planned. Over the past time, the space element had come very close to the second stage; it seemed I could reach out and take it.
But it wasn't as simple as I wanted; my cultivation faltered, the water gradually began to cool, and its effect passed. However, I continued to cultivate diligently, clearly aiming for the second stage. Unfortunately, even after five hours of persistent cultivation, I couldn't break through to the second stage. It's still quite fast; it's only been about eight months since I awakened this magic, and I'm already trying to break through to the second stage. Although I am a mid-level mage, and cultivating an initial element is easier, even so, this would be incredible speed.
After finishing my business, I got out of the almost icy water and went to sleep. The next day, a long and tiring walk through the market awaited me. No, I sold the souls quickly, earning thirteen million, but selling my prototypes was much harder. I thought about giving up this idea and keeping all eleven artifacts for myself as souvenirs, but then I remembered how much space they occupied in the spatial bracelet and continued my search for buyers. By noon, I managed to sell all the artifacts for about two and a half million each. So my total revenue was about forty-and-a-half million. Huge money!
I spent half a million on various small things, another fifteen on soul vessels, but I haven't decided where to spend the remaining twenty-five million yet. While I was strolling through the market and wondering if I needed anything else, my phone rang; the number was immediately identified as the old man's.
"Hello, greetings, teacher," I said, picking up the receiver.
"Jiaxing Yun, I finally got through to you," the old man's voice was heard; it sounded like someone who had a mountain lifted from his shoulders.
"Did something happen?" I asked, slightly concerned, although the old man sometimes annoyed me, I owed him the power I now possess.
"In a week, there will be a tournament for the young members of my family," the old man began to speak in his usual tone. "Before, I just attended, as I had no children or students. But this year, you became my disciple, so this time, I hope you will participate in the tournament and defend the honor of your master. All disciples not older than twenty years are allowed to participate."
"I see. But, teacher, there's one problem: I'm a mage, so won't it be unfair to them?" I asked, as although I could help the old man, I didn't particularly want to spend time on it.
"It doesn't matter; most of them are mages anyway," the old man said. I thought, then why have I never heard of mages as powerful as monsters? The answer came even before I asked. "Usually, we don't show our powers to the public; I've already told you, if someone decides to temper their body and is caught doing so, not only they but their entire family will be killed. So, do you agree?"
"Is it okay that I'm not your relative?" I made one last attempt to get out of it.
"No," the old man replied concisely. "All disciples of the family are allowed."
"Ah, well, then I don't mind," I sighed and agreed; it was foolish to object further.
"Excellent," the old man said cheerfully. "Then tomorrow, we meet in Hong Kong and head to my family's mansion."