Wei Zhao was full of anticipation. If this was a universal martial technique, then learning other martial techniques should likewise be a matter of ease! And if he himself could cultivate it to the utmost purity, he might even be able to instruct Han Xiaopo personally and spare him some detours!

Of course, if Wei Zhao could not cultivate this martial technique, then the lowest-grade "Woodchopping Art" probably could not be cultivated either—after all, this was a wood-attribute martial technique, whereas what Wei Zhao had cultivated before were fire-attribute martial techniques. Though Wei Zhao did not know what system of mental method the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art belonged to, since he could cultivate fire-attribute martial techniques, it was presumably a fire-attribute mental method!

Still, he could not rule out surprises—after all, the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art was called a universal mental method, and could not be measured by common sense...

"This last one... is not a martial technique..." Han Tianba saw Wei Zhao pointing at the last box and said with a bitter smile.

"Not a martial technique? Then what is it?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

"This is a book related to the profession of artificer..." Han Tianba said. "But I hear the artificer was a profession of ancient times, now extinct..."

"Artificer?" Wei Zhao's eyes flickered slightly. The Hidden Han Family truly had no shortage of good things—they even had a book on artificers?

"That is so. It is also the most precious book found in the ancient ruins. Only... with my aptitude, I could not quite understand it, nor do I possess the constitution and abilities mentioned in the book..." Han Tianba said.

"May I take a look?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat intrigued.

"Naturally. With Mr. Lin here, any secret manual may be examined freely!" Han Tianba said without hesitation. "Only, that book on artificers is likely of little use. I hear it requires dual-system cultivation—only a cultivator who simultaneously practices mental methods of two attributes can even attempt to learn it!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhaoslowly opened the last wooden box, and a thread-bound ancient tome came into view, bearing six large characters: "Fragmentary Scroll on the Way of Mending Artifacts"! Wei Zhao carefully took out the tome and began to leaf through it.

Sure enough, at the head of the scroll was an introduction to the tome. It was indeed a book related to artificers, yet it was not for artificers to use. According to the introduction, an artificer had to cultivate simultaneously the mental method formulas of metal, wood, and fire before he could become an artificer!

The trade this book introduced was not the artificer's, but shared the same origin with it. It was called the artifact mender!

An artifact mender needed only to cultivate the metal and wood mental methods simultaneously.

The so-called artifact mender could not forge and temper divine weapons and sharp blades himself, but could repair damaged divine weapons and sharp blades—for instance, a third-grade medicine cauldron damaged in alchemy, ancient weapons damaged in battle, and so on, all could be repaired using the methods taught in this book!

Of course, like alchemists, artifact menders were also graded first-grade, second-grade, third-grade, and even higher. Only, this "Fragmentary Scroll on the Way of Mending Artifacts" was called a fragmentary scroll because it mentioned only the repair methods for damaged divine weapons and sharp blades of grades one through three; of grades above three it said nothing. One could tell that it was not that such knowledge did not exist, but merely that this book did not record it!

As with alchemists, mending artifacts also consumed vast amounts of true qi and physical strength, and cultivating two mental methods at once was a most difficult matter for a cultivator. Never mind whether one could succeed in cultivating them—even if one did, one might not cultivate both to any considerable height!

Moreover, even if one cultivated them to a certain height, there was the danger of going mad from qi deviation. Thus even in ancient times, the status of artifact menders and artificers was highly revered; only those with the aptitude of geniuses and great divine powers could hold such posts.

If he could not practice alchemy, could he mend artifacts? Wei Zhao was rather interested in this "Fragmentary Scroll on the Way of Mending Artifacts." Only, Wei Zhao had never yet laid eyes on any divine weapon or sharp blade—he had not even seen a fine thing like a third-grade medicine cauldron. Learning this Way of Mending Artifacts—was it a waste of time, one wondered?

Be that as it may, since Wei Zhao had seen it and was interested, he would not let it slip easily. So he said, "Elder Han, might I make a copy?"

"Haha, of course, no problem!" Han Tianba said. "Make a copy and leave the copy with us, or take the original—either is fine."

"That will not be necessary." However thick-skinned Wei Zhao was, he could not bring himself to embezzle another's original; besides, there was no difference at all between the original and a copy. But there was no hurry to copy it now—the pressing matter was to help Han Xiaopo choose a martial technique. So Wei Zhao pointed at the second-to-last box and said, "Since that one has to do with artificers, how about this one?"

"This..." Han Tianba's expression turned slightly awkward, but he said, "This one... I am afraid it will not do either..."

"This one will not do either?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. "Could it be that this is not a martial technique either, but something else?"

"It is a martial technique, all right—only, not a normal martial technique..." Han Tianba nodded and said. He had looked through everything in this scripture pavilion and understood each item.

"Not a normal martial technique?" Wei Zhao asked in surprise. "What do you mean, not normal?"

"This martial technique, though it is the highest-grade martial technique in the ancient ruins, is a support-type martial technique!" Han Tianba said.

"A support-type martial technique?" Wei Zhao suddenly thought of that universal "martial technique" that went with the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. Was that a support-type martial technique as well? And did the Hidden Han Family perhaps have similar good things?

"Indeed. From my own study and observation, this is a supply-type martial technique. It can replenish energy and true qi for one's companions nearby, but it completely consumes one's own strength and true qi. One might call it a martial technique that burns oneself to light the way for others!" Han Tianba said. "Though this martial technique may play a great role at a critical moment, in ordinary combat it is of no use at all. Who would cultivate, for no reason, a martial technique that sacrifices oneself to complete others? Unless it were a great ancient sect raising a batch of death-sworn disciples, specifically to expend their own true qi to aid their comrades when battling other sects..."

"Oh?" Hearing the effects of this martial technique, Wei Zhao was rather surprised. Why did it sound much like the Sun family's mental method? Or rather, somewhat similar to the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art? But the difference was that this one was rather cruel and domineering, completely consuming one's own strength and true qi to complete others! So Wei Zhao asked, "Then, can the disciple who expends his strength not recover it?"

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