High Martial: I Use Everything as Swords

The gate to Lakefront No. 9 Villa slid open silently.

The butler, Old Liu, was pacing back and forth in the main hall with a coat draped over his shoulders, his brightly polished leather shoes tapping out an anxious rhythm on the floor.

When he saw Han Feng push the door open, Old Liu’s wrinkled face instantly relaxed, only to stiffen again a moment later. His gaze locked onto the dust covering Han Feng’s clothes and the unconcealable exhaustion on his face.

"Mr. Han, you’re..."

Old Liu trailed off, his nose twitching as he caught the faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood.

"I went to the West District to take care of something. Dealt with some trash while I was at it."

Han Feng waved a dismissive hand, clearly not intending to explain further. He casually tossed his dusty coat onto the sofa.

"Get me something to eat and bring it to the underground chamber. I’m not seeing anyone without my permission."

Old Liu was a sharp man. Recalling the news that had just been spreading like wildfire online, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Yes, I’ll arrange it right away. I’ll stew some Spirit Ginseng Soup for you to replenish your Qi Blood."

Han Feng nodded and walked straight to the entrance of the Underground Cultivation Chamber.

As the heavy alloy door slowly closed, the noise of the outside world was completely shut out.

Inside the Cultivation Chamber, the Spirit Gathering Array was still running slowly, and a faint mist of Spiritual Qi filled the air.

Han Feng plopped down on a meditation cushion and let out a long, turbid breath.

That last sword strike might have looked stylish, but in reality, he had been dancing on a knife’s edge.

If that Evil Cult Grandmaster had been even slightly more cautious.

If he had attacked directly, Han Feng would probably be a cold corpse by now.

’I’m still too weak.’

Han Feng gave a self-deprecating smile and pulled the still-warm Storage Ring from his pocket.

The ring’s design was bizarre. It was a dull, bone-white color, and its face was carved with a twisted skull. Two tiny rubies were set in its eye sockets, making for an unsettling sight.

’What terrible taste.’

Han Feng grumbled to himself, then mobilized the sliver of Divine Sense he had just recovered and brutally smashed it against the spiritual brand on the ring.

The ring’s owner was already dead and decapitated, so the remaining spiritual imprint was like a tree without roots.

POP.

With a soft sound, the defensive restriction on the ring shattered.

Han Feng’s Divine Sense probed inside.

The space wasn’t large, only about three cubic meters at most—nothing compared to his own five-cubic-meter Void Stone.

But its advantage was convenience.

The Void Stone was a raw material. Although its space was large and stable, it could only be left in one place as a fixed warehouse or be inlaid into large equipment through extremely expensive means.

This ring, however, was a finished product meticulously crafted by an Artifact Refiner, meant to be carried and used at any time.

’Let’s see just how rich this Tier Four Grandmaster was.’

Han Feng dumped everything out of the ring in one go.

CLATTER.

A pile of miscellaneous items covered the floor in front of him.

The first thing that caught his eye was a small pile of translucent, sparkling coins in a corner.

Spirit Coins.

Han Feng did a quick count. There were over eight hundred of them.

This was a huge sum.

To put it in perspective, he only earned a little over a thousand Spirit Coins for a custom order of a Tier Three Spiritual Soldier on the Black Market.

For an Evil Cultist to be carrying so much cash, he had probably just collected some dirty money or was preparing to flee.

Besides the Spirit Coins, there were also several sealed black bottles.

Han Feng scanned them with his [Spiritual Vision], his brow furrowing slightly.

The bottles contained some kind of highly concentrated biological extract that emanated a nauseating wave of resentment.

It was likely a Potion the Blood Feeding Sect used to enhance Cultivation or control their followers.

’Trash.’

With a casual wave of his hand, Han Feng unleashed a burst of Sword Qi, obliterating the bottles and their liquid contents into nothingness.

Besides those, the rest were more valuable items.

Three fist-sized pieces of [Black Obsidian Gold], a rare Tier Three Upper Grade metal. It was extremely hard and had excellent energy-absorbing properties, making it a superior material for crafting defensive Magical Artifacts.

Two well-preserved [Bone-Rotting Spirit Flowers]. Although they were poisonous herbs, they fetched a high price on the Black Market, as some unorthodox Body Refining Techniques required them to fight poison with poison.

There was also a small booklet sewn from the hide of some unknown beast.

Han Feng flipped it open and glanced through it. It recorded various Evil Techniques for torturing the living and extracting souls, the text filled with an air of madness.

’How vile.’

A ball of Sword Fire erupted from Han Feng’s palm, instantly incinerating the booklet to ash.

After cleaning up the junk, Han Feng put the Spirit Coins and Black Obsidian Gold into his Void Stone’s space.

As for the Storage Ring, while its design was a bit ugly, there was no denying its practicality.

In the future, he could keep commonly used Elixir Pills, weapons, and emergency supplies in the ring, leaving the Void Stone in the villa as a safe deposit box, or perhaps inlay it into his Lifebound Flying Sword later on.

After sorting through his spoils of war, Han Feng didn’t rush to rest.

He sat cross-legged and began to review the night’s encounter.

The battle had exposed two of his fatal shortcomings.

First, a lack of conventional ground combat abilities.

His combat power in the sky was off the charts, but that relied on his fighter jet’s performance and the enhancements from his Sword Control Technique.

Once on the ground, although his Spiritual Power was comparable to a Grandmaster’s, his physical body was only at the Meridian Passage Realm.

When that "Ghost Face" released his oppressive aura, Han Feng felt like a fish encased in cement, struggling to even move a finger.

If not for his [Heart Clarity and Nature Seeing] Talent keeping his Sea of Consciousness clear, and if not for the system’s cheat-like assistance in producing that [Spirit-Slaying] strike, he would have undoubtedly died today.

’I have to repair "Broken Star" as soon as possible.’

Han Feng took the broken Short Sword from the rack behind him.

Although this Tier Four Soul Soldier was severely damaged, its foundation was still intact.

Once repaired, it would be his greatest trump card besides his fighter jet.

When facing a powerful enemy on the ground, a Flying Sword that could carry his immense Divine Sense and ignore physical defenses would definitely make any enemy who dared to underestimate him suffer.

Second, insufficient mobility.

While his Sword Control Technique allowed him to fly, it required a Flying Sword or a Wingsuit, and the startup was too slow.

In a battle between experts, the first few seconds were enough time for him to die ten times over.

’I need a piece of equipment.’

Han Feng stroked his chin, his mind racing.

’Something that can provide instantaneous explosive power on the ground and has some defensive capabilities.’

Purely defensive armor was too cumbersome and didn’t suit his combat style.

What he wanted was speed.

Extreme speed.

’Spiritual Energy Armor is too complex, and it makes you too big of a target.

What I want is a lightweight armor, something like a Single-Soldier Exoskeleton.’

Han Feng closed his eyes and began running simulations in his Sea of Consciousness.

Countless lines sketched themselves out and combined in his mind’s eye.

’The core requirements are startup speed and survival.’

’Since my Sword Control Technique is slow to start, I’ll use an external force for a boost.’

’A Wind Rune Array is the top choice, supplemented by small thrusters.’

Soon, the prototype of a light Spiritual Energy Armor took shape in his mind.

This wasn’t the kind of heavy armor that wrapped a person up like a tin can, but a streamlined, form-fitting suit that covered only critical areas.

The back featured a pair of foldable spiritual power winglets. They would normally be retracted on either side of the backplate, but could pop out at critical moments to work in tandem with the leg thrusters, allowing for an instantaneous, ground-launch takeoff.

’The Defense Array doesn’t need to be too complex. A Tier Three Middle Grade [Solid Wall] Rune should be enough, mainly to defend against stray bullets and energy splashes.’

’The focus is on the [Wind Runes] and [Blast Step] rune sets.’

Han Feng frantically stacked acceleration-type Runes onto the calf and back sections of the virtual model.

’As long as I run fast enough, the enemy’s attacks won’t be able to catch me.’

This was Han Feng’s "staying alive" philosophy.

He didn’t expect this armor to withstand a Grandmaster’s attack head-on. As long as it could buy him one or two seconds to take off or create distance, the rest would be his home game.

’As for the materials...’

Han Feng opened his eyes, a "benevolent" smile playing on his lips.

He was now the chief technical consultant for the "Shadow" project, with tens of millions in R&D funding and special-grade resource allocation authority at his disposal.

The high-strength alloys, Wind Attribute Spiritual Materials, and even the core power source needed for this armor...

’The Ghost Fighter’s ailerons seem to require "Wind Grinding Stone" and "Light Spirit Titanium Gold." It’s perfectly reasonable to request a bit extra for wear-and-tear testing, right?’

’For the core components of the thrusters, I can use that batch of "discarded" high-energy compression pumps from the "Night Falcon" project’s spare parts inventory. A few modifications, and they’ll be good to go.’

’As for the Black Obsidian Gold for defense... I happened to loot three pieces from that dead Grandmaster.’

The more Han Feng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

This wasn’t embezzlement, was it?

It was clearly to better protect the safety of the project’s core technical personnel.

After all, if a chief consultant like him were to be killed, it would be the greatest loss for the council and the Celestial Craft Group.

’It’s settled then.’

Han Feng snapped his fingers and saved the completed Spirit Armor blueprint from his mind.

He even had a name for it.

It would be called the "Escapee Type I."

Simple, direct, and true to its purpose.

After all that, a deep sense of exhaustion washed over him.

Although his physical injuries were mostly healed thanks to the nourishment of the Spiritual Liquid, the mental exhaustion couldn’t be replenished so quickly.

Just then, Old Liu came in carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming Spirit Ginseng Soup and several exquisite side dishes.

"Mr. Han, drink it while it’s hot."

Han Feng picked up the bowl and drained it in one go. A warm sensation spread from his esophagus to his limbs.

"Old Liu, don’t let anyone wake me tomorrow morning. I’m going to sleep until I wake up naturally."

"If someone from the Celestial Craft Group comes to rush me, tell them I’m in seclusion researching core technology. And that I’ll be furious with anyone who dares to disturb me."

Old Liu bowed and replied, "Understood. Please rest well."

Han Feng collapsed onto the bed and was out the moment his head hit the pillow.

While Han Feng was sound asleep, the night in East Sea Fortress City was far from being as calm as it appeared.