It was an origin-gun barrel.

A barrel the Pointer Monarch cared so much about was naturally not an ordinary object. This weapon part was already rank-nine in grade and on par with the magnums of the current era.

Not to mention owning a grade-nine weapon, Qianye had never even touched one before. The only exception was when he had fired the Red Spider Lily by coincidence.

Qianye collected his thoughts and continued browsing the information.

First up was a concise description from the Pointer Monarch himself. The man had always been proud, arrogant, and believed there was no place he couldn’t set foot on. However, he accidentally entered a perilous area once. There, he fell into dire circumstances and his wife also died in order to save him. The Pointer Monarch, back then, was only one step away from reaching the heavenly monarch realm. Yet that single step had stopped him from saving his beloved wife’s life.

If the Pointer Monarch had broken through earlier or if he had taken fewer risks, he would have never lost his true love. As the most talented person of his generation, the monarch managed to preserve a bit of her spirit as he searched everywhere for ways to revive her. Later on, he received advice from an eccentric about using a void colossus as the medium—he could merge his lover’s spirit into it and perhaps be able to refine a magnum. Grand Magnums possessed spirits, so from a certain perspective, it could be said that his wife would regain life within the weapon.

The Pointer Monarch soon learned about a wounded Earth Dragon in hibernation. He rushed over the long distance and attacked despite the great disparity in strength.

The dragon was extremely terrifying. Even though it was wounded, the colossus wasn’t an entity Ji Wentian could contend with before becoming a heavenly monarch. Even so, the man fought without fear. In the end, he found a single opportunity on the verge of mortal peril and managed to seriously injure and kill the Earth Dragon. Afterward, he retrieved the Earth Dragon's skull and warm heart-blood to merge into his wife’s spirit and forged a gun.

But how could forging this so-called magnum be so easy? He ultimately wasn’t able to master the power of a spirit before reaching the heavenly monarch realm. In the end, Ji Wentian failed at the last minute and used up all of his origin power after forging a barrel. His wife’s spirit inevitably dispersed after the failure. Ji Wentian thus gained an epiphany in his dismay and stepped over into the heavenly monarch realm, becoming the Pointer Monarch everyone knew of today.

Nonetheless, everything was too late.

Later on, Ji Wentian returned to the neutral lands and set up everything here in memory of the past and to prevent disturbances.

At this point, Qianye understood the source of the Pointer Monarch’s mood. Actually, this gun barrel contained some spirituality but was still a far cry from gaining sentience. The love of Ji Wentian’s life had long since disappeared.

Afterward, Qianye observed the gun barrel’s abilities in great detail.

Compared to an ordinary firearm, the Pointer Monarch’s gun barrel contained shocking auxiliary powers. The first thing he noticed was “Lethal Strike”, a skill equal to Qianye’s Heavy Caliber, Accurate Fire, and Superior Range combined. Moreover, their effects were increased exponentially. All attributes—be it the weapon’s range, precision, or firepower—were two times higher.

Even an ordinary origin gun would reach the peak of its grade with Lethal Strike installed. This kind of ability was only slightly inferior to the Wings of Inception. According to Andruil, though, the wings possessed the potential for unlimited growth, and that was an aspect this barrel could never compare to.

Another power was the Skyheart Seal. This ability could increase the wielder’s control over the surrounding origin power. In its passive state, the gun would guide the environment toward maintaining its original state, making it difficult for external changes to take place.

This Skyheart Seal didn’t look that impressive since it couldn’t upgrade the wielder’s power directly. But after careful contemplation, Qianye realized how astonishing this ability was. In simpler terms, all domains except the wielder’s would be weakened within its area of effect!

Domains usually played a critical role in a battle between experts. Even non-offensive ones, when dominant, could stop the enemy from utilizing origin power from their surroundings. At that point, the outcome was easily imaginable.

With the exception of the Red Spider Lily, Qianye had never seen a domain-type ability on a weapon. The weakening of a domain in battle, no matter how small the magnitude, would produce significant effects. Hence, the Skyheart Seal would exert greater might in the hands of a powerful expert.

There were numerous other secondary abilities like Superior Tenacity, Origin Absorption, Recovery, Coordination, etc.

A gun barrel with Superior Tenacity could contend against East Peak, meaning it could trade slashes with the heavy sword. Origin Absorption was the ability to draw origin power from the surroundings, store it in an array, and unleash it when required. Most of the power needed for Lethal Strike and Skyheart Seal would be drawn from this stock, greatly reducing the wielder’s workload.

Additionally, the barrel would slowly repair itself when damaged, as long as the damage wasn’t too grave. Nonetheless, it was not that easy a feat, either, to damage a weapon with Superior Tenacity. Qianye felt that it wasn’t quite possible for him to damage this barrel with East Peak if he didn’t go all out.

The Coordination component made it easier for the barrel to connect to other parts and form a complete origin gun. After all, it was only a barrel at this point.

Any of these “secondary” abilities could transform an origin gun into a prized weapon. Only grade-seven guns were even worthy of possessing them.

Glancing at this unassuming gun barrel, Qianye almost felt that he could see a brilliant treasure halo in front of him. Was this really just a barrel?

But it was indeed a gun barrel forged personally by the Pointer Monarch.

This barrel had no name. Neither did the Pointer Monarch intend to give it one.

After learning a part of its powers, the remaining information became blurry, or perhaps it required one to be in a certain mental state to be able to see it. As for what kind of mental state that was, there was really no mention of it. It could also be that the Pointer Monarch didn’t want anyone to see the contents.

The situation at present was urgent, so Qianye had no time to study the item further. It was enough that he knew the main powers. This gun-barrel was indeed a life-saving treasure and Qianye had already outlined a plan on how to use it. He whisked out Cui Yuanhai’s origin gun, quickly removed the barrel, and installed this new one onto it.

The new gun barrel didn’t fit all that well, but the Coordination ability came into play once they were connected. The origin array on the barrel transformed on its own and merged perfectly into the array on the gun’s body. It was as though the entire gun was originally constructed this way.

With the new weapon in hand, Qianye was full of confidence. This gun barrel had been resting here for dozens of years and had long since reached its full origin power capacity. Even with Qianye’s current cultivation, he would be able to fire with the Lethal Strike effect. Otherwise, a grade-nine firearm would immediately drain his energy, and he wouldn’t be able to use it even if he wanted to.

Qianye turned back and said with a bow, “I have received senior’s gift. If I survive this day, I will definitely repay the favor.”

With that, he strode out of the stone hall. The building housed the Pointer Monarch’s emotions and thoughts. Having resonated with the place, Qianye wasn’t willing to destroy a single tree or grass here, even if it meant that he would have to give up his geographical advantage and fight the incoming enemy outside.

How fast was a divine champion’s movement? By the time Qianye had walked out of the doors, Elder Wei and Caroline were already standing there. Surprised to see Qianye outside, he said with narrowed eyes, “You actually chose not to defend inside the halls. How rare, how rare.”

Caroline glanced at Elder Wei, somewhat puzzled. In her eyes, this stone hall was fairly crude and couldn’t be considered that strong. She could flatten it with her whip without even going all out. What was the point of hiding in such a place? It would only serve to trap him.

Elder Wei knew Caroline didn’t understand. “That person’s seals remain within the stone hall. Once destroyed, he might be alerted of our presence. Even if there are no other traps inside, we won’t be able to make a living in the empire once that person remembers us.”

Caroline was enlightened. After experiencing the Heartseeker Path, she had come to understand just how powerful the Pointer Monarch was. Moreover, all of this was created seventy years ago when he had just become a heavenly monarch. What level would he be at the moment?

If the Pointer Monarch had left behind a couple of attacks inside, they might not be able to take it.

Qianye stood there in silence, speaking only after Elder Wei had finished his explanation, “Have you recovered?”

Elder Wei nodded. He sized Qianye up from head to toe, saying, “Such an impressive mindset is truly rare. It might be considered stupidity coming from any other person, but in you, it’s a case of still waters running deep. If you were to return to the empire, you’ll receive that person’s recognition for what you did today. Whatever you did in the past would no longer be a problem as long as you change your appearance.”

“Oh? I’m a case of still waters running deep?”

“You have such a mindset that conforms with that person’s own, and it’s not a deliberate act, either. It can be said that you’re half his disciple now.”

Qianye said, “Thanks for pointing that out. What a pity…”

Elder Wei spoke the same words as he produced an ancient envelope from his robes and straightened its creases, “It won’t be difficult for you to become an outstanding person of an era. Unfortunately, you’re destined to fall here.”

Caroline spoke up all of a sudden, “I heard the empire is in a bad situation. It’s barely holding out on the floating continent and almost pushed back to the mainland. Isn’t this a time to make good use of people like him? Why aren’t you?”

The floating continent was but a distant memory to Qianye. But now that Caroline had mentioned it, the scenes from the past appeared before his eyes once more. Zhao Jundu, Song Zining, Wei Potian, Zhao Yuying—all these people and all those perilous battles seemed just like yesterday. Qianye had invested too much blood and emotion on that battlefield. Who knew how many bloody battles it would take to grab a small living space from the dark races?

The Demoness, Eden, and Edward—all of Qianye’s enemies were famous characters of the generation. Every battle of his was worthy of being recorded in ballads. However, he would have never imagined that the most dangerous enemy was actually behind him, and that the most lethal blow came from friendly forces.

All of this was in the past, and the perpetrator, Li Fengshui, had also fallen to Qianye’s blade. Organizations like the military central command existed in every country. They would remain so long as the empire remained intact, albeit in a different form or name. Qianye was no longer that hot-blooded youth from yesteryear and was very clear about the darkness beneath all the politics.

A bit of emotion welled up from his heart. Although he had left the empire, if the Zhao clan, Song Zining, or Wei Potian were to encounter danger, he knew he would still go back and he would still take action. It was just that he would vanish like mist after the fight, not taking a single reward from the empire.

At the thought of this, Qianye sighed to himself. Perhaps the one to blame was fate after all?

Elder Wei shot a glance at Qianye and sighed with complicated emotions. “You don’t understand. He can accommodate the empire, but the empire cannot contain him.”