Ling Tian had put a great deal of effort into crafting these two short swords for Ou Ruola, using many precious materials.
Besides being extremely sharp and sturdy, Ling Tian also incorporated many ice-attribute materials into the swords. This was primarily to allow Ou Ruola to better channel her ice-attribute abilities through her weapons during combat.
After all, cold was a formidable enemy to metal. If the temperature was low enough, even hard metal would become as brittle as glass.
Most steel plates became extremely fragile below -80°C, shattering with a mere touch.
Consider the frigid energy Ou Ruola could unleash, with temperatures approaching absolute zero. Ordinary swords, if touched by such chilling power, would likely shatter on the spot.
However, the two short swords Ling Tian forged for her utilized many special materials and techniques. Even when Ou Ruola's ice-attribute energy attached itself to them, it would not adversely affect the swords' strength.
Ou Ruola herself was enamored with the two short swords, keeping them by her side every day, even placing them by her pillow when she slept.
Ling Tian signaled to Ou Ruola that she could begin. Ou Ruola suddenly charged at Ling Tian, her two short swords flashing as she attacked him directly.
As she launched her assault, over a dozen ice cones formed from chilling energy quietly materialized behind Ling Tian.
Just as Ling Tian prepared to meet her short sword attack with his own blade, the ice cones suddenly shot towards him.
In an instant, a ball of flame erupted from Ling Tian's body. This flame radiated intense heat outwards, forcing even Ou Ruola, who was protected by her icy aura, to retreat two steps from the wave of heat.
Simultaneously, the ice cones aimed at Ling Tian melted, dissipating into the air without even leaving a wisp of steam!
Ou Ruola stared intently at Ling Tian's body, unable to comprehend how he could withstand such extreme temperatures.
Little did she know, this was Ling Tian's newly developed technique: allowing a fire spirit to envelop his body, forming a fiery shield on his surface.
The fire spirit itself possessed temperatures exceeding four to five thousand degrees Celsius. Such heat could instantly melt metal and block a wide variety of attacks.
Most importantly, Ling Tian now had five fire spirits, which translated to five layers of fiery shields!
Ou Ruola felt a sensation similar to Zhang Caifeng. She believed her own strength had advanced by leaps and bounds after meeting Ling Tian, especially after their dual cultivation. Yet, now it seemed the gap in strength between her and Ling Tian had widened!
Another issue was that Ou Ruola couldn't understand how Ling Tian had detected her surprise attack. She had used her abilities stealthily, and the ice cones had appeared silently in mid-air, flying without making a sound.
She didn't realize Ling Tian possessed the Heavenly Eye divine ability, which allowed him to observe his surroundings from all directions without blind spots.
Furthermore, even without the Heavenly Eye, Ling Tian's immense mental power was sufficient to monitor his surroundings within a radius of tens of meters in real-time. The energy fluctuations caused by the appearance of these ice cones would naturally be detected by Ling Tian!
Seeing her ice cone ambush thwarted, Ou Ruola was not discouraged and continued her assault on Ling Tian.
Compared to Zhang Caifeng's attacks, Ou Ruola's fighting style was more direct and wild.
While attacking Ling Tian, Ou Ruola did not continue to use her abilities, but Ling Tian knew that if Ou Ruola were to use her abilities against others, the power of her moves would increase exponentially!
They sparred for over ten minutes. Ou Ruola unleashed almost all the techniques she knew upon Ling Tian, but they were all neutralized by him.
Finally, exhausted, Ou Ruola lowered her short swords.
Ling Tian did not rest. He began to break down her attacks move by move, explaining the flaws in her previous techniques and areas that needed improvement.
Ou Ruola listened with great attention and seriousness. Zhang Caifeng also watched from the side. Although Ling Tian was only instructing Ou Ruola, as an observer, she still benefited greatly.
By the time he finished guiding the two women in their martial arts, several hours had passed, and the sky was beginning to darken.
It was almost the beginning of winter, and a biting north wind brought a chill to the island.
"Right, I have something else good to give you!" Ling Tian suddenly exclaimed, slapping his thigh as if remembering something.
Immediately, with a flicker of thought, two spherical metal objects, about the size of walnuts, appeared in his hand. Intricate and complex patterns were etched onto these metallic objects.
"Ling Tian, what is this?" Ou Ruola asked, full of curiosity.
"Heh heh, Ou Ruola, didn't you always envy my ability to summon weapons anytime, anywhere?
Now I can tell you, with this, you can do it too!"
"Really? That's amazing!" Ou Ruola exclaimed excitedly.
At that moment, Zhang Caifeng, who had been lost in thought beside them, suddenly had a flash of insight.
The size, shape, and the function Ling Tian had just described made Zhang Caifeng think of something.
"Ling Tian, could this be the legendary Sword Pellet?"
"Haha, that's right, Caifeng, your family heritage is truly profound!"
"Sword Pellet? What exactly is this thing?"
Although Ou Ruola's Mandarin had improved significantly, she was still confused about some things, as Chinese culture was vast and profound.
"Uh... how should I put this? You can think of this as a spatial artifact!
The Sword Pellet contains a space where you can store up to three weapons.
Of course, these weapons can only be cold weapons, and their length cannot exceed three meters..."
"Ling Tian, how did you get this?" Zhang Caifeng asked.
"Heh heh, of course, it's a gift from the Thousand Peaks Sword Sect!"
To date, Ling Tian had acquired three Sword Pellets. One of them was originally taken from Yun Zhan, the young master of the Tianshan Sword Sect, whom Ling Tian had defeated.
The other two Sword Pellets were obtained by Ling Tian a few days prior when he infiltrated the headquarters of the Tianshan Sword Sect.
He had broken into the room of the Grand Elder of the Tianshan Sword Sect. To ensure his safety, he had used his Heavenly Eye divine ability to carefully observe the room's conditions. He discovered a box hidden within a secret compartment in the wall.
Ling Tian then quietly collected the box into his Spirit Realm space. It wasn't until he left the Tianshan Sword Sect that he discovered the box contained two Sword Pellets!