Yun Jin looked utterly puzzled. "Second time? Why do you all think there'll be a second time? Something that dangerous, once is more than enough."
Her tone turned solemn as she continued, "You guys better not get any adventurous ideas. Just because I succeeded this time doesn't mean you can go chasing after the next one. This was pure luck. Next time, we might not be so lucky. Compared to improving your strength, your life is what really matters."
The weapons were collectively dumbfounded.
"???"
Wait a second, should she really be saying that to them?
Who was the one charging into danger again?!
"Remember what I said. I've got something else to do, so I'll head out first." Yun Jin flicked her sleeve, gliding away without leaving even a trace of cloud behind.
Behind her, An Tong hovered for a moment. He looked at the stunned weapons with sympathy, then said, "Alright, you can start complaining now."
And then he quickly flew off.
A moment later, noise erupted behind him.
From a distance, An Tong faintly caught fragments of indignant voices.
"Can she really say that?!"
"My heart's wounded!"
"Next time we see the Young Master, I'm shutting off all five senses!"
An Tong could only sigh. These weapons were way too polite. If it were him, he'd already be swearing up a storm.
Clicking his tongue, he sped up to catch up with Yun Jin.
"An Tong, are the materials ready? Let's go to the Time House," Yun Jin said calmly.
The Tian Po Sword had just awakened and looked utterly confused. "Time House?"
An Tong explained briefly, then added, "The Young Master just came up with that name on the spot."
The Tian Po Sword was still a little dazed.
Sure, "Time House" sounded impressive, but the cost of such a place was staggering.
Cultivators already lived long lives. Out of ten, not one would willingly pay such a huge price for a mere three hundred days of cultivation.
"An Tong, explain the details to the Tian Po Sword later," Yun Jin said.
An Tong nodded, then glanced at the sword. "Only one sentient being can enter the Time House at a time. You have self-awareness, so you can't go in."
The Tian Po Sword sighed helplessly. "Then I'll just separate my sword imprint temporarily."
"Also, the Young Master's contracted beasts can't go in either. Including that egg," An Tong added.
Yun Jin nodded.
She touched her forehead lightly, removing the sword imprint there.
Then she released Gun Gun and the others.
Dan Dan was rolling happily under Huan Huan's paw, the beast and egg having the time of their lives.
"Gun Gun, take care of them," Yun Jin instructed.
Her big furball nodded seriously, his chest puffed with pride.
"Don't worry, Young Master!"
He struck his chest again with determination.
I, Gun Gun, will definitely protect this home while you're gone!
After that, An Tong organized everything Yun Jin needed, sorted the materials, and placed them neatly in a storage pouch before handing it to her.
She gave it a quick check, then stored it away.
"Let's go. Lead the way."
An Tong complied and guided her deep into the secret realm.
At the peak of a barren mountain stood a small stone hut.
From the outside, it looked ordinary, nothing special about it at all.
But who would've thought that this humble place hid fragments of time itself?
Once they reached the Time House, An Tong wriggled his small body busily.
He began arranging a variety of rare materials. To the untrained eye, his placements looked random, but there was a mysterious order beneath the surface.
Yun Jin glanced over but couldn't discern the pattern.
An Tong explained, "Master set up the formation here long ago. I'm just placing the items where they belong in the array. Once you enter, I'll activate the formation and awaken the time fragment. Only then can you cultivate safely within the distorted flow of time."
"Got it."
Everything had been arranged, so Yun Jin nodded and stepped into the Time House without hesitation.
Inside, three hundred days would pass for her, but outside, it would be only a single day.
Up to now, she hadn't even cultivated for a total of three hundred days.
For most cultivators, that span was barely a short seclusion—hardly enough for noticeable growth.
But Yun Jin knew.
For her, these three hundred days would change everything.
The moment she stepped in, her head spun.
The temporal fragments inside didn't release any active power, but their very presence warped the flow of time, throwing the whole space into chaos.
Thankfully, the next instant, An Tong activated the array.
The time fragments flared, stabilizing the distorted flow.
Now, Yun Jin could finally cultivate properly.
She quickly mapped out her three-hundred-day plan.
First, she had to push her cultivation to the late Unity stage. That mainly relied on pills, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
Second, her forging rank had to rise. She still had piles of base ores and plenty of experience books to grind through.
A normal blacksmith would eventually hit a wall making low-grade materials, but Yun Jin was different.
She could earn experience from forging anything. The only difference was how much.
Once her experience rose, her crafting rank would follow naturally. Then, using the system's forging recommendations, she could slowly perfect the Tai'a Sword.
Raising her forging rank and cultivation, these were her two top priorities this time.
After a moment's thought, she realized she could handle both at once.
After all, she didn't rely on meditation to raise her strength.
The spirit medicines An Tong had prepared were enough for her to break through ten times in the Unity stage, with plenty to spare.
That was the benefit of having sect support.
From here on, her days would mostly alternate between taking pills and forging, over and over.
With this endless cycle, three hundred days would be enough to meet every goal.
However...
She had one more task.
To try to comprehend the Primordial Flame.
That was an entire Primordial Force on its own, and Yun Jin wasn't confident she could grasp its final two supreme concepts.
Still, without mastering even one Primordial Force, she'd never stand a chance against those in the Tribulation or Mahayana stage, no matter how high she climbed.
An Tong had also prepared countless fire-element manuals for her this time.
Unlike before, she didn't have any ready-made fragments to rely on. She'd have to study and comprehend from scratch.
The workload was huge and the time tight—anyone else would've just given up.
But Yun Jin had her system, and she'd already stored up plenty of Emotional Value to trade for instant insight.
Comprehending a Primordial Force might not be impossible after all.
Three missions. Three hundred days.
All of them had to be completed.
Yun Jin took a deep breath and pulled out the mountain of fire-element manuals before her.