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**
It had been some time since the Sect Grand Meeting of the Four Great Empires came to an end. During this period, Xiao Lin had stayed within the Xiao Clan without heading out much.
This was mainly because Xiao Lin was busy with one thing—creating Formation Compasses!
Although Xiao Lin, due to his status as a Spiritual Array Master, basically had no use for Formation Compasses himself, the ones he produced could be used by his clansmen!
Furthermore, items like Formation Compasses could be used like medicinal pills, acting as a currency to purchase other items or for trading.
In short, they had many uses.
The function of a Formation Compass was to allow someone who understood absolutely nothing about setting up formations to instantaneously control a grand formation!
However, the production of a Formation Compass was quite difficult. After all, carving a complete grand formation into a compass no larger than a palm, and then ensuring it could be activated at any time, was not something just anyone could achieve.
First of all, the source of materials was an issue. Of course, the most important thing was the craftsmanship required to create the Formation Compass!
Coincidentally, the current Xiao Lin possessed both. With the mining of the Xiao Clan's Mithril veins, Jade Crystal veins, and the Ironwood Forest, countless materials were being transported into the Xiao Clan.
Additionally, regarding other auxiliary materials for making Formation Compasses, Xiao Lin had ordered the members of the Xiao Clan to purchase them in bulk from the market.
However, the most vital material among them was magic cores. After all, if one wanted to activate a Formation Compass, how could it work without an energy core?
For this reason, the Xiao Clan spent a large sum of money once again. Fortunately, the mining of the Xiao Clan's gold mines was enough to withstand these expenses. When all the materials had been collected, Xiao Lin locked himself away in a small room.
Creating Formation Compasses was a delicate process where being disturbed was strictly taboo. So, throughout the following year, Xiao Lin threw himself into the production of Formation Compasses.
At the beginning, because he had just started, the Formation Compasses Xiao Lin produced always had various problems.
This situation only gradually improved during the second half of the year.
Xiao Lin's craftsmanship in manufacturing Formation Compasses also became more and more refined. Initially, he could only manufacture Rank 1 Formation Compasses. By today, one year later, Xiao Lin could proficiently manufacture Rank 3 Formation Compasses!
If it weren't for the fact that manufacturing higher-level Formation Compasses required higher-level magic cores, Xiao Lin estimated that he would already be able to mass-produce Formation Compasses above Rank 3 by now.
But during this year, Xiao Lin had manufactured about thirty Formation Compasses of various sizes. Among them were 24 Rank 1 Formation Compasses, 7 Rank 2 Formation Compasses, and two Rank 3 Formation Compasses!
Xiao Lin did not put these Formation Compasses on the market for sale; instead, he kept them in the Xiao Clan. Clansmen who performed meritorious deeds for the Xiao Clan could use their contributions to exchange for the ownership of these Formation Compasses.
This could be considered another contribution Xiao Lin made to the Xiao Clan.
Of course, one of the two Rank 3 Formation Compasses was given directly to his son, Xiao Zhan, for self-defense. Once this Rank 3 Formation Compass was activated, it could instantaneously set up a Thunder Summoning Formation!
People below the level of Dou Huang would basically find it impossible to break through. Even if one encountered a Dou Huang, it could likely hold out for a while. Of course, the premise was that the energy of the Formation Compass did not run dry.
In addition, Xiao Lin took the poison pearl created from the Dou Technique "World-Destroying Heavenly Poison Bead" used by Xie Bi Yan during their battle a year ago and threw it to Xiao Zhan for protection as well.
Furthermore, Xiao Lin also left a strike of his own mid-stage Heaven Realm soul power within Xiao Zhan's body. Once Xiao Zhan encountered a life-or-death moment, this mid-stage Heaven Realm soul power would erupt!
For the sake of his son, Xiao Lin could be said to have exerted every bit of effort. The reason Xiao Lin gave these things to Xiao Zhan for self-defense was primarily because, just a year ago, Xiao Zhan had already left the Yun Lan Sect and descended the mountain for tempering.
Setting aside the defensive items given to Xiao Zhan by the Yun Lan Sect and Yun Shan, Xiao Lin, as Xiao Zhan's father, certainly wouldn't let his son go out for experience with a completely blank slate.
If an accident were to happen, Xiao Lin wouldn't even have a place to go to cry.
Therefore, it was naturally necessary to prepare some life-saving measures for Xiao Zhan. Of course, that final strike of mid-stage Heaven Realm soul power within Xiao Zhan's body was something Xiao Lin had left quietly, without letting his son know.
After all, this was meant to be tempering.
If every aspect of the path was paved for Xiao Zhan, then what would be the point of his tempering!
Xiao Lin's love for his son had never been a case of spoiling him!
Over the past year, because he had devoted himself to the production of Formation Compasses, Xiao Lin's level as a Spiritual Array Master had actually shown a faint improvement. However, attempting to break through to a Rank 5 Spiritual Array Master was not an easy task.
One must know that, if using the grading system of the Great Thousand World, what lies above a Rank 5 Spiritual Array Master is not actually Rank 6, but is instead called a Human Grade Spiritual Array Grandmaster!
This was a qualitative gap!
Therefore, for a Rank 5 Spiritual Array Master to break through to a Human Grade Spiritual Array Master was no simple feat. Furthermore, because making Formation Compasses required carving various runes within the compass.
Although Xiao Lin's Dou Qi realm had not increased, his control over Dou Qi had risen by a level. It could be said that after a year of crafting Formation Compasses, Xiao Lin's strength had still seen some improvement.
On this day, just as Xiao Lin had finished handling another matter of the Xiao Clan, a member of the Xiao Clan suddenly came looking for him.
"Clan Leader, good news! Within that Mithril vein our Xiao Clan is currently mining, a piece of Mithril Essence has been discovered!"
The person excitedly reporting the news to Xiao Lin was precisely the manager currently in charge of the Xiao Clan's Mithril vein mining.
"Oh? Mithril Essence? Are you certain?"
Hearing the Xiao Clan manager mention this, Xiao Lin's eyes instantly flashed with a sharp light as he asked.
Mithril Essence was a special material produced only in a very small portion of Mithril veins. It was no exaggeration to say that even if you were to mine ten Mithril veins, you might not necessarily be able to extract a single piece of Mithril Essence.
Mithril Essence was a top-tier material for artifact refining. It was a material comparable to Heavenly Meteoric Iron, Star Sand, and Nine Dragon Lightning Stone.
Although the path of artifact refining had declined in the Dou Qi Continent, the materials used to create the divine artifacts handed down through various factions were basically inseparable from the aforementioned items.
Xiao Lin had actually always entertained the idea of creating a weapon.
However, ordinary weapons could no longer satisfy his current needs.
As for those top-tier divine artifacts, he simply had no channel to obtain them. Therefore, finding the materials himself and then heading to the Central Plains to find an Artifact Refiner to help manufacture one was his only choice.
It was just that, for all these years, Xiao Lin had never been able to obtain these materials. Now, hearing that Mithril Essence had been mined from his own Mithril vein, how could he not be excited?
"Clan Leader, I am absolutely certain, it is indeed Mithril Essence!"
Hearing Xiao Lin's inquiry, the Xiao Clan manager immediately spoke with extreme solemnity.
"Very good. Quietly bring the Mithril Essence back and do not let any outsiders know. I have a great use for it! Once the Mithril Essence is brought back, you shall go work under the First Elder."
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xiao Lin made the arrangements.
Upon hearing the Clan Leader's arrangement, the Xiao Clan manager instantly became ecstatic. How could he not understand the implication behind the Clan Leader's words?
To work under the First Elder—wasn't that equivalent to a promotion?
After all, compared to being a manager at a Mithril mining site, being transferred back to the internal affairs of the clan was essentially a massive step up.
"Yes! I will go make the arrangements immediately!"
After answering with a voice full of vigor, the Xiao Clan manager hurried away.
Xiao Lin was the only one left on the spot, quietly gazing at the distant sky.
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