Chapter 22: The Mysterious Fragment

The leader of the caravan, having survived a close call, spoke with a face full of smiles. As long as this precious item wasn't stolen, everything was worth it. "Immediately head to the Divine Capital," he commanded, and the caravan continued their journey towards the Divine Capital at a swift pace.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a piece of a divine artifact!" Chu Xiaotian, having acquired a black fragment, quickly left the area as the system's voice rang out. "A piece of a divine artifact?" Hearing the system's voice, Chu Xiaotian was momentarily stunned. He had never imagined that the small, fingertip-sized black fragment was a piece of a divine artifact!

"System, are you sure you're not mistaken?" Chu Xiaotian asked. "Host, are you insulting my vision, mocking my soul..." Unexpectedly, the system became angry at his words, forcing Chu Xiaotian to apologize.

"What exactly is this divine artifact fragment?" Chu Xiaotian still couldn't believe that such a small piece was a fragment of a divine artifact and asked the system again. "I can't tell you the specific artifact for now, because your cultivation is too weak. All I can tell you is that it's a fragment of a mentalist's divine artifact," the system finally responded, but didn't reveal the specific artifact.

"That's like saying nothing at all," Chu Xiaotian muttered dismissively. "Not really, because this artifact is already broken and most importantly, it has lost its spirit. Its sharpness and defensive capabilities are not weaker than a true spiritual weapon, so you can completely use it to exchange for points and use it as a weapon for a mentalist," the system explained, presumably rolling its eyes at him if it could.

"A mentalist's weapon?" "Can I control it with my mental power and strike enemies from miles away?!" Chu Xiaotian ignored the system's previous words and was full of curiosity about the latter. He released his mental power from his sea of consciousness and wrapped it around the divine artifact fragment. Instantly, there was a connection between the fragment and Chu Xiaotian, as if he was holding it in his hand. "Amazing." Chu Xiaotian marveled at this scene.

"Go." Now that Chu Xiaotian's mental power was fully unleashed, he could clearly see everything within a radius of five hundred meters. He controlled the mental power to strike a tree hundreds of meters away. "Whoosh!" In just an instant, the speed of the divine artifact fragment was faster than Chu Xiaotian using his Clear Wind Step, almost surpassing the speed of sound. Moreover, the fragment was so small that it was almost invisible, leaving only a blurry shadow and not attracting any attention.

After a careful inspection, Chu Xiaotian noticed a small gap on the tree, which would have been impossible to detect without close observation. "This is the perfect method for assassination!" Chu Xiaotian couldn't help but exclaim. "Very good, it seems I need to give it a name. From now on, you'll be called Shadow Shuttle." Chu Xiaotian named the divine artifact fragment.

"Swish!" The Shadow Shuttle seemed to be pleased and then suddenly entered Chu Xiaotian's sea of consciousness, giving him a start. Fortunately, nothing happened, which made Chu Xiaotian breathe a sigh of relief. The system had already told Chu Xiaotian that this was a sign of the divine artifact fragment recognizing its master, so he didn't need to worry.

Although the system was somewhat capricious, Chu Xiaotian still believed its words. After all, he and the system were in this together, sharing both honor and disgrace, life and death. Since obtaining the Shadow Shuttle, Chu Xiaotian seemed to be infatuated with it, playing with it constantly over the past few days. He even neglected his personal weapon, the Sky-Splitting Sword, which buzzed in protest against its master's neglect.

Of course, after obtaining the Shadow Shuttle, Chu Xiaotian didn't waste the system's capabilities. He exchanged for a mentalist attack technique from the system, spending a whopping five thousand points. After all, mentalist techniques were much rarer than martial techniques, and naturally more expensive. However, after the exchange, Chu Xiaotian almost jumped up and cursed. The mentalist technique required quantity, and the materials had to be the same. The most annoying part was that a mentalist could only choose one weapon in their lifetime. Once chosen, they couldn't make another choice unless the weapon's owner died and was immediately revived.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chu Xiaotian couldn't help but scold loudly. "You didn't ask me?!" the system replied, feeling wronged. The system was too cunning, tricking him into choosing a mentalist weapon and cheating him of his points, which made him extremely uncomfortable. After

 a big argument with the system, Chu Xiaotian was left with no choice. Although he couldn't use the mentalist technique, he could still use the Shadow Shuttle to kill enemies. And after all, the Shadow Shuttle was still a divine artifact, which somewhat consoled Chu Xiaotian, reducing his resentment.

On the road, alone with his horse, his waist adorned with a long sword, holding a jar of old wine, with a gentle breeze blowing, he traveled at ease. On his way, Chu Xiaotian didn't encounter any more horse thieves, but did meet some merchants. However, he just greeted them without engaging further. The only exception was when he ran out of wine and approached a caravan for a refill. Unexpectedly, the caravan's guards attacked him without a word, and were ultimately beaten up by Chu Xiaotian, crying for their parents. It took a lot of explaining before Chu Xiaotian could dispel their fear and buy some wine and water. After all, he was a model young man; how could he commit robbery and looting? That would be totally against his character.

"I'm almost there." Looking ahead, he could see an ancient city standing not far away. A smile of excitement appeared on Chu Xiaotian's face. After traveling for so long, surviving on dry food and ordinary drinks, he was somewhat tired of it. Once he arrived in the city, he planned to have a big meal and satisfy his desires. "Finally." Half an hour later, Chu Xiaotian put his horse back into the system.