For example, when he was at the first mortal coil, he didn't have internal energy, so he could only use physical arrows with the golden bow.
This changed when he advanced to the second mortal coil. Once he gained internal energy, he could condense energy arrows with his internal energy and didn't need to carry physical arrows around.
What he could use the golden bow to do changed again when he advanced to the third mortal coil. At that point, he gained a divine sense and could use it to control the energy arrows to give them a limited homing capability within the range of his divine sense.
In all of these cases, the upper limits of the power of the golden bow remained the same. What changed was his utilization of the golden bow.
But now that he had advanced to the fourth mortal coil, both the utilization of the golden bow and its upper limits remained the same. If he tries to force the golden bow to produce more power by inputting more energy into it, he can break it.
He can reforge the golden bow just to raise the upper limits of its power output. He can do this by reforging it with better materials to increase its energy conductance, energy amplification, and energy output. But this would only be a base upgrade without any improvement to its utility.
A base upgrade like this can still make the golden bow very powerful. And he would be satisfied with this if he didn't have extra materials for making external golden cores on hand.
Most rank 4 artifacts don't have energy cores. They rely on the energy from the golden core of their user for their operation.
And of the rank 4 artifacts with energy cores, they don't need to have powerful energy cores that rival those of golden core cultivators themselves.
But then again, the people that made those rank 4 artifacts don't have extra materials to create external golden cores lying around and probably don't have ideas on how to enhance the power of their rank 4 artifacts with the external golden core.
With his decision made, he said, "I am just being prudent and efficient with the resources I have. I am not being greedy at all."
He said that, but he didn't bother to hide the excitement in his voice and the look of pure anticipation on his face as he looked at the golden bow.
But on a serious note, if he doesn't make use of the pieces of his flesh swimming around in nutrient vats, they will go to waste.
Rather than let them go to waste, he decided to use them to grant the golden bow an accumulation feature. This is a feature that will allow the golden bow to prepare a powerful attack and store it for when he will need it.
With this accumulation feature, he won't need to input his own energy into the golden bow in order to produce energy arrows for an attack. He can just take out the golden bow and produce a powerful attack that should have taken him a long time to prepare.
The more powerful the external golden core becomes, the more powerful the energy arrows that the golden bow can prepare and the higher the number of energy arrows that it can save for future use.
The accumulation feature is a good feature that improves the utility of the golden core. But the base upgrade of the golden bow is also very important and must not be neglected.
Without a powerful base, the maximum power of the golden bow will always be limited. So in order to maximize the potential of the external golden core, it is best if the reforged golden bow is a top-grade artifact.
This meant that he had a lot of work to do in order to improve the power of the golden bow. Despite this realization, he still had the look of excitement when he began work on the golden bow.
Actually, reforging the golden bow is like relaxing for him compared to what he had to go through in order to make the formation breaker. He already has experience with creating top-grade rank 4 weapons through his hammer, so this upgrade will be a piece of cake for him.
The time it took him to redesign a new bow was less than five minutes. His design was not only about the physical structure of the new golden bow. It also contained energy circuits and formations for the golden bow.
The work was easy, but the main reason he had completed it so quickly was that he too had grown more capable after forging the formation breaker. The things that used to be difficult for him have become easy, and the things that used to be easy for him to do have become easier.
His design would use a new material, so he decided not to break and reforge the old golden bow. He decided to create a new rank 4 product from scratch.
As for the old golden bow, he planned to upgrade it to the rank 4 level by making some modifications to it and then return it to Patriarch Calcetti.
He planned to return it when he goes home to witness his mother's advancement to the third mortal coil and to protect her during the process. Since he would be there anyway, he decided to give Patriarch Calcetti a gift for having faith in him and giving him a wonderful weapon.
These things didn't take time at all. He was done with them in less than a week. So he still had time to do more things.
He spent the extra time on his hands upgrading the Storm of Blades. As the only defensive artifact he had, this upgrade is very important to him.
Unlike the old golden bow, which couldn't keep up with his power, the Storm of Blades is still useful to him thanks to his magnetic field talent.