Chapter 1205: Master Lin Jie

Turning around, he saw an old man approaching. With a graying beard and a spirited look between his brows, his cultivation level was impossible to discern at a glance, leaving one unsure of just how profound it was.

"Master Lin Jie..."

President Qin quickly clasped his hands, and Chu Xiang also looked respectful.

A quasi-eight-star artificer, whether in cultivation or understanding of artifact forging, was beyond their comparison.

"Master... this is Zhang Xuan, a seven-star peak master from the Master Teacher Pavilion!" Fearing a misunderstanding between the two, President Qin hurriedly introduced him.

Given that this Zhang Xuan had successfully challenged the hall and even defeated Hall Master Gou, calling him a seven-star peak master was by no means an exaggeration.

"Seven-star peak master?" Master Lin Jie was startled. "So young, yet possessing such strength—no wonder he has the capital to be arrogant..."

Earlier, he had thought it was some reckless person deliberately slandering him in front of so many people, but since it was a master of such a level, he naturally wouldn't do so intentionally.

"My apologies, but I have urgent business at the Master Teacher Pavilion that cannot be delayed. I would like to borrow this artifact forging hall first to temper my weapon. Is that possible?" Zhang Xuan clasped his hands.

The other party was about to give a lecture, and coming over to borrow the earthly fire here was indeed somewhat rude.

"Temper a weapon? Is Master Zhang also an artificer?"

Master Lin Jie looked over curiously.

"I have studied it systematically for a while."

Zhang Xuan said, "I was fortunate enough to obtain a six-star badge."

Master Lin Jie nodded, somewhat puzzled. "May I ask... what weapon does Master Zhang intend to temper?"

What kind of weapon required this particular forging hall?

Although the Artificer Guild of Qingyuan Empire was not as grand as that of Qianchong Empire, it still had at least six or seven hundred quiet rooms with earthly fire for forging... Insisting on choosing this one must have its purpose.

If the other party were a seven-star peak artificer, he wouldn't ask further, but six-star... was rather low. The earthly fire here was exceptionally fierce; if not controlled properly, it wouldn't just fail the forging but could also destroy the weapon entirely.

"It's this!"

With a flick of his wrist, the Gold Origin Cauldron immediately appeared in the hall.

"Master, are you going to temper me? Haha, am I going to advance again?"

Looking around and finding itself in the Artificer Guild, surrounded by artificers, the Gold Origin Cauldron was filled with excitement.

"A mid-grade saint artifact at the half-step Nascent Soul stage?"

He had thought it was something like a half-saint artifact, but it turned out to be mid-grade. Raising an eyebrow, Master Lin Jie found it hard to believe. "Master Zhang... intends to temper this cauldron?"

"Yes," Zhang Xuan nodded.

"This..."

Seeing the other's fearless attitude like a newborn calf, Master Lin Jie couldn't help but advise, "Tempering a mid-grade saint artifact requires not only strength but also protection of its spirituality, as well as the most correct quenching and hammering. Not a single mistake is allowed... Otherwise, not only will it fail to advance, but it might also damage its internal structure and cause its grade to drop..."

Even for him, tempering a saint artifact of this level would only have at most a twenty percent chance of success. A six-star artificer...

If one's strength is insufficient, forcibly reforging a weapon will not only fail to improve it but may also cause its grade to drop, more harm than good.

"Old man, what do you mean? Our young master casually instructed an apprentice last time, and that allowed me to advance from a low-grade to a mid-grade saint artifact. Who are you to lecture us?"

Before Zhang Xuan could speak, the Gold Origin Cauldron on the side snorted with displeasure.

Since its birth, it had admired its current master the most... The other party dared to doubt him; not charging over and sitting on his head until it cracked was already showing great restraint.

"Instructed an apprentice?" Everyone was stunned, somewhat confused.

An apprentice could hardly even forge a mortal artifact. Instructing one to advance a low-grade saint artifact to mid-grade?

"If you don't speak, no one will take you for a mute!"

Slapping the lid of the Gold Origin Cauldron to shut it up, Zhang Xuan scolded.

Last time, the reason Song Zhen had been able to successfully upgrade it was that he had trained in artifact forging for many years, with strength not inferior to a six-star artificer, and had also reached a very high level in various forging techniques.

Only then could he keep up with Zhang Xuan's guidance and complete it easily... It wouldn't work with other apprentices.

It was just a coincidence, hard to replicate, and nothing to boast about.

"I..."

The cauldron twisted its body, full of grievance. "I'm telling the truth... you just casually instructed an apprentice, and that allowed me to advance..."

"Shut up and go stand aside..."

Seeing it dare to talk back, Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes..."

The Gold Origin Cauldron dared not say another word and retreated to the side.

"This fellow is used to being undisciplined and somewhat rude. Please forgive me, Master and President..." Zhang Xuan looked at everyone, feeling embarrassed.

When the master speaks, a weapon butting in was disrespectful.

"It's nothing!" Master Lin Jie shook his head, still looking a bit curious. "Just now, you mentioned that Master Zhang instructed an apprentice to forge... What's that about?"

"Let's not mention it!" Zhang Xuan said.

He came here to upgrade the Gold Origin Cauldron, so it was better to keep a low profile. Some past events, if brought up now, would be meaningless.

"I was too forward..."

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to speak, Master Lin Jie assumed it involved some secret and did not ask further.

"Without further ado, I'll begin..."

Seeing that the matter was out in the open and no misunderstanding had arisen, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He paused, then turned to Chu Xiang on one side: "Brother Chu, I may need to trouble you in a moment."

"Whatever it is, just give the order, Master Zhang. As long as it's within my ability, I won't refuse!"

Chu Xiang smiled faintly.

Not to mention their acquaintance, the man before him had just successfully challenged the hall and become the number one master teacher of the Qingyuan Empire. No matter how much he curried favor, it wouldn't be too much.

"It's like this: this weapon of mine has been spoiled by me. If I were to refine it myself, various scruples might make it difficult to do well... So, I'd like to ask you to help me forge it!" Zhang Xuan paused, then said.

"Spoiled?" Jinyuan Ding racked its brains but couldn't figure out when this man had ever spoiled it.

It seemed he had just slapped it a moment ago...

"This..."

Hearing what the matter was, Chu Xiang was startled. He gave a wry smile and quickly waved his hand: "Master Zhang, it's not that I don't want to help. My cultivation hasn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage. Although I'm a seven-star artifact smith, forging a mid-grade saint artifact for the Out-of-Body stage... I really can't do it!"

Even a peak seven-star artifact smith like Guild Leader Qin couldn't forge a weapon of such a high level. He, a newly promoted seven-star artifact smith...

He really thought too highly of him...

"Don't worry. I'll guide you through the refining. Just follow my instructions precisely without any deviation..." Zhang Xuan said.

Chu Xiang hesitated: "Your furnace is so precious. I'm afraid something might go wrong..."

"It's fine. In a moment, I'll use the Teacher's Heavenly Mandate on you. Strictly follow my instructions. If something goes wrong, I won't blame you..." Knowing what the other was worried about, Zhang Xuan smiled.

"Uh..."

Seeing him say this, refusing further would be a sign of disrespect. After hesitating for a while, Chu Xiang had no choice but to nod.

"Then let's begin!"

With a light smile, Zhang Xuan turned to look at Jinyuan Ding and raised an eyebrow: "Why aren't you rolling over to the geothermal flame?"

"..."

Jinyuan Ding shrank back, full of grievance, and quickly flew over.

"This is called spoiling?"

Master Lin Jie and Guild Leader Qin were also speechless.

He had just said he had spoiled his weapon too much, so he couldn't bear to refine it himself, like a doctor unwilling to operate on a relative... Then they saw this scene... This is spoiling?

Arriving at the formation that channeled the geothermal flame, Zhang Xuan gestured to Chu Xiang.

The latter understood and stepped forward in two strides.

"Master Zhang, this is the rune token to activate the geothermal flame..."

Seeing that he was about to begin refining, President Qin flipped his wrist and produced a token.

The earth fire was drawn from underground by the formation, and a special token was needed to activate it; otherwise, the flames would not be visible.

Just as he was about to hand it over, he heard the young man not far away speak in a calm voice.

“Take three steps left, two steps forward, one step back, and one step to the right. Circulate the true qi in your body, concentrate it in your right foot, and stamp down…”

The voice carried a special rhythm. Chu Xiang did not hesitate at all and strictly followed his instructions, stamping his foot on the ground.

Whoosh!

The formation that attracted the earth fire immediately activated. A dense flame shot up into the air, enveloping the Gold Origin Cauldron.

“This…”

President Qin’s pupils contracted, his eyes full of disbelief: “Without using a rune token, igniting the earth fire… how is it done?”

The earth fire was extremely hot; even a Saint Domain third- or fourth-level expert could easily be burned to ashes if caught in it.

For this reason, when the formation was not in operation, there were no flames… Under normal circumstances, without a rune token, it was almost impossible to draw out the fire, but this young man, under the guidance of Master Zhang, had done it effortlessly…

Even having witnessed it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe.

“It can only be done by someone who has mastered the formation to the utmost! This Master Zhang must also be a formation master on the side, and probably at a considerable level!”

Seeing his expression, Master Lin Jie nodded from the side.

With just one look, he had understood the structure of the earth fire formation and easily drawn out the flames. His understanding of formations would make him a notable figure even in their Qianchong Empire.

“Indeed…”

President Qin also calmed down.

“Let’s see his refining skills… Although a master teacher has the Heavenly Mandate of Speech, guiding someone else in refining—and having a person who has never cooperated with him forge a mid-grade saint artifact—is extremely difficult!”

Shaking his head, Master Lin Jie was not optimistic about the current situation.

If the two had cooperated countless times and had a tacit understanding, it would be one thing.

In reality, there were cases where refining was done this way.

But when one knew nothing about the other’s strength, true qi level, refining techniques… and still guided them directly to start forging a mid-grade saint artifact that exceeded their own ability…

In his view, it was an almost impossible task.

Was this Master Zhang being overly confident, or did he think this cauldron was ready to be scrapped and thrown away?

He looked at the Gold Origin Cauldron again, his eyes full of sympathy.

This wasn’t indulgence…

How did it feel… like he wanted to destroy it?