Chapter 743: Is It Too Late to Learn on the Spot?

Fingers flew, true qi like wind.

The not-yet-condensed liquid droplets collided in midair, producing sounds like the striking of piano keys.

It was as if a musical movement had begun in the room.

If any artifact refiner were here, even someone of Yuan Hong's level, seeing this scene would surely be too stunned to close their mouth.

This was no longer artifact refining, but a dance, a melody perfectly integrated with nature.

Wu Yangzi's zither-playing refining method was sought after precisely because it conformed to nature and gave people an aesthetic enjoyment, but the refining method Zhang Xuan was performing before them was even more brilliant!

Not only was it a visual delight, but even the soul could easily become immersed, unable to extricate itself.

Heavenly Dao Artifact Refining!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Soon, seven or eight types of metals and ores were completely fused. With a light smile, Zhang Xuan stopped hammering and threw the fused metal into the water not far away.

Sizzle!

Water vapor evaporated, and dust rose.

The final step of artifact refining: quenching!

Normal artifact refining consists of three steps: fusion, tool embryo forging, and quenching. He had directly performed the first and third steps, skipping the second.

In artifact refining, a well-forged tool embryo increases the grade.

By doing this, he could not form a weapon, lowering the grade, but it saved the most time-consuming step of tool embryo forging, greatly accelerating the overall speed.

Whoosh!

The scorching metal was still boiling in the water. With a flick of his hand, he retrieved it.

Quenching requires skill; with the same water quality, different quenching times yield different effects.

The seven or eight ores he used had different properties, and after fusion, they became even more complex. If the quenching time was not well controlled, not only would the strongest effects of each metal fail to manifest, but they would interfere with each other, ultimately greatly reducing the weapon's effectiveness and ruining it.

"Alright, this counts as... a finished product!"

After quenching, looking at the iron-cake-like object in his palm, whose shape was unrecognizable, Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

If he took this thing out, even if he wasn't laughed to death by other artifact refiners, his reputation would surely suffer greatly. However, this passageway's automatic assessment didn't require such worries.

He walked a few steps to the testing area of the room and placed the "iron cake" on it.

The room for assessing artifact refiners had a dedicated testing area. As long as the refined "weapon" met the required grade, the test was passed.

Buzz!

A soft hum, and a red light flashed.

Then a mechanical voice sounded: "Using the simplest smelting stone, white steel, black rock... to forge a Ghost Grade lower-tier weapon. One-star artifact refiner assessment passed!"

"It actually reached Ghost Grade lower-tier? Not bad..."

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, this was his first time refining artifacts. He hadn't expected this iron-cake-like thing to reach Ghost Grade lower-tier.

Weapons are classified into Divine, Saint, Spirit, Ghost, and Mortal grades.

As long as the refined weapon reached Mortal Grade top-tier, one would pass the one-star artifact refiner assessment. He had used the Heavenly Dao Artifact Refining technique, and although the resulting object was ugly and didn't look like a weapon at all, its grade was not low.

If he had properly forged the tool embryo, it might have even reached Ghost Grade mid-tier or even upper-tier.

"Apply for the two-star artifact refiner assessment!"

Having passed the assessment, Zhang Xuan did not pause and directly spoke.

Creak!

His vision went dark, and the sound of mechanisms sounded again. When he opened his eyes, he was in another hall.

It was similar to the previous room, but more spacious, and the metals and ores placed around were of higher grade and rarer.

"Let's continue!"

After a quick tour of the room, he selected over a dozen types of metals and ores, returned to the furnace, and followed the same procedure as before. Before long, he had forged another "iron lump."

This iron lump was even uglier than the previous one, pitch black, with no resemblance to a weapon at all.

Again, he skipped the second step of tool embryo forging.

Tool embryo forging is the process of shaping the fused metal from a formless state into the desired weapon shape—for example, forging a longsword into the shape of a longsword, or a dagger into the shape of a dagger.

This step required time and craftsmanship, and Zhang Xuan had never learned it. Even if he tried, he wouldn't succeed, so it was better to skip it and save the trouble.

He placed the iron lump on the testing platform.

Buzz!

A light flashed, and the voice continued: "...Reached Ghost Grade mid-tier. Two-star artifact refiner assessment passed!"

Having passed the two-star artifact refiner assessment, Zhang Xuan continued to apply for the next level.

Half an hour later.

"Apply for the five-star artifact refiner assessment!" Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and spoke.

Having passed four consecutive levels, even with his abundant true qi, his internal energy was somewhat unstable.

"Whoosh!"

The mechanisms turned, and an even more spacious room appeared.

"Actually it's the same room, it's just that it feels different..."

Having gone through several assessments in a row, Zhang Xuan knew that the room hadn't actually changed, only the feeling it gave was different.

The Artifact Sea itself was a virtual scene, not a real room; changing scenes was very simple.

"Gray Glimmerstone, Purple Gold Iron, Blue Gray Rock... The things here are indeed much better than those before..."

Seeing the many ores and metals before him, Zhang Xuan sighed inwardly.

The previous four levels also had many rare ores, but compared to these, they amounted to nothing.

Whether Gray Glimmerstone or Purple Gold Iron, they were things that even Mortal Transformation realm experts would fight over; with these materials, one could indeed forge higher-level treasures.

Knowing that even with these ores, the weapons to be forged would become increasingly difficult, Zhang Xuan showed no contempt; instead, his gaze grew more solemn.

To pass the Five-Star Artifact Refiner assessment, one must first forge a weapon of at least Spirit Grade Middle Rank. At this level, good materials alone were not enough to succeed!

One also needed great control and mastery over artifact refining, and a deep understanding of quenching; otherwise, a slight mistake could undo all previous efforts and waste countless materials.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Fingers moving like lightning, various materials flew in his palm, fusing one by one.

True energy was continuously infused into the furnace fire, controlling the flame's temperature.

To pass the Five-Star Artifact Refiner assessment, one must forge a weapon at the peak of Spirit Grade Middle Rank.

This level required many materials, each with a different melting temperature; the furnace fire had to be constantly controlled without the slightest error.

After who knows how long, just as his true energy was about to be exhausted, the last ore was fused.

"Quenching!"

Exhaling, he threw the iron-cake-like object into the water again.

Sizzle!

Mist swirled; he activated the Eye of Insight, and as soon as quenching was complete, he quickly took it out.

Through this half-day of refining, he had also summed up experience: using the Eye of Insight for quenching allowed better grasp of the quenching process and forging higher-level weapons.

"Test!"

He threw the "iron cake" onto the testing platform again.

Hum!

The mechanical voice sounded again: "Peak Spirit Grade Middle Rank, Five-Star Artifact Refiner passed..."

"Passed!"

Hearing that he had indeed succeeded, Zhang Xuan's body swayed, and unable to bear it any longer, he sat down on the ground.

Forging weapons continuously, even without tempering the weapon embryo, controlling the furnace fire with true qi consumed too much, and the true qi in his body was nearly exhausted.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

"Recover stamina!"

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he turned his wrist, and the top-grade spirit stone appeared in his palm.

This spirit stone, since he obtained it, was being used for the first time.

As soon as he opened the jade box, Zhang Xuan immediately felt an extremely pure spiritual energy pricking his skin like needle tips.

Those with slightly lower cultivation might not be able to refine such pure spiritual power at all; even if absorbed, it would leak out through the gaps in the meridians.

The meridians of the human body are actually like sandy ground, with countless tiny gaps and holes. When thick, muddy mud flows through, it won't seep in, but when clear water flows, it will leak through these gaps, wasted in vain.

Such is the spiritual energy in top-grade spirit stones.

Too pure, its fineness exceeds the capacity of the meridians. Even if given to an ordinary person, it would be wasted, and the body could not retain a trace.

Only when one's cultivation reaches the ninth level of Mortal Transformation, the Silkworm Seal realm, where true qi, physical strength, and soul are sealed like a cocoon, blocking all leaks to form a leak-proof body, can one absorb the spiritual energy of top-grade spirit stones and thus冲击 higher levels.

Zhang Xuan was only at the peak of Bridge Heaven realm, still three major levels away from Silkworm Seal. In principle, even with a top-grade spirit stone, he could not use it. But he cultivated the Heavenly Dao technique, his true qi was pure, and his entire body had long been transformed, as if forged from gold.

Coupled with the Five Radiance Golden Body reaching the second level, his whole body was leak-proof. Although the spiritual energy of the top-grade spirit stone was fine, it could still be retained and circulate within his body.

Gurgle gurgle!

Under the operation of the Heavenly Dao technique, the pure true qi quickly condensed into true qi, rolling through the meridians and surging into the dantian.

The originally withered dantian immediately became full and plump, recovering rapidly.

After about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, the depleted true qi was completely restored.

"As expected of a top-grade spirit stone, so fast!"

A joyful expression appeared on his face as Zhang Xuan stood up.

With a medium-grade spirit stone or a spirit gathering array, after depleting true qi, it would be difficult to fully recover without several hours. But with a top-grade spirit stone combined with the Heavenly Dao technique, it only took the time of two cups of tea. The efficiency was comparable to some spirit pills and precious medicines that restore stamina.

"Still over half an hour!"

Putting away the spirit stone and calculating the time, Zhang Xuan's face lit up with joy.

With over half an hour left, could he try... to take the exam for a six-star artifact smith?

Although his cultivation was insufficient, his mastery and understanding of artifact smithing surpassed many six-star peak artifact smiths. Perhaps he could really pass the exam in one go, saving the trouble of wasting credits later.

Even though he had just arrived at the academy, he had seen that credits were very hard to earn. If he could save them, he would.

"Taking the exam for a six-star artifact smith itself exceeds the level; I definitely can't skip the step of tempering the weapon embryo..."

Before, when his cultivation was high and his artifact smithing level was high, even if he skipped a step and forged the weapon into an iron lump, it could still meet the conditions and pass smoothly. But to aim for six stars, that would definitely not work.

He had to find a way to refine the weapon embryo finely. Only... he had never tempered a weapon embryo before. Starting to learn now... would it be too late?