Chapter 400: First Time Refining Artifacts

Chapter 400: The First Forging

Early December.

Since the competition concluded, Zhang Yu had been bustling through every corner of the university town, never letting a single opportunity for self-improvement slip by.

Deep within the Taiqing Realm on this day,

Zhang Yu activated his quadruple-layered consciousness, triggering a twenty-fold acceleration of his thoughts as he delved into his forging curriculum.

As he studied, he could not help but sigh once more at the sheer volume and complexity of the forging course material.

"Sigh, it is no wonder students of the Forging Department must rely on the Spirit Realm network or Daoist arts to multiply their learning efficiency."

"With my quadruple consciousness, a twenty-fold acceleration amounts to an eighty-fold boost. Compared to a student using the Spirit Realm for a ten-fold gain, I am only seven times faster."

"If I factor in my limited daily study time, and they use Daoist arts or Dharma remains to enhance their efficiency, then my comparison with the forging students..."

Zhang Yu shook his head, thinking, "To meet Magnetic Pole True Monarch's new requirement of finishing the forging curriculum before the end of my sophomore year, it truly is quite a challenge."

Yet, the acquisition of knowledge remained the simplest part for Zhang Yu.

The most troublesome aspects were the various experiments required by the course.

Fortunately, he had Magnetic Pole True Monarch as his mentor.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Planning to try your hand at it?

Zhang Yu: Yes, I have mastered the basics, and I intend to attempt my first forging.

Zhang Yu: But there are some preparations I am unsure how to handle.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: For your first time, what do you intend to forge?

Zhang Yu: I wish to forge a bag of Azure Sand.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Azure Sand? Hmm, aiming to complement your Humanoid Qi, are you? A fine idea.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: The difficulty is low; it is indeed suitable for a first attempt.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: As for preparation, materials, copyright, laboratory access, and equipment are the absolute essentials.

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Never mind, I shall have Ye Xingli guide you.

Zhang Yu: Won't Senior Sister Ye guess our relationship?

Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Rest assured, little Ye is a sensible person. She will not only keep silent about matters that shouldn't be spread, but she will even help provide cover.

...

Inside the classroom.

Zhang Yu listened to the lecture while sensing the changes within his own body.

Deep in his Dantian, the Green Lotus Sword Embryo bloomed silently. The power of this Divine Spirit Root surged through his entire being, stimulating his physical form to undergo constant adjustment.

Ever since obtaining the Green Lotus Sword Embryo from Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu had not dared to expose the power of this Divine Spirit Root, leaving him no chance to use it actively, yet he had been silently enjoying its passive effects.

"Although the Three-Eye Divine Ability and the Green Lotus Sword Embryo both belong to the Spirit Root category in the Dao Seed Catalog and cannot be used simultaneously,"

"The Three-Eye Divine Ability is mostly used in combat, while the Green Lotus Sword Embryo can be treated as a passive effect, kept active during daily cultivation and study."

Through previous experiments, Zhang Yu knew the Green Lotus Sword Embryo possessed an adaptive enhancement capability.

Because the switching of his Chain-Dharma Diagram sets brought him earth-shattering enhancements,

The Green Lotus Sword Embryo, applied to Zhang Yu, would gradually allow his body to retain a portion of the set effects in its normal state through repeated switching.

During this period, Zhang Yu had used the Earth-Wood Saint Body and the Qi-Pulse Flow most frequently. Switching back and forth, reinforced by the Green Lotus Sword Embryo, he felt that even without the sets active, he possessed a trace of their benefits.

"However, this sensation is extremely faint; it will take more time to see real results."

Zhang Yu was not anxious; as long as he kept the Green Lotus Sword Embryo active, it would not interfere with his cultivation or studies.

After class, as Zhang Yu prepared to leave, a voice called out to him.

It was Feng Jiu, the Dao Heart instructor.

Feng Jiu: "Are you interested in participating in this year's year-end Spirit Realm competition?"

Zhang Yu shook his head: "Teacher, I have no advantage in Dao Heart; I would rather not go and embarrass myself."

Zhang Yu knew his own limitations; with his mere level 16 Dao Heart, participating in the Spirit Realm competition would be a pure waste of time.

He had a mountain of things to learn and cultivate; he had no time for such contests.

Concluding his conversation with Feng Jiu, Zhang Yu left the classroom, flanked by Yu Xinghan, Ying Xin, Gongshu Jin, and Li Xiao.

Seeing the '95' above Zhang Yu's head, and the '2nd', '3rd', and '4th' class rankings above the others, the Qi-refining students along the way retreated, their eyes filled with respect.

Li Xiao tried hard to squeeze next to Zhang Yu, only to find the space already tightly blocked by Yu Xinghan, Ying Xin, and Gongshu Jin.

He thought to himself: "Damn it, I was the one who started following the Senior Brother first. Now these two, Ying Xin and Gongshu Jin, are sticking to him tighter than underwear."

Gongshu Jin said from the side: "Zhang Yu, there is a gathering in a few days, are you interested?"

Zhang Yu's eyes flickered: "Is there a buffet?"

Gongshu Jin replied as a matter of course: "Naturally. If it didn't reach buffet-level standards, how could I have the nerve to tell you?"

Zhang Yu: "I'm going."

...

Inside the dormitory.

Zhang Yu held a Profound Creation Relic, silently absorbing the 200% quality Dharma power within.

It was the yield from Director Gao's cemetery property in Huilong Garden.

Feeling the 200% quality Dharma power being diluted by his own, Zhang Yu felt his own Dharma quality improve slightly.

"Not bad, not bad. My Dharma quality can rise rapidly once more." Just then, his homeroom teacher, Jiao Lei the True Man, sent a message.

Jiao Lei: Zhang Yu, are you interested in bringing your talent to the Peace Faction?

Zhang Yu's heart skipped a beat: "The Peace Faction wants to poach me?"

"Could there be some hidden scheme?"

Zhang Yu: Teacher, please don't say such things; I fear Director Gao might misunderstand.

Jiao Lei: Our sincerity is profound.

Jiao Lei: If you are willing to sever your master-disciple relationship with Director Gao and take Director Lin as your master, you can immediately obtain a low-interest loan of 200 Spirit Coins.

Jiao Lei: That is not even counting the subsequent disciple benefits.

Looking at the message, Zhang Yu could not help but swallow hard, thinking: "The Peace Faction truly lives up to its reputation with the Finance Department backing it; the loan amount is massive."

"What if I maintain a secret master-disciple relationship with Director Gao and split the 200 Spirit Coins?"

Since he already had Magnetic Pole True Monarch as an underground master, having Director Lin as another didn't seem like a problem to Zhang Yu.

Jiao Lei: If you are interested, you can look over this contract.

Looking at the contract sent over, Zhang Yu immediately calmed down.

"Sigh, as expected, it's not that simple."

"This contract is airtight; it hasn't left me a shred of an opening."

Zhang Yu: "Give it up. Director Gao has been a mountain of grace to me; I would never betray him."

...

Inside the artifact-refining laboratory.

Ye Xingli stood by the workbench, her skin shimmering with the iridescent hues of cosmic starlight.

She studied Zhang Yu curiously, thinking to herself, "Master actually asked me to mentor Zhang Yu?"

"But isn't Zhang Yu from the Civil Engineering department?"

"Even if civil engineering students need to learn about magic skeletons and artifacts, surely it's just for maintenance or purchasing purposes?"

"Is there really any need for him to attempt the actual refining process?"

Countless questions flooded Ye Xingli’s mind, and her curiosity regarding the relationship between Zhang Yu and the True Monarch of Magnetic Poles reached a fever pitch.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu neatly arranged the materials he had prepared.

"Azure stone ore, spirit-conducting fluid, fiber composite film, condensing liquid..."

After checking the materials required for this session, Zhang Yu looked at Ye Xingli and said, "Senior, I am ready to begin."

Ye Xingli nodded, watching as Zhang Yu cut the azure stone, manipulated the spirit-conducting fluid with his internal energy to complete the infusion, fueled the furnace with his mana to set the shape, sprayed the fiber composite film, and stabilized the mana circuits...

"Indeed, the work of a novice," she mused.

Yet, Ye Xingli could sense that Zhang Yu had studied the experimental procedures and manuals countless times; though he lacked finesse, he had not missed a single step or detail.

She knew that artifact refining was divided into three core stages: material preparation, structural formation, and mana circuitry.

The azure sand before them, being the simplest of artifacts, was rudimentary in all three stages; its grade could never exceed level 10, and it often served merely as a raw material for more complex creations.

When used, a handful scattered into the air could carry internal energy, enhancing its transmission efficiency while reducing consumption.

Observing the finished azure sand, Ye Xingli thought, "The purity is mediocre, the efficiency is low; it’s barely a level 1 artifact."

The artifact grading system corresponded to the realms of the Immortal Path.

After all, cultivators at different stages possessed vastly different physical bodies and life forms.

Thus, artifacts from levels 1 to 10 were only effective for those in the Qi Refining stage.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, as their bodies and mana merged, artifacts below level 11 were often useless.

Only artifacts of level 11 or higher could provide any meaningful destruction or enhancement.

"Zhang Yu’s aptitude for refining is clearly ordinary. If he hopes to pass the department’s exams, he will need a long time of practice."

"Why on earth did Master ask me to guide him? Surely she doesn't intend to take him as a disciple?"

"That’s impossible. Not only is his aptitude average, but Master and Director Gao have been friends for centuries—she wouldn't poach his student."

Ye Xingli shook her head, dismissing the thought as overactive imagination.

Zhang Yu picked up the azure sand he had refined. As his Formless Warrior manifested, he pinched a speck of the sand—no larger than a fingernail—and infused it into the construct.

A faint cyan luster flickered over the Formless Warrior, and the internal energy within it grew slightly more refined.

"The azure sand I refined today is enough to power my Formless Warrior dozens of times."

Zhang Yu thought, "But the material cost is nearly 0.03 spirit coins."

"With copyright fees, laboratory and equipment rentals... it adds up to nearly 1 spirit coin."

"Refining is truly a bottomless pit for money."

"Practicing like this is far too expensive."

Because he could only refine minor trinkets for now, Zhang Yu had hoped to use these practice sessions to craft simple artifacts for his Formless and Deep-Cold Warriors, equipping them to boost his work efficiency.

But looking at the meager results against the high costs, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"And this is the simplest form of refining..."

Zhang Yu glanced at the "Azure Sand Level 1 (0/10)" entry on his Feather Scroll and sighed, "Sigh... slow and steady, I suppose."