Chapter 515: Who Says Transferring Departments Can't Match Pure Blood (Thanks to 'Xie Longqi')

Chapter 515: Who Says a Transfer Student Can’t Outshine the Purebloods? (Thanks to ‘Xie Longqi’ for the Alliance Leader tip)

“A request for the Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting Technique?”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up as he read the message from Ye Xingli.

Although Zhang Yu had decided to prioritize crafting the prototype of the Heavenly Sun Radiant God after transferring to the Artifact Refining Department, he hadn’t started the process immediately, choosing instead to continue accumulating progress toward the Artifact Refining Prodigy trait.

After all, sharpening the axe never delays the woodcutter; given Zhang Yu’s understanding of the artifact diagram sets, the Artifact Refining Prodigy trait was highly likely to have long-term benefits for his future path.

In particular, he had already pushed both the Treasure Appraisal Technique and the Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting Technique to level 20, and his Divine Fire Control Appraisal had reached level 10, bringing him ever closer to the six techniques required for the first tier of the Artifact Refining Prodigy effect.

By his own estimation, he should be able to complete it within two months.

The only thing that troubled him was money.

“The path of artifact refining is great in every way, except that it’s a bottomless money pit.”

“Artifact diagrams are expensive to practice with.”

“And these refining techniques are even more expensive to cultivate.”

To practice the Divine Fire Control Appraisal, Zhang Yu not only needed to purchase fire seeds to condense his fire-controlling true energy, but he also needed artifacts to practice on.

After all, this technique involved using true fire to refine artifacts, enhancing their material strength and resistance to high temperatures.

In this process, even though Zhang Yu bought second-hand artifacts, it still cost him a significant amount of spirit coins.

At first, his Divine Fire Control Appraisal level was low and his skills were poor, so he only bought the cheapest second-hand artifacts—practice pieces below level 3. The advantage was that they were cheap, but since the artifacts themselves were low-level, they were hard to resell for a profit after being refined by his low-level technique.

To be honest, Zhang Yu hadn’t expected these practice-hardened pieces of junk to sell at all, but he later learned that junior college students also had a need for artifacts, though their purchasing power was quite weak.

Zhang Yu still remembered that the more he practiced, the more spirit coins he spent; at his peak, his account would drop by nearly 10 spirit coins in a single day.

Later, as his Divine Fire Control Appraisal level rose, Zhang Yu tried buying higher-level artifacts, such as level 5, 9, 10, and 11 pieces.

After repeated testing, he found that level 11 artifacts were the easiest to sell after being refined by his technique.

This was especially true for items like the Earth-Suppressing Seal or the Earth Fiend Bottle, which could be used for civil engineering and construction.

“Level 11 artifacts reach the Foundation Establishment level, offering a qualitative leap in performance compared to those below level 10.”

“And construction artifacts don’t usually require extreme specs; they just need to be sturdy and durable. Many people aren’t willing to use level 20 artifacts for overtime work.”

“So for construction sites, level 11 artifacts are the most practical, offering lower costs and higher efficiency.”

In this way, being able to resell the practice artifacts to recoup some funds greatly eased the spirit coin consumption of Zhang Yu’s cultivation.

“Now that my Divine Fire Control Appraisal is at level 10, besides selling the half-finished practice products to civil engineering students, I can also offer custom services, refining others’ artifacts while cultivating my own technique.”

Zhang Yu calculated that by spending and earning simultaneously, he would only need another 15 to 20 spirit coins to push his Divine Fire Control Appraisal to level 20.

Whenever he thought of this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but sigh.

Fortunately, the artifacts in Kunxu were different from those in the immortal cultivation novels of his past life; they didn’t last for decades or centuries without breaking. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know who to sell all these artifacts to.

Artifacts here in Kunxu suffered wear and tear with use, leading to reduced durability and performance. They required maintenance and repairs, and eventually became obsolete, outdated, and scrapped.

Zhang Yu had once complained that Kunxu’s artifacts were not durable enough, but since embarking on the path of artifact refining, he gradually realized his past perspective had been too narrow.

“If an artifact didn’t need repairs or maintenance for generations, would that be reasonable? Would that make sense? How would our Artifact Refining Department make a living?”

“If I couldn’t recoup my costs by selling artifacts, I’d probably burn through 100 spirit coins just to push this Divine Fire Control Appraisal to level 20, and the path of artifact refining would truly be hopeless.”

“But once the Artifact Refining Prodigy trait is complete, who knows how many spirit coins the prototype of the Heavenly Sun Radiant God will cost? I must hurry and make money.”

Zhang Yu checked his bank account. Although he had received a 20-spirit-coin bonus, between paying for the Mo Entropy Ash Seven Absolute Bone and distributing salaries to his company employees, plus the money burned on cultivating his technique, his balance was quickly dropping below 3 spirit coins.

“Sigh, the more I earn, the faster I cultivate, and the faster I cultivate, the more money I spend per unit of time.”

“These spirit coins are truly never enough.”

In this state of financial distress, Zhang Yu was naturally overjoyed to see Ye Xingli’s new request regarding the Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting Technique.

Zhang Yu: Accepted.

Ye Xingli: [Zi Yunzhen]

Ye Xingli: Junior brother, since you have officially joined the Artifact Refining Department, there is no need to hide many things anymore.

Ye Xingli: You can contact her directly yourself.

All this time, Ye Xingli had been acting on the instructions of True Monarch Magnetic Pole to consign artifacts and refining services for Zhang Yu, primarily to hide his refining skills before he transferred departments.

Now that Zhang Yu had successfully transferred, she couldn’t be bothered to cover for him anymore.

Thus, a moment later, Zhang Yu took the initiative to add Zi Yunzhen as a friend.

Seeing Zhang Yu’s request, Zi Yunzhen was slightly taken aback: “Why is this civil engineering guy adding me? Don’t tell me he wants to ask me for advice on refining courses.”

Opening the content of the friend request, Zi Yunzhen was stunned again.

Zhang Yu: Do you need Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting services?

Zi Yunzhen thought to herself: “Is this Zhang Yu acting as an intermediary? Or a salesman? What kind of big data leaked my needs?”

Zi Yunzhen knew that many low-year students in the Artifact Refining Department who lacked technical skill would use their department background to act as sales agents or intermediaries.

Thinking that he might be a piece of refining material favored by True Monarch Magnetic Pole, Zi Yunzhen accepted the request.

Zhang Yu: May I ask if you are the one in need of Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting services?

Zi Yunzhen: Sorry, I’ve already hired someone.

Zhang Yu: Is it from Senior Sister Ye Xingli’s side? It was the Senior Sister who sent me.

Zhang Yu: What kind of artifact are you planning to infuse with dragon pulse power?

Zi Yunzhen replied with a look of suspicion: You know the Dragon Pulse Treasure Casting Technique?

Zi Yunzhen added: My standards are very high; I don’t need someone whose level is too mediocre.

Zi Yunzhen: Junior brother, you just transferred from the Civil Engineering Department, you should focus on your classes first.

As soon as Zhang Yu saw this reply, he knew he couldn’t just let it slide.

After all, in the artifact refining trade, an individual’s reputation was just like brand value—it had always been crucial.

For example, was the technology of the “Polar Tiger” brand really inferior to the “Myriad Dao Craftsman Sect”? Or “Diamond Profound Creation”?

In Zhang Yu’s view, not necessarily.

But in terms of price, the Polar Tiger brand simply couldn’t outsell the Myriad Dao Craftsman Sect, and its high-end models were not recognized by anyone outside the Immortal Soldier University system.

This was reputation—the difference brought by brand value and brand style.

The same applied to individual cultivators. Was an artifact student who transferred from the Civil Engineering Department necessarily inferior to a pureblood refining student?

In Zhang Yu’s view, absolutely not.

But Zhang Yu understood that many people held this prejudice.

At this moment, he had to maintain his refining reputation and his personal brand value just as one would maintain a brand’s worth.

After all, when he hadn’t transferred yet, he was hidden behind Ye Xingli; now, he had to make a name for himself.

If he didn’t properly maintain his personal brand, how could he make money? And if he didn’t make money, how could he cultivate?

Especially since the conversation between the two was now part of the chat history.

If Zhang Yu were to retreat now, and this Ziyun Zhen before him were to broadcast their chat logs everywhere, pointing at the contents and sneering: "When this Zhang Yu first transferred to the Artifact Refining Department, he knew nothing yet tried to offer custom services, only to be put in his place and sent back to his studies,"

Then such a dark stain would likely haunt him for a lifetime. Perhaps every time he made the news, regardless of whether it was good or bad, someone would pop up to bring it up, causing no small damage to his personal brand.

Zhang Yu could hardly gamble on Ziyun Zhen refraining from such an act, as he knew nothing of her character or integrity.

Although Zhang Yu did not know many people in the Artifact Refining Department, he happened to know one person who would do exactly that—though that person had since been exiled to the Civil Engineering Department.

The odds were already uncomfortably high.

Thus, Zhang Yu simply replied: "My Dragon Vein Casting Technique has already reached level 20, and I have previously taken several commissions from Senior Sister Ye Xingli, so my proficiency in this regard is naturally beyond question."

Zhang Yu: "Classmate Ziyun Zhen, if you have any doubts about this, you may examine my artifact, the [Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill]."

Ziyun Zhen tapped it open and discovered the networked parameter data of the artifact, her gaze instantly turning serious.

This act of sending artifact information was akin to ancient cultivators appraising each other's treasures, a standard mode of exchange among artifact refiners.

After all, no matter how flowery one’s words might be, they were never as persuasive as displaying the artifact one had forged.

Since forging an artifact was a time-consuming and laborious endeavor, one could not simply fight everyone they met to demonstrate its power.

In such times, appraising the other party's artifact was the best way to gauge their level of skill.

In the modern era, it was even simpler.

Given that the artifact system had been codified and summarized by the Ten Great Sects, every grade and parameter was laid out with absolute clarity; a single glance was enough to grasp the creator's level, making it far more useful to an artifact refiner than any resume.

What if one encountered parameters they could not even understand?

That would naturally only mean that one's own forging skill was far inferior to the other's.

Ziyun Zhen began to study the data intently, intending to offer a thorough critique once she had finished.

Temperature: 39 degrees

Qi Conductivity: 99%

Mana Storage: 999

Spiritual Circuitry: 64 layers

Intelligent Artifact Spirit: None

Dragon Vein Infusion: 20 units

...

Ziyun Zhen scrutinized the information line by line. Although she had not invested much effort into the Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill and her current skill level was only 10, she could still understand these parameters.

"A level 20 Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill."

"And it’s a composite refinement of five or more units..."

"It has even undergone two rounds of refinement via the Dragon Vein Casting Technique..."

The more Ziyun Zhen read, the more she realized the exceptionally high level of craftsmanship behind this pill.

"Did Zhang Yu really forge this?"

At the bottom of the parameters sat the creator's information.

Creator: Wanfa University, Zhang Yu

Secondary Refinement: Wanfa University, Zhang Yu

(End of chapter)