Chapter 525: Hype and Advanced Artifact Refining Genius (88)

Chapter 525: Hype and Superiors—The Prodigy of Artifact Refining (88)

"Hahahaha."

Amused, Jin Jun burst into laughter.

Given his current standing, he could hardly consider the Zhang Yu before him a genuine rival.

Yet, once the laughter subsided, he realized he could not simply walk away as if nothing had occurred.

After all, Zhang Yu had made his intentions public, which was tantamount to a formal declaration of war, challenging him to a competition in artifact refining.

To leave without a word might cast a shadow over his own reputation in the craft.

Especially with Zhang Yu standing there, accompanied by assistants like Zi Yunzhen... Jin Jun knew nothing of their dispositions.

What if they were all loose-lipped gossips like Feng Tingting?

If they spread rumors that Zhang Yu had issued a direct challenge and Jin Jun had fled in silence, would he not be stained by an unearned disgrace?

Thus, Jin Jun offered a faint smile and extended a single finger.

A flash of light danced at his fingertip, projecting a sequence of numbers that grew steadily larger.

10

50

120

"This is the capital I have currently raised for the Heavenly Sun Radiant God project."

As Jin Jun spoke, the digits at his fingertip continued to swell, leaping to 300 Spirit Coins in an instant, then surging upward with relentless momentum.

With this display of wealth, the Spirit Realm rippled; streaks of light flickered, and a chorus of whispers seemed to echo through the heavens.

Legend has it that in ancient times, when immortals descended, conch shells would sound, flowers would rain from the sky, clouds would glow with brilliance, and mythical beasts would gallop.

In the modern age, the manifestation of vast sums of Spirit Coins triggers its own set of phenomena.

When the figure at Jin Jun's fingertip surged to 300, the surrounding light coalesced into advertisements for wealth management, magical treasures, and gambling—all vying hungrily for a share of the capital.

When the number hit 600, calls echoed from the depths of the Spirit Realm; countless soul cultivators whispered Jin Jun’s name, eager to pitch him investment funds, immortal caves, and all manner of luxury goods.

The very air vibrated with the subtle stirrings of divine power, a sign that the display of such wealth had caught the attention of the Divine Power Network, which recorded the transaction in meticulous detail.

Simultaneously, the bank’s high-net-worth client features activated, deploying special effects to verify the authenticity of the funds.

Auspicious light descended, manifesting the Spirit Coin balance in every corner of the room, confirming the account’s reality.

As the funds climbed, the verification process escalated; layers of disembodied, emotionless voices began to chant Jin Jun’s name and his balance, a final testament to the capital’s legitimacy.

User Jin Jun, account balance: 642 Spirit Coins!

Watching this, Zi Yunzhen felt as though the entire world were shouting that number.

Her purple irises, reflecting the glow of the Spirit Coins, dilated slightly, leaving only one thought in her mind: "As expected of a prodigy aiming for the Heavenly Sun Radiant God... He is so wealthy! He is so powerful!"

The two assistants beside her were equally stunned, sharing a single realization: "With such immense capital and such abundant research funding, how could Zhang Yu possibly compete? How could he ever hope to match him?"

Jin Jun gazed with satisfaction at the digits on his fingertip and the phenomena triggered by his display of wealth.

To ensure the project’s success, he had prepared thoroughly for the Heavenly Sun Radiant God; those 642 Spirit Coins were a mix of savings, loans, and investments—Jin Jun had exhausted every avenue to raise the funds.

He withdrew his finger, and as the balance vanished, the celestial phenomena dissipated one by one.

Next, Jin Jun splayed his five fingers and swept his hand through the air.

In an instant, data on various magical treasures was projected into the space, appearing like stacks of documents floating before them.

Magical treasures are the fruits of an artificer’s labor, and their parameters are the finest way to showcase one’s achievements.

As a top student in the Artifact Refining Department, Jin Jun was always prepared to broadcast his technical specifications.

When encountering other artificers, they needed only to glance at these treasures and their parameters to grasp Jin Jun’s level and his areas of expertise.

But what of those who could not understand?

Take Zi Yunzhen and the other two assistants, for instance; they found the lines of parameters floating in the air incredibly daunting, requiring them to cross-reference materials just to decipher the meaning of each digit.

These were either blueprints studied only in the senior years or treasures not included in the university curriculum—blueprints they had yet to encounter.

Zhang Yu could only discern from the names of these treasures that the technology involved was related to the Heavenly Sun Radiant God, as he had already had Fu Ji perform similar statistical analyses.

Soon, however, Zi Yunzhen learned of their caliber through the comments left beneath the parameters.

[Pinned Comment] Magnetic Pole True Monarch: Ingenious. Based on a stable, long-standing version, it incorporates improvements better suited to the refiner himself...

Beyond this, Zi Yunzhen saw evaluations from other masters and students, such as Thunder Pole True Monarch, Nine-Calcination Zhenren, and Yan Qianji.

Jin Jun frowned slightly at the sight of Thunder Pole True Monarch’s comment and swiped it away. Yet, to Zi Yunzhen and the others, these accolades served as endorsements, a testament to Jin Jun’s mastery.

Meanwhile, Jin Jun said coolly, "To complete the Heavenly Sun Radiant God, I have not only prepared sufficient research funding but have also accumulated the necessary technical foundation over the past few years."

"Each of these treasures represents the path I have traveled, containing the various technologies I will need to refine the prototype of the Heavenly Sun Radiant God."

"To verify my own level, I have invited many masters and top students to appraise these treasures and offer critiques, seeking only to identify flaws and improve further."

Jin Jun said no more, but everyone present felt his absolute confidence.

Zi Yunzhen thought to herself: "Wealth, technology, and connections—Senior Jin Jun is truly prepared for everything. With such certainty, what is the point of Zhang Yu even trying to compete?"

Ye Xingli mused: "Jin Jun is even better prepared than I anticipated. It seems there will be another Heavenly Sun Radiant God in the Artifact Refining Department next year."

Having finished his speech and demonstrated his prowess, Jin Jun had no intention of lingering.

He believed Zhang Yu must already regret his decision and would soon come begging to join the project.

"The terms won't be as favorable then as they were just now."

With that thought, Jin Jun nodded to Ye Xingli and turned to leave.

Before exiting the laboratory, however, he paused and addressed the group: "Regarding what I just said, feel free to disclose it if you wish; there is no need to keep it confidential for me."

"My project still welcomes resumes from anyone interested."

As Jin Jun departed, the laboratory fell silent once more.

Zhang Yu acted as if nothing had happened, returning to his workbench to continue practicing his refining techniques.

Zi Yunzhen, cleaning her materials, glanced at Zhang Yu from time to time, thinking: "He must be in turmoil right now. I expect he’ll go to Senior Jin Jun to concede in a few days."

In the following days, the events in the laboratory gradually spread throughout the Artifact Refining Department.

When Su Yunni, the top student in the class, heard the news, her first reaction was that it was a publicity stunt.

Su Yunni wrote in their small group chat: There is no way anyone could be so foolish as to challenge Jin Jun—who has prepared for years and already mastered the "Great Void Artifact Codex"—immediately after transferring departments?

Su Yunni: Displaying capital, showing off technology... I suspect this is mostly Jin Jun drumming up hype to promote his project, using Zhang Yu as a stooge.

Su Yunni: I expect it won't be long before Zhang Yu admits defeat and joins Jin Jun’s project, and they’ll be able to hype it all over again.

Zi Yunzhen read this and had an epiphany: "That’s it. This is a coordinated stunt between the two. After all this hype, I bet many more people will send resumes to Jin Jun, and some might even offer him investments or loans."

...

Regardless of the storms outside, once Zhang Yu had announced his plan to refine the prototype, he continued to follow his own pace and his own agenda.

In the days that followed, he remained unhurried, quietly practicing his refining techniques every day as he had before, seizing every moment to accumulate the essence of an artifact-refining prodigy.

Jin Jun’s display of prowess had indeed weighed heavily upon Zhang Yu, yet it served only to ignite a fiercer resolve within him.

In the blink of an eye, a month slipped away, and the calendar turned to the end of June.

On this very day, Zhang Yu finally brought his cultivation of the eighth artifact-refining technique to its completion.

Superior Grade—Artifact Refining Prodigy (8/8): Artifact quality and success rates surge dramatically.

Gazing at the second-tier effects of the Artifact Refining Prodigy, Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed, and after a brief exploration, he grasped the true nature of these benefits.

The so-called artifact quality referred to the caliber of the magical treasures, bone-remains, and other creations he forged.

Even when the same artisan crafted the same treasure, each iteration would inevitably vary in quality, exhibiting subtle disparities in strength, efficiency, and performance.

A dramatic surge in artifact quality meant that every piece he forged would now approach the absolute limit of his skill and design, ensuring that strength, power, potency, mana capacity, responsiveness, and range all reached their zenith.

The term artifact success rate pertained to the mitigation of errors during the refining process.

Every mistake made during the forge represented a squandering of precious materials.

A massive increase in success rate signified a leap in material efficiency, effectively slashing the costs of his craft.

The cumulative effect of the second tier of Artifact Refining Prodigy was a profound enhancement to the cost-effectiveness of Zhang Yu’s work.

At this thought, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he mused that his arduous efforts had not been in vain.

With these new capabilities, his advantage in the impending competition for the Heavenly Sun Radiant God would surely be bolstered significantly.

(End of chapter)