“Hehe… So that’s the case!”
Hong Lian felt slightly disappointed as she smiled faintly; people without great desires were indeed difficult to handle. She nodded again and said, “Alright then, for the sake of our sibling-like relationship, I will help you learn more skills and make you the new Saint King of Forging. When you become powerful in the future, don’t forget to forge a Saint Artifact for your Hong Lian elder sister, hahaha…”
Hong Lian was trying to establish a closer connection, test Shui Miao’s intentions, and maximize her own interests.
“Okay! As long as I get the chance, I will definitely forge a Saint Artifact for you, elder sister Hong Lian.”
Shui Miao wasn’t foolish; he readily agreed to the empty promise without any harm.
Besides, he had said “as long as there’s an opportunity,” but defining what constitutes an opportunity was quite ambiguous.
“Good little brother, here, eat a peach…”
Seeing Shui Miao’s innocent and straightforward nature, Hong Lian became genuinely happy. She now understood why Jueying had accepted him as a younger brother; this younger brother was simply too easy to talk to. Building a good relationship with him would surely bring many benefits and treasures in the future!
※※※
The Grand Hall of the Artificer Examination.
All thirty master examiners were present.
Shui Miao stood in the middle of the hall, beside him a low-grade artifact-forging furnace, an anvil, a hammer, and a pile of various low-quality materials.
All these materials were of inferior quality.
At this moment, Hong Lian appeared and loudly declared, “Jueqing, this is a warm-up examination specially prepared for you. In front of you is a low-grade artifact-forging furnace and many ordinary forging materials. We require you to forge an immortal artifact using these materials within three hours, something you consider your best work. After quenching, a medium-grade artifact will be considered passing, a high-grade one a full score, and a supreme-grade artifact is practically impossible. However, if you successfully awaken the artifact’s spirit, it will be considered supreme-grade.”
Thirty pairs of eyes watched Shui Miao closely, not allowing him to cheat.
The examiners were all master artificers capable of evaluating Shui Miao from every possible angle.
Shui Miao looked at the artifact-forging furnace and asked, “Can I make anything I want with these materials?”
“Yes, these are the only materials you have,” Hong Lian nodded. “If there are no further questions, you may begin now.”
“Alright then…”
Shui Miao smiled lightly, sat cross-legged on the ground, and closed his eyes.
His action immediately shocked most of the examiners, as very few artificers nowadays forged immortal artifacts purely by spiritual power.
Suddenly, flames erupted from the artifact-forging furnace, numerous crystals flew into it, followed by all the materials…
“This, this, this can’t be real…”
“Unbelievable! How can his spiritual power be so powerful?”
“This person’s cultivation must be extremely profound; I’m no match for him!”
“Everyone, stop commenting and watch carefully. He might be trying to cheat amidst the chaos. With so many materials, let’s see how he controls them, shapes them, and inscribes arrays…”
The examiners started murmuring amongst themselves, while the eldest among them coldly doubted Shui Miao’s abilities.
Hong Lian, however, watched Shui Miao with growing excitement and admiration, finding him increasingly handsome.
The furnace fire grew stronger, many materials melted into liquid, impurities were separated and discarded onto the ground around the furnace, radiating intense heat.
Shui Miao kept increasing the intensity of the flames. Within only a quarter of an hour, a crimson-red artifact-forging furnace appeared before everyone.
“He actually forged another artifact-forging furnace!”
“That’s strange, why would he forge another furnace? Doesn’t he know how to forge a powerful immortal artifact?”
“How strange! His skills should be capable of forging a good immortal artifact!”
Most of the examiners sighed in disappointment for Shui Miao.
Sizzling…
The furnace was quenched, and Shui Miao used half of the herbs to awaken the spirit, resulting in a medium-grade artifact furnace with successful spirit awakening.
“Haha! That’s great!”
Hong Lian excitedly stepped forward. “Congratulations, Jueqing! You only used half the materials and completed the furnace in just one cup of tea time, and successfully awakened its spirit. This proves you’re already an absolutely excellent artificer.”
“No, I haven’t finished yet; my forging has only just begun…”
Shui Miao still had his eyes closed, and all the remaining fire crystals flew into the newly forged medium-grade artifact furnace…
“Oh! I see now…”
“He really is a genius!”
“He forged a furnace first, improving its quality. This allows him to smelt more refined materials. With purer materials, he can forge higher-quality immortal artifacts. If this continues, he might actually forge a supreme-grade immortal artifact!”
“It’s said that only the Fire Virtue King and Saint King of Forging Luo Tong have forged supreme-grade immortal artifacts in a single round. Could this young man be the third miracle?”
“Hmph! Don’t celebrate too early. He used too many materials forging the furnace, and the original materials were already insufficient. Now that he’s further refining the materials, I don’t believe he can forge anything valuable anymore.”
The examiners were all astonished, except for the eldest one who remained skeptical and unimpressed.
The hall fell silent once again.
Numerous materials continued to separate their impurities in the flames, the molten liquid shrinking down…
As the remaining material became about the size of an egg, everyone held their breath!
The refining continued…
The eldest examiner finally furrowed his brows and couldn’t help but speak out, “Young man, are you deliberately defying me? If you keep refining like this, you won’t be able to forge any immortal artifact at all.”
“Hehe, whether I can forge one or not, I have to try first,” Shui Miao suddenly opened his eyes and asked Hong Lian, “Examiner, may I channel my own spiritual energy to intensify the furnace fire?”
“Of course, your spiritual energy is part of you; you’re allowed to use it.”
Hong Lian nodded immediately.
Shui Miao shrugged slightly, then channeled a surge of spiritual energy into the furnace. The furnace fire flared up dramatically, and in an instant, the material, now the size of a ping-pong ball, rapidly transformed into a needle as thick as a finger!
The spiritual energy Shui Miao used contained traces of Purple Fortune Qi.
After quenching, Shui Miao used the remaining herbs to awaken the spirit of the artifact.
At the moment of awakening, the needle suddenly emitted a seven-colored radiant glow!
“Hehe, lucky me. This is a supreme-grade immortal artifact with successfully awakened spirit.”
Shui Miao scanned it with his spiritual sense and immediately sensed the flying dagger’s attributes.
“…”
Upon hearing this, everyone was instantly stunned.
“This, this is impossible!”
The eldest examiner suddenly cried out in shock, his face filled with disbelief. “No! This is impossible, absolutely impossible! You cheated! You must have cheated!”
At this accusation, Hong Lian immediately flew into a rage, furrowing her brows and stepping forward fiercely. “Master Qiu, as an examiner, you should take responsibility for your words. All of us here have been watching with our own eyes and saw nothing wrong. If you accuse him of cheating, then please provide evidence. Otherwise, I have the authority to disqualify you as an examiner.”
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