Chapter 1224: Lin Jie Master

Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw an old man approaching. The man had a white beard and an air of heroism about him. His cultivation was so profound that it was impossible to gauge its depth at a glance.

“Master Lin Jie…” President Qin quickly clasped his fists, and Chu Xiang also showed profound respect. A quasi-eight-star artificer possessed a level of cultivation and understanding of artifact forging that neither of them could match.

“Master… this is Grandmaster Zhang Xuan, a peak seven-star grandmaster from the Grandmaster Hall!” Fearing a misunderstanding, President Qin quickly introduced him. Zhang Xuan had successfully passed the trial and even defeated Hall Master Gou, making the title of peak seven-star grandmaster entirely appropriate.

“A peak seven-star grandmaster?” Master Lin Jie was momentarily stunned. “So young, yet possessing such strength. No wonder he can afford to be arrogant.” He had initially thought Zhang Xuan was just some presumptuous individual deliberately slandering someone in front of a crowd. However, given his rank as a grandmaster, such deliberate disrespect was unlikely.

“I apologize, but I have an urgent matter from the Grandmaster Hall that cannot be delayed. I was hoping to borrow this forging hall first to temper my weapon. Would that be permissible?” Zhang Xuan clasped his fists. He knew it was somewhat rude to directly request the use of the hall and its earth flame when someone else was scheduled to give a lecture.

“Tempering a weapon? Grandmaster Zhang, are you also an artificer?” Master Lin Jie asked, his gaze filled with curiosity.

“I studied it systematically for a period,” Zhang Xuan replied. “I was fortunate enough to obtain a six-star emblem.”

Master Lin Jie nodded, still somewhat puzzled. “May I ask… what kind of weapon does Grandmaster Zhang intend to temper?” He wondered what kind of weapon specifically required this forging hall. While the Qingyuan Empire Artificer Guild might not be as grand as the Qianchong Empire’s, it still boasted at least six or seven hundred, if not a thousand, quiet rooms equipped with earth flames for forging. Insisting on this particular hall surely had a reason. If Zhang Xuan were a peak seven-star artificer, he wouldn’t question it, but a six-star artificer… was somewhat low-ranked for this specific hall. The earth flame here was exceptionally fierce; even a slight loss of control wouldn't just prevent the forging from succeeding, but could also utterly destroy the weapon.

“It’s this!” With a flick of his wrist, the Golden Origin Cauldron immediately appeared in the hall. “Master, are you going to temper me? Haha, am I going to advance again?” The Golden Origin Cauldron scanned its surroundings, recognized it was in the Artificer Guild, and, seeing artificers everywhere, brimmed with excitement.

“A mid-grade Saint artifact at the Half-Spirit Severing realm?” Master Lin Jie had expected a Semi-Saint artifact or something similar, but seeing a mid-grade one, his eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Grandmaster Zhang… you intend to temper this cauldron?” “Yes!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “This…”

Seeing Zhang Xuan’s fearless demeanor, Master Lin Jie couldn’t help but offer advice: “Tempering a mid-grade Saint artifact demands not only immense strength but also careful protection of its spirit, along with the most precise quenching and hammering. There’s absolutely no room for error. Otherwise, not only will it fail to advance, but its internal structure might also be damaged, causing its grade to drop.” He continued, “Even I would have at most a 20% chance of successfully tempering a Saint artifact of this caliber. A six-star artificer… If one’s strength is insufficient, forcibly putting a weapon back into the furnace won’t improve it; it might even degrade its quality, resulting in a net loss.”

“Old man, what are you implying? Our young master merely gave a few casual pointers to an apprentice last time, and I advanced from a low-grade Saint artifact to a mid-grade one! Do you really need to lecture him?” Before Zhang Xuan could speak, the Golden Origin Cauldron on the side huffed with clear displeasure. Ever since its creation, its current master was the one it admired most. The fact that it didn’t immediately charge forward and smash the doubter’s head was already a testament to its extreme self-restraint.

“If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute!” Zhang Xuan scolded, slapping the cauldron lid of the Golden Origin Cauldron to silence it. He knew that Song Zhen had managed to facilitate its advancement so smoothly last time because he had practiced artifact forging for many years. His strength was on par with a six-star artificer, and he had reached an extremely high level in various forging techniques. Only then could he keep up with Zhang Xuan’s guidance and complete the task with ease. Any other apprentice certainly wouldn’t have been able to. It was merely a lucky coincidence, difficult to replicate, and nothing to boast about.

“I…” The cauldron squirmed, full of grievance. “But I was telling the truth… you simply gave some casual pointers to an apprentice and I advanced…” “Shut up, go stand aside…” Zhang Xuan’s brow furrowed, seeing it still daring to retort. “Yes…” The Golden Origin Cauldron dared not utter another word and retreated to the side.

“This fellow is used to being undisciplined and can be a bit rude. Please forgive him, Master and President…” Zhang Xuan said, looking at the others with embarrassment. A weapon rudely interrupting its master was indeed disrespectful.

“It’s nothing!” Master Lin Jie shook his head, though a hint of curiosity remained in his eyes. “You mentioned earlier that Grandmaster Zhang guided an apprentice in forging… I wonder what happened?” “Let’s not dwell on it,” Zhang Xuan replied. He was here to advance the Golden Origin Cauldron; it was better to maintain a low profile. It was merely an incident from the past, and there was no point in bringing it up now.

“I was presumptuous…” Assuming it involved some secret since Zhang Xuan was unwilling to speak, Master Lin Jie did not press further.

“Time is of the essence, so I’ll begin…” Seeing that the matter had been clarified without causing any misunderstanding, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He paused, then looked at Chu Xiang. “Brother Chu, I might need your help in a moment!”

“Grandmaster Zhang, just say the word. As long as I am capable, I will not refuse!” Chu Xiang replied with a slight smile. Even putting their acquaintance aside, the fact that Zhang Xuan had successfully passed the trial and become the Qingyuan Empire’s foremost grandmaster made it worthwhile to establish a good relationship with him.

“It’s like this: this weapon of mine has been spoiled by me. If I were to forge it myself, I might find it difficult to do a good job due to various considerations. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to help me temper it!” Zhang Xuan said after a brief pause.

“Spoiled?” The Golden Origin Cauldron racked its brain, utterly unable to recall a single instance when its master had ever spoiled it. In fact, he had just slapped it moments ago…

“This…” Chu Xiang was startled to hear this. He offered a wry smile and quickly waved his hand. “Grandmaster Zhang, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but my cultivation hasn’t even reached the Nascent Spirit realm. Although I am a seven-star artificer, forging a mid-grade Saint artifact at the Spirit Severing realm… I truly cannot do it!” Even President Qin, a peak seven-star artificer, couldn’t forge a weapon of that caliber, let alone him, who had just reached seven stars. Zhang Xuan truly thought highly of him.

“Don’t be nervous. I will guide you through the forging process. Just strictly follow my instructions without the slightest deviation,” Zhang Xuan said. Chu Xiang was conflicted. “Grandmaster Zhang’s cauldron is extremely precious; I’m afraid something might go wrong…” Knowing his concern, Zhang Xuan smiled. “It’s fine. In a moment, I will use the Grandmaster’s Word, Heavenly Impartation, on you. Just follow my instructions strictly. If anything goes wrong, I will not blame you.”

“Uh…” Seeing Zhang Xuan’s reassurance, refusing again would clearly be disrespectful. After a moment of hesitation, Chu Xiang could only nod in agreement.

“Then let’s begin!” With a slight smile, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the Golden Origin Cauldron, raising an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to roll over to the earth flame now?” The Golden Origin Cauldron flinched, full of indignation, and quickly flew over.

“This is what he calls spoiling?” Both Master Lin Jie and President Qin looked utterly bewildered. Zhang Xuan had just claimed he spoiled his weapon too much, making him unable to personally forge it, akin to a doctor unwilling to operate on a loved one. Yet, what they witnessed was this… This was spoiling? They looked at the Golden Origin Cauldron again, their eyes filled with sympathy. This wasn’t spoiling at all… It felt more like he wanted to destroy it.

Approaching the formation that drew out the earth flame, Zhang Xuan gestured to Chu Xiang. Understanding the signal, Chu Xiang took two steps forward.

“Grandmaster Zhang, this is the rune token to activate the earth flame…” Seeing that the forging was about to begin, President Qin flicked his wrist and produced a token. Just as he was about to hand it over, the faint voice of the young man resonated from nearby. “Take three steps to the left, two steps forward, one step back, and one step to the right. Circulate the true qi within your body, concentrate it in your right foot, and stamp down…” The voice carried a peculiar rhythm, and Chu Xiang, without a moment’s hesitation, strictly followed the instructions, stomping his foot on the ground. *Whoosh!* The earth flame-attracting formation instantly activated, and a dense ball of fire shot skyward, enveloping the Golden Origin Cauldron.

“This…” President Qin’s pupils constricted, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Activating the earth flame without a rune token… How did he do that?” The earth flame’s temperature was extremely high; even Saint Realm experts of the third or fourth layer could easily be incinerated if caught within it. This was precisely why the flames were absent when the formation was inactive. Normally, it would be nearly impossible to draw out the fire without the rune token, yet under Grandmaster Zhang’s guidance, it had been effortlessly accomplished. Even witnessing it firsthand, it was difficult to believe.

“Only by mastering formations to an extreme level can one achieve that!” Master Lin Jie nodded, observing President Qin’s expression. “Grandmaster Zhang must also be a formidable formation master, likely at a very high level!” To understand the structure of the earth flame formation with just one glance and effortlessly draw out the flames meant his comprehension of formations was exceptional; even by the standards of their Qianchong Empire, he would undoubtedly be considered a prominent figure.

“Indeed…” President Qin said, regaining his composure.

“Now, let’s see his artifact forging skills,” Master Lin Jie said, shaking his head and not holding much optimism for the current situation. “Although grandmasters possess Heavenly Impartation, guiding someone else in forging—especially a mid-grade Saint artifact with someone who has never collaborated before—is extremely difficult!” He continued, “If the two parties had cooperated countless times and possessed great synergy, that would be understandable, as such forging methods do exist. But to guide someone directly to temper a mid-grade Saint artifact that exceeds their own strength, without knowing anything about their power, true qi level, or forging techniques… From my perspective, it’s an impossible task. Is Grandmaster Zhang simply overly confident, or does he consider this cauldron disposable?” He looked at the Golden Origin Cauldron again, his eyes filled with profound sympathy. “This isn’t spoiling at all… It feels more like he’s trying to destroy it, doesn’t it?”