Chapter 1428: Refining Soldiers

Zhang Xuan comforted the slightly aggrieved puppet for a few moments before heading up to the second floor.

The second floor, like the first, did not feature professions he excelled at, such as beast taming or formation arrangement. Instead, it was an artifact forging challenge.

Upon entering the room, he immediately saw a young man standing before a crucible. The youth, wielding a large hammer, continuously struck a weapon that was slowly taking shape under the intense red charcoal fire, glinting with a cold light.

For this Master Teacher Tower assessment, eight different auxiliary professions were involved. He had deliberately not chosen any profession in which he had already reached eight-star proficiency, opting instead for those where he had yet to obtain the badge. He had passed the six-star artifact forger assessment back in Hongyuan Academy but hadn't practiced since. This was a good opportunity to pursue it again.

Seeing Zhang Xuan arrive, the young man stopped and pointed to a forging crucible nearby. "I am Wu Youdao, the Saint Son of the Artifact Forgers' Guild! There's an ore here. Begin forging it now. If you can refine it into a high-grade Saint artifact within one day, you pass!"

Zhang Xuan looked at the crucible and indeed saw an ore burning in the flames. Intense heat waves continuously assailed it, but the ore showed no sign of melting.

"Violet Skyfire Stone?" Zhang Xuan frowned. The Violet Skyfire Stone was reputed to be the most difficult ore to melt at the eight-star level; even many true eight-star artifact forgers struggled with it. For the challenge to begin with this ore indicated that the assessment's difficulty was indeed considerable.

However, there were pros and cons. While the ore was difficult to refine, once forged into a weapon, it would be at least a peak mid-grade Saint artifact. With slightly superior technique, it could easily reach high-grade. In essence, the hardest part of this assessment was not forging a high-grade Saint artifact, but rather how to melt the ore and shape it into a suitable weapon.

"Exactly! Melting the Violet Skyfire Stone is the ultimate test of one's understanding of artifact forging. If you can't melt it within a day, you don't need to continue this stage!" Wu Youdao waved his hand, dismissing Zhang Xuan, and resumed his forging.

"Alright!" Knowing this was part of the test, Zhang Xuan said no more. He activated his Eye of Insight and observed the situation.

The crucible and charcoal fire were perfectly fine. The issue was the Violet Skyfire Stone's extremely high melting point; it required ground fire to smelt. Even with a massive infusion of zhenqi, the current setup couldn't reach the necessary temperature. However, the other party hadn't provided a ground fire formation, implying that only the existing equipment could be used.

"This challenge is quite difficult..." He had to admit, this assessment was harder than he had anticipated.

"However, it won't be easy to stump me..." While many eight-star artifact forgers would find this situation nearly impossible, it wasn't that complicated for Zhang Xuan. After reading the Artifact Forgers' Guild books, his understanding of artifact forging had already reached the peak eight-star level, comparable to some early-stage nine-star forgers. Even without the help of the Library of Heaven's Path, he had at least dozens of methods to melt the stone.

With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan approached the crucible. He pointed a finger, and dozens of streams of zhenqi shot out, enveloping the charcoal fire.

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!* Enveloped by zhenqi, the charcoal flames immediately intensified, as if infused with oxygen. They transformed from fiery red to brilliant blue, radiating an astonishing heat that seemed to warp the very air.

"This is... an eight-star Spirit Gathering Formation?" Wu Youdao, who had been hammering on the side, froze. Many powerful weapons had special formation runes carved onto them, so skilled artifact forgers were often proficient in formations. Wu Youdao had expected Zhang Xuan to add some special materials to make the charcoal burn more fiercely, but he never dreamed that Zhang Xuan would directly set up a small Spirit Gathering Formation! To set up a formation without array flags, using only zhenqi, within such a small space... and at such incredible speed? How was this possible?

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!* With ample spiritual energy infused, the charcoal's temperature steadily rose. However, it still seemed a ways off from being able to melt the Violet Skyfire Stone. The purplish ore reflected the light, showing little change under the scorching flames, with no signs of melting.

"Gathering spiritual energy within the flames, while making them burn more fully and intensely, still falls short of what's needed to refine this level of ore..." Wu Youdao shook his head, sighing. Before he could finish speaking, he saw the young man opposite him kick the crucible in front of him.

*Clang!* The crucible resonated, then suddenly twisted its body, desperately drawing the flames inward. The previously broad flames instantly narrowed to a needle point, like a sword's edge, cutting into the ore.

"This is... the Fire Gathering Smelting Method? It requires the crucible's unconditional cooperation. What's going on?" Wu Youdao was stunned again. The Fire Gathering Smelting Method concentrated flames in one spot to raise the temperature further. While highly effective, it made extreme demands on the crucible, requiring mutual trust and excellent cooperation. Zhang Xuan and this crucible had only just met moments ago, so how could it be so obedient?

As he found it incredible, the crucible, which had been standing nearby, suddenly waddled its bulky body a few steps closer to him. Its lid opened, and a booming voice resonated: "May I borrow your Azure Flame Stone for a moment!"

"Uh..." Wu Youdao was momentarily stunned, not expecting the crucible to speak to him. Before he could answer, the crucible twisted again and said, "Thanks!" With that, without waiting for his consent, it extended one of its legs and lightly swept across the workbench. *Whoosh!* An ore rolled into Zhang Xuan's furnace. *Roar! Roar! Roar!* As soon as the flames touched the Azure Flame Stone, they combusted explosively, and the temperature surged once more.

"It just stole it?" Wu Youdao's eyebrows twitched wildly, and his face muscles constantly quivered. This crucible was his; it had been with him for countless years. For this assessment, he had merely let the other party use it... He had only expected a temporary loan, but he never dreamed that it would not only help Zhang Xuan perform the Fire Gathering Smelting Method but also directly steal his ore... Did it even know who its master was anymore?

As he fumed, bewildered, the crucible looked at him again. "May I borrow some of your blood..." After speaking, the crucible suddenly leaped up and then descended straight down. Struck in the chest, Wu Youdao spat out blood, which simultaneously fell into the crucible. The flames surged violently for the third time.

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!* After several increases in temperature, the Violet Skyfire Stone could no longer withstand the heat. With a *crack*, it fractured, then became soft and gradually melted.

Seeing the success, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. He stepped forward again, extended a finger, and with a surge of zhenqi, pointed forcefully ahead. *Whoosh!* The ore flew out of the crucible. Wielding a hammer, Zhang Xuan struck it fiercely. Three breaths later, he gave another flick, and the refined artifact embryo immediately dropped into a special cooling liquid. A burst of white smoke billowed. Soon, the artifact embryo was retrieved. With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. "It's done..."

"Done?" A hint of doubt in his expression, Wu Youdao quickly looked. After just one glance, his face twitched violently. "This is... a weapon?" On the workbench lay a flat, square brick, bearing no resemblance to any kind of weapon.