Chapter 764: Zhang Xuan's Weaknesses

“Uh…” Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

It seemed the person in front of him was still intent on making him his junior martial brother. However, he genuinely couldn’t become his junior martial brother. Setting aside other reasons, even if he agreed, wasn’t Elder Mi still waiting in line?

“Since Master Yang is also a Master Teacher and a fellow practitioner, there’s no harm in meeting him, is there?” Zhao Bingxu stroked his beard. He genuinely wanted to meet Yang Xuan, to see what kind of formidable person could have trained such an outstanding individual.

“Well... my teacher doesn’t have a fixed residence, and I don’t know where he is. How about this: the next time I see him, I’ll definitely convey the dean’s wishes to him…” Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before replying.

What is this about! All he wanted was to peacefully finish his reading, take an assessment, and then leave without making a fuss. Yet, everywhere he went, people wanted to take him as a student or a junior martial brother... Is this easy for me to deal with?! It seemed he would still need Master Yang to make an appearance and awe everyone. Otherwise, if people kept trying to take him as a disciple or junior martial brother, how could he possibly study in peace? Couldn't a person just keep a low profile?

“Alright then, it’s settled!” Zhao Bingxu smiled.

“Well, Dean Zhao, everyone, I’ve used up too much energy today taking the six-star artifact master assessment, so I’d like to return early to rest. I’ll take my leave now!” Fearing that they would continue to ask about Master Yang, which he couldn't explain, Zhang Xuan bowed and cupped his fist.

“That’s right, you must be very tired! Hurry back and rest!”“Indeed, forging six artifacts in two hours must have been extremely draining. Anything else can wait until tomorrow!”Hearing his words, Zhao Bingxu, Yuan Hong, and the others suddenly remembered that the person before them had just continuously forged six artifacts and was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. They were all full of apologies. With him so exhausted, their continued insistence on taking him as a disciple and meeting his teacher was truly impolite.

“Thank you!” Seeing their agreement, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Zhao Bingxu's voice rang out again: “Since you've just passed the assessment, you must be staying in the collective dorms. Here, take my private token. Go to the elite district and claim a villa. That way, it will be more convenient for us to visit you in the future!”

He looked up and saw that Dean Zhao had an extra token in his hand, identical to Elder Mi's earlier. In the dean's office, Yuan Hong had only mentioned Zhang Xuan collapsing the record channel and other incidents; he hadn't mentioned that Zhang Xuan also possessed Elder Mi's token. Even if it had been mentioned, it wouldn't have mattered. Zhao Bingxu was clearly trying to show goodwill and win over this genius. If his token's prestige hadn't been inferior to those of the Ten Great Elders, he would surely have offered it sooner.

“This…” Zhang Xuan blinked.“Take it. My token still has some uses. Go on, find a place to stay in the elite district!” Zhao Bingxu nodded.“Thank you, Dean Zhao!” Seeing the other party insist and understanding his intent, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to accept it. He had just refused to be their junior martial brother; refusing again would be too impolite.

The onlookers, seeing him reluctantly accept the Dean's token, all twitched their mouths, almost in tears. For them, even meeting the dean once was difficult. The dean personally came to meet him, he refused to become a junior martial brother, and now he didn't even want the token... Where did this freak come from? Did he realize how many people wanted to beat him to death for that reluctant expression?

“Farewell!” After receiving the token, fearing that the other party would make another unreasonable request, Zhang Xuan didn't linger. He turned and left, disappearing from everyone's sight shortly after.

“What a pity…” Watching him walk away, Zhao Bingxu couldn't help but shake his head.

“What's a pity?” Yuan Hong asked, puzzled, looking over.

“Master Zhang is a true genius. Although polite on the surface, he actually holds himself in high regard. Mundane things won't win him over. It will be difficult to make such a person wholeheartedly remain in the Artifact Forging Academy!” Zhao Bingxu sighed.

“Indeed!” Considering Zhang Xuan had even refused to be Dean Zhao's junior martial brother... what else could their academy possibly offer to win him over? There truly was nothing that could entice him!

“Alright, treat him well from now on; do not offend him.” After giving the instruction, Zhao Bingxu waved his hand: “Yuan Hong, Xiong Bing, the rest of you, come with me inside. I really want to know how he managed to forge six artifacts in just two hours!” Forging six artifacts in two hours, advancing from a one-star to a six-star artifact master—even he couldn't do that. How did someone at only the Bridge-Heaven realm accomplish it?

“Yes!” Yuan Hong and the others all nodded. They were also full of curiosity. The few of them pushed open the door and entered the Artifact Sea corridor.

As dean, he possessed special privileges, allowing him to enter here even without using academic credits.

“Display the previous forging footage!” As he walked into the corridor, Zhao Bingxu smiled faintly and flicked his finger. The Artifact Sea rippled, and the scene of Zhang Xuan's previous forging appeared before them. There were special devices here that could record previous scenes and play them back, allowing people to study and learn from them.

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Xuan's image reached the first stage. With a light grasp, he gathered various ores and metals, threw them simultaneously into the furnace fire, melted them together, and then quenched them.

“This…”“No refining of the artifact embryo, just direct quenching?”Everyone was stunned.

“Not refining the artifact embryo eliminates the most complex step in artifact forging! What a brilliant idea, truly brilliant!” Zhao Bingxu's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: “Why didn't I think of that?” Of the three steps in artifact forging, refining the artifact embryo was the most complex. Skipping this step would indeed greatly accelerate the forging process. But... could the resulting item still be called an artifact?

After watching the quenching, they indeed saw Zhang Xuan place an iron disc on the testing platform, and then... he successfully passed the stage.

“Just fusing metals, without a single refinement, and making it reach Ghost-tier—incredible!” Xiong Bing couldn't help but nod. Artifacts were said to be forged through a thousand refinements; only continuous hammering could perfect the fused metals and elevate their grade. Yet, he casually refined and fused them, without even wielding a hammer, and still managed to make the artifact reach the standard for an artifact master's assessment. Even they... couldn't do that!

“This not only requires a crystal-clear understanding of the melting points of various metals and ores but also precise knowledge of their properties, when to fuse them, and what reactions will occur after fusion... truly, he has everything at his fingertips!”“Indeed, not only that, using true qi to control the furnace fire and smelt these metals, making them melt simultaneously... this indicates control over multiple powers and a strong soul!”“Coming into such close contact with flames, even grasping scorching hot metals with his bare hands... how strong must his physical body be?”“His technique flows like water, without the slightest hesitation, demonstrating confidence and an exceptionally stable mindset!”

As they continued to watch, the more they saw, the more terrified they became. Fusing metals and quenching them without refining the artifact embryo was something they could also easily do, but... whether they could pass the assessment was another matter. To perform it with such apparent ease, like the person on screen—let alone them, even the legendary grandmaster artifact forger Wu Yangzi might not have been able to achieve it. Did this guy really just receive a substandard inheritance from Wu Yangzi, or was he perhaps Wu Yangzi's teacher?

Soon, they saw the assessment for the six-star artifact master. With a flick of his fingers, the various metals clanged like music. Zhang Xuan's wrists moved nimbly, and a massive iron hammer appeared before them.

“This…”“Is this really an artifact embryo hammered by an artifact master?”Seeing the young man finally use his artifact embryo refining ability, they had expected something incredibly stunning, as impressive as before, something that would leave them in awe. They never dreamed... it would be so damn ugly! Are you sure this is a hammer and not just a lump of iron? Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

“It seems... Master Zhang is excellent in every aspect, except... his artifact embryo refining is somewhat unsatisfactory!” After watching the entire assessment, Zhao Bingxu finally couldn't help but say.

“More than just unsatisfactory... it looks like he's never learned it before!” Yuan Hong also shook his head. Honestly, the way he refined the artifact embryo was worse than even an apprentice. It could be said that any random apprentice would do a better job than him.

His fire control, smelting, quenching, and mastery... were all flawless, even surpassing theirs. So how could he be so unskilled at artifact embryo refining? One must know that this was the simplest step in artifact forging...

“It's best if he hasn't learned it! That way, we can openly teach him and build a relationship!” Zhao Bingxu laughed. He had been worrying about how to curry favor with him and bind him firmly to the Artifact Forging Academy. Now that Zhang Xuan didn't know how to refine artifact embryos, he could personally step forward and impart the techniques.

“Indeed!” The other vice deans also nodded. They weren't afraid of exceptional talent; they were afraid of no flaws. If there was something he didn't know, they could seize the opportunity to befriend him and forge connections. Once he truly learned from them, wouldn't he be willingly bound to the Artifact Forging Academy?

Upon returning to his residence in the elite district, Zhang Xuan finally felt his entire body go limp. In two hours, he had gone from an apprentice assessment to a six-star artifact master in one go. Although there was some opportunism involved, the consumption was still enormous. Not just his true qi, but his essence, vitality, and spirit were all extremely fatigued. If his soul body hadn't just broken through the ten-meter barrier, he probably wouldn't have been able to endure it.

“My soul body broke through ten meters, and it seems the essence of my soul has changed. I didn't get a close look before, but now I'll see what's going on!” He took out a high-grade spirit stone, absorbed it for a while until he had fully recovered, and only then did Zhang Xuan remember something. Earlier, while absorbing the power of the Core Rock in the Earth Fire Channel, his soul body successfully broke through the ten-meter limit. At the time, he felt his soul had undergone some kind of change, but with the channel collapsing, he had no time to observe. Now that he was back, it was the perfect time to see what had actually happened.

His soul, physical body, and true qi were the three guarantees of his strength; he had to master them beforehand to avoid any mishaps. Activating the surrounding formation to block detection, Zhang Xuan sat cross-legged on the cushion, and his spirit moved. His witch soul left his body. At this moment, his witch soul was as tall as a giant, standing in the room with its head touching the ceiling.

“Introspect!” The Eye of Insight wriggled, probing into his soul body.

“What is this? Th-this is impossible…” After a single glance, Zhang Xuan suddenly froze, and a voice of surprise escaped his lips.