Chapter 400: First-Time Artifact Refinement

Early December.

Ever since the competition ended, Zhang Yu had been scurrying through every corner of University City, seizing every opportunity to improve himself.

Today, within the Supreme Purity Realm.

Zhang Yu had activated his quadruple-threaded thought process, engaging twentyfold accelerated thinking, and was tirelessly absorbing his Artifact Refinement coursework.

As he studied, he couldn’t help but sigh again at how voluminous and complex the content was.

“No wonder Artifact Refinement students rely so heavily on the Spiritual Realm Network or Dao Techniques to boost learning efficiency.”

“With my quadruple-threaded thinking at 20x acceleration, that’s equivalent to 80x. Compared to a student using the Spiritual Realm to achieve 10x acceleration, I’m only 7x faster.”

“But if I consider my limited daily study time, while they stack Dao Techniques and Law Husks to further boost efficiency, then in terms of learning speed…”

Zhang Yu shook his head and thought, “Meeting True Lord Magneto’s new demand—to complete the Artifact Refinement curriculum by the end of sophomore year—really isn’t going to be easy.”

Still, learning knowledge came relatively easy to Zhang Yu.

The real headache was the array of experiments tied to Artifact Refinement.

Thankfully, he had True Lord Magneto as his mentor.

True Lord Magneto: Planning to give it a shot?

Zhang Yu: Yeah, I’ve more or less covered the basics. I want to try my first artifact refinement.

Zhang Yu: But I’m not sure how to handle the prep work.

True Lord Magneto: What do you plan to refine for your first time?

Zhang Yu: A pouch of Azure Sand.

True Lord Magneto: Azure Sand? Hm, planning to pair it with your Qi Construct? Smart move.

True Lord Magneto: Not too difficult either—suitable for your first time.

True Lord Magneto: As for prep—materials, copyrights, lab space, and equipment. Those four are the essentials.

True Lord Magneto: Forget it, I’ll have Ye Xingli show you the ropes.

Zhang Yu: Won’t Senior Sister Ye figure out our connection?

True Lord Magneto: Don’t worry. Xiao Ye’s sharp. She won’t say a word, and she’ll even help cover for us.

…

In the classroom.

Zhang Yu listened to the lecture while monitoring changes in his body.

In his Dantian, the Greenlotus Sword Embryo unfurled quietly. The Divine Spirit Root’s power coursed through his body, triggering subtle adjustments in his physique.

Ever since obtaining the Greenlotus Sword Embryo from Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu hadn’t dared to openly display its Divine Spirit Root power, nor had he used it actively. But he had quietly enjoyed its passive effects all along.

“Although the Three-Eyed Divine Sight and Greenlotus Sword Embryo are both categorized as Spirit Roots in the Dao Seed Codex, they can’t be used at the same time.”

“The Three-Eyed Divine Sight is mostly for combat. I can let the Greenlotus Sword Embryo run passively during study or cultivation.”

Previous experiments had shown Zhang Yu that the Greenlotus Sword Embryo had an adaptive enhancement effect.

And because swapping between Chain Diagram sets gave him drastic boosts, the Greenlotus Sword Embryo, applied to him, gradually trained his body to retain some of those effects even in default state.

Recently, Zhang Yu had been switching between Earth-Wood Saint Body and Mana Pulse Flowing Stream most frequently. Through repeated toggling, and the Embryo’s reinforcement, he now sensed faint traces of those two set effects even without activating them.

“But the effect is still extremely faint—it’ll take longer before it really shows.”

Zhang Yu wasn’t in a rush. As long as he kept the Greenlotus Sword Embryo running, it wouldn’t interfere with either his studies or cultivation.

After class, Zhang Yu was about to leave when a voice called out to him.

It was Feng Jiu, the Dao Heart course instructor.

Feng Jiu: “Interested in competing in the end-of-year Spiritual Realm Competition?”

Zhang Yu shook his head. “Instructor, I don’t have much of an edge in Dao Heart. I’d rather not embarrass myself.”

Zhang Yu knew himself well. With his meager Dao Heart level of just 16, entering the competition would be a complete waste of time.

He already had mountains of knowledge and cultivation to catch up on—he wasn’t about to sacrifice time for a contest.

After parting with Feng Jiu, Zhang Yu left the classroom surrounded by Yu Xinghan, Ying Xin, Gongshu Jin, and Li Xiao.

Seeing Zhang Yu’s score of 95, and the class ranks of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th above Yu Xinghan and the others’ heads, the other Qi Refinement students on the path quickly stepped aside, eyes filled with reverence.

Li Xiao tried desperately to wedge himself closer to Zhang Yu, but found the space already sealed off by Yu Xinghan, Ying Xin, and Gongshu Jin.

He muttered under his breath, “Damn it, I was the first one to hitch myself to Senior Brother’s coattails. But now Ying Xin and Gongshu Jin are sticking to him tighter than underwear.”

Nearby, Gongshu Jin said, “Zhang Yu, there’s a party in a few days. Interested?”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Will there be a buffet?”

Gongshu Jin answered as if it were obvious, “Of course. If it didn’t have buffet-level catering, how could I possibly invite you?”

Zhang Yu: “I’m in.”

…

In the dorm.

Zhang Yu held a Vajra Forge Relic in his palm, quietly absorbing the 200%-quality mana within.

A relic harvested from the cemetery by Director Gao at Huolongyuan.

As the enhanced mana merged with his own, Zhang Yu felt a distinct improvement in its quality.

“Not bad. My mana quality’s rising fast again.”

Just then, a message from Immortal Jiao Lei, his homeroom teacher, popped up.

Immortal Jiao Lei: Zhang Yu, interested in bringing your talents over to the Peace Faction?

Zhang Yu perked up. “The Peace Faction wants to poach me?”

“Could this be some kind of trap?”

Zhang Yu: Teacher, don’t say that—I don’t want Director Gao getting the wrong idea.

Immortal Jiao Lei: We’re offering very sincere terms.

Immortal Jiao Lei: If you’re willing to sever ties with Director Gao and take Director Lin as your new mentor, you’ll immediately qualify for a 200 spirit coin low-interest loan.

Immortal Jiao Lei: And that’s not even counting disciple benefits down the line.

Reading the message, Zhang Yu gulped.

“The Peace Faction really is backed by the Finance Department—this loan is insane!”

“Maybe I can keep Director Gao as a secret master… then split the 200 spirit coins with him?”

He already had True Lord Magneto as his underground mentor—adding Director Lin didn’t seem like a big deal.

Immortal Jiao Lei: If you’re interested, check out this contract.

But when Zhang Yu opened the document, he instantly sobered up.

“Sigh. Of course it’s not that simple.”

“This contract’s airtight—doesn’t leave me any loopholes.”

Zhang Yu: Don’t bother. Director Gao has been like a second father to me. I’d never betray him.

…

Inside the Artifact Refinement lab.

Ye Xingli stood by the bench, her skin shimmering with starry hues like cosmic starlight.

She curiously studied Zhang Yu, thoughts racing. “Master actually asked me to assist Zhang Yu?”

“But isn’t he in the Civil Engineering Department?”

“Even if civil students learn a little about Law Husks or artifacts, it’s just for maintenance or shopping, right?”

“Why would he actually be refining one himself?”

Suspicion bloomed in her heart. She was now intensely curious about Zhang Yu’s relationship with True Lord Magneto.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu carefully laid out his materials.

“Azureite ore, mana-conductive fluid, fiber composite membrane, condensation solution…”

After a thorough inventory, he turned to Ye Xingli. “Senior Sister, I’m starting.”

Ye Xingli nodded as she watched him slice the Azureite, use Martial Qi to apply the mana-conductive fluid, channel mana to activate the Blazing Furnace for shaping, spray the fiber composite membrane, and stabilize the mana circuit...

She noted silently, “Definitely a first-timer.”

Still, she could tell Zhang Yu had pored over the procedure and manuals countless times. He wasn’t smooth, but he didn’t miss a single step.

Artifact Refinement, in general, broke down into three stages: material refinement, core structure, and mana circuitry.

As for Azure Sand—a basic artifact—the process was simplified. It could only reach a maximum artifact level of 10 and was even usable as raw material for more complex items.

Usage was simple: toss it mid-battle to enhance Martial Qi conductivity and reduce energy loss.

Looking at Zhang Yu’s final product, Ye Xingli assessed, “Average purity, mediocre efficiency—probably Level 1 at best.”

Artifact levels ran from 1 to 10 and corresponded to Immortal Dao realms.

Since cultivators’ bodies and lifeforms varied between realms, Qi Refinement-level artifacts (1–10) were most effective for those still in that realm.

Foundation Establishment cultivators needed Level 11+ artifacts for noticeable impact—whether destructive or supportive.

“Zhang Yu’s aptitude for refinement is clearly average. If he wants to pass the Artifact Refinement exams, he’ll need a lot of practice.”

“Why would Master want me to guide him? He can’t possibly be planning to take Zhang Yu as a disciple, right?”

“No way. Zhang Yu’s skills are average, and besides, Master and Director Gao have been close for centuries—he’d never poach his disciple.”

Ye Xingli shook her head. “I’m overthinking it.”

Zhang Yu picked up the Azure Sand he’d just refined and summoned the Formless Golem. He pinched a speck of sand—barely the size of a fingernail—and fed it into the construct.

A faint blue glow shimmered across the golem’s surface as its Martial Qi condensed slightly.

“Today’s batch of Azure Sand should last me dozens of Formless Golem uses.”

Zhang Yu thought, “But the materials cost me around 0.03 spirit coins.”

“Add copyright fees, lab rental, and equipment… almost 1 spirit coin in total.”

“Artifact Refinement really is a money pit.”

He’d originally hoped to make simple tools for the Formless Golem and Frost Golem to use during work—both as practice and utility.

But now, looking at his results and the expenses, Zhang Yu couldn’t help wincing.

“And this was just the simplest kind of refinement…”

He glanced down at his Feathered Tome: “Azure Sand, Level 1 (0/10)”

Zhang Yu sighed. “Well… one step at a time.”