Chapter 51 - 46: The Reckless Kid

Although Yin Kuang had a rugged appearance, he was meticulous to a fault. With a single sentence, he cut straight to the heart of the matter.

Even if Mo Liusheng was willing to repair their Spiritual Artifacts, how would they solve the issue with the Spirit Array Maps?

There were six of them, each with one of six different attributes: water, fire, wind, cloud, earth, and metal...

In fact, their team had been deliberately formed this way back at the academy.

As a result, the Spirit Array Map within each person’s Spiritual Artifact was different. A Spirit Level Fourth Grade Artifact Refining Master was certainly formidable, but the chances of one knowing array maps for so many different elemental systems were incredibly slim.

"This long spear isn’t forged from Deep Sea Profound Iron. A Fourth Level Peak Red Flame Fierce Bear couldn’t possibly damage Deep Sea Profound Iron to this degree," Shen Lang, who had been quietly observing, suddenly said.

"It’s made from Demon Iron Ore, which is quite common in the Western Wilderness. Besides, while the Red Flame Fierce Bear has incredibly strong defenses, no part of its body could have chipped your Third Grade Spiritual Artifacts like this. I don’t think the Demon Beast you encountered was a Red Flame Fierce Bear."

The pavilion suddenly fell silent, and a strange atmosphere filled the air.

Then, his face flushing red, Yin Kuang slammed his palm on the stone table and roared, "You’re saying my Fiery Fire Divine Spear isn’t forged from Deep Sea Profound Iron? That it’s made from that cheap Demon Iron Ore? Are you calling me a liar? Saying all of us are blind? And another thing, who do you think has seen more Red Flame Fierce Bears, you or us? You think all of us got it wrong based on a few sentences? Moran, he only dares to say this to me because he’s your brother. If it were anyone else, I’d make them regret it!"

The expressions of the others darkened as well.

’To claim Yin Kuang’s long spear was made of Demon Iron Ore was infuriating enough, but to say the Red Flame Fierce Bear wasn’t a Red Flame Fierce Bear?’

’Demon Iron Ore’s resilience was indeed excellent, but could it really be used to refine a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact?’

’Could a Fiery Fire Divine Spear forged from Demon Iron Ore possibly have this much power?’

’Were they, elite students of Jialan Academy, incapable of even identifying the materials of a Spiritual Artifact of this level?’

’As for the Red Flame Fierce Bear, it was a Fourth Level Peak Demon Beast with distinct features. They had fought it to the death. How could they possibly have misidentified it under those circumstances?’

’It would be one thing if one person made a mistake, but could all of them be wrong?’

’This kid really is courting death. He doesn’t even know when to keep his mouth shut.’

’To think he’d come here to show off in front of them.’

’With that one statement, he had basically insulted every single one of them...’

"Alright, Yin Kuang. Why are you getting angry with a kid? This is our problem. Don’t take your anger out on someone else," Shui Buyu said hurriedly, seeing the look on Shen Moran’s face.

Shen Moran sighed and said, "Xiaolang, go on home and eat. Tell Mom and Dad I’ll be back later. They don’t need to wait for me."

’Everyone fell silent. No matter how wrong the kid was, he was still much younger than them.’

’Besides, he was Moran’s brother. They had to give her some face. Best to just let it go.’

But while they were willing to let it go, Shen Lang had no such intention.

’Dad’s injuries have just started to heal, and he’s waiting for us to have a family dinner together. If they keep moping around like this, how long is it going to take?’

’If I didn’t know you were my sister’s friends, who the hell would want to deal with you?’

Shen Lang gently pushed away Shen Moran’s outstretched hand and smiled. "The Fiery Fire Divine Spear does have a small amount of Deep Sea Profound Iron in it. The Artifact Refiner was very clever. They used Mithril to fuse that small portion of Deep Sea Profound Iron with Demon Iron Ore, making the long spear not only highly resilient but also exceptionally sturdy."

Everyone stared at each other. They couldn’t believe this kid was such an idiot. He’d been given a perfect way out, yet here he was, still spouting utter nonsense!

Several of them shot Shen Moran strange looks, their expressions screaming disbelief that someone like her could have such a brother.

"I never would have guessed. Moran’s little brother is an Artifact Refiner, is he? To hear you talk, you must be quite an expert in the Artifact Refining Dao, huh?"

Yin Kuang scoffed. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he tossed the U-shaped Fiery Fire Divine Spear directly at Shen Lang. "Since my Fiery Fire Divine Spear is so shoddy, why don’t you see if you can salvage anything from it? Go on, extract the Demon Iron for me."

Shen Moran’s eyes went cold. She shot to her feet and caught the Fiery Fire Divine Spear. "Yin Kuang, if you have a problem, take it up with me! My brother is still young and a little impulsive, but throwing a fit like this before you even know the facts doesn’t suit someone of your standing!"

"Hmph!" Yin Kuang snorted and turned to face the lake, saying no more.

In truth, given Yin Kuang’s temper, he was already being remarkably restrained. If it weren’t for Shen Moran, anyone else’s brother might have already been slapped around, or even had their limbs broken.

He came from a Military General Family, and his father and grandfather both had the same explosive temper. His current behavior was, by their standards, quite rare.

While some of the group tried to calm Shen Moran and others tried to placate Yin Kuang, Shen Lang, the very person who had lit the fuse, wasn’t finished.

It was as if he had no idea that everyone there now considered him a complete fool.

He stroked the Fiery Fire Divine Spear and said calmly, "Are you sure you want me to extract the Demon Iron from the Fiery Fire Divine Spear?"

"Xiaolang!" Shen Moran shot him a glare.

"Heh heh heh..." Yin Kuang laughed, his anger so great it turned to mirth. "What’s wrong? Didn’t you say it had Demon Iron in it? Since it’s already ruined, what’s the point of not extracting it? I’m very curious to see if you can really pull Demon Iron out of the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact I’ve used for so many years."

"It’s not ruined." Shen Lang smiled. A burst of Spirit Light erupted from his hands as his ten fingers began to dance across the long spear, their movements a blur to the onlookers.

Finally, he pressed both his thumbs hard into the center of the Fiery Fire Divine Spear!

A brilliant light flashed, and Shen Lang announced cheerfully, "See? Now the Spirit Array Map is destroyed. *This* is what it means to be well and truly ruined!"

The entire area fell silent. Everyone stared in utter disbelief.

’Where did this madman come from? It was bad enough that he claimed a perfectly good Fiery Fire Divine Spear was made of inferior materials. But then he said he’d extract the Demon Iron, and then he went and destroyed the Spirit Array Map inside?’

’He just destroyed a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Fiery Fire Divine Spear, just like that?’

Everyone was dumbfounded...

Lin Yue gasped, and with lightning speed, she snatched her Moon God Sword off the table and put it away.

’She had to! What if that damn kid got his hands on her sword and fiddled with it? Wouldn’t her Spiritual Artifact be ruined too?’

’Damn it, we came here to get our Spiritual Artifacts repaired, not destroyed!’

"Shen Lang!" Yin Kuang bellowed. A powerful momentum erupted from him, causing everyone in the pavilion to pale in shock.

Shui Buyu and Su Jin, who were beside him, immediately grabbed him from either side, holding him back.

’This was Shen Moran’s home. It would look terrible if a fight broke out here.’

"Let me go! Let go of me! I’m going to teach him a lesson!" Yin Kuang roared, struggling with all his might.

BANG! Su Jin slammed a palm into his chest.

Caught off guard, both Yin Kuang and Shui Buyu, who was still holding his arm, fell into the water with a loud SPLASH.

"..." Shen Lang hadn’t expected the quiet Su Jin to be so decisive. He was stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

Shen Moran let out a long sigh. She had no idea how to handle the situation now that it had escalated this far.

’Her brother on one side, her good friends on the other... all of this over a few words...’

The two of them leaped out of the water, landing back in the pavilion looking like drowned rats.

"Su Jin! If you wanted to knock some sense into him, you could have just pushed *him* in! Why’d you have to drag me down with him and make me a drowned rat too?!" Shui Buyu was fuming. He had deliberately been quiet and composed to maintain a dignified air in front of Shen Moran, yet now he was a complete mess!

"Both of you, shut up and listen to me for a second!" Su Jin snapped, her face cold and a domineering aura radiating from her.

Everyone froze. They listened as Su Jin turned to Shen Lang and said, "Xiaolang, you saw through the materials of the Fiery Fire Divine Spear with a single glance, and your method of destroying its Spirit Array Map was so practiced. In that case, can you tell if our Spiritual Artifacts can still be repaired?"

As she spoke, Su Jin actually handed over her own Spiritual Artifact, the Separation Ring.

Zeng Zuimo and Lin Yue were stunned. The sopping-wet Yin Kuang and Shui Buyu were stunned as well...

’What was this about?’

’Did Su Jin really think this kid could repair Third Grade Spiritual Artifacts?’

’You’ve got to be kidding. Even if she was just trying to give Moran face, this was going too far!’

’Hadn’t they heard before coming here that her brother was a good-for-nothing who couldn’t even cultivate?’

’He was only sixteen! Forget repairing a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact, he’d probably never even held one before!’

’What on earth was Su Jin thinking?’

’Humiliating them by pushing them into the lake was one thing, but to actually think this kid could repair a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact? And to hand over her own Spiritual Artifact?’

’Wasn’t she afraid the kid would mess with it and ruin her Separation Ring, too?’

’A sixteen-year-old Spirit Level Third Grade Artifact Refining Master?’

’You might as well just kill us!’

’It was only because he was Moran’s brother. If it had been anyone else, their group wouldn’t have been so polite. They would’ve tossed him into the lake to feed the fish long ago!’

’Let him just stand there unharmed? Not a chance.’

"..." Seeing everyone staring at him wide-eyed, the corner of Shen Lang’s mouth curled into an elegant arc. He gave Su Jin another look.

’This woman didn’t say much, and she couldn’t compare to the other two in looks, but her eyes were incredibly sharp. She’d noticed something was off and had already concluded that I could repair Spiritual Artifacts.’

’It seems people from Jialan Academy truly can’t be underestimated.’

"Xiaolang, can you really repair Spiritual Artifacts? They’re all my good friends. If you really can..." Shen Moran said, a hint of joyful surprise in her eyes.

Shen Lang took the Separation Ring without hesitation and said calmly, "It’s only a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact. Nothing difficult about it. All of you, take out your Spiritual Artifacts. I’ll repair them all in one go. Mom and Dad are waiting for dinner."

"What?!" This time, even Su Jin was stunned, her eyes as wide as saucers as if she’d seen a ghost.

’How was that possible? These were Spiritual Artifacts! For six people, that meant six of them!’

’If he had said he’d take them home and work on them for a month or two, that would have been completely normal.’

’But to say he’d take all of them, fix them, and then go home for dinner...’

’Did he think repairing Spiritual Artifacts was a walk in the park? Something you could finish in a snap?’

’Were my earlier guesses all wrong?’ Su Jin’s fingers trembled slightly.

"Kid, I know you’re Moran’s brother, but I can’t hold my tongue any longer. Do you actually know anything about Artifact Refining or not? If you don’t, then stop spouting nonsense, wasting our time and ruining our mood... And if you do, then I’d just love to see what rank of Artifact Refiner a sixteen-year-old kid like you could possibly be!" Lin Yue said, drawing out her words in a sarcastic, passive-aggressive tone.

Zeng Zuimo sighed softly. "Little brother, you came in here running your mouth, and in my eyes, that’s cost you a lot of points. I don’t even know what to say to you now... Well, we’re not the problem. Just look at the expression on that lout Yin Kuang. He was already in a foul mood, and you just had to stick your nose in. If you can’t repair these Spiritual Artifacts, even if you are Moran’s brother... let me tell you a little secret: that guy has even beaten up a Prince!"