Free Web NovelChapter 52: Chapter 47: Into Water, Into Fire
The few people in the pavilion began to criticize Shen Lang one after another, their words filled with dissatisfaction.
Although Shen Moran trusted her younger brother, this matter was simply too shocking. She couldn’t make up her mind, and her brow furrowed even deeper...
In her view, it was possible that Shen Lang, unable to cultivate Martial Arts, had secretly turned to the Artifact Refining Dao instead.
But repairing a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact was something only a Spirit Level Third Grade Artifact Refining Master could do.
Mo Liusheng, the Dean of the Artifact Refining Institute at Tayun Academy, was only a Spirit Level Fourth Grade Artifact Refining Master.
And how old was Shen Lang?
Trust was one thing, but the claim had to be reasonable.
If even Shen Moran wasn’t sure, it went without saying for the others.
Su Jin, however, was different. She only trusted what she saw, trusted her own judgment and speculation... although she, too, felt a little anxious.
’This young man... from the very beginning, his eyes gave off a very special feeling. It was as if nothing in the world could stump him—so calm, so composed...’
’Even when Yin Kuang was furious, his gaze remained just as calm, almost frighteningly so. And when he destroyed the Spirit Array Map within Yin Kuang’s Fiery Fire Divine Spear, his technique was undeniable. Such a fast, skilled, and even somewhat graceful method was definitely not something an amateur could pull off!’
Seeing their distrustful expressions, Shen Lang just smiled and shook his head. Without explaining, he directly took out a Furnace Cauldron from his Sumeru Ring and said, "Since you want your Spiritual Artifacts repaired, you must have brought some of the corresponding materials, right? Give them to me. Also, give me some Spirit Stones. I need to set up an Array... Seriously, isn’t anyone hungry this late? Don’t you want to go eat?"
"Oh, oh, yes, yes... We all brought some materials..." Su Jin was the first to react.
’There’s no mistake. He even carries a Furnace Cauldron with him. Who but an Artifact Refiner would do something like that?’
Su Jin nudged the dazed Yin Kuang with her elbow and gestured with her eyes. The others finally came to their senses and reluctantly began to take out their materials.
Only Shen Moran, her face slightly flushed, didn’t move.
Seeing this, Shen Lang’s heart ached. He didn’t even have to ask to know that his sister must not have any materials.
Back home, she had always been frugal, giving any Spirit Stones she had to Shen Lang. She never believed he was useless trash incapable of Cultivation. It was clearly the same at Jialan Academy; she saved wherever she could, then brought back any money she earned through various means to support the family...
"Sis, give me your Spiritual Artifact. I’ll repair yours first. I have some materials here, it’s more than enough."
Without waiting for a reply, he took the Longsword from Shen Moran’s hands.
Shen Lang really wanted to tell her that he would never be short on money again, but he didn’t know how to bring it up.
In fact, in this world, there were absolutely no poor Artifact Refiners or Alchemists.
They were sought after and courted by all sorts of powers; there was no way they could ever be short on Spirit Stones.
Let alone a freakishly talented guy like Shen Lang.
He had already been planning to forge a few powerful Profound Artifacts and concoct some Elixir Pills to make money, he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
The other day, a single bottle of Giant Potion he had casually concocted was said by Uncle Zhou to be worth at least a million Gold Coins. A million Gold Coins was equivalent to a thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones, which was no small sum in Celestial Phoenix City.
For some smaller families, after a hard year of running businesses like restaurants, earning five or six hundred thousand Gold Coins would be considered a good year.
Holding the Longsword, Shen Lang channeled a stream of Spiritual Power into it.
A burst of aqua-blue light erupted, but it vanished without a trace just as quickly.
This was a First Grade Spiritual Artifact, a full two Levels lower than the others’ Third Grade Spiritual Artifacts.
With a great CLATTER, Shen Lang dumped the materials from his Sumeru Ring, startling Shen Moran and the others.
Although the materials weren’t particularly rare, the quantity was certainly a bit much...
Shen Lang frowned as he looked at the materials, feeling a little frustrated.
Relying on these materials alone, it wouldn’t be a problem to successfully repair his sister’s First Grade Spiritual Artifact.
But his real goal wasn’t to repair the Longsword. He wanted to reforge it completely and turn the Spiritual Artifact directly into a Profound Artifact.
And these materials didn’t even come close to meeting the standards for a Profound Artifact!
’Even the most skilled craftsman can’t make bricks without straw.’ Without good materials, even the best Spirit Array Map was useless.
He was able to upgrade Mo Liusheng’s Spiritual Artifact into a Profound Artifact back at the Artifact Refining Institute because Mo Liusheng’s materials were extremely rare in themselves, just barely good enough to be forged into a Profound Artifact.
But now, without good materials, even if he knew a more advanced Spirit Array Map, he could only sigh in resignation.
"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"
Su Jin couldn’t help but ask when she saw him staring blankly at Shen Moran’s Longsword.
Shen Lang’s eyes shot up, and his gaze fell upon the materials in the others’ hands. His eyes instantly lit up! freēwēbηovel.c૦m
’That’s right, the materials these guys have aren’t bad at all! Look at what that bastard Yin Kuang has—it’s actually Deep Sea Profound Iron! If I just pool their materials together and refine them with a Secret Technique, it’ll be enough to forge a Profound Artifact!’
Having made up his mind, Shen Lang grinned at Su Jin and the others. "I’m really sorry, but I might not be able to repair your Spiritual Artifacts today..."
"What the fuck! Are you messing with us?!" Yin Kuang, who had been watching him with suspicion, flew into a rage. He could no longer hold back and reached out a large hand to grab Shen Lang by the collar!
"Yin Kuang, don’t be reckless!" Su Jin cried out in alarm.
But it was too late. Yin Kuang’s hand was already at Shen Lang’s chest, about to grab him.
Just then, Shen Lang’s right hand shot out, and two fingers jabbed like lightning into the palm of Yin Kuang’s hand!
A flash of electricity sparked. Dozens of crisscrossing bolts of lightning immediately shot out from Yin Kuang’s right hand and spread across his entire body, locking him in place.
The careless Yin Kuang only felt a tyrannical wave of Thunder Power instantly blast into his body, numbing his entire arm!
Before he could react, Shen Lang pulled his hand, causing him to stumble. Then, Shen Lang lightly slapped Yin Kuang’s right shoulder with his right hand, spinning him around on the spot before giving him a gentle push...
Yin Kuang, his body still numb and unable to react, flew into the air and, with a very stylish pose, landed back in the lake with a SPLASH!
"..." Everyone was completely dumbfounded.
What just happened? Yin Kuang, a cultivator at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, was just casually thrown into the lake like that?
And by Shen Lang, the one who was supposedly useless trash?
Even if Yin Kuang had underestimated him and been careless, it shouldn’t have ended so tragically, right?
Now things had really escalated...
When Su Jin had pushed him into the water, it was because of their special relationship; they had grown up playing together, so Yin Kuang wouldn’t hold a grudge.
But Yin Kuang was already very displeased with Shen Lang. To be thrown into the lake again, in front of so many people...
"Sigh. I don’t get it. Usually, people beg an Artifact Refiner to work for them. But now, here I am, practically begging you to let me repair your Spiritual Artifacts, only to be criticized for half the day. What kind of world is this?"
"Forget it. I’m not in the mood anymore. I’ll just repair my sister’s Spiritual Artifact first. You’d better not come begging me later," Shen Lang said with a sigh.
He took out a few Spirit Stones, set up the Array, and added, "I’m borrowing your materials to help my sister reforge this Spiritual Artifact into a Profound Artifact. Just stand here and watch. See for yourselves if I have the ability. Anything else is a waste of breath."
"A Profound Artifact? Forging a First Grade Spiritual Artifact into a Profound Artifact?" Everyone was in a state of shock.
For someone of Shen Lang’s age and status, just claiming to be able to repair Spiritual Artifacts was shocking enough. How did he suddenly make such a huge leap to talking about Profound Artifacts?
This kid was going to give someone a heart attack!
At this point, Shen Lang was completely focused on forging the Profound Artifact for his sister, paying no mind to anything else.
He activated the Array and began to calcine the various materials. Every step was flawless, every Spell was executed with incredible precision, and every technique was natural to the extreme.
He was like an artist creating his masterpiece.
The raging fire from the Array illuminated everyone’s faces as they watched with turbulent emotions.
No one spoke. Even Yin Kuang, who had just climbed out of the water, furious and ready to fight, was stunned, forgetting what he was about to do.
Although these people weren’t Artifact Refiners, they had all learned the basics of Artifact Refining at Jialan Academy.
And now, with a single look, they could see the tell-tale signs of his expertise.
’If Shen Lang can really forge a Profound Artifact... Oh heavens, thank goodness I’ve always supported him, and I’m the closest with Moran...’ A hint of joy appeared on Su Jin’s face. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
A look of relief washed over Shui Buyu’s face. ’Damn it, looks like there are benefits to acting cool after all. When you’re busy posturing, you talk less—and the less you say, the better! Because I was so focused on maintaining my image in front of Moran, I didn’t get a chance to bad-mouth Shen Lang. If I had, I would have spewed all my real thoughts, and what would Moran think of me then?’
’Would he be willing to repair my Spiritual Artifact? No, no, who said anything about repairing? I want him to raise my Lifebound Spiritual Artifact by a level or two! When that happens... Wahaha!’
Zeng Zuimo and Lin Yue’s faces fell. They had been the most vocal in their criticism of Shen Lang earlier.
Their feelings were now incredibly complicated. On one hand, they hoped Shen Lang couldn’t actually forge a Profound Artifact; on the other, they desperately wished he could...
But looking at Shen Lang now, the possibility of him succeeding seemed much higher...
Offending an Artifact Refining Master like this was no joke.
Never mind him being unhappy and refusing to repair their Spiritual Artifacts, in the future, they probably...
You had to understand, an Artifact Refining Master of this caliber was the kind of talent that major powers would fight crazily to recruit!
Even at Jialan Academy, he would be a dominant and renowned figure!
"This step requires the use of Pill Fire. I wonder if any of you would be willing to assist my Artifact Refining with your Pill Fire?" Shen Lang asked, his hands never stopping as he spoke with elegance and composure.
"Brother, let me! My cultivation is the highest here..." Shui Buyu was quick to offer, but before he could finish, a gust of wind hit him from behind. He felt his collar being grabbed, and then a powerful force yanked him. Before he could even react, he was already flying backward and falling into the lake!
It was Yin Kuang, who had been hiding in the back, who attacked and threw him out...
Poor Shui Buyu, who had just claimed to have the highest cultivation. He had wanted to show his support for Shen Moran’s brother in front of her, but before he could even make a move, he was treacherously attacked.
"Yin Kuang! You and I are finished!" Shui Buyu roared in fury. He slapped the surface of the water and flew back up.
It was no wonder he was so enraged. Thanks to Yin Kuang, he had fallen into the water twice, which was just too embarrassing and humiliating.
And of all things, it had to happen in front of Moran!
In the past, just facing that freak Chu Qingcheng was already stressful enough.
Now, to be turned into a drowned rat in the same spot twice... this was absolutely intolerable!
"Um... ah... how about I do it, Brother Lang? Whatever you say, I’ll do! I’ll go through fire and water for you! I’ll climb a mountain of knives and jump into a cauldron of boiling oil—I won’t even flinch!"
Yin Kuang completely ignored Shui Buyu and said to Shen Lang with a shameless grin.
The guy was pretty smart, changing his tune in a heartbeat when the situation turned. An unknowing observer might have thought he wasn’t the one Shen Lang had just thrown into the lake!
Shen Lang frowned slightly and said, "The path you follow in your Cultivation is too aggressive and domineering. It’s not suitable for refining a Water Element Profound Artifact... You don’t need to jump into a cauldron of oil, but the water part is fine—why don’t you get back in the water. I’d be grateful if you just didn’t interfere."
Yin Kuang was dumbfounded...
He had rarely met anyone at Jialan Academy who dared to speak to him like that!
