The disheveled old man consoled, "That's just a small mistake. Just be more careful in the future. Don't be discouraged."
Su Zimo nodded.
No matter the outcome, his trip today was not in vain.
Although the forging step seemed simple, there were many considerations in terms of the shape of the spirit weapon – one had to maximize the power of the weapon.
Fourth step, tempering.
The forged flying sword hovered in the Weapon Tripod and Su Zimo released his Level 3 Spirit Fire once more to heat it up.
For this step, the temperature had to be controlled well.
It couldn't be too high or the flying sword would melt easily.
It couldn't be too low either or it wouldn't be able to achieve the effect of tempering or sharpening.
It was best to burn the spirit weapon to a scarlet and transparent state.
For the past month, Su Zimo had failed countless times in the tempering step alone.
A moment later, the flying sword gradually turned red in the Weapon Tripod. Under the continuous roasting of the flames, the sword shone with a crystalline red glow.
Su Zimo controlled the flying sword and placed it at the bottom of the tripod. Conjuring a hammer with spirit qi, he began hammering on it.
Clanging sounds rang out continuously.
After tempering, not only could more impurities be removed, the sword would also become tougher.
Among the six steps of weapon refinement, this step required the most skill and every Weapon Refinement Master had a different tempering technique.
Su Zimo merely hammered on the sword bit by bit with brute force.
The disheveled old man frowned. Su Zimo's tempering technique was way too crude and was no different from the blacksmithing of the mortal world.
At the same time, Feng Haoyu began tempering the flying sword as well.
Unlike Su Zimo, Feng Haoyu's tempering technique was much more brilliant.
Feng Haoyu had a wind spirit root and could conjure a wind hammer. As he hammered on the flying sword, he infused a trace of wind spirit qi into it. As such, the refined flying sword would be more agile and faster.
As he hammered, the edge of the sword was gradually revealed.
Feng Haoyu's tempering technique was clearly very proficient and his speed was even faster – he was already catching up to Su Zimo.
After an incense stick's time, Su Zimo heaved a long sigh of relief.
Tempering complete!
If he wanted to forge a pseudo-spiritual weapon, he could directly put the red-hot flying sword into cold water and quench it.
However, Su Zimo's heart skipped a beat.
Since the flying sword had a hilt, it wasn't perfect to begin with. Why not try Spirit Gathering?
In the past month, Su Zimo had already destroyed dozens of flying swords in the Spirit Gathering step. None of them had been successful.
According to some of the inner disciples who taught about smithing, there was no technique involved in Spirit Gathering. It was more like trying one's luck. If one was lucky, one would succeed in Spirit Gathering.
Of course, this was under the premise that the first four steps were not too big of a problem.
After the tempering, Su Zimo did not move the flying sword out of the Weapon Tripod. Instead, he stared at the spirit energy within the tripod with bright eyes.
"Could it be that he wants to gather spirit?"
"If the Spirit Gathering succeeds, it will be incredible."
"Hmph, he's only been in the art of refining for a month and he's already dreaming of gathering spirit energy. I think he doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"
A series of discussions broke out around him. Some were shocked while some were mocking.
Su Zimo tossed aside all distracting thoughts and calmed down. This was a step that required the full concentration of a Weapon Refinement Master without any distractions!
Taking a deep breath of air, Su Zimo controlled the spirit energy within the tripod and slowly channeled it towards the scarlet flying sword.
Under the constant pressure, a faint pattern appeared on the sword. It was faint and barely visible, as it had yet to truly take shape.
"Look, a spirit pattern!"
"It's really a spirit pattern but it's not formed yet."
"Could he really be able to create an inferior-grade flying sword?"
At that moment, Feng Haoyu had just finished his tempering as well. When he heard the discussions in the crowd, his heart sank as he glanced sideways at Su Zimo.
If Su Zimo was truly able to create an inferior-grade spirit weapon, he could only take a gamble and attempt Spirit Gathering.
However, Feng Haoyu was not confident. Spirit Gathering was way too difficult and he had never succeeded before.
The disheveled old man narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at the flying sword within the tripod. His palms were sweating – he was even more nervous than Su Zimo.
Piak!
Right then, a crisp sound echoed from Su Zimo's Weapon Tripod.
It's over!
Su Zimo knew that things were bad.
Immediately after, the flying sword exploded with a bang and the shards struck the Weapon Tripod with a loud bang.
He had failed.
That was to be expected.
Su Zimo shook his head gently and laughed in a self-deprecating manner.
The disheveled old man sighed gently.
Xue Yi looked regretful at the side as well.
When Feng Haoyu saw that, he was finally relieved.
Even though Su Zimo's flying sword had exploded, Feng Haoyu did not intend to attempt Spirit Gathering. Instead, he took out the pseudo spirit weapon from the tripod and placed it in cold water.
Sizzle.
A thick white smoke rose from the basin.
The flying sword was successfully refined and revealed a chilling aura that was extremely sharp!
Feng Haoyu placed the flying sword on the table in front of him and waited for the final evaluation.
Su Zimo had just put away the Weapon Tripod when he heard a voice in the hall.
"In the six steps of Weapon Refinement, the grade of Spirit Fire isn't the only thing. Don't think that you can become a Weapon Refinement Master just because you've cultivated a Level 3 Spirit Fire."
Su Zimo turned towards the voice and met with Feng Haoyu's cold and provocative gaze.
Feng Haoyu said with a fake smile, "Junior Brother Su, you have to walk the path step by step with your feet on the ground. If you run without knowing how to walk, it's easy to fall. "
Su Zimo furrowed his brows slightly.
The two of them had only met a few times and had never spoken to each other. Even though they did not have any grudges, for some reason, Feng Haoyu was extremely hostile towards him!
Especially today.
"That's right. Well said, Junior Brother Feng."
"Fufu, you're getting cocky just because you've cultivated a Level 3 Spirit Fire. That's called overestimating yourself!"
The people who spoke were not from Weapon Peak, but disciples of Spirit Peak who were here for the test. Naturally, they would not miss the opportunity to suppress Su Zimo and get into Feng Haoyu's good books.
"Cut the sarcasm. Go back and cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire first!" Xue Yi could not help but stand out and scoff coldly.
Many disciples of Spirit Peak were speechless as their expressions turned terrible.
No matter what, even if Su Zimo failed in spirit gathering, it was a fact that he had cultivated a Level 3 Spirit Fire and no one in the five peaks could compare to him!
Feng Haoyu continued, "Junior Brother Su, don't take this failure to heart. There's still the five peaks face-off at the end of the year. I hope that you'll be able to defeat me by then."
Su Zimo looked at Feng Haoyu indifferently without replying.
The disheveled old man watched everything from the side without saying anything. As a senior of the sect, he naturally would not interfere in a quarrel between disciples.
After a while, the disciple in charge of the test declared, "Even though all of you have refined pseudo spirit weapons, the flying swords refined by Feng Haoyu of Spirit Peak are of better quality and faster. Therefore, the number one of the end of the month test is Feng Haoyu."
Many disciples of Spirit Peak cheered.
Feng Haoyu smiled gently and swept his gaze across Su Zimo before turning to the disheveled old man. Bowing slightly, he said, "Peak master, please bring me to the images left behind by the seniors of the sect."
"Yes."
The disheveled old man nodded expressionlessly. "You're number one, of course you're qualified."
With that said, the disheveled old man tugged at Su Zimo's arm and said casually, "Let's go, lad. You can go take a look as well."
Su Zimo froze for a moment.
Frowning, Feng Haoyu said in a deep voice, "Su Zimo failed in his weapon refinement and is not even ranked in the end of the month test. He's not qualified to watch the images at all. Isn't this inappropriate, peak master?"
"Indeed, it's inappropriate."
The disheveled old man nodded in a serious manner before smirking. "But, I'm happy to."
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