Zhang Xuan's fingers moved swiftly, and his zhenqi moved as swiftly as a gust of wind.
The fluid that had yet to fully condense reverberated in the air, producing a sound reminiscent of the striking of zither keys.
It was as if a symphony had been playing in the room.
If any blacksmiths were here, even those of Yuan Hong's caliber would have been shocked speechless upon seeing this sight.
This was no longer smithing but a dance, a melody that was perfectly harmonized with nature.
The reason why Wu Yangzi's Zither Forging Technique was sought after was because it was in harmony with nature, and it was a beautiful sight to behold. On the other hand, Zhang Xuan's smithing technique was even more profound!
Not only was it visually pleasurable, even one's soul was easily immersed in it.
Heaven's Path Forging Technique!
Hu hu hu!
Soon, the eight metals were completely fused together. With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan tossed the fused metal into the water not too far away.
Tzla!
The water vapor evaporated, and a cloud of dust rose into the air.
The final step of smithing, quenching!
Ordinary smithing consisted of three steps: fusion, tempering, and quenching. At this moment, Zhang Xuan was executing the first and third steps straight away, neglecting the second step.
Once the weapon was properly tempered, its grade would be raised.
While he was unable to form a weapon through this method, it saved him the most time-consuming step of tempering, thus increasing his overall speed.
Hu!
The searing metal was still boiling in the water. With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took it out once more.
Quenching was a technique. Even if the water was the same, the effects would be different depending on the duration of the tempering.
The seven or eight types of ores he was using had different attributes, and the fusion would be even more different. If he did not control the time of tempering well, not only would he not be able to bring out the strongest effect of the various metals, but he would also be dragged into them, and in the end, the effect of the weapon would be greatly lost and destroyed.
"Alright, this should be... the finished product!"
After quenching, Zhang Xuan looked at the metal pancake-like object in his palm and scratched his head in confusion.
If he were to take this object out, even if he didn't become the laughing stock of the other blacksmiths, his reputation would surely be tarnished. However, this was an automatic test, so there was no need for him to worry.
Walking over to the examination area, Zhang Xuan placed the metal disc-like object on it.
There was a specialized examination area in the examination room, and as long as the weapon was of a certain tier, he would be considered to have passed the examination.
Weng!
There was a soft cry, and a red light flashed.
Following which, a mechanical voice sounded, "Using the simplest materials, Smelting Stone, White Steel, and Black Rock... to forge a Phantom low-tier weapon. You have passed the 1-star blacksmith examination!"
"It has reached the Ghost Level Lower Grade? Not bad … "
Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, this was his first time crafting a weapon. He did not expect this disc-like object to be at the Ghost Level Lower Grade.
Weapons were divided into God, Saint, Spirit, Ghost and Mortal.
As long as the weapon he forged was at least at Mortal pinnacle, he would be considered to have cleared the 1-star blacksmith examination. Zhang Xuan had used the Heaven's Path Smithing Art, and even though the weapon he had forged was ugly and devoid of any semblance of a weapon, its tier was still considerably high.
If he could refine the artifact properly, it would be possible for it to reach the Ghost Level Intermediate Grade or even Upper Grade.
"Request for the 2-star blacksmith examination!"
After passing the test, Zhang Xuan did not stop and immediately spoke.
Creak!
His vision darkened, and the sound of gears whirring echoed once more. When he opened his eyes once more, he found himself in another hall.
It was the same as the previous room, but it was wider. The metals and ores placed around it were also of a higher grade and rarer quality.
"Let's continue!"
Walking around the room once more, Zhang Xuan chose more than a dozen metals and ores before walking up to the cauldron. Just like before, he repeated the same process, and not too long later, he forged another 'metal lump'.
This metal lump was even more hideous than the previous one. Its entire body was black, and it didn't look like a weapon at all.
Similarly, it had yet to undergo the second step of tempering.
The purpose of tempering a weapon was to transform the formless metal into the shape of a weapon. For example, if one were to forge a sword, one would forge it into a sword. If one were to forge a dagger, one would forge it into a dagger...
Putting aside the fact that this step required a lot of time, Zhang Xuan had never learned it before. Even if he were to forge a weapon, he wouldn't be able to succeed. Thus, rather than going through so much trouble, he might as well forget about it.
Zhang Xuan placed the metal lump back on the examination table.
Weng!
A bright light flashed, and the voice continued, "... Ghost intermediate-tier, 2-star blacksmith, cleared!"
Having cleared the 2-star blacksmith examination, Zhang Xuan continued with his application.
An hour later.
Taking in a deep breath, Zhang Xuan said, "Apply for the 5-star blacksmith examination!"
After taking four consecutive examinations, even though his zhenqi was extremely dense, his aura was still a little unstable.
Hula!
The mechanism whirred, and an even more spacious room appeared.
"Actually, it's the same room, it's just that it feels a little different..."
After going through so many examinations, Zhang Xuan knew that the room wasn't actually different, it was just that it felt different.
In the first place, the Ocean of Weapons was a virtual environment, so it wasn't too difficult for him to change the environment.
"Graybrilliance Stone, Purplegold Metal, Greenlimestone... The items here are indeed much better than the previous ones..."
Looking at the various ores and metals before him, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but be impressed.
There were quite a few rare ores in the previous four tests, but compared to the one before him, they were nothing at all.
Regardless of whether it was the Graybrilliance Stone or the Purplegold Metal, they were items that even Transcendent Mortal experts would fight over. Using these materials, one would be able to forge a higher tier artifact.
Knowing that even with these ores, the weapon he would be forging would only grow more and more difficult, Zhang Xuan didn't look down on it. Instead, his eyes turned even graver.
In order to clear the 5-star blacksmith examination, one had to first smith a Spirit intermediate-tier weapon. At this level, one couldn't just rely on the quality of the materials to succeed!
On top of that, one had to possess great control over smithing as well as a deep understanding of quenching. Otherwise, the slightest mistake could result in the destruction of countless materials.
Hu hu hu!
Zhang Xuan's fingers moved swiftly as he fused the various materials in his hands one by one.
He infused his zhenqi into the cauldron to control its temperature.
In order to take the 5-star blacksmith examination, one had to smith a Spirit intermediate-tier weapon.
This required a huge number of materials, and every single one of them had to be smelted at a different temperature. As such, one had to maintain a tight control over the cauldron at all times.
After an unknown period of time, just as Zhang Xuan's zhenqi was about to run dry, he finally finished fusing the final ore.
"Time to temper!"
Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan tossed the metal disc-like object into the water.
Tzzlala!
Shrouded in mist, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight. Once the tempering was complete, he hurriedly took it out.
Through the past half a day of smithing, Zhang Xuan had managed to gather some experience. Through the Eye of Insight, he would be able to better control the tempering process and forge a higher tier weapon.
"Test!"
Zhang Xuan tossed the metal disc-like object onto the cauldron once more.
Weng!
The mechanical voice sounded once more, "Spirit intermediate-tier pinnacle, 5-star blacksmith, pass …"
"I passed!"
Hearing that he had succeeded, Zhang Xuan's body staggered. Unable to withstand the heat anymore, he collapsed onto the floor.
Even though he hadn't tempered the weapon, controlling the flames with his zhenqi was still a huge drain on his zhenqi. At this point, his zhenqi was almost completely depleted.
It was fortunate that he had succeeded.
"Time to recover my stamina!"
Sitting on the floor, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out the high-tier spirit stone.
This was the first time he had used it ever since he had obtained it.
As soon as he opened the jade box, Zhang Xuan immediately felt a surge of extremely pure spiritual energy piercing his skin.
For those with lower cultivation, it was impossible for them to assimilate such pure spiritual energy. Even if they were to absorb it, it would flow out through the gaps in their meridians.
In truth, the meridians of a human body were no different from sand. There were innumerable tiny cracks and holes in them. Even when muddy mud flowed through, it wouldn't be able to penetrate through them. On the other hand, when clear water flowed through these cracks, it would be wasted.
Such was the case with the spiritual energy in high-tier spirit stones.
Due to the purity of the spiritual energy, it was too thin for the meridians to withstand. Even if an ordinary cultivator were to use it, it would be a complete waste.
Only after reaching Transcendent Mortal 9-dan Chrysalis realm would one's zhenqi, stamina, and soul be sealed up like a cocoon, forming a Seamless Body. Only then would one be able to absorb the spiritual energy within high-tier spirit stones and attempt to reach higher realms.
Zhang Xuan was only at Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle, three realms away from Chrysalis realm. Logically speaking, even if he had a high-tier spirit stone, he shouldn't have been able to use it. However, as a cultivator of the Heaven's Path Divine Art, his zhenqi was extremely pure, and his body had already been tempered to the point where it felt as though it was forged from gold.
On top of that, having reached the Second Incandescence of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, even though the spiritual energy in high-tier spirit stones was thin, it was still able to flow through his body.
Gugugugu!
Under the effects of the Heaven's Path Divine Art, the pure zhenqi swiftly condensed into zhenqi and flowed through his meridians before flowing into his dantian.
His shriveled dantian was immediately filled to the brim, and it swiftly recovered.
Roughly two tea's time later, Zhang Xuan's depleted zhenqi had fully recovered.
"As expected of a high-tier spirit stone, it sure is fast!"
Delighted, Zhang Xuan stood up.
Had it been a middle-tier spirit stone or a Spirit Gathering Formation, it would have taken at least several hours for him to fully recover his zhenqi. On the other hand, a high-tier spirit stone coupled with the Heaven's Path Divine Art only required two tea's time. In terms of efficiency, it was already comparable to some spirit pills that could recover one's stamina.
"There's still an hour left!"
Keeping the high-tier spirit stone, Zhang Xuan calculated the time he had left, and his face lit up in delight.
There was still an hour left. Would it be possible for him to take the 6-star blacksmith examination?
Even though his cultivation was still lacking, his understanding of smithing and his grasp of smithing were far superior to most 6-star pinnacle blacksmiths. Perhaps, he might just be able to clear the examination on the first try, and he wouldn't have to waste his Academic Credits later on.
Even though he had just arrived at the academy, he had seen that it was extremely difficult to earn Academic Credits. As such, it was best for him to save as much as he could.
"The 6-star blacksmith examination is already a step beyond my cultivation, so there's no way I can skip the tempering of the weapon core …"
Previously, due to his high cultivation and smithing rank, even if he were to skip the tempering of the weapon core, he would still be able to pass the 6-star blacksmith examination. However, it was impossible for him to take the 6-star blacksmith examination.
He had to find a way to make the weapon core more refined, but … he had never tempered a weapon core before. Would he be able to make it in time?
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