21: Chapter 21: Using the worst materials to forge the most powerful mystic weapon.

"Elder, Senior Brother Duan, morning." Zhao Ruoan cupped his hands.

"Morning... Morning, Uncle-Master Zhao." Elder Fu Gao's voice was dry.

He looked Zhao Ruoan up and down.

Unseen for a single night, not only did this kid not have the slightest bit of fatigue, but instead he was radiant, and his Qi was restrained yet lingering.

This state was not right.

Elder Fu Gao's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked, "Uncle-Master, your Qi... Could it be?"

Zhao Ruoan smiled gently, "Last night, I had a sudden epiphany and managed a lucky Breakthrough."

Elder Fu Gao only felt a boom in his mind.

You call this lucky?

From the Body Refining Realm to the Spirit Gathering Realm, how many Cultivators needed to enter seclusion for months, or even years, and expend countless Medicinal Pills and resources just to cross this threshold.

You refined artifacts here for two days, went back to sleep, and made a Breakthrough with a "sudden epiphany"?

Duan He, standing to the side, was completely numb, lacking even the strength to complain.

Right at this moment, a burst of footsteps came from outside the courtyard door.

"Elder Fu Gao, we are here!"

The people had not arrived yet, but their voices arrived first.

Duan He looked up, and his calves went soft on the spot.

There was more than one person coming; the leader was a slightly plump, kind-faced middle-aged man, who was precisely Hall Master Liu Xi of the Tianhuo Peak Weapon Crafting Hall.

Following closely behind him were the two most senior Elders of the Weapon Crafting Hall, Bai Ming and Lu Xing.

If these three stomped their feet, the entire Artifact Refining circle of Tianhuo Peak would tremble three times.

Elder Fu Gao hurriedly went up to greet them, "Hall Master Liu, Elder Bai, Elder Lu, thank you three for your great presence, I have failed to welcome you from afar."

Hall Master Liu Xi waved his hand with a chuckle and got straight to the point, "Elder Fu, you sent a message last night saying you discovered a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius in Artifact Refining. We old fellows were extremely curious, which is why we came uninvited, wanting to witness it with our own eyes."

Although his words were polite, the meaning between his words was very clear.

We are here to inspect the goods, you better not be exaggerating your bragging.

Elder Bai Ming had a more straightforward temperament and directly said, "Entering the path in three days and refining a Medium Grade Profound Weapon, this matter is too preposterous; this old man has practiced Artifact Refining for three hundred years and has never heard of such a thing."

Elder Lu Xing also nodded, "Hearing is deceiving, seeing is believing."

The attitude of the three was very clear: they did not believe it.

Elder Fu Gao was not angry; instead, he confidently turned sideways and pointed at Zhao Ruoan.

"Three, this is the one I mentioned to you, Zhao Ruoan of Qinghan Peak, Uncle-Master Zhao."

He introduced to Zhao Ruoan again, "Uncle-Master, these three are the Hall Master and Elders of the Tianhuo Peak Weapon Crafting Hall."

Zhao Ruoan greeted them one by one, neither servile nor overbearing.

Hall Master Liu Xi and the other two looked over Zhao Ruoan, seeing that he was so young, their internal suspicion increased by another three parts.

Elder Fu Gao saw through their thoughts and didn't explain much, merely throwing out a blockbuster piece of news.

"Right, I forgot to tell the three of you one thing."

"Uncle-Master Zhao successfully achieved a Breakthrough just last night and is now a Cultivator in the Spirit Gathering Realm."

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Hall Master Liu Xi's face froze.

Elder Bai Ming and Elder Lu Xing looked at each other, both seeing shock in each other's reaction.

The day before yesterday, he was still in the Body Refining Realm.

Today he is already in the Spirit Gathering Realm?

Was this simply joking?

Hall Master Liu Xi solemnly cupped his hands toward Zhao Ruoan, "Uncle-Master Zhao, I wonder if it is convenient to let us observe your Artifact Refining process once?"

"Naturally, it is fine; it just so happens that this Disciple also wants to familiarize myself with the feel again." Zhao Ruoan readily agreed.

The crowd entered the Artifact Refining Room.

Zhao Ruoan was not stage-frightened either, walking straight to the front of the Artifact Refining furnace.

This time, he did not use those rare Materials again, but instead casually picked a few from the pile of basic Ores prepared by Duan He.

They were all the most common first-tier spirit Ores.

"What is Uncle-Master Zhao trying to..." Hall Master Liu Xi was somewhat puzzled.

Elder Fu Gao lowered his voice, with undisguisable pride in his tone, "Just watch."

Zhao Ruoan drove his spiritual power, and the furnace fire surged.

Different from the previous two times, this time, the spiritual power within his body was a stream, no longer a water pipe.

Majestic spiritual power was poured into the Artifact Refining furnace, and the temperature and stability of the furnace fire reached a brand-new height.

Throwing in the Ores.

Smelting.

Purification.

Throughout the entire process, the Impurities within the Ores were precisely separated, transforming into blue smoke and dissipating.

Clusters of pure spiritual liquid suspended within the furnace, emitting a soft halo.

The breathing of Hall Master Liu Xi and the others unconsciously stagnated.

They were all experts; just looking at this purification technique and the quality of the spiritual liquid, they knew Zhao Ruoan's level.

Perfect!

Perfection without a single flaw to be found!

Next was the Fusion.

Zhao Ruoan's Divine Thought moved slightly, and several clusters of spiritual liquid with different attributes began to rotate and intersect according to a specific trajectory.

Without the slightest repulsion or conflict, they were like long-lost brothers, naturally embracing together.

Elder Bai Ming's hands had already begun to tremble.

He asked himself that even with the same Materials, he could not achieve it so smoothly and so perfectly.

How could this be a beginner?

This was clearly the level of control only possessed by a generation's Grandmaster!

Fusion complete, it reached the most crucial stage of weapon condensation and shaping.

Everyone thought Zhao Ruoan would shape it into the prototype of a weapon just like before.

But Zhao Ruoan's actions caused all the Artifact Refining Great Masters present to collectively gasp in a breath of cold air.

He did not rush to let the spiritual liquid solidify.

Instead, using Divine Thought as a brush and spiritual power as ink, he began to outline upon that semi-solid cluster of spiritual liquid.

"Condensing weapons and carving runes!"

Hall Master Liu Xi let out a low cry in disbelief, hurriedly covering his mouth with his hand for fear of disturbing Zhao Ruoan.

This was one of the highest-tier techniques in the art of Artifact Refining!

At the instant the item formed, runes were engraved into it, allowing the runes and the item itself to fuse perfectly into an organic whole.

This technique demanded the absolute extreme in grasping the timing and controlling spiritual power.

With the slightest carelessness, the internal structure of the spiritual liquid would collapse, and the entire furnace of Materials would be instantly ruined.

Among the people present, aside from Elder Fu Gao occasionally succeeding once or twice, the others did not even have the qualification to try.

Yet now, a youth who had been in contact with Artifact Refining for less than five days was calm and collectedly displaying this divine skill right in front of them.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at Zhao Ruoan's actions.

They saw complex patterns emerge one after another upon the spiritual liquid, eventually forming a complete "Glacial" rune.

The instant the rune formed, Zhao Ruoan's Divine Thought pressed down.

"Hum—"

The spiritual liquid completely solidified, transforming into an antique longsword. On the sword body, blue runes flickered with a faint light, and a chilling aura instantly permeated the entire Artifact Refining Room.

The longsword fell, steadily inserting into the slot.

It was done.

The entire Artifact Refining Room was pin-drop silent.

For a long time, Hall Master Liu Xi trembled as he stepped forward, carefully picking up that longsword.

As the sword body entered his hand, a cold spiritual power traveled up his arm, causing his spirits to lift.

He carefully discerned the patterns and aura on the sword body, and the expression on his face went from shock to wild joy, finally turning completely blank.

"High Grade Profound Weapon... No, wrong! This spiritual power amplification, this rune compatibility... This is Top Grade! It is a Top Grade High Grade Profound Weapon infinitely close to a Magical Artifact!"