120: Let's get started

“Haha, I also went through a similar journey, so of course I understand! However, while you can keep this Xuan Gun, for certification purposes, I need to take a basic image of its appearance. You don't mind, do you?” He Hao stroked his beard and chuckled.

“Of course not! Senior, please feel free!” Long Yuan nodded.

He Hao gave Qi Da a look, and Qi Da quickly came over to take an image of the handgun's appearance. As for its internal structure, he didn't record it, as it involved an Artifact Refiner's secret, which generally wouldn't be made public unless Long Yuan later applied for a patent and then disclosed it, in which case it wouldn't matter.

However, when Qi Da thought about having the entire process of Long Yuan refining this Xuan Gun in the Guild, he felt delighted. He decided that he must carefully study Long Yuan's Artifact Refining techniques again. It would be even better if he could also refine such an exquisite and powerful Xuan Gun.

Next, He Hao personally crafted the Refiners Guild certification, and also gave Long Yuan a Two-Star Weapon Refiner badge made of xuan steel, a set of Guild robes, and a set of work robes for Artifact Refining. He also had Long Yuan take a photo wearing the Guild robes, saying it would be made into a large portrait to be hung in the Guild, as this was the honor of every certified Artifact Refiner!

Not only that, as a Guild-certified Artifact Refiner, one could receive a monthly subsidy from the Guild. A Two-Star Weapon Refiner received one Medium Grade xuan stone, which was equivalent to one hundred low-grade xuan stone, or ten thousand taels of silver. For ordinary people, this was undoubtedly a huge sum!

For Long Yuan, although the subsidy was small, the advantage was that it came every month, and over the long term, it might be a pleasant surprise.

However, after receiving this subsidy, if the Guild ever needed support, the Artifact Refiner also had to come and represent the Guild. This was a form of value exchange. Additionally, if an Artifact Refiner had works to auction, besides finding large professional auction houses, they could also ask the Guild to handle it, which was beneficial to both parties.

After registering his bank account, Long Yuan left, carrying a large bag. Inside the bag was the second-order Green Wind Wolf…

After personally seeing Long Yuan off, He Hao couldn't help but sigh to Qi Da: “I never imagined that our Fengyang Refiners Guild would gain a Two-Star Weapon Refiner today, and a 16-year-old boy at that. Even I never expected it!”

Qi Da nodded with deep emotion and sighed: “Having a background truly makes a difference. I remember when I was young, I was also full of talent and ambition, but due to lack of resource support, I wasted years, only becoming a Two-Star Weapon Refiner at forty-five. I really can't compare to wealthy children like Long Yuan, I really can't!”

“Brother Qi, there's no problem at all for his Xuan Gun to be rated as a Three-Star Artifact Refiner! Four-star is also possible!!!” He Hao snorted.

Qi Da was stunned upon hearing this, speechless! He had just attributed his backwardness mainly to his Family background, but after He Hao's reminder, he suddenly realized that even if he had the full support of his Family's abundant resources, he couldn't possibly refine a Xuan Gun capable of meeting the standards of a Three-Star or Four-Star Artifact Refiner at the age of 16. So, in the end, this should still be a matter of talent. Without talent, even with sufficient resources, one cannot ascend to the heavens or descend into the earth. It seemed he had still succumbed to the precepts of delusion and ignorance. If he was incompetent, he should just admit it; why compare himself to Long Yuan? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

“Grandpa, he's also an Elementary student at Fengyang No. 1 High School, and he's my Junior Brother!”

He Sui watched all of this, feeling like she was dreaming. To think she initially wanted to drive Long Yuan away; now, she just wanted to slap herself a few times to wake up…

She also realized now, how powerful must that Xuan Gun be to be able to kill that Green Wind Wolf with one shot?

That was a second-order Early Phase Green Wind Wolf with innate beast skills!

Its level was equivalent to a human Martial Artist - Late Stage or even Warrior Stage - Early Phase. Its skull was as hard as steel, its speed like wind, and it possessed extremely powerful innate beast skills. In terms of strength, even a Martial Master like Qi Da would need to go all out to deal with it. Yet, such a fierce beast was headshotted by Long Yuan with one shot!

It could be said that this involved both the power of the Xuan Gun itself and Long Yuan's superb gunmanship. Such a person was definitely not just a simple Artifact Refiner!

A 16-year-old boy, using the Xuan Gun in his hand, could take down a second-order Green Wind Wolf. Such a feat was nothing short of a miracle!

“Grandpa, do I need to spread the news that Long Yuan killed a second-order Green Wind Wolf with one shot?” He Sui asked.

“Absolutely not! This news must be kept secret, understand?” He Hao said sternly.

“But why?” He Sui asked, puzzled.

“Hmph, his ability to do this is likely related to his Mental Energy talent. If we spread the word about his achievement, it will definitely bring him enormous trouble! Have you forgotten what happened to Ye He from Fengyang No. 1 High School last time?” He Hao said.

“This… I understand! But, that shot of his was really cool! I really wish I had a gun like that…”

“You can just dream about it. Grandpa, I offered a high price of five High Grade xuan stones and still couldn't get it!” He Hao sighed. In fact, according to the Guild's standards, the maximum purchase price would be three High Grade xuan stones. He Hao had added two more himself, but still couldn't buy that Xuan Gun from Long Yuan, which left He Hao quite regretful…

Qi Da said from the side: “Come on, let's go back and watch that kid's Artifact Refining process!”

“Oh, right!” He Hao's eyes lit up, and he quickly hurried to the monitoring room with Qi Da…

Long Yuan successfully obtained the Two-Star Weapon Refiner certification, and his mood was quite pleasant. Now that he had almost all the necessary hardware and software for Artifact Refining, he could consider starting the hot weapon factory!

The main reason he refused to sell the Xuan Gun to the Guild earlier was, of course, that he didn't want to disclose the secret of the Xuan Gun's refinement. Although Qi Da saw his entire refinement process through the monitoring System, he believed that what Qi Da saw was only the surface, and it would be impossible to replicate it. However, he couldn't underestimate people; there were powerful individuals in every world. If someone could obtain the Xuan Gun and then disassemble it for detailed study, it might be possible to replicate it, which would inevitably affect his next plan.

Therefore, he still needed to improve the Xuan Gun's refining methods: first, to encrypt it and set backdoors, making it impossible for others to study, replicate, or use it against him. Second, its power still needed to be retested. Through the recent experiment, Long Yuan felt that the gun's power was still too great, and he estimated it could instantly kill even a Martial Master face-to-face. Therefore, the power of the Xuan Guns produced for sale later must be appropriately reduced, because his target market was mainly the vast number of ordinary people and ordinary Martial Apprentice. If the Xuan Gun could kill people above the Martial Artist level, it would definitely cause panic among the upper echelons, and then it would very likely lead to control by the Great Ming official authorities…

…