232: Chapter 232 Huang Tianfang: Seventy years old, the perfect age to venture out!

Only after meeting Zhang Jian did Huang Tianfang feel that he had truly opened his eyes.

The miraculous Sword Puppet crafting skill.

The youngest academy professor in all of Huaxia and even the entire Water Blue Planet.

Although he had just completed his third job change, he already possessed a mysterious strength that made him tremble with fear.

After just a few sentences of conversation, their attitude toward Zhang Jian had shifted from curiosity to reverence.

They didn't even dare to voice their initial thought of asking him to help craft a Sword Puppet.

Looking at the strength of this Sword Puppet and the strong support from Xuan Jizi and the others.

They didn't even need to look at the description of Zhang Jian's skills to guess that the Materials consumed in its crafting must be extremely precious.

Their own strength, back in the day, was naturally not weak.

Veterans of the academy, high-end combat power of Huaxia.

But now.

People with their level of strength, while not exactly everywhere...

...are basically not too rare either.

At the very least.

Just the dozen or so new Professionals who joined the academy's school committee all seemed no weaker than them.

Plus, everyone possesses a Sword Puppet.

Huang Tianfang made a somewhat sorrowful discovery.

Had he and the other old guys already fallen behind?

Before closing themselves off for cultivation, they were still top-tier figures among Professionals.

After coming out of seclusion, their status had plummeted significantly.

Such a gap, if it happened to anyone else, might have caused their mentality to change or even collapse long ago.

But Huang Tianfang, after all, had once been a hero of his time.

The others, too, had been the cream of the crop in their younger days.

With just a shift in their mindset, they saw things differently.

Instead, the drastic changes of the era ignited a spark in their eyes.

The constantly increasing Rank cap.

The Ancestral Dragon Ruins filled with endless desire for exploration.

planet-level, transcendent level...

New terms one after another.

All sorts of fresh occurrences.

Not only did it fail to make them feel lost and helpless, but it also stirred up a fighting spirit within them.

Since this era is so good now, shouldn't these old bones of his get moving too?

Seventy years old, exactly the age to venture out!

The five of them made a prompt decision, and at Huang Tianfang's suggestion, they formed a team.

During the previous day, despite never having won against Wang Xuri's challenges...

...the five of them had accumulated enough tacit understanding, and their coordination became increasingly proficient.

They all felt that the others looked more and more agreeable.

Over the years, they had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.

It was just a pity that many items were difficult to circulate or convert into liquid assets.

When they learned of the existence of the Merit Treasury, they were all extremely excited.

Seeing the various mythical level skills, equipment, and all kinds of rare recipes and Materials within it, they exclaimed in constant surprise.

One by one, they began to redeem items.

Before long, they had completely updated their gear from top to bottom.

Among them, Huang Tianfang's spending was the most extravagant.

He poured out everything he had, redeeming over 10 million Merit points worth of supplies.

He successively activated two additional conditions.

The qualification to apply for a designated Sword Puppet, and to have Zhang Jian craft a designated recipe.

After witnessing the strength of Wang Xuri's Sword Puppet, Huang Tianfang had long been drooling with envy.

Now that he had the opportunity, his eyes were shining with excitement.

After only a moment's hesitation, he chose the defensive-type [Guardian Sword Puppet].

After waiting for two hours, he saw the finished product crafted by Zhang Jian.

A streamlined body made of indestructible mythical level Materials.

Although it started at only Rank 1 and its attributes were very low.

The growth potential it contained already made his heart race.

He consumed the tens of billions of experience points he had accumulated to raise it to Rank 40.

Although he was shocked by the massive consumption required to level up the Sword Puppet.

The attributes at just Rank 40 already left him astonished.

This defense, this vitality—it far exceeded his imagination!

Never mind facing a Rank 40 Professional of the same level.

He even felt...

...that even a top-tier Second Job Change level 69 Professional might not necessarily be able to do anything to his Sword Puppet.

And this.

Was still without learning any optional skills and without wearing any equipment.

Huang Tianfang was already impatient to level it up further.

With this overall resistance, combined with his own attacks, and the Professional complementarity and coordination of his four teammates.

They had a chance to clear a Dungeon of the same Rank at nightmare difficulty!

As for the other reward, asking Zhang Jian to craft something.

He didn't pay much attention to it.

That Zhang Jian could have such a miraculous skill for crafting Sword Puppets at this age already left him marveling.

He didn't think Zhang Jian could have any exaggerated performance when it came to crafting weapons.

Subconsciously, he guessed that this reward was probably just to let Zhang Jian expand his abilities in another area and use it for practice.

Originally.

He intended to choose a Rank 95 epic-grade weapon recipe and just let Zhang Jian go through the motions.

But when the time came, the other four had a different opinion.

They felt that perhaps Zhang Jian could create a miracle.

The four of them pooled some points together and redeemed a Rank 70 mythical level growth-type weapon recipe.

Huang Tianfang secretly thought it was a pity, but he didn't show it on the outside.

While Zhang Jian was crafting, he couldn't help but urge him, "Then I will have to trouble you!"

Looking at the earnestness in this elderly man's eyes, Zhang Jian's heart softened.

When crafting, he couldn't help but put in a little extra effort.

In addition to the basic crafting Materials provided by the group, he took out two portions of mythical level Materials from his own inventory and quietly added them.

This recipe only had five crafting attempts.

After the first item was crafted into an epic-grade, Zhang Jian threw it aside, leaving Huang Tianfang somewhat stunned.

He wouldn't even let him see the attributes; could it be that he had crafted the lowest quality legendary rank?

The second one was mythical level.

But the overall attributes were average, and the attached traits were not very practical.

Zhang Jian shook his head and placed it directly to his right.

Huang Tianfang's heart sank.

It seems that this Sword Puppet Great Master's weapon crafting level is indeed not satisfactory.

The third one.

Turned out to be a decent mythical level item.

But the bonuses in all aspects were biased toward support.

Among the five, there happened to be a priest Professional, so it could be used.

Zhang Jian nodded inwardly and placed it to his left.

The fourth one was another epic-grade.

But the attributes were extremely top-tier.

Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment, and instead of throwing it on the ground, he placed it to his right as well.

Huang Tianfang no longer held any hope in his heart.

It seems this recipe has been a waste.

Until.

Zhang Jian finished crafting the fifth one, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

He waved his hand and signaled,

"Dean Huang, you can come and identify this one."

Huang Tianfang was a bit confused.

What did he mean? Why did he need him to identify it?

Could it be that he wanted to bet on that one-in-a-hundred dedicated weapon?

He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

He was a young man, after all, fond of fantasies.

Seeing that he couldn't craft a high-quality, high-attribute weapon.

He just wanted to try his luck and gamble on the low probability.

However.

He could understand it.

A few years ago, he had also spent a lot of money, dreaming such a dream.

He had hired no less than ten support Professionals specializing in crafting to help him craft items.

Among them, there was no shortage of Divine-Grade Professionals.

Although a few dedicated items were produced, they were only epic-grade or legendary rank, and their attributes were not very good.

They were not even as good as ordinary mythical level weapons of the same Rank.

He had given up on the dream that a single weapon could make him stronger.

Encountering this situation again after so many years made him feel somewhat nostalgic.

A smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of his mouth.

The way he looked at Zhang Jian was even a bit doting.

"Alright then, I'll try my luck."

At the furnace, Huang Tianfang finished the identification in a nonchalant manner.

He didn't hold any hope at all and took a casual glance.

As a result.

His gaze froze instantly.