Chapter 1409: Forging Soldiers

After soothing the slightly aggrieved puppet with a few words, Zhang Xuan finally lifted his foot and walked toward the second floor.

The second floor, likewise, was not about professions he excelled in, such as beast taming or formations, but about artifact forging.

Upon entering the room, he immediately saw a youth standing before a furnace, holding a large hammer. The charcoal fire was blazing red, and he kept hammering. Under the blows, a weapon slowly took shape, gleaming with cold light.

This Master Teacher Academy assessment involved eight different auxiliary professions. None of the professions he had previously reached eight-star in were chosen; all were ones he had not yet obtained badges for.

As for artifact forging, he had passed the six-star assessment back at Hongyuan Academy and had not touched it since. This time, he might as well give it a try.

Whoosh!

Seeing him arrive, the youth stopped and pointed at the forging furnace not far away. “I am Wu Youdao, a saint son of the Artifact Forging Master Guild. Here is a piece of ore. You will begin forging now. If you can forge a high-grade saint artifact within one day, you pass!”

Looking at the forging furnace, Zhang Xuan indeed saw a piece of ore burning in the flames. Scorching waves of heat continuously assailed him, but the ore showed no sign of melting.

Purple Blaze Skyfire Stone?

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Purple Blaze Skyfire Stone was known as the hardest ore to melt at the eight-star level. Even many genuine eight-star artifact forgers found it difficult to smelt. This fellow actually wanted him to start with this—the difficulty of the assessment was indeed considerable.

However, there were pros and cons. This ore was hard to smelt, but once refined into a weapon, it would at least reach the peak of mid-grade saint artifacts. With slightly superior technique, it could easily achieve high-grade.

In other words, the hardest part of this assessment was not forging a high-grade saint artifact, but how to melt this ore and shape it into a suitable weapon.

“Correct! Melting Purple Blaze Skyfire Stone best tests one’s understanding of artifact forging. If you can’t melt it in a day, you won’t pass this level!”

Wu Youdao waved his hand, stopped paying attention to Zhang Xuan, and continued forging.

“Alright!”

Knowing this was a form of test, Zhang Xuan said no more. He activated his Eye of Insight and looked over.

The furnace and charcoal were perfectly fine. The problem was that the melting point of Purple Blaze Skyfire Stone was too high; it required earth fire to smelt. No matter how much true qi was channeled, the temperature could not be reached.

But the other party had not provided an earth fire formation, indicating that only these materials could be used.

“This test is somewhat difficult…”

He had to admit, this assessment was harder than he had imagined.

“But if you want to stump me, it’s not that simple…”

If it were some other eight-star artifact forger, encountering this situation would make them feel it was impossible to complete. But for Zhang Xuan, it was not that complicated.

Having read the books from the Artifact Forging Master Guild, his understanding of artifact forging had already reached the peak of eight-star, not inferior to some early nine-star forgers. Even without the library, he had at least dozens of methods to melt it.

With a slight smile, he approached the furnace. Zhang Xuan pointed his finger, and dozens of streams of true qi shot out from his fingertips, completely enveloping the charcoal fire.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Enveloped by true qi, the charcoal fire seemed to be infused with oxygen. It immediately burned fiercely, turning from fiery red to azure blue, emitting astonishing heat that seemed to distort the air.

“This is… an eight-star spirit gathering formation?”

Wu Youdao, who was hammering on the side, froze in place.

Many powerful weapons were engraved with special formation runes. Therefore, skilled artifact forgers were very proficient in formations. He had thought the other party would add some special materials to make the charcoal burn more intensely, but he never dreamed that Zhang Xuan would directly set up a small spirit gathering formation!

Without formation flags, relying solely on true qi, to set up a formation in such a small area… and most importantly, at such speed—how did he do it?

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Under the infusion of abundant spiritual energy, the charcoal fire grew hotter and hotter, yet it still seemed a bit short of being able to refine the Purple Flame Skyfire Stone. The purple ore reflected sunlight, and under the scorching flames, it showed little change, showing no signs of melting.

"Though concentrating spiritual energy within the flame allows it to burn more fully, making the flame more concentrated and intense, there is still a gap when it comes to refining ore of this level..."

Shaking his head, Wu Youdao sighed. Before he could finish his words, he saw the young man across from him kick the furnace before him.

With a "clang," the furnace rang out, suddenly twisted its body, and desperately gathered the flames. The originally thick flames instantly shrank to the size of a needle tip, like a sword aura, cutting at the ore.

"This... the Flame-Gathering Smelting Method? It requires unconditional cooperation from the furnace. How is this possible?"

Wu Youdao was stunned again.

The Flame-Gathering Smelting Method involves concentrating the flames in one place to raise the temperature further. Though effective, it places great demands on the furnace, requiring mutual trust and excellent coordination. He and this furnace had only met for less than a few dozen breaths—how could it be so obedient?

Just as he found it unbelievable, he saw the furnace not far away suddenly twist its bulky body, step over to him in a few strides, open its lid, and speak in a thunderous voice: "May I borrow your Cyan Flame Stone!"

"Uh..."

Unexpectedly addressed by the furnace, Wu Youdao was somewhat dazed. Before he could answer, the furnace twisted again: "Thank you!"

With that, regardless of his consent, it extended one of its legs and lightly scraped across the workbench.

Whoosh!

A piece of ore rolled into the furnace's flames.

Rumble!

As soon as the flames touched the Cyan Flame Stone, they exploded into a blaze, and the flame temperature surged again.

"It even snatches?"

His brows twitching, Wu Youdao's face kept trembling.

This furnace was his, having followed him for who knows how many years. For this assessment, he had merely lent it for use...

He had thought it was just a reluctant loan, never in his dreams did he expect it would not only help him perform the Flame-Gathering Smelting Method but also directly snatch his ore...

Do you even know who your master is?

Just as he was at a loss from anger, the furnace looked over again: "Lend me your blood..."

With that, the furnace suddenly leaped up and sat down straight from the air.

Pfft!

Struck in the chest, Wu Youdao spat blood, and the blood simultaneously fell into the furnace, causing the flames to surge a third time.

Sizzle sizzle!

After several increases in temperature, the Purple Flame Skyfire Stone could no longer hold out. With a "crack," it developed fissures, then became soft and gradually melted.

Seeing the success, Zhang Xuan on the side brightened, approached again, extended a finger, and with a surge of true qi, pointed forward sharply.

Whoosh!

The ore flew out of the furnace. He grabbed a hammer and struck it fiercely. After three breaths, he shook it again, and the forged embryo immediately fell into the special quenching liquid.

A puff of white smoke rose. Soon, the embryo was taken out. With a flick of his hand, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly: "It's done..."

"Done?"

Slightly puzzled, Wu Youdao hurriedly looked. With just one glance, his face twitched wildly: "This is... a weapon?"

On the workbench lay a brick, flat and square, with not a trace of a weapon's shape.