[Heavenly Craft]

Inside the Refining Room, the three diligent artifact refiners had already begun melting materials. The Qi Refining artifact blueprints Chen Xingfeng had given them were not difficult; they could handle them using only Qi Refining realm artifact-refining techniques.

For that very reason, once Chen Xingfeng opened his mouth to teach Xi Yuan, they could immediately stop.

But when they stopped, Ning Ri discovered that his skill points had stopped as well.

Ning Ri immediately keenly realized something—

Were his skill points truly increasing because other people were refining artifacts?

But why had his Qi Refining Art not increased when someone had used the [Qi Refining Art] in front of him before?

Could it be...

Ning Ri raised an eyebrow—

Was it related to his own skills?

At the same time.

Xi Yuan stopped what he was doing, looked at Chen Xingfeng, and asked in a childish voice, "Master Xingfeng, did I do something wrong?"

Chen Xingfeng watched Xi Yuan and the Refining Furnace before him, where Artifact Fire was gradually rising, and said solemnly, "You did nothing wrong. You can simply do better."

"When igniting Artifact Fire, pay attention to balancing the affinities of the five elements. Your wood affinity is too strong. Do you often refine pills?"

Xi Yuan nodded. "Yes! Master Xingfeng, you're amazing."

Chen Xingfeng smiled. "A strong wood affinity brings life, but the artifact I want you to refine does not greatly need wood affinity. So, you can adjust it further."

Then Chen Xingfeng changed the subject. "However, blindly pursuing fire affinity is not necessarily good either. If you want to refine artifacts more perfectly, you must pay attention to all five elements. The higher the grade of the artifact, the more this is true."

"If you cannot coordinate the five elements well on your own, you can start with the materials for the Artifact Fire. Borrowing external things can also help you perceive yourself and adjust the five elements. Just don't become dependent on them. I have several specific methods—for example, directly generating Artifact Fire in a place with extremely strong wood affinity can adjust fire and wood; directly going to..."

The long stretch that followed was meant for the three artifact refiners.

Clearly, Chen Xingfeng had not robbed Peter to pay Paul. Since he was explaining, everyone naturally had to benefit.

The three immediately fell into thoughtful contemplation.

Ning Ri, meanwhile, pretended to listen while actually continuing to study his panel...

While no one was refining artifacts, he thought for a moment, then simply began igniting his fire the instant Chen Xingfeng stopped.

He wanted to verify whether refining an artifact himself could make his skill points increase!

This was the perfect opportunity.

If everyone started working together later, it would be difficult to control the variables.

Boom—

The instant flames rose, everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to Ning Ri.

Jin Le and Liang Shuyou could not help freezing—

What was this guy doing?

Master Xingfeng had barely finished speaking, and he was already starting?

That was far too rude!

Chen Xingfeng himself showed a few traces of surprise. What did this brat mean by being so impatient?!

As for Yang Xingming, he showed a hint of interest...

He was very curious. Ning Ri had stayed here so long without making a move, yet now he had suddenly begun without warning. What was he trying to stir up?!

Boom—

The instant Ning Ri poured spiritual energy into the Refining Furnace, firelight burst forth, and a ball of spiritual fire ignited in an instant. At the moment it ignited, the colors of the five elements circulated within it.

At that moment, everyone's astonished expressions abruptly changed—

A spiritual fire with a perfect balance???

The five elements circulated endlessly, giving the spiritual fire a lively quality, as though it possessed a trace of life itself.

No one knew whether it was merely an illusion, but they felt that the flickering firelight was especially seductive, becoming more flamboyant the longer it burned.

It reflected their stunned faces.

At that moment, sheer horror appeared in all their eyes. They stared at Ning Ri, finding it impossible to believe—

No, bro, were you serious when you said you wanted perfection just now?!

Yang Xingming, however, revealed a smile that said, "Just as I expected"...

He had known it. If the Heaven Defying Sect had sent Ning Ri here, there had to be something fishy going on.

Now, it seemed that the fishiness was enormous!

As for Ning Ri himself...

After igniting the spiritual fire, he did not rashly begin. Instead, he stood quietly for a moment, then frowned, an exceedingly subtle flicker of dissatisfaction flashing across his face...

Seeing that fleeting dissatisfaction on Ning Ri's face, the others were all stunned.

Bro, what were you dissatisfied with?

What was there to be unhappy about?

Had the Artifact Fire's perfectly balanced five elements somehow disturbed you?!

Ning Ri's dissatisfaction had a simple cause.

He had thought that after his artifact-refining techniques merged into [Heavenly Craft], perhaps some hidden condition had been triggered—

For example, whenever anyone refined artifacts near him, his skill points could increase.

That was why he wanted to see whether he himself received that privilege.

If he refined artifacts near himself, could his skill points increase too?

If they could, then he would not have to keep practicing with a blade like a miserable drudge afterward.

But...

Ning Ri glanced at them. Why was no one moving?

He could only continue working first. He directly tossed a piece of iron ore into the Artifact Fire, then began manipulating spiritual energy to melt it. As it melted, he controlled the spiritual energy within his body, his fingers steadily forming streams of Spiritual Arts...

When the others melted materials, they wished they could wave their hands like dancing flowers, their fingers flying so quickly it dazzled the eye.

Ning Ri actually wanted to form seals frantically too. He had that sort of chuunibyou dream.

How cool would that be!

But his current spiritual energy did not support being that cool.

All that flashy nonsense came at a price.

He could only use the most cost-effective method, casting Spiritual Arts at critical moments, plain and unadorned, leaving the rest to the Artifact Fire...

At the same time.

After silently watching Ning Ri's material-melting technique for a while, Chen Xingfeng suddenly turned and transmitted his voice to Yang Xingming. "Have Xi Yuan learn from Ning Ri. His method is the most correct, and it is also the technique most suitable for Qi Refining stage artifact refiners to learn."

"He is a very grounded artifact refiner..."

He did not speak aloud but chose voice transmission because he feared disrupting Ning Ri's refining process.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingming immediately nodded slightly, then transmitted his voice to Xi Yuan. Xi Yuan's eyes immediately lit up...

After reminding Xi Yuan, Yang Xingming looked toward Chen Xingfeng, before he could even speak.

Chen Xingfeng's voice sounded in his ear first. "I don't know how this brat did it, but just this display of Artifact Fire alone tells me why Mo Cuidao sent him here."

"He came here to show off to me, that bastard."

Yang Xingming: "..."

Chen Xingfeng had held back a bellyful of words because he did not want to disturb Ning Ri. Now, he could only speak to Yang Xingming:

"This boy is simple and pure... He must have put in no small amount of hard work on artifact-refining techniques."

"This brat... Hm, sigh, why didn't your Lingxi Immortal Sect recruit him? How did he end up going to the Heaven Defying Sect?"

"You people really are... Forget it. I can't be bothered to lecture you."

Yang Xingming: "..."

What did that have to do with me?

However, when he turned to look at Ning Ri, satisfaction shone in his eyes, and he nodded faintly—

Chen Xingfeng's assessment of Ning Ri was exactly the same as the Ning Ri he knew!

This boy truly was extraordinary!

Just then.

Chen Xingfeng's voice came again, carrying disdain:

"Stop standing there nodding. Don't look like you appreciate him. With your artifact-refining fundamentals... hurry up and learn from him."

Yang Xingming: "?"