This Is a Piece of Cake, Right?

"How could he do this... When I was little, he even held it for me while I peed... How could he do this?"

In the waiting area of the lobby, Sun Rui Zhi clutched his head, thoroughly humiliated, and kept muttering over and over like Xianglin's Wife.

The first time Xu Fang felt sorry for him, but after hearing it so many times, he just found it headache-inducingly annoying. He casually picked up a journal from beside him and started reading.

The journal was called The Future, the most renowned academic journal in this world, on a par with Nature, Science, and Cell in his previous life.

Most of its articles were about Magic Tools, magical artifacts, and the dissection of Demon Beasts.

Xu Fang flipped through the pages quickly.

[Title: A Study of Magic Fusion Using Water and Ice Elements as Examples. First Author: Feng Zhou Long (Huaxia Yaodu Research Association)]

Xu Fang's hand stopped.

Of course he knew Feng Zhou Long. In a sense, he was the greatest mage of all time, and his influence on later generations was no less than Mo Fan's—or perhaps even more far-reaching.

[Today, with the widespread adoption of combined magic techniques, more and more people have realized that the magic of different elements does not have to remain forever on parallel lines that never intersect. When they cross paths, they can unleash unparalleled brilliance.

This paper used a total of 100 Ice Blade Fish as subjects, divided into fifty groups of two for controlled experiments...]

Put simply, Feng Zhou Long believed that the Water and Ice Elements were the two most closely related attributes. Their Star Seeds were highly similar, making them the most likely to fuse.

Feng Zhou Long used magic arrays and a series of complex transformations to forcibly inject Water Element magic energy into the fifty Ice Blade Fish in the experimental group... In the end, ten of them still showed signs of life.

This result left Feng Zhou Long ecstatic. If they could survive today, then tomorrow he could achieve magic fusion, the day after he could apply it to humans, and the day after that... In short, this was a technology that could change the world.

I, Feng Zhou Long, want funding!

As he remembered it, it wasn't until the Sea Monsters invaded a few years later that Feng Zhou Long deciphered the ability of a Sea Monster known as the Four-Colored Demon. Combined with Bei Jiang's Shadow Chaos Fusion, he finally worked out the general laws of the Fusion Method.

Compared with his work a few years later, Old Feng's research at this point was still pretty far-fetched. It didn't read like a proper paper in a top academic journal; it was more like the baffling ramblings of a crackpot expert.

For various reasons, The Future's reviewers had approved it for publication. But Feng Zhou Long not only failed to get any funding, he became a laughingstock.

Just like the wise guy sitting beside him, who was laughing so hard his gums showed.

"Hahaha, what kind of idiot is this? Magic fusion? Didn't his high school magic theory teacher teach him that the Star Seeds of two elements would explode if they got too close?"

Sun Rui Zhi felt like he had the intellectual high ground.

Xu Fang put the journal back and picked up another one. "You never know. Maybe he'll succeed someday."

Sun Rui Zhi declared confidently, "If magic can fuse, I'll livestream myself eating shit!"

For a moment, Xu Fang really did hesitate. He considered using a Crimson Fire Light Array to turn him into the Otherworld's Old Eight, but ultimately gave up on the tempting idea.

The book he'd picked up this time wasn't a journal, but an introductory manual for blacksmiths.

It contained some common magic arrays, along with the properties and applications of various materials. Put the two together, and you could make Magic Tools.

"Feels like anyone could do it."

Xu Fang genuinely thought so. The magic patterns that seemed incredibly complicated to people in this world were nothing compared with the advanced math and geometry of his previous life.

Before Sun Rui Zhi could say anything, a bearded man nearby gave a derisive snort, as if he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Anyone could do it? Young man, you'd better watch your tongue before the wind snaps it!" The bearded man looked like he was explaining basic literacy to an idiot. "Never mind the arrays and materials. Blacksmiths can generally only come from mages of the Fire and Lightning Elements. That alone shuts out most people!"

It was like alchemists in Battle Through the Heavens: only Dou Qi users with a Fire attribute could become alchemists, and having a Wood attribute mixed in with the Fire attribute was even better.

It was the same for blacksmiths. People who specialized in Lightning Fire and had Summoning System as a secondary element were in the highest demand, because they could form contracts with Fire Element Summoned Beasts and have them help forge Magic Tools.

In the original story, Huo Tuo groveled, clung to powerful people, and kissed up to them without an ounce of dignity, all to get Mo Fan to agree to sell Little Yan Ji to him for a price in the hundreds of millions.

The bearded man was still running his mouth, and Sun Rui Zhi had had enough.

Damn it, this afternoon was supposed to be about showing Xu Fang the strength of the Sun family, but instead he'd been humiliated.

Yi Ping was one thing—Sun Rui Zhi couldn't afford to offend him. He didn't want to provoke Sun Erhe either. But who the hell was this guy? His friend was just boasting a little. What gave him the right to butt in?

He slapped the armrest and snapped, "You ignorant frog in a well! Just because you can't do it doesn't mean no one else can!"

The bearded man had been waiting in line all day and was already in a foul mood. He fired back without giving an inch. "If you can do it, then go ahead! There's a testing room over there. I'll cover the cost of the materials either way. If you lose, you admit in front of everyone that you're trash!"

"Fine, I'm in!"

Wise guy couldn't resist a little goading. He hurried off to the testing room.

Five minutes later, he came out covered in dust.

The bearded man laughed and deliberately called out in a loud voice, "Hey, little trash! Where's that Magic Tool that anyone could make?"

Sun Rui Zhi's face turned red, and the veins on his forehead stood out as he argued, "This doesn't count as a failure. I was just rusty..."

Then came more incomprehensible excuses, like "the carving knife for the magic array was dull" and "the materials weren't compatible." Everyone burst out laughing, and the waiting area filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

The bearded man said, "A bet's a bet. Remember to say it loud."

Sun Rui Zhi felt a breath catch in his chest. He wanted to shout, "My father is Sun Erhe!" but was afraid of embarrassing his father, leaving him caught between a rock and a hard place.

Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder and pressed him back into his seat.

Xu Fang looked at the bearded man. "I'm the one who said anyone could do it. I haven't tried yet."

Wise guy had at least stood up for him. Hiding behind him and watching would make Xu Fang a real piece of trash.

"Suit yourself. My terms stay the same." The bearded man had clearly decided he was going to enjoy the show. He folded his arms and plopped down in his seat.

"Forget it. It's too hard," Sun Rui Zhi whispered.

He'd talked big to avoid losing face, but after trying it himself, Sun Rui Zhi knew exactly how difficult this delicate work was.

"I'll give it a try."

Xu Fang took the Introductory Manual for Blacksmiths and headed for the testing room. He opened the door and went inside.

The testing room was huge, a full hundred square meters. In the middle stood a large table with a forging furnace that looked a lot like a rice cooker.

Shelves along the walls held various materials, all of them the cheapest kind.

This wasn't a proper forging room in the first place. At most, it was somewhere for people with money and time who wanted to try their hand at blacksmithing.

"Materials... carving knife... pattern."

Star Trails glowed around Xu Fang as he channeled magic energy into the carving knife in his hand. The light turned into fire, and the knife successfully cut its first line into the metal.

Then the second, the third... Xu Fang copied a simple Wind Element magic array from the Introductory Manual for Blacksmiths, line for line.

"Okay, this is a little challenging."

Xu Fang took back his claim that anyone could do it and upgraded his assessment to "not bad."

What he didn't know was that an ordinary blacksmith needed at least six months of training to reach this level!

If they heard him call blacksmithing "not bad," he might not make it out of the Bell Tower Magic Association today.

"Next comes smelting. With constant-temperature heating, there'll be no problem making that bearded guy eat his words, but..."

Xu Fang looked at the lone, bare metal piece, one per person, and couldn't help feeling it would go to waste.

Since he was already here, and someone else was paying, he'd be doing the opportunity a disservice if he didn't make full use of it.

"Let's see... reinforcement, combustion, decomposition, compression... There are quite a few arrays. I have a bold idea."

"Magic Stones are this tiny? How stingy."

"Let me smelt it and shape it."

"Why does it look so weird? Whatever, let's try it first—better play it safe. Sand Shield!"

Back in the waiting area.

"It's been over twenty minutes. Why hasn't he come out yet?" Sun Rui Zhi checked the time, growing a little anxious.

He'd wrapped up in five minutes. How was Xu Fang taking so long?

That made no sense!

The bearded man mocked him. "I'd say there's a good chance that kid couldn't make it, and he's too embarrassed to come out. If he knew this would happen, he shouldn't have acted so cocky earlier."

Sun Rui Zhi was worried, but still refused to back down. "You don't know shit!"

"Sure, insult me all you want. Just wait till you're the one who ends up embarrassed..."

BOOM!!!!!!!

A deafening crash rang out like a thunderclap. Every mage present sprang to their feet on instinct, confusion written all over their faces!

What happened?!