Certification

"Finally, I've mastered it."

After half a day, Wu Tao had mastered the One-Second Clothes Off, One-Second Clothes On Skill. This skill was inspired by a certain variety show he saw in his previous life and perfectly solved his current predicament.

"Now I can start tempering my body."

With increased strength, he had an extra layer of security against unknown dangers. Entrusting his life entirely to Demon Slaying Hall was not a viable option.

Wu Tao took out the medicinal herbs and a small scale.

He strictly followed what was recorded in the secret manual, meticulously controlling each medicinal herb and its precise dosage. After all, this was cultivation, not child's play.

In the end, he divided them into five portions.

One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones could only last for five days of medicinal baths. Wu Tao could directly feel the immense resources consumed by the Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art.

Going to the kitchen, Wu Tao threw the medicinal herbs into a pot and started a fire to boil the medicinal liquid.

It took a full four hours to reach the level described in the Dragon Spear Technique manual. A pungent medicinal aroma filled the kitchen. Wu Tao looked at the ink-black medicinal liquid in the pot and could feel its astonishing efficacy.

Even a cow would probably explode from being replenished if it drank this.

With the medicinal liquid ready, Wu Tao no longer hesitated. He carried the pot to the cultivation room, where a large bathtub had been specially prepared. He poured all the medicinal liquid into the bathtub.

Naked, Wu Tao gritted his teeth and leaped into the bathtub.

"Hiss!"

As soon as he entered the bathtub and his body came into contact with the medicinal liquid, Wu Tao let out a cry of pain. It felt like jumping into lava, his entire body burning and extremely uncomfortable.

However, he had already learned about this situation in the secret manual. Experiencing it firsthand, he couldn't help but cry out.

"Steady your mind, endure the pain, and begin absorbing the essence of the medicinal liquid. The first stage of the Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art: Temper Body!" Wu Tao gritted his teeth and, following the circulation method recorded in the body tempering art, began to circulate the medicinal effects, absorbing them into his body through his meridians and pores.

Instantly, Wu Tao felt as if his body was on fire. This medicinal effect was too overbearing.

The body tempering art not only consumed a vast amount of resources but was also unbearable in its tempering process. It was not something ordinary people could endure.

To become stronger, to live forever, Wu Tao felt he could still withstand this pain.

Gritting his teeth and steadying his mind, Wu Tao continuously absorbed the medicinal liquid. When he reached a state of saturation, he immediately jumped out of the bathtub, grabbed the Three-Pointed Great Spear beside him, and began practicing the Wind and Thunder Form.

The body tempering art was combined with movements to refine the medicinal liquid.

He thrust his spear out, one after another, and Wu Tao could feel the medicinal liquid within him being absorbed, his body beginning to strengthen. Although the changes were extremely subtle, he still managed to capture them.

After exhausting the medicinal effects in his body, he jumped back into the bathtub to continue absorbing, and once saturated, he would resume practicing the Wind and Thunder Form.

This cycle repeated.

An hour later.

Wu Tao put down his spear and looked into the bathtub. All the medicinal effects had been absorbed and refined by him. The once ink-black medicinal liquid had become completely clear.

He stood bare-chested, examining his body closely. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt his body was sturdier and his strength had increased significantly.

[Secondary Profession · Body Cultivator: Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art: Flesh Refining (1%), Dragon Spear · Scorching Fire (Beginner) (2%), Dragon Spear · Wind and Thunder (Beginner) (5%)]

"One portion of medicinal liquid increases by one percent. It takes one hundred portions to complete the Flesh Refining stage, meaning one hundred days. To complete the Flesh Refining stage, it requires two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones?"

"If I hadn't become an Artifact Refiner, how many years and months would it take for the original owner to earn two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones by mining in the mine?"

Wu Tao clicked his tongue.

In the following days, Wu Tao took medicinal baths daily and practiced the Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art and the Wind and Thunder Form. Unknowingly, five days passed.

He could feel the changes in his body.

[Secondary Profession · Body Cultivator: Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art: Flesh Refining (5%), Dragon Spear · Scorching Fire (Beginner) (2%), Dragon Spear · Wind and Thunder (Beginner) (25%)]

After his physical body strengthened, he discovered that circulating the Sanyang Technique to absorb Spirit Stones for cultivation seemed to have become smoother. Although the effect was not obvious yet, he knew that one day, as the Body Tempering Art improved, the effect would become significant.

"The Body Tempering Art has such a magical effect?"

Wu Tao pondered, feeling extremely delighted. He thought this was like a "belt and road" initiative, where the Body Tempering Art could boost spiritual energy cultivation.

"Actually, it makes sense. As the body becomes stronger, the senses become sharper, naturally leading to a more sensitive perception of spiritual energy. These two complement each other. I am..."

"This is... the prospect of longevity!"

Wu Tao became excited.

After calming his emotions, he prepared to go out.

It wasn't that his courage had increased, but after these five days, except for the first three days when cultivators from the Demon Slaying Hall searched house by house for hidden Devilish Cultivators, they hadn't returned on the fourth and fifth days.

He guessed that the Devilish Cultivators had likely been caught.

However, to be safe, he still wore six layers of Small Spirit Shield Robes, with an ordinary long gown over them to conceal his appearance. To outsiders, he just looked fat and couldn't see the Inner Workings.

After leaving his residence, there was no need to inquire. The people from the Demon Slaying Hall had already released the news. Loose Cultivators were discussing everywhere that in three days, at the Ding District Market Entrance, the Devilish Cultivators would be reduced to ashes, and all Loose Cultivators were welcome to witness the spectacle.

The Demon Slaying Hall's action, with its brutal methods, was intended to make an example of them. In the future, any Devilish Cultivator who dared to trespass onto Five Spring Mountain's territory and kill people would face such consequences.

After hearing this news, a heavy stone in Wu Tao's heart finally landed.

It seemed he wasn't someone who attracted trouble. As long as he maintained a low-profile approach, as a Loose Cultivator at the Second Level of Qi Refining, a nobody, he wouldn't attract special attention from anyone.

He had originally planned to go and take the Artifact Refiner Certificate, but the examination required submitting thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

It should be the handling fee, assessment fee, and so on.

Wu Tao didn't find this strange. The Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall wasn't a charity. The reason he came up with this certificate and that certificate was essentially to earn spirit stones from loose cultivators!

He currently only had eleven low-grade spirit stones on him, so he still needed to sell a Small Spirit Shield Robe to afford the assessment fee.

As for other robes, Wu Tao didn't plan to sell them now. He would wait until he obtained the Artifact Refiner Certificate before selling them. With the certificate, he could naturally raise his prices.

Artifact Refiners certified by the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall were of excellent quality, not comparable to those without certificates. It was reasonable to charge a higher price.

After selling a Small Spirit Shield Robe in the Ding District Market, Wu Tao immediately headed to the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall's assessment point for the Artifact Refiner Certificate.

Fragrant Spring Road.

Near the Inner City, this was an assessment point specifically set up by the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall for loose cultivators from the Outer City. It was the only assessment point in the entire West Outer City.

After Wu Tao paid the fee at the window, he was told to wait until his name was called to enter the assessment room for the examination.

In the waiting hall, there were about ten loose cultivators here to get certified as artifact refiners.

After waiting for about half an hour, an artifact refiner in the Artifact Refining Hall's uniform finally came out and called them all to follow him into the assessment room.

Upon entering the assessment room, the artifact refiner said, "My name is Yan Jin. You can call me Steward Yan. I will be presiding over your assessments. The content of the assessment, you should already know. To obtain certification from the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall, you must know how to engrave five types of restrictions, one of which must be a First-Order Level 3 Restriction. Furthermore, you must refine a First-Order Level 3 Magic Tool on the spot to obtain the Artifact Refiner Certificate."

First, there would be the magic tool refining assessment. Only after successfully refining the tool would there be the written exam, which would cover the book One Thousand Basic Knowledge of Artifact Refining.