The Clown Artificer

"Absurd. A mere minor cultivator, yet you dare to dream of artifact refining."

Chen Yuliang stood with his hands behind his back, his voice icy.

"Yes, yes, I'll have him stop immediately."

Chen Tong bowed and scraped, respectfully seeing Chen Yuliang off as he stepped onto his sword and departed.

Bang!

Suddenly, a thunderous noise erupted from the back hall.

Chen Tong rushed in to investigate.

He saw black smoke billowing everywhere and an artifact cauldron shattered all over the floor.

A young man sat on the ground, his hair standing on end, wisps of black smoke rising from his head.

"Brother, I've run out of materials. Give me some more, won't you?" Chen Huan's entire face was pitch black, yet he grinned, revealing snow-white front teeth in a brilliant smile.

"...Tomorrow!" Chen Tong's mouth twitched.

Chen Huan was his younger brother, obsessed with artifact refining since childhood. Since Chen Tong managed the waste recycling at Refining Lake, he had brought his brother here to practice, thinking it a convenient arrangement.

Who could have guessed that Chen Huan's talent for refining was mediocre at best; he either blew up the materials or blew up the furnace.

Even as the manager of waste materials, Chen Tong was finding it hard to keep up.

Fortunately...

Chen Tong walked out of the back hall, his eyes flickering.

He had played it smart from the start, letting everyone know that there was an island guard named Shen Yue on the lake who was learning to refine artifacts. By letting him use the waste materials at his own discretion, he had prepared an excuse for the dwindling supply of scrap.

Chen Tong summoned his spirit sword, transformed into a streak of light, and flew toward the small courtyard area by the lake.

His cousin had already come to warn him; he certainly couldn't keep doing this.

At the lakeside courtyard.

Shen Yue was piloting a small boat, returning with a full load of waste materials, and was just about to move them into the yard.

Chen Tong arrived on his sword, his robes fluttering in the wind.

"How is the refining going?"

"Thanks to your care, Manager, I've made great progress." Shen Yue cupped his hands in a salute.

Great progress?

Chen Tong sneered inwardly.

A lowly island guard, actually thinking he could refine artifacts.

"Progress is good." Chen Tong's tone remained gentle on the surface. "However, the demand for waste materials has surged recently. You should stop refining for now and focus on collecting more scrap; it's a good way to earn some spirit stones."

With that, he stepped onto his sword and left.

Shen Yue pondered for a moment and understood the implication.

It didn't really matter, though; the timing was about right anyway.

Just then, on the other side of the lake, a cyan gourd broke through the waves and drifted over.

Zhou Chongwen was all smiles, looking full of vigor. "General Shen is busy, is it almost time to refine a spirit artifact?"

"Refining is difficult." Shen Yue sighed.

"Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it!" Zhou Chongwen said with a solemn face.

"Manager Chen just revoked my right to use the waste materials," Shen Yue said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chongwen instinctively reached into his storage bag to pull out materials.

But at the last second, he stopped.

To keep Shen Yue focused on refining so he wouldn't study formations and affect his own son's Dao heart, he had poured quite a few materials and spirit stones into him.

But those days were coming to an end.

His son, Zhou Feng, was about to apply to become an official formation master!

Therefore, he no longer needed to dump materials into Shen Yue.

Zhou Chongwen abandoned his usual encouragement and said earnestly, "General Shen, why not use your youth to try other crafts?"

"My son, Zhou Feng, is about to become an official formation master. Why don't you go over and exchange some pointers?"

With that, he held his head high, stepped onto his cyan gourd, and drifted away.

He certainly knew how to show off.

Shen Yue smiled indifferently, returned to his room, closed the door, and took out the Green Fire Cauldron.

He formed a seal with his right hand, controlled the flames with his left, and began to refine.

Three days later.

"Rise!"

Shen Yue raised both hands, and two spirit artifacts flew out from the cauldron.

One was shaped like a crescent moon, silvery-white throughout, while the other resembled a round mirror, its surface as smooth as polished glass, with faint currents of water surging within.

Shen Yue's hands danced, and the two spirit artifacts flew into the array in response, merging with the thirteen existing ones.

The Golden Wave Water Dragon Spirit Array, Kan position and Li position, completed.

"The power of an array formed by fifteen spirit artifacts... is a notch stronger than the Withered Grass Treasure Robe!"

Shen Yue was very satisfied.

"Time to go show my face."

Chusheng Market, stall area.

Zhou Chongwen was beaming as he set up his stall to sell talismans; the colorful talismans laid out on the counter were quite a sight.

He was in an excellent mood today because his son, Zhou Feng, was currently undergoing the array master examination.

As long as he passed, he would be a first-tier array master.

From then on, a broad and smooth road would lie beneath his feet.

And he, Zhou Chongwen, the father of an array master, would never have to set up a stall to sell talismans again.

"Brother Zhou."

A voice interrupted his daydream.

Zhou Chongwen looked up: "General Shen, my son, the array master Zhou Feng, said you didn't go to the Mystic Array Pavilion..."

"Do you want a spirit artifact?" Shen Yue took out a spirit artifact.

"What?" Zhou Chongwen was stunned.

"I refined it myself." Shen Yue set the spirit artifact down and walked away.

Zhou Chongwen looked down at the Green Spirit Ruler, still trying to process where the spirit artifact had come from, when his sound-transmission talisman suddenly lit up.

"My son has become an array master?!"

Half an hour later.

Clear-Turbid Island.

Changqin Wuming held a black bag, collecting waste qi while muttering to himself:

"Once this batch of waste qi is collected, it should be enough to buy two spirit boats. One for Us, one for Minister Shen; it will surely make Emperor Wen green with envy."

"Your Highness, do you want a spirit boat?"

Suddenly, a spirit boat broke through the lake surface and stopped before him.

Looking up, a man stood on the spirit boat with a smile on his lips.

"A spirit boat? Where did you get that?" Changqin Wuming was startled.

Shen Yue waved his hand, and the spirit boat beneath his feet shrank instantly. At the same time, another spirit boat and a cyan gourd flew out, lining up in a row.

"I refined them myself," he said. "Your Highness, pick one."

"You refined them?" Changqin Wuming wanted to laugh, but seeing those three spirit artifacts, he couldn't.

Three whole spirit boats—if they weren't refined, were they stolen?

"You're serious?" Changqin Wuming realized something was wrong, his eyes widening like copper bells.

Shen Yue nodded.

"You really succeeded?" Changqin Wuming asked again.

"Yes, I've just entered the craft, refining a few low-tier spirit artifacts." Shen Yue smiled. "Your Highness, see if they work well."

"Good, very good..."

A storm raged in Changqin Wuming's heart as his hand reached for the spirit gourd.

At this moment, Li Sheng and the others gathered around at the sound, their faces full of disbelief.

"Brother Shen, have you really become an artifact refiner?"

Shen Yue didn't explain; he simply flicked his sleeve, and five spirit artifacts flew out.

"Thank you for your care during this time."

These five were things he had refined on the side using scrap materials.

Li Sheng and the others were dumbfounded.

To produce five spirit artifacts with a wave of his hand—who else but an artifact refiner could do such a thing?

Li Sheng reacted quickly, hurriedly cupping his hands in a salute: "Congratulations, Master Shen!"

At the same time, he secretly activated a sound-transmission talisman.

He was crystal clear in his heart that whether Shen Yue had truly become an artificer or was merely faking it remained to be seen, but that didn't stop him from being polite on the surface.

Cuiwei Island.

Bang!

With an explosion, a massive hole was blown through the roof of the back hall.

"Brother, the materials are gone." Chen Huan bared his large front teeth.

Chen Tong stood at the doorway, his fists clenching until they cracked.

If it weren't for the fact that he was his own brother, he would definitely make Chen Huan taste the power of a thirty-year punch.

"I know."

Chen Tong walked to the front hall, rubbed his temples, and then took out his sound-transmission talisman, scanning it indifferently.

"Shen Yue has become an artificer."

The few light words caused him to spring directly from his chair.

"Impossible!"

Even his own brother hadn't succeeded, so how could a mere guardian of Refining Lake manage it?!

But soon, one after another, several more transmissions arrived, all stating the same thing.

Had that Shen Yue really succeeded?

Chen Tong's face darkened.

If Shen Yue became an artificer, wouldn't that make his brother a clown?

"Absolutely not!"

A sinister grin curled the corners of Chen Tong's mouth.

"Whether he is an artificer or not, I decide!"

His figure flashed, stepping onto his sword to pierce the air, heading straight for Refining Lake.