A Wager

"Have you heard? Ye Xingchen, the one studying the Origin Heaven Art, actually became a First-Rank Artifact Refiner at the Artifact Refining Hall!"

"Bullshit, right? Which First-Rank Artifact Refiner didn't spend six or seven years grinding it out? How long has he been at it?!"

"Apparently, it was because he managed to swing thirty-six strikes of the Chaotic Wind Hammer Method. But I think it's a long shot. I heard his hands were nearly broken after those few strikes. Elder Mo probably just valued his talent and gave him the title in name only."

"..."

The voices of doubt were far more ferocious than the voices of praise.

In this world where strength reigned supreme, rising to the heavens in a single step often meant one's virtue did not match one's position. Especially with Ye Xingchen's delicate, pretty-boy appearance, it was truly difficult to associate him with an artifact refiner who spent every day beside furnaces and iron hammers.

Inside the Artifact Refining Hall.

Heat waves rolled through the air, and the clanging of metal never ceased.

In an inconspicuous corner, Ye Xingchen held a blackened piece of scrap iron, turning it over and over in his hands.

The points of force are uneven, the impurity removal rate is only sixty percent, and the heat control is atrocious, causing the internal structure to become brittle...

This isn't artifact refining. This is simply ruining things.

Ye Xingchen viciously mocked it in his heart.

"Putting on airs."

Not far away, several apprentices watched Ye Xingchen's inscrutable-looking act and whispered among themselves.

"He's been staring at a piece of scrap iron forever. What, can he make flowers bloom from it? I think he's just feeling guilty and doesn't dare lay a hand on it."

"Shh, keep it down. He's Elder Mo's favorite now."

"Favorite? Hmph, that's because Elder Mo's eyes are failing... Cough, cough. That's because Elder Mo acted on impulse!"

A rough voice abruptly cut in.

The crowd automatically parted, and a burly young man emerged.

He was bare-chested, his muscles knotted like dragons, his skin a bronze hue from years of furnace fire. He carried a heavy pair of iron tongs in one hand, his face covered in fierce flesh and his eyes filled with savagery.

Li Gui.

A veteran of the outer sect's Artifact Refining Hall. He had been in the hall for ten years, was at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, a First-Rank Artifact Refiner, and could independently forge Mid-Grade Yellow Tier spirit artifacts.

Li Gui threw the iron tongs to the ground. With a deafening clang, the surrounding people's ears buzzed.

He strode up to Ye Xingchen, looking down at him as he said in a mocking tone, "Well, well, isn't this our newly promoted artifact refiner? What's this? Staring at a piece of scrap iron and planning out a peerless divine artifact?"

Ye Xingchen did not even raise his eyelids. His fingers continued lightly stroking the scrap iron. "I'm looking at which idiot turned perfectly good red copper ore into this sorry state."

Li Gui's expression froze.

That piece of scrap iron was precisely his failed work from yesterday.

"Sharp tongue!"

"Kid, don't think that just because Elder Mo thinks highly of you, you're really something special. Artifact refining depends on skill, not a glib tongue! And it certainly isn't something you can accomplish by exhausting your body and swinging a hammer a few times!"

Ye Xingchen finally raised his head and calmly looked at Li Gui. "So?"

"So?" Li Gui sneered, glanced around, and shouted, "I'm not convinced! Neither are the brothers here! A newcomer whose feathers haven't even fully grown—what right does he have to become a First-Rank Artifact Refiner?"

"What do you want?" Ye Xingchen set down the scrap iron and dusted off his hands.

"A contest!"

A glint flashed through Li Gui's eyes as he finally revealed the dagger behind the map. "Three days from now, right here, in front of everyone, we'll each forge an Azure Cloud Sword! Whoever forges the higher-quality one wins!"

The surroundings immediately erupted in an uproar.

The Azure Cloud Sword was the standard weapon most commonly used by outer sect disciples. Though its structure was simple, it placed extreme demands on heat control and the evenness of hammering.

Li Gui had immersed himself in this craft for five years. He had forged at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, Azure Cloud Swords. This was plainly bullying a newcomer!

After hearing him out, Ye Xingchen stood and prepared to leave. "Not interested."

"Are you scared?" Li Gui took a broad step sideways, blocking Ye Xingchen's path. "If you're scared, take off that First-Rank Artifact Refiner badge and admit in front of everyone that you're trash!"

Ye Xingchen paused and looked at Li Gui's face, which practically screamed, "Come slap me in the face," then sighed.

"Provocation won't work on me. If you want me to make a move, that depends on whether you can afford the price."

"The price?" Li Gui was startled, then bared his teeth in a sinister grin. He took out a porcelain bottle from his robes and heavily slapped it onto the table.

"There are three Blood-Coagulating Pills inside! If you win, they're yours!"

"Well? Do you dare accept? If you lose, I want you to kneel down, call me Grandpa three times, then get the hell out of the Artifact Refining Hall!"

Ye Xingchen's pupils contracted slightly.

Blood-Coagulating Pills...

What did he lack most right now? Not cultivation methods, not experience, but resources!

What a good man. Ye Xingchen sighed inwardly. This was like someone delivering a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

"Deal."

"Three days from now, at the hour of the Goat, right here."

After saying that, Ye Xingchen ignored Li Gui's reaction, walked around him, and headed straight out.

His departing figure was carefree, without the slightest trace of hesitation.

Li Gui watched Ye Xingchen's retreating back and spat viciously. "Who the hell are you trying to impress, you big-tailed wolf? Three days from now, I'll make you cry without even having tears left to shed!"

Like it had grown legs, news of this wager swiftly spread to every corner of the outer sect.

Zhao Kai listened to his subordinate's report, a gleeful smile appearing on his face.

"Hahaha! This Ye Xingchen is really courting death. He can't stay idle wherever he goes! Li Gui may not have much of a brain, but his artifact-refining skill is the real deal. Forging an Azure Cloud Sword? What does he have to win with?"

"Three days from now, we'll go join the fun too. I'd like to see what mischief this bastard is stirring up again!"

Meanwhile, in the inner hall of the Artifact Refining Hall.

Elder Mo sat upright in a grand chair, holding an ancient book in his hands, yet he had not turned a single page for a long while.

Wang Tiezhu stood to one side and cautiously asked, "Elder, Li Gui is clearly bullying a newcomer. Aren't you going to step in and handle it?"

"Handle it? Why should I?"

Elder Mo set down the ancient book. A glint of wisdom flashed through his cloudy old eyes. "Jade must be carved before it can become a vessel. That boy's talent is high, but his temperament is too proud and too solitary. If he cannot withstand even these small winds and waves, how will he become a great artifact refiner in the future?"

"Besides." The corners of Elder Mo's mouth lifted slightly. "That boy never rises early without profit, and he won't release the hawk unless he sees the rabbit. Li Gui is going to suffer a setback this time."

Ye Xingchen sat on the crude bed, lost in thought.

It seems artifact refining is not as easy as I imagined. Powerful divine sense is only one part of it. Possessing a strong physique is equally crucial. That Profound Iron can only be rid of its impurities through a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements, and only then can superior-grade spirit artifacts be forged.

To swing eighty-one strikes, one needs not only skill and experience, but also one's life. With my current physical strength, if I forcibly swing forty-nine strikes, I'll likely suffer shattered bones and torn tendons, then explode and die.

The fastest way to strengthen the body is Dragonblood Body-Tempering Paste, but that stuff is priceless and unavailable on the market. Besides, I'm nothing but a penniless pauper.

Ah, poverty is the original sin.

Ye Xingchen sighed, and the Chaotic Wind Hammer Method surfaced in his mind.

This hammer method emphasizes borrowing force to strike with force, endlessly cycling without cease.

Though it is a foundational technique for artifact forging, it is also a body-tempering art. Since I can't afford medicine, I can only use the most primitive, most violent physical therapy.