Yang Wanqing held the dagger and turned it over twice. The blade reflected her face, slick with sweat, the tip of her nose red and her bangs stuck to her forehead.
She stared at the dagger for a long time.
Then all the energy drained out of her.
Her shoulders slumped, her back curved, and she leaned against the Stone Platform before sliding down to sit on the floor.
Hearing the noise, Chen Siyao put down the Bamboo Slip in her hands and came over.
"Did it work?"
Yang Wanqing handed her the dagger without a word.
Chen Siyao took it. It had a satisfying heft. She examined it from both sides. The edge was sharp, the patterns even, and the overall shape beautiful.
But...
There were no energy fluctuations.
She probed the inside of the blade with her energy. Solid. No spiritual channels, no traces of engraved formations, no added properties whatsoever.
By mortal standards, it was a sharp, attractive dagger.
But by the standards of artifact refining, it was all show.
Chen Siyao looked up at Yang Wanqing.
Yang Wanqing sat on the floor with both legs stretched out, her head resting against the side of the Stone Platform.
"Yaoyao."
"Mm?"
"Do I just have no talent?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Look..." Yang Wanqing pointed at the dagger. "I spent all day refining it. Ruined five pieces of material. And this is what I ended up with. Sure, it looks nice, but it's basically an ornament. There's no spirit to it at all. I can't infuse it with energy or engrave Formation Patterns on it."
She rubbed the back of her head against the Stone Platform.
"I was the first one to finish the Penglai assessment. I thought I was actually pretty good. But once I tried