The two-meter-tall, powerfully built disciple had left an exceptionally deep impression on Lu Li.
Despite looking like a man who murdered people and stole their goods, he took nothing but jobs for cultivators who followed the path of keeping a low profile...
Even though they had met only once, Lu Li recognized him at a glance.
If he remembered correctly, the man's name was...
"Senior Brother Xu Xiong?"
"Hm? You know me? You are..."
Xu Xiong looked momentarily startled. He didn't recognize Lu Li, and his voice was full of surprise.
"Uh... I'm Lu Li. We met once at the General Affairs Hall, Senior Brother."
Lu Li offered an explanation.
Xu Xiong scratched his head and thought for a long while, but still couldn't remember him. He could only laugh it off.
"So it's Junior Brother Lu. What brings you to my master's hall, Junior Brother?"
"Your master? Master Wu... Oh, I accepted Master Wu's assignment to clear out the furnace slag."
"I see. Then you may have to wait a little while, Junior Brother."
"I happen to be refining a Law Artifact today, so I need to borrow Master's forge."
"But you came at just the right time. Didn't Master's assignment include one chance to watch artifact refining? You can watch me refine an artifact today."
Xu Xiong looked rugged and fierce, but his tone was fairly friendly.
Without waiting for Lu Li to reply, he walked over to the forge.
With a turn of his hand, he took a handful of strangely shaped materials from his Storage Bag.
Watch artifact refining...
So soon... But wasn't I supposed to watch Master Wu refine an artifact...?
Lu Li was momentarily speechless and felt it would be awkward to say much.
Since Xu Xiong had already said so, he would just watch.
He would see what artifact refining was all about.
But another question arose in his mind.
Since he's Master Wu's disciple and likes taking those timid little assignments...
Why didn't he take this assignment himself, instead of letting me take it...?
His confusion wasn't without reason.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this slag-cleaning assignment a cushy job.
He was Master Wu's own disciple, so why not let him take it...?
Before Lu Li could figure it out, Xu Xiong's hand seals churned.
A roaring fire rose beneath the enormous forge.
Scorching heat swept through the entire side hall in an instant.
"Rise!"
Xu Xiong gave a low shout, his expression utterly different from the rugged look he had worn moments ago.
He looked resolute through and through.
His concentration was that of a master craftsman: he had eyes for the artifact and nothing else.
His robes stirred without wind, flapping loudly.
As his hand seals churned, he displayed all the bearing of an artifact refiner.
So this is artifact refining... How wondrous...
I didn't expect him to have such skills...
The dazzling display held Lu Li's full attention, leaving him scarcely breathing.
He widened his eyes, afraid of missing anything.
But who could have known that, in the next second-
After Xu Xiong tossed the first artifact-refining material into the forge, his whole demeanor... changed completely!
"The Star Flame Ore is in the furnace. Right, next comes the Flowing Cold Water... No! That's not right! I have to wait until the ore is seventy or eighty percent melted."
"Crap! I forgot to warm the furnace over a low fire before putting in the Star Flame Ore!"
"It's ruined, it's ruined! This batch is ruined again!"
Watching Xu Xiong go from a composed artifact refiner to a flustered girl cooking for the first time,
Even Lu Li, strict as he was about controlling his expression, couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.
If he wasn't mistaken, this man... seemingly didn't know how to refine artifacts at all!
Leaving everything else aside, he couldn't even remember the order of the steps.
With talent like that, how had he become Master Wu's disciple?
Wait... Does this count as my chance to observe or not?
I haven't seen anything yet.
Lu Li was a little dazed and was about to ask him.
But then he saw Xu Xiong sweep his sleeve, gathering up the residue inside.
He took out several more portions of spirit materials.
He's going to refine more?
This...
Lu Li was stunned. Though he wasn't familiar with those spirit materials, they didn't look cheap.
No matter how wealthy Xu Xiong was, surely he couldn't afford to waste them like this.
Xu Xiong seemed to have forgotten entirely that there was anyone beside him.
His eyes were shut and his brow furrowed as he muttered incessantly.
"Warm the furnace over a low fire, put in the Star Flame Ore, melt it seventy or eighty percent, add Flowing Cold Water..."
"When it's about to solidify but hasn't yet, add refined iron... fuse it completely... take it out, forge and carve it..."
"Use the Billowing Waves Method, nine heavy strokes and one light... five cuts and four carvings... preferably add cloud-piercing, sky-rending, and swiftness Artifact Inscriptions..."
"Remember, carve the runes in order... cloud-piercing first, then sky-rending..."
Muttering to himself, Xu Xiong seemed to be sorting out the steps.
Step by step, item by item, he listed each one.
He repeated them over and over, dozens of times in all.
Lu Li, standing beside him, was deeply shaken.
Because...
Why do I feel like even I know how to make this now?
Wait... What is he planning to make...?
Lu Li stared blankly. With his mental ability and memory, he had committed Xu Xiong's words to memory in fewer than three repetitions.
The spirit materials, the steps, the techniques-it was all perfectly clear to him.
Yet Xu Xiong went on reciting them dozens more times before finally stopping.
Gulp!
Is he starting again?
Swallowing, Lu Li came back to his senses and looked at Xu Xiong.
The burly, broad-waisted senior brother formed hand seals once more.
That resolute, focused expression returned.
His robes billowed as he maintained a composed air.
He displayed all the bearing of a master artifact refiner.
Until the next second.
"In!"
A piece of sparkling spirit ore was tossed into the furnace.
The familiar scene played out before Lu Li's eyes again.
"Warm the furnace over a low fire, right! Put in the Star Flame Ore, right! Next... add the Flowing Cold Water..."
"No, that's not right! It has to melt seventy or eighty percent before I can add the Flowing Cold Water!"
"Damn it, I forgot again..."
Xu Xiong's voice rang out in frustration.
Lu Li's already stunned expression grew even more vacant.
He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know how to begin.
He could only watch as Xu Xiong swept up the waste with his sleeve, produced another portion with a turn of his hand, and began muttering again...
"Warm the furnace over a low fire, put in the Star Flame Ore... melt it seventy or eighty percent, add Flowing Cold Water..."
"When it's about to solidify but hasn't yet, add refined iron..."
"..."
Over the next two hours,
Lu Li listened to the artifact-refining steps a full twelve times.
In other words... he watched Xu Xiong fail a full twelve times.
During that time, he not only learned what Xu Xiong was trying to make,
He even found the chance to ask a few questions and gained a rough understanding of the forging methods and Artifact Inscriptions as well.
First-tier, intermediate-grade magic armor...
By rights, it should use defensive Artifact Inscriptions.
Why are all the Artifact Inscriptions being carved... speed-related...?
What, is he planning to use it to run away instead of taking a hit?
As Lu Li lowered his head and pondered, he failed to notice that, without realizing it, he had gained a rough understanding of artifact refining.
Only a single morning had passed in that time.
But...
He couldn't really be blamed, not with something so absurd happening right in front of him...
Just as Xu Xiong prepared to start refining for the thirteenth time,
Lu Li finally couldn't hold back any longer.
He looked at the enormous forge, thought for a moment, and spoke in a low voice.
"Senior Brother Xu, light the fire, one-tenth of your spiritual power... warm the furnace!"