"Ten percent of my spiritual power? Hm?"
Lu Li's sudden interjection made Xu Xiong pause in surprise.
He seemed not to have quite processed it.
He instinctively protested, "Ten percent of my spiritual power is far too little. How long would it take to warm the furnace..."
"Senior brother, hear me out. Warming the furnace with ten percent of your spiritual power will give you enough time to fully melt the Star Flame Ore, so you won't miss the point when it's seventy to eighty percent melted."
Lu Li spoke clearly, explaining himself plainly.
He sounded nothing like a novice who had never refined an artifact before, but rather like a seasoned master.
That made Xu Xiong hesitate.
He slowly raised his hands.
"Ten percent spiritual power... rise!"
Taking a deep breath, Xu Xiong drew on a tenth of his spiritual power.
He worked the fire seals, delicately heating the forge with a faint flame.
Only after half an incense stick had burned did the forge's temperature stabilize, waves of heat rolling off it.
"J-Junior Brother Lu? Can I now..."
"Not yet. Don't rush."
Lu Li interrupted Xu Xiong, his eyes fixed on the conditions beneath the forge.
After watching Xu Xiong refine artifacts all morning and listening to his explanations,
he had gained some understanding of artifact refining. It wasn't thorough, but he knew it well by heart.
Before transmigrating, he had been an engineering student with an interest in materials and objects.
Drawing it all together and thinking it through, he had a rough idea in mind.
"Three, two, one... Senior Brother Xu! Put in the Star Flame Ore!"
The sudden shout made Xu Xiong start.
Lu Li's voice seemed to carry a certain magic, making him toss in the spiritual material in his hand without thinking.
"Hum!"
"Hum! Hum!"
The moment the Star Flame Ore entered the furnace,
Lu Li spoke again.
"Senior Brother Xu, increase your spiritual power. Eighty percent fire, and keep forging it!"
"Y-yes..."
With that response, Xu Xiong seemed to have fully adapted to Lu Li's instructions.
Spiritual power immediately surged more strongly through his meridians.
The flames beneath the forge leaped up.
Scorching heat swept over them.
For the next hour, Xu Xiong was like a machine receiving commands.
Whatever Lu Li said, he listened and did as told.
Strangely enough, he found it rather comfortable to work without having to think...
"Senior Brother Xu, add the Flowing Cold Water as before. When the mist rises, form the artifact..."
"Fifty percent spiritual power, condense it to seventy or eighty percent..."
"Add the refined iron! Forge it at full power!"
"..."
Hum!
Hum! Hum! Hum!
Amid the roar of spiritual power and the churning flames,
a solid piece of spiritual material slowly took shape before Xu Xiong's delighted eyes.
"I've reached this step... finally..."
Xu Xiong was thrilled. After failing more than ten times over the entire morning, he had finally reached this step.
But before he could examine the material's structure, Lu Li spoke again.
"Now! Senior Brother Xu, take it out! Forge it!"
"Yes!"
By now, Xu Xiong seemed completely accustomed to Lu Li's instructions.
Before the words had even faded, he struck the scorching forge with one hand.
"Bang!"
With a crisp bang, the spiritual material flew out.
It landed squarely on the flat forging platform atop the forge.
"Billowing Waves Method, nine heavy strokes to one light one, outside first, then inside!"
"Forge the general shape of the magic armor, then use five cuts and four carvings to inscribe the Artifact Inscription!"
"Cloud Piercing first, then Void Breaking, plus the Swiftness Artifact Inscription..."
Lu Li's words came in rapid succession, and Xu Xiong's hands flew.
Spiritual power formed a great hammer and struck the forging platform hard.
For a time, the two of them seemed to have developed a bit of a rapport.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Amid a succession of tremendous thuds,
a suit of magic armor, black from end to end, slowly took shape.
"Swish!"
The moment the armor took shape, a diamond carving stylus gleaming with a dark light appeared in Xu Xiong's hand.
At that moment, his whole body went tense.
The man, more than two meters tall, actually began to shake.
"Senior Brother Xu, you..."
Lu Li was slightly surprised. He could tell
that inscribing the Artifact Inscription was probably the hardest step in the entire refining process.
He couldn't help with it; Xu Xiong could only do it himself.
"Gulp!"
Xu Xiong swallowed and forced himself to calm down.
He looked back at Lu Li.
His heart steadied a little. Then he gritted his teeth, as if steeling himself.
"I refuse to believe I can't do it!"
"Come on!"
With a low growl, Xu Xiong swept out his great hand and summoned the armor before him.
The diamond stylus glowed with rich spiritual light and carved into the armor like a keen blade.
"Scrape!"
"Scrape!"
The armor, which had yet to cool completely, was like a soft pastry.
The sharp, sturdy stylus carved groove after groove into it.
Fine, intricate Artifact Inscriptions slowly emerged beneath Xu Xiong's careful strokes.
Every stroke left his forehead covered in sweat.
It seemed to take all the strength in his body.
So this is how Artifact Inscriptions are inscribed... Does all the wondrous power of a Law Artifact come from this?
Then aren't these Artifact Inscriptions very valuable?
Lu Li was clever and could see the crux of the matter at a glance.
These Artifact Inscriptions were presumably like buffs: the more one knew, the more one could add.
If one knew fewer and inscribed fewer, the power of the Law Artifact would naturally decrease as well.
Presumably, Artifact Inscriptions have grades too...
Artifact refining looks crude... but its techniques truly are wondrous.
Watching Xu Xiong's movements closely, Lu Li committed them firmly to memory.
This was a precious opportunity for him to observe.
He would not miss the slightest step.
So absorbed was he that he failed to notice a figure had appeared at the hall entrance behind him at some point.
Xiong'er... you...
You really did refine a Law Artifact...
You really succeeded... Senior Brother Xu... did you see that? Xiong'er really can refine artifacts!
Your spirit in heaven... can finally rest in peace!
Wu Changgeng seemed somewhat excited. As his emotions stirred, he feared disturbing Xu Xiong, who was drawing and inscribing the Artifact Inscriptions.
He hurriedly circulated his Cultivation Method in secret, perfectly concealing his presence.
His gaze then fell on Lu Li to the side.
His eyes were filled with astonishment and doubt.
This boy... is not only gifted in Cultivation Methods...
He also has such exceptional comprehension of the artifact-refining path... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a natural-born artifact refiner...
What a frightening temperament...
Wu Changgeng had arrived early.
He had been there from the moment Lu Li began helping Xu Xiong refine the artifact.
He had witnessed the entire process of the two refining it.
He had taken in Lu Li's calm, clear-headedness, and orderly approach.
What frightened him even more was...
This Lu Li apparently had never encountered artifact refining before.
In other words... in just half a day, this boy has gained some understanding of the art of artifact refining.
His talent... is hardly inferior to Senior Brother Xu's back then.
Wu Changgeng was deeply shaken, but there was not a trace of suspicion in his gaze.
Only appreciation and surprise...
Lu Li and Xu Xiong were both completely absorbed in their own worlds.
Neither noticed Wu Changgeng behind them
until...
Xu Xiong finished the final stroke of the Artifact Inscription.
"Bang!"
With a crisp bang, rays of spiritual light shone from the armor, black from end to end.
The Artifact Inscriptions on it glimmered with threads of magical light, as if awakening.
"It worked! It worked!"
"Junior Brother Lu! I did it!"
Xu Xiong shouted excitedly, raising the armor.
But when he turned and saw Wu Changgeng standing by the door, his voice cut off abruptly. "M-Master..."