Chapter 520: Initial-Level - Genius in Refining Artifacts

Zhang Yu had been looking forward to Yu Xinghan's Level 3 Dao Seed for a long time. After all, every bit of strength gained by his companions could serve as nourishment for his own advancement.

With Yu Xinghan's Third Eye Divine Ability reaching Level 3, Zhang Yu gradually understood some of its changes after a series of tests. Previously, the Third Eye Divine Ability primarily allowed him to replicate others' movements, observe the flow of spiritual energy, discern the buildup of techniques, provide a 360-degree panoramic view, and conduct microscopic observations of the human body.

Now, after the upgrade, the Third Eye Divine Ability grants an unforgettable memory for all kinds of martial arts techniques! Any fist technique, sword art, or saber technique, once viewed by the Third Eye Divine Ability, would be firmly imprinted in memory! Furthermore, if the mana circulation routes of related martial arts were known, it would even have the effect of "practice through observation." In other words, with the enhancement of the Third Eye Divine Ability, even without much personal practice, simply watching others perform martial arts would naturally increase one's own martial arts proficiency!

Upon realizing this, Zhang Yu's first thought was naturally the combination of the Third Eye Divine Ability and the Feather Scroll. "Could watching others practice increase the cultivation count for the Feather Scroll? If so..."

However, after some attempts, Zhang Yu quickly found that it didn't work. "Alas, can this Third Eye Divine Ability not affect the cultivation progress of the Feather Scroll?" Zhang Yu thought to himself, "That's right. No matter how many cultivation textbooks I read, or how much guidance I receive from teachers... these things that theoretically could improve my cultivation realm are unable to advance the Feather Scroll's cultivation! The Feather Scroll's cultivation requires solid, step-by-step practice, time and again!"

Although slightly disappointed that the Third Eye Divine Ability couldn't affect the Feather Scroll, Zhang Yu soon discovered the true benefits of the upgraded Third Eye Divine Ability for himself. "The effect of microscopic observation has further increased, and the perception of mana flow and spiritual energy flow has also been enhanced!" Zhang Yu thought to himself, "If used to assist in artifact refining, it would enhance my ability to handle artifacts' mana circuits, improving the efficiency and success rate of rune engraving!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking, "If there are any issues with an artifact's mana circuits during future refining, I can temporarily switch the Azure Lotus Sword Embryo (Spirit Root) to the Third Eye Divine Ability (Spirit Root) to deal with those mana circuit problems!" As for routinely using the Third Eye Divine Ability to observe martial arts for cultivation, the efficiency was too low for Zhang Yu. It would be better to frequently use the Azure Lotus Sword Embryo to further enhance the adaptability of this Divine Spirit Root!

On the other side, after understanding the functions of the Third Eye Divine Ability, Yu Xinghan instantly became excited! "Practice through observation?" Yu Xinghan quickly pulled up cultivation technique videos from his eye-skeleton and started playing them. With each viewing, he felt his understanding of the technique deepen and his mastery grow, as if he had personally practiced it several times! "Excellent!" Yu Xinghan thought, "From now on, I can watch videos while working, which is equivalent to cultivating martial arts all the time!"

Zhang Yu looked at Yu Xinghan's Level 3 Dao Seed and thought, "A Level 3 Dao Seed can allow practice through observation. If it keeps upgrading, will he eventually be able to learn others' techniques just by watching them once?" But at the same time, a subtle worry arose in his heart: "Achieving such an effect might not be entirely good. For martial arts like Extreme Emotion Sword Dao, learning it after just one glance... that would be troublesome! And if it truly reaches that point, will this Third Eye Divine Ability also become a Divine Spirit Root? If Yu Xinghan were to be discovered to have developed a Divine Spirit Root..."

At this thought, Zhang Yu slightly furrowed his brows and recalled Le Mulan. Whether it was the possibility of Yu Xinghan's Third Eye Divine Ability being upgraded to a Divine Spirit Root in the future, or Le Mulan's Frost Meridian's life-extending ability, he sensed the scent of danger from both.

Glancing at Yu Xinghan, Zhang Yu thought, "To upgrade the Third Eye Divine Ability to Level 4 next, it will require 8,000 mana, which is the standard for the Golden Core stage! There's still plenty of time... But no matter what, I must become wealthier and more powerful before I can confidently upgrade the Dao Seed's level!"

***

Late May.

On this particular day, Zhang Yu had originally planned to rent a laboratory with his senior sister, Ye Xingli, but then he received news that she had acquired her own artifact refining laboratory! Walking into her laboratory and seeing the equipment on the experimental benches, Zhang Yu remarked enviously, "Senior Sister, how much did this lab cost you?"

Zhang Yu knew that for artifact refiners, having one's own laboratory made a huge difference; it was like being in two completely different social classes! Owning a laboratory not only saved a large sum in rent but also eliminated the trouble of queuing for labs and equipment, allowing more time and energy to be focused on artifact refining! Going even further, one could, like True Lord Magnetic Pole, possess their own production line capable of mass-producing artifacts and magic constructs!

Ye Xingli smiled faintly and said, "It didn't cost me much; it was mainly an investment from the Myriad Dao Artisans Sect. They hired me to improve some of their products!" Hearing this, Zhang Yu felt even more envious and thought, "My senior sister truly has a great talent for artifact refining. No wonder she made it into the top five of a hundred schools in the design competition!"

Zhang Yu knew that any artifact, once created, had immense room for improvement. The first person to create a flying sword was impressive, but the technology contained within that initial flying sword could absolutely not compare to any expert-grade flying sword available on the market today! Major companies, in order to compete and continuously innovate and improve their products, often not only have their own cultivators conduct research and development but also hire excellent university faculty and students for collaborative development! The Ye Xingli before him was clearly a student favored by a company!

Ye Xingli then said, "There are six experimental benches here, and I usually only use five. If you want, I can rent you a bench. As for the lab equipment, you can check my experimental schedule and use it when I'm not. The rent will be calculated at the lowest possible rate!"

In Zhang Yu's eyes, Ye Xingli was a prodigy with a Dao Seed and great talent! And in Ye Xingli's eyes, wasn't Zhang Yu also a prodigy with artifact refining talent, the attention of True Lord Magnetic Pole, and the opportunity for a Soul Transformation stage magic construct? Especially in the past two months, Zhang Yu had taken on many artifact orders from Ye Xingli, which also made Ye Xingli realize that Zhang Yu had mastered several more artifact refining techniques, making her value her junior brother even more.

As the two were talking, Zi Yunzhen, wearing a magic construct insignia, entered Ye Xingli's laboratory with two other students. Zhang Yu privately messaged, "Senior Sister, are these your hired assistants?"

Zhang Yu knew that many artifact refiners would hire assistants to improve their refining efficiency! After all, during the artifact refining process, besides complex problems, there were also many tedious tasks! For example, cleaning and processing materials, extracting certain elements, organizing documents... many repetitive, mundane, and dirty tasks were both time-consuming and labor-intensive! If these tasks could be delegated to assistants, the artifact refiner themselves would naturally have more time and energy to focus on more important matters! And many students in the artifact refining department were quite willing to take on assistant roles! After all, in this process, they could practice artifact refining techniques without needing to rent a laboratory or buy materials, and they could also receive guidance from experienced cultivators!

Ye Xingli nodded and messaged privately: "The artifact I'm going to improve this time is related to malevolent qi. You know how troublesome earthly malevolent qi is. Poor people have to deal with malevolent qi themselves, while wealthier cultivators buy specialized artifacts. But I'm telling you, when it comes to dealing with malevolent qi, even the best artifact can't compare to an assistant." Ye Xingli winked at Zhang Yu, smiled, and messaged privately: "Against insidious malevolent qi contamination, only assistants are the best protective artifacts."

Ye Xingli then asked: "I heard from Master that you're not planning to participate in the design competition, but instead want to directly build the prototype of the Heavenly Sun Blazing God?" Zhang Yu replied: "Yes, that's my plan. I've already started studying the blueprints recently."

Ye Xingli advised: "Aren't you perhaps taking too big a step? It would be more natural to first participate in the design competition, find a way to obtain a military-grade cultivation method, and then refine military-grade artifacts in the future! Jumping directly to manufacturing a military-grade artifact prototype will require significantly more effort." In Ye Xingli's opinion, even if Zhang Yu's aptitude was outstanding, mastering all the necessary techniques for a military-grade artifact prototype without the aid of a military-grade cultivation method might take several years and still not guarantee success. It's all about gradual accumulation, and there are few shortcuts. With a military-grade cultivation method, many steps could be skipped, allowing more to be accomplished in less time! As for the design competition, there were quite a few tricks and shortcuts!

Zhang Yu replied: "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I know what I'm doing."

Ye Xingli shook her head inwardly and decided not to try persuading him further. She herself had similar ideas in the past, believing her exceptional talent could achieve what others couldn't, but she gave up after half a month of trying. The Zhang Yu before her was also overly confident; he would know to change course once he hit a wall!

Ye Xingli, however, turned to Zi Yunzhen and the other two, saying, "I've already told you about the work arrangements, haven't I? Your task today is simple: prepare for my experiment tomorrow by cleaning and sorting all the materials..." Zi Yunzhen asked curiously, "Senior Sister, is Zhang Yu also here to be an assistant?" Ye Xingli said calmly, "Zhang Yu is here to borrow one of my experimental benches and some lab equipment. You don't need to concern yourselves with his matters!"

In the following period, Zhang Yu frequently came to Ye Xingli's place to practice artifact refining techniques. In the blink of an eye, by the end of May, he had successfully completed the sixth cultivation method for "Artifact Refining Prodigy"!

Junior Level One Artifact Refining Prodigy (6/6): Practice efficiency for artifact manufacturing techniques is doubled. Seeing the effect of Artifact Refining Prodigy, Zhang Yu's eyes sharpened, and he thought to himself, "Good!" Zhang Yu knew that these so-called artifact manufacturing techniques, unlike artifact refining methods such as the "Divine Fire Mirror" which enhance refining ability, referred to the skills of creating various artifacts according to design blueprints. Things like Azure Sky Sand and Grand Unity Golden Liquid Pill all belonged to artifact manufacturing techniques. The "practice efficiency doubled" meant that when Zhang Yu practiced the manufacturing techniques from a certain artifact blueprint, each practice session would be counted as two on the Feather Scroll!

"Excellent! While the Great Body of Academia only improves the efficiency of cultivation methods, this Artifact Refining Prodigy can boost the effectiveness of my blueprint study! After doubling, to practice a Level 20 artifact, not only is the time cut in half, but crucially, the artifacts required for practice are also halved, which effectively means saving half the materials! However, with the Grand Pure Realm, I only need to simulate the blueprint learning process in the spiritual realm anyway, so I can do it without material cost! Nevertheless, halving the time is a tangible benefit!"

Seeing that the first level of Artifact Refining Prodigy already had such an effect, Zhang Yu's confidence in mastering the manufacturing of the Heavenly Sun Blazing God prototype in the future grew even stronger!