Chapter 524: 终极-炼器奇才

One day, Zhang Yu arrived at True Monarch Ciji’s laboratory. As he participated in the research of Divine Transformation artifact remains, as usual, he suddenly heard True Monarch Ciji ask, "Are you going to directly compete with Jin Jun for the military certification of the Sky-Sun Blazing God?"

Evidently, the news had already reached her.

Zhang Yu nodded, "Yes."

True Monarch Ciji thought for a moment and said, "Quite a few people are keeping an eye on me, your master. After all, I want to be evaluated for Divine Transformation, but many people don't want Myriad Laws University to have another Divine Transformation cultivator. Since you are my disciple, you will naturally be under their observation as well. If you participate in the prototype's review, you will likely attract a lot of attention, even difficulties. The demands on you will also be more stringent..."

True Monarch Ciji carefully chose her words, explaining the crucial points to Zhang Yu. For her, if Zhang Yu could successfully secure the Sky-Sun Blazing God, it might slightly help her Divine Transformation evaluation. However, if Zhang Yu made any mistakes during the review process that implicated her, it would instead be a burden on her Divine Transformation evaluation. The worst outcome would be if Zhang Yu used any cheating methods, like proxy refinement or forgery, to defeat Jin Jun. Although she didn't think Zhang Yu would be that foolish, given the seriousness of the matter, True Monarch Ciji decided to give him a thorough warning.

Zhang Yu listened obediently, while looking at True Monarch Ciji's chest, sensing the increasingly clear Dao Seed within her, and seeing the four characters "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature," gradually perceiving the information contained within. Zhang Yu thought to himself, "To replicate this 'The Exploitation of the Works of Nature' Dao Seed, I need to refine an artifact of level 30 or higher together with True Monarch Ciji." He mused that this requirement was higher than for any other Dao Seed in the past. After all, with Zhang Yu's current artifact refining skill, he could only refine artifacts up to level 20 at most.

"Artifacts above level 30 can only be refined by Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Do I have to wait until I break through to the Nascent Soul realm to replicate my teacher's Dao Seed?" Zhang Yu slightly shook his head, thinking it would be too slow.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he recalled another method: "I wonder if becoming her assistant and participating in her artifact refining projects would count as fulfilling the condition, and if I could successfully replicate the Dao Seed that way?" Zhang Yu thought it probably would. So, he began subtly probing True Monarch Ciji, but quickly discovered... there were simply no artifact refining projects where he could serve as an assistant.

"The gap in artifact refining skill between True Monarch Ciji and me is simply too vast."

"Sigh, is there any way to directly participate in an artifact refining project without needing high refining skill..."

As Zhang Yu pondered, he looked at the Divine Transformation artifact remains not far away, and a sudden inspiration struck him. "Unless, like now, I become an experimental subject in the project, becoming the very thing the project needs to use..." Thinking of this, Zhang Yu opened his mouth and suddenly asked, "Teacher, do these artifact remains only have yin vessels, and no yang vessels?"

True Monarch Ciji glanced at Zhang Yu. "What are you trying to say?" From the start, she had felt this boy's eyes darting around, wondering what scheme he was concocting.

Zhang Yu said, "I was just thinking, with yin and yang, balance is the true path of dual cultivation. Perhaps a yang vessel is needed to better advance the experiment?"

True Monarch Ciji replied, "Do you think I haven't tried? Ordinary artifact remains are useless."

Zhang Yu stepped forward and said, "So, ordinary artifact remains can't be used!"

True Monarch Ciji's eyes flashed. "Are you suggesting... refining something from your body into artifact remains?"

Zhang Yu was slightly startled and quickly said, "That's not what I meant. I meant just using my data as a reference..."

On the other side, True Monarch Ciji mumbled, "Indeed, having only you as a test subject now is too little; it's slowing down the entire project. If we could refine certain parts of your body into artifact remains and then replicate them, the overall efficiency might greatly improve." Thinking of this, True Monarch Ciji smiled faintly and reached out towards Zhang Yu, intending to take something from him to examine.

Zhang Yu quickly said, "Teacher! What if it fails? What if the changes to my body make this Divine Transformation artifact remain no longer recognize me? It's better to first try creating an artifact remain using bionic methods with other materials, based on my data."

True Monarch Ciji thought for a moment and said, "That also makes sense."

Zhang Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "In this way... I should be considered to be refining an artifact with my teacher, right?"

Late July.

In Ye Xingli's laboratory, streaks of electric light flickered in Zhang Yu's palm as he was drawing magical power circuits on the second-hand artifact in front of him using the Five Thunders Refining Technique. This Five Thunders Refining Technique was precisely the tenth set of cultivation methods Zhang Yu had used to accumulate his Artifact Refining Prodigy. As the cultivation method completed its final cycle and was successfully pushed to Level 20 by Zhang Yu, his Artifact Refining Prodigy also reached its final level.

Ultimate Artifact Refining Prodigy (10/10): The more artifact refining production techniques mastered, and the higher the level of these techniques, the higher the refining efficiency, up to a twofold increase.

Zhang Yu's heart stirred: "Coincidentally, for the upcoming Sky-Sun Blazing God project, I will need to learn many artifact blueprints. Then, the more blueprints I master, the faster my refining speed will be, further accelerating the future refining of the prototype machine." Looking back at the layers of buffs from Artifact Refining Prodigy, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Plus the first-level effect, which doubles my ability to learn blueprints. The second-level effect improves refining quality while effectively reducing costs." Zhang Yu glanced at the laboratory in front of him, thinking, "It's time to leave here and start studying the Sky-Sun Blazing God."

Meanwhile, not far away, after Ye Xingli finished another set of experiments, she replaced her hands and handed them to Zi Yunzhen, who was nearby. These were artifact remains in the form of hands that Ye Xingli used for safety, specifically during the research of this malevolent aura purification artifact. Zi Yunzhen, standing by, took Ye Xingli's hands. She looked at them as if they were a work of art, perceiving their supreme beauty. After all, as a prodigy of the Artifact Refining Department, the artifact remains on Ye Xingli's body were objects of study and observation for them; every time they looked, they could feel the charm contained within.

After Ye Xingli changed her hands, during the experiment's interval, she took out a piece of concrete and, with a slight look of disdain, took a bite. Zhang Yu asked, "Senior Sister, are you filming a video?" Ye Xingli nodded after taking two more bites of concrete and said, "Yes, my fans are mainly lower-tier college students and vocational school students, and they like to watch me eat concrete." Then, Ye Xingli began to film her legs. Her starlit glowing legs were fully displayed, showcasing the expensiveness and allure of the artifact remains—this was also content her fans loved to watch. Through this period of interaction, Zhang Yu learned that Ye Xingli had over 3 million followers on the Spirit Realm Network, making her a true internet celebrity.

If in the past, cultivators aspired to be sword cultivators, alchemists, or talisman masters, then in modern times, the profession cultivators most aspire to is that of an internet celebrity. Because this line of work is simply too fast and easy to make money. According to Ye Xingli, she didn't know why her fans were so foolish; she'd just post a random video of the artifact remains on her body, and those idiots would start liking, promoting, and running ads for it on their own.

Ye Xingli said, "In reality, it's best not to associate with lower-tier college students or vocational school students. But if you want to be an internet celebrity, then those who target vocational school students will rule the world. After all, vocational school students are the most numerous group in universities, and also the group most likely to idolize wealthy individuals, needing some form of spiritual or Dao-heart sustenance."

After a few casual remarks, Ye Xingli looked at her eye artifact. Ye Xingli's attention to Zhang Yu stemmed entirely from True Monarch Ciji's regard for him. And after hearing True Monarch Ciji's comment about Zhang Yu being nostalgic, she tried to adjust her communication style to best suit him. Looking at the 'Poor Person Simulator' that popped up in her eye artifact, whenever Ye Xingli input her conversation with Zhang Yu and the current scenario, the simulator would suggest many suitable dialogues.

Poor Person Simulator: Give the concrete to the other person, and ask if they want a taste.Poor Person Simulator: Reminder again, this simulator is for entertainment and research purposes, simulating the poor person's mindset, language, and reactions. Please do not fully adopt its suggestions, lest you actually become poor.Poor Person Simulator: Warning again, once you become poor, you can never go back.

Ye Xingli handed the concrete over. "Want a taste?"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "Senior Sister, I plan to leave the laboratory for a while. I need to start studying the design blueprints for the Sky-Sun Blazing God." To study the design blueprints and master the required techniques, Zhang Yu chose to learn all the necessary technologies for the Sky-Sun Blazing God by studying various artifact blueprints. Unlike cultivating techniques, practicing blueprints could be accelerated and simulated in the Spirit Realm. Thus, Zhang Yu naturally planned to go to the Grand Purity Realm to expedite this process. As he said goodbye to Ye Xingli, Zhang Yu's gaze swept over the fleeting spiritual artifact core in her chest. He thought to himself, "Spending almost every day with my Senior Sister for the past two months wasn't in vain after all." However, Zhang Yu knew that for a while, he probably wouldn't be able to spend every day with Ye Xingli.

There were three main steps to refining the Sky-Sun Blazing God's prototype machine. The first step was to study the artifact blueprints and master all the techniques. The second step was to refine a Level 1 prototype machine. The third step was to upgrade the prototype machine level by level.

Zhang Yu thought, "To secure the military certification, I need to upgrade the prototype machine to at least Level 11, preferably Level 15 or higher, for a higher chance of passing the review. Besides that, I also need to consider the timing for applying for the review. If Jin Jun applies for the review before me, then I'll have to apply along with him. Otherwise, if he gets the military certification quota for the Sky-Sun Blazing God in the next academic year by passing the review first, I'll have to wait until the year after." Thinking of this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but quicken his pace. After bidding farewell to Ye Xingli, he left the laboratory.

On the other side, Zi Yunzhen watched this scene and thought, "Is Zhang Yu really going to compete with Jin Jun? It's been two months since he last met Jin Jun, and he's only now starting to learn the blueprints? Is that enough time?"

A few days later, Jin Jun, on his end, thought of Zhang Yu once more: "That kid hasn't come over at all." He asked Zi Yunzhen: "Is Zhang Yu still in your laboratory?"

Zi Yunzhen replied: "He just left a few days ago, said he was going to study the blueprints for the Sky-Sun Blazing God."

Jin Jun looked at the reply and chuckled, speechless: "Only starting to learn now?"