by <unknown>
The alloys as soft as a swamp were sent to the bottom of the furnace where the temperature was relatively low.
In this place, the shaping rune arrays would crush the alloys into the basic form of components through high pressure according to the patterns preset on the crystal processor.
This was just the beginning.
Later, they would have to experience dozens of procedures, including rapid freezing, quenching, high-pressure forging, rune arrays embedding, and so on. Some of the procedures would even have to be repeated several times before a functional magical equipment component was finally born.
For other people, the process might be tedious and boring.
But for Li Yao, such a job was like organizing a bunch of slovenly mobs and taming them with the harshest martial laws so that they could be trained into obedient and unstoppable soldiers who could crush everything in their way!
He liked it. Eventually, he completely dwelled in the world of refining.
As a young man from a remote town who had never been heard of before, he might not be enough to attract the sight of common audience, but many experts of the trade had noticed his oddness.
"Huh. This guy, Li Yao, his furnace seems different from others'; its efficiency is much higher!"
"Indeed. The temperature limit, pressure limit, and the switch from high temperature and low temperature of his furnace are all better than the performance of other people's furnaces!"
"The overall specifications of this particular furnace are at least 3% higher than other furnaces. What happened? Was the organizer too careless?"
"It has nothing to do with the organizer. The guy made some minor adjustments on his furnace at the beginning. Hurry up and replay the adjustments! Let's study them more carefully!"
Inside many spectators' rooms, the seniors and renowned refiners had all noticed Li Yao.
Many data analysts were quickly operating their light beams in order to scrutinize his actions.
As more and more details were presented, many of the experts were apparently interested in the contestant.
"Who is this Li Yao exactly? The style of his refining is somewhat old-fashioned, with a dash of heartlessness. It is not similar to any mainstream styles."
"He is gambling!"
"Spending fifty-four minutes in adjusting his furnace could, of course, improve its performance, but the time left for the real refining work has been greatly diminished! The creation of many components will take two to three hours anyhow!"
"Producing three pieces of magical equipment in five hours. Does he really have enough time?"
One second passed after another.
After four hours, most of the refiners had finished the refining of the components and entered the last procedure.
For a component that had just been set free from the high temperature and pressure of the furnace, its internal structure was still unstable even though it had gone through cooling liquids, with tiny and chaotic residues of spiritual energy known as 'inner stress'.
In the theories of the ancient Cultivators, there was still 'scent of the smoke' in a newly-made component. Only the mediocre refiners would create a piece of magical equipment with such components.
Placing a component for three to five years without touching it would eliminate the inner stress.
However, most refiners wouldn't wait for so long. Same as the spiritualization process, every sect and school had their own ways to cope with inner stress.
But all the ways required more than half an hour to fully remove the inner stress.
Some of the less capable refiners who did not know any method to eradicate inner stress had already started assembling their components dutifully.
But Li Yao was still refining the components one batch after another.
Another half hour passed. There were only thirty minutes to go!
Almost all the refiners had finished the refinement of components. The top experts had started reducing the inner stress with various techniques.
Li Yao was still busy.
It was not until there were only twenty minutes left that he finished refining the last batch of components.
The fresh components were piled up on the operation platform like a hill, from which hot steam was popping up nonstop.
"Time is running out!"
Many experts who had been focusing on Li Yao shook their heads.
Within less than twenty minutes, it was impossible to completely destroy the inner stress of all the components anyway. If he were to assemble the components without preprocessing them, the slim advantage that he got from optimizing his furnace would be entirely offset.
The crazy refining of almost five hours was a great burden both for the body and for the heart. Li Yao seemed to have turned into a dry wood. His eyelids were sloppy, his face lethargic. The last bit of brilliance deep inside his dark, ink-like eyes was gone. His movements slowed down.
Li Yao raised his hands softly. Deep blue electric arcs broke out from his fingertips which then swept over and absorbed the components that were as high as a hill and…
Span!
Thousands of components seemed to have formed a steel tornado. Bolstered by the electric arcs unleased from Li Yao's fingertips, they were spinning rapidly in midair!
It was quite a popular method of reducing inner stress by spinning. The seasoned refiners were not surprised to see it.
But the very next second, the corners of their eyes were all trebling violently.
The steel tornado in front of Li Yao was spinning faster and faster. Together with the dazzling electric arcs, it formed a large swirl with immense attraction force!
The hammers, clamps, and wasted materials on the desk all bounced and jumped into the swirl!
Ca! Ca! Ca! Ca! Ca! Ca! Ca!
Earsplitting noises immediately echoed within the steel swirl.
Many sharp-edged metal materials were colliding crazily and generating brilliant sparks as if somebody were setting off fireworks!
Countless powder-like objects sprayed from the bottom of the swirl loosely, only to be pulled by the attraction force of the swirl and spun around with the swirl before they spread out like a grey mist!
The steel swirl made of components was like a hungry beast that had swallowed the tools and wasted material and crushed them into the tiniest iron powder!
The inner stress inside the components vanished during the crazy swallowing and crushing.
Ten minutes later, Li Yao's fingers jerked weirdly. Blue electric arcs darted out of his fingers and interweaved into almost a hundred tentacles that connected all the components as if they were pearls on a necklace!
Sparks were bursting, electric arc were overflowing, and dreamy lightning was splashing. The electric currents seemed to be endowing each component with a new life. They congregated—as if they were monads—combined, and expanded!
After five minutes of the glamorous show—
A chainsword, a vibration saber, and a heat axe were born perfectly!
At this moment, the last bit of the fire on the countdown in the middle of the workshop perished.
End of the match!
Li Yao grunted. He stumbled as if somebody had punched him right in his chest. The sparks and lightning immediately vanished.
In front of him, three pieces of black, plain-looking magical equipment were floating. They were chasing and hunting the last bits of wandering electric arcs in the air like three naughty cubs.
Ticktack. Ticktack.
The skin on Li Yao's ten fingers had all broken apart. There was barely any left on his two thumbs. Hot blood dripped to the ground, where vague steam was rising up.
"My blood is burning!"
Li Yao lifted his thumb to his mouth and sucked it.
The blood mixed with the flavor of steel and sweat after a fully-devoted fight was always extraordinarily sweet and satisfying!
Chapter 495: Two Surpassing All! |
Long Yunxin and Zhou Xiaoy
u walked out of their workshops at almost the same time.
Three pieces of glamorously shining magical equipment were floating behind each of them.
When their ruthless eyes crashed into each other, the six blades flew to their middle with their edges pointing at their opponents, as if they were two merciless armies at a war.
The same structural designs and the same materials had been refined into completely different styles because of the unique techniques employed by each refiner.
On the three pieces of magical equipment refined by Long Yunxin, flames that looked like scattered dragon scales were rolling and raging.
Zhou Xiaoyu's magical equipment, on the other hand, was entangled with streaks of purple brightness, as if countless purple vipers were crouching on the edges of the blades, hissing at his opponent. It was quite scary.
The six pieces of magical equipment gradually drew close to each other. The auras were surging, and the brightness was colliding. The air between them was ripped apart. Electric arcs as thin as hair were rushing and shining.
"Yunxin, it seems that you've put in a lot of work over the last year. Even the dragon scale sword aura, the ultimate technique of your family, has been grasped by you!" said Zhou Xiaoyu with a smile, but he was apparently not bothered at all.
Long Yunxin scorned, "Young Master Zhou, let's see in a moment whether my dragon swallows your viper or your viper poisons my dragon!"
While the two of them were talking, Li Yao walked out of his workshop exhaustedly.
His three pieces of magical equipment were not floating in the air; they were held in his arms, lackluster as if they were wasted iron that had just been dug out from the ground.
When he passed by them, Li Yao slowed down and glanced at their works.
His eyes stopped there for just one moment before they were moved away immediately.
The magical equipment in his arms was as quiet as before. All the blades were lying inside his arms lazily.
Long Yunxin's and Zhou Xiaoyu's magical equipment didn't have any reactions. They didn't perceive any danger and felt no threat from Li Yao's magical equipment after all.
Li Yao walked forward without looking at them anymore. His eyes were fixed on the giant light beam not far away.
The ranks of the 320 refiners would soon be listed on the light beam.
Other than the top 32, who were qualified to go to the next round, the ranks of the other contestants would be calculated by the accumulated damage their blades dealt.
For all the refiners who made it to the top 100, they were very likely to receive invitations from the important sects and crystal suit centers.
In the Flying Star Sector, in order to avoid nepotism, it was a custom for the young people of the noble refining families to work in other sects and organizations, instead of staying in their own. This ensured that their skills and experience could be exchanged, and newer, stronger refining techniques could be inspired.
Therefore, the rank meant a lot for the young people of the noble families. Their futures were dependent on it, too.
Li Yao was gazing at the top three on the list.
To this moment, they were still blank.
Since the very beginning, Li Yao's targets had never been Long Yunxin and Zhou Xiaoyu.
His cleavers were not prepared for those two seeds.
The soul-stirring damage examination test soon began!
It was also the most enjoyable procedure in the refining match.
Magical equipment refined by the super experts, when activated at its maximum capacity, could often unleash unimaginable damage in unparalleled dazzling brilliance.
Here, the basic unit to gauge the damage of the magical equipment was 'crystal'.
One crystal of damage equaled to the damage that the energy contained inside one gram of standard crystal could deal.
Inside thirty-two test rooms, artificial arms made of steel and rune arrays were lifting pieces of magical equipment swiftly, sending one standard portion of spiritual energy, and slashing them at the target in the front brutally.
The targets were metal skeletons enveloped in crystal gels. Very sensitive reaction rune arrays had been carved into them. There was also a bright gold spiritual shield on the outside.
With the spiritual energy, the magical equipment all emanated dazzling brightness and shattered the spiritual shield, before it slashed into the crystal gels heavily.
The light beam nearby immediately gave a value for the damage dealt.
"88 crystals!"
"86 crystals!"
"92 crystals!"
The host's excited voice was echoing throughout the field.
"Attention, everyone, the examination procedure has begun! The three structural designs that this Skyhill Sword Seminar adopted are all basic, classic magical equipment, which have been passed on in the Flying Star Sector for hundreds of years.
"In the factories, such magical equipment manufactured via assembly lines usually possesses damage between 30 crystals to 40 crystals! But with the same structure and the same materials, the works delicately made through the hands of refiners mostly possess damage above 80 crystals, more than double the damage of the standard magical equipment!
"In a battlefield, not double, even a gap of 1 crystal might determine the life and death of a Cultivator!
"This is the formidability of refiners!
"My friends, stay tuned. In the No. 1 group and the No. 9 group, the products of Mo Tianshui and Huangpu Xiaoya, two monster-level geniuses that everybody has been looking forward to for a long time, are about to be tested. Let's switch the main camera to them and observe how magnificent their magical equipment is!"
In order to increase the attractiveness of the Skyhill Sword Seminar, the organizer had indeed put a lot of thought into it. The simultaneous tests of Mo Tianshui's and Huangpu Xiaoya's work were apparently arranged on purpose so that more people would be interested in the match.
As it turned out, all the spectators craned their necks and gazed enthusiastically.
Mo Tianshui's magical equipment was just like himself. Antique and austere. A vague hint of wind surrounded both the chainsword and the vibration saber. The two blades had an air of divinity, even though they were the most ordinary magical equipment.
Huangpu Xiaoya's works were alike to her, too, and seemed to have been condensed by bundles of lightning. Electric sparks were spluttering every second.
Shua!
Operated by the artificial arms, their chainswords slashed out almost at the same time.
Mo Tianshui's chainsword seemed to be still, and yet it seemed to be revolving at the maximum speed, too. Before the blade reached its target, a blurred shadow had darted out. No, not a blurred shadow, but the aura of the sword.
Deep inside the chainsword, the vitality and power of soul that the refiner concealed were condensed into an unstoppable sword aura which almost minced space into nothingness. A fuzzy swirl appeared in between the blade and the target!
The distance between the chainsword and the target seemed to have been swallowed by the swirl. The chainsword appeared directly inside of the spiritual shield and cut in the crystal gels softly.
BOOM!
Under the earsplitting noise, a lot of flakes spread out on the light beam, as if it could not bear the overwhelming damage. It was not until a long while later that the final outcome was revealed.
"153 crystals!"
There was nothing but silence.
The number was double that of other contestants and quadruple that of assembly-line magical equipment!
Also, the magical equipment had been made of the most common metal materials. If it were made of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, with a more advanced structural design, what would the ultimate chainsword be like?
The talented heir of a noble family that had lasted for hundreds of years was indeed impressive!
Within the moment, Huangpu Xiaoya's chainsword dashed out, too.
Hardly had the blade was released when the electric currents wreathing the chainsword expanded exponentially. It was originally 1.25 meters long, but the electric currents had enlarged it to almost six meters. The entire test room was enshrouded in raging purple brightness!
The electric arcs tore the spiritual shield into pieces effortlessly like tusks and pierced into the crystal gel ruthlessly!
The attack continued. The reading on the light beam rose. 33 crystals, 45 crystals, 84 crystals, and eventually, 149 crystals!
The unbelievable figure raised another round of exclamations.
"Everyone, Mo Tianshui and Huangpu Xiaoya have completed the test for their chainswords. They truly deserve to be the talented successors of two noble families that have lasted hundreds of years. Such results eclipse the performance of all the other contestants in the Skyhill Sword Seminars over the last thirty years and are only slightly weaker than Huangpu Shiyi's, the crazy sword forger who disappeared as abruptly as he appeared. How incredible!"
The host was crying in such a high voice that one might suspect his lungs were going to burst.
Inside the field and out, cheers and applause burst out like a flood.
On the list, the two of them ranked first and second in regard to the damage of chainswords. But the third place only had a score of 110 crystals. It was far from them, indicating that the contestant was not of the same level as them at all.
Soon, their vibration sabers and heat axes were tested, too.
"My friends! My friends! I cannot believe my eyes! The total damage of Mo Tianshui's three blades is 503 crystals! But Huangpu Xiaoya caught up to him very shortly. Her vibration saber blew out a terrifying damage of 178 crystals! Her total damage is 506 crystals!
"In the second round, Huangpu Xiaoya is currently in the lead, and Mo Tianshui is closely behind her. The two of them make the first echelon. The contestant in the third place has a gap of 108 crystals from them. They are indeed surpassing all!
"Marvelous! Truly marvelous! I cannot wait to see their confrontation in the final elimination round!"
The atmosphere inside the field and out had reached the climax. All of the audience was simmering in excitement. Many experienced refiners rose up from their seats uncontrollably. In the heated atmosphere, everybody's roars rumbled into two deafening names.
