Chapter 25: The Prodigy of Artifact Forging

Su Yun watched Lei Yan’s excited demeanor, utterly bewildered. To her, the process seemed incredibly simple, even faster than her own handmade firearms.

‘Could it be that I’m oversimplifying artifact forging?’ Su Yun pondered, falling silent.

Had any other artifact forger heard her thoughts, they would likely have drowned Su Yun in scorn. The art was truly not so simple. Perhaps Su Yun possessed an innate talent in this area, or perhaps her extensive experience crafting weapon components by hand had honed her instincts.

“So, Master, does this mean I’ve become a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger?” Su Yun asked, her tone remarkably calm.

Her question instantly dampened Lei Yan’s earlier enthusiasm, plunging him into silence once more.

“That’s definitely not enough,” Lei Yan clarified. “You must successfully forge every type of entry-level artifact, completing a full cycle of creation, before you can be considered a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger.”

Weapons, after all, were merely the simplest among all artifacts; many other types existed.

“Oh, I knew it couldn’t be that simple,” Su Yun remarked, a look of eager anticipation on her face. “Master, let’s continue. I’m ready to try forging other Tier-1 Low-grade artifacts of varying difficulty.”

Lei Yan could tell that Su Yun was not yet satisfied. Intrigued to discover the true extent of her talent, he spoke again.

“Very well, let’s proceed,” he agreed. “The second type of artifact involves crafting more intricate shapes, such as towers or cauldrons. Moreover, you’ll need to engrave spirit runes onto these treasures, enabling them to channel a cultivator’s power. I’ll demonstrate now.”

At the mention of spirit runes, Su Yun’s eyes immediately brightened. She understood that spirit runes were one of the core techniques of artifact forging. Theoretically, weapons could also be imbued with spirit runes, but doing so would elevate their grade from Tier-1 Low-grade to Tier-1 Mid-grade.

Lei Yan began selecting his materials, then chose the form for the artifact he intended to forge. He settled on a seal shape and gathered three distinct components.

Artifacts typically required a specific combination of materials to manifest their power. The components needed to be carefully matched, not merely fused haphazardly.

This process was considerably more intricate than forging a simple weapon. Lei Yan first placed the three materials into a furnace, melting them into liquid form. Then, adhering to precise ratios, he poured the three liquids into a seal-shaped mold and waited for it to cool.

Once cooled, he proceeded to grind away the excess edges and then polished the surface. Finally, he produced a specialized carving tool and began etching an intricate pattern onto the seal. The design was incredibly fine, resembling the delicate tracery of an integrated circuit board.

Su Yun observed with intense focus. This — the imbuing of spirit runes — was what truly captivated her.

The greater the number of spirit runes, the more formidable an artifact’s power. For artifacts of the same grade, the more intricate the runes, the more potent their effect.

However, spirit runes came in a vast array of types. The basic runes demonstrated by Lei Yan in his forging techniques numbered in the dozens, and these were merely the ones known to Spirit Sword Mountain. How many more remained undiscovered? One could not forget the immensity of this world, which contained far more cultivation lands than just the Southern Barren Region.

Since it was only a Tier-1 artifact, Lei Yan did not engrave an excessive number of spirit runes. As the final rune was completed, the previously ordinary metal seal immediately began to emit a soft, pale green glow.

“There, the treasure-type artifact is complete,” Lei Yan announced. “Yun’er, observe. The most challenging aspect of forging such treasures lies in the spirit runes. Not a single stroke can be mistaken, nor can any flaw appear, or its power will fail to manifest.” He presented the seal to Su Yun.

Su Yun took it, examining it with meticulous care.

After a moment, a smile touched Su Yun’s lips, and she nodded.

“I understand, Master. May I try my hand at it now?” Su Yun asked, a playful smile gracing her features.

Lei Yan, however, harbored a feeling that Su Yun’s next attempt wouldn’t be quite so effortless.

Yet, it seemed Lei Yan was once again overthinking things. Approximately half an hour later…

“Master, it’s done! Look, is this how it should be?” Su Yun exclaimed, cheerily presenting a bronze seal to Lei Yan.

Lei Yan, however, was utterly stunned. He quickly accepted the seal and meticulously inspected the spirit runes etched upon it.

“My heavens, what is this?” he blurted out. “These patterns—how are they even more refined than those I, Old Lei, carve? When did artifact forging become so straightforward?” Lei Yan incessantly scratched his head, sweat beading on his forehead. Su Yun was, quite frankly, putting immense pressure on him.

Crucially, Su Yun’s seemingly effortless and simple forging made their own struggles learning the art years ago appear downright clumsy.

“Master, although it had some difficulty, it still felt quite simple,” Su Yun said, her eyes crinkling in a smile. “Let’s move on.”

Gazing at Su Yun’s calm, serene smile, Lei Yan’s face couldn’t help but twitch.

Any other person, having successfully forged both a Tier-1 Low-grade weapon and a Tier-1 Low-grade treasure on their first attempt, would undoubtedly be leaping with joy. Yet, Su Yun’s demeanor suggested that for her, it was simply a matter of course.

Wasting no more time, Lei Yan resumed his instruction. Next came treasure robes, the very type of garment Su Yun herself wore.

The difficulty level escalated once more, culminating in the forging of battle armor and similar treasures.

****

Time flowed onward. Not long after, a scene unfolded on Jiang Shengming’s side.

“Hahahaha… Senior Brother Jiang! Senior Brother Jiang!” Lei Yan burst into the Sect Hall, practically vibrating with excitement. “Spirit Sword Mountain has struck gold! You truly are my senior brother, my own flesh and blood! Where did you find such a little prodigy for me? She became a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger in less than five hours!” He shouted, directing his words at Jiang Shengming, who sat upon the grand seat.

Jiang Shengming had been deep in meditative contemplation, his eyes closed. Lei Yan’s sudden, booming shout nearly made him gasp for air.

He opened his eyes, a look of utter exasperation on his face, and stared at Lei Yan.

“Junior Brother Lei, what is it now?” Jiang Shengming asked, a hint of rebuke in his tone. “Your senior brother was cultivating. Do you think this is appropriate?”

Lei Yan instantly looked abashed.

“Eh? Well, ah, Senior Brother, I’m just too overjoyed!” Lei Yan stammered. “This Su Yun, she’s a genius! No, more than that, she’s a monstrous talent! Artifact forging seems so incredibly simple in her hands. She’s already a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger, and it only took her five hours! How could I not be happy? Doesn’t this make you happy too, Senior Brother?” he asked excitedly.

Jiang Shengming first nodded calmly, then, a moment later, the realization truly hit him. He shot to his feet.

“What? She became a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger in just five hours?” Jiang Shengming gasped, utterly dumbfounded. “This… this is preposterous!” He, too, was now swept up in excitement.

“Eh? Yes, indeed! I thought you weren’t excited, Senior Brother,” Lei Yan replied. “With this little girl’s talent, I dare wager that even a Tier-4 Artifact Forger isn’t her limit. I believe she has the potential to become an Artifact Grandmaster renowned throughout the entire Shenyan Dynasty!” Lei Yan’s praise for Su Yun reached an unprecedented peak.

Jiang Shengming promptly urged Lei Yan to elaborate on Su Yun’s situation.

As for Su Yun herself, she remained in the forging room. Several Tier-1 Low-grade artifacts she had personally forged rested upon the crafting table.

‘So, this is what it means to become a Tier-1 Low-grade Artifact Forger?’ Su Yun mused. ‘It seems much simpler than I imagined. Even with the treasure robes and battle armor, it was merely a matter of spending more time; there was still no real difficulty.’

After a moment of contemplation, she retrieved the second-generation pistol she had crafted. Retreating to one side of the forging room, she noted its spaciousness—nearly thirty meters in diameter—and its soundproofing. Testing her firearm here, she reasoned, should go unnoticed.

Su Yun took out a bullet, loaded it into the pistol, aimed at the opposing wall, and squeezed the trigger.

*Bang!* The bullet shot from the barrel, striking the opposite wall in an instant. However, upon impact with the metal surface, the bullet flattened almost immediately. The disparity in hardness between the projectile and the wall was simply too great.

“Heh, not bad,” Su Yun murmured, strolling towards the impact point. Only a faint mark marred the wall.

After observing the mark, Su Yun searched for the bullet casing and quickly found it, now almost completely flattened into a disc.

‘It seems the power is greater than I anticipated,’ Su Yun mused internally. ‘Perhaps I should try crafting firearms using materials from this world?’

True to her word, she immediately approached the crafting table. Her first step, however, was to create molds. The forging room was amply stocked with materials for mold-making, more than enough for Su Yun to use lavishly.

Lei Yan had already told her that she could simply ask him for any materials she desired, and that anything on Artifact Forging Peak was at her disposal.

Su Yun quickly became engrossed in her work once more.

That afternoon, a series of continuous gunshots echoed from Su Yun’s forging room.

There, Su Yun stood, gripping a delicate, pale gold pistol. She aimed it at the metal wall ahead, the barrel emitting not even a wisp of smoke.

“This? It’s already done?” Su Yun murmured, her surprise evident.

Indeed, in just one afternoon, she had utilized forging materials to craft a pistol of almost flawless quality. This particular firearm, an automatic repeater, was constructed entirely from Tier-1 Low-grade materials.