Zhang ng quickly brought Xu Nian to a square.
At this mont, the square was surrounded by many people, most of whom were Outer Disciples.
The attire of Outer Disciples differed from that of Inner Sect Disciples. The latter had a circle of blue wave patterns on their cuffs, making them easily distinguishable.
In the center of this crowd stood a man and a woman.
The woman was around twenty years old, a Seven-star Warrior.
Both her figure and appearance could be considered upper-class, though not comparable to Murong Xue or Chen Yao, she was still of a beauty caliber.
Next to her stood a youth, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, who had reached the level of a One-star Battle Sect. He was considered a talented individual among the Artifact Refining Sect's Outer Disciples.
This young man clearly showed interest in the woman, his eyes frequently glancing at her, filled with admiration and possessiveness.
As for the woman, she held her head high, ignoring the young man's gaze, yet a faint smile hung on her lips as if she thoroughly enjoyed the attention from him and the crowd.
"See that? That's my goddess, Zhang Tian, how about it, isn't she beautiful?" boasted Zhang ng. "She is the most beautiful among our Outer Disciples and also has an extraordinary Cultivation talent. She's only twenty but has already reached the level of a Six-star Refining Apprentice, a rare genius in Artifact Refining. These disciples around us are here for her, all coveting my goddess."
It was as if he was showing off a treasured possession he owned, filled with pride and self-satisfaction.
Xu Nian just smiled and said nothing. He believed Zhang ng would never have any real interaction with Zhang Tian.
Clearly, Zhang Tian was much more prideful than he had anticipated.
Just by the way she enjoyed everyone's attention, it was clear that even if she wasn't scheming deeply, she wouldn't be naïve in her ways.
And soone like her would certainly have high standards for her partner.
For soone ordinary and yet honest like Zhang ng, an Outer Disciple,
Zhang Tian surely wouldn't spare him a second glance, as he held no utilitarian value to her.
"Is that guy the one you ntioned, Jing Haoyang?" Xu Nian asked.
"Yes, that's Jing Haoyang, one of the recognized geniuses among the Outer Disciples," Zhang ng responded with a displeased tone, his gaze towards Jing Haoyang was extrely unfriendly, even his voice carried a bit of weight. "It's said that his level in Artifact Refining has reached that of a Seven-star Refiner and he could beco an Inner Sect Disciple within three years."
Xu Nian just smiled; Zhang ng was obviously jealous.
It was apparent that Jing Haoyang was quite close to Zhang Tian typically, probably one of her staunch pursuers.
"What is this contest about then?" Xu Nian continued.
Hearing this question, Zhang ng's face grew even more discontented, "Jing Haoyang has been relentlessly pursuing Zhang Tian. Even though she clearly doesn't like him, he keeps clinging on. Now, to get her to agree to go out to dinner with him, he actually set up this sparring bet. Left with no choice, Zhang Tian had to agree, which is really despicable."
Xu Nian chuckled bitterly.
Was Zhang Tian truly forced into agreeing to this bet?
She obviously wanted to use this contest to enhance her reputation within the Artifact Refining Sect. Even if she lost, no one would criticize her given that her level in Artifact Refining was a grade lower.
And if she genuinely determined to reject Jing Haoyang, would she really be helpless?
It was clear she was playing hard to get, deliberately keeping Jing Haoyang on the hook.
Poor Zhang ng, too naive to see through Zhang Tian's intentions.
But Jing Haoyang was not much better, clearly being used, yet thinking he might succeed.
Xu Nian was sure that if soone superior to Jing Haoyang with more potential showed the slightest interest in her, she would imdiately discard him and make a clear boundary.
However, these matters were none of Xu Nian's concern. He was at the Artifact Refining Sect not for these trivial matters.
"Look quick, Elder Wang has arrived. Jing Haoyang even invited Elder Wang, seems like he's worried Zhang Tian might back out!"
At that mont, a hubbub arose from the crowd.
Soon after, a middle-aged man walked out from among them. His face was stern and resolute, resembling soone impartial and strict.
Xu Nian used his Spiritual Sense to probe the middle-aged man's Cultivation and discovered that he was a three-star Battle General.
As for the man's identity, Xu Nian had already learned about it previously while chatting leisurely with Zhang ng.
This man was nad Wang Long, and he was one of the three Outer Elders. He was also the most impartial among them.
The person who had taken Xu Nian into the Sect, Qi Heng, was another Outer Elder.
As for the third Outer Elder, nad Pang Fei, Xu Nian had yet to et him.
"Greetings, Elder Wang," the crowd said in unison, bowing.
Wang Long, expressionless, waved his hand and walked straight up to Jing Haoyang and Zhang Tian, getting straight to the point, "Don't waste ti, let's get started. Here are your Artifact Refining Materials. You have one mont, and I will judge who forged the better-quality weapon and decide the winner."
With a flick of his sleeve, two ordinary pieces of iron ore flew in front of the two of them.
Jing Haoyang and Zhang Tian both nodded, then with a serious expression, they took the iron ore.
The difficulty of this spar was not small. First, their Artifact Refining Materials were iron ore, not already extracted pig iron, which invisibly increased the difficulty of refining.
Secondly, they had only one mont, which was extrely pressing for them.
The two did not hesitate and imdiately got to work.
Zhang Tian flicked her sleeve, and a green furnace nearly two ters tall appeared in front of her, radiating intense heat.
"Is that Zhang Tian's Artifact Furnace? It's actually a Yellow-level Top Grade green furnace; that furnace must not be cheap!" the crowd couldn't help but exclaim.
However, Jing Haoyang just smiled slightly, waved his hand, and a golden furnace appeared in front of everyone, its surface embroidered with patterns of Exotic Beasts, making the whole furnace look exceptionally domineering and luxurious.
"It's actually a Xuan Level Low Grade Artifact Furnace. Oh my, Jing Haoyang truly is the young master of the Jing Family. This Xuan Level Low Grade Artifact Furnace must be worth at least a million Gold Coins!" the crowd couldn't help but exclaim.
Even Zhang ng in the crowd showed a look of envy at this mont.
A Xuan Level Artifact Furnace, that was not sothing an ordinary Refining Apprentice could possess, nor did many Little Artifact Refiners necessarily have a Xuan Level Artifact Furnace.
"Artifact Furnace? What's that?" However, Xu Nian asked with a puzzled face.
At his words, a few people standing near Xu Nian imdiately turned their heads, looking at Xu Nian as if he were an idiot.
Even Zhang ng looked at Xu Nian with a surprised expression and finally couldn't help but ask, "Dude, are you serious? The Artifact Furnace is an essential for every Refiner. Without an Artifact Furnace, how are you going to lt the iron ore, extract, and set the mold? You're not telling you don't know about these, are you?"
Xu Nian nodded his head awkwardly. Indeed, it was his first ti hearing that Artifact Refining required an Artifact Furnace. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire
He learned Artifact Refining from the Emperor Ye Tian, but Emperor Ye Tian only taught him an Artifact Refining Technique and left him to fend for himself.
He hadn't taught him anything else, and during the extraction of iron ore, he had always directly controlled the fla with his Spiritual Sense. What did he need an Artifact Furnace for?
However, Xu Nian's nod made the surrounding few people feel speechless.
How did this guy even get into the Sect without knowing what an Artifact Furnace is?
Could it be that he hasn't even started learning Artifact Refining yet?
"It's okay, we've all been there. I was also a novice once. Just learn more in the future," Zhang ng said, patting Xu Nian's shoulder to comfort him as he saw Xu Nian's embarrassnt.
Xu Nian's mouth twitched.
Novice?
Why does that word sound so strange?
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