Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Exactly.” Li Yao finished the egg that was fully packed with the soup of pickles and moaned in great satisfaction. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and said unhurriedly, “Do you know the fatal, fundamental mistake that you and Wu Yaxuan made?”

“Please do enlighten me, senior!” Professor Tang’s face was pale. She was in such a trance that she almost fell over. She could not help but hold the corner of the table and struggled to breathe. “It’s impossible. It’s impossible! Even if Wu Yaxuan’s design and my adjustment are not perfect, with negligence of all sorts, how can we be greatly wrong on a fundamental level?”

“The fatal mistake that Wu Yaxuan made was to sell the crystal suit he devised to Zhao Tongtian.”

After finishing the egg, Li Yao fished in the noodle soup for a long time before he finally picked up a section of soft sausage. He grabbed it with his chopsticks and casually said, “Your mistake, on the other hand, was not to point it out for Zhao Tongtian but continue the great mistake that Wu Yaxuan made.

“In my opinion, Wu Yaxuan should’ve refused to sell the Azure Thunder to Zhao Tongtian, and as a responsible refiner, you should’ve informed Zhao Tongtian that he was not suitable for the crystal suit, instead of adjusting the crystal suit blindly.

“If the direction at the beginning is wrong, the further you go, the more wrong you will be. Your adjustment may be excellent, but so what? It doesn’t change the fact that the crystal suit is inappropriate!”

“I beg to differ, senior!” Professor Tang argued, blushing. “The Azure Thunder was a limited edition crafted by Wu Yaxuan in person based on Zhao Tongtian’s Cultivation, body, and combat parameters. Even the tiniest detail such as the old wounds on Zhao Tongtian’s shoulder blade was taken into consideration. In my opinion, the crystal suit is almost perfect!

“Wu Yaxuan couldn’t have foreseen that Zhao Tongtian’s old wounds would get healed later. Naturally, he shouldn’t be blamed for the fault of the crystal suit.

“After my adjustment, even the minor issue was taken care of. The combination of the crystal suit and Zhao Tongtian is almost flawless. Why do you say that they are ‘unsuitable’?”

Li Yao smiled and said, “There are mainly two schools competing with each other in the circle of refiners in the Star Glory Federation, namely the Deep Sea School and the Grand Desolate School. The former highlights concrete structure, complicated maintenance, and sophisticated transmission of spiritual energy, in order to break the limits of performance. The latter is the exact opposite. The magical equipment they produce is a bit ‘stupid and heavy’, whose performance may not be as good as the former. However, it is definitely sturdy enough. The requirement on maintenance is not very high, and the cost is much more affordable.

“The Deep Sea School is the traditional school of refining in the federation, represented by Supernova Jiang Sheng, his nephew ‘Solar Eclipse’ Jiang Shaoyang, and the other nine excellent refiners known as the Novem Stellae.

“The Grand Desolate School is a new school of refining that only rose in the recent hundred years. Its leading members include Professor Mo Xuan, the previous president of the Refiners’ Association and the incumbent president of the Spectral Cultivators’ Association, as well as his four true disciples known as the Four Kings. There’s also Master Xie Anan, who you mentioned just now.

“As for this creative genius Wu Yaxuan who has become quite popular in the federation recently…

“Although his mother Master Xie Anan is the dean of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution right now, and he was deeply influenced by his mother when he was young, his talents and interests are different from hers. He is more suitable for the path of refining of the Deep Sea School, which cannot be helped. That’s why Master Xie Anan sent him to Master Jiang Shaoyang for training.”

While he was free, Li Yao had taken the chance to learn the latest information about Wu Mayan, Xie Anan, and their son. Naturally, he knew everything about them now. “Wu Yaxuan has inherited and absorbed all the characteristics of the Deep Sea School. With the fearlessness and creativity that solely belong to the young people, he has pushed the style of the Deep Sea School to a new peak, thereby creating the masterpiece Azure Thunder!

“It is indeed a piece of work that arouses the interest of whoever sees it. It is also a typical crystal suit of the Deep Sea School. The structure is complicated, and the circuits of spiritual energy are extremely precise. The difficulty of maintenance is unbelievably high, which is a price that must be paid to break the limits of the crystal suit’s performance.

“Little girl, in what kind of environment do you think the power of such a crystal suit can be maximized?”

Holding the sausage in his mouth, Li Yao looked at Professor Tang with a smile.

Professor Tang was at a loss. “What kind of environment? It is an all-terrain crystal suit, suitable for both the universal battles and those within the atmosphere with a high gravity…”

“That’s not what I meant.” Li Yao shook his head and said, “Let me tell you my viewpoint. I believe that this crystal suit is more suitable for the major sects in the prosperous world inside the federation or the experts in the federal army in a battle of groups.

“The reason is simple.

“In the prosperous world within the federation, and especially in a battlefield of large-scale groups, the logistical support will certainly be ensured effectively. Many expert refiners will be standing by. The expensive and complicated components can be easily purchased, too.

“It is in such an environment that the maximal power of the Azure Thunder can be exerted without concern because even if faults such as eroded parts or overloaded rune arrays take place due to the limit performance, it will be very convenient to find an expert to repair the crystal suit and replace the components.

“Think about it. Does what I said make sense?”

Professor Tang thought about it deeply. She could not help but nod her head.

Emotionlessly, Li Yao chewed on the sausage that was mostly made of flour. “Then, think again. Does the Dragon Snake Space Zone boast such an environment? Does Zhao Tongtian look like a guy who has sufficient logistical support and expert refiners to help him maintain his crystal suit?

“The Dragon Snake Space Zone is a chaotic, murky place. The level of production and maintenance of crystal suits here is not as good as in the federation. Also, the Cultivators do not have the notion of a large-scale, collaborative battle. They are often fighting on their own or in the forms of ‘Exo Societies’ at best.

“What is their mission usually? Lurk deep inside the asteroids in the dark universe, preparing to hijack starships passing by, or stay on a carrier all year long to stop others from hijacking the starship. Or the two missions are sometimes even combined into one. They will hijack a starship when the time is right, and they will retreat and defend themselves if the enemy is too strong!

“All in all, it is not unusual for a combat squad to drift for a few months in space without any effective support until they are running out of resources!

“‘Thunder Lion’ Zhao Tongtian is a minor celebrity in the Dragon Snake Space Zone. The Thunderbolt Exo Society that he belongs to is a classical combat squad of Exos in the Dragon Snake Space Zone. It is their daily routine to fight in an unpopulated area at the periphery of the space zone without any supply for three to five months or even longer!

“Now, do you still feel that a ‘delicate’ crystal suit, with a high difficulty of maintenance, is really suitable for ‘Thunder Lion’ Zhao Tongtian?

“As it turned out, faults happened to the Azure Thunder soon after it was delivered to Zhao Tongtian, and maintenance was mandatory. However, the refiners and the workshops of the Thunderbolt Exo Society were not even able to perform regular maintenance. It had to be sent to the best magical equipment center in Fish Dragon City and maintained by the most professional experts!

“Do you feel that it is Wu Yaxuan’s glory? Is it marvelous and incredible to craft a crystal suit that cannot be maintained by a general refiner?

“In my opinion, it is only indicative of Wu Yaxuan’s incompetence. Crystal suits are for battles. They are meant to be brutally savaged. If something happens to a crystal suit every now and then, and if the problems cannot be resolved immediately but have to be taken care of by the original manufacturer, what kind of crystal suit is that? Should the customer buy two crystal suits at one time so that he can wear one while having the other one delivered to the original manufacturer?”

Professor Tang felt that she was bashed in the head, and a whole new world was opened instantly to her.

The mysterious senior who was holding a sausage in his mouth had made such a fine point!

“About Zhao Tongtian’s identity and the Thunderbolt Exo Society’s businesses, I have found the answers after searching online for ten seconds,” Li Yao said casually. “Once Wu Yaxuan had Zhao Tongtian’s detailed combat files, there was no reason for him not to know what kind of environment his customer was going to fight in and what kind of crystal suit his customer actually needed!

“If Wu Yaxuan truly knew himself well, he should’ve known that the crystal suit that his customer really needed could never be crafted under his style of refining.

“If Wu Yaxuan was truly considering his customer, he should’ve refused the customer’s order and offered a piece of reasonable advice to him. The customer was obviously more suitable for the crystal suits of the Grand Desolate School, of which Wu Yaxuan’s mother was a master. I believe that she could satisfy the demands of a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, couldn’t she?

“But Wu Yaxuan didn’t.

“Perhaps he was only showing off. Perhaps he was too young and arrogant to accept that he could not accomplish everything in the world. Perhaps it was the very first crystal suit that he had devised independently in his life, and a customer from the Dragon Snake Space Zone could help him expand the market here. Or perhaps I overestimated him, and the matching problem never occurred to him. The bottom line is, for whatever reason, Wu Yaxuan ‘tailor-made’ a crystal suit that was not suitable for the Dragon Snake Space Zone for Zhao Tongtian.

“Hehe. If it is a mass-produced crystal suit, or one that is purchased from the secondhand market, it might’ve passed. However, as a ‘tailor-made’ crystal suit, he did not even take into consideration the environment it was to be used in, which is quite disappointing. Zhao Tongtian has no relevant knowledge and came here for help, but it does not mean that Wu Yaxuan should ignore the problem and simply focus on unimportant details!

“If we get to the bottom of it, both Wu Yaxuan and… you, Miss Tang, have focused your full attention on the cold magical equipment. You never regarded the customer using the magical equipment. That’s why you cannot stand in the shoes of the customer and consider his most critical needs!”

Professor Tang hesitated, so embarrassed that her face was flushing.

“Yes. ‘Thunder Lion’ Zhao Tongtian is indeed arrogant and disgusting. You simply despised him before, right?”

Staring at Professor Tang, Li Yao said, one word after another, “If you truly abhor him, you could’ve refused to build or maintain the magical equipment for him. It wouldn’t have mattered even if you killed him.

“But after you take his order for whatever reason and pick up his magical equipment, you should ignore his appearance and identity and regard him as a pure ‘client’. You should be devoted and think from his perspective to perfect the magical equipment.

“After all, the magical equipment is for the customer to use, not for the refiner to show off!”