Strongest War Emperor

Fang Hongfeng started his jeering again, but Bai Feifei, standing to the side, said nothing. Her previously drowsy eyes had become much clearer.

’This kid... looks like he really has a trick up his sleeve! When I first got the Phoenix Feather Bow, I sensed the aura left by the Demon Beast inside, but I didn’t even guess it was a Fifth Level Demon Beast. He actually figured it out with just a single touch!’

’However, the main materials of this Phoenix Feather Bow are Black Light Profound Iron and Celestial River Cinnabar. Without these two materials, how could repairing it be easy?’

’Even if he really found those two materials, without a suitable Earth Fire, it would still be impossible to fuse them together. Otherwise, with my relationship with Shu Lan, why wouldn’t I have repaired the Spiritual Artifact for her by now?’

Bai Feifei had just had this thought when Shen Lang, as expected, frowned and said, ”The main materials of the Phoenix Feather Bow are Black Light Profound Iron and Celestial River Cinnabar. Those two materials are not easy to find.”

”What? Giving up already?” Fang Hongfeng sneered. ”Where did all that big talk from before go? Did you think Artifact Refining was a child’s game?”

Shen Lang shook his head. ”Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. If you asked me to craft a new Phoenix Feather Bow right now, of course I couldn’t do it without those two materials. But just repairing it? That’s simple enough.”

”Simple enough? You think repairing the Phoenix Feather Bow is a simple matter? The newborn calf truly doesn’t fear the tiger!” Fang Hongfeng was so angry he laughed. ”Then hurry up and fix Shu Lan’s Phoenix Feather Bow. My master has a whole pile of Spiritual Artifacts that need repairing. If you really have the skill, my master and I will finally be free! HAHA!”

Shen Lang ignored Fang Hongfeng’s mockery. With a light swipe of his finger across his Sumeru Ring, he took out a Melting Furnace and a pile of materials.

”Jade Green Sand? Red Refining Fire Copper? It seems you were born into a fairly prominent Noble Family to have such good materials, kid. But...” Fang Hongfeng paused, stunned for a moment, before continuing, ”But if you think you can use these two materials to replace Black Light Profound Iron and Celestial River Cinnabar, that’s impossible!”

”Any Artifact Refiner with a bit of common sense knows that those two materials can’t be fused with the original materials of the Phoenix Feather Bow. Stop dreaming!”

Shen Lang shook his head and said, ”Often, things that seem impossible are not truly impossible. It’s just that our own perspective and knowledge haven’t reached that level yet.”

”Bastard, you dare insult me...” Fang Hongfeng roared, but just as he was about to curse, he was kicked by Bai Feifei and forced to shut his mouth.

Bai Feifei spoke with some caution, ”Using Jade Green Sand and Red Refining Fire Copper to replace Black Light Profound Iron and Celestial River Cinnabar is theoretically possible. However, fusing those two materials with the Phoenix Feather Bow’s original components is as difficult as ascending to the heavens. It would also require the Earth Fire from the Third Floor. If you have a way to fuse these materials, you won’t need that Melting Furnace. I’ll take you to the underground magma in Artifact Refining Valley.”

”It’s not that complicated.” Shen Lang waved his hand dismissively. ”Fusing these materials is as easy as flipping my palm.”

Bai Feifei fell silent once again.

’Was this what they called bragging to the high heavens?’

Even for someone as experienced and worldly as Bai Feifei, she was now speechless looking at Shen Lang.

’If she had anything to say, it would definitely be a stream of words not suitable for children. But even so, she’d have to save them for when the kid failed.’

’The problem was, the three of them wasting their time with this guy who bragged to the high heavens seemed a bit unreasonable, didn’t it?’

’What if this kid messes around for ages and it turns out he’s just fooling around... okay, I almost forgot. If he’s not successful, he has to pay a price. For the sake of that price, for that free assistant, let him fool around all he wants.’

As Bai Feifei and the others watched, Shen Lang took out a pile of Spirit Stones and began to set up an Array around the Melting Furnace.

”Hey, uh, Shen Lang, do you even know how to set up an Array? You’re not following any standard procedure! The paths for the Spirit Stones are a complete mess! Even if you have a lot of Spirit Stones, you don’t have to waste them like this, do you? This is exactly like child’s play! I can’t even watch anymore!” Fang Hongfeng felt like he would explode if he didn’t say something.

After placing more than ten Spirit Stones, Shen Lang turned to Bai Feifei and said, ”Master Bai, I’d like to ask one more time. If I can really repair the Spiritual Artifact, and on top of that, fix all the Spiritual Artifacts you have here that need repairing, can you really solve the problem of my mandatory mission?”

Bai Feifei’s eyes darted as she smiled. ”As long as you can really do it, I will naturally solve it for you, just as we agreed before.”

”A gentleman’s word?”

”Cannot be chased down by four horses.”

”Very well. Then I’ll begin.”

Shen Lang placed a pile of Flame Stones into the Melting Furnace. A wisp of white flame suddenly flared to life on his fingertip.

TSSS!

With a flick of his finger, Shen Lang sent the white flame into the Melting Furnace. The pile of Flame Stones immediately began to burn fiercely.

At that very moment, Shen Lang lightly stamped his right foot on the ground!

BANG!

With the vibration, the Spirit Stones on the ground suddenly began to move, spinning rapidly around the Melting Furnace at a dizzying speed.

”Settle!”

Shen Lang formed a sword finger and pointed at the Array, shooting a wisp of Spirit Light into it.

KAKAKA!

The dozen or so Spirit Stones stopped abruptly and embedded themselves into the ground.

The moment the Spirit Stones were set, a white light flashed. More than ten streams of white flame materialized in the air and shot through the vents of the Melting Furnace, entering it.

The fierce flames from the Flame Stones immediately merged with the white flames, forming a strange fire that erupted like a geyser.

’He can actually summon Celestial Fire! The profundity of this Array... it’s... simply breathtaking! And he did it with just a dozen Spirit Stones. How is that possible?’ Bai Feifei was astonished.

’Celestial Fire is different from Earth Fire; it’s incredibly difficult to control. If he uses Celestial Fire for refining... one wrong move could melt the Phoenix Feather Bow into a useless lump of scrap metal. Generally, only a Profound Level Artifact Refining Master would dare to use it!’

Bai Feifei’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief as she watched it all unfold.

”The temperature is about right.”

Shen Lang merely glanced at the color of the flame. Without even checking the temperature, he ripped the bowstring off the Phoenix Feather Bow and tossed the entire bow into the Melting Furnace.

After only two minutes, the Phoenix Feather Bow was burned cherry-red by the strange flames, making Shu Lan, who was watching from the side, incredibly nervous.

’Senior Brother... Senior Brother will definitely succeed, right?’ Shu Lan thought, clenching her fists.

The Phoenix Feather Bow was a Spiritual Artifact that had been with her for a long time. It was not only her most powerful Spiritual Artifact, but also the one she was most attached to.

If it couldn’t be repaired, or worse, if it was completely destroyed this time...

After all, the Spiritual Artifact was too badly damaged; even Master Bai couldn’t repair it in a short amount of time.

Artifact Refiner. On the Star Continent, this was a profession as highly revered as that of an Alchemist.

Though the status was respected, the path was difficult to enter and even more difficult to practice.

Furthermore, the growth of every Artifact Refiner required not only the guidance of a famous master but also consumed an enormous amount of Spiritual Materials during practice—a cost that smaller Sects and minor powers simply could not afford.

This wasn’t just true for practice; even a renowned Artifact Refining Master had a high chance of failure when refining or repairing a Magical Treasure Secret Artifact.

Once failure occurred, all the consumed materials would turn into useless slag.

The most obvious example of this was the Spirit Level Fourth Grade Artifact Refining Master standing right beside them, Bai Feifei.

One look at her courtyard made it clear: this was a ”master” who treated exploding furnaces like a game.

And an exploding furnace meant a failed refinement.

On the other hand, even with the backing of a rich and powerful faction and the guidance of a famous master, an Artifact Refiner’s Divine Sense still had to be cultivated on their own.

Divine Sense was different from the Pill Sea. The Spiritual Power within the Pill Sea could be enhanced with many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures or Elixir Pills. But Divine Sense was pure Spiritual Power, and the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the entire world that could help strengthen it were few and far between, and incredibly difficult to find.

Even with such aids, a Martial Artist’s Divine Sense primarily grew stronger through an increase in their Cultivation and long periods of accumulation.

And Shen Lang, currently hard at work, was only sixteen or seventeen years old...

No matter how you looked at it, it was highly unlikely that Shen Lang was an outstanding Artifact Refiner. No wonder Bai Feifei and Fang Hongfeng didn’t believe him at all.

’This... Senior Brother’s eyes are the clearest I have ever seen, like gemstones. He... he couldn’t possibly be lying to me.’ As Shu Lan thought this, her clenched fists relaxed.

”Sigh, Shu Lan, you’re usually so sharp, how can you be so foolish today? Why take such a risk? Why let this baffling kid play around with a Spiritual Artifact you worked so hard to exchange for with Contribution Points? This is Celestial Fire! If he melts your Phoenix Feather Bow into scrap metal, who are you going to complain to then?”

”Even if that Second Grade Spiritual Artifact is a bit stronger than your Phoenix Feather Bow, you’re not suited for close combat anyway! What good is a powerful Spiritual Artifact to you then?”

The others were silent, leaving only Fang Hongfeng to ramble on and on with his nonstop chatter.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The flames from the Flame Stones merged completely with the Celestial Fire, blazing fiercely and surging with power.

At this moment, Shen Lang pointed his left index finger at the Array to control it while his right hand continuously tossed materials inside.

”Demon Phosphorus Stone, Earth Soul Profound Stone, Lingxiao Celestial Scale, Purple Cloud Beast Bone... Th-these things can’t be melted together! Shen Lang, stop! The furnace is going to explode!” Bai Feifei cried out in alarm when she saw the materials Shen Lang was throwing in.

”Little Fengfeng, quickly activate the Defensive Array! Shit, if this thing blows, I won’t have a place to sleep!”

Fang Hongfeng jumped in fright and, muttering curses, hurriedly activated the Defensive Array in the courtyard.

It seemed this master and disciple pair had learned their lesson from experience. Other people did their Artifact Refining indoors; they always did it in a spacious courtyard.

TSSS! TSSS! TSSS!

After these materials were tossed in, Shen Lang spread the fingers of his right hand and began to pluck at the air as if strumming the strings of a zither, his five fingers moving nimbly.

Under the seemingly casual and simple plucking of his fingers, the various materials inside the Melting Furnace, after being melted into liquid by the Celestial Fire, seemed to be separated by an invisible hand, each one obediently occupying its own space within the furnace.

”See? Even with Celestial Fire, the Jade Green Sand and Red Refining Fire Copper can’t be fused together! If you raise the temperature any further, the Phoenix Feather Bow itself will melt!” Fang Hongfeng seized the opportunity to cry out again.

Without looking up, Shen Lang said, ”Not necessarily.”