Chapter 400: The Busy Zhang Yu
As Zhang Yu’s Azure Heaven Sand refining skill reached Level 2, countless images of the refining process flashed through his mind: the flow of Magic Power and Gang Qi, the manipulation of materials, the precise control of heat, the intricacies of spraying the Fiber Composite Membrane, and the accumulated experience in stabilizing the Magic Power Circuit.
One refining memory after another surfaced in Zhang Yu’s consciousness, granting him a sudden and profound understanding of Azure Heaven Sand refinement.
When he next attempted to refine Azure Heaven Sand using one-tenth of the usual materials, his success rate surged dramatically.
The quality of the Azure Heaven Sand also improved visibly.
Ye Xingli, observing Zhang Yu’s refined product, was mildly surprised. “The color is brighter, and the purity seems much better than before… Is this Level 2 Azure Heaven Sand?”
“Is it just luck? Or has he really improved this quickly?”
Ye Xingli continued to observe, but soon noticed Zhang Yu recklessly compressing the refining time again, causing the Azure Heaven Sand’s quality to revert to Level 1.
After six hours of continuous practice, Zhang Yu had managed to reduce the refining time for Azure Heaven Sand to approximately 15 minutes per batch.
“The cost of materials, compressed to one-tenth of the original amount, is now 0.003 Spirit Coins.”
“The rental fee for the laboratory and equipment is 0.7 Spirit Coins for six hours, which, split evenly with Ye Xingli, comes to 0.35 Spirit Coins.”
“If I can maintain this 15-minute refining time consistently, I can complete 24 batches in six hours.”
Zhang Yu mentally calculated: “That brings the cost per batch down to roughly 0.01758 Spirit Coins.”
“And this isn’t even the limit.”
Zhang Yu thought of his Formless Warrior and Profound Cold Warrior.
Just as he used these warriors for manual labor at construction sites, he believed they could be applied to artifact refinement as well.
“Now that I’ve stabilized the material and time compression, next time… I’ll activate Fourfold Thinking and see if I can refine four batches of Azure Heaven Sand simultaneously.”
“If I succeed, not only will the cost be further reduced, but the efficiency of my cultivation will also skyrocket.”
“Moreover, after refining more Azure Heaven Sand, selling some to recoup my Spirit Coin investment will lower the overall cost even further.”
With this in mind, Zhang Yu turned to Ye Xingli beside him and asked, “Senior Sister, if I want to sell some of the products I make while practicing, where would be the most convenient place to distribute them?”
Ye Xingli considered True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s instructions before replying directly, “If you trust me, you can just leave them with me. I have some connections in the Artifact Refinement Department and can help you sell them.”
“However, basic artifact refinement products won’t fetch high prices — at most, you’ll just recoup your costs.”
Zhang Yu nodded eagerly. “I understand. That’s fine. Just recouping my costs is enough.”
After leaving the laboratory, they bid each other farewell.
As Ye Xingli watched Zhang Yu’s retreating figure, she sent a message to True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Master, Zhang Yu and I have left the laboratory.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “How did Zhang Yu perform?”
Ye Xingli: “His talent for artifact refinement is decent. He managed to refine second-grade Azure Heaven Sand within six hours.”
Ye Xingli: “But his attitude is problematic. He started messing with the proportions and timings right from the beginning.”
Ye Xingli briefly summarized what she had observed.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied: “I understand.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “If he wants to sell his output later, we can temporarily help him consign it.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “We can also split the laboratory expenses with him.”
Hearing True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s instructions to help Zhang Yu, Ye Xingli finally couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
She asked: “Master, Zhang Yu is a student from the Civil Engineering Department, right? His talent for artifact refinement isn’t particularly outstanding. Why are you helping him so much?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Director Gao of the Civil Engineering Department wants to transfer Zhang Yu to the Artifact Refinement Department.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Although I don’t particularly recommend it.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “But we’ve been friends for centuries. If he insists, I’ll help him even if it means taking a slight loss.”
Looking at True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s message, Ye Xingli couldn’t help but admire the deep friendship between True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Director Gao.
She thought to herself, “So it wasn’t Zhang Yu, the Civil Engineering student, who attracted Master’s attention, but Director Gao.”
Ye Xingli found this explanation more reasonable. After all, a Civil Engineering student was essentially the same as a Security Department student — a “Junior College Student” at Myriad Laws University. With Master’s discerning eye, how could he possibly be interested?
He probably wouldn’t even speak without first receiving a red envelope.
“But Master and Director Gao… is this the kind of friendship ancient cultivators shared?”
“Although Master has kept up with the times, constantly studying cutting-edge Immortal Dao Technology and staying abreast of Kunxu’s trends, he’s still an ancient person at heart. His thinking… inevitably remains influenced by the dregs of ancient culture.”
Just as Ye Xingli was pondering this, True Monarch Magnetic Pole sent another message.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “This matter remains confidential. Even if you ask Director Gao and me directly, we won’t admit anything.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Remember not to reveal this to anyone.”
Ye Xingli: “Master, you can trust me. Even if someone offered me 1,000 Spirit Coins, I wouldn’t breathe a word.”
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhang Yu was on his way to the construction site on the 667th floor.
He first checked the Azure Heaven Sand Level 2 (10/20) entry in his Feather Book, then examined another artifact refinement technique listed there:
Azure Cloud Gathering Pouch Level 0 (0/1, Azure Heaven Sand Level 2/5)
The Azure Cloud Gathering Pouch was another magical artifact design Zhang Yu had learned in the Artifact Refinement Department. It was specifically designed to store Azure Heaven Sand.
By channeling Magic Power into it, the pouch could spray and retrieve Azure Heaven Sand on a large scale.
Just like with Zhang Yu’s cultivation art, many artifact refinement techniques had prerequisite requirements that needed to be met before they could be mastered.
For example, refining Azure Heaven Sand required specific levels of Magic Power and Gang Qi.
The Azure Cloud Gathering Pouch, on the other hand, required prior mastery of certain Azure Heaven Sand refinement techniques.
“Whether it’s magical artifacts or Bionics, beyond the requirements for Cultivation Realm, dao heart, and Magic Power, there are often prerequisite artifact refinement techniques that must be mastered first,” Zhang Yu mused inwardly. “To gradually cultivate to the point where I can refine my own physical body into a Bionic, I’ll need to master a vast number of these prerequisite techniques in addition to advancing my cultivation.”
“There’s still a long way to go.”
“But with so many artifact refinement techniques, I probably don’t need to master every single one to perfection. Just enough to get the job done will do.”
As for more distant goals, like owning his own Artifact Refinement Laboratory or establishing his own production line… Zhang Yu could only dream about them for now.
Arriving at the construction site with practiced ease, Zhang Yu summoned several Formless Warriors.
With a flick of his wrist, he scattered a handful of Azure Heaven Sand over the warriors.
As the surging Gang Qi within the Formless Warriors churned, faint glimmers of Azure Heaven Sand shimmered through their forms, giving them a more solid, tangible presence.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Azure Heaven Sand enhances Gang Qi conductivity and reduces energy consumption. This should significantly improve my work efficiency.”
For the rest of the day, Zhang Yu controlled the Formless Warriors to work at the construction site and earn money. Meanwhile, he enveloped himself in a cloud of Formless Cloud Gang, using the time to cultivate the seventh cultivation art of the Martial Dao Sacred Body.
Several hours passed. As dawn broke, Zhang Yu calculated his day’s earnings and thought to himself, “My work efficiency has improved by about 5%.”
“Not bad, not bad. If the grade of Azure Heaven Sand increases further, the efficiency should improve even more.”
“Even if Senior Sister Ye Xingli doesn’t sell much Azure Heaven Sand, I can still use it to increase my income at the construction site.”
With this thought, Zhang Yu’s motivation surged.
In the following days, Zhang Yu rented the Artifact Refinement Laboratory once or twice a week to practice his artifact refinement techniques.
During the remaining time, he attended classes during the day and worked at the construction site at night, while simultaneously cultivating the Martial Dao Sacred Body cultivation art.
In addition to all this, he also had to find time to study artifact refinement courses in the Supreme Clarity Realm, absorb 200% quality Magic Power to improve his own Magic Power Quality, and visit the Hammerheart Pavilion to temper his dao heart…
In the laboratory, Ye Xingli glanced at the three Formless Warriors beside her and thought, “Impressive mental capacity.”
“But is multitasking like this, simultaneously producing multiple batches of Azure Heaven Sand… truly beneficial for improving artifact refinement skills? Enhancing refinement techniques isn’t about quantity.”
In Ye Xingli’s view, unless mass production was the goal, focusing intently on refining a single batch of Azure Heaven Sand — meticulously observing the materials, steps, timing, heat control, Magic Power, Gang Qi, and other details — and continuously learning and adjusting would be far more effective for skill enhancement.
Just then, Ye Xingli’s gaze suddenly shifted, landing on a successfully refined batch of Azure Heaven Sand before one of the Formless Warriors.
“3rd-tier Azure Heaven Sand?”
“Intriguing.”
Ye Xingli mused inwardly, “Though he’s prone to recklessness, Zhang Yu’s talent in artifact refinement seems greater than I initially estimated.”
However, she wasn’t particularly concerned. After all, when Ye Xingli first refined Azure Heaven Sand, she had immediately produced a Level 5 batch.
Turning her attention back, Ye Xingli resumed interviewing her new artifact spirits.
“You graduated from Joyful Union University? May I ask about your original gender?”
“You’re an Upper College Student? I apologize, but this recruitment is exclusively for Soul Cultivators from the Ten Greats Universities.”
“Heavenly Demon University? Welcome aboard! From now on, consider my right hand your own home.”
Just as Zhang Yu emerged from the laboratory, he received a message from Gongshu Jin.
His eyes lit up as he read the message. “Is the buffet about to start?”
Meanwhile, Ye Xingli, standing beside him, asked, “You’re going to the gathering later, right? It’s basically the Civil Engineering Department’s celebration party.”
Zhang Yu nodded. He already knew Mo Shangjin had organized the event primarily to celebrate their second-place finish in the Inter-University League.
Ye Xingli casually suggested, “Let’s walk together. I’m going too.”
Zhang Yu followed Ye Xingli to the 650th floor of Myriad Laws University. As they stepped out of the Anti-Gravity Passage, they saw Gongshu Jin waiting outside.
Gongshu Jin was surprised to see Zhang Yu walking with Ye Xingli.
Compared to the Ye Xingli he had first met last year, the current Ye Xingli seemed vastly different in Gongshu Jin’s eyes.
The most striking change was that her ranking in the Artifact Refinement Department had risen from 15th to 8th.
Achieving such a high rank in the Artifact Refinement Department, one of the three elite departments, made Ye Xingli a top-tier student at Myriad Laws University in Gongshu Jin’s estimation.
Watching them chatting and laughing, Gongshu Jin wondered, “When did Zhang Yu and Ye Xingli become so close?”