Chapter 549: Artifact Refinement: The Faster, the Better
“How could Zhang Yu refine artifacts so quickly?”
Jin Jun’s first reaction upon receiving Su Yunni’s intelligence report was disbelief.
“To reach this stage in just over a month? He has no shame.”
Jin Jun strongly suspected that Zhang Yu’s reported progress was exaggerated. He had seen this kind of thing far too often in the Artifact Refinement Department’s laboratories. Some individuals, barely competent themselves, would hire skilled assistants to handle most of the work, pushing quality and speed to their limits, only to claim credit for the results.
“Zhang Yu likely possesses some skill — enough to refine a Level 1 prototype mechanism. But there’s no way two people could achieve this in a month.”
“He must have spent a fortune hiring a massive support team.”
Jin Jun concluded, “Only with such resources could he have reached this stage in just over a month.”
“Releasing this information… is he trying to demoralize our forces?”
Yet Jin Jun had to admit that Zhang Yu’s actions had indeed stirred his emotions.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, circulating his Magic Power within his body. His stable dao heart gradually calmed the turmoil in his mind.
Jin Jun realized that the reason he had been so easily provoked was because he had invested too much in this project.
“Nearly half my assets are tied up in this venture. If it fails, not only will it be difficult to recover my funds, but it will also severely damage my reputation in artifact refinement.”
The thought of being labeled as “the one defeated by a Civil Engineering Student” in future communications sent a chill down his spine. He could already see his loan applications, funding requests, and investment prospects growing increasingly difficult to secure, making every step on his path to the Immortal Dao a struggle.
“I absolutely cannot afford to lose.”
Regardless of who might be supporting Zhang Yu behind the scenes, Jin Jun refused to concede.
He understood that once the Level 1 prototype mechanism was completed, the next step would be to repeatedly refine and improve it, gradually increasing its Blueprint Level.
“At this stage, it all comes down to Zhang Yu’s own skill.”
“Even if he works tirelessly and spends a fortune, he can’t raise the prototype mechanism’s level to 11 unless his artifact refinement skill reaches Level 11.”
“If he tries to outsource the refinement now, it will definitely fail the evaluation.”
“With my years of technical accumulation in this field, based on the current debugging parameters, once this prototype mechanism is assembled, it will immediately reach Level 5.”
“My subsequent progress will undoubtedly be faster than his.”
With these thoughts, Jin Jun gradually calmed down.
Of course, despite his newfound composure, Jin Jun had no intention of remaining idle.
“Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Having invested so much Spirit Coins and time in this project, I refuse to accept failure.”
That very day, Jin Jun mortgaged his Bionics and organs, maxed out his loans, and used the Spirit Coins to rent more advanced artifact refinement equipment. He also hired a Golden Core-level Teacher for one-on-one guidance, seeking advice and error correction throughout his refinement process.
In addition to accelerating his own progress, Jin Jun also planned to create trouble for Zhang Yu, hoping to slow him down.
He sent a message:
Jin Jun: “Senior Brother, I need your help with something.”
In Ye Xingli’s laboratory, Zhang Yu’s Earthly Fiend Gravity surged around him, suspending the prototype mechanism in mid-air.
Streams of Magic Power shot from his hands, mixing with the powdered materials Zi Yunzhen had prepared nearby, and flowed into the artifact refinement device. Layer after layer of restrictions were then imprinted onto the prototype mechanism.
As the number of restrictions accumulated, the prototype mechanism’s heat resistance gradually increased.
Zhang Yu knew that to upgrade the prototype mechanism, he needed to repeatedly layer restrictions onto the Magic Power Circuits both inside and outside the machine, enhancing its various performance metrics. He also needed to optimize the runes, refine the materials, and increase the Magic Power Core’s capacity.
Beyond these fundamental enhancements, additional functions needed to be integrated.
For example, to upgrade the current Level 1 prototype mechanism to Level 2, a new cultivation art module for Fire Control had to be installed.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The Level 1 prototype mechanism already has interfaces for various functions. All I need to do is improve and add modules.”
“But to achieve this, my Blueprint Level must reach a certain threshold.”
He glanced at the Feather Book: Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism Level 1 (6/10).
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Refining each prototype mechanism not only enhances its basic attributes but also advances the Feather Book’s progress by two points, thanks to the Artifact Refinement Prodigy bonus.”
“Once I raise the Blueprint Level to 2, I’ll have the technical expertise to add Fire Control, a feature exclusive to Level 2 machines.”
With this in mind, Zhang Yu’s refining motions grew even more rapid. He poured Magic Power and materials into the prototype mechanism as if they were limitless.
Zi Yunzhen watched, her eyelids twitching. She couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, isn’t this too fast?”
In her view, artifact refinement wasn’t about speed, especially when learning and refining simultaneously. Each step required careful consideration and meticulous correction of flaws to ensure progress.
Zhang Yu’s frantic, eyes-closed approach struck her as wasteful of materials, costly, and unlikely to yield significant improvement.
Zi Yunzhen thought to herself, “Refining isn’t just about quantity…”
Zhang Yu countered mentally, “Refining is all about repetition. The more I refine, the higher my artifact refinement skill level will rise, right?”
Seeing Zhang Yu ignore her, Zi Yunzhen couldn’t help but say, “Boss, where does your rapid progress come from? You can’t just focus on speed. Your current performance is too superficial compared to the Jin Jun Team. The evaluation panel will be looking for your depth of thought, not just the number of refinements.”
“I hope you’ll start documenting your reflections in daily reports, differentiating your approach and developing your core competitive advantage.”
“Push yourself, Boss. If you can grow, I’m willing to take a pay cut to free up more funds for the project.”
Watching Zi Yunzhen dangle the carrot of employee pay cuts, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but think, “Damn it… When I was an employee, my boss promised me the world. Now that I’m the boss, my employees are promising me the world?”
“This damn place, Kunxu.”
Seeing Zi Yunzhen about to continue, Zhang Yu waved his hand to stop her. “Yunzhen, I’m somewhat disappointed in your current performance. When I brought you onto my project team, I hoped you would delve deeply into the realm of the Heavenly Sun Radiance God and become the most specialized assistant in this field.”
“I won’t explain why we need to accelerate the pace. I want to give you a chance to grow, to force yourself to think, explore, and find the answers yourself.”
“I know that asking you to grow under this accelerated pace puts immense pressure on you. But growth always comes with pressure. The greatest pressure often leads to the fastest growth.”
“In the future, you’ll be incredibly grateful for this stressful period. It will be a crucial stage in your personal transformation.”
After reassuring Zi Yunzhen, Zhang Yu continued to accelerate, soon leaving her struggling to keep up. Zi Yunzhen frantically pushed herself to go faster, faster, faster, until there was no room left for thought.
She felt like she was desperately chasing Zhang Yu on a racetrack, pushing herself to exhaustion, yet still watching Zhang Yu’s figure recede further and further into the distance.
Just as Zi Yunzhen was about to lose her grip entirely, Zhang Yu suddenly stopped.
“I’m going to the Spirit Realm, Yunzhen. You continue preparing.”
Seeing this, Zi Yunzhen felt as if Zhang Yu had stopped on the track, giving her time to catch up.
Realizing this, Zi Yunzhen felt deeply ashamed. “I’m slowing down the entire project team’s progress…”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had already retreated into the Supreme Clarity Realm, activated the artifact refinement simulation, and resumed his cultivation.
Unlike artifact refinement techniques, which could only be practiced in the real world, Zhang Yu had always been able to improve his mastery of various artifact refinement skills — specifically, his Blueprint Level for different magical artifacts and Bionics — by repeatedly practicing in the Great Void Illusionary Realm through the simulation function.
“The Refining process in the laboratory serves as both the creation of the prototype mechanism and a record of my work.”
“By seizing these brief moments to cultivate in the Supreme Clarity Realm, I can raise my Blueprint Level even faster.”
Zhang Yu calculated mentally, “With this dual approach, I estimate that in another month or two, I’ll be able to upgrade the prototype mechanism to Level 11, the Foundation Establishment standard.”
Just as Zhang Yu was immersed in his work in the laboratory, a message suddenly appeared before him.
In the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu gazed at the Daoist figure before him, who resembled a mechanical construct, and asked, “Teacher Gui Yuanzi, is there something you need?”
The Daoist glanced at Zhang Yu and said coolly, “Why haven’t you been attending the History of Artifact Refinement Techniques class lately?”
Zhang Yu paused, slightly taken aback. “I applied for leave…”
Gui Yuanzi replied coldly, “I don’t recall approving your leave.”
“Very well, I’ll give you one chance. You must make up all the missed class hours. Otherwise, you can forget about passing this course this semester.”
With that, Gui Yuanzi left behind a rudimentary artifact spirit to conduct a 1.0x speed online lecture for Zhang Yu before vanishing.
Zhang Yu stared in disbelief, then sent another leave request, only to receive a stern reprimand.
Gui Yuanzi: “What leave? Who authorized you to take leave whenever you please?”
Gui Yuanzi: “Don’t think working on a project excuses you from studying history.”
Gui Yuanzi: “If you haven’t even mastered the history of past techniques, how can you possibly research new ones without understanding their origins and development?”
“This guy…” Zhang Yu muttered to himself, watching the lecturing artifact spirit. “Is someone deliberately targeting me again?”
Just then, Zi Yunzhen sent a message: “Boss, the materials are ready. When will you be back?”
Zhang Yu replied: “Keep preparing the materials. I’ll return as soon as I resolve this matter.”
He then sent messages to Feng Tingting, Ye Xingli, and Zhang Pianpian, determined to uncover Gui Yuanzi’s true motives.
After some inquiries, Zhang Yu pieced together the situation. His gaze swept through his contacts list, finally settling on Feng Yuhuan.