The War Emperor laughed maniacally as he soared into the air. A brilliant light erupted from his body, and the entire world began to tremble.
In the instant he self-destructed, countless cries and wails entered his ears. Those voices seemed both intimately familiar and strangely foreign.
Shen Lang, who had just absorbed these memories, remained a passive observer through it all.
He "watched" it all unfold, powerless to act.
But as he watched "himself" self-destruct, a sense of tragic grandeur just beginning to fill him, he couldn't help but curse internally. 'What the hell! I was just wondering how a War Emperor like you could have fallen. So you actually killed yourself! What did you figure out? You might get it, but I sure as hell don't!'
Just as he finished his thought, an endless, brilliant light flooded the entire world.
"Idiot!"
Shen Lang let out a reflexive roar, startling everyone in the classroom so badly they nearly jumped out of their seats.
On the dais, the Wooden Zither Tutor was practically fuming. Her lovely face flushed so red it looked as if it might start bleeding.
"Shen Lang, get on your feet! You dare call me an idiot? You must have a death wish!"
WHIZZ—
A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air.
Shen Lang lifted his head slightly. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw an object hurtling toward him through the air.
What shocked him, however, was how incredibly clear the object was to his eyes. Despite its extreme speed, it seemed to have slowed to a crawl. He could not only see its trajectory perfectly but even make out the fine grains and cracks on its surface; nothing was hidden from his sight.
Just as his classmates were settling in for a good show, Shen Lang suddenly moved.
He nonchalantly extended two fingers and plucked the furiously approaching, six-inch-long object right out of the air.
It didn't look like he had caught it at all; rather, it was as if his hand had been waiting there the whole time for the object to deliver itself.
Then, he turned his calm gaze toward Wooden Zither on the dais.
This woman of peerless grace looked to be no older than twenty-three or twenty-four. Her black hair danced lightly, and her long eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes seemed to be veiled in a gentle mist, her red lips and pearly teeth glistened, and her neck was long and slender. With her ivory skin, graceful form, and exquisite features, her beauty was absolute. Everything about her felt flawless and pure, utterly perfect.
The only slight imperfection was…
Right now, she was like an enraged lioness, baring her fangs and ready to pounce on her prey—Shen Lang.
As if she wanted to tear him to shreds.
Shen Lang sized up the Wooden Zither Tutor and knew he was in trouble.
He glanced at the materials being forged by Earth Fire on the workbench, then hastily shook his head. "Tutor Wooden Zither, you're actually using Earth Fire to refine an inferior weapon like the Purple Thunder Golden Halberd? Aren't you afraid you'll just melt it? Did you really think adding a Daffodil would be enough to counteract the intense Fire Power of Earth Fire?"
"Tsk, tsk. Adding Crimson Sky Demon Root to Demon-Slaying Rock... I'll admit that's somewhat creative. But if you were going to do that, why on earth would you try to use Soul-Burning Ghost Wood to neutralize their conflicting Attributes?"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire class fell silent, dumbfounded. A second later, the room erupted in thunderous laughter.
"Whoa—this loser is really shameless. First he calls the tutor an idiot, and now he's spouting a bunch of nonsense. Is he trying to distract Tutor Wooden Zither this way? Guess he's not a complete idiot after all!"
"Haha, yeah! Tutor Wooden Zither is about to become a Spirit Level Artifact Refiner. This clown doesn't know a thing, yet he dares to run his mouth. I want to see how he's going to talk his way out of this one!"
"Tutor Wooden Zither is extremely focused when she works and hates being interrupted more than anything. This guy's going to be punished until he's missing a few limbs!"
Most of the fifty-odd students in the class were delighting in his misfortune. They watched Shen Lang as if he were the star of a play, constantly whispering amongst themselves.
Shen Lang's only two friends, one fat and one skinny, decisively slumped over their desks and played dead.
Two fists can't fight four hands, after all.
It was hardly news that he slept in class. The real news would be if he stayed awake.
But Wooden Zither was already in a bad mood today. His sudden roar while she was concentrating on her Artifact Refining had nearly made her hand slip and knock over the Furnace Cauldron.
And now he was spouting nonsense on top of it all. This was the last straw!
However, when the furious Wooden Zither Tutor's gaze met Shen Lang's, she felt a sudden, inexplicable jolt in her heart.
In that instant, Shen Lang's eyes were like black holes in the Cosmos, filled with a profound light utterly different from his usual self.
A single glance was enough to make one feel lost in their depths, struggling to look away.
Faced with such a gaze, Wooden Zither was overcome with a sudden sense of powerlessness. The sharp rebuke she had prepared vanished without a trace.
'What's going on? How can this kid have such a profound gaze? With his paltry Martial Power Realm Second Heaven Cultivation, how could a single look from him disturb my state of mind?'
'It's absolutely impossible! I'm an expert at the Qi Martial Realm Eighth Heaven! That must be it... it's because I have the Spirit Level Artifact Refiner assessment coming up. That's why I'm so on edge.'
At this thought, Wooden Zither regained her composure. Her slender eyebrows shot up, and a cold sneer touched her lips.
"Since you can even recognize these materials, why don't you tell me what's so wrong with my process? It may look simple, but I used nine distinct formulas, each one flawless. If I succeed, this won't be some Ordinary Weapon like you said, but a Spiritual Artifact! Do you even know what a Spiritual Artifact is?"
On the Star Continent, the lore of Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts was ancient and profound.