Shi Xueyun's words nearly made Yi Tianyun's heart stop. 'This is someone who truly trusts me, who has absolute faith in my abilities!'
'Even if no one else believes in me, her belief alone is more than enough.'
Yi Tianyun smiled faintly and said, "Since Aunt trusts me so much, I will certainly not let you down!"
Shi Xueyun then led them to a temporarily constructed Forging Room, which had been built according to Master Kong's previous specifications.
Although it was a bit extravagant, considering they would be hiring people to craft weapons in the future, building a proper Forging Room was not an issue.
Still, the Forging Room seemed rather crude, but it was sufficient for creating Spiritual Artifacts.
"These are the materials for forging a Spiritual Artifact. However, we've only prepared five sets, which allows for two failures."
The implication of Shi Xueyun's words was that Yi Tianyun could fail twice. However, since he only needed to prove he could forge a Spiritual Artifact, even failing four times wouldn't be a problem.
"That's more than enough. For me, failure is not an option," Yi Tianyun said calmly.
He was well aware of the capabilities of the Basic Blacksmith skill he had recently acquired. He was certain he could forge a decent Spiritual Artifact. Due to the skill's limitations, it would be restricted to a low-grade Spiritual Artifact, but that was more than enough.
"'Failure is not an option'? What a boast! Unless you've reached the level of a Fifth-Rank Blacksmith. Or has your forging skill already reached that level?"
Master Kong, listening from the side, couldn't stand it. At his current level, his success rate for forging Spiritual Artifacts was about fifty percent; he couldn't guarantee a one-hundred-percent success rate.
Yi Tianyun's claim immediately displeased him.
"A Fifth-Rank Blacksmith is unlikely, but who says you need to be a Fifth-Rank Blacksmith to successfully forge a Spiritual Artifact?"
Yi Tianyun stated calmly, then looked at Shi Xueyun and asked, "What kind of weapon do you need me to forge?"
"A longsword. Most of us here use longswords," Shi Xueyun said.
Yi Tianyun nodded. He walked over to the materials, quickly selected a set for forging a Spiritual Artifact, and moved to the furnace. The furnace contained an ordinary flame, which would undoubtedly make the process a bit more difficult.
However, this was no great challenge for him; he was confident he could succeed even with this handicap.
"Putting on a show. I'd like to see how long you can keep up this tough act!"
Master Kong assumed Yi Tianyun was just bluffing, perhaps trying to deliberately drive down the price or achieve some other goal, which amounted to an indirect refusal of his services.
After all, Yi Tianyun's terrible reputation was widespread. The rumor everywhere was that he was a good-for-nothing with no Blood Qi. If he had trouble even cultivating, how could he possibly know Artifact Refining?
Yi Tianyun paid him no mind and prepared to toss the materials into the furnace.
The three elders standing nearby had grim and uncertain expressions. They were all deeply skeptical of Yi Tianyun and kept glancing at their Palace Master, feeling that she was spoiling him far too much.
If his act failed, not only would they lose a great fortune, but they would also offend Master Kong. It would be a catastrophic double loss.
"Palace Master, if he fails..." the First Elder couldn't help but say.
"I know what I'm doing," Shi Xueyun replied coolly.
"Palace Master, you can't be so willful! I know you dote on him, but this is going too far! If he fails, how will we answer for it? How are we supposed to enter the Celestial Sinking Ruins without any proper weapons?!"
The Second Elder exploded with anger. The spot she had fought for her disciple to get was already gone, and now, if this failed, they wouldn't even have weapons.
These materials were not cheap, so every failure was a painful loss.
"I will bear all the consequences."
Shi Xueyun once again responded in that same cool tone.
The Second Elder was taken aback. She stepped aside and fell silent, her eyes glinting with dissatisfaction. But she was not the Palace Master, so she could only go along with it.
The Third Elder didn't interject. The other two elders had already been rebuffed, so there was no point in her saying anything either.
"If he fails, we will report this to the Ancestors! They can be the judge of this matter then!" the Second Elder suddenly added.
In Merak Palace, they were not the most senior members; that title belonged to the Ancestors who lived in seclusion. Their cultivation levels were unfathomable, and they served as the palace's strongest backing.
"Do as you wish," Shi Xueyun said nonchalantly.
That one phrase made the Second Elder so angry she almost started cursing. She was only thinking of what was best for Merak Palace.
"Palace Master, maybe I should just agree..."
Lian felt that things had gotten out of hand. Her heart ached for Shi Xueyun, and she began to whisper to her.
But before she could finish, Shi Xueyun said calmly, "Trust Tianyun."
Lian was taken aback. She looked up at Yi Tianyun, a newfound resolve in her beautiful eyes.
While they were talking, Yi Tianyun dumped all the materials into the furnace at once and began the refining process.
"Haha! So he really is an idiot! Tossing in all the materials at once—that's what a fool would do! Even if you're trying to put on an act, could you at least not be so fake about it?"
Master Kong pointed at Yi Tianyun and roared with laughter, his eyes looking at him as if he were a complete moron.
Yi Tianyun remained unfazed, continuing to forge the weapon at a steady pace. He circulated the Spiritual Power within his body and continued to refine the materials.
The other elders exchanged glances but could only endure it. After what Shi Xueyun had said, nothing they said would matter.
"What a shame. Such fine materials, all wasted. If it were me, I couldn't guarantee success, but I'd have at least a fifty percent chance. We could have had a Spiritual Artifact, but now it's just going to be a pile of scrap..." Master Kong laughed endlessly, finding the whole situation ridiculous.
Yi Tianyun was still unmoved, continuing his work no matter how much Master Kong berated him.
As time passed, the furnace didn't explode, and the materials inside weren't ruined. Instead, they gradually began to take shape. The form of a longsword emerged, and under constant refinement, it steadily shrank, looking more and more like a proper blade.
At this moment, Master Kong's laughter came to an abrupt halt. His face froze as he stared at the longsword in the furnace. If the process had failed, this wouldn't be happening; the materials would have been instantly ruined.
"Th-this is impossible... To do it like this, you'd need immense control to refine it all at once. This is absolutely impossible!"
Master Kong began to panic. The reason he had assumed it would fail wasn't that the method itself was flawed, but because it required an incredible level of control to succeed.
But now, not only had it not failed, but it was steadily heading toward success!