A sleeve arrow whizzed by, and the troublemaking disciple quickly tilted his head to dodge.
But instead of panicking or getting angry, he just ducked his head, gave an embarrassed laugh, and ran off. "Sorry, sorry! I've got somewhere to be!"
The disciple who had made the threat didn't pursue him. He simply tossed the ruined blade embryo into a nearby scrap heap.
Su Ling'er's heart pounded in her chest as she watched.
'He was going to kill a fellow disciple over something so trivial?'
'And… the one who was threatened just let it go?'
'What about the sect's rules? The elders? Doesn't anyone enforce order?!'
'In an environment with so much internal strife, where disciples can just kill each other at will, wouldn't everyone who paid a fortune to join end up dead?'
'It's unbelievable this sect hasn't destroyed itself! How has it survived to this day with so many members?'
At another Forging Platform not far away, a burly man, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, let out a roar.
"Everyone get the hell out of my way! Watch this!"
He tossed aside the hammer in his hands and flexed his arms! A giant hammer, bigger than the man himself, materialized out of thin air!
"Hah! Sky Hammer!"
The burly man let out a ferocious roar! He swung the giant hammer—completely out of proportion with the Forging Platform—and brought it down hard on a red-hot metal ingot!
"BOOM—!!!"
With a tremendous bang, sparks flew into the air. The ingot didn't stand a chance under the massive hammer and was instantly flattened into an iron disk.
The surrounding disciples erupted in boisterous laughter and cheers, while the burly man smugly retrieved his giant hammer.
Su Ling'er stared, dumbfounded.
'That... that hammer... it's definitely an extremely high-grade Magical Artifact! Can he really use a Divine Weapon like that for forging?'
'To own such a treasure in a sect where disciples slaughter each other freely, and to still be alive... his power must be immense!'
Before she could recover from her shock, she witnessed another bizarre scene.
A disciple who looked quite experienced was lecturing a junior brother:
"You'll never forge anything that way. Your heart isn't sincere, the fire is too volatile, and your hammering is full of hesitation."
"Remember! There are no useless materials, only useless Artifact Refiners!"
"If you fail, the fault lies with you!"
The junior brother nodded in agreement again and again.
Su Ling'er watched in confusion. 'The materials are obviously terrible, yet all the blame is placed on the forger?!'
'Is he teaching a craft or trying to shatter the man's Dao Heart?!'
But the most insane scene of all unfolded in the quenching area.
A disciple, full of anticipation, submerged the longsword he had spent days forging into the Spiritual Spring.
CRACK. A sharp snap echoed.
Cracks spread across the blade, and it shattered on the spot.
The disciple stood stunned for a few seconds. Tears streamed from his eyes as he threw his head back and screamed at the heavens, "NO—!"
He then pulled a glob of sticky liquid from his robes and began trying to... glue the fragments back together, piece by piece.
"Come back to life! My—be—lov—ed—!"
Su Ling'er felt like her brain was short-circuiting.
'What are they doing? Is this really how Artifact Refining is supposed to work?'
'Or is this just how demonic sects do it?'
Lin Qingfeng watched them and shook his head, exasperated.
'These guys are getting way too into their role-playing. Of course, they probably got these ideas from some show or something, but that's not important! Let's see what kind of explanation Junior Sister can cook up!'
"Junior Sister, have you had an epiphany?"
'Huh?' Su Ling'er thought.
'Am I supposed to have an epiphany? Fine, here I go!'
Su Ling'er took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chaotic storm of thoughts in her mind. It was showtime!
She had to find a reasonable explanation for all the illogical madness she was witnessing.
An explanation that fit the logic of a demonic sect.
Her gaze swept over the disciples with their varied expressions and the bizarrely shaped Magical Artifacts.
Finally, her expression became ethereal and profound.
"Senior Brother... I... I understand now!"
"Holy crap, you actually understood... *cough cough*... Oh? Do tell."
Lin Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted to one of keen interest.
'I don't get it either... but if it helps my junior sister have an epiphany, that's a good thing!'
'I truly am the best Senior Brother there is! Hehehehehe!!!'
"What they are refining... has never been artifacts. They are refining their hearts."
"They are taking their joy, their anger, their sorrow, their bliss, their dominance, their arrogance, their love, their obsession... they are taking all of themselves and, with a thousand strikes of the hammer, forging it all into these cold metal ingots."
"That's why the success or failure of the Magical Artifact, the quality of the materials—none of it matters. What matters is whether, in the process, they have unreservedly branded their very 'Dao' upon it."
"Every successful Magical Artifact is an extension of their own will, and every shattered wreck is a testament to their tragic martyrdom."
"To refine an artifact is to refine the heart. Through martyrdom, Divine Soldiers are forged."
"One strike, one thought. One flame, one tribulation. So... this is the true path of Artifact Refining in the Guixi Sect!"
She gave herself goosebumps just saying it.
When she finished, however, Lin Qingfeng fell into a long silence.
'Damn, what an interpretation... That's deep!'
'She actually managed to come up with "To refine an artifact is to refine the heart. Through martyrdom, Divine Soldiers are forged" just from watching these goofball players screw around?'
'It must be because I'm such a good teacher!'
'Does "martyrdom forges Divine Soldiers" mean Junior Sister is prepared to become a Divine Weapon herself? Does this mean she'll agree to cultivate the Sword Refining Skill?'
'I've got to write this down. I'll use this whole spiel to trick the next batch of newbies!'
'Next time... no! From now on, I'll leave the job of recruiting new players to Junior Sister!'
Lin Qingfeng recalled someone on the Ashen Heaven forums saying that guiding the sect's first native NPC was a one-time quest for players.
Once that guidance quest was complete, it would unlock the *Sect's Rise* preliminary promotion quest, which was part of the sect construction and upgrade system.
A key part of it required the NPC to participate in the sect's daily contributions. Players weren't even allowed to help. During the quest and for a short time after, the NPC couldn't consume any elixirs given by players, or the quest would be invalidated.
'Who knows why the game designers made it like that! Damn them!'
'This little junior sister of mine has a real talent for roping in newbies!'
'After all, there are no rewards for escorting newbies around the map and spouting nonsense. When there's no profit in it, most players can't be bothered with that chore.'
'But now... the perfect candidate is standing right in front of me! Under my tutelage, this junior sister is a natural-born preacher!'
'She might seem like a simpleton at times, but her comprehension, her eloquence, her ability to rationalize... no, her ability to perceive the fundamental truth of things!'
'Wouldn't it be great to have her guide any new NPCs we recruit? It would be another huge contribution she could make to the sect!'
'If she can interpret the behavior of these goofball players as the profound path of cultivation, is there any situation she can't talk her way out of?'
'Excellent, excellent! From now on, I'll just dump the job of preaching to new NPCs on her!'
Lin Qingfeng's gaze toward Su Ling'er was no longer that of someone looking at a simple-minded yet perceptive junior sister. He was looking at a treasure of the sect, the future Chief Propagandist!
"Junior Sister... for you to have gained such insight... is wonderful, truly wonderful!"
Su Ling'er immediately put on an adoring expression and jumped in.
"Of course! It's all thanks to your guidance, Senior Brother! If you hadn't pointed me in the right direction, I never would have realized! I have learned so much from you!"
'I'm a genius!' Su Ling'er thought. 'I almost believed that speech myself!'
Just as Su Ling'er thought the ordeal was finally over, she glanced toward the back of the Artifact Refining Pavilion and saw a corner that was completely different from the rest.
A group of disciples stood around a cyan jade platform, giant hammers in hand. 'Are they about to forge some kind of Magical Artifact?'
As everyone watched, one of the disciples took a deep breath.
Then, he actually... lay down on the jade platform?
'Are they... going to forge a person?'