Chapter 48 Refining the Imperial Weapon, Astonishing Everyone!

Haotian City.

Inside the Grand General's Mansion, a man stood respectfully before Xiao Zhan.

He was a member of the City Lord's wife's family from Qingyun City.

"Are you certain there is a Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner in Qingyun City?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"This..." The man hesitated for a moment, but then gritted his teeth and said, "Certain."

In fact, Xiao Zhan had been troubled by this very matter lately because he was about to set out on a military campaign.

His previous weapon had been damaged, leaving him without even a suitable weapon in hand.

Therefore, while collecting materials, he had been trying to contact the Empire's Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiners.

Everything had been arranged initially, but the master suddenly gained a sudden enlightenment and went into seclusion. There was no telling how long one would have to wait.

Thus, hearing this news immediately caught his attention.

"Take me to see this master now. If the information is true, you will be heavily rewarded," Xiao Zhan declared.

Without further ado, the two of them hurried toward Qingyun City.

Upon arriving in Qingyun City, the City Lord personally welcomed them and led the way to the Artistic Conception Painting House.

Seeing such a humble little house, Xiao Zhan frowned, a trace of suspicion crossing his face.

The City Lord hurriedly stepped forward and knocked on the door, saying, "Master Qin, I have come to pay my respects once again."

The one who opened the door this time was Zong Wu, whose gaze immediately locked onto Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan also looked at Zong Wu with a solemn expression, as he sensed a faint aura of danger emanating from him.

This was an instinct honed from years of battlefield warfare, and it could not be wrong.

Yet, there was only a sense of wariness, as both men were at the second level of the Emperor Realm.

Remembering that he was here to seek a favor, he spoke politely, "I am Xiao Zhan, the Grand General of the Haotian Empire."

"Hearing that you are a Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner, I have come to pay a visit."

A Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner?

"You must be here to see my young master, right?" Zong Wu replied.

Young master? Xiao Zhan was puzzled.

The City Lord on the side quickly explained, "The Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner is Young Master Qin, not this senior here." He too could tell that Zong Wu was extraordinary.

Hearing that the Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner was the master of this formidable person, Xiao Zhan's expectations grew.

Hearing the commotion, Qin Tian walked over and asked, "Who is it?"

Zong Wu turned around and said, "Someone has come to visit you, Young Master."

At this moment, Xiao Zhan also looked at Qin Tian. He scrutinized him repeatedly, yet could not detect even the slightest trace of spiritual energy from him, which baffled him greatly.

After all, even Empress Bingxuan herself had been unable to fathom his depths.

However, he did not dwell on it and instead stated his purpose, "I have prepared two sets of materials for forging a Lower Emperor-grade artifact, and I only ask for a Semi-Emperor-grade saber to be forged."

"If it is successfully forged, I will present you with a stalk of Lower Emperor-grade spiritual herb." This was the reward he had previously agreed upon with the other Grandmaster-grade Artifact Refiner.

It was a massive investment on his part.

Hearing such a lucrative proposition, Qin Tian was actually quite tempted, but he currently lacked the spiritual energy required to manipulate the arrays, making forging impossible.

"I cannot forge it right now. Come back in a year!"

Hearing this reply, Xiao Zhan's heart instantly chilled. Could it be that his reward was still too little?

After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you help me forge it now, the reward will be two stalks of Lower Emperor-grade spiritual herbs."

With his departure for war imminent, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and raise the offer.

Qin Tian grew even more tempted. What he lacked most right now were Emperor-grade spiritual herbs. With them, he could refine pills, allowing both himself and An Miaoling to elevate their strengths faster.

Yet, being unable to use his spiritual energy left him helpless. Just as he was about to refuse once more, the system spoke:

[For the host's favorable development, the seal is altered. Until the task is completed, the host may use spiritual energy to refine pills and artifacts, but it cannot be used in combat. Forcing its use will result in mission failure.]

Hearing the system's words, he couldn't help but marvel!

The system was quite considerate after all!

"If I forge an Emperor-grade artifact for you, what reward will you give me?" Qin Tian asked.

An Emperor-grade artifact? Xiao Zhan was instantly shocked, as the entire Haotian Empire possessed only two such artifacts.

One of them had even been brought back not long ago by his niece, Princess Murong Qingqing.

"You... you can forge an Emperor-grade artifact?"

"I can."

Hearing Qin Tian's affirmative reply, he actually began calculating how many rewards he could possibly muster at most.

After a moment, Xiao Zhan said, "If an Emperor-grade artifact is forged, I will give you five stalks of Lower Emperor-grade spiritual herbs."

"This is the absolute maximum I can scrape together. Aside from this, whatever other requests you may have, I will do my utmost to fulfill them."

Observing the changes in Xiao Zhan's expression, Qin Tian could tell that this was indeed the limit of what the general could offer.

Even so, this was an extremely profitable deal for him, so he agreed directly.

Xiao Zhan handed the two sets of artifact-forging materials and the weapon blueprint to Qin Tian, who immediately began the forging process upon receiving them.

Step one involved Qin Tian using the Myriad-Layer Sky Hammer to refine the Emperor-grade ores.

He hammered layer upon layer, and as the layers accumulated, the entire building began to tremble.

Zong Wu, Xiao Zhan, Qian Xue, and the others watched in utter astonishment.

Especially Zong Wu and Xiao Zhan; the sheer force of the blows accumulated thus far was terrifying enough to crush them instantly.

Zong Wu began to feel fortunate for his initial choice. Had he chosen to resort to plunder, he and his grandson would likely have turned to dust long ago.

Xiao Zhan, on the other hand, was filled with intense excitement. He had witnessed the forging of Semi-Emperor-grade weapons before, but compared to this spectacle, they fell far short.

This level of refinement made him truly believe there was hope for an Emperor-grade artifact.

Once the ores were fully refined, Qin Tian proceeded to the fusion phase, blending the various minerals together to form the blank template of the weapon.

This fusion process took a very long time, but everyone watched with rapt attention.

Finally, Qin Tian began inscribing the arrays, which was the most crucial step.

Watching the arrays inscribed by Qin Tian, Zong Wu and Xiao Zhan praised them endlessly as being unimaginably profound.

When Qin Tian completed the final stroke of the inscription, a divine phenomenon manifested, signaling the successful birth of the Emperor-grade artifact.

Zong Wu and Qian Xue looked on with unconcealed envy, while Xiao Zhan was overcome with ecstatic excitement.

With this Emperor-grade artifact, the Xiao family would possess a profound foundation, and things would be different from this day forward.

He hurriedly produced the two stalks of Lower Emperor-grade herbs he currently possessed and said, "I only have two stalks with me right now, and the remaining three need to be gathered back home. What do you think..."

Qin Tian tossed the Emperor-grade artifact straight to him and said, "Go back and get them before bringing them to me."

Xiao Zhan excitedly held the Emperor-grade artifact, examining it repeatedly before vowing to return as quickly as possible.

Before leaving, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid I won't come back after leaving?"

Qin Tian smiled faintly and said, "You are welcome to try."

Xiao Zhan laughed awkwardly and replied, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Indeed, he truly did not dare. An artifact refiner capable of creating an Emperor-grade artifact was someone even the Haotian Empire would not dare to provoke, let alone himself.

With that, he hurried back toward Haotian City, planning to first borrow three spiritual herbs from the Empress, as he genuinely could not produce them on the spot.

After Xiao Zhan left, Qin Tian looked at Zong Wu and said, "What kind of saber do you want? I'll forge one for you; we happen to have one set of materials left."

The preceding display had also served as a warning to Zong Wu, so Qin Tian intended to offer some sweeteners to completely win Zong Wu over.