Chapter 57: The Refiner's Challenge

Baili Ce struggled to his feet and glared furiously at Qin Tian.

The moment he emerged from seclusion, one of his disciples had told him that a weaponsmith from Azure Cloud City had accepted the commission to forge Xiao Zhan’s weapon.

As the foremost weaponsmith in the Haotian Empire, this was the first time anyone had stolen his business. With his already fiery temper, he had come straight over.

“Do you know that you’ve violated the rules of the weaponsmithing profession?”

“I had already reached an agreement with General Xiao that I would forge his weapon, yet you took advantage of my seclusion and stole my commission!” Baili Ce roared.

“Stole your commission?”

“What level are you at to think I would bother stealing from you?” Qin Tian replied with undisguised disdain. He knew that the Haotian Empire did not have a single imperial-grade weaponsmith.

At that moment, Mu Qingqing stepped forward and said, “Grandmaster Baili, you’ve misunderstood. Mr. Qin is an imperial-grade weaponsmith. General Xiao was the one who sought him out and asked him to forge an imperial weapon.”

“An imperial-grade weaponsmith? He can forge imperial weapons?” Baili Ce scrutinized Qin Tian from head to toe. “That little brat is an imperial-grade weaponsmith?”

“Do you take me for a three-year-old child?”

Zong Wu immediately added, “A person’s ability isn’t proven by words.”

“In that case, how about we make a wager?” Baili Ce asked.

“What kind of wager?” Qin Tian said, taking some interest.

“We’ll compete in weaponsmithing. Whoever wins will become the empire’s foremost weaponsmith.”

“I’m not interested,” Qin Tian replied.

Baili Ce frowned, then said, “Then let’s use spirit herbs as the wager.”

With that, he took out five imperial-grade, lower-tier spirit herbs that were ten thousand years old.

“I wager five ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs. Can you produce an equal stake?” Baili Ce asked proudly, looking toward Qin Tian.

He believed that someone as young as Qin Tian could not possibly possess so many spirit herbs.

Besides, he had absolute confidence in his own skill as a weaponsmith. No matter how talented Qin Tian was, there was no way he could surpass him in weaponsmithing.

Qin Tian was simply too young. A weaponsmith’s growth required many years of study and accumulated experience.

Qin Tian understood the source of Baili Ce’s confidence. Without the system, it would indeed have been impossible for him to reach his current level at such a young age.

Still, the wager of five ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs tempted him greatly. “I accept. As for the stake…”

While Qin Tian was considering what to use, Zong Wu directly took out his imperial weapon and said, “Use this.”

Baili Ce glanced at the blade in Zong Wu’s hand and casually remarked, “This worthless knife is supposed to match my five ten-thousand-year—”

Before he could finish, a glint of golden light flashed through his eyes. He had realized that the blade in Zong Wu’s hand was anything but ordinary.

“May I take a closer look?”

Zong Wu tossed the blade over. “Look carefully.”

After examining it in detail, Baili Ce sighed in admiration. “What a fine blade!”

He reluctantly returned it to Zong Wu. “Your stake is sufficient. Mine is not. Unfortunately, this is all I have for now. Whether you’re willing to wager it is up to you.”

“Deal,” Qin Tian replied.

Only after agreeing did Qin Tian remember that he had no materials left. He instructed Zong Wu, “Go to the Lin Trading Company and find a way to obtain a set of materials for forging an imperial weapon.”

Hearing this, Baili Ce grew even more confident. A weaponsmith who could not even produce a set of forging materials—how could he possibly compete with him?

Before Zong Wu could leave, Mu Qingqing said, “There’s no need, Senior Zong. I have some here.”

She took out a complete set of imperial-grade forging materials and handed them to Qin Tian. “I was just about to ask Mr. Qin to forge an imperial weapon for me.”

“If you succeed, I’ll give you six ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs as payment.”

With more ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs practically being delivered to his door, Qin Tian was naturally delighted. “I’ll forge it for you.”

Seeing Mu Qingqing’s attitude, Baili Ce felt a growing sense of unease. But now that matters had reached this point, he had no way to retreat.

“Since the materials are ready, let’s begin!”

Qin Tian nodded slightly and lit the fire, beginning the first step.

During the hammering process, Baili Ce secretly glanced at Qin Tian from time to time. He soon discovered that Qin Tian’s hammering technique was extraordinary—perhaps even better than his own.

Later, he no longer had the leisure to spy on Qin Tian and focused entirely on refining his own materials.

He intended to achieve perfection.

When he finally finished hammering, panting heavily, he noticed that Qin Tian was still working. Yet Qin Tian’s expression remained calm, and he seemed to be in excellent spirits.

This gave Baili Ce a sense of crisis. However, when he remembered that the second step was the true key, he felt somewhat reassured.

The second step, fusion, depended entirely on precision and experience. It was also where young people were most likely to make mistakes.

After swallowing a pill to restore his strength, he began the second step.

A while later, Qin Tian began as well.

Thanks to his previous experience, Qin Tian was now much faster. He and Baili Ce completed the step almost simultaneously.

Baili Ce began to panic. He could see that Qin Tian’s imperial weapon embryo was far superior to his own.

Still, he comforted himself. The formation arrays were profound and far-reaching, and this was the most important step. He still had a chance.

Qin Tian rapidly inscribed the formation. At last, he completed it ahead of Baili Ce.

A strange phenomenon immediately appeared above the Art Studio.

Baili Ce sensed it.

The moment he saw the spectacle, he was utterly stunned, and his hands came to a halt.

Only when the unfinished formation in front of him exploded did he come back to his senses and realize that he had failed.

But none of that mattered anymore.

After spending his entire life forging weapons, this was the first time he had witnessed someone successfully create an imperial weapon.

And that person was still a young man.

The impact this had on him was immense.

Qin Tian handed the newly forged imperial weapon to Mu Qingqing.

She accepted it with an expression of worship. It was also her first time witnessing the birth of an imperial weapon, and the phenomenon had been breathtakingly beautiful.

She then handed Qin Tian six ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs.

After accepting the spirit herbs, Qin Tian turned his gaze toward Baili Ce.

Baili Ce took out five ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs and handed them to Qin Tian.

Then he dropped to his knees.

“Please accept me as your disciple, Grandmaster!”

At that moment, dignity and pride no longer mattered. Becoming an imperial-grade weaponsmith was the greatest pursuit of his entire life.

Qin Tian was completely dumbfounded. The reversal had been too abrupt.

He looked at Baili Ce and said, “You’re too old. Forget about becoming my disciple.”

Baili Ce immediately grew anxious. “I’m not considered old among imperial-grade cultivators!”

Qin Tian thought for a moment, then said, “From now on, serve as a guard alongside Zong Wu. You may call me Young Master.”

Baili Ce was indeed a talented man, and he would be very useful to Qin Tian’s current plans. Thus, Qin Tian accepted him.

“Yes, Young Master!” Baili Ce replied excitedly.

Qin Tian then assigned him to the outer courtyard.

The Lin Trading Company’s auction was still more than a month away, so Qin Tian planned to teach Baili Ce how to forge weapons.

They would forge several high-quality semi-imperial weapons to be sold at the auction.

As for auctioning an imperial weapon, Qin Tian thought it over and ultimately decided against it.

If word spread that imperial weapons were being sold, it was inevitable that certain forces would develop malicious intentions.

The people on Qin Tian’s side were still too weak. If trouble arose, they would only suffer losses instead of gaining anything.

He would have to wait until he broke his seal before he could reveal an imperial weapon.

Baili Ce’s talent in weaponsmithing was quite respectable, so teaching him was relatively easy for Qin Tian.

The semi-imperial weapons he forged were of even better quality than before, though he still needed more time to accumulate experience before he could forge an imperial weapon.

Ten days later, three semi-imperial weapons forged by Baili Ce were delivered into Lin Zhou’s hands.

Lin Zhou was overjoyed. “Begin the next stage of promotion.”

For the sake of safety, Qin Tian sent Zong Wu over directly.

Lin Zhou had spared no effort for this auction. Not only had the publicity throughout the Haotian Empire been handled thoroughly, but several neighboring forces had also helped spread the word.

This auction was intended to establish their reputation and prepare the way for opening branch establishments in the future.