Xiaoxiao.

Chapter 123 Failed Weapon Forging

Kuang Zheng stared intently at the long sword that was gradually taking shape in mid-air, paying close attention to every subtle change in the sword.

"Hold your breath and concentrate, you must stay calm! Continue to maintain the output intensity of this spiritual energy, and there must be no fluctuations. In about half an hour, this sword will be fully formed!" Kuang Zheng calmly instructed.

Standing to the side, Ying Yue also looked tense. She bit her lip tightly and stared intently at the long sword in the air, afraid of missing a single moment.

Wu Ren didn't speak; at that moment, all his attention was focused on the long sword floating in the air.

As time went by, the long sword gradually took shape, and by then, his forehead was covered in sweat.

Hearing the instructions from the air, he dared not be careless in the slightest, and focused intently on controlling the intensity of his spiritual energy output.

Not far from them, piles of debris and waste were scattered on the ground.

These are the results of the three of them refining weapons over this period of time.

All of them possessed extremely solid theoretical knowledge.

Therefore, when they first started refining, everyone was full of confidence, thinking that with their skills, refining the lowest grade one spiritual weapon should be a piece of cake.

However, when they actually started doing it themselves, they were shocked to realize how big the gap was between reality and their imagination.

Although they were not clear about the standards for classifying spiritual artifacts, they only knew that spiritual artifacts were divided into twelve grades from low to high.

This is why when the three of them obtained the Immortal-Slaying Spear, the Immortal-Drinking Blade, and the Orchid Sword, they simply felt they were good, but couldn't discern their quality.

Because real magical artifacts are rarely as absolute as theoretical knowledge describes, those who encounter magical artifacts for the first time cannot make accurate judgments at all.

While the theoretical knowledge details the conditions required for each step and the methods of using materials, it cannot tell you the exact timing of temperature transitions during each process from the fusion of various materials to the formation of the magical artifact in actual operation.

It merely provides a general description of the temperature range that should be maintained at a specific stage.

Similarly, subtle differences in when and how much of which material to add affect the success of the refining process.

Theoretical books never mention crucial details such as the precise time at which it should be put into the furnace.

All it can do is list the various materials needed and roughly explain the order in which they are added.

It wasn't that the authors of these classic texts did this intentionally, but rather that weapon crafting is an incredibly complex and systematic process.

Unexpected situations can arise at any stage. A true master craftsman must be able to make the right choices and adjustments in a timely manner without hesitation, based on any possible unexpected events. Only in this way can the success of the crafting be guaranteed.

Those legendary artifacts were all chosen by the grandmasters of weapon crafting without hesitation, despite numerous unexpected circumstances.

The so-called favorable timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony are all indispensable.

Therefore, top-quality artifacts are all unexpected surprises, something you can only encounter by chance and cannot seek out.

These things cannot be reflected in the classics of weapon crafting, but the key to the success or failure of weapon crafting lies precisely in these countless subtle and complex mutual transformations.

For example, when to raise the temperature, by how much, and for how long to lower the temperature to what level—each of these steps is crucial.

Because these temperature changes are fleeting, if the weapon refiner hesitates even slightly during the process, it could very likely lead to the complete failure of the entire effort.

Moreover, the timing of adding materials also affects the quality of the final product.

Investing too early or too late will only result in worthless waste.

The key to determining the quality of a finished product often lies in that incredibly brief 0.001 seconds.

If everything is just right, then the crafted item will surely become an unparalleled masterpiece.

However, if it is 0.001 seconds later or 0.001 seconds earlier, the difference in quality will be like heaven and earth—one will be high above, like something in the clouds, while the other will only lie humbly in the dust.

All these precise controls and judgments require weapon refiners to explore and accumulate experience through repeated practice.

Unfortunately, the three "self-important" theoretical weapon refiners were too confident in their abilities and completely failed to realize this.

They blindly began crafting weapons, completely unaware of the subtle techniques and key points.

So, after they had squandered a mountain of refining materials, the harsh reality finally dealt them a heavy blow.

At this moment, the group suddenly realized that with their current strength and mastery of weapon crafting skills, let alone crafting any extraordinary or amazing artifacts, even successfully completing a single weapon crafting process would be extremely difficult.

After expending countless precious materials, the three finally came to terms with reality.

However, this period of practice was not entirely fruitless.

They not only successfully reached the threshold of weapon crafting, but also made breakthrough progress in the manipulation of spiritual energy.

Prior to this, their use of spiritual energy was limited to simple release and output, and they had never truly understood the key concept of "control".

Back then, they treated spiritual energy directly and brutally, being straightforward and honest!

This method is purely a contest of who has more spiritual energy reserves, like a brawl between brutes, where all that's needed is brute force, with no skill whatsoever.

However, after this period of weapon-forging practice, the situation has fundamentally changed.

They gradually came to understand and master how to control spiritual energy.

They now clearly understand how much spiritual energy to use when employing which moves, and how much spiritual energy to invest in different moves to maximize their power.

As the saying goes, "If you understand one method, you understand all methods." Through the experience and insights gained from this weapon-forging process, they were able to apply what they learned to other situations and make connections between different methods.

As the saying goes, look beyond the surface to see the essence.

With this experience, the three of them can expand their knowledge and understanding of the path of cultivation from specific points to a broader perspective.

If one is fortunate enough to receive careful guidance and instruction from a senior teacher, the above-mentioned knowledge should be considered the most basic common sense.

Unfortunately, the three had no mentors to guide them, and everything depended on their own relentless efforts. Therefore, they had to figure everything out on their own through trial and error...