The magical duels among cultivators were a spectacular sight, attracting many spectators.
The Refining Sequence competition took a long ti and was rather tedious, attracting few viewers besides the Artifact Refiners themselves.
Jia Ren arrived at the Refining Palace, where twelve Spirit-level Refiners had already gathered, exchanging glances that barely masked their rivalry.
Monts later, the rewards for the Refiner Sequence rankings were announced.
The first in the Spirit-level Refiner Ranking would receive a total of three thousand Top-quality Spirit Stones each session (one hundred years), one year of cultivation in the Origin Spirit Pool, one hundred million Lingbao Sect Contributions, one Heavenly Spirit Material, ten Supre-grade Spiritual Materials, and the choice to learn one Heaven-Connecting Refinent Art every session. If one maintained the top position for three consecutive sessions, the Sect would grant an additional chance to refine a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure.
The second place would receive two thousand Top-quality Spirit Stones each session, half a year of cultivation in the Origin Spirit Pool, fifty million Lingbao Sect Contributions, and five Supre-grade Spiritual Materials. Should they maintain their ranking within the top two for three consecutive sessions, they would be rewarded with ten Supre-grade Spiritual Materials.
The third place would receive a thousand Top-quality Spirit Stones each session, three months of cultivation in the Origin Spirit Pool, thirty million Lingbao Sect Contributions, and three Supre-grade Spiritual Materials. If they consistently ranked within the top three over three sessions, they would receive seven Supre-grade Spiritual Materials.
Rankings fourth to tenth would each receive a thousand Top-quality Spirit Stones per session, one month of cultivation in the Origin Spirit Pool, ten million Lingbao Sect Contributions, and ten Spiritual Materials.
Rankings eleventh to thirteenth would each receive five hundred Top-quality Spirit Stones per session, fifteen days of cultivation in the Origin Spirit Pool, five Spiritual Materials, and ten million Lingbao Sect Contributions.
The rewards for ranking in the Refiner Sequence were far higher than those for magical duels, the only downside being the longer duration.
The thirteen Artifact Refiners stared intently at the number one reward, not bothering to hide their burning desire. With the Heavenly Spirit Material, the Heaven-Connecting Refinent Art, and the chance for an extra refinent of a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure if one maintained the top position for three sessions, the allure was imnse.
As long as you could stay on top for a long ti, the Sect would treat you as a future Heaven-reaching Refiner and train you with substantial resources. In this way, the gap would naturally widen over ti.
Jia Ren felt several gazes filled with hostility directed at him. He had gained so renown in the Lingbao Sect’s Refining Palace for crafting fine Spiritual Treasures. With this level of proficiency, securing a top-three position was practically guaranteed, and even taking first place was not out of the question. Only the diocre are free from envy, especially when interests clash.
"Heaven-reaching Refiners are the main focus of the Sect’s training. As long as you possess sufficient artifact refining capabilities, the Sect will spare no expense in nurturing your talent."
"Each of you is allocated a separate Refining Workshop to prevent interference from others during the refining process, which could otherwise lead to failure."
"The refining process for each person will be recorded using a treasured item to prevent any possible cheating or swapping out midway through."
Artifact Refining contests differed from magical duels, which were straightforward clashes where the stronger contender could be imdiately seen. The ti spent crafting Spiritual Treasures was quite lengthy, ranging from seven or eight years at the shortest to as long as thirty years, consuming an imnse amount of ti and energy. Who could guarantee that no one would try to take a shortcut to the rankings by using a previously crafted Spiritual Treasure? Ensuring fairness beca exceptionally important.
"The results of the sequence contest will be judged by two Refiner Hall Masters based on the quality of the crafted Spiritual Treasures. In situations where two Spiritual Treasures are of comparable level, the one who finishes first will be declared the winner."
The rules were straightforward, and the crafting competition for Spiritual Treasures began.
Jia Ren entered his own Refining Workshop. A temporary White Jade Mirror had been added to record the refiners’ every movent. This was a thod to ensure fairness and prevent any cheating; each Refining Workshop had one.
Should he craft fine Spiritual Treasures next? Or Supre Spirit Treasures? Fine Spiritual Treasures would not guarantee a first-place finish, whereas Supre Spirit Treasures would be relatively more secure. Having missed out on the rewards of the Combat Law Sequence, he could not afford to miss out on the top spot in Artifact Refining.
When Jia Ren learned of the Seedling Plan, he had entertained the idea of showcasing his ability to craft Supre Spirit Treasures and undergoing the assessnt to beco a Heaven-reaching Refiner. However, after becoming aware of the Seedling Plan, he realized he had only ten years left, so the plan had to be put on hold.
Even if he managed to beco a Heaven-reaching Refiner, the news would not spread out in a short ti, as all the cultivators in the Source Treasure Cave Heaven belonged to the Lingbao Sect, ensuring his safety. There were no longer any worries about crafting Supre Spirit Treasures.
Jia Ren deliberately suppressed his refining level, slowing down the pace of his work to avoid creating a Spiritual Treasure that was too ’superior.’ The requested Spiritual Materials, already prepared, appeared out of thin air.
Jia Ren did not use the Purple Sun Divine Fire; instead, he drew upon the Earth Fire, concentrating the fla to a point and slowly refining the materials.
Before Elder Qing, Elder Liu, and several Artifact Refining judges, thirteen small mirrors displayed the actions of all participants in detail.
Their gaze settled on a disciple with a long beard. "This must be Master Ma’s disciple, right? He is using the secret technique exclusive to Master Ma."
To be addressed by these two as Master Ma ant he was no ordinary person—a Heaven-reaching Refiner of the Main Lingbao Sect, currently the most senior one. As a fellow Heaven-reaching Refiner, Elder Qing had once received guidance from him and addressed him with the respect due to a semi-ntor.
"This is a disciple taken by Master Ma, with exceptional talent. Having joined the Sect for over five hundred years, he already has the capability to craft fine Spiritual Treasures."
"He must be Brother Wang’s disciple. The Unique Refining of Heaven and Earth is his signature thod. I have exchanged quite a few Refinent Experiences with Brother Wang in the past."
Brother Wang, ntioned by Elder Qing, was a Heaven-reaching Refiner who valued his disciple highly. After becoming a Refining Seedling, one’s talent for Artifact Refining would not be lacking. If you showed enough refining talent, the Heaven-reaching Refiners were not blind and would not misjudge a hidden gem.
Jia Ren was the only exception. He had never revealed his talent for Artifact Refining before. By the ti he did, he had already beco a disciple of Ancestor Ji Kong. Other Heaven-reaching Refiners who had entertained thoughts of taking him as a disciple had no choice but to give up.
Among the ten Refining Seedlings sent into Source Treasure Cave Heaven this ti, five were disciples of Heaven-reaching Refiners. With both talent and refining level being exceptional, the competition was naturally fierce.
Several people couldn’t help but turn their gaze to Jia Ren. Even though he deliberately suppressed his refining level, his technique was so pure it approached the Dao, devoid of any unnecessary flourish and exuding a peculiar magnetism.
"A disciple of the Ji Kong Lineage, with extraordinary talent in Artifact Refining."
"Such skillful refining techniques, even I am ashad to admit inferiority..."
After watching the other disciples refine artifacts and then observing Jia Ren, the gap beca apparent. With the forr, they could always find a few inappropriate aspects or better solutions in material handling and refinent, and they could assu a superior stance to ’examine’ them. But with Jia Ren... his work was peerlessly perfect without a single flaw. His handling of several procedures was eye-opening for them, and so were even better than what they had conceived, representing the optimal solutions.
Watching Jia Ren refine Spiritual Treasures felt like an exchange of insights with a peer from whom they could learn. The other twelve Artifact Refiners were far from comparable.
"The future is promising! The younger generation is truly formidable."
The more they watched, the more amazed they beca, and they faintly sensed that the top rank among refiners had already been decided.
The Spiritual Treasure Jia Ren was refining was the Royal Void Robe, which he had crafted several tis before. Previously, it would have taken him five to six years at most to complete. By deliberately suppressing his refining level and delaying progress, he rely extended the ti to ten years.
Even Elder Qing, the least experienced Heaven-reaching Refiner among them, could not find any fault, lavishing praise without end.
"It’s done!"
The Refining Furnace opened, and rosy light blossod forth. Inside, a moon-white Taoist Robe emanated an illusory and ethereal sensation.
"Supre Spirit Treasure! The first place is no longer in doubt!"
Crafting a Supre Spirit Treasure signified a refining level sufficient to participate in the Heaven-reaching Refiner assessnt and beco a true Heaven-reaching Refiner.
Upon Jia Ren becoming a Heaven-reaching Refiner, his status within the Sect would be incomparably higher than before. Within the Second Spirit Treasure Sect, his standing would be beneath only the Sect Master and a few Hall Masters. The status of other Void Refining Stage Cultivators paled in comparison to his.
Jia Ren cast a spell to retrieve the Royal Void Robe, activated the Formation of the Refining Workshop, and approached the two Refiner Hall Masters. "I have not failed my mission; the treasure has been refined."
The Supre Spirit Treasure was respectfully offered up as the item for this assessnt. The Spiritual Treasure Jia Ren refined was excellent, ranking among the finest of Supre Spirit Treasures.
"You have already refined a Supre Spirit Treasure; from now on, you are a Spirit-level Refining Grandmaster."
"With such a refining level, you can participate in the Heaven-reaching Refiner assessnt. However, as soone who has been through it, I advise you not to rush."
"Each set of materials for a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure is very precious, and currently, you only have one opportunity."
"Although our Sect stipulates that one can participate in the Heaven-reaching Refiner assessnt after creating a Supre Spirit Treasure, normally, they would be required to refine several different types of Supre Spirit Treasures first."
"Even so, fewer than thirty percent of those who undergo the Heaven-reaching Refiner assessnt succeed."
Elder Qing genuinely valued talent. He could see that Jia Ren’s foundation was solid and his refining level outstanding. He did not want him to seek quick success only to suffer a setback from failure.
Jia Ren listened quietly before finally asking, "Could the Hall Master enlighten as to why the failure rate for refining Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures is so high?"
To refine at least three different types of Supre Spirit Treasures and reach a level of mastery like Pure Refined Fla was nearly the pinnacle of the art of refining. Even with such proficiency, the success rate for the assessnt was still less than thirty percent, demonstrating how arduous it was to beco a Heaven-reaching Refiner.
Elder Qing did not withhold information and explained with a smile, "When it cos to treasures at the level of Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures, the spiritual nature of the materials is stronger, making blending and fusion even more difficult. It requires more ti and energy, and the slightest mistake can ruin all prior efforts."
"The second reason is that... after a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure is ford, its Spiritual Nature is not awakened through the Spirit Activation thod but by... Heavenly Tribulation."
"If the artifact survives the Heavenly Tribulation, the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure is complete. If not, it will naturally be destroyed."
"Cultivators cannot recklessly intervene to resist the Heavenly Tribulation; otherwise, it can intensify the tribulation, leading to both the refiner and the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure being annihilated by it."
"Everything depends on the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure you yourself refined to endure the tribulation. The quality of the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure is vitally important."
Only at this mont did Jia Ren finally understand why Heaven-reaching Refiners were so rare. Beyond a refiner’s own skill level, there was also the factor of Heavenly Tribulation.
"Thank you for the reminder, Hall Master." He hastily expressed his gratitude to the two Refiner Hall Masters.
"You are the first to finish refining. Go back and rest for now. Once the results of the refining trial are out, we will naturally notify you."
Jia Ren’s refinent skill was excellent, yet he was not arrogant. A place among Heaven-reaching Refiners was assured for him, eventually putting him on equal footing with them. They were naturally willing to extend Jia Ren this courtesy.
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