Translator: AnubisTL
"Hey, what's wrong?" Gu Feng landed gently beside Yan Yexue and asked with a smile. She merely glanced at him and remained silent.
Gu Feng walked around to her back, his gaze fixed on her buttocks, his expression odd. "Did your butt get hurt?"
"Get lost—"
"Hehe, tell me what's bothering you so I can have a good laugh." Gu Feng plopped down beside her and pulled out a flask of Spirit Wine. "Want some?"
"No."
And so, the two sat there—Gu Feng drinking on his own, while Yan Yexue gazed up at the night sky.
After a while, she let out a soft sigh. "Do you think Dual Cultivation of Alchemy and Martial Arts is a good path?"
Gu Feng tilted his head to look at her, then shook his head with a smile. "Since entering the Grand Harmony Academy, you've encountered too many geniuses and started doubting yourself, haven't you?"
Yan Yexue didn't answer directly but instead murmured, "In terms of Pill Refining Talent, I'm no match for Yan Xixi; in terms of martial arts, I can't compare to Chu Youhuan!
On the surface, I'm pursuing Dual Cultivation, but in reality, I'm mediocre in both. I've spent so much time and effort, yet when it really matters, I might not be of any use."
"Hmm, that's a fair point. Your Dual Cultivation might have been passable in the Sunset Glow Sect, but in the Grand Harmony Academy, it's practically a joke!
There are plenty of people better than you at pill refining, and even more who surpass you in martial arts!" Gu Feng nodded in agreement.
"Can't you just not tell the truth for once?" Yan Yexue shot him a sideways glance, her expression neither happy nor sad.
"What you need right now isn't comfort—it's direction!" As he spoke, Gu Feng took a swig of Spirit Wine and continued, "Everything has two sides. Your situation could also be framed as being better at pill refining than martial arts experts and stronger in combat than pill refining masters!"
Yan Yexue's expression shifted slightly, her lips parting as if to speak, but Gu Feng's voice cut in again, "Of course, that's just a way to deceive yourself."
Gu Feng grinned mischievously and handed the flask of Spirit Wine to her. "Have a drink, and we'll discuss this in detail."
"Get me a new one!" Yan Yexue took the flask and said coolly.
"This is the only one I've got."
Hearing this, Yan Yexue took a few large gulps from the flask, her cheeks flushing with a rosy hue—clearly, she wasn't used to drinking.
"Actually, there's another path you could take."
"What path?"
"Marriage. You're so beautiful; you're bound to marry into a good family, live a carefree life for over three hundred years, pass away peacefully, surrounded by children and grandchildren, full of joy and harmony. How wonderful!"
"Goodbye!" Yan Yexue flung the flask of Spirit Wine at him. Gu Feng quickly caught it and grabbed her arm. "Just kidding."
"Actually, there really is a path you could take!" Gu Feng lifted the flask, noticing a faint lipstick mark on the rim. He silently handed it back to Yan Yexue and pulled out a new, unopened flask for himself, taking a sip.
Seeing this, Yan Yexue's face darkened. "Is my mouth poisonous or something?"
"Hehe, I just didn't want you to call me a pervert!" Gu Feng chuckled.
"This path requires you to change—to become shameless and cunning!"
Yan Yexue: ????
"Dual Cultivation is both your strength and your weakness. Given that pill refining heavily relies on talent, I suggest you focus more on martial arts."
Of course, alchemy cannot be abandoned either, but you can't just focus on conventional pills. The purpose of alchemy is to compensate for the flaws in your martial arts!"
Seeing that Yan Yexue still didn't understand, Gu Feng chuckled mischievously and said, "What if your pills could be used for attacks or underhanded tricks? Wouldn't that achieve an unexpected effect?"
"When you throw out a Qi Replenishment Pill, wouldn't your opponent be confused? They'd definitely think, 'What is this woman doing? Has she been knocked silly? Why is she throwing a Qi Replenishment Pill instead of taking it herself?'
And then—"
At this point, Gu Feng didn't need to continue. If she still didn't get it, then she wouldn't be Yan Yexue.
"Does pill-based attack have potential?" Sure enough, after hearing Gu Feng's suggestion, Yan Yexue's eyes lit up.
"Of course it has potential, but you need to learn to be cunning. The deadliest kind of cunning is the one that appears completely serious!" Gu Feng nodded.
"I'll give it a try!"
"Wishing you success. Shall we have a drink?"
"Cheers!"
The two of them went back and forth, drinking until late into the night.
"My head feels a bit dizzy. Can you support me?"
"I really want to ask you, do you know your alcohol tolerance? Drinking over a dozen pots? Do you think you're invincible when it comes to drinking?"
Gu Feng helplessly supported Yan Yexue. Seeing that she was truly in no state to walk, he picked her up in his arms, leaped high, and landed on a pavilion. He found Yan Yexue's room and placed her on the bed.
"Good thing I'm a gentleman, or else tonight would have been the night you transitioned from a maiden to a woman!" Gu Feng looked at the unconscious Yan Yexue and shook his head with a bitter smile.
Before leaving the room, he activated the array formations around the area.
There were too many clichéd plots in novels, and he didn't want something like being impersonated to happen. If such a thing were to occur, it should be done by him personally!
Otherwise, it would be such a loss!
...
The next day, Gu Feng announced a decision to the disciples of the Sunset Glow Sect.
"From today onward, I will focus my energy on studying. You all take care of yourselves!"
Upon hearing this, everyone rolled their eyes.
Gu Feng studying? Had the sun risen from the west? It had been over a month since he entered the Grand Harmony Academy, and no one had seen him attend a single Elder's lecture. He probably didn't even know where the lecture halls were!
"Is anyone here practicing weapon crafting? Let's go together!"
"Give it up. You shouldn't bother with weapon crafting. You'd probably just be wasting your time. Who knows, it might not be long before the Grand Harmony Academy bans you from crafting altogether!" Chu Youhuan said with a look of disdain.
"Looking down on me, huh?" Gu Feng glared at her.
"Boss Gu, I'm learning weapon crafting!" Wu Qi chuckled and raised his hand.
"Just one? Our Sunset Glow Sect is full of talent!" Gu Feng was genuinely surprised. Weapon crafters were so rare that out of over two thousand disciples in the Sunset Glow Sect, only Wu Qi was studying it.
"Boss Gu, you might not know this, but although weapon crafting and alchemy are both noble professions, the complexity of weapon crafting is much higher than that of alchemy.
Unlike alchemy, which has fixed pill formulas, weapon crafting requires you to create unique weapons based on the needs of the cultivator and the materials provided. Many weapon crafters go their entire lives without crafting two identical weapons, except for those who specialize in crafting war weapons for the military.
This means you not only have to learn how to inscribe runes, familiarize yourself with various crafting processes, master different crafting materials, but your cultivation level can't be too weak either. Otherwise, you won't be able to become a top-tier weapon crafter!" Wu Qi explained with a smile.
"How long have you been studying? What grade of weapons can you craft now?"
"It's been a few years. I've been thoroughly studying the theories, and only after entering Grand Harmony Academy did I truly start practicing Weapon Crafting. Now I can already craft Low-Grade Mortal Artifacts, and within three months, Mid-Grade Mortal Artifacts won't be a problem!" Wu Qi declared with evident pride.
Gu Feng couldn't help but smirk, "You should just give up on Weapon Crafting. You're almost at the Spirit Nurturing Realm, and you're still crafting Mortal Artifacts? At this rate, within ten years, no cultivator in the entire Grand Harmony Academy will come to you for crafting."
This blunt statement immediately dampened Wu Qi's spirits.
...
The teaching methods at Grand Harmony Academy were somewhat unique. Martial Arts, the Way of Elixir, the Dao of Runes... all were taught in a broad, lecture-style format.
Large plazas served as classrooms.
Every day, different Elders would lecture from the platforms at the end of each plaza, rain or shine, even if not a single student was present.
Students were free to choose which lectures to attend, with no restrictions whatsoever.
Gu Feng's decision to study Weapon Crafting wasn't a spur-of-the-moment choice. Ever since entering Grand Harmony Academy, he had made it a priority.
To awaken Zhu Qingyan, he needed to purchase a large amount of Thunder Attribute Natural Treasures, and being an Artifact Refiner provided the perfect cover.
Otherwise, suddenly acquiring a large quantity of Thunder Attribute Natural Treasures would be like announcing to everyone that he was the exam hall robber.
The exam hall robbery wasn't flawless. If those examinees mobilized Sea Condensation Realm experts from their sects, it wouldn't be impossible to uncover the truth.
Without sufficient strength, he didn't want to leave any traces that could be used against him.
In the afternoon, Gu Feng followed Wu Qi to the plaza. At a glance, there were dozens of plazas, each with a platform at the end where the Elders sat during lectures.
Though the lecture time hadn't arrived yet, nearly every plaza was already filled with students.
"Boss Gu, these two plazas—one teaches the Dao of Weapon Crafting, and the other teaches the Dao of Runes!" Wu Qi pointed to two adjacent plazas and whispered.
"The Dao of Runes is considered the foundation of the great Dao, essential for both Artifact Refiners and Formation Masters. Even some Alchemists come to study it.
Top-tier Rune Masters aren't necessarily top-tier Artifact Refiners or Formation Masters, but top-tier Formation Masters or Artifact Refiners are invariably top-tier Rune Masters!"
This was something Gu Feng understood without Wu Qi's explanation.
Runes to Weapon Crafting are like mathematics to physics—absolutely essential to master.
"Only children make choices. Of course, I'll study both Weapon Crafting and Runes!"
Wu Qi was momentarily speechless at Gu Feng's words. Under his astonished gaze, Gu Feng sat down between the two plazas, close to the platforms.
Swish—
His action drew the attention of thousands of students from both plazas.
Gu Feng sat cross-legged, offering friendly smiles to the students on either side.
"Boss Gu, this will offend both Elders!"
"How could that be? For someone like you, you'd probably get scolded, but for a genius like me, the Elders would be delighted. Why would they reprimand me?" Gu Feng said confidently.
He believed that in terms of learning, he surpassed all the cultivators present. This was the confidence and pride of someone who had undergone nine years of compulsory education!
A commotion arose on both sides. Seeing a group of Elders flying in from the distance, Wu Qi shrank back, "Then... then I'll go listen to the Weapon Crafting lecture!"
"Go ahead, go ahead!" Gu Feng waved dismissively.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Dozens of streams of light descended onto different squares!
"Let the lecture begin!"
Almost simultaneously, dozens of Elders sat down cross-legged.
"Today, we will teach the interaction between Runes and Runes..."
"Today, we will explain the mutual generation and restraint between different attributes of Artifact Crafting Materials..."
Gu Feng perked up both ears, absorbing both streams of knowledge simultaneously.
His position was so conspicuous that the two Elders teaching Weapon Crafting and Runes had long noticed him.
At first, they thought the square was too crowded, leaving Gu Feng with no place to sit. Later, they discovered that this kid was actually listening to two profound teachings at the same time.
Both Elders felt somewhat displeased, thinking that Gu Feng was looking down on them.
The knowledge they were imparting was so profound and abstruse that ordinary students would find it strenuous to focus on just one.
Was Gu Feng a genius, able to comprehend two streams of information simultaneously?
The two squares below were silent, with only the voices of the Elders echoing.
The lectures at Grand Harmony Academy lasted half a day without any breaks.
As for the theoretical knowledge, Gu Feng found it uninteresting after listening for a while.
In his view, it was quite simple.
The mutual generation and restraint of Artifact Crafting Materials were merely about the balance of the five elements, akin to the neutralization of acids and bases.
The way of Runes, where a single move could affect the whole, tested one's overall perspective. Adding Runes recklessly could easily cause the entire set of Runes to collapse, which was the fundamental reason why some Top-Grade Mystic Artifacts could not advance to Earth-Grade Artifacts.
Time flew by, and the theoretical part concluded, moving on to practical exercises.
"Next, I will invite a student to come on stage and inscribe Runes with me!"
"Next, I will invite a student to come on stage and craft an Artifact Embryo with me!"
Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.
Gu Feng's spirits lifted; finally, the real deal was coming.
Then, he felt as if thousands of eyes were on him. Looking up, he was momentarily stunned.
The fingers of both Elders were pointing in his direction.
Gu Feng instinctively looked back and realized that there were no students within two meters to his left and right, and three meters in front and behind him!
Wu Qi on the Weapon Crafting square had already covered his face, not daring to watch what would happen next.
Gu Feng slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping left and right.
To the left or to the right—it was a difficult choice!
(End of the Chapter)
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