Chapter 70

The waste was significant, with at least half of the materials being rendered useless. However, there was no other way; apart from Ji Ran's True Fire not being of a high enough grade, his unfamiliarity with alchemy and the low quality of the materials in the magic longsword also had a considerable impact.

If only he could perfectly extract all the materials every time... This thought suddenly popped into Ji Ran's mind. If he could do that, wouldn't he gain a lot more experience by breaking down and re-creating items? It would be a great way to level up!

For example, this time he gained a lot of experience from the breakdown. Re-creating it once more would easily get him to level 29!

Moreover, the finished product would also increase his mysterious power—his True Essence—making it a win-win situation!

But with the current efficiency, he would need a lot of materials... There was no way around it, as his True Fire was not powerful enough.

When his True Fire was strong enough to break down magic items with minimal consumption, the experience provided by these low-level magic items would not be very significant. And high-level magic items would again require a lot of consumption... In short, the dream of gaining experience for free remained just that—a dream.

Sighing, Ji Ran did not waste any more time. He took out the materials he had already prepared from his game backpack.

With the materials extracted from the breakdown, he had enough to forge a longsword.

Through his interactions with Sergei, Ji Ran learned that the alchemical philosophy in this world was different from his own—focusing on maximizing one or two attributes rather than pursuing many.

Of course, multiple attributes were not bad, but they inevitably weakened all attributes. The alchemy in this world preferred to excel in one or two attributes rather than have multiple mediocre ones.

If multiple attributes could all reach a high level, who wouldn't like that?

In fact, as magical artifacts progressed, they would also follow this path. Those world-destroying artifacts generally did not have complex attributes. For example, the Fan Tian Seal had only one attribute—weight!

It would unreasonably press down, covering the sky and earth, making it impossible to dodge. This single attribute alone could render countless Celestial Immortals, who had passed the third heavenly tribulation, helpless, making it a perfect example of an attribute pushed to its extreme.

However, in the early stages, the materials for forging magical artifacts were varied and of poor quality. To maximize a single attribute, not only did it require skill, but also the right combination of materials. With insufficient materials, having multiple attributes was inevitable.

Previously, Ji Ran thought this was a given, but the alchemy in this world showed him that there were other options. Even with different materials, one could try to maximize their common attributes—though it might be wasteful, the effect was quite good.

The pendant he forged caught Sergei's eye because it introduced a new approach to combinations, allowing magic items to gain new attributes and providing more choices. For example, the most valuable attribute among the three was reducing the casting time of a first-level spell by half a second. For low-level mages, half a second was enough to cast a spell before their opponent.

This did not mean that multiple attributes had no future. In terms of application, multi-attribute magic items had a wider range of uses. It was hard to say which was better. The alchemy in this world simply leaned towards single-attribute extremes.

Ji Ran now planned to push a prominent attribute to its limit and then utilize the other wasted material attributes. Although a single attribute might not reach the material's limit, it would not be far off. More attributes would make the weapon more adaptable.

He began to refine the extracted materials one by one, adding the prepared materials. Ji Ran started the process of fusing these materials together.

The True Fire burned continuously, and Ji Ran's mana rapidly decreased. Fortunately, he had prepared for dinner, eating foods that increased his mana cap and recovery speed. Despite the significant consumption, he could still manage.

The materials fused one by one, changing shape according to Ji Ran's imagination. A longsword gradually took form, with various materials arranged in small sections according to a mysterious pattern. Tiny arrays gradually formed within the longsword.

This process took Ji Ran another two hours. By the end, his mana was almost depleted, but all the materials were finally arranged and all the arrays instantly formed!

In an instant, a bright light shone. The molten materials, shaped like a longsword, suddenly solidified. Countless magical energies rushed into the longsword, even forming a small magic vortex in the room. This vortex almost drained all the magical energies within the building, creating a vacuum of magical energies.

This level of magical fluctuation was not felt by others, but the old man at the dormitory entrance raised his head and made a light "hmm" sound.

"Those kids are causing a commotion again? It seems to be that new student... It's alchemy. Indeed, he has secrets..."

Looking at the plate of Kung Pao Chicken that Ji Ran had passed to him, the old man smiled, shook his head, and threw a peanut into his mouth, chewing with his eyes half-closed.

"But, who doesn't have secrets? Hehe..."

In another building, Roy, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Such a strong magical energy fluctuation... That new student is indeed not ordinary..."

Ji Ran, of course, had no idea that his magic item had already caught the attention of two people. Even if he knew, he couldn't do anything about it. In fact, the magic vortex had surprised him. This fusion of forging techniques and alchemy had caused such a big stir?

However, the magic vortex quickly disappeared, and the surrounding magical energies returned to normal. This made him breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he had to be more careful next time.

The magic longsword was formed, floating quietly in front of Ji Ran. It still had a faint glow, indicating that some magical energies were still being absorbed. The quality of this magic longsword even exceeded Ji Ran's expectations.

The entire design of the magic longsword was based on Ji Ran's vision. It was more like a Tang-style saber.

The blade was straight and single-edged. The blade had intricate patterns, resembling complex geometric shapes, giving it a mechanical and modern feel. The hilt was wrapped in leather, making it easier to grip. At the guard, fine magic crystals were arranged in a long pattern, which, upon closer inspection, resembled a beautiful spaceship.

This, of course, was Ji Ran's personal taste, and in this world, no one else would understand.

Ji Ran liked the design of the Tang-style saber. This type of longsword was suitable for both slashing and thrusting. The characteristics of the magical artifact also allowed the saber to increase its flexibility and reduce its hardness when needed, fully meeting his needs for a fourth-level sword technique.

Next, he needed to focus on the attributes of the sword.

Sharpness, hardness, and energy amplification were inherent attributes of magic weapons. Different alchemical techniques could only adjust these attributes but not eliminate them. The three attributes of Ji Ran's longsword were all excellent, with the energy amplification reaching 50%!

Regardless of other factors, this energy amplification alone was enough to make silver-rank swordsmen fight over it.

There were four additional attributes.

One was an increase in agility, with a significant boost, equivalent to increasing the agility attribute by a major level. This meant that with this longsword, his agility could rival that of a near-silver-rank level. This was one of the main attributes Ji Ran focused on enhancing.

The second attribute was wind-breaking. Holding this weapon reduced wind resistance, enhancing both movement and attack speed. This attribute was similar to agility and was also very useful in combat.

The third attribute was air condensation, which formed naturally from the materials. In battle, this sword would continuously stir the air, slowing down the opponent's movements. This attribute was also quite powerful and complemented the first two.

The fourth attribute was a burst skill—Light Condensation. It instantly increased the weapon's energy amplification to 100% for six seconds, usable four times a day.

The four attributes complemented each other. Three were related to speed, while the last burst skill enhanced attack power. This weapon was tailored to Ji Ran's needs. With the Heart Sword technique, agility was essential. This sword would genuinely elevate his combat capabilities.

The sword was named Chuxiao, symbolizing Ji Ran's first fusion of this world's alchemy with forging. Lifting the sword, Ji Ran felt the compatibility between the magic weapon and his body, sensing his True Essence slowly flowing into the Chuxiao sword and then returning to his body.

This back-and-forth made him feel a closer connection with the weapon. Although it was only a little, the higher the familiarity with the weapon, the better.

After forging the Chuxiao sword, Ji Ran's level also increased to 29. The experience gained from this forging was surprisingly high, much more than from the previous magical artifacts. It seemed that the quality of the magical artifact had a significant impact on the experience gained. With better materials in the future, he would likely gain even more experience.

This forging consumed a lot of mana, and he didn't have time to forge the flying dagger. However, Ji Ran was still excited and couldn't sleep. Why not try to integrate this weapon into his body?

Thinking and doing. Closing his eyes, Ji Ran mobilized the mysterious True Essence in his body. Immediately, a burning sensation enveloped his entire body, extending to the Chuxiao sword.