Chapter 51

"Clang, clang, clang, clang—"

The sound of the iron hammer striking echoed through the courtyard.

Although Zhou Xian didn't look particularly strong, when he swung the hammer, he seemed like a skilled blacksmith.

Behind Zhou Xian, three broken swords were placed there.

These swords were the equipment Zhou Xian had used to adapt to forging in the real world.

Although they were broken, if one observed closely, it was clear that the quality of these three swords was improving.

Using these scraps, Zhou Xian had now basically become familiar with the techniques of using such a craftsman's ability in the real world.

"Phew, this one is still okay..."

After a simple quenching of the fourth weapon, Zhou Xian opened the attribute panel.

"Rough Iron Sword, Attack: 5-7, Crafter: Zhou Xian."

This weapon was not much different from the "Iron Sword" in the game world.

But Zhou Xian didn't feel the slightest bit complacent.

If his current skills were applied in the game world, the swords he would forge would definitely be "Refined Iron Swords," which would be on par with the higher-tier "Lingfeng Sword" in terms of quality.

Putting down the fourth weapon, Zhou Xian shifted his gaze to the three weapons in front of him.

Unlike the iron sword, the previous three weapons were directly labeled as "Scrap" on the system panel.

Indeed, such items had no attack power and would only be laughed at if shown to others.

Zhou Xian took a sip of water and then sat on a nearby boulder to rest. He remembered that his father had moved this stone when he was a child, saying it could serve as a stone bed in the summer, which was quite cool. However, that was a long time ago, and he could hardly remember it clearly.

At this moment, Zhou Xian's personal terminal lit up.

"Su Xiaoyue's call?" Zhou Xian answered directly, "Hello."

"—Where have you been?!" As soon as Zhou Xian finished speaking, Su Xiaoyue immediately shouted, startling him.

"Um, Senior Su Xiaoyue, what's wrong?" Zhou Xian asked curiously.

"Have you heard about the mysterious virus incident at school? Why didn't you answer my calls when I tried to reach you?!"

Not answering calls?

Zhou Xian looked at his personal terminal and saw a string of names in the missed calls list. At least half of them were from Su Xiaoyue, and the other half were from Li Chuyu, Tao Shan, Xu Tianyun, and others.

"Uh—sorry, I put my personal terminal on silent mode during the physical examination." After that, Zhou Xian had been preparing food and supplies, and he hadn't noticed that his terminal was still on silent mode.

"Did you get into any trouble? That virus... what about it..." For some reason, Su Xiaoyue's voice became much softer at the end.

"I'm fine," Zhou Xian said without any psychological burden, as he knew there was no such virus. That state was likely related to the Soul Command System. However, to prevent her from worrying, Zhou Xian added, "So, after the doctor's examination, I left."

"You don't have a place to go! How did you leave the school?! Do you know how long I've been looking for you?!" The voice on the other end was still angry, but it seemed to have a hint of relief.

Zhou Xian could sense Su Xiaoyue's concern for him and felt a warm feeling in his heart.

After learning about the situation at school, Su Xiaoyue was the first to call. From the afternoon of the previous day until now, she had been constantly calling him, even in the early morning hours.

She was genuinely worried about him.

"…Cough, cough, because I had nowhere to go, I decided to go on a hiking trip. So, after organizing my supplies in the afternoon, I headed out of the city. You know, the area around our city has beautiful mountains and water, which is perfect for a spring outing."

"Huh?! A spring outing?! Why don't you say you'll get heatstroke?!" The voice on the other end was a mix of happiness and anger. "Forget it, just be careful. If you get tricked by bad people, don't come crying to me."

With that, Su Xiaoyue hung up the call.

"…"

Zhou Xian shook his head and then switched his personal terminal back to normal mode.

After sending a text message to his friends to let them know he was safe, Zhou Xian adjusted his emotions and returned to the workbench.

After a series of adjustments, Zhou Xian finally forged a "Refined Iron Sword," which was on par with the equipment in the game.

But this was just the beginning.

Zhou Xian didn't stop there and forged a series of "Refined Iron Swords."

"Phew."

After forging fifteen more iron swords, Zhou Xian's remaining raw materials were almost depleted.

By this time, the sky had already darkened.

In this abandoned village, the night seemed to fall particularly quickly. Apart from the nearby agricultural and maintenance robots, there was no other sound.

Although it was night, the small courtyard was still brightly lit by the furnace fire.

But it had been a whole day, and Zhou Xian was now hungry.

This hunger was probably the biggest difference between the game and reality.

In the game world, despite the presence of delicious food, no matter how much one ate, it wouldn't fill the stomach. In the real world, even a compressed biscuit could satisfy one's hunger.

While eating a compressed biscuit with spring water, Zhou Xian looked at the nearby anvil and furnace.

"I never thought I could have such stamina."

If it were in the past, Zhou Xian would have been exhausted after forging just three such iron swords in the real world. But now, he had forged so many weapons without feeling tired.

This feeling of strength was similar to that in the game, but not entirely the same.

After completing these products in the real world, Zhou Xian realized that the boundary between reality and the game was gradually blurring.

"Changes are happening."

This was Zhou Xian's most direct feeling.

Everything was changing, and if he didn't seize the opportunity now, the future would be unimaginable.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Xian's rest came to an end.

He placed the sixteen forged iron swords on the table.

These sixteen iron swords were of similar quality, representing the best "standard equipment" Zhou Xian could forge using "ordinary iron."

Zhou Xian picked up two of the iron swords and focused.

"Begin refinement!"

Following Zhou Xian's command, the iron sword in his left hand began to tremble and move toward the sword in his right hand.

Zhou Xian remained calm, ignoring the movement in his hands.

Inside his body, he clearly felt something from the iron sword in his left hand flow into his hand, circulate through his three channels and seven wheels, and finally enter the sword in his right hand.

At that moment, the iron sword in his left hand seemed to be compressed and turned into iron filings in his hand. However, the iron sword in his right hand became sharper.

"Sharp Iron Sword: Attack 8-12, Crafter: Zhou Xian."

"Indeed, the attributes have improved!"

Zhou Xian immediately focused on the best iron sword he had forged.

"Refined Iron Sword: Attack 7-10, Crafter: Zhou Xian."

Although the improvement in attributes was not significant, it indicated that he was getting closer to his goal.

"I wonder if the high-quality weapons created through this refinement method will be accepted by the system."

This was the only issue he needed to consider.

However, Zhou Xian was preparing a weapon for himself in the real world and didn't care too much about it for now.

Zhou Xian picked up another iron sword and prepared to refine the "Sharp Iron Sword" in his hand.

"Refinement cannot be performed due to a significant difference in quality between the sacrificial item and the target item."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian patted his head.

This refinement ability had a very strict condition: the two items being refined must not have a significant difference in quality. Otherwise, it would be too convenient.

However, the lack of quality didn't mean Zhou Xian was out of options.

He took out two more iron swords and refined them into a Sharp Iron Sword. Then, he took the two Sharp Iron Swords and began refining them again.

This time, the effect was evident.

"Swift Iron Sword: Attack 10-13, a long sword that can pierce the air, unaffected by air resistance during attacks, Crafter: Zhou Xian."

"Indeed, it worked!"

Using four long swords, he had created a weapon that was acceptable in the real world.

"Next, continue."

Zhou Xian repeated the process and created another Swift Iron Sword. Then, he held the two Swift Iron Swords and began refining them again.

The essence of the iron sword in his left hand flowed into his body and, under the influence of his three channels, moved to the iron sword in his right hand.

"Clang—"

The iron sword in Zhou Xian's right hand emitted a crisp sound and turned into a pile of iron filings in front of him...

"This...?" Did the refinement fail?

Zhou Xian looked at the weapon fragments in his hands.

The result was clear: he had failed.

But Zhou Xian didn't lose heart. He still had eight more swords.

Zhou Xian began refining again.

This time, the refinement was initially successful.

However, when he was refining the last two Swift Iron Swords, they turned into powder again.

"Failed again."

This was the second time.

Should he continue?

Or should he ask Martin Luther King for advice?

Thinking about it, Zhou Xian felt that today's work was enough. He tidied up, cleaned himself, and returned to his room.

Zhou Xian took out the Black Iron Head and logged into the game.

After entering the game, Zhou Xian appeared in the Flowing Cloud Temple in the Hundred Flowers Valley.

This place had developed well over time, but it also seemed somewhat messy due to the lack of planning. However, since everything was just starting, it wasn't too noticeable.

Zhou Xian didn't have the energy to plan and manage the city. After entering the game, he called out Martin Luther King and explained his failures.

"The equipment you forged doesn't have enough strength. Naturally, your sword will break down due to the pressure it can't withstand. This is normal," Martin Luther King replied succinctly.

"Then what should I do? Is there a limit to the number of refinements?"

"Not at all," Martin Luther King said. "If the equipment you forge has enough strength, you can refine more weapons without any problem. But if the equipment itself is not outstanding, it won't work."

That was the reason.

"But how good can ordinary iron equipment be?"

"I don't know. I can tell you 120 ways to process dragon scales, but if you want me to find a method to process ordinary iron equipment, I'm sorry," Martin Luther King seemed at a loss.

"…"

Zhou Xian also had no idea what to do.

"…Forget it, let's use the trump card…"

Zhou Xian opened the forum in the game and posted a bounty topic, asking how to forge divine weapons in the real world.

As soon as he posted, he received an email.

"Dark Angel's message?"

Zhou Xian immediately opened the message, which was an invitation from Dark Angel to visit her home in the game world.

"Could it be that the Emperor players have already been notified?"

Upon seeing Dark Angel's invitation, Zhou Xian's eyes lit up.

Walking to Dark Angel's house, Zhou Xian found her waiting at the door.

"Dark Angel! !" Zhou Xian ran over when he saw her.

"Mr. Mosaic, the Emperor players have coordinated, and the Emperor meeting is about to start. Are you ready?"

"Anytime!" Zhou Xian replied immediately.

Hearing Zhou Xian's response, Dark Angel nodded and handed him a crystal similar to a return crystal.

"This is the crystal Night Sky Emperor prepared for you to reach the Emperor Council. Using this, you can directly teleport to the location."

Zhou Xian took the crystal.

It looked almost the same as a regular return crystal, but this one was completely black and seemed to have a mysterious power.

"Is this really equipment made by Emperor players?"

Zhou Xian was deeply moved.

"Night Sky Crystal: A crystal with mysterious power, created by Night Sky Emperor, and can only be held by Emperor players."

Before Zhou Xian could finish reading the attributes, the system voice sounded in his ear.

"Night Sky Emperor invites you to join the Emperor meeting. Do you agree?"

"Night Sky's invitation, just agree. Don't worry about your identity, as all Emperors' true forms will be hidden in the Emperor Council."

"I understand."

Hearing Dark Angel's reminder, Zhou Xian nodded and confirmed the option.

After agreeing, Zhou Xian was immediately teleported to a strange place.

"Here—"

The sky was a black starry sky, and the ground was a circular platform, making the entire place seem like it was in space...

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