Artifact Chapter 67: There’s a Yechuan in the North

Chapter 67: There’s a Yechuan in the North

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai 

 

Lu Ming glanced at the rankings on the paper and smirked slightly. This time, he wasn’t planning to give face to anyone. He would do things as he pleased. Those three talismans and three magic artifacts, both in appearance and performance, were of superior quality. Although he understood the principle that “a tree attracts the wind,” now that others had come to his doorstep, showing blatant arrogance like a sparrow occupying a magpie’s nest, if he didn’t dampen their spirits a bit, the other contestants from the He family might not fare well in the upcoming days.

Everyone looked at He Qingci, who seemed calm as if he were not involved in any of this, and they could imagine the degree of their shock. Although making these few things wasn’t difficult, standing out among many experts showed that this person wasn’t just someone who knew how to make money, as rumored. He was actually such a capable man!

When everyone realized this, they felt a bit uneasy, especially those small sects and families who were instigated by major families to challenge the He family. They were thinking whether it was time to pack up and go home early.

What’s even more tragic is that the second place was taken by the current hotshot, the infamous Sang Wusheng from the Sang family. This young man, whose father had betrayed, had been bullied quite fiercely by people from various clans these past few days. For example, pouring cold water on his bed, adding “special seasoning” to his food, doodling on his clothes with various vulgar things, almost everything had been done to him! Yet Sang Wusheng acted as if nothing happened every day, staring in the direction of the He family mansion whenever he had time, his expression extremely weird. Everyone automatically assumed he was just a fool, but now discovering he was such a capable man, how could they not be shocked!

Although the first round of the competition was about the craftsmanship, everyone knew that without strong power as support, relying solely on skilled techniques couldn’t elevate the status of talismans and magic artifacts. Ranked third, Sang Huai stared at the rankings with a gloomy face, knowing that the things he made were already top-notch among similar talismans and magic artifacts. The fact that these two were ranked above him was truly not to be underestimated. He feared that in the next few rounds of competition, he would have to put in some effort to secure the top spot.

Wang Yu’s old face turned red with embarrassment. Although his rank was very high, since he became the head of the Wang family, he focused most of his energy on improving spells and studying skills. He looked down on making such simple magic artifacts, and his techniques naturally became rusty. Being able to rank in the middle was already relying on his past experience. However, the thick-skinned he had developed over the years was unmatched. He looked at the results with a mysterious expression, said nothing, and left. Everyone understood that the head of the Wang family was unwilling to stand at the forefront of the storm, only waiting for the last-minute surge.

The results of the first round of elimination were out, and the second round of the competition began in full swing. This selection aimed to pick the best from the best, so the difficulty was increased several times compared to the first round.

The first round focused on details, while the second round emphasized difficulty. The material selected for artifact refining in this round was the venom of an animal called “Yechuan.” This animal grew in the bitter cold lands of the northwest, in the city of Wuyang. Wuyang had been uninhabited for hundreds of years, and the Yechuans had taken over, making it their habitat. However, these animals were small, agile, extremely cunning, and had high intelligence, making them difficult to capture. Moreover, when they encountered danger, their skin would automatically secrete venom, which was extremely poisonous. Many people who attempted to capture Yechuans died of poisoning due to improper handling. Lu Ming sighed inwardly. These major families had indeed invested a lot for this artifact refining competition.

Because of the special nature of this round, to avoid mutual interference among the contestants, Master Zi Yang and his disciples spent two days setting up fifty adjacent boundaries. These boundaries were exceptionally strong but only lasted for five hours. In other words, if the time was not up, the boundaries wouldn’t open. Even if a contestant died of Yechuan venom inside the boundary, no one could save them. Moreover, so far, no one has made a potion capable of neutralizing Yechuan venom. It was no wonder that Master Zi Yang only made fifty boundaries, foreseeing that many would choose to withdraw at this stage.

This was a life-and-death game, and losing meant death. With such heavy psychological pressure, not many could bear it. Therefore, as soon as the competition details were announced, some began to protest. They were here to compete, not to die. Such a selection method was too cruel, and they dared not agree to it!

Master Zi Yang glanced coldly at everyone and said, “If you lack such courage, how can you continue to compete with any face? The title of Artifact Refining Master is not just an empty name; it represents the supreme status. How can ants dare to fantasize? If you don’t have the ability to cope, just quit, so I don’t have to collect your corpses later!”

Master Zi Yang’s words were rough but reasonable. Facing such a life-or-death choice, any slight misjudgment of one’s own abilities could lead to death. Most of the people present were elites of major families who had inevitably encountered Yechuans. However, whether they could successfully extract the venom and make magic artifacts was still questionable.

After a moment of hesitation, some immediately chose to withdraw. With someone taking the lead, the rest also regretfully chose to withdraw after weighing their options. They were clear about their own capabilities. If they were to die because of this, it would be a small loss for a great gain. Moreover, many of those who made it to the second round were young talents. Although their qualifications were excellent, their experience was still lacking. It would be better to practice for a few more years before competing again.

Half an hour later, out of over a hundred participants in the first round, only thirty remained. Lu Ming couldn’t help but admire Master Zi Yang. This kind of screening method was like adding an invisible checkpoint. Just as he said, being an Artifact Refining Master not only required excellent skills but also an unbreakable mindset.

Lu Ming glanced around and saw familiar faces like Wang Yu and Sang Huai among them. After much thought, He Qingqiu decided to withdraw. He knew his own level. Although his elder brother’s book on artifact refining clearly recorded the best way to extract Yechuan venom, he had never seen it or tried it himself. It was better to be cautious. Besides, there was still his elder brother in the He family. He believed his brother would succeed.

Sang Wusheng looked at his brother from afar. Although he knew his brother’s level might be higher than his own, he still felt worried. After some thought, he decided to quickly finish his task and then go find his brother. These boundaries looked shabby and definitely couldn’t hold him back. Moreover, people like his brother, who followed the rules, would surely stay inside the boundary obediently and only leave when the time was up.

While thinking, Sang Wusheng flashed a mysterious smile at Lu Ming, making Lu Ming’s hair stand on end. He didn’t know what this guy was up to again. Sang Wusheng never followed the rules; who knew what tricks he was preparing to use against him. Well, it’s better to be cautious.

The competition officially began, with each person randomly drawing a number corresponding to a different boundary. Lu Ming drew number five and followed the referee to boundary number five. Coincidentally, Sang Wusheng was in the neighboring boundary number six.

Sang Wusheng looked at Lu Ming with a pleased yet embarrassed expression and said, “Brother, how come you and I are so destined? We can draw to the same place out of so many numbers.”

Lu Ming looked at his embarrassed face and his face turned green. He glared at him and didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

When the time came, the contestants took their positions, and Lu Ming and the others entered the boundary. Inside, it was chaotic, with a white mist all around, leaving only a space of about ten meters in length and width to move around. A long stone table and two stone stools stood on the side, with tools and materials for artifact refining placed on the table. In a corner not far away, a pure white, furry little creature was anxiously running around in a cage, making squeaking noises.

Lu Ming walked over and squatted in front of the iron cage, looking at the small creature called Yechuan. After pondering for a moment, he furrowed his brows and said, “Why does it look so much like a puppy?”

The little creature trembled at his words and made a displeased squeak, vigorously kicking the iron cage with its claws. It seemed to strongly disagree with Lu Ming’s previous statement.

Lu Ming paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “I didn’t expect such a spiritual creature to actually understand human speech.”

The little Yechuan made a squeak and disdainfully glanced at Lu Ming, folding its front paws together, lowering its head, and yawning, looking quite unhappy. Lu Ming’s heart stirred, and he took out a purple herb from his spatial pouch, reaching it towards the creature’s mouth through the cage.

Upon seeing it was the purple herb it loved to eat, the little Yechuan didn’t hesitate to open its small mouth and bite down forcefully. Lu Ming let go, and caught off guard, the little creature’s bottom hit the ground.

Lu Ming chuckled lightly, and with a flick of his finger, he cast a sealing spell towards the lock on the cage. With a “click,” the cage made of mysterious iron opened, and the little Yechuan happily squeaked, shaking off its white fur and lifting its paws to crawl out of the cage.

Lu Ming glanced indifferently at the harmless creature, then turned and walked away. As expected, a fierce evil wind suddenly rushed from behind, overwhelming with a murderous aura, and a strong scent of blood instantly filled the entire space, terrifying roars approaching Lu Ming in an instant.

Lu Ming turned back calmly and casually threw something behind him. There was a heavy thud as it hit the ground, followed by a wail.

Lu Ming turned to look, and a monster nearly a meter long lay collapsed on the ground, with a large bloody wound on its body, blood slowly oozing out. It gasped heavily with its mouth wide open, obviously severely injured and in great pain.

Lu Ming snorted, approached the white monster, and reached out his slender fingers to touch its head. The soft and fluffy feeling made Lu Ming unable to resist touching it a few more times, causing the Yechuan lying on the ground to tremble.

Lu Ming smiled and said, “You’re pretending quite well. If I had been fooled by you, it would have been me lying on the ground now.”

Lu Ming pressed slightly on its head, still smiling, but his eyes were extremely cold. “I don’t want to kill you. If you cooperate and give me the venom, I’ll let you go later.”

Relying on its animal intuition, the Yechuan knew that this person was not easy to provoke, and now that it was severely injured, it might as well temporarily agree with him. However, it wasn’t sure whether it could trust this person’s words.

Seeing its hesitant eyes, Lu Ming smiled and said, “If you trust me, you still have a chance to survive. If you don’t trust me, I’ll just skin you alive and take it myself. Although the toxicity is not as strong as when you’re alive, it’s still more than enough to make magic artifacts.”

 

 

 

 

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