Chapter 729

Chapter 729: Assessment

The associations are a major feature of Qianxing Immortal City.

Weapon refiners have their own associations, talisman makers have theirs, and formation masters have theirs as well…

Even spiritual plant farmers have associations dedicated to their profession.

These associations are akin to the industry unions from Wang Chen’s past life. Professionals in the field can apply for membership and obtain corresponding professional certifications through assessments.

Wang Chen wanted to open a gear shop to accumulate funds. Although he had not joined the weapon refiner association or obtained professional certification, he could still open a shop without any obstacles.

However, if his storefront lacked the professional emblem of a weapon refiner, he could not expect customers to come knocking on his door.

In Qianxing Immortal City, shops selling weapons and equipment, talismans and elixirs, spiritual rice, and spiritual tea typically adorned their facades with professional emblems to showcase their credibility and strength.

And often, they displayed more than one!

As a new shop owner with nothing to show, how could Wang Chen compete with others?

In the City of Merchants, even the finest wine fears being hidden in a deep alley!

The headquarters of the weapon refiner association is located in the Siqian district.

In fact, most of their territory’s associations are gathered here, forming dense clusters of skyscrapers adorned with gold, silver, and bronze emblems, instilling a sense of awe in onlookers.

Wang Chen felt as if he had arrived at the CBD of a city from his past life.

The headquarters building of the weapon refiner association is easy to find—it is the tallest and most grandiose building.

Yet, in Wang Chen’s eyes, this building was clearly a gigantic magical treasure.

No, it might be a higher-level weapon refining artifact!

With a sense of awe, Wang Chen stepped into the headquarters of the weapon refiner association.

First and foremost, he applied for the weapon refiner assessment.

The service at the weapon refiner association was quite good. Although Wang Chen was merely an unknown individual, after presenting his identity token and stating his purpose, someone quickly came to assist him with the necessary procedures.

After paying the assessment fee of five hundred spirit stones, Wang Chen was led into a ground fire chamber.

This ground fire chamber was of a very high grade, featuring a refining furnace in the center with nothing else in sight.

According to the rules, Wang Chen had five time periods to complete the assessment by refining a qualified product.

Since Wang Chen was applying for a three-star certification, the person overseeing the assessment was a four-star weapon refining master.

This relates to the vocational standards of the association.

A weapon refiner who can create magical treasures earns a one-star rating; a two-star rating is for those who can craft low-quality spirit tools, and a three-star rating is for those who can produce high-quality spirit tools.

A four-star weapon refining master is capable of crafting magical treasures!

There are levels above four stars, leading to five-star and six-star certifiable ranks, and those above seven stars are masters—the highest rank in the association is the nine-star master.

However, nine-star is not the ultimate goal of a weapon refiner.

Wang Chen actually possessed the ability to aim for four stars, but as a Purple Palace cultivator, even at the peak level, achieving the rank of four-star master would draw too much attention.

It is generally believed that only Golden Core cultivators can create magical treasures.

To avoid trouble, Wang Chen chose to pursue three-star certification.

Ding—

As the sound of the copper bell resonated, the door of the ground fire chamber slammed shut, signaling the official commencement of the assessment.

Wang Chen sat composedly before the refining furnace.

He did not hasten to begin crafting a spirit tool; instead, he placed his hand on the refining furnace, channeling his energy to probe its intricacies.

To excel in one’s craft, one must first hone their tools. Since the ground fire and refining furnace were not of his choosing, it was imperative to acquaint himself with them thoroughly to produce high-quality artifacts in practice.

Wang Chen then realized that the seemingly ordinary refining furnace before him was, in fact, a third-grade refining furnace.

A third-grade refining furnace was capable of forging magical treasures!

Typically, for a three-star certification, a second-grade refining furnace would suffice.

A third-grade refining furnace was clearly beyond the standard requirement.

However, Wang Chen did not attribute this to an oversight or error by the association.

It was likely an integral part of the assessment.

With this realization, Wang Chen hesitated no further and promptly activated the techniques from the Nine Directions in Weapon Refining, amplifying his energy input to refine this third-grade refining furnace.

The refinement process spanned a full hour!

Given Wang Chen’s current prowess, he could have fully refined this third-grade furnace with the aid of an external elixir, but time constraints and the desire to conceal his true capabilities prevented him from doing so.

Thus, Wang Chen moderated the refinement to align with his cultivation level.

By this stage, Wang Chen’s comprehension and command of the furnace met the prerequisites for crafting high-quality spirit tools.

Next, he ignited the ground fire.

He channeled the fire into the furnace.

Although the refining furnace provided by the weapon refiner association paled in comparison to the Life Creation Cauldron, their fundamental nature was identical. Drawing from the experience amassed over the past five months, Wang Chen executed these steps with remarkable finesse.

One might even say flawlessly!

He was acutely aware that every action he took within the ground fire chamber would be scrutinized by the examiner.

Below the level of magical treasures, Wang Chen saw no need to conceal his abilities.

It was advantageous to display his prowess judiciously.

Without delay, Wang Chen retrieved a collection of materials from the Xumi Ring.

A month prior, Wang Chen had begun preparations for the weapon refiner association’s assessment, thoroughly acquainting himself with the pertinent rules and requirements, thus arriving fully prepared.

Initially, he utilized a batch of low-grade materials to craft three magical treasures.

All were rather mundane and of low caliber.

Superficially, it appeared as though Wang Chen was squandering time and materials, but in reality, he was further familiarizing himself with the nuances of the ground fire and refining furnace.

The third-grade furnace undoubtedly possessed its own "temperament"; refinement was a process of mastery, while crafting was a process of familiarity. To achieve a level of proficiency akin to moving one’s fingers effortlessly, he had to "feed" it appropriately.

After this extensive endeavor, another hour elapsed.

Wang Chen now had only three hours remaining for the assessment.

But by this juncture, he had nearly deciphered all intricacies and promptly extracted valuable second-grade materials.

This was the day’s main event!

The weapon refiner assessment was a self-selected task, with materials provided by the candidates; one could forge any item they desired, provided the final product met the qualification standards to pass the assessment.

Consequently, many weapon refiners often opted for the simplest items to create.

However, Wang Chen did not intentionally seek high-difficulty challenges, such as refining the flying sword, a task he was quite adept at.

Because crafting a high-tier flying sword within three hours was utterly unfeasible.

Instead, he chose the flying knife.

He opened the furnace lid and sequentially introduced mysterious iron ore, black copper, and mysterious gold in varying proportions.

The flying knife crafted from these three materials was known as the Three Mysterious Flying Knife, its formula documented in the Nine Directions in Weapon Refining texts, akin to a textbook example.

Though it was a standard example, refining the Three Mysterious Flying Knife posed a significant test of a weapon refiner’s skills.

The ground fire blazed intensely, and the refining furnace resonated with a hum; the most pivotal step had commenced!