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Zhen Hua was incredulous.
On the other end, Xu Yuan winced as Zhen Hua's voice echoed painfully in his ears. He rubbed them gently.
"Mm, didn't I tell you before that I had grasped the essence of fusion-forging and was adjusting the proportions of essence, energy, and spirit? I think I've finally hit the critical point—this time, I directly forged Jade Silver with a 97% fusion rate."
"Ninety-seven percent?!"
Zhen Hua was stunned again.
A fusion rate of 95% was already considered god-forged alloy. Beyond 95%, every single percentage point was incredibly difficult to achieve. It often required immense practice and refinement, with breakthroughs only possible during moments akin to enlightenment.
Yet, Xu Yuan's first successful attempt reached a 97% fusion rate!
"Xiao Yuan, perhaps the path you've chosen is the right one. In this world, no paths are truly disconnected. Applying Master Yun's Seven Forbidden Techniques to forging has yielded such extraordinary results." Zhen Hua sighed in admiration.
However, geniuses who could simultaneously excel in multiple fields were exceedingly rare.
It would be wrong to focus solely on the application of the Seven Forbidden Arts to forging while ignoring the inherent difficulty of mastering the arts themselves.
Xu Yuan's cultivation of the Seven Forbidden Techniques...
At this moment, Zhen Hua fell silent.
Xu Yuan wasn't an ordinary person—his learning ability was simply too strong.
Only those who had watched Xu Yuan's cultivation process from the beginning, like Zhen Hua and Mu Ye, truly understood that Xu Yuan's seeming mastery of everything stemmed entirely from his own efforts.
He had transformed his unparalleled learning ability into combat strength, into advantages in secondary professions, and step by step, into comprehensive superiority.
This was something difficult to replicate—it was Xu Yuan's own path to becoming a true powerhouse.
"Jade Silver is considered a basic spirit-forged alloy. For the next steps, there are many directions for fusing three alloys. Come to Tiandou City, and you can choose what suits you best."
Xu Yuan had no objections. He knew that Zhen Hua's invitation wasn't just about selecting advanced fusion-forging methods for Jade Silver but also included guidance in certain aspects of forging. Naturally, he accepted with gratitude.
"I'll handle some matters at the academy and head to Tiandou City in the next couple of days."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Zhen Hua took a deep breath and gazed at his own forging workshop.
"Thankfully, over these past few years, Xiao Yuan has shown a clear trend of deepening his skills in forging, practicing along the standard path of a blacksmith rather than purely learning auxiliary forging techniques."
At this moment, he genuinely recognized how much soul power cultivation and overall strength contributed to secondary professions like forging. He also understood that Xu Yuan would undoubtedly leverage his advantage in soul power cultivation to ascend more smoothly to the level of a divine craftsman in the future.
Divine Craftsman Potential!
This was the evaluation given by Zhen Hua, a divine craftsman himself.
Therefore, it wouldn't be appropriate for Xu Yuan to continue referring to himself as merely an auxiliary blacksmith. This time, Zhen Hua planned to systematically teach Xu Yuan the orthodox forging techniques of a master blacksmith.
After leaving his uncle momentarily shocked, Xu Yuan didn't return to the inner court. Instead, he went to the outer court office and found Wu Changkong.
"Teacher Wu, I'd like to request leave to temporarily leave the academy for a while."
Xu Yuan got straight to the point, making his request without hesitation.
Wu Changkong was only briefly surprised before quickly understanding.
Shen Yi had mentioned to him that Xu Yuan occasionally requested leave from the academy.
This was expected.
However, Wu Changkong's expression turned slightly conflicted.
There were still some significant events ahead.
"There's still one month left to prepare for the inter-grade exchange competition. Are you sure you're ready?" Wu Changkong asked sternly.
The inter-grade exchange competition was a contest between different grades. Typically, the outcome was predetermined, but often, first-year students were particularly eager. Freshmen entering Shrek Academy frequently believed they were destined prodigies. Even though second-year students were also talented, freshmen standouts sometimes felt they had a chance to challenge upperclassmen.
Especially in Xu Yuan's cohort, the first-year class was exceptionally strong.
Not only were the freshmen full of drive, but the entire academy was paying close attention to this year's exchange competition.
Winning the exchange competition brought significant attention within Shrek Academy—a once-every-few-years phenomenon.
"Teacher Wu, rest assured. I'm currently in peak condition. While I can't say the challenge will be effortless, at the very least, there won't be any major mishaps," Xu Yuan said confidently.
Wu Changkong's lips twitched.
What did he mean by "no major mishaps"?
We're first-years challenging second-years. Even if we fail, that wouldn't count as a mishap.
Does this kid think that cross-grade challenges should be a piece of cake?
"Confidence is good, but blind confidence is not. The second-years are at least three years older than you, and some have already broken through to Soul Ancestor level. Though you and Wu Siduo are exceptional even among Soul Ancestors, there are plenty of other prodigies in Shrek Academy," Wu Changkong cautioned.
After some thought, he continued, "I plan to submit an application to the academic affairs office after your successful challenge against the second-years to arrange another exchange match—this time against the third-years."
As for the fourth-years?
Wu Changkong hadn't even considered them.
The fourth-year was a watershed—the grade where outer court students began to graduate!
Graduating from Shrek Academy's outer court meant reaching the level of a Soul King and possessing One-Word Battle Armor.
Among the third-years, some outstanding students could create nearly complete One-Word Battle Armor, but most wouldn't finish until their fourth year—or only certify as One-Word Battle Armor Masters then.
One-Word Battle Armor varied in strength. During the crafting process, adjustments to the soul-guided arrays were constantly made. Each additional component of the armor significantly boosted its enhancement effect—not just because of the new part itself, but because it strengthened the connections between the previously completed parts. Additionally, while crafting the new component, the existing parts of the armor were optimized simultaneously.
"Teacher Wu, you can submit the application early. For this competition, Wu Siduo, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Fang Yuan, and I will represent our class. There won't be any unexpected outcomes," Xu Yuan assured him.
Internally, Xu Yuan couldn't help but roll his eyes at Wu Changkong's overconfidence.
Clearly, even you think our challenge against the second-years is a foregone conclusion.
"How long will this leave take?"
"Not sure. If it's short, I'll be back in two or three days. If it's longer, it might take over half a month." Xu Yuan couldn't give a definite answer.
Wu Changkong reluctantly stamped and signed the leave request.
"Return within a month. Ideally, come back a week before the exchange competition to leave some time for preparation."
"Got it."
After securing his leave, Xu Yuan contemplated for a moment and headed to Sea God Island.
After consulting with several mentors on Sea God Island, Xu Yuan departed from Shrek Academy the following day.
Unlike previous times, Xu Yuan didn't take the soul-guided train this time. Instead, he flew toward Tiandou City in his mech!
Yes, a mech!
Xu Yuan's very own mech.
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