The Weapon Terminator! [2.6k]

Translator: AnubisTL

Sparse laughter echoed across the square as the students muttered phrases like "Gu Feng is in for it," "a deathly multiple-choice question," and "no matter what, he's going to offend someone."

The two Elders sat cross-legged on the high platform, their eyes slightly closed, as if in deep meditation, showing no urgency to intervene.

Nearby squares also halted their lectures, and several Elders stroked their beards, clearly ready to enjoy the spectacle.

Gu Feng was a well-known figure in the Grand Harmony Academy, recognized by everyone from the Prefect down to the gatekeeper.

Even Vice-Prefect Ouyang, who happened to pass by, stopped not far away, smiling as he watched the scene. He even took out an Image Stone, intending to record Gu Feng's awkward moment and bring it back to amuse the Prefect.

Gu Feng inwardly sighed, "Is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of multitasking and attending two Elders' lectures at the same time?"

The Elders of the Grand Harmony Academy were indeed skilled, but their pettiness was another matter.

He recalled his past life in university, where he could multitask—attending lectures, listening to music with headphones, and texting a girl—all at once. When the professor noticed, he didn't scold him but simply smiled and pointed out a grammatical error in his message.

How could the same profession have such a vast difference in attitude?

Whether he chose left or right, he would offend one of the Elders. Unable to please both, Gu Feng decided to offend both simultaneously.

As the saying goes, "It's not the lack but the inequality that causes trouble." By offending both, he effectively offended neither!

With this thought, he grinned and bowed respectfully to the two Elders.

"Thank you for your high regard, Elder Zheng and Elder Hua. I am deeply honored!"

At this, everyone rolled their eyes.

Was Gu Feng out of his mind? Couldn't he see this was a deliberate setup?

What kind of "high regard" was this? And he looked so pleased with himself.

He must have forgotten to take his medicine before leaving home today.

Elder Zheng, who taught Weapon Crafting, and Elder Hua, who taught Runes, raised their eyebrows and exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with exasperation.

"Since I cannot split myself but am also overwhelmed by your kindness, I have decided to assist both Elders in demonstrating the crafting of an Artifact Embryo and the engraving of Runes to the students."

Pfft—

Everyone collectively choked. This guy really had no shame. What kind of demonstration was this? Every student here had been studying longer than him. What could a rookie like him possibly show?

Not far away, Ouyang Qi stood frozen, his mind in chaos. What should have been a simple apology had turned into such a complicated mess. What a talent!

Elder Zheng and Elder Hua's brows furrowed with anger. They exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

"Very well, since Gu Feng is so confident, let him multitask and perform for everyone!"

"Haha, time spares no one. They say this year's freshmen at the Grand Harmony Academy are the best in history, and Gu Feng is the top scorer of this year's entrance exam—a dragon among dragons. I'd like to witness this today!"

"Not at all, not at all, it's just a reputation," Gu Feng humbly replied.

The two Elders' faces darkened. In the next moment, they moved, merging the two tables in front of them.

Simultaneously, they called out to Gu Feng, "Come up!"

"Alright!" Gu Feng took quick, small steps and swiftly positioned himself between the two Elders.

On the left table sat a small furnace, some Artifact Crafting Materials, and two hammers. The furnace burned fiercely, radiating intense heat.

On the right side of the table, there were two Rune Brushes, Rune Ink made from a mixture of beast blood, and an object resembling a wooden sword. The wooden sword had nine incomplete Runes, clearly designed specifically for assessing students.

Whether it was intentional or not, Elder Zheng and Elder Hua simultaneously began explaining the next steps, speaking at an unusually fast pace.

They started speaking at the same time, stopped at the same time, and then both turned their gazes toward Gu Feng.

"Uh—could you repeat that? The two Elders were speaking way too fast!" Gu Feng said sheepishly.

Hahaha—

Laughter erupted from the audience below. Even those who focused on listening to one Elder could barely keep up, so it was no surprise that Gu Feng was left confused. It was a testament to his resilience that he wasn't completely overwhelmed.

"Can you do it or not? If not, step down!" Elder Zheng asked sternly, while Elder Hua wore a similarly serious expression.

If it were anyone else, they would have bowed in apology and left immediately.

But Gu Feng was no ordinary person. His face was as thick as a city wall, and he figured that even if he messed up, they couldn't really do anything to him.

So, with a determined look, he nodded firmly.

He was confident, but the two Elders weren't so sure. They tilted their heads, observing Gu Feng. Seeing his unwavering confidence, they decided not to say anything further.

"Each of us will take a Hammer, and together we'll hammer out the impurities from this pile of softened Artifact Crafting Materials and shape it into a large axe!"

"Understood!" Gu Feng nodded.

"Each of us will take a Rune Brush and complete the nine incomplete Runes on this small sword!"

"Understood!" Gu Feng nodded again.

Begin!

"Pump the bellows and use intense heat to burn the Artifact Crafting Materials in the furnace!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Crimson flames burst forth, and Gu Feng was soon drenched in sweat. Elder Zheng, standing beside him, kept shouting to increase the heat.

With a loud roar, the sleeve on Gu Feng's left arm exploded. Elder Zheng, who hadn't expected such a display of raw power, ended up with a mouthful of shredded fabric powder, causing him to cough uncontrollably.

He wanted to lash out in anger, but he had to maintain his Elder's dignity, so he forcefully suppressed his rage.

Meanwhile, Gu Feng, completely focused, didn't notice any of this. He simply followed Elder Zheng's instructions, swinging his left arm so fast it became a blur, nearly breaking the handle of the furnace bellows.

"That's enough, start hammering!"

Elder Zheng, noticing the five clear finger marks on the bellows handle, spoke with a dark expression, though inwardly he was amazed. This kid had monstrous strength—he was a born Artifact Refiner!

Clang clang clang—the sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Unlike the intense activity on the left, the right side was almost completely silent.

Engraving Runes was an extremely demanding task, testing a cultivator's patience and mental state. It required a calm and steady mind. Some hot-tempered cultivators even used Rune engraving as a way to temper their temperament.

Gu Feng's eyes were sharp, with 80% of his attention focused on the small sword on the right.

Holding the Rune Brush between his fingers, he followed the guidance of Elder Hua's brush, meticulously engraving. This was a process more precise than even the most delicate machinery. A single slip, and all the effort would be wasted.

Elder Hua glanced at Gu Feng, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. This kid was a natural-born Rune Master.

In fact, when Gu Feng had swaggered onto the stage earlier, Elder Hua had already noticed his talent for Rune engraving. His mindset was unshakably steady, and his hand holding the Rune Brush was as steady as if it were part of his body. This wasn't the level of a beginner.

It's no wonder he's the ruthless guy who swindled over a hundred million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from the Trial Tower. An ordinary person wouldn't have the courage to do such a thing.

The crowd below was also stunned. They had expected Gu Feng to make a fool of himself as soon as he stepped up, but to their surprise, he had persisted until now and was doing a decent job.

What's more, Gu Feng was still multitasking!

Wu Qi's mouth slightly opened, and his pupils dilated. He knew better than anyone present that before this, Gu Feng had never been exposed to any of these tasks, not even a talisman brush!

Thus, his shock was even greater than the others!

"Kid, your strength isn't enough. Are you afraid of breaking my forging platform?" At this moment, Elder Zheng had stopped his hammering, letting Gu Feng hammer alone to see his skills.

"Understood!" Gu Feng replied loudly.

Multitasking seems difficult, but it's actually even harder!

Especially when one arm needs to exert great force while the other needs to remain steady, undoubtedly adding more difficulty for Gu Feng!

"Steady, your hand is shaking!" Just then, Elder Hua on the right side also gave a prompt. Like Elder Zheng, he had stopped his talisman brush, letting Gu Feng complete the task alone.

Gu Feng entered a state of emptiness, trying to prevent his two arms from interfering with each other, so much so that he didn't notice both elders had stopped their actions.

"Didn't you eat enough? Increase the force! Some tiny impurities need great strength to refine away!"

Elder Zheng's roar came again in his ears, and Gu Feng nodded heavily, "I understand, great strength brings miracles!"

"Ah—"

He let out a roar, and his left arm suddenly became thicker, with strands of Spiritual Radiance like coiling dragons moving on it.

Even though he still controlled his strength at the initial level of the third stage of Nurtured Spirit, the monstrous force he unleashed made Elder Zheng's eyelids twitch.

"So strong, such powerful strength, a born Artifact Refiner!!" He laughed in his heart.

"Steady, reduce the force a bit!"

The opposite instruction came from Elder Hua on the right, and Gu Feng was in agony, "Damn, I shouldn't have shown off. This is going to drive me crazy!"

Sweat dripped down, and Gu Feng's whole body was as if he had been fished out of water, with a circle of liquid at his feet.

He felt a splitting headache, as if his head was about to explode the next moment!

"Great strength brings miracles!"

"Ah—"

He didn't know why an embryo needed to be hammered for so long. If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it. The White Jade Bridge flashed between his eyebrows, and "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night" activated!

Boom—

His feet sank into the ground, and the hammer in his hand left afterimages, with sparks blooming like fireworks!

Elder Zheng looked on in horror as the iron lump turned into an iron pancake, the pancake into iron slag, the forging platform dented, and cracks appeared on the forging platform!

"Stop, stop, that's enough—"

Gu Feng, in a frenzied state, could no longer hear any external sounds.

"Boom—"

A loud noise came, and Gu Feng glanced over, instantly stunned.

Under his crazy hammering, the Artifact Crafting Material had turned into powder, and the forging platform had directly broken.

Even more outrageous was that Elder Zheng, trying to save his forging platform, in a moment of desperation, reached out a hand to block, but was hit squarely by Gu Feng's hammer, and his right thumb swelled up like a carrot!

This, this, this—

Gu Feng was completely dumbfounded, his right hand stopped hammering, and his left hand trembled slightly!

Not good—

With a tremble of his left hand, the small sword on the desk was unexpectedly sent flying, its nine runes flickering ominously, as if on the verge of exploding.

This was disastrous! With only two strokes left, how could he bear to let all his efforts go to waste?

Gu Feng's domineering aura erupted once more as he let out a roar, leaping onto the desk with sharp, determined eyes, intent on completing the final engraving in mid-air.

However, he had jumped too forcefully, and the desk beneath him couldn't withstand the pressure, shattering into pieces with a loud crash.

Losing his balance, Gu Feng tumbled head over heels. With his last ounce of strength, he flung the rune brush, hoping to complete the final stroke from a distance!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The thousands of students in the two squares were momentarily stunned before bursting into uproarious laughter.

Boom—

Flames shot into the sky as Gu Feng half-lay amidst the shattered remains of the desk, his head tilted at a 45-degree angle, his lips twitching uncontrollably.

His rune brush had landed squarely in Elder Hua's nostril, blood gushing out, while the small sword exploded right in front of Elder Hua's face, leaving his hair disheveled and his face charred.

"Hahaha—" Ouyang Qi, who had been recording this spectacular scene with an Image Stone nearby, bent over with laughter, tears streaming down his face, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Gu Feng!!!" the two Elders roared in unison.

"Sorry, Elder Zheng, I didn't mean to hit your finger!"

"Elder Hua, why didn't you dodge? I really didn't mean for this to happen!"

Gu Feng bent over, offering apologies with a forced smile, repeatedly expressing his regret.

The two Elders' beards stood on end, their faces twisted with anger.

"From now on, you are forbidden from appearing in this square!"

"If I see you here again, you'll regret it!"

"Alright, alright!"

Gu Feng nodded frantically before fleeing as fast as he could.

He had the dubious honor of becoming the first student in the history of Grand Harmony Academy to be banned from the square after attending only half a lecture.

At the same time, he was also the first student to injure two teaching Elders in a single day!

The Sunset Glow Sect members were in stitches, but Gu Feng remained unfazed. He claimed that he had already grasped the essence of weapon crafting and rune engraving, and with diligent practice, he would become a high-grade Artifact Refiner in the near future.

"Senior Sister Chu, bring out your weapon! Let me help you upgrade its grade!" Gu Feng said with a flattering smile as he approached Chu Youhuan.

"Forget it. You've already destroyed over a hundred weapons. I don't want to be next!" Chu Youhuan shot him a disdainful look, clutching her Profound Grade Greatsword even tighter.

"This is the path every great Artifact Refiner must take!" Gu Feng replied nonchalantly.

"Get lost! Go find Yan Yexue!"

"Senior Sister Yan... don't run away! I mean no harm, I just want to help you!"

"Xi Xi, do you have a weapon? Let me upgrade it for you!"

"Sure, there are plenty of pill furnaces in the Alchemy Room. Feel free to upgrade them!" Yan Xixi said with a smile, her eyes curving.

"Right, why didn't I think of that?" Gu Feng's eyes lit up.

After destroying over a hundred weapons, all the Sunset Glow Sect disciples began avoiding him like the plague.

They even gave him a nickname: the 'Weapon Terminator'!

One day later—

"Xi Xi, take a break for a while or go listen to some lectures in the square. Stop refining pills!" Gu Feng said with a dejected look as he approached Yan Xixi.

"Why?"

"Because I've blown up all the pill furnaces!" Gu Feng wailed.

Yan Xixi stared at Gu Feng with a dazed expression, utterly baffled. How could over thirty Pill Furnaces be destroyed in just one day?

Truly, he was in a league of his own when it came to destructive power!

(End of the Chapter)

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