Falling in Love to Escape the Original Book Plot [BL]-Chapter 396: Weapons Refining Master Challenge 1

"Disciple Zhen...., wait." A voice stopped Zhen Yuan.

At the same time, a middle-aged male cultivator flew onto the stage.

"Is there something?" Zhen Yuan asked.

"You are both disciples of the Tianxuan sect. Is there a need to be so harsh on disciple Zhou?" The man asked, but Zhen Yuan sneered before walking away.

Seeing this, the male cultivator frowned, suppressed his anger, and continued to plead with Zhen Yuan.

"Disciple Zhen, how many spirit stones will it take to release Zhou Yanyu from this wager?" He asked, and Zhen Yuan tilted his head with a mocking smile.

"I lack many things, except spirit stones." He said and walked away, but the male cultivator was not done.

"My name is Zhou Man, a sect elder and also an elder of the Zhou family. My clan will consider it a personal favour if you release Zhou Yanyu from the wager."

However, Zhen Yuan was not enticed.

Although the Zhou family was a big clan in the Tianxuan continent, Zhen Yuan didn’t want to unnecessarily continue the cause and effect between them.

"I have no interest in favours." Zhen Yuan said, and Zhou Man clenched his hands in anger.

Zhou Yanyu was his clan’s young generation talent.

She was the hope that the clan had cultivated, and Zhou Man could not allow her to be ruined in a silly wager.

"Disciple Zhen..." Zhou Man started, but a voice interrupted him.

"It’s not impossible to release her from the oath." The voice said, and everyone turned to look at Shen Xu.

"Disciple Shen, please speak." Zhou Man said, and Shen Xu continued.

"One billion high-grade spirit stones, a level eight fire element cultivation treasure, one million litres of bird monster blood, and one thousand drops of bird monster blood essence." Shen Xu said, but Zhen Yuan was not satisfied.

"She also has to apologise to my Taoist partner." He said.

Zhou Man narrowed his eyes when he heard this.

One billion spirit stones and a level eight fire element cultivation treasure were easy to get.

However, the monster blood would take time and resources.

"I agree to the conditions, but the monster blood will take time." He said, and Shen Xu smiled.

"The Zhou family is a big clan. I am sure you will find a way to collect the blood in one year." He said.

If asked to collect one million litres in one year, Shen Xu and Zhen Yuan would be at a loss.

After all, they didn’t have a big family’s backing.

However, it was doable for a prominent clan like the Zhou family.

As long as the family was willing to lose some resources, the ordinary blood and essence could be collected within one year.

"If it’s agreeable, let’s make a contract for one year. In one year, you will keep your end of the deal, and my Taoist partner will release senior sister Zhou from the oath." Shen Xu said, not giving Zhou Man an opportunity to bargain over the details.

In the end, the contract was made, and Zhou Man left the stage.

[You let them off easy.] Zhen Yuan transmitted in a dissatisfied voice.

However, Shen Xu chuckled with a cunning expression.

[Not really.] He said and quickly continued.

[Even without the oath, Zhou Yunya won’t be able to progress for a long time. You have become her inner demon.]

[It’s what she deserves.]

Hearing this, the double’s lips curled in a soft smile, and he looked at Zhen Yuan with a doting expression.

[Ayuan, thank you.] He said, and Zhen Yuan smiled while rubbing his partner’s hair.

[I won’t allow...] He started, but a loud voice interrupted him.

"The weapons refining challenge will begin in a quarter of an hour." Yang Zitao announced, and Zhen Yuan frowned.

’I should have dragged the talisman challenge.’ He thought and turned to Shen Xu.

[Xiaoxu, what’s your situation?] He asked.

[I have only recovered a quarter of my qi.] The double said and sighed.

[It’s a good thing I didn’t use much qi in the talisman challenge. I will transfer it to you now.] Zhen Yuan said, and Shen Xu nodded.

As before, Zhen Yuan transferred the qi, and Shen Xu rushed to merge it with his own.

A quarter of an hour later, the double walked to his work table with a confident expression.

His opponent was a burly man called Zheng Cheng.

Zheng Cheng was the thirteenth disciple of the fourth mountain’s peak elder.

In terms of talent and fame, he was inferior to Chen Qian, Zhang Mei, and Zhou Yanyu.

However, he was diligent, and because of this, he was one of the best level eight weapon refining masters in the sect.

Seeing that both parties had arrived at their worktables, Yang Zitao nodded and began announcing the challenge details.

"This challenge will be a little different from the previous." He said and quickly continued.

"First, no personal refining materials will be allowed for this challenge. You will have the exact same materials and will be required to refine the same item. That said, you can use your own fire, furnace, and equipment."

"Second, the challenge will last three days. During that time, you will each use the provided materials to refine a soft armour."

Shen Xu tilted his head when he heard this.

Even in the Tianxuan continent, there weren’t many weapons refining masters who could refine soft armour.

Most importantly, refining a level seven soft armour in three days was a hard task, even for a level eight weapons refiner.

After all, weapons refining required a lot of qi and concentration. Because of this, most weapon refiners often staggered their work to allow time for replenishing their qi and adjusting their mental state.

’Interesting.’ Shen Xu thought and subconsciously smiled.

If they were allowed to use personal refining materials, he would have taken out some mysterious iron heart and other things.

However, even without the personal materials, Shen Xu was confident he could make an excellent soft armour.

"Assessment has four criteria." Yang Zitao continued.

"First is the grade of the soft armour. Second is effectiveness, third is durability and fourth is comfort. Grade carries one point, effectiveness has four points, durability has four points, and comfort has one point."

After saying that, Yang Zitao looked at the two and, seeing that they understood, he signalled an elder.

Soon after, the elder walked to the materials table and placed dozens of refining materials on it.

"Junior Shen, how about a wager?" Zheng Cheng asked.

"Why not?!" Shen Xu shrugged, but a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes.

He was living for the wagers!

If the trend continued until the last challenge, he and Zhen Yuan would surely collect a small fortune.

"If you win, I will give you one hundred grams of Flowing Sun jade." Zheng Cheng said, and Shen Xu gasped in surprise.

Flowing Sun jade was a precious material used to refine fire-element weapons and equipment. With it, Shen Xu could refine accessories capable of gathering and storing fire qi.

"Senior brother, do you really want to wager one hundred grams of Flowing Sun Jade?" The double asked in an uncertain voice.

"I am certain." Zheng Cheng nodded and quickly continued.

"However, I hope you can stake one kilogram of mysterious heart iron in exchange for the Flowing Sun jade." He said.

"Why do you think I have mysterious heart iron?" Shen Xu asked, his eyebrow raised in question.

"You and your Taoist partner are wearing robes refined with mysterious heart iron."

’As expected of a weapons refiner.’ The double thought but didn’t immediately agree.

"Maybe I have already used it all." He said, and Zheng Cheng shrugged before speaking.

"I am just trying my luck." He said.

"In that case, I accept the wager. I will give you one kilogram of mysterious heart iron if you win the bet. That said, I will sell you some if you lose." Shen Xu said.

He wouldn’t normally offer such a deal.

However, he had a good impression of Zheng Cheng and didn’t mind selling some mysterious heart iron to him.

"Since junior brother Shen is sincere, I will also sell you the Flowing Sun jade if you lose the wager."

"It’s a deal." Shen Xu agreed.

After that, the two walked to the long table and began choosing the refining materials.

There was only one type of main refining material: level seven long-eared rabbit skin.

Long-eared rabbits were common monsters in the cultivation world.

They had exaggerated ears and long white hair that was soft to the touch. However, their skin was fragile and wasn’t appropriate for refining soft armour.

’This is going to take some work.’ Shen Xu thought as he was choosing among the provided skins.

After choosing five skins, Shen Xu left the area and began choosing other materials, including spirit grasses and dyes.

Similarly, Zheng Cheng chose his materials before both returned to their worktables.

The first step was cleaning the materials.

Although Shen Xu could only use the provided water and not his usual spiritual water, he still took his time to thoroughly clean his refining materials.