I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely-Chapter 37: Yellow Iron Ore

After drawing for Combat Talent twice,

the third draw would have a two-thirds chance of upgrading one to a one-star talent.

The fourth draw, however, would guarantee a one-star talent.

Once this month’s Talent Points were settled, Fang Yun would definitely have a one-star Combat Talent, because the five acres of Purple Corn he had planted would be ready for harvest at the end of the month.

Before coming to the Disciple Marketplace, Fang Yun had already made up his mind.

He planned to refine a Sword Type Magical Artifact as his first one.

Even with his three-star Artifact Refining Talent, he wouldn’t make things difficult for himself on his first try. A simple, ordinary Lower Grade Sword Type Magical Artifact would suffice.

"Senior Brother, how much for this Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore?"

The senior brother at the stall glanced at Fang Yun. Instead of giving a price, he looked very curious.

"You’re Junior Brother Fang... Fang Yun?" the stall owner confirmed.

"Yes, that’s me."

"Junior Brother Fang, aren’t you an Alchemy Master? I heard from the other brothers that your Alchemy Talent is outstanding. Why the change in path?"

The Yellow Iron Ore he was selling was, without a doubt, an Artifact Refining material.

Facing the curious senior brother, Fang Yun didn’t offer a lengthy explanation as he had with Song Qiaoqiao. Instead, he gave a simple reply.

"I thought I’d give refining a try."

"Oh, I see. Junior Brother Fang must be looking for alchemy inspiration from artifact refining. Unfortunately, Junior Brother, from what I know, the similarities between Alchemy and Artifact Refining are few and far between. You won’t find much inspiration there."

’Listening to him, you’d think this senior brother was an expert in both Alchemy and Artifact Refining.’

"Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother." Fang Yun couldn’t control what the other man thought, so he focused on getting back to the matter at hand. He asked again, "Senior Brother, how much for this Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore?"

"One Lower Grade Spirit Stone for sixteen pounds." The senior brother glanced at Fang Yun again. He saw that Fang Yun’s eyes were fixed on the displayed Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore and that he clearly didn’t want to chat anymore. So, he got down to business.

"Could I get thirty-three pounds for two Lower Grade Spirit Stones?" Fang Yun didn’t haggle for much, just an extra pound of Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore.

"Sure."

More than Fang Yun’s reputation as an Alchemy Master, what impressed the stall owner more was his way of buying things.

Every time Fang Yun bought something, he liked to haggle, but never for a large discount.

If Fang Yun knew what this senior brother was thinking, he would have been very pleased.

Many of his behaviors during transactions were intentional, as they made future dealings more convenient for him.

Once the deal was made, the senior brother brought a blade down, split the Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore, and weighed out a piece that was just over thirty-three pounds.

Since he was already giving away a whole pound for free, he didn’t mind the extra bit.

Lower Grade Yellow Iron, refined from the ore, would be the primary Spiritual Material for the Sword Type Magical Artifact Fang Yun was planning to refine.

For someone with an Artifact Refining Talent, it wasn’t difficult to combine materials based on their properties to create a Magical Artifact after studying the fundamentals of artifact refining.

The first step, which Fang Yun had already taken, was to select the primary Spiritual Material. The supplementary materials were then chosen based on the desired type of Magical Artifact.

Fang Yun just wanted to refine an ordinary Lower Grade Sword Type Magical Artifact, so choosing the supplementary materials was very simple. He just needed to add some materials that would make the artifact tougher and the blade sharper.

Sword Type Magical Artifacts are almost always offensive weapons. Trying to be unconventional would often waste the inherent advantages of this type of artifact.

Afterward, in the Disciple Marketplace, Fang Yun spent one Lower Grade Spirit Stone each to purchase a Red Crystal Stone and five taels of Stone Milk.

In total, the materials cost four Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

Once he had all the materials, Fang Yun quickly left the Disciple Marketplace.

Not long after he left the Disciple Marketplace, a story about him began to spread.

"Have you guys heard about Junior Brother Fang, Fang Yun?"

"I know of that junior brother. His Alchemy Talent is excellent. Even though he only has Five Spirit Roots, with his talent, he’ll likely break through to the late stages of Qi Refining and become an Inner Sect Disciple."

"I also heard that this Junior Brother Fang was recruited into the sect because of his Planting Talent."

"Today, that same Junior Brother Fang came to my stall to buy materials."

"Huh? Senior Brother, don’t you only sell materials for Artifact Refining?"

"Exactly. That’s why I’m curious why a junior brother with Alchemy Talent would suddenly start getting into Artifact Refining."

"This... Could it be he also has a talent for Artifact Refining?"

"Maybe. But he might just be trying it for fun. We’ll know if he keeps buying artifact refining materials."

Fang Yun, with his Alchemy Talent, was already quite well-known in the Disciple Marketplace. Basically, any disciple who sold Spirit Medicine knew a little about him.

Now, because he bought artifact refining materials, a new wave of gossip began to spread. When it came to Artifact Refining, many of the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples who sold Magical Artifacts in the Disciple Marketplace had something to say.

「Artifact Casting Peak」

After leaving the Disciple Marketplace, Fang Yun made his way here as quickly as possible.

Because of the Earth Fire Vein, among the five major peaks of the Celestial Cloud Sect, Artifact Casting Peak and Dan Cloud Peak were the closest to each other.

Just as Dan Cloud Peak had Alchemy Rooms available for disciples to rent, Artifact Casting Peak naturally had Artifact Refining Rooms for rent as well.

Like the Alchemy Rooms, the Artifact Refining Rooms were also built deep inside the mountain.

"Steward, are there any lower-level Artifact Refining Rooms available?"

"Yes. Numbers five, nine, and twelve are left. Which one do you want?"

"Number five, please."

"Alright. This is the Token to open the Artifact Refining Room. Renting a lower-level one costs one Lower Grade Spirit Stone per day." The Steward watched Fang Yun as he spoke, feeling like he’d heard someone mention this Outer Sect Disciple before.

The price was the same as renting a lower-level Alchemy Room.

After paying one Lower Grade Spirit Stone, Fang Yun took the Token the Steward had placed on the desk.

The front of the Token was inscribed with "Lower 5," and the back had a sword emblem. It looked very similar to the sword on the Celestial Cloud Sect disciple uniforms, but there were subtle differences upon closer inspection.

Fang Yun glanced at the Token in his hand, found lower-level Artifact Refining Room number five, and went inside.

Unlike an Alchemy Room, an Artifact Refining Room didn’t have an Alchemy Furnace.

For a daily rent of one Lower Grade Spirit Stone, the real value was the Earth Fire.

First, Fang Yun took out the Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore. The initial step was to extract the Lower Grade Yellow Iron from this raw material. He could use flames to burn away the impurities.

He turned the Earth Fire to its maximum setting and enveloped the Lower Grade Yellow Iron Ore with his Spiritual Power. The purification process for artifact refining had begun.

Before he began, Fang Yun didn’t even need to adjust his mindset.

Unlike the meticulous and continuous nature of alchemy, artifact refining was not as demanding in this regard.

Compared to alchemy, artifact refining consumed more Spiritual Power. It was recommended that one only attempt to refine Lower Grade Magical Artifacts after reaching the mid-stages of Qi Refining. That way, one generally wouldn’t run out of Spiritual Power during the process.

As someone who was already at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and would reach the peak of the Fourth Layer in half a month, Fang Yun naturally had no shortage of Spiritual Power.

His Spiritual Power was more than enough to support the complete refining process for a Lower Grade Magical Artifact.

If a Cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining were to attempt it, they could try refining a Lower Grade Magical Artifact with a partner.

While two people cooperating to refine a single cauldron of pills was almost unimaginable, it was commonplace for two people to work together on refining a Magical Artifact.