After slamming into the walls of the furnace room, Zhao Yunxiao finally regained his senses.
Thankfully, he might have lost control over his senses earlier, but the current him still recalled everything that had transpired during this time.
And unlike Nie Hanchang who was just about completely clueless about smithing, Zhao Yunxiao also had a good guess as to what just happened to them.
During the creation of a spiritual treasure, there was a minute chance that the treasure could be influenced by the strong emotions and thoughts of those in its surroundings, thereby forming a connection between treasure and individual.
Spirit resonance.
It was an extremely rare phenomenon. But whenever it happened, the resultant treasure would inevitably be elevated to the next level.
Even though Zhao Yunxiao had never seen or experienced this in the past, the events that just transpired seemed to fit the description that he had read in records.
He could not help but let out a bitter laugh at this point.
Was he really that obsessed with the completion of the bow just now, such that his emotions even managed to resonate with the treasure?
How laughable.
After all, it was not even his bow that he was making!
How could he have had stronger feelings during the creation of this bow than the countless times when he forged equipment for himself in the past?
Yet despite his disbelief, as a smith, Zhao Yunxiao had always wondered how it would have felt like.
And when he thought back to his actions earlier, he could finally confirm that the records were right.
It was an experience that was nothing short of surreal.
His hammer strikes were all on point.
His temperature control was perfect.
Even his usage of energy was impeccable.
It was as though he had been possessed by a grandmaster smith, allowing him to exhibit a level of skills far beyond his actual level!
But there was still one thing that baffled him.
According to the records, a treasure usually only resonated with one person – either the smith or the intended user.
But from what he felt earlier, did both he and Nie Hanchang experience the same thing?
Or was he wrong after all?
To be sure of what happened, he would have to do a little more research on this matter.
"What was that? What's happening?!" Nie Hanchang's feeble voice broke Zhao Yunxiao's train of thoughts.
Nie Hanchang's face was pale, reflecting the current state of his body.
After expending every last bit of energy, the sudden shockwave from earlier had knocked the final strand of resistance out of his mind.
Right now, the spent Nie Hanchang could not move his body no matter how much he willed it to, and could only remain seated in his corner.
Zhao Yunxiao was not feeling any better either.
Now that he had snapped back to reality, he could feel a throbbing pain at the back of his head, mainly owing to a combination of exhaustion and the earlier collision with the furnace wall.
Enduring the pain, Zhao Yunxiao looked up from his daze and immediately frowned.
Without him realising it, numerous archaic runes had appeared on the originally plain four walls of the furnace room, each giving off a glow intense enough to rival that of the furnace fire.
These runes...
Memories slowly flowed into Zhao Yunxiao's mind as he slowly recalled what had been taught to him years ago.
Each furnace room in the Forge was actually armed with complex arrays that remain dormant on normal days.
But whenever necessary, they could activate as a defence mechanism, suppressing anything that came their way.
As for when it would ever become necessary...
Heart in mouth, Zhao Yunxiao's gaze slowly moved towards the centre of the room.
And there it was, the completed grimiron bow.
But unlike before, the bow was no longer just lying on the anvil, helplessly awaiting punishment from the forging hammer.
For some reason, the grimiron bow was actually standing upright, balancing perfectly on just the tip of its lower limb.
The long grimiron bow was glowing red as it was still in its heated form, but the aura that it was giving off was far from warm.
If Zhao Yunxiao had to describe it, it would probably be something like a chilling sense of imminent destruction.
Zhao Yunxiao felt his heart beat faster as he looked at the bow that had somehow managed to stand upright.
That's right.
This was the only thing that could trigger the defensive arrays of the furnace room – the birth of a mythical quality treasure!
Just like pills and elixirs, treasures of each level were further categorised into their individual quality tiers.
Inferior, common, uncommon, rare, and finally... mythical.
With each step up in tier, the quality increased exponentially.
At the final mythical tier, treasures were even said to possess their own treasure spirit.
And that was exactly why there was a need for the defensive arrays – to guard against these unpredictable treasures that had gained sentience!
Looking at the grimiron bow that was standing upright on the anvil, Zhao Yunxiao immediately understood the situation.
The arrays covering the furnace room definitely did not activate without reason this time.
However, he could not help but let out a bitter smile at this moment.
Despite bearing witness to this extremely rare occurrence, the current Zhao Yunxiao did not even have the energy to walk up and examine the bow!
"What's going on, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?" Nie Hanchang asked again in confusion.
Before Zhao Yunxiao could even attempt to answer, the door to the furnace room was suddenly flung open.
"What happened here?!" an urgent voice bellowed across the room as a man appeared at the door.
He looked to be in his mid thirties and was dressed in rough but fitting cloths, befitting the status of a smith.
Tian Guiren – administrative deacon of the Forge.
As the adminstrative deacon, he naturally knew the moment the defensive arrays of the furnace room were activated.
When that happened, he decisively put down everything he was doing at the moment to rush over.
Though at the same time, he still remained slightly sceptical.
He knew that the one currently using this furnace room was none other than Nie Hanchang, an outer disciple at the Essence Gathering realm.
Tian Guiren remembered every disciple who frequented the Forge.
But the fact that he had no recollection of this Nie Hanchang meant that he was not even a disciple who specialised in the art of smithing.
In that case, what were the chances that a mythical tier treasure would be born from his hands?
Of course, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Should Nie Hanchang really end up pulling off a feat like that somehow, it was even more paramount that he rushed over immediately.
Considering the low cultivation level of both he and the duty disciple Zhao Yunxiao, they would likely suffer when facing a rogue treasure spirit!
And now that he was here, Tian Guiren was relieved that he did not take his time.
The first thing he saw upon arrival was Nie Hanchang and Zhao Yunxiao sitting in one corner of the room each, their faces deathly pale.
On the anvil was a long bow that was giving off a dim red glow coupled with a cold aura.
It was a good thing that neither of the two disciples sustained any significant injuries, but just this scene alone was enough to let Tian Guiren guess what happened.
The treasure spirit of the newly forged bow had attacked the two disciples!
"Treasure spirit, heed my orders and... hmm?" Tian Guiren was about to take action and suppress the long bow when he realised something amiss.
On second look, the long bow appeared to be rather calm?
In fact, the long bow remained completely still as it slowly lost the heat that had accumulated in it over the smithing process.
The red glow that it was emanating slowly dissipated, revealing its original silver body.
While the menacing aura from it remained present, nothing came out of it either.
Seeing that the treasure spirit was not making any moves, Tian Guiren relaxed a little.
The thing about new treasure spirits was that no one could predict what they would do. However, it was not that every treasure with a treasure spirit would end up creating trouble either.
Tian Guiren did not know if it was because of his arrival, but since the long bow showed no signs of hostility, he naturally saw no need to do anything unnecessary.
He was already here anyway.
Even if the treasure spirit were to suddenly make a move, he would be able to take charge and suppress it immediately!
Now that the situation was under control, the previous sense of urgency left Tian Guiren's heart, quickly replaced by a sense of delight.
"Well done! Very well done! Hahaha! I never thought that I would ever see an outer disciple at the Essence Gathering realm successfully forge such a high quality weapon!" Tian Guiren praised heartily. "Nie Hanchang, is it? Congratulations! You have just become the first Essence Gathering realm outer disciple in the Black Tortoise Sect to have forged a mythical tier treasure in at least the past century!"
Zhao Yunxiao calmly closed his eyes and leaned back to rest against the wall.
Hearing Tian Guiren's words had confirmed Zhao Yunxiao's suspicions.
The resulting bow was indeed at the mythical tier!
On the other hand, Nie Hanchang widened his eyes in shock. "M-Mythical tier bow?!"
"Hahaha! That's right! Good job!" Tian Guiren praised. "Where did you learn the art of smithing? Why haven't you visited the Forge in the past?"
"Mythical tier..."
Nie Hanchang was no longer able to process what Tian Guiren was saying, his gaze fixated solely on the silver long bow resting on the anvil.
When they were nearing the end of the smithing process, he had already expected that it would be a success.
But mythical tier?
That was something that he would never dare to think of even in his dreams!
"Hahaha! I see that you are surprised yourself, but that's only natural. The successful creation of a mythical tier treasure is a great accomplishment that is celebrated by even experienced smiths, not to mention you!" Tian Guiren laughed. "For now, don't think about it too much and follow me to the Outer Disciples Hall. What you just did is a great accomplishment, enough to have your name recorded in the annals of the sect history!"
"Recorded in the annals of the sect history?" Nie Hanchang broke out of his daze. "Me?"
"Of course! The Black Tortoise Sect recognises our talents the most. Since you have successfully forged a mythical treasure, we naturally have to let the matter be known!" Tian Guiren said. "Oh, are you too weak to stand? Don't worry, take this elixir and you should regain enough energy to come along with me."
With that, Tian Guiren walked over and placed a jade bottle in the hands of both Nie Hanchang and Zhao Yunxiao.
"Little Zhao, take one as well to recover," Tian Guiren said.
"Understood, Senior Tian," Zhao Yunxiao nodded weakly before consuming the elixir.
Zhao Yunxiao might be calm right now, but someone else was not.
"No, that's not right," Nie Hanchang said after consuming the elixir as well. "I don't deserve to have my name recorded. This whole thing is all thanks to Junior Martial Brother Zhao's efforts. If someone's name is to be recorded, it should be his instead!"
"It's all thanks to little Zhao?" Tian Guiren blinked blankly. "What do you mean?"
"I appreciate the recognition, Senior Martial Brother Nie." Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly spoke up before Nie Hanchang could speak further. "However, I have only been doing my job. On the other hand, Senior Martial Brother Nie allowed me to widen my horizons today by showing off your skills. For that, I am grateful!"
"What?" Nie Hanchang frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I can only say congratulations for successfully forging a mythical tier bow!" Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards Nie Hanchang.
Nie Hanchang: "???"
The confused Nie Hanchang was about to disagree again when he suddenly recalled a possible reason behind Zhao Yunxiao's current stance.
Duty disciples were not allowed to participate in the main smithing process!
If word got out that Zhao Yunxiao actually performed almost the entire process instead, he would surely get into trouble for that.
However, Nie Hanchang did not know exactly how much trouble that would be, but surely it would be incomparable to having his name recorded in the annals of the sect history?
After all, the former was a temporary thing while the latter was a form of permanent glory!
"Little Zhao is right. He is only doing his job, so you don't have to be overly humble here," Tian Guiren smiled in satisfaction. "Sometimes, you need to reward yourself for a job well done as well. Come, take your new bow and let's go."
"But..."
"Farewell and congratulations once again, Senior Martial Brother Nie," Zhao Yunxiao quickly cut him off. "Don't worry about me. I will be fine after taking the elixir."
"...Really?"
"Yes, Senior Martial Brother Nie."
"If you say so..." Nie Hanchang was obviously still conflicted about this, but could not help but agree since even Zhao Yunxiao was telling him to do so.
"Good, good. Now try picking up your new bow and let's go," Tian Guiren said. "Little Zhao, stand in for me at the counter until I return. I will be back within the hour."
"But I can't, Senior Tian," Zhao Yunxiao declined with a frown. "Can't you see how weak I am right now? And I still have to clean up this furnace room as well..."
"Fine, I get it," Tian Guiren furrowed his brows in irritation. "How many sect points do you want?"
"Triple this month's salary."
"Just for an hour? No way."
"I understand that you will get an incentive for having a mythical tier weapon produced under your watch..."
"Tch! The maximum I can offer is double."
"Deal."
Under Tian Guiren's watchful gaze, Nie Hanchang carefully picked up the silver long bow without issues.
Tian Guiren had been prepared to act at any time, but thankfully the bow remained completely still as it fell into Nie Hanchang's hands, almost as though it was a bow without a treasure spirit.
After shooting another guilt-ridden gaze towards Zhao Yunxiao, Nie Hanchang finally left with Tian Guiren while Zhao Yunxiao slowly made his way to the administrative deacon's room.
Sitting behind the counter, Zhao Yunxiao fell into deep thought as he thought back on everything that happened in the furnace room earlier.
An opportunity to have his names recorded in the annals of the sect history?
It did sound nice.
But in Zhao Yunxiao's eyes, it was not practical at all.
Of course, having his name recorded in such a way would indubitably get him attention from all over the sect.
Most disciples would surely welcome such a thing since greater recognition usually translated to access to more resources.
However, that was only if they could live up to that reputation!
Not to mention another mythical tier bow, Zhao Yunxiao did not even have any confidence in creating a rare tier bow!
There was nothing worse than raising expectations to unrealistic levels, just to end up having them crash down in the end.
If he really went ahead with having his name recorded in the annals of the sect history as someone who could forge a mythical tier bow, and it ended up being exposed as nothing more than a pure luck...
An ordinary smith who lucked out one time and thereby marketed himself as a skilled smith – his reputation as a smith would completely go into the gutters.
Rather than that, Zhao Yunxiao would rather forgo that piece of undeserved fame, and continue to work hard while laying low as he had always done!
On the other hand, this was less of a problem for Nie Hanchang.
Since Nie Hanchang was not a smith, there would be less chances for people to judge him on his smithing skills.
Even if others found out that it was pure luck, people would only envy him and not begin passing critical remarks on his other works, simply because he had no other works to speak of in the first place!