For some time now, Li Yunxiao had been in a daze, with various images flashing intermittently through his mind, as if he had become someone else. He also periodically fell into a seizure, screaming, crying, and laughing uncontrollably.
Even more strangely, a voice continuously echoed in his mind, as if reciting some mysterious scripture. Sometimes, when he listened carefully, it seemed like a mental technique, and his body would involuntarily sway along with it. The more intense the episodes, the more complete and detailed the fragments in his mind became.
Finally, one day, he was tortured to the point of losing consciousness. When he woke up again, all the fragments had seamlessly connected, coming together in his mind. Li Yunxiao's eyes were clear, as if they contained the essence of ancient stars. He had finally awakened.
"I never thought I'd be reborn," Li Yunxiao's eyes gleamed with a flash of starlight as he turned slightly to gaze at the towering statue outside the window. "The year is 1033 of the Tianwu Era... Has it been fifteen years since Gu Feiyang died?"
Fifteen years ago, one of the ten Imperial Martial Emperors of the Tianwu Realm, the Broken Army Martial Emperor—Gu Feiyang—had perished unexpectedly in the Tian Dang Mountain Range, causing a shockwave across the entire continent! Afterward, various factions secretly maneuvered, and conflicts grew more intense. The once-quiet Tianwu continent was once again stirred into chaos.
"Heh," Li Yunxiao grinned, sighing softly. "I didn't expect that it's already been fifteen years. Gu Feiyang... has finally returned."
Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted his thoughts. "Li Yunxiao!"
"Whoosh!"
A sharp sound cut through the air as Li Yunxiao slightly raised his head. He saw a piece of chalk flying toward him, about to hit his face.
With two fingers, he casually pinched the chalk out of mid-air and placed it gently on the desk. His gaze remained calm as he looked at the increasingly cold expression of his homeroom teacher, Luo Yunshang, who stood at the podium.
Li Yunxiao had been daydreaming in class, and this wasn't the first time. In fact, it wasn't even the Nth time—if he wasn't daydreaming, she would have found it strange. But today, Luo Yunshang's mood was clearly bad, so she needed a scapegoat to vent her frustration.
And the universally acknowledged failure, Li Yunxiao, was undoubtedly the best candidate. Over time, whenever teachers were in a bad mood, they would always pick on him. It had almost become a habit. When any teacher was in a bad mood, everyone knew that Li Yunxiao would be in for some trouble.
The whole class started to snicker and mock him, eagerly waiting for the show to begin, with some even starting to cheer.
Li Yunxiao narrowed his eyes and looked at Luo Yunshang, thinking to himself, "This girl has a killer body, long hair, a beautiful face. If she were wearing a red robe, silver boots, a sky-blue cloak, and carrying Frostmourne, she'd be the spitting image of another Red Lotus Martial Emperor. Hehe, definitely has a cosplay potential. Wonder if Red Lotus would kill me if she found out?"
Luo Yunshang's heart suddenly jolted as she saw a faint smile in Li Yunxiao's eyes, causing her to involuntarily shudder. It was as if a meek little rabbit had suddenly been locked onto by a fierce tiger, and the sense of helplessness made her feel as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.
"What just happened? That boy's gaze… He was smiling just now? Impossible! I'm a Great Martial Master at the Four Symbol Realm, how could I lose focus from the gaze of an ordinary student? I must be distracted by that matter lately, my mind must be unsettled."
The shock in her eyes flashed by quickly, and after a moment's lapse in concentration, she quickly regained her composure. Her eyes darkened, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "Li Yunxiao, we were just discussing the refinement of Xuan weapons. Please tell me, how many methods are there for refining an ordinary Xuan weapon?"
Luo Yunshang was teaching the basic refinement techniques class. While only a handful of people could become Refining Masters, every martial artist had to learn the fundamental knowledge of refinement.
"Refining Xuan weapons? Ha, I'm a Ninth-tier Emperor Refining Master on Tianwu Continent. Who dares to discuss the path of refining in front of me except those old immortals?"
Li Yunxiao replied lazily, "There are forty-eight methods for refining ordinary Xuan weapons."
"Forty-eight methods?"
The class fell into a brief silence before bursts of laughter erupted.
"Haha, this kid is definitely sleepwalking."
"I knew it, look at how calm he looks. I thought for a moment he might actually know the answer!"
"Pfft! If he knew, I'd be the National Iron Guard by now!"
Li Yunxiao furrowed his brows, his gaze falling onto the textbook in front of him. He flipped it open and saw a sentence: "There are thirty-six methods for refining ordinary Xuan weapons, including..." He quickly closed the book and saw the large title on the cover: "Basic Refinement Techniques." Beneath it, the smaller print read: "Written by Yang Di."
"Yang Di, didn't I tell him there are forty-eight methods? This guy didn't take my words seriously. From now on, he's not allowed to come listen to my lectures anymore."
In his mind, he immediately sentenced the author of the book to death. If Yang Di knew, he might cry himself to death.
Li Yunxiao ignored the mocking laughter and calmly said, "The orthodox methods of refining Xuan weapons are thirty-six in total. However, sixty years ago, Gu Feiyang created twelve additional technique-based methods, which were recognized by the Refining Master Guild and included as basic techniques. So, it should be forty-eight methods."
"Ha, what are you babbling about? Does he know more than Master Yang Di?"
"Haha, this kid must be speaking nonsense to avoid punishment."
"Exactly! Yang Di, as the student of Emperor Gu Feiyang, surely knows how many basic methods there are!"
The mocking continued, but suddenly, a sharp voice commanded silence.
"Shut up! What he said is correct!"
Luo Yunshang slammed the desk, and a burst of wind swept through the room. Everyone immediately felt an overwhelming pressure that sent shockwaves through the classroom. The students near the front turned pale, as if their very blood were draining away.
Li Yunxiao felt the wind hit him and smiled faintly inside. "Two-star Four Symbol Realm… this girl's talent is impressive. She also seems to have a powerful soul force. At the very least, she's a high-level refining apprentice." He was slightly surprised—he knew Luo Yunshang was very strong, but he hadn't expected her to be at the Four Symbol Realm.
The martial artist realms were divided as follows:
1st: Yuan Realm (Warrior)2nd: Fen Realm (Martial Master)3rd: San Cai Realm (Grand Martial Master)4th: Four Symbols Realm (Martial Lord)5th: Wu Xing Realm (Martial King)6th: Liu He Realm (Martial Sect)7th: Qixiu Realm (Martial Emperor)8th: Ba Huang Realm (Martial Honor)9th: Nine Heavens Realm (Martial God)
The peak of Nine Heavens Realm could receive a title from the Holy City, becoming a titled Martial Emperor.
Each of these realms was further divided into nine stars.
Luo Yunshang looked at Li Yunxiao coldly, her surprise momentarily flashing in her eyes. After glancing around the room, she slowly began to explain.
"The basic methods of refining Xuan weapons have always been thirty-six. Sixty years ago, Emperor Gu Feiyang, with his unmatched genius in refining, created twelve additional foundational methods, which were recognized by the Refining Master Guild. However, since these twelve methods are too difficult for ordinary people to master, Master Yang Di did not include them when writing the book 'Basic Refinement Techniques.'"
The students were all shocked, their faces full of disbelief as they stared at Li Yunxiao. It was as if the student ranked last in the class had suddenly solved a problem that even the top students couldn't figure out.
Luo Yunshang was equally surprised. The knowledge of forty-eight methods wasn't a secret to refining masters, but for a martial refining apprentice to know it was remarkable.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. "They say Li Yunxiao is a martial refining waste, but could it be that he has a talent for refining? Did he go through a lot of materials on his own?" The thought made her heart race. If she could cultivate a refining master, their value would far exceed that of a martial refining apprentice!
Let's test him further!
Luo Yunshang raised her head just in time to see Li Yunxiao looking at her with a smile in his eyes. It was the kind of look a teacher might give their student, which instantly sparked anger in her heart. She sneered, "Don't think that learning a bit of obscure knowledge means you can skip class. I'll ask you one more question. If you get it right, you can skip my classes in the future and pass with full marks. But if you get it wrong... hmph! You'll spend three hours in the tenfold gravity chamber!"
"Zzz!~"
"Three hours? Tenfold gravity chamber? Too harsh!"
"Haha, didn't you notice that Miss Luo's mood has been bad all day? This kid just happened to catch the brunt of it."
"Heh, he deserves it. Look at his face, I just want to step on him!"
"Wow, did you hear that? The question is way too hard! Everyone knows you need to add Heavenly Crystal Sand when refining Xuan weapons, who cares why?"
"Yeah, it's like asking why one plus one equals two. Haha, looks like the teacher wants to make an example out of Li Yunxiao!"
"Three hours in the tenfold gravity chamber?"
Li Yunxiao sighed and shook his head slightly. If it were before, even a thousandfold gravity would have felt nothing to him. But now, in this body, tenfold gravity would indeed be quite challenging.
His helpless expression was immediately interpreted by Luo Yunshang as fear. The admiration she had just felt vanished, and she looked down on him once more, thinking to herself that a martial refining failure was still a martial refining failure. Nothing had changed.
However, as soon as the question left her mouth, she regretted it. She felt a twinge of guilt for teasing a student like this. After all, he had just answered a basic question quite excellently, showing a side of himself that was far more diligent than before. Had she perhaps damaged his confidence and self-esteem? Would she be strangling the budding flower that was about to bloom?
As her mind spiraled in uncertainty, Li Yunxiao answered without hesitation.
"Actually, it's not necessary to add Heavenly Crystal Sand when refining Xuan weapons. However, for ordinary refining masters, it's difficult to control the balance between the materials during the refinement process, so they use the neutralizing property of Heavenly Crystal Sand to aid in the fusion."
After he finished speaking, an eerie silence filled the room. All the students exchanged puzzled looks, as they couldn't understand a word of what Li Yunxiao had just said.