The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 149 Mediocrity
This first step of the shaping process alone took Suninglong an entire night.

She focused intently on guiding the energy within the furnace; there was only one set of materials, and she dared not slack off in the slightest.

The next morning, Su Ninglong circulated her spiritual energy to complete a full cycle and then hurried off to class.

After resting, she felt refreshed, but as she had gotten used to sleeping at night, a sense of drowsiness involuntarily welled up in the depths of her soul.

To make matters worse, the first lesson happened to be Navier's math class.

She had already learned the content being taught, and the dry, repetitive knowledge points were like a lullaby. She forced her heavy eyelids open, her consciousness struggling on the edge of clarity and confusion, almost snoring with sleepiness.

"Little Su, where did you go last night?" Seeing her like this, Song Liu mischievously handed her a mint.

Su Ninglong subconsciously took it, unwrapped the packaging, and put it in her mouth.

The moment the sugar granules touched my tongue, a powerful, refreshing sensation exploded. I instinctively took a deep breath, and the coolness filled my entire mouth and nasal cavity, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head.

This candy was so strong it was practically ruining her taste buds and sense of smell. Su Ninglong jolted and spat it out.

Sally frowned and scolded, "Song Liu, you're too mean. You're obviously teasing Ning Long on purpose."

"No, I just love eating this kind of candy... I eat one whenever I want to perk myself up, I'm not lying to you." Song Liu tried to explain, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across Sally's face, just in time to catch her smirking lips, and he instantly realized that she was the one who was deliberately teasing him.

"Get lost." Song Liu growled irritably. "If you laugh again, don't even think about sparring with me again."

"You guys are...fighting each other?" Although Su Ninglong's gaze was focused on the podium, she leaned slightly towards them, lowered her voice, and gossiped about why they needed to fight each other.

"After leaving childhood, we will all enter a combat training mode. In the Star Alliance, every teenager must learn martial arts to protect themselves. Without sufficient combat skills as a foundation, they will not be able to support themselves when they go out to carry out missions in the future."

Su Ninglong nodded in understanding. Cultivators also need to engage in practical combat training in the early stages of their training, and there will also be arena matches.

The strength of one's body is related to whether one can withstand the tempering of heavenly lightning in the future.

"So..." Su Ninglong asked with interest, "Which of you two is more capable?"

"I."

"Of course it is me."

The two spoke in unison, pointing to themselves, their expressions filled with unquestionable confidence.

Sally scoffed: "You lost six out of ten practice matches yesterday."

Song Liu argued back, "That's because I just finished physical conditioning training and used up a lot of energy, so I'm not in good shape."

The two lowered their voices and argued endlessly over a trivial matter of face until get out of class ended. They then turned to Su Ninglong, their eyes burning with desire, and asked, "Tell me, who is better between us?"

"The answer is obvious, it's a battle of weaklings." Su Ninglong raised an eyebrow and tossed out a sarcastic remark. She casually slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked briskly out of the school building. Just as she stepped out of the classroom, she bumped into Little Phoebe rushing out of the next classroom.

Little Phoebe was casually dangling something that looked like an 'e-cigarette' in her mouth. It was actually just a candy shaped like an e-cigarette, which could simulate smoke after being licked and exhaled from the mouth.

His guide was earnestly advising him, "Phoebe, let's not imitate those street thugs... You're a member of the Star Alliance, you need to cultivate the demeanor of an upright person."

Unfortunately, the advice was like a gentle breeze passing by her ears; little Phoebe didn't listen at all.

He caught a glimpse of Su Ninglong out of the corner of his eye, his face turning frighteningly gloomy.

"You gossip!" Little Phoebe ripped the candy out of her mouth, her voice filled with obvious hatred. "It must have been you who did this, preventing me from getting into the outer courtyard. It was you, wasn't it?"

When kindergarten class ended, there were always many guides following them, and everyone turned around to look at the person who had been called a gossip by Phoebe.

Phoebe's guide also turned back, thinking that "gossip" referred to an ordinary-looking girl who liked to meddle in other people's business.

What I saw instead was a cute girl who looked well-behaved, quiet, and didn't react at all.

The person leading the way felt a wave of dizziness wash over them as their own child started verbally abusing an innocent child.

Although she was only in her early twenties, she had a kind of bitterness that life had worn down her, making her look more than ten years older.

Su Ninglong glanced at the guide with pity, thinking to herself that giving up on this hot potato as soon as possible was the real way to get rid of it, and Ge Wei's choice back then was the wisest thing to do.

Faced with Phoebe's provocation, Su Ninglong didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, only a cold smile on her lips as she brushed past him without looking at him.

Spoiled by his parents and unaware of his own limitations, Phoebe was so ignored in front of everyone that anger overwhelmed his reason.

He clenched his fist, roared, and charged at Su Ninglong with a punch, ignoring everything else.

In his prejudiced mind, how could a man, with his innate physical advantage, possibly lose to a frail girl?

The reason Su Ninglong was able to win first place in PE class must be because the teacher didn't arrange for the two sides to compete against each other; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to win.

He had clearly forgotten, or simply refused to think, that the general physical superiority of men after adulthood was only the rule for ordinary people, not for the world of spiritual beings.

Just as the powerful punch was about to hit Su Ninglong's face, her eyes didn't waver for a second. She casually raised her hand and precisely caught Little Phoebe's fist.

The movements were so fast that the details were not visible. She twisted her wrist, used the force to pull, and then pushed outward.

"Bang!" Xiao Fei was like a piece of trash, pushed away by a tremendous force.

After tracing a short arc in the air, he fell awkwardly onto the lawn two meters away.

Su Ninglong's series of movements were fluid and graceful, without the slightest hesitation. Her effortless and elegant demeanor captivated the children watching.

Charlie and his classmates' eyes shone with admiration.

They used to find Xiao Feibi's cool pose with a cigarette quite appealing, but compared to Su Ninglong, Xiao Feibi looked terrible.

Su Ninglong slowly patted off non-existent dust, deliberately raising her voice to a sweet, almost affected tone, and sarcastically said to Xiao Feibi, "You're such a pretentious bitch. I don't even want to talk to you, but you insist on asking for a beating. Whose fault is that?"

She used a nonchalant approach to prove the undeniable truth: you, Little Phoebe, and I, Su Ninglong, are simply not on the same level.

No matter how much he resists or is unwilling to admit it.

Little Phoebe rolled around on the grass twice, overwhelmed by immense humiliation, and burst into tears. She yelled at the guide who was practically dead on the spot, "Quick, quick, get me the school doctor, call the Star Police! I want a medical examination, I want to sue her! She crippled me!"

His tantrums and attempts to extort money were exactly what he had learned from his father, who was an expert in this area.

“I know exactly how much I should hurt you.” The dry howling of pain was hardly enough to stir anyone’s nerves. Su Ninglong mocked, “You’ve only scraped your knee at most. If you insist on pretending to be seriously injured, then go ahead and put on a show.”

After saying that, Su Ninglong said to the stunned little classmate, "Listen carefully, in the future, when you're looking for someone to play with or partner with, never choose someone like him. He's too weak, too frail. If you touch him even slightly, he might break a bone. Not only will you embarrass yourself, but you'll also needlessly drag your partner into trouble. How awful!"

These words are like striking a snake precisely at its vital spot.

Phoebe's wailing to gain sympathy stopped abruptly. His greatest fear was being seen as weak by his classmates, especially in an environment where his parents were not always there to protect him.

Ge Wei left, and the young mentor beside him grew increasingly impatient with him.

He subconsciously understood that if he lost his classmates' "fear" or "approval," his situation would be even worse.

With her survival instincts kicking in, Phoebe stopped arguing with Su Ninglong and chose to end the "battle" quickly by remaining silent.

Su Ninglong walked away with a smile, but Little Phoebe still refused to get up. He had worked so hard and had already gained superpowers, so why should he have to put up with Su Ninglong's temper?

The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. A surge of resentment welled up in his heart. It must be because the school was unwilling to invest in him and refused to focus on cultivating him that he was overshadowed by Su Ninglong.

It's all the school's fault for being biased.

The young guide suppressed his frustration and breakdown, striving to maintain his last shred of professionalism, and bent down to try and pull him up.

"Alright, stop lying there, let's go to the medical room first."

Little Phoebe shook off his hand and scrambled to her feet. "Why go to the infirmary? You don't want me to have a good time, do you? Going there would be admitting that I was injured by that old hag Su, right? Why should she get the limelight?"

He would rather endure the pain in his knee than lose face again.

Hearing Phoebe's accusations that twisted the truth, the guide felt a tightness in his chest. He turned and strode away, not wanting to look at the unreasonable child behind him any longer.

He cursed inwardly: "You've lost everything, what face do you have left? That's typical rogue logic."

No wonder experienced seniors decisively gave up on him; I shouldn't have gotten involved in the case in the first place.

If he could endure it for a while longer, he would resign and raise a sensible child again. This kind of behavior is really shortening his lifespan.

……

Sally glanced back and said, "That kid has been going up against you for so long, and he hasn't learned a thing. He must have something wrong with his head. Look at Zhou Yu, he's deliberately avoiding you and Charlie now. Only Phoebe still wants to go head-to-head with you."

Su Ninglong remained noncommittal; in her view, Xiao Feibi's motivation was actually quite simple.

He just wanted to replicate the sense of presence he felt with his parents, but this wasn't his home.

The Star Alliance is full of hidden talents; his abilities are too mediocre, not even comparable to Charlie, who is at the bottom of the class.

Speaking of Charlie, although his starting point was ridiculously low, his "badness" was also spectacular and well-known.

Now, he is studying with great effort and making rapid progress. Every leap he makes attracts attention and naturally stands out.

Phoebe, however, is in the most awkward situation.

Compared to those above, they are left far behind by geniuses like Su Ninglong;
Compared to those below them, they can't suppress the "late bloomers" like Charlie who make rapid progress.

It's stuck in the middle, neither high nor low, becoming the most inconspicuous and easily overlooked one – "not good enough for the best, but not bad enough for the worst."

"Is Zhou Yu Zhou Jiaxi's child?" Song Liu asked, leaning closer.

"Yes, you know him?"

"I wouldn't say I know him, but I do know Zhou Jiaxi's eldest son." Song Liu curled her lip and said with disgust, "He's an illegitimate child. His personality is absolutely the embodiment of selfishness."

When it comes to the eldest son of the Zhou family, Song Liu has a lot to say: "Not only me, but no one in my family likes him. But my aunt and his mother are very close friends, and he takes advantage of this relationship to come to my house every few days, always acting like a master."

Song Liu became increasingly indignant as she spoke: "In the real elite circles outside, he couldn't even get in; everyone looked down on him. And what did he do? He turned around and took it out on our family, bossing us around and ordering us around! It was as if he was born superior to the Song family just because he had Zhou family blood in him. He snatched our toys, pulled my sister's hair... he was absolutely despicable. Fortunately, my Uncle Song is a sensible man. After witnessing his true colors in private, he immediately ordered that Auntie was not allowed to bring him home anymore."

"Your family is very kind," Su Ninglong said sincerely after hearing this.

Being able to distinguish right from wrong and protect one's own children is especially valuable in aristocratic families.

Song Liu nodded proudly. Yes, his family is very good.

Especially after Song Qingnan took over the family, the atmosphere of the entire family became particularly open-minded.

Before my grandparents retired, there were quite a few rules and regulations in the family, and when they were enforced, they seemed particularly rigid and inhumane.

As soon as Song Qingnan took office, he ruthlessly dismissed some idiots who had set the "rules," all of whom were old men from the great-grandfather's generation with rigid thinking.

Grandma and Grandpa will remember their kindness.

Unlike Song Qingnan, who awakened her supernatural abilities at a young age, she had been traveling with other spiritual practitioners since childhood and had no feelings for her great-grandfather and his ilk. The dismissal process was very decisive, and neither her grandparents could interfere.

Su Ninglong found it fascinating to hear Song Liu recount the Song family's past. Song Qingnan was truly a leader with great personal charisma. He allowed himself to have flaws and was more down-to-earth, rather than being aloof and bossy. Children and adults alike would naturally like such a person.

After school, Su Ninglong once again sent Qirui to the workshop, where the successfully shaped material, resembling a jade basin, was suspended above the furnace.

Su Ninglong beckoned with her finger, and the magic weapon, which was already taking shape, slowly floated into her hand.

After examining it, she found the second part of her shaping magic weapon.

The energy meter spun wildly again. When Su Ninglong left, she looked at the consumption and felt a pang of heartache. This item must be charged for when it is lent out; it's an extremely energy-intensive device.

After working non-stop for more than half a month, Su Ninglong took some time to go into the simulator with Lei Qingya.

After a major purge, the combat quality of the simulator's web hunters has significantly improved, and the scores in the rankings are very close, demonstrating just how intense the competition is.

Su Ninglong didn't do a live stream; her main purpose this time was to see Lei Qingya's learning progress.