Lord of the Rending Stars

The Chaos Venerable laughed, "Void metal is powerful. Since Qingyang belongs to the Virtual Universe Company, I naturally won't treat it unfairly. Furthermore, regarding the art of weapon crafting..."

The Chaos Venerable turned his gaze to the ever-smiling Venerable Peng Gong, whose tone was kind yet carried an undeniable authority. "Qingyang, I've heard you also possess talent in weapon crafting, with a keen perception of energy structures and law runes. Since joining, you haven't undertaken any weapon crafting tasks. Could you perhaps join my 'Star Forging Pavilion'? I'm currently lacking a deputy pavilion master."

"Crafting artifacts is no trivial matter; it is about using matter to interpret laws and using artifacts to carry the Great Dao. It will greatly benefit your understanding of the essence of laws, your management of your own power, and even your future exploration and fusion with laws. I see that your You Tian Kunpeng clone has a huge divine body. If you can personally craft a treasure to fit yourself and unleash its power, You Tian Kunpeng's strength will surely reach a new level."

It should be known that Venerable Peng Gong and Venerable Gu Shen are the leading figures in the human race's weapon crafting art. For Qingyang to receive personal guidance from them is something that countless weapon crafters dream of.

Upon receiving affirmation from Venerable Peng, Qingyang felt a surge of warmth in his heart. "It is my good fortune to be able to study at the Star Forging Pavilion. I will certainly devote myself to my studies and live up to the expectations of my teacher and Venerable Peng."

"Good, good, good," the Ancient God Venerable smiled, his eyes narrowing, clearly very satisfied with Qingyang's reaction.

The other Venerable Ones also presented congratulatory gifts, some containing cultivation insights, others rare materials, and still others tokens from secret realms. The celebratory banquet was a joyous occasion for both host and guests. As the banquet concluded, the Venerable Ones and their immortal friends departed one after another.

Only the Ancient God Venerable and Qingyang remained in the hall. "Disciple," the Ancient God Venerable said slowly, "that Venerable Peng's skill in weapon crafting is no less than mine. Weapon crafting is also a form of cultivation, especially effective for you to clarify your own complex power and solidify your foundation. After you have stabilized in the Star Forging Pavilion, you can begin to try to take on Immortal-level or even Universe Venerable-level missions from the Virtual Universe Company and truly step into the universe for training."

"Disciple understands," Qingyang nodded in response. "Disciple will wait until I have mastered the art of weapon crafting and have a thorough grasp of divine power before venturing out to hone my skills."

"Yes, go. Now that your divine kingdom is established, you have a foundation. It is appropriate for your avatar to guard it while your main body focuses on research."

After leaving the residence of the Ancient God Venerable, Qingyang's human form did not go directly to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company. Instead, he connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe and, following the coordinates given by Venerable Peng Gong, arrived at the core stronghold of the Virtual Universe Company's weapon-refining lineage, the "Star Forging Pavilion".

It was a vast continent suspended in the endless starry sky. Instead of the pavilions and towers one might imagine, there were towering mountains standing tall. On the mountains were furnaces of various shapes and sizes. Some spewed starfire, some were surrounded by ripples of time, and some faintly emitted the roar of colliding laws.

In the center of the continent, a simple and unadorned bronze hall stood quietly. The two characters "Forging Stars" on the plaque seemed to depict the birth and death of countless stars and the evolution of artifacts. Qingyang took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and stepped into the bronze hall.

Inside the bronze hall, there was none of the expected splendor. In the center of the hall, on a simple blue stone cushion, Venerable Peng Gong sat cross-legged. He was examining a palm-sized, jet-black piece of raw metal ore with natural patterns on its surface. As his fingers lightly stroked it, strands of extremely pure fire magic seeped into the ore like threads, outlining the light and shadow of the mineral's crystalline structure on a microscopic scale.

"You've arrived?" Venerable Peng Gong didn't look up, his voice as kind as ever. Qingyang stood a zhang away, not daring to disturb him. Only after Venerable Peng Gong put down the ore did Qingyang bow and greet him: "Qingyang greets Venerable Peng Gong."

"No need for formalities. Now that you've entered the Star Forging Pavilion, address me as a weapon refiner," Venerable Peng raised his eyes and looked at him with a smile. "That old fellow, the Ancient God, is quite talented in weapon refining. Since you've received his guidance, you should have a solid foundation. Come, let's see your skills first."

With a casual gesture, a light screen floated in the air above the main hall, densely displaying the rules and responsibilities of the Star Forging Pavilion.

Qingyang focused his gaze on the direction pointed out by Venerable Peng Gong. A Class C weapon refiner can undertake the task of refining standard weapons of Class F9 and below, with a ten-year quota of at least thirty good-quality products; they can also undertake technical research tasks of Class G and below.

A Class B weapon refiner can undertake the refining of G1 to G9 level King-level Immortal weapons, with a ten-year quota of ten superior-quality items or equivalent contributions; they can participate in the collaborative refining of ordinary-level treasure components; they must pass the "Star Forging Trial" to be promoted.

A Grade A weapon refiner can independently refine ordinary-grade heavy treasures, but requires the support of a Universe Venerable level understanding of the laws. The "Star Forging Trial" for advancing from Grade B to Grade A normally takes about five thousand to ten thousand years. The core of the trial is to independently refine an ordinary heavy treasure weapon, which must be jointly evaluated and approved by Venerable Peng Gong, Venerable Tian Gong, and Venerable Ran Xing within the Pavilion before it is considered passed.

Five thousand years, Qingyang silently memorized this number. For an ordinary immortal, five thousand years is just one period of seclusion, but for him, five thousand years is enough for him to solidify his mastery of weapon crafting to the bone, and also enough for him to cultivate and master the divine power of the Youtian Kunpeng clone to perfection.

"Have you seen it clearly?" Venerable Peng asked. "Although you have received personal instruction from that ancient god, in the Star Forging Pavilion, everything is determined by the artifacts you possess. From today onwards, you are a Grade C weapon refiner. The workshop on the seventh peak of the Grade C area is yours to use, with an annual salary of 10,000 Hunyuan. You can choose your own tasks, but you must complete the assigned tasks."

"Qingyang understands," Qingyang replied. "Then go collect your workshop token and familiarize yourself with the furnace and material warehouse," Venerable Peng waved his hand, then picked up the ore again. "Three months from now, I want to see the three F9-grade weapons you've forged. No need for superior quality, just good quality will suffice. Go!"

Qingyang took his leave and departed the Bronze Hall. The Seventh Peak Workshop in the Bingzi District was an independent mountain suspended on the edge of a continuous mountain range, its interior hollowed out and extended into a space spanning tens of thousands of kilometers. In the center of this space stood a dark red furnace, about a hundred feet tall, its flames flickering and even causing subtle ripples to appear in the space itself.

This is the "Crimson Flame Furnace," a G9-grade forging furnace, suitable for refining 99% of weapons below G grade. Qingyang did not rush to open the furnace. He spent three days thoroughly exploring all the equipment, material reserves, and energy circuits in the workshop.

Subsequently, his consciousness sank into the divine realm, where he shared the consciousness of the You Tian Kunpeng clone and the Shi Ying Beast's true form, and they began to work together to deduce the outcome.

The Kunpeng clone began to deduce the secret pattern structure of the lightning-attribute weapon. With its control over the laws of lightning, it was naturally able to perceive the "optimal path".

The Time Shadow Beast began to deduce the rhythm of energy flow within the artifact, and with its sensitivity to the laws of time and space, it grasped the process with exquisite precision.

The tacit cooperation of the three avatars over hundreds of years has now transformed into their talent for weapon crafting, bursting forth.