The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

She has already started feeding the first batch of raw materials into the furnace.

Flames licked the metal, and the temperature rose precisely under her spiritual control.

Yang Wanqing squatted beside the furnace, controlling the fire with one hand and flipping through the remaining materials on the shelf with the other, already conceiving the second process.

Her technique was quick and steady. Every movement was fluid and instinctive... not based on thought, but on feel.

Like an old blacksmith who has been working for thirty years, he can forge a good knife even with his eyes closed.

But she was only in her late twenties. She had been learning weapon crafting for less than a month.

Talent is sometimes just that irrational.

The first batch of raw materials in the furnace has already turned into a liquid.

Yang Wanqing picked up the pliers and poured the molten metal into the mold. At the same time, her right hand had already picked up the carving knife...

Before the molten metal solidified, she directly engraved the first spiritual energy pattern on it.

The blade enters the material. The precision error is within millimeters.

Smoke rose. A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, but her hands did not tremble at all.

The second cut. The third cut. The fourth cut.

Four spiritual energy patterns unfold in a fan shape, radiating outwards from the central axis of the object.

"That's about it."

She put down her carving knife and began working on the second layer of structure.

Meanwhile, in Xiao Yuanfeng's room.

He finally finished selecting the materials and prepared to start the fire.

Place your hand on the furnace and unleash your spiritual energy.

The flames shot up...it was too intense.

He quickly withdrew half of his spiritual power. The flames shrank, but unevenly, larger on the left and smaller on the right.

He made another adjustment.

After finally stabilizing the flames, he threw in the first metal ingot.

Five minutes later, the surface of the metal ingot began to soften.

He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to proceed to the next step—

The surrounding environment suddenly changed.

The stone wall vanished. The furnace vanished. The pliers in his hand vanished.

He stood on an open field.

Above us was a crystal starry sky. Under our feet were bluestone slabs.

In front of me is that stone tablet.

Xiao Yuanfeng was stunned for three seconds before realizing—someone had already passed the test. The test was over. Everyone was forcibly teleported back to the starting position.

impossible.

He had just lit the fire. The first metal ingot had only just begun to soften. From the moment he entered the room until now, no more than fifteen minutes had passed.

Fifteen minutes?

Who can forge a finished product in fifteen minutes?

Xiao Yuanfeng looked around. Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang all had the same expression as him—completely bewildered.

Chen Siyao stood beside the stone tablet, a slight smile playing on her lips. Qin Xiaoyu crossed her arms, her expression indifferent. Ying Wenjie, Ye Chendong, and Wu Tian huddled together, all three looking in the same direction.

Xiao Yuanfeng followed their gaze.

Directly in front of the stone monument.

Yang Wanqing stood there, holding something in his hand.

A crack appeared in the middle of the stone tablet. The crack widened, and the tablet split in two, slowly opening to both sides like a large door.

Something flew out of the door.

A beam of bluish-white light shot out from inside the stone tablet, leaving a long trail as it drew an arc in the air before landing directly in front of Yang Wanqing.

The light dissipated.

A halberd hovered steadily half a meter in front of her.

The halberd is entirely dark silver, with fine lightning patterns wrapped around the blade, and faint arcs of electricity visible to the naked eye jumping between the patterns.

A purple crystal the size of a fingernail was embedded at the end of the halberd shaft, with wispy lightning flowing inside.

The Heavenly Thunder Halberd.

A magical artifact personally crafted by Jili.

Yang Wanqing reached out and grasped the halberd shaft. The moment her fingers touched it, purple arcs of electricity spread from the halberd to the back of her hand, flickering across her skin without causing any harm.

The magical artifact has recognized its master.

Yang Wanqing's mouth stretched to his ears.

"Hahahaha!"

She held up the Heavenly Thunder Halberd, spun around in place, and laughed like a fool who had won five million.

"Weapon forging! It's still quite useful, isn't it!"

She grabbed Qin Xiaoyu's shoulder... "Ever since we arrived on the island, you and Yaoyao have been breaking formations, breaking formations, breaking formations, while I've been standing there like a useless piece of trash, unable to help. I even thought I'd chosen the wrong path!"

Qin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes as she was being squeezed: "Whatever makes you happy, Senior Sister."

Yang Wanqing was even happier and hugged her even tighter.

"In the end—it all comes down to me!"

Qin Xiaoyu forcefully pried her hand away: "Senior Sister, are you going to use me as material for refining weapons?"

Xie Jie and Wu Tian laughed beside them. Ye Chendong's lips twitched a few times as well.

Chen Siyao stood aside, watching Yang Wanqing jumping around, and sighed softly.

This child is good in every way, except that he loses all composure when he's happy.

but...

The Heavenly Thunder Halberd truly deserved its name once it came into Yang Wanqing's hands.

In the live stream, 60 million viewers have gone crazy.

[A magical artifact!!! It really is a magical artifact!!!]

[Thunderous power! Holy crap, that arc of electricity was so cool!]

[This girl finished the game in fifteen minutes?! Everyone else hadn't even started before she was done?!]

What exactly is this "talent for weapon crafting" concept? Can someone knowledgeable explain it to me?

Invincible! Invincible! Invincible!

I hereby declare Yang Wanqing my new crush.

I used to think Qin Xiaoyu was the strongest, but now... everyone's strong, everyone's strong.

Xiao Yuanfeng stood there, watching Yang Wanqing frolicking around with a halberd, speechless for a long time.

Fifteen minutes.

He hadn't even finished melting the first metal ingot. Meanwhile, others had already completed the forging, cleared the level, and obtained the magical artifact.

We can't beat formations. We can't beat combat. We can't beat weapon crafting... even less of a match.

A complete and utter crushing defeat. A crushing defeat without any blind spots.

Xu Yunda walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and didn't say anything.

Some things don't need to be said. The force of that pat on the shoulder said it all.

Admit it.

After the stone tablet is fully opened, there is a wide passageway behind it.

At the end of the passageway stands a ten-meter-high stone gate.

Two dragons are carved on either side of the stone gate, coiling and intertwining, their heads facing each other at the top of the gate. The scales on the dragons' bodies are carved with extreme detail, each scale the size of a fingernail, layered upon each other.

The door was unlocked.

Qin Xiaoyu pushed the door, and it opened by itself.

main hall.

A vast and awe-inspiring hall. The dome is about thirty meters high, supported by four stone pillars in the corners, each so thick that it would take five or six people to encircle it.

There were no statues. No altars. No decorations typical of temples.

There is only one stone platform in the very center.

On the stone platform were several items: a scroll of bamboo slips, three jade talismans, and a wooden box.

And on the wall behind the stone platform, there is a whole page of text carved on it.

Chen Siyao walked to the stone platform, glanced at the items, and didn't touch them. She then turned to look at the writing on the wall.

The camera in the live stream followed that direction.

The text was quite long, and it took Chen Siyao almost five minutes to read it all.

"This is Gilly's autobiography," she began. "He recorded his identity and experiences."

As she read, she translated: "'My name is Ji Li. I am a disciple of the Tongtian Sect Master and entered Biyou Palace as an inner disciple. My rank is not prominent; I am merely a mediocre disciple among my fellow disciples.'"

Qin Xiaoyu walked over to her and was also looking at those words.