Chapter 717

"Master, you are joking."

Sha Lifei rubbed his bald head, his mouth stretching almost to the back of his head, "I know my own capabilities; as for ancestors or whatever, I never thought about that."

He was polite in words, but his heart was already blooming with joy.

The ancestor of a sect—this was not a simple title.

To give a simple example, the Ten Great Masters of the Shenzhou were not only a title for their martial arts realm, but their status also had a great bonus.

Most of them were the sect leaders of a certain school.

The youngest, Wan Shengying, being able to rank among them, was largely due to him being the founder of the Wan Sheng Fist.

Sha Lifei knew his own affairs; although he was lucky enough to awaken his supernatural powers in middle age and stepped into the Dark Jin, being able to borrow the power of firearms to not become a burden to the team was already his limit.

He had never even thought about being a master or whatever.

If he could really create a school and leave his name in history, this life would not have been lived in vain.

"Hiss!"

The temper of the master craftsman Zhao Huogong could not be considered good, and upon seeing this, he gave a cold laugh: "A coward, if you only have this much spirit, even if I build a divine artifact for you, you won't be able to use it."

"Senior, your lesson is correct!"

Sha Lifei was not thin-skinned, and immediately patted his chest until it thundered, "Don't worry, if this treasure is really built, I, Old Sha, will do it even if I have to risk my life, and I will never disgrace the two of you!"

"That's more like it..."

Zhao Huogong nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully: "Since we are going to do it, we must do it the best."

"The Frankish craftsman I followed back then was insane, his style of doing things was unrestrained, and he had many strange designs. I scoffed at them back then, but now I have a different idea."

"What idea?" Sha Lifei asked curiously.

"This also comes because of you."

Zhao Huogong sighed, then picked up the gun Sha Lifei had placed on the table.

With two clicks, he removed the rear magazine, and looking at this magazine, his eyes were somewhat complex, "That craftsman said back then that wrapping bullets and gunpowder in paper was easy to break and get damp; if it were made with iron, and the shell were ejected after firing, it would increase speed."

"It's a pity that I couldn't even afford to eat back then, and such expensive iron, plus the need for precision craftsmanship, how could it be discarded at will? Therefore, I felt this method was unworkable, but now it is very different, and after seeing your firearm, this idea has surfaced in my mind again..."

This old man was in a bad mood and remembered the things from back then.

He didn't learn his craft through a proper apprenticeship back then, but was abducted by pirates and sold as a slave to that Frankish craftsman, being beaten and scolded all day long. Fortunately, he was clever and could help with work, so he saved his life.

Later, he learned the craft, killed the Frankish craftsman, and boarded a ship of a Shenzhou merchant to return.

That dark period was still a nightmare when recalled to this day.

Sha Lifei naturally didn't know and was somewhat surprised: "I also thought about wrapping it in an iron shell, but I was afraid the iron wouldn't hold up."

Zhao Huogong restrained his emotions and laughed, "Don't underestimate the Qiankun Academy. If it were in the past, I wouldn't dare to think about it, but here, many experts are gathered, and with Little Brother Zhou here, what is there to worry about?"

Zhou Baishian, who was sitting opposite him, was not good with words, but still nodded: "It can be tried."

"In that case, I will trouble the two of you!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Lifei was overjoyed and stood up to bow respectfully.

This Zhou Baishian was no ordinary person; he was a hereditary gunpowder craftsman from Yichun, Ganzhou, who improved the air-drying method for gunpowder, and at a young age, he had already left his name in the "Records of Military Preparation," and was currently responsible for improving new gunpowder for the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Others couldn't do it, but with this person joining, the hope was definitely not small...

…………

In the following days, Li Yan and the others settled down in the Qiankun Academy.

The academy had not yet started classes, and the large place was somewhat deserted, but they had lived a few days of peace.

They lived in a small courtyard provided by the academy, which couldn't be considered luxurious, but it was absolutely clean and tidy. If they weren't carrying heavy artifacts and didn't want to be disturbed, the academy would have provided servants to take care of their daily lives.

Their food was uniformly supplied by the academy's dining hall; although it would mainly serve students and craftsmen in the future, they opened a special kitchen for these special "guest ministers," and the ingredients were mostly taken from the academy's own medicinal gardens and herb gardens, and occasionally there would be medicinal meals to nourish qi and blood.

Most of the time, they accompanied the craftsmen they had chosen to refine artifacts.

The remaining time was spent wandering around, getting familiar with the academy's instructors, and learning some techniques.

For example, Wang Daoxuan obtained several healing prescriptions from Ge Pusheng, and also got some spiritual herbs, following him to open a furnace to refine pills, and made some hemostatic powder and upright-guarding pills with extraordinary effects...

And Long Yan'er, who was originally in the Herb Hall, but since getting to know the Imperial Observatory Supervisor Bai Chenshan and discovering the insect fossils in his hands, she became curious about these ancient insects and followed Bai Chenshan to learn...

Zhao Donkey and his wife officially became instructors at the academy, participating in the Shenzhou Earth Vein Mapping Project.

In short, everyone lived a very fulfilling life.

A few days of leisurely life almost made them forget the various chaos in the capital...

…………

Inside the Hundred Crafts Building, many people held their breath, surrounding Li Yan ten meters away.

Li Yan slowly pinched an incantation, staring fixedly at his left arm.

Zzz~

As he performed the Northern Bei Bei Di Yin Lei Palm, the arm guard suddenly flashed with thunder light.

"It succeeded!"

An embroiderer exclaimed in a low voice, her eyes full of excitement.

Even on Li Yan's face, a smile appeared.

The current arm guard "Thousand Thoughts" had been re-refined.

The embroidery master "Wan Baiqiao," using her own unique "Kesi Thunder Pattern" method, embroidered metal wires made of spiritual iron into the arm guard using latitude and longitude lines, completing the original flaws, strengthening the arm guard's power, and making it more likely to nurture spiritual charm.

The most critical point was that this arm guard could enhance thunder techniques.

Ordinary thunder techniques needed to be released once performed, but with this treasure, it could be stored, making the thunder continuous.

Clang!

Li Yan pulled out the Dust-Breaking Blade and slowly drew it across the left arm guard.

Crackle, the blade was also stained with a layer of thunder light.

The Dust-Breaking Blade had been re-refined on Mount Shu, adding dragon horns; to fully release its power, it had to be stimulated by thunder techniques, and cooperating with the arm guard "Thousand Thoughts" could be said to complement each other perfectly.

"Congratulations, Li Li Shaoxia Li!"

"Once this treasure is out, all evil spirits must avoid it!"

Everyone was congratulating him, only the middle-aged woman "Wan Baiqiao" remained serious, "Alright, the Yin Thunder can be withstood, let's try the Yang Thunder method."

Li Yan nodded, put away the "Northern Bei Bei Di Yin Lei Palm," pinched the incantation again, and performed the "Heavenly Thunder Demon-Subduing Hammer."

This was a secret technique from the Heavenly Court's Thunder Mansion, and its power naturally went without saying.

Compared to the Yin Thunder, it appeared even more violent.

Crackle!

As soon as it was performed, thunder light flashed on the arm guard, and even white sparks appeared.

Thunder fire!

Upon seeing this, Li Yan was not happy but shocked.

Feeling the powerful force continuously accumulating on the arm guard, he didn't say a word and slapped it on the ground.

Boom!

With a roar, gravel and dust splashed everywhere.

When the dust settled, everyone's eyes were wide open.

Seeing the ground paved with bluestone, a bowl-shaped pit with a diameter of five meters had appeared, becoming a complete mess.

Likewise, the power of the "Heavenly Thunder Demon-Subduing Hammer" had also increased significantly.

But Li Yan's expression was ugly as he looked at the arm guard.

He saw that where the latitude and longitude lines intersected, a large number of metal wires had broken, becoming fuzzy and rough.

"Sure enough, it doesn't work."

"Wan Baiqiao" sighed and shook her head: "The rare point of this arm guard is that it is interwoven with latitude and longitude lines, balancing the Gang and Sha Qi, but the Li Li Shaoxia's thunder technique is too strong, and the wires I used simply cannot withstand it."

Tao Fengchun, the Mohist craftsman master who was watching the fun on the side, also shook his head: "The flagpole you used for that flag, ordinary spiritual materials, also cannot withstand it. I have searched the Qiankun Academy's warehouse, and there are no suitable materials."

Li Yan frowned and pondered, handed the damaged arm guard to "Wan Baiqiao," and bowed: "I will find a way for the materials, I will trouble the two seniors."

"Don't worry."

Tao Fengchun waved his hand, "The Mohist leader has already given instructions, I will definitely take it to heart. As long as we find suitable materials, the two of us will start work immediately, and it can be completed within seven days!"

……

Bidding farewell to the two and coming out of the Hundred Crafts Building, Li Yan felt a headache.

Some things were still beyond his expectations.

To support the Qiankun Academy, the imperial court had indeed allocated many spiritual treasures.

But to put it bluntly, it was just start-up capital, using this as a basis for trade, and after the Qiankun Academy gradually got on the right track, they would collect from all directions through various means to strengthen the academy's warehouse.

Neither the imperial court nor the royal family would hand over the truly good things.

Like the "Fierce Spirit Stone" he obtained before, it was because no one looked down on it that he was able to get his hands on it.