Chapter 79: Second Uncle, how can you be so stupid?

Under Ye Xiuxiu's meticulous guidance,

Ye Qingming unreservedly embarked on the second attempt to forge a palm-sized round shield capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Nascent Soul Stage perfected expert.

Initially, every step proceeded unusually smoothly,

Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly along the expected track.

However, upon formally entering the refining stage,

that familiar sense of difficulty surged upon Ye Qingming once again.

Just then, Ye Xiuxiu spoke up in time:

Increase the output of spiritual energy, but simultaneously reduce the input of mental power, allowing it to naturally form a rough shape before applying precise control.

Hearing these words, Ye Qingming acted accordingly,

This time, he clearly felt that his operation was much easier than before.

Seeing that the entire refining process had progressed to about five percent,

Suddenly,

Only a deep, muffled boom came from inside the Refining Great Cauldron—'Bang!'

The previously orderly materials instantly lost control,

violently exploded, turning into a heap of useless scrap.

Faced with this sudden mishap,

Ye Qingming looked at Ye Xiuxiu, somewhat at a loss,

Before he could even open his mouth to explain,

he was drowned out by Ye Xiuxiu's rapid-fire barrage of reprimands.

Second Uncle!

Ye Xiuxiu said with a face of exasperated disappointment,

How can you be so dull? Even such a simple step can go wrong?

I've personally taught you hand over hand—haven't you grasped anything? After spending so much time studying the art of refining, where has all that learning gone?

Being scolded by his niece like this,

Ye Qingming's face instantly showed an embarrassed smile; he scratched his head and said sheepishly:

Oh, don't be angry, Xiuxiu; let's try again—I guarantee success this time!

Having said that, he eagerly prepared to restart the refining process.

Soon, Ye Qingming took a deep breath,

the second refining attempt officially began.

He focused entirely on controlling the fire and materials,

fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.

However, despite his utmost effort,

the result remained unsatisfactory—soon, the second attempt also ended in failure.

Seeing this, Ye Xiuxiu beside him stamped her feet in anger and launched into a tirade without hesitation:

Second Uncle? Is your head filled with paste?

How can you be so stupid!

While scolding,

she poked Ye Qingming's head with her finger,

Where's your brain? Did a dog eat it?

Faced with his niece's reprimand, Ye Qingming could only put on a bitter face,

not daring to retort a single word.

After all, the facts lay before him,

he had indeed failed twice in a row.

Nevertheless, he wasn't discouraged; after a brief adjustment, he began the third refining attempt.

Unfortunately, despite his hopes, the third attempt also failed.

When the fourth refining attempt had not yet begun,

Ye Xiuxiu suddenly thought of something,

she hastily summoned the Jinhua cat,

to inform her mother that she was currently at Second Uncle's place and to tell her mother not to worry.

Ye Qingming continued his refining attempts one after another.

Fourth, fifth, sixth… each failure struck his heart like a heavy hammer,

yet simultaneously ignited a stronger fighting spirit deep within him.

Throughout this process, Ye Xiuxiu's scolding never ceased,

each sharp remark lashed at Ye Qingming like a whip.

But oddly, Ye Qingming this time felt no anger nor desire to talk back.

Because with each attempt,

he clearly felt his refining prowess increasing at an astonishing speed.

Although he had not yet succeeded in forging a complete magical artifact,

this progress was nevertheless evident.

Finally, after enduring nine painful failures,

The tenth refining attempt arrived.

This time, Ye Qingming's technique was noticeably more skilled than before, and he controlled the flame's temperature just right,

Various materials gradually took shape under his skillful fusion.

When the final step was completed,

A palm-sized round shield appeared before everyone.

Although it was merely a defective product,

but for Ye Qingming, this was already a huge breakthrough.

He was so excited his face flushed red, and excitement sparkled in his eyes,

He couldn't help but shout loudly:

"I finally succeeded in refining it!"

Immediately followed by a roar that echoed through the clouds:

"Ahhh!"

Ye Xiuxiu spoke up, cutting off Ye Qingming's excitement,

"No, Second Uncle,

"what are you shouting about, what's there to be happy about,

"this is just a defective product, it can only withstand the damage from a full-power strike of a Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator,

"you wasted such a fine piece of material like this, aren't you heartbroken?"

Ye Qingming's embarrassed smile left him not knowing what to say,

Actually, his original goal was merely to refine this piece of material,

to craft a defensive magic treasure capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a late Golden Core Stage cultivator.

Unexpectedly,

just this defective product already surpassed his goal.

"Sigh,

Ye Xiuxiu had a look of frustrated disappointment.

Ye Qingming truly didn't know what to say,

He quickly changed the subject,

"Xiuxiu, just now you said you wanted to do what,

"you want to become my disciple, right,

"since I see you have such talent, I will..."

The remaining four words reached his lips,

but Ye Qingming could no longer say them,

not knowing how to say them.

Ye Xiuxiu frowned, her vermilion lips slightly parting,

without hesitation she interrupted Ye Qingming's excited, near-losing-control words:

"No, Second Uncle! Please don't get so excited first!"

Her voice was clear and resonant, yet now carried a hint of reproach.

"What are you shouting about? What's there to be so happy about?"

Ye Xiuxiu shook her head, her gaze falling on the object Ye Qingming treasured like a jewel, a flash of disappointment crossing her eyes.

All one saw was her extending a slender jade hand, lightly pointing at that thing,

she continued, "Second Uncle, look, this is clearly a defective product, okay!"

"At most it can only withstand the damage from a full-power strike of a Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator."

Having said that, Ye Xiuxiu paused, seeming dissatisfied with this work.

Then she softly sighed and said, "You just wasted such a precious, rare piece of fine material like this—don't you feel any heartache?"

Facing his niece's questioning,

Ye Qingming couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

He scratched his head, a wry smile appearing on his face,

for a moment he actually didn't know how to answer.

Actually, his original intention was merely to refine this precious material,

and to craft a strong defensive magic treasure capable of resisting a full-power strike from a late Golden Core Stage cultivator.

However, what he never expected was,

even though the final result was merely this so-called 'defective product',

its actual effect actually far surpassed his original goal.

(End of chapter)