Mu Feng bowed deeply, bending over and straightening his body.

When he wasn't wearing underpants, only his master could see him.

He spoke in a gentle tone, "Disciple Mufeng has come to pay respects to Master."

His master was the Dustless Sword Master, a fifth-level Golden Core expert who was promoted to the Elder Council and allowed to take on disciples because he formed his Golden Core within the age of one hundred.

What do you want?

The voice of the Dustless Sword Master was clear and cold, like a thousand-year-old ice.

“Master, I have advanced to the third level of Foundation Establishment, and I have lived up to your teachings.”

"Weren't you still practicing Qi cultivation a month ago? Did you have some kind of extraordinary encounter?"

Upon hearing this, large tears rolled down Mu Feng's cheeks.

"It's Han Lei from the Han family! I kindly brought him into the academy, but when we arrived at Jinyuan City, Han Lei tried to force me to go out into the wilderness with him... Later, I could only stagger away, but who knew, I actually fell into a deep pit, and in that pit, I found a spiritual herb..."

Mu Feng deliberately described the matter in great detail, but seeing that Wu Chen still had that aloof look, he could only finish telling the fabricated story.

Sword Master Wuchen frowned as he listened. Why did his disciple Mufeng always encounter such things?

"I know you are beautiful, but when your cultivation is insufficient, you should avoid going out in the world. I will give you a third-grade magic weapon to protect yourself in critical moments."

The Sword Immortal Wuchen tossed down a sachet, which landed in front of Mufeng.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you may leave."

Mu Feng took the sachet and left the residence of the Dustless Sword Immortal.

He lowered his eyes, his desire growing stronger, and he longed for the Sword Immortal Wuchen even more. He felt that a man like his master was the only one worthy of being called a chosen one of heaven.

The voice of the Dustless Sword Immortal came from behind again:

"By the way, focus on your cultivation. The academy competition will be held in two years. The atmosphere at Langya Academy is not good. I have high hopes for you, so don't let me down."

**

Fairy River Garden.

Refining Peak.

The elder in charge of weapon crafting sat cross-legged on the high platform, speaking eloquently about weapon crafting knowledge.

The knowledge points were concise yet complex, and everyone in the audience listened attentively with furrowed brows.

Song Chen sat upright, listening to the elder's lecture.

The concepts he couldn't understand in the books before were explained one by one, and Song Chen listened with great interest.

This lesson lasted for two days.

Two days later, Song Chen returned to the cave excitedly, his weapon-refining skill was expected to advance!

He sat cross-legged inside the cave, a fire burning in front of him, and two pieces of ore appeared in his hands.

Song Chen loosened his belt, bared his chest, and began refining black iron inside the cave, carrying a large hammer.

Previously, when refining rare ores, one ounce of black iron was produced from every pound of raw ore.

The vast quantity of black iron available now is perfect material for him to practice with.

Muscles bulged, and the hammer swung down with force, producing a clang that sent sparks flying from the ore.

Once, twice, three times.

The continuous sounds of forging echoed from inside the cave.

After countless swings of the hammer, the impurities in the black iron were finally removed.

A piece of black iron weighing 500 jin (approximately 250 kg) was cleaned of impurities, leaving about 50 jin (approximately 25 kg) of iron, which was only the size of a head.

While the black iron was glowing red, Song Chen drank half a bottle of spirit stone honey to replenish his spiritual energy, and then threw the black iron directly into the furnace.

Song Chen sat cross-legged, his divine sense probing into the furnace, and began to shape the black iron.

A day later, Song Chen opened his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.

The refining was successful.

He opened the long furnace, and a flying sword appeared in Song Chen's hand.

The flying sword has a grayish-white blade, and when tapped lightly, it produces a continuous ringing sound.

Song Chen smiled with satisfaction.

"A fine sword!"

Zhao Ziyi exclaimed in admiration. He had already returned to the cave, but seeing that Song Chen was refining weapons, he did not disturb him.

Seeing such a fine sword now, even he, a sword cultivator, was tempted.

Song Chen's eyes were full of joy, but there was also a trace of regret.

"My spiritual energy is insufficient, so I can only train up to this point. It seems that if I want to advance to the next level of weapon refining, I may need to continue to improve my strength."

Zhao Ziyi nodded in agreement:

"That's right. Every weapon-refining master's weapon-refining grade will only increase as their strength increases."

"You're only at the Foundation Establishment stage now, no need to rush. What grade is this flying sword?"

Song Chen said in a deep voice, "This flying sword is a third-grade weapon."

"Rank 3?" Zhao Ziyi was somewhat shocked. "Rank 3 weapons have a minimum consignment price of 7 million contribution points."

Moreover, only cultivators at the Golden Core stage can typically forge third-grade weapons.

Song Chen smiled slightly and took out a piece of white jade.

"You forgot, we have Spirit Stone Honey, which provides the spiritual energy needed for a Rank 3 weapon, and can support it."

However, even consuming spirit stone honey wouldn't provide one percent of the spiritual energy required for a fourth-grade weapon.

"I see." Zhao Ziyi's eyes lit up as he looked at Song Chen. "I want a new weapon too!"

"Okay, tell me your needs, and I'll refine it for you after class."

Song Chen smiled indulgently.

Zhao Ziyi shyly handed Song Chen a stack of jade slips:

"You've been so good to me, there's not much I can do for you. This is a course I recorded with the help of Spirit Wine buyers."

"This stack of jade slips contains the course notes of the other seven peak elders."

I know you are proficient in various Taoist arts; it would be a great pity if you missed this elder's class.

Song Chen opened his eyes wide. He picked up a jade slip and held it close to his forehead. The contents of the jade slip were actually the teaching content of the elders of Danfeng, Yushoufeng, and Fufeng.

Song Chen was at a loss for words. He looked at Zhao Ziyi with deep affection, feeling a mix of bittersweet emotions.

He was kind to Zhao Ziyi without ever thinking of repaying him, because it was what he should do.

But he received a response from Zhao Ziyi.

He wasn't the only one making sacrifices in this relationship.

Embarrassed by Song Chen's gaze, Zhao Ziyi blushed, stuffed the jade slip into Song Chen's hand, and then turned and rode away on his flying sword.

"I'm going to class! The second elder class this week is about to start, and I'll bring the jade slip back with me!"

**

It took a full six months for the elders to finish explaining the content of their lessons.

All the cultivators comprehended some of the content.

For a time, everyone in the Immortal River Garden was focused on their own cultivation.

Song Chen not only completed the courses of the Weapon Refining Peak, but also the courses taught by the elders of the other six peaks.

Because Elder Jianfeng taught the swordsmanship, Song Chen also learned from him, but he did not condense his sword heart.

Because once the sword heart is condensed, other Dao techniques will self-destruct.

In just six months, they simultaneously comprehended the Dao and cultivated themselves.

Song Chen rose from the first level of Foundation Establishment to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.

Zhao Ziyi rose from the fifth level of Foundation Establishment to the eighth level.

It wasn't that they leveled up quickly, but rather that Song Chen learned about formations, runes, and elixirs.

Inside the cave, he set up a spirit-attracting array, affixed spirit-gathering talismans, and refined a Qi-condensing pill.

With these blessings, the two of them held the spirit stone honey, and their cultivation level rose sharply as if they were on a rocket.

Song Chen has eight spiritual roots in his body, and the spiritual energy he needs to advance is eight times that of other cultivators of the same level.

The spiritual energy he consumed to advance from the first to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment was enough for others to advance to the Golden Core stage!

**

Time flies in the mountains; it's another new day.

When Song Chen opened his eyes again, his gaze was sharp. He drew his sword and swung it at a distance, unleashing a burst of sword energy from the blade.

With a bang, the sword energy struck the protective array, creating a golden ripple.

"Genius! Song Chen, you've even mastered the sword techniques!"

Zhao Ziyi cheered excitedly from the side.

Song Chen smiled slightly, "I'm still more suited to using magic weapons. I mainly learn sword techniques to experience how to inscribe arrays on the sword."

Now that the elder has gone into seclusion again, everyone in the academy has resumed their lives of working to earn money.

Since Song Chen and Zhao Ziyi were not short of money, they chose to continue cultivating in the cave.

At this time, Song Chen was to forge a brand new flying sword for Zhao Ziyi.

For this flying sword, Song Chen honed his sword techniques and formations for a month.

Now, he is going to forge a top-quality weapon, engraved with arrays and inscriptions!

Zhao Ziyi possesses dual spiritual roots of earth and fire, and Song Chen already has an idea about this sword.