Chapter 639 - 620: Geniuses Are Always Misunderstood

Golden Soul and Silver Spirit is the very essence of Refined Gold and Mithril. While Refined Gold and Mithril is extremely heavy and considered Top Grade material for arrays that channel True Essence, it pales in comparison to Golden Soul and Silver Spirit. Extracting Golden Soul and Silver Spirit is an incredibly difficult task—one that most Master Level Artifact Refiners would not even dare to attempt.

For Wang Meng to have created a whip with such a tiny amount of Refined Gold and Mithril was nothing short of a miracle!

While Refined Gold and Mithril was heavy, Golden Soul and Silver Spirit was incredibly light.

Everyone present was an expert; they knew with a single glance that this was genuine Golden Soul and Silver Spirit.

’Could Wang Meng not be a Master, but a Grandmaster???’

That was impossible. The art of Artifact Refining was complex and ever-changing; it shouldn’t be possible, no matter how talented someone was.

But the living proof was right before their eyes.

The others now understood why Pang Hong had knelt. For a disciple, this was a shocking spectacle, the kind one might never witness in a lifetime.

The way Lone Fox Destiny Star looked at Wang Meng completely changed. ’What a staggering success rate!’

Hu Qingsong shot Hu Qishi a vicious glare. ’Didn’t this stupid pig say everything was arranged?’

Hu Qishi was dumbstruck, so shocked by the scene that his mind went blank. He subconsciously took a step back. "Impossible! This is impossible! That Refining Furnace was broken! There’s no way he could have succeeded!"

Wang Meng smiled. "As an Artifact Refiner, I’d be rather incompetent if I couldn’t even fix a simple Refining Furnace. But still, is this how the Divine Artifact Pavilion tests its Guest Ministers?"

Hu Qingsong wanted nothing more than to strangle his idiotic nephew with his own two hands.

Hu Qishi finally snapped out of it. "It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I don’t know anything!"

"You don’t know? Then who does? Hu Qingsong, you know perfectly well, don’t you!"

Yang Qi said coldly, gripping the whip.

Hu Qingsong’s expression turned frigid. He slapped Hu Qishi so hard the man spun around several times, his face instantly swelling. "You fool! How dare you presume to test a Master! Master Wang may be young, but he is not someone you can disrespect! Apologize at once!"

"The Divine Artifact Pavilion has no place for someone like him. From this day forward, Hu Qishi is expelled from the Divine Artifact Pavilion, and he is never to be readmitted!"

Yang Qi declared in a cold voice, "Junior Brother Hu, wouldn’t you say my decision was just?"

Defying a superior was a grave offense, and besides, everyone knew exactly what had transpired.

Hu Qingsong gritted his teeth. "Your decision is perfectly sound, Chairman. And Master Wang... you’ve taught me a lesson."

He stomped his foot and turned to leave. He had truly suffered a double loss this time; Hu Qishi was an important pawn of his within the Divine Artifact Pavilion, and Yang Qi had just removed him from the board in one clean move.

After Hu Qingsong stormed off, Mo Chengkong gave a cold snort and departed without a word. He had thought this was an opportunity to regain some face, but instead, he had only offered up his own face to be trampled on.

Lone Fox Destiny Star gave an awkward smile. "Master Wang, my apologies for my earlier behavior. Ah, Old Yang, I have some other matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave."

As he finished speaking, Lone Fox Destiny Star cast a peculiar glance at the long whip... That was the real deal, Golden Soul and Silver Spirit! Extracted from a mere Six Stones of Refined Gold and Twenty Stones of Mithril! Regardless of the whip’s special attributes or purpose, that feat alone made it priceless.

’But was it really just crafted?’ he wondered, a little suspicious. Still, out of respect for Yang Qi, he wouldn’t press the issue. As long as Wang Meng could produce a tangible result, Lone Fox Destiny Star wouldn’t make things difficult for Yang Qi.

The other Guest Ministers also bowed to Wang Meng before departing with peculiar expressions. The Golden Soul and Silver Spirit had clearly been an eye-opener for them... But in their hearts, they couldn’t help but harbor the same suspicion as Lone Fox Destiny Star. ’Is this whip really newly forged? It couldn’t be an old heirloom from the Wang Family’s stockpile, could it?’

After the crowd dispersed, Yang Qi stared at Wang Meng, looking like he wanted to say something but holding back. He wrung his hands, glanced at his disciple Pang Hong, and smacked his lips, but ultimately remained silent.

Wang Meng smiled. "Brother Yang, if you have something on your mind, just say it."

Yang Qi shook his head with a sigh. "Sigh... Was I that obvious? Younger Brother Wang, to be honest, I know I shouldn’t ask. Every trade has its own rules, and every Artifact Refiner has their own unique secrets... But curiosity is killing me. If I overstep, just pretend I’m joking. Don’t take it to heart."

"Since when have you become so hesitant, Brother Yang?"

Hearing Wang Meng’s encouraging words, Yang Qi felt both overjoyed and anxious. He thumped his chest and said, "Younger Brother Wang, it’s common knowledge among Artifact Refiners that Golden Soul and Silver Spirit can be extracted from Refined Gold and Mithril. However, only a Grandmaster can actually accomplish it. And even for an Artifact Refining Master, extracting a single set of Golden Soul and Silver Spirit would require dozens of Stones of Refined Gold and hundreds of Stones of Mithril. You used only Six Stones of Refined Gold and Twenty Stones of Mithril... How... how did you do it?"

Yang Qi was one hundred percent certain that this wasn’t an heirloom from the Wang Family’s stockpile, but had truly been forged by Wang Meng. Besides, he knew Pang Hong; the boy could be a bit of a clever schemer, but at his core, he had the true makings of an Artifact Refiner. He must have witnessed a miracle. For a moment, Yang Qi actually felt a twinge of envy toward Pang Hong. ’If I had been the one to witness it, my own cultivation realm would have surely advanced by leaps and bounds.’

"Haha, so that’s what this is about. It’s actually quite simple... though a bit troublesome to explain in words. Artifact Refining is best learned through practice. How about you join me and we’ll extract some together, Brother Yang?"

Wang Meng said with a smile, as if extracting Golden Soul and Silver Spirit from a pittance of Refined Gold and Mithril was a trivial matter.

Yang Qi was stunned. ’He’d do that?’ When he asked, he hadn’t actually expected Wang Meng to reveal his secret. He would have been grateful for even a small hint—a new direction to explore. He never imagined Wang Meng would offer to guide him through the entire process firsthand. Sure, that rascal Pang Hong had watched the whole thing earlier, but what was Pang Hong’s skill level?

The most he could get out of it was this kind of worshipful reaction.

He glanced over at Pang Hong and saw his prized chief disciple staring at Wang Meng with a look of fervent adoration...

He followed Wang Meng back into the Artifact Dao Room. This time, Pang Hong did not follow. "To have witnessed such a technique once is enough to last a lifetime," Pang Hong said with reverence.

Yang Qi blinked and let Pang Hong be. He knew his chief disciple well. Pang Hong came from a commoner background and was prone to chasing small advantages. He was always the first to rush in when there was profit to be made, making him a bit reckless, but when he calmed down, he revealed a meticulous side beneath his rough exterior.

Pang Hong watched Wang Meng and his master enter the Artifact Dao Room with the reverent gaze of a pilgrim. He straightened his back, stepped forward to shut the heavy doors, and then stood guard before them like a temple deity.

’Forging...’ He had never thought of it like this before. That brief session had changed his life, fundamentally altering his understanding of what it meant to be an Artifact Refiner. What Wang Meng had shown him wasn’t just a technique, but something far more fundamental. It was like the Great Dao—a path that led straight to the core. That was the wide, open road to success. Before this, he had merely been crawling through the mud on a winding goat trail.

CLANG, TING, DONG... Irregular, arrhythmic sounds of forging drifted out from the room. Pang Hong’s eyes narrowed slightly. To him, the cacophony of hammering was as sweet and melodious as the most harmonious symphony.

’That’s the rhythm,’ he thought. ’An unbelievably frantic and chaotic rhythm. And yet, from within it, the Golden Soul and Silver Spirit are born...’

RUMBLE.

The doors to the Artifact Dao Room opened, and Yang Qi walked out, cupping a pitch-black dagger in his hands.

Walking over to the nearby Blade Testing Platform, Yang Qi gave a gentle swing. As True Essence surged into the blade, an icy glint as thin as an insect’s wing shimmered from its edge. With a light slash, as if painting a stroke, the Blade Testing Iron Stone on the platform soundlessly split in two!

Only then did the brilliance of the Golden Soul and Silver Spirit emerge along the dagger’s sides. They were much smaller than those on the whip, but they possessed a faint, almost transparent, and deceptive aura. In the dark, it would be completely overlooked without close inspection. It was truly the clandestine Gold of Assassination among the Five Elements.

"It’s real. It’s really real... I’m in awe. In my entire life, aside from the Immortal Lord, I have never been this impressed by anyone. Today, Younger Brother Wang, you have my complete admiration!"

Yang Qi let out a long sigh, his eyes shining with a new clarity. He turned and gave Wang Meng a deep bow. "I never used to believe in so-called ’once-in-a-millennium geniuses.’ I thought it was just hyperbole from the history books. But now, I believe. Younger Brother Wang, you are that once-in-a-millennium genius! Haha! People don’t believe it? It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that genius is so often misunderstood! I’m convinced. I truly believe it."

Seeing his master bow, Pang Hong hurriedly did the same. Then, after a moment’s thought, he dropped to his knees. "Thank you for your guidance, Master Wang!"

For Pang Hong, just being able to witness it was a benefit that would last a lifetime.

Wang Meng quickly helped Yang Qi up. "Brother Yang, what are you doing? Are you treating me like a stranger? I’m an infamous character in Haojing, yet you accepted me with sincerity and without a second thought. If you make such a fuss over a small matter like this, I won’t dare to come back."

Yang Qi said resolutely, "It’s as I said: genius is always misunderstood. I trust what I’ve seen with my own eyes!"

"Exactly. So please, Brother Yang, don’t be so formal with me. I have no one to rely on at the moment, and I’ve come to think of this place as a home. This whip is proof of my commitment. However, I have some ties to the Bai Family, and I may need to call on them in the future. I’ll have to ask you to look out for them."

Yang Qi laughed heartily and slapped his chest. "What kind of talk is that? Your business is my business! The Bai Family will have my full support. A hidden dragon will one day soar from the abyss! From now on, as long as I am in Wang City, the Bai Family will be safe!"

"Master, what are the whip’s abilities?" Pang Hong couldn’t help but ask.

Spiritual Artifacts all possessed special abilities, also known as attributes.

"It’s nothing special. It’s just for capturing True Essence Beasts. Against particularly ferocious ones, this whip should make the job much easier."

Yang Qi froze, slightly taken aback. ’A whip containing the incredibly sharp Golden Soul and Silver Spirit, a form of the Metal of the Five Elements, is just for capturing True Essence Beasts?’

In the eyes of most, this whip’s value was far less than the Dark Dagger forged afterward. A dagger possessing Golden Soul and Silver Spirit was an ultimate assassination Spiritual Artifact, the kind assassins dreamed of.

In this world, the Cultivators of the Spirit Control Association were powerful because they excelled at communicating with True Essence Beasts, allowing them to maximize their strength. The power of the Divine Artifact Pavilion, on the other hand, lay in their ability to forge mighty Magical Artifacts to enhance their own power.

After redeeming the dagger for the cost of the materials used to forge it, Wang Meng bid his farewell and departed.

Yang Qi and Pang Hong insisted on escorting Wang Meng all the way to the main gate. Both were overcome with emotion; what they had gained today was simply too immense. Yang Qi no longer even had the energy to spare a thought for Hu Qingsong.