Chapter 551: The Faster the Refining, the Better

“How could Zhang Yu possibly refine it that fast?”

Staring at the intelligence report Su Yunni had sent, Jin Jun’s first reaction was disbelief.

“He achieved that much in just over a month? That’s ridiculous.”

Jin Jun was deeply skeptical about the authenticity of Zhang Yu’s results.

He had seen this sort of thing far too often in the Artifact Refinement Department’s labs. Some people were barely competent themselves but hired powerful assistants to handle most of the work, pushing the quality and speed to their limits before slapping their own names on the finished product.

“Zhang Yu’s level should be decent—he can probably refine a first-rank prototype machine—but there’s no way he and just one assistant did that in a month.”

“He must have spent a fortune to hire a massive support team.”

Jin Jun concluded, “Only that could explain how he reached this level in such a short time.”

“Releasing news like this… is he trying to shake my morale?”

Yet, Jin Jun had to admit that Zhang Yu’s progress really did unsettle him.

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. A flow of mana circulated through his body, and his Dao Heart gradually calmed his restless thoughts.

He understood that the real reason he was so easily provoked was because he had invested too much this time.

“I’ve poured nearly half of my fortune into this project. If it fails, not only will recovering funds be difficult, but my reputation as an artifact refiner will take a massive hit.”

Just thinking about how others might start labeling him in communications as “the guy who got beaten by a civil engineering student” made his heart sink. Once that happened, loans, funding, and investments would all become harder to secure, and his cultivation career would stall.

“I can’t afford to lose.”

No matter who was backing Zhang Yu, Jin Jun had no intention of admitting defeat.

Especially since he knew that once the first-rank prototype was completed, the next phase would involve repeated modifications to gradually upgrade it.

“At that stage, it’ll all depend on Zhang Yu’s personal skill.”

“If his refining technique hasn’t reached at least Level 11, no matter how much effort or money he throws at it, he won’t be able to push the prototype to Level 11.”

“And if he tries to commission someone else to do the upgrades, the review board will definitely catch it.”

“As for me, I’ve accumulated years of technical experience. Based on the current calibration parameters, once this prototype is assembled, it’ll immediately reach Level 5.”

“After that, my improvement rate will definitely surpass his.”

Thinking this, Jin Jun finally regained some peace of mind.

Of course, even after settling himself, he had no intention of taking things lightly.

“Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit. I’ve spent too much time and spirit coins on this project—failure isn’t an option.”

That very day, Jin Jun mortgaged his law husk and even some organs to max out his loans. With the funds that came in, he leased more advanced refining equipment and hired a Golden Core–rank instructor for one-on-one guidance, correcting and fine-tuning his technique during each refining session.

But beyond accelerating his own progress, Jin Jun also planned to cause Zhang Yu some trouble—to slow him down.

He sent out a single message.

Jin Jun: Senior Brother, I need a small favor.

…

Inside Ye Xingli’s laboratory.

Zhang Yu stood surrounded by swirling Earthfiend gravity, the prototype machine suspended midair.

He sent stream after stream of mana from his hands, mixing with the powdered materials prepared by Ziyun Zhen. The mixture flowed into the refining apparatus, transforming into layers of restrictive seals that imprinted themselves within the prototype.

As the number of seals accumulated, the prototype’s heat resistance gradually strengthened.

Zhang Yu knew that to raise the prototype’s rank, he not only needed to stack restrictions onto its mana circuits and enhance its properties, but also to optimize runes, temper materials, and raise the limit of its mana core.

And beyond basic attributes, the next level required new functional modules.

For instance, to advance the first-rank prototype to the second rank, he would have to install a Fire-Taming module so it could operate under flame-based conditions.

Zhang Yu thought, “The first-rank prototype already has all the interface slots for future functions. My job is simply to refine and install the new modules.”

“To achieve that, my blueprint level needs to rise accordingly.”

He glanced at the Feathered Tome: Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype – Rank 1 (6/10).

Zhang Yu mused, “Each full-body refining pass doesn’t just strengthen the prototype—it also advances the blueprint’s progress by two points, thanks to the Refining Genius trait.”

“When I push the blueprint to Rank 2, I’ll finally have the technical foundation to add the Fire-Taming module.”

With that, his refining speed surged. Mana and materials flew like rain toward the hovering prototype.

Ziyun Zhen’s eyelids twitched as she watched. “Boss, isn’t that… a bit too fast?”

In her mind, artifact refinement was not a matter of speed. Especially when one was still learning, every step should be carefully considered—review, adjust, then refine. That was how progress was made.

But Zhang Yu’s eyes were closed, his hands moving like a storm. To her, it was wasteful—burning through materials and money with questionable gains.

“Refining isn’t about how many times you do it,” she thought anxiously.

But Zhang Yu’s inner voice said otherwise: “Refining is about repetition. The more times I refine, the faster my technique level grows.”

Ziyun Zhen pressed again, “Boss, where’s the value in this pace? You can’t just chase speed. Compared to Jin Jun’s entire team, what you’re doing looks flimsy. The evaluators will look at your thought process, not your output count.”

“I hope from now on, you’ll document your daily insights—reflect your reasoning, highlight what makes your approach unique, and build a competitive edge.”

“Come on, boss! If you really grow, I’ll even take a pay cut so you can invest more in the project.”

Listening to her earnest “motivational speech,” Zhang Yu couldn’t help muttering inwardly, “What the hell… When I was an employee, the boss fed me dreams. Now that I’m the boss, my employee’s feeding me dreams?”

“Kunxu really is a damn place.”

As she continued, Zhang Yu raised his hand to stop her. “Yunzhen, I’m disappointed. I brought you into this team to become a true expert in the Heaven-Sun Radiance field.”

“I won’t explain why I’m speeding up. I want to give you a chance to grow—to think, to explore, and to find the answers yourself.”

“I know it’s stressful to grow under this pace. But growth always comes with pressure. When the pressure’s greatest, your growth is fastest.”

“One day, you’ll look back on this high-pressure time with gratitude. It’ll be the turning point of your life.”

After calming her down, Zhang Yu resumed his rapid work. Soon, Ziyun Zhen couldn’t keep up at all and had to push herself harder—faster, faster, and faster—until there was no time left even to think.

It felt like running on a track, chasing Zhang Yu’s back with everything she had, but still falling farther behind.

Just when she was completely exhausted, Zhang Yu suddenly stopped.

“I’m heading to the Spiritual Realm. Keep preparing the materials.”

It felt to Ziyun Zhen like Zhang Yu had paused mid-race, giving her a chance to catch up. Realizing this, her heart filled with guilt. “I’m holding the entire team back…”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had already entered the Supreme Purity Realm, activating the artifact refinement simulation to continue his training.

Unlike cultivation techniques, which could only be honed in reality, production-based refining skills—his mastery of blueprints, law husks, and components—could also be advanced through repeated simulation in this virtual realm.

“My lab work counts as real-world progress logs,” Zhang Yu thought. “Taking this spare time to train in the Supreme Purity Realm will speed up my blueprint mastery.”

He estimated, “At this rate—advancing on both fronts—I should be able to push the prototype to Level 11, the Foundation Establishment threshold, within one or two months.”

But as Zhang Yu buried himself in lab work day after day, a message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

…

In the Spiritual Realm.

Zhang Yu stood before a Daoist who looked like a mechanical assembly and said, “Teacher Gui Yuanzi, what’s the matter?”

The Daoist glanced at him and said coldly, “Why haven’t you been attending the History of Refining Techniques lectures lately?”

Zhang Yu blinked. “I requested leave…”

Gui Yuanzi replied icily, “I don’t recall approving any leave.”

“Fine. I’ll give you a chance—you’ll make up every missed class hour. Otherwise, you can forget about passing this course.”

He then left behind a low-grade intelligent artifact spirit to begin lecturing Zhang Yu at 1.0x speed—and promptly vanished.

Zhang Yu stared, then sent another leave request, only to get scolded in reply.

Gui Yuanzi: “Leave? Who said you could take leave?”

Gui Yuanzi: “Just because you’re doing a project doesn’t mean you can skip history!”

Gui Yuanzi: “If you don’t understand the origins of past technologies, how will you ever innovate?”

“This guy…” Zhang Yu sighed, glaring at the lecturing artifact spirit. “Someone’s definitely trying to mess with me.”

Just then, a message from Ziyun Zhen popped up: Boss, the materials are ready. When will you be back?

Zhang Yu replied: Keep preparing. I’ll return once I’ve handled this.

Then, thinking for a moment, he sent messages to Feng Tingting, Ye Xingli, and Zhang Pianpian. He needed to find out who was behind Gui Yuanzi’s sudden interference.

After some asking around, Zhang Yu finally pieced together the situation—and his gaze landed on one name in his contacts list:

Feng Yuhan.

Looks like the Refining War is heating up!