"What is this?!"
The Chairman's pupils contracted. Through the window, even though the villa was very far away, the beam of light was too immense. Even from the Chairman's location, he could vaguely see a light piercing the heavens in the distance.
In the darkness, the light was incredibly conspicuous, as if the night sky in the distance was split in two.
Seeing this.
Feeling the palpitations emanating from that direction, the Chairman's normally somber expression, which had been heavy since he woke up, showed unbridled joy for the first time:
"Town-Guarding level?! This is the aura of a Town-Guarding level artifact! Haha, someone in our country has refined another Town-Guarding level artifact! Excellent!!!"
In his words.
The Chairman couldn't contain his excitement. His terrible mood, which had been worn down by Zhang Wei's 'revenge' for days, vanished at this moment, and he felt refreshed and invigorated.
"We lost a half-step Town-Guarding level artifact, but someone refined a Town-Guarding level artifact. This can be considered filling the gap. I wonder who refined it, was it the former Chairman?"
The Chairman mentally reviewed the current Town-Guarding level figures in the country.
Besides that.
He didn't idle. He busied himself by calling over the medical staff beside him:
"Go call the assistant. Tell him to quickly investigate and ask who refined the Town-Guarding level artifact. Also, have the assistant prepare a car for me. I want to personally congratulate them."
"Ah? But the assistant said for the Chairman to rest more in the hospital."
"Rest my foot! That was before, but now someone has refined a Town-Guarding level artifact. How can I rest? Hurry and prepare it for me. This is a bigger deal than my hospitalization."
The Chairman scolded with a smile.
If it were before, he would have cursed, but his mood was excellent now, and it was just a verbal scolding.
...
On the other side.
The suburbs of Shou'er City, where the villa was located.
At this time.
Feeling the peerless aura emanating from the fan artifact as it was upgraded to the Town-Guarding level, Zhang Wei was in a great mood, thinking happily:
"As expected, my guess was right. The upgrade card can't work on Town-Guarding level, but it can work on half-step Town-Guarding level to upgrade it to Town-Guarding level. This loophole in the card is really good."
He thought.
He glanced at Zhang Chao and the others not far away, then subtly glanced at the surveillance personnel on the rooftop of another villa in the distance.
Then.
Zhang Wei began a series of 'acting mysterious' performances. He recalled the follow-up steps for artifact repair and refining taught in forum posts, imitating them while modifying some high-end movements and operations himself to avoid being discovered.
Although Zhang Wei's performance seemed to have some flaws, the solid Town-Guarding level aura emanating from the fan artifact covered up these flaws. No one paid attention to them, simply because the Town-Guarding level aura was there.
At this moment.
Zhang Chao, Wu Nian, and Lu Lianxue looked like three fools. Even Wu Nian was struggling to maintain composure, staring blankly at the fan, which was suspended in mid-air and emitting a terrifying aura, a Town-Guarding level artifact.
They were stunned for a long time.
It wasn't until Zhang Wei caught the fan that fell into his hand and grinned at Zhang Chao, saying:
"Zhang Chao, do you want me to poop and feed it to you now, or should I take you to a public restroom to find a fresh one to eat?"
Zhang Chao: "..."
His mouth twitched. He didn't have time to refute his earlier statement that if Zhang Wei succeeded, he would eat his own excrement. His attention was all on the artifact fan in Zhang Wei's hand, and he exclaimed:
"Damn it!! Zhang Wei, are you even human? You actually repaired it, and even upgraded it to Town-Guarding level! Damn it, how come you learn and use it so differently from us? Damn!"
Wu Nian remained silent and walked straight forward, staring at the fan in Zhang Wei's hand. The more he looked, the more his usually expressionless face was filled with shock:
"Amitabha, it's truly a Town-Guarding level fan. There's no mistaking this aura."
Lu Lianxue also ran over, looking back and forth between the fan and Zhang Wei. After looking at it again and again, she finally said:
"I... Zhang Wei, you this... My heavens, Zhang Wei..."
She was so excited that she was almost incoherent.
There was no way.
The man who had refined a Town-Guarding level artifact before them was her man, and moreover, a famous figure in Great Xia, a half-step Town-Guarding level expert. Now, he had refined a Town-Guarding level artifact. It was known that even Town-Guarding level experts could not refine Town-Guarding level artifacts, but Zhang Wei had done it, and he had learned and used it on the spot.
For a moment.
Including Zhang Chao and Wu Nian, Lu Lianxue and the others all had the same thought... Zhang Wei not only had extraordinary cultivation talent, but he also had talent in artifact refining? And it was the kind that was one in a million, no, it was probably unprecedented.
"Um... have you guys heard of anyone who refined a Town-Guarding level artifact who could do it on their first attempt at artifact refining?"
Zhang Chao couldn't help but ask.
As soon as he spoke.
Wu Nian and Lu Lianxue both shook their heads. How could this be possible? The refining of Town-Guarding level artifacts was time-consuming and labor-intensive, not to mention extremely difficult. The refining of the Soul Summoning Banner by the Senluo Division was a testament to this.
Thinking of this.
They couldn't help but look at Zhang Wei, and in unison, they asked:
"How exactly did you do it? Are the repair and upgrade methods really something you learned from forum posts?"
"Yes."
Zhang Wei said, his face not blushing and his breath not faltering. He even remembered to scratch his head shyly and say:
"I just followed the steps on the forum. But it wasn't a direct copy. I felt that some of those methods needed improvement, so I read all the way from the beginner's version to the master's advanced version. I felt that some things could be improved, so I took the liberty to improve them myself."
"And then I might have been lucky, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse, and happened to succeed."
His voice was not loud.
But in the ears of Zhang Chao and the others, it was like thunder, booming into their ears.
Zhang Chao's eyelids twitched:
"Damn, that dead mouse you're talking about, I beg you, let me catch it too! I also want to be a blind cat catching a dead mouse and get a Town-Guarding level artifact. Damn, this is what an artifact refining genius looks like, self-taught and able to self-improve. I can't take it anymore, give me an oxygen machine, I need to inhale oxygen, I'm about to suffer from oxygen deprivation because of Zhang Wei's showing off."
Wu Nian also said with a wry smile:
"Amitabha, although these words go against the Buddha a bit, to be honest, this humble monk agrees with Zhang Chao. This humble monk also wishes to catch such a dead mouse. After all, this is no longer just repair, but an upgrade to Town-Guarding level. This humble monk has heard from elders that upgrading an artifact to Town-Guarding level is as difficult as climbing to heaven, just like repairing it. Your luck... It seems Zhang Chao can no longer say that this humble monk is the Son of Fortune. You are the Son of Fortune."
Before he finished speaking.
Wu Nian added:
"After all, Zhang Wei, you learned and used it on the spot, so you might still have some misunderstandings about artifacts. Do you know that the materials you prepared, in this humble monk's opinion, could at most repair it, but not upgrade it? Because this humble monk has also seen similar artifact repairs. It might be that the repair method you modified triggered some unknown reaction."
Regarding their reactions.
Zhang Wei smiled and casually stated his prepared explanation:
"Actually, it's alright. I did consider that it could not only be repaired but also upgraded to Town-Guarding level. The materials I prepared were carefully selected. As for why it could be upgraded, I feel it might be because of my blood's effect?"
To avoid being questioned by others later, Zhang Wei had already prepared a countermeasure, attributing the responsibility to his blood. After all, even if others recorded it, if they followed his steps without personally donating blood, they wouldn't be able to complete it.
In this regard.
Wu Nian and the others were confused, but they could accept it. After all, when refining artifacts, it was common to use one's own blood as a material, and it often played a role. Perhaps Zhang Wei's young half-step Town-Guarding level blood had a miraculous effect.
Just as they were talking.
On the other side.
In the Blasphemy Association, the assistant and others stared blankly at the video. They were no longer as cheerful as they were before watching the video. Their faces were ashen, and their expressions were filled with shock, despair, and bewilderment.
"Zhang Wei succeeded in repairing it..."
"He seems to have upgraded the artifact to Town-Guarding level."
"How could this be?"
The assistant was somewhat lost, not knowing what emotions or expressions to use to convey his current reaction. He had originally planned to surprise the Chairman with this 'good news,' but now it seemed that 'good news' had turned into bad news.
Just then.
A knock sounded on the door. A member of the association walked in and said directly to the assistant:
"Mr. Assistant, the Chairman is looking for you. He said to ask you to investigate who refined the Town-Guarding level artifact and wants you to go with him to congratulate them personally."
...