Chapter 159: The Monster within a Jungle of Steel
"Whoa..."
When the 1st Generation Tai'e crafting furnace modified by Li Yao appeared in front of everyone's eyes, everyone from the Empyrean Terminus Sect, including the experienced and knowledgeable senior refiner Lei Yongming, took in a cold breath, sinking into a sluggish state.
What they saw was absolutely not a crafting furnace but a steel jungle!
The occupied space exceeded forty meters, and the height exceeded twenty meters. The crisscross steel structure formed a mysterious and profound maze. Countless crystal fibers climbed upon the steel frame like vines, while magical equipment units were like bird nests rigged up one after another in the depths of the steel jungle. The various rainbow colors of richness and diversity suddenly flickered between brightness and darkness from the crystals, emitting an elegant radiance. It made this steel jungle seem as if it possessed life and was breathing right now.
A rough scan would yield more than thirty magical equipment units, which far exceeded the design limits of the 1st Generation Tai'e furnace!
The refining styles between the various magical equipment units and components were as different as night and day; some were exquisite and delicate, while others were coarse and bold. Yet, they were forcibly entwined together by crystal fibers, manifesting a sort of unbridled ugliness.
Quite a few magical equipment units had radiator systems and gas conduction vents arranged around them that bubbled huge clouds of steam as it let out a humming cry. They pervaded the air like miasma, causing the steel jungle to look enigmatic. It seemed as if a monster could appear at any moment from within the depths of the miasma.
"This, what the heck is this!?"
"They took several dozen different styles of crafting furnaces and recklessly assembled them all together! It looks just like a mutated monster!"
Jin Quan recovered from his very initial period of shock. A feeling of absurdness to the extreme was born in Jin Quan's mind.
"Even if the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution is the headquarters for grassroots refiners, this thing is way too grassroots!"
He took a peek behind him. Quite a few students looked like they were waking from a dream, all of them revealed odd expressions.
A plump boy was holding it in so much that his face flushed red, and his shoulders shook up and down; he wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare to.
No one was unfamiliar with refining. They knew that things like magical equipment weren't something that one could take several powerful functioning units and piece together to create a completed form that was even more powerful.
Inside laid the most important issue of compatibility and integration as a whole.
The monster level crafting furnace before their eyes was quite frightening at first glance and carried a lot of powerful magical equipment units.
But despite the style and even the operational principles of these magical equipment being as different as night and day, they still carelessly assembled together. How would compatibility be handled? What about the flow of operation? Wouldn't a malfunction occur every three to five minutes?
The shock within Jin Quan and all the students' eyes scattered when they tried to understand this point and was instead replaced by a faint hint of contempt.
Fortunately, the students still remembered the instruction given out by Jin Quan. There was no one who laughed on the spot; it's just that their faces turned red one after another. They looked at each other in dismay, using gazes to exchange the ridicule they had in the depths of their minds.
Only Lei Yongming, this elder, was unable to take his eyes off of it. He gazed into the depths of the steel jungle, seeming rather pensive as he mumbled:
"Professor Yuan, this crafting furnace you all have altered... is rather complicated!"
Yuan Manqiu chuckled. She pulled up the performance parameters from a crystal processor and directed the hologram towards Lei Yongming and Jin Quan:
"Please look you two. After going through our modification, the final performance parameters of the 1st Generation Tai'e are as such."
Old Lei Yongming skimmed over it with his eyes. His expression was somewhat astonished, and the liver spots on his forehead suddenly flared.
Jin Quan's sophistication didn't run this deep. With just a glance of an eye, it was as if he was stung ferociously by a Hemorrhage Wasp. He shouted:
"What!? The furnace temperature increases from room temperature to above 6000 degrees in less than a minute!? The end limits of fluctuation in temperature reaches 500 degrees every second!? A single furnace can be divided into nine refining compartments of different temperatures!? It can simultaneously handle 180 jobs at once as its maximum!?"
"H-H-How the heck is this still a 1st Generation Tai'e crafting furnace? It simply matches a 6th Generation Tai'e crafting furnace in overall performance!"
"For some parameters, it's even more powerful and ferocious than a 6th Generation Tai'e—no, more than a 7th Generation Tai'e!"
"There's also this section. If you disregard the wear and tear and operate it at its extreme limits, even the hardest horn of the Mystic Steel-Bone Rhinoceros can be refined!?"
"Even if you really took so many remains of advanced crafting furnaces and pieced them together, forcefully reaching this kind of performance, it absolutely wouldn't last long. It would be scrapped after a maximum use of one or two times, and it might even explode!"
Jin Quan's face flushed red to his ears, his neck swelled out by a factor, and his speech grew faster and faster. He used chattering to mask the super-powerful shock in his heart.
And after hearing the series of magnificent performance parameters, the numerous youngsters behind him were even more stupefied; they were completely flabbergasted.
Just based on this pile of junk, some performance parameters actually overtook the newest generation of crafting furnace by the Empyrean Terminus Sect?
How! Is! This! Possible!?
Old Lei Yongming leaned close to the hologram, studying it in great seriousness:
"Professor Yuan, you are an expert of the refiner's circle whose reputation has spread far and wide. This old man naturally wouldn't suspect the crafting furnace that you have modified. It really does have such magnificent performance."
"However, when checking whether or not a crafting furnace meets standards, one aspect that needs to be looked at is the extreme performance limits. Another aspect that also needs to be looked at is its stability.
"Can you bring out the blueprints and spiritual energy flow diagrams out for everyone to study a bit? Let's look at it from the perspective of theory and calculate the output of its performance. Let's see whether or not it can maintain stability."
Yuan Manqiu laughed candidly:
"That much is obvious. Since we need to get the approval of the Empyrean Terminus Sect, the blueprints and spiritual energy flow diagrams will certainly be brought out for you two to examine. However, there's one matter that Old Lei needs to know about... This crafting furnace wasn't modified by me. I didn't have a single hand in it from beginning to end. From the very initial proposal of modification to drawing the blueprints to tightening every single clamping bolt, it was solely all done by my disciple. It will be better to ask him to come and briefly explain it to you."
Old Lei Yongming didn't respond for a time. His face revealed skepticism:
"I heard that your refining department only has one new student who just entered the school. Could it be that Professor Yuan has an even more outstanding disciple outside of school?"
Yuan Manqiu shook her head. She spoke without fooling around:
"Nope. I only have this one student. My heart will be perfectly content if I can finish teaching him. This crafting furnace was solely modified by my disciple, Li Yao, from beginning to end. I didn't even touch a single nail. Li Yao? Li Yao!"
The two words "Li Yao" were like two vicious, heavy fists. They exploded against Jin Quan, causing him to be on the verge of collapse.
He forcefully shook his head to compose himself and yelled wildly in his heart:
'The heck you talking big for? A new student who just entered the school for half a year can complete such a complicated modification? And can conjure out such magnificent performance? Yuan Manqiu must be giving him instructions from behind. A hands on teaching!'
In regards to Yuan Manqiu, this former Deep Sea Goddess, Yin Quan still didn't dare to have contempt for her.
If performance such as this had conjured out from Yuan Mannequin's hands, then there was a 1% chance of its possibility.
But if it was just based on Li Yao, this ignorant and fearless mad amateur?
Not even a 0.01% possibility would exist!
'H-Humph, I was originally going to give you all a bit of face by saying a few random words just for show and be done with it, but I never thought you all would make a pile of scrap metal such as this.You even dared to talk big, calling to attention such exaggerated performance parameters. And now you even say that it was modified by a new first-year student. Not to mention that it's that Li Yao who doesn't know how high the heavens are and how deep the earth runs!'
'You think that can escape me!?'
'When you take out those blueprints and spiritual energy flow diagrams out, I'll randomly point out a few crucial areas. A kid such as yourself certainly wouldn't have a clue of what's going on. You'll just disgrace yourself in front of everyone.'
'You even want to wage war with our Deep Sea University's Refining Department? Dream on!'
Jin Quan settled on his plan. His eyes flashed with a streak of light as the corner of his mouth hooked into a sneer.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Following Yuan Manqiu's shout came the sound of footsteps that shook mountains and moved the earth from behind the steel jungle.
It was as if an enormous beast was slowly walking over from within the depths of the miasma.
"What the heck? Whose footsteps can be this heavy, liken to that of a demon beast?"
The students looked at each other in dismay. Their brain cells were a bit insufficient right now.
Even though Teacher Jin warned and injucted by all means to hold in whatever they see... However...
It was really difficult to bear!
Sometime later, a youth with a stature that was neither tall nor large came boring out from the steam. His appearance on stage made everyone's eyeballs completely bulge out!
The contours of his muscles were revealed quite clearly on his upper body, yet they were not excessive. Right now, he was in the middle of concentrating his attention on studying the hologram filled with formulas. His left hand just casually carried an enormous metal box.
Written atop of the metal box was: "Black Copper Ore, One Ton!"
Black copper ore was the number one most commonly used consumable resource when refining. It can aid in increasing the furnace temperature in a flash.
The biggest property of the black copper ore was its super high density. Its weight was extremely heavy, and just the size of a fist would weigh several dozen kilograms. Generally, magical equipment was used to transport them.
"Boom!"
Li Yao placed the metal box filled to the brim with black copper ores to the side. The intense jolt made the bottom of everyone's foot numb.
It looked like a ton of black copper ore was honestly within the box!
"It can't be... He can actually lift a ton of raw material with one hand, and from his appearance, it looked like he didn't even need to use much effort at all to do so. He isn't even sweating!"
In our Empyrean Terminus Sect, we would obviously use magical equipment to carry such heavy objects. Who the heck would carry it directly by hand!?"
"Where the heck did this monstrous fellow spawn from in the end? He has such enormous strength, yet he wants to be some refiner. Wouldn't it be better for him to go to the wasteland and slay demon beasts?"
The students all felt a chill run down their spine. When seeing Li Yao walk over, a few of the weak natured students couldn't help but retreat a step back as their necks withdrew back.
Yuan Manqiu resisted the urge to smile with difficulty. She spoke with a face filled with sincerity:
"I'm truly, terribly sorry to make you two see this ridiculous scene. Our Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department just encountered a tragic accident, so most of our funds have been used to compensate the families of the victims. The remaining money must all be used on a blade's edge. In addition, this is nothing for my disciple. He just wields stupid strength. If he can carry it, he'll carry it. This saves buying an assistance magical artifact and conserves a bit of our funds!"
Lei Yongming's lips trembled. He really didn't know what would be proper to say.
This famous, old refiner, who has many experiences and knowledge, had his heart in a bit of a mess.
Jin Quan's scalp was becoming even number, and his hair was standing straight up.
Li Yao finalized the final parameter and walked two steps towards the crowd. He suddenly stood fixed and bent his head to listen for a second.
He discovered that the sound of a set of radiator systems expelling steam was a bit ear-piercing.
He muttered to himself for a moment and calculated for three seconds with half-squinting eyes. Li Yao walked towards the right side of the steel jungle, taking his hand to reach out to the clamping bolt fastening a radiator system.
"What the heck is he up to?"
Everyone was at a loss. If he wanted to loosen or tighten the bolt, wouldn't he need a wrench?
This bolt was the size of a fist and was already tightened dead-tight. It would be hard to loosen it even with a wrench.
To deal with this kind of clamping bolt within the Empyrean Terminus Sect, every case would need the use of a specialty magical equipment that relied on spiritual energy to complete the job.
It can't be that he actually wants... to use his bare hands to loosen the bolt, right?