24: Chapter 24 The elders presented their most treasured possessions.

"Stop, stop for a moment!"

Zhao Ruoan had to speak up to interrupt the argument.

The Artifact Refining Room instantly fell silent.

The four Elders all looked at him simultaneously, their expressions somewhat awkward.

"Seniors, with you acting like this, this Disciple truly cannot accept it."

Zhao Ruoan smiled bitterly and cupped his hands.

"I understand your kind intentions. It is just that this Junior has shallow learning and meager talent, and does not deserve such great treatment from everyone."

Hall Master Liu Xi cleared his throat and took the lead to express his stance: "Junior Martial Uncle, please don't stand on ceremony with us!"

"That's right, Junior Martial Uncle!" Elder Bai Ming could no longer care about saving Face. "Just say what Materials you want! As long as you speak up, even if it means climbing a mountain of blades or plunging into a sea of fire, we will get them for you!"

"We aren't doing this for anything else; we just want to watch from the side. If we can learn even a trick or two from you, it will be enough to benefit us for a lifetime!" Elder Lu Xing's words were the most down-to-earth.

This was their true purpose.

Stealing techniques.

As the person who discovered Zhao Ruoan, this piece of uncut jade, the earliest, Elder Fu Gao felt even more honored at this moment.

He stepped forward, bowed deeply to Zhao Ruoan, and his attitude was sincere to the extreme.

"Junior Martial Uncle, this old man has a somewhat unreasonable request."

"When you refine artifacts in the future, if you have any new conceptions or new thoughts, might you... might you share a thing or two with us?"

"We will certainly not listen for free! Whatever you need, whether it is Materials, Medicinal Pills, or running errands and doing chores, we old fellows will take care of it all!"

As soon as these words came out, Hall Master Liu Xi and the others nodded and echoed in agreement.

They had finally figured it out.

Comparing talent with this Prodigy was simply courting humiliation.

Since they couldn't compare, they might as well join!

Clinging tightly to this peerless backer, would they ever have to worry about making no progress on the Dao of Artifact Refining in the future?

Looking at these Elders whose attitudes had undergone a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, Zhao Ruoan understood it crystal clear in his heart.

He was never someone who selfishly guarded his own treasures.

Furthermore, although he had the blessing of the System's Heaven-Defying Comprehension Ability, in terms of experience and knowledge reserves, compared to these veteran Artifact Refiners who had immersed themselves in this path for hundreds of years, he was still an unadulterated rookie.

Learning from each other and progressing together was the true path.

"Elder Fu, you flatter me."

Zhao Ruoan calmly accepted this bow, then spoke: "You Seniors are all Great Masters of Artifact Refining with rich experience, and this Junior happens to have many doubts that I would like to consult you all about."

"If there are any insights in the future, we can simply exchange them with each other; there is no need to talk about sharing or not sharing."

His words were completely airtight, which both accepted the other party's request and gave plenty of Face to these Elders.

Hearing this, Hall Master Liu Xi and the others beamed with joy one by one.

"Good, good, good! Junior Martial Uncle is truly righteous!"

"Then we will respectfully accept!"

"From now on, Junior Martial Uncle, you are half the Revered Master of Tianhuo Peak. If there is anything, just give your orders!"

The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.

Duan He in the corner had gone from initial shock, to numbness, and now to complete resignation.

Sometimes, the gap between people was even greater than the gap between a human and a dog.

It took him thirty years to barely be able to refine Low Grade Profound Weapons, and that still depended on the success rate.

In four days, starting from scratch, someone went straight to the goal in one step, refining a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact, and even turning a group of Elder-level big shots into "fanboys."

Where could one go to reason with that?

Seeing that the matter was settled, Zhao Ruoan seized the opportunity to put forward his own needs.

"Right, Seniors. I am new to this path, and I know very little about the characteristics of various spiritual Materials as well as the refining blueprints of high-grade Magic Treasures."

"I wonder if there are any related high-grade ancient texts within the Sect available for this Disciple to borrow and read?"

He planned to recharge his batteries first; he couldn't possibly improvise on the spot every time.

Hearing this, Hall Master Liu Xi and the others all showed expressions of difficulty on their Faces.

"Junior Martial Uncle, this... it's not that we are stingy."

Hall Master Liu Xi rubbed his hands and explained: "The Sect's Scripture Pavilion has strict rules. Borrowing high-grade ancient texts requires a massive amount of Sect contribution points. Even though we are Elders, we have no right to break this rule for you."

"However..."

His tone changed, and a look of resolute determination appeared on his Face.

"We can't give you the Sect's, but we can give you our private ones!"

With that, he pulled out an old booklet with a beast-skin cover from his storage ring and solemnly handed it over.

"Junior Martial Uncle, this is the "Hundred Refinings Artifact Treatise" that I obtained in an ancient Immortal Cave during my travels in my early years. It records the refining insights of over a hundred high-grade Magic Treasures. It can be considered my ultimate treasure, and today I shall present it to Junior Martial Uncle!"

Seeing this, Elder Bai Ming became anxious too, and quickly pulled out his own treasure.

"I have a copy of the "Record of Strange Flames" here, which records the characteristics and manipulation methods of thirty-six kinds of heaven and earth strange flames!"

"I have this! I have the "Newly Compiled Runes" here, which is the painstaking crystallization of my lifelong research on compound runes!"

Elder Lu Xing also shoved a thick notebook over.

Elder Fu Gao walked up last, but what he took out was a Jade Slip.

"Junior Martial Uncle, I don't have any precious ancient texts. Inside here is the summary of experience and reflection on every single failure in Artifact Refining over the past four hundred years."

"I hope... it can be of some use to you."

Compared to those books on success studies, the value of this "error collection" was perhaps even more precious.

Looking at the heavy ancient texts and notes in his hands, Zhao Ruoan knew these were the lifelong painstaking efforts of several Elders, their true foundation for standing in the world.

Yet now, they had unreservedly handed them over to him.

He didn't say any more polite words, but solemnly put the things away, and then bowed deeply to the four of them.

"Many thanks to the four Seniors for your generous gifts."

...

Meanwhile, on Qinghan Peak.

The doors of a quiet room covered in ice crystals slowly opened.

A woman dressed in a white long dress with a cold and aloof temperament walked out from within.

She was none other than Zhao Ruoan's Luo Li.

Having been in seclusion for a month and her cultivation having made further progress, her mood should have been quite good.

"Qiuyin, Xiamo."

Her cold voice resounded in the courtyard.

The two maidservants hurried over and respectfully saluted: "Senior Sister."

"Where is Junior Brother? Before I went into seclusion, Revered Master entrusted him to our care. He has just entered cultivation, which is precisely the time to build a foundation. I will go check how his lessons are progressing."

As Luo Li spoke, she prepared to walk toward Zhao Ruoan's courtyard.

Qiuyin and Xiamo exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat peculiar.

"Reporting to Senior Sister..." Qiuyin said in a low voice, "Junior Brother... he hasn't been within the peak these past few days."

"Not here?"

Luo Li stopped in her tracks, her brows slightly furrowing.

"Where did he go?"

Xiamo added from the side: "Junior Brother went to Tianhuo Peak. I heard that... he went to learn Artifact Refining."

"Artifact Refining?"

Luo Li's tone rose by a fraction.

In her view, Zhao Ruoan possessed Fifth-Order Sword Intent and was a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of the sword Dao, with limitless future achievements.

His path should be one of undivided focus, advancing courageously with vigor, and ascending to the pinnacle of the sword Dao at the earliest possible time.

Now, he actually went off to learn some Artifact Refining?

Isn't this putting the cart before the horse and neglecting his proper business?

"Nonsense!"

Luo Li's tone was somewhat irritated.

"How much importance Revered Master attaches to his talent, how can he waste his time like this and expend his energy on unorthodox paths!"

Qiuyin and Xiamo shrank their necks, frozen by the chill emanating from her, not daring to speak further.

Luo Li stood still in place, her chest heaving slightly.

She felt that she had the necessity and the responsibility to pull Junior Brother back from the "astray path."

This matter must be reported to Revered Master.

She turned around and walked straight toward the summit cloud hall where Yun Qinghan was located.

She wanted to let Revered Master know just how "unmotivated" her precious Disciple was.