Chapter 718
Registration! Pei Qishi's Firework Selection
"Only sixty merit points?"
Zhang Lingshan shook his head, showing absolutely no interest in it.
At the beginning of the weapon forging process, it will take at least a month, because weapon forgers apply for a weapon forging room every month. If they don't forge for a full month, wouldn't they be wasting their merit points?
With only sixty merit points a month, Zhang Lingshan could earn more than sixty merit points just by refining materials with his feet, so why would he care about this?
But he didn't think much of it. Everyone else in the refining hall was very excited and eagerly went to sign up.
"This is Pei Daoming, a renowned weapon craftsman. You can learn a lot from him when he refines weapons; it's a great deal."
"Even if you don't learn anything, you can still get sixty merit points. Didn't he say that you'll get sixty merit points regardless of whether the weapon forging is successful or not?"
"Hehe, you don't understand. Those who can pass Pei Daoming's weapon master assessment and be taken into the weapon-forging room to forge weapons are not short of sixty merit points. What they want is to successfully forge the weapon, and then they will get far more than sixty merit points."
"So amazing? Then why don't you go?"
"I'm not good at refining water-based materials. If I were, I would have signed up long ago."
Zhang Lingshan pricked up his ears and overheard people in the refining hall chatting about things they hadn't registered for. A thought struck him, and he couldn't help but interject, "Brother Dao, you said that successfully refining a weapon earns far more than sixty merit points. How many is that?"
"You call me 'Brother Dao'?"
The man was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You've only been on the third floor for a short time, haven't you? Here, fire-tending boys are called fire workers, and weapon refiners are called weapon masters. My surname is Shi, so you can just call me Shi the Fire Worker. We laborers are hardly worthy of being called fellow Daoists."
Zhang Lingshan cupped his hands and said, "So you are Shi Huogong. My surname is Zhang."
"Zhang Huogong".
The stone craftsman cupped his hands and said, "As Pei Qishi's fire boy, you can get at least three hundred merit points after successfully refining a weapon. Moreover, during the refining process, all expenses will be paid by Pei Qishi. For example, if you are mentally exhausted and need to eat rice to replenish your energy, then Pei Qishi will reimburse you for the merit points you exchanged for rice."
"so good?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lingshan was immediately tempted. If someone would reimburse his meal expenses, what else was there to consider?
It should be noted that a bowl of rice requires three merit points. Assuming that one bowl of rice is consumed every day for a month while refining a weapon, that would amount to thirty bowls, which would be ninety merit points. Even if the weapon refining fails, considering the sixty merit points that Pei Daoming promised to give away for free, that would still amount to one hundred and fifty merit points.
This is a sure-fire way to make money!
I have to go.
"Thank you for your explanation, Shi Huogong. If I pass Pei Qishi's test this time, I'll treat you to rice."
Zhang Lingshan said.
Shi Huogong smiled slightly: "Haha, then we'll wait for your good news, Zhang Huogong."
He just said it casually and didn't take it seriously.
This Zhang Huogong is so young, and he's only been on the third floor for a short time. How could he possibly compete with those bronze medal veterans?
I went to register just to join in the fun; I really wanted to be chosen by Master Pei.
Pei Qishi was a renowned figure throughout the entire third level, and one of the few people with the best chance of being promoted to silver and thus stepping onto the fourth level.
Ordinary fire-starting boys wouldn't even catch someone's eye.
When Zhang Lingshan caught up with the registration team, he saw that everyone had crowded into another refining hall.
The middle-aged man in charge of recruiting fire-tending boys for Pei Daoming said, "Everyone who has signed up for the assessment, come in. I'm closing the door."
Swish.
Zhang Lingshan immediately squeezed in and saw that there were at least two hundred people in the refining hall.
'Wow, so many people signed up?'
Zhang Lingshan couldn't help but be surprised.
It seems that Pei Daoming is very famous; everyone is willing to be his fire-tending boy.
crunch.
The door closed.
Although this refining hall is considered relatively large, it only has one hundred refining furnaces, while there are more than two hundred people in the hall, which is simply not enough.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
The middle-aged man in charge of recruitment said loudly, "My name is Jiang Yan. I am the fire-starting boy under Master Pei Daoming. Many people may know me or may not know me, but it doesn't matter. Whether you know me or not, it will not affect our selection this time."
After saying that, he glanced at everyone and said, "Now, I will announce the selection rules. The first round is an elimination system. Everyone will come to refine Blue Ocean Iron. Anyone who cannot refine it to 75% purity will be eliminated."
"What!?"
Everyone gasped in surprise.
Someone couldn't help but exclaim, "Our requirement for the third level is 70%, why is it 75%?"
"Following the increasing pattern of the first, second, and third levels, the requirement for the fourth level should be 75%."
"I understand! Master Pei must be aiming for the silver medal, which is why he needs a 75% purity level."
"No, is it really as simple as just refining to 75% to get promoted to a silver medal in the weapon refining room?"
The crowd was buzzing with discussion.
"Quiet down, everyone!"
Jiang Yan spoke loudly, without even raising his voice, yet his voice was enough to drown out everyone else, demonstrating his remarkable strength.
Jiang Yan completely ignored the discussions and doubts of the crowd, and simply said, "Let's begin the refining now. Those who don't have furnaces yet can use someone else's furnace after they finish refining. As for those who fail, the merit points for the Blue Sea Iron you refine will belong to you, but since you haven't reached 75% purity, please leave immediately."
After saying that, he casually glanced at a few older men and said, "Then, please begin. Early refining and early rest will also benefit the second round of refining. Why are you all being so hesitant? Do you all want to see others refine first because you lack confidence? If you lack confidence, then you can leave."
Upon hearing this, many people found the nearest stove and placed their identity badges there.
Zhang Lingshan did the same, squeezing past the people next to him and quickly finding a stove to cook.
As Jiang Yan said, the earlier you refine, the earlier you can rest. If you refine later, you may not have time to rest in the second round.
but.
Not everyone thinks this way. Many people prefer to wait and see how successful others have been, so they can learn from their experience.
Snapped!
Zhang Lingshan pressed his identity token and immediately teleported the Blue Sea Iron over, then began refining it without saying a word.
He was very familiar with the Blue Ocean Iron, which he refined at the very beginning of the third level, so he refined it to 75% in less than an hour.
"Zhang Lingshan, approved!"
Jiang Yan glanced at his identity badge and called out loudly.
Those who passed stood on the side closest to the inner wall, while those who failed were asked to leave the hall.
Time flows slowly by.
Zhang Lingshan stood there bored, so he observed the flames and refining techniques of the others.
It was observed that most people relied on the intensity of the flame to refine the product, and few actually possessed the necessary skills; their level was comparable to Zhang Lingshan's.
Those with extraordinary talent, like Qi Shuyan, who can win by relying on skill, are extremely rare and unique.
At least, Zhang Lingshan has not yet seen anyone who can rival Qi Shuyan.
I wonder if those weapon refiners, such as Pei Daoming, whom we are about to meet, possess the extraordinary talent of Qi Shuyan.
Time flows slowly by.
Finally. The first round is over.
At first, the lobby was full of more than two hundred people, but now half of them have been eliminated, leaving only a little over one hundred.
'I didn't expect that refining it to 75% purity would eliminate so many people.'
Zhang Lingshan was secretly surprised.
What is extremely simple for him is incredibly difficult for others.
This performance clearly demonstrates that Zhang Lingshan's refining ability surpasses that of at least half of the people on the entire third floor.
"Now we begin the second round."
Jiang Yan announced loudly, "The rules are the same as the first round, but this time we are refining the second-grade material, Water Dragon Silver."
"Or should it be refined to 75% purity?" someone couldn't help but exclaim.
Refining the third-grade material Blue Sea Iron to 75% was already difficult enough for him, and now he actually has to refine the second-grade material Water Dragon Silver to 75% as well.
Isn't this going to kill someone?
Do you want to quit?
Jiang Yan didn't bother with any small talk and asked directly.
The man's mouth moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said, "I won't quit."
He ultimately decided to give it a try.
Anyway, even if I don't manage to refine it to 75%, I can still achieve 70%, so I'll definitely get two credit points. It's not a loss.
"Then let's begin."
Jiang Yan announced.
'The first round used third-grade materials, the second round used second-grade materials, so the third round should use first-grade materials.'
Zhang Lingshan refined the product while secretly pondering it.
Speaking of second-grade material, Water Dragon Silver, I've refined quite a lot of it myself.
After becoming familiar with Blue Sea Iron, the second material I refined was Water Dragon Silver, since second-grade materials provide more merit points and are more cost-effective than refining Blue Sea Iron.
Therefore, the Water Dragon Silver was the material that Zhang Lingshan refined every day for the last ten days of that month.
In other words, this second round is not a problem for Zhang Lingshan.
The problem is the third round.
According to Jiang Yan's elimination system, the third round is for first-class materials, but Zhang Lingshan has never even touched a first-class material before, so how can he refine it?
Are we going to be eliminated?
Zhang Lingshan felt uncertain.
However, there's no time to worry about that now. Since we're already here, let's make the best of it and refine this Water Dragon Silver to 75% first.
Two hours passed.
"Zhang Lingshan, approved!"
Jiang Yan spoke loudly, a hint of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Lingshan, saying, "Zhang Huogong, you are exceptionally talented, your flame intensity is very high, and at such a young age, your future is limitless. How come I've never seen someone like you before?"
"Jiang Huogong, you flatter me. I am still far from being qualified. I haven't been a bronze medalist for long, so you haven't met me before."
Zhang Lingshan said.
Jiang Yan said, "So you're even more outstanding than I imagined. That's right, with your talent, even if you fail this time, we'll still have opportunities to cooperate in the future."
As he spoke, he patted Zhang Lingshan on the shoulder with a smile, as a sign of encouragement.
The moment he slapped Zhang Lingshan, Zhang Lingshan's mind instinctively jolted, but he quickly restrained himself and stood still while he slapped him.
Fortunately, the other party simply patted him on the shoulder and did not have any hidden tricks, which relieved Zhang Lingshan.
He just wants to be a simple pyrotechnician right now and doesn't want to compete with anyone, so it's best if no one bothers him.
Therefore, the other party probably just thought Zhang Lingshan was young, so they wanted to say a few more words to get to know him and make a good connection.
After Jiang Yan left, Zhang Lingshan continued to observe the others and found that the second round was indeed difficult. Of the people he had seen refining so far, very few had succeeded.
as predicted.
By the end of the second round, fewer than thirty people remained in the refining hall.
It's even higher than the elimination rate of over 50% in the first round!
Seeing this, Zhang Lingshan felt somewhat more at ease, because he noticed that many people were panting or looked pale.
It is obvious that some people lack physical strength, some lack mental strength, and some have both.
According to Zhang Lingshan's observation, there are only about a handful of people who can still maintain a normal complexion like him.
Only five people!
"First of all, congratulations to everyone for passing the second round."
Jiang Yan announced loudly, "Next, everyone will rest for two hours. You can go out and exchange for spirit rice and immortal pills to replenish your strength. Return here after two hours. Here, I'll give you a sneak peek at the third round of selection. You've probably guessed it already. That's right, it's the refining of first-class materials. The other rules are the same as the first two rounds. But I can't reveal what kind of materials they are. Please understand."
That's all.
Jiang Yan then opened the door and invited everyone to go outside and do their own thing.
Suddenly someone said, "Jiang the pyreman, you haven't said how many pyremen you're hiring this time, one or two?"
"Yes, I almost forgot about the most important thing."
"If there are two, I might still have a chance. But if there's only one, I think I should retreat. This Water Dragon Silver has already given me a hard time. I know my own limitations."
Everyone chimed in with their own words.
Jiang Yan held up two fingers and said, "This time, Master Pei is going to refine a water-based magic weapon, so he needs two water-based fire craftsmen."
"Two? That's great! Looks like I still have a chance, haha."
"There are two of them. Isn't Jiang Huogong going to participate this time?"
"Isn't that a pointless question? Jiang Huogong already said it's a water-based magic weapon, but Jiang Huogong is good at earth-based magic."
"But if Jiang Huogong isn't involved, what will he be doing during this time? Isn't Jiang Huogong Pei Qishi's fire-tending boy?"
Someone asked in confusion.
Jiang Yan smiled and said, "I am grateful to Master Pei for thinking highly of me and being willing to register me under his name, so that I can earn a living from him. However, this does not mean that I am restricted from taking on any other work. So, when Master Pei is looking for other fireworkers to help with refining, I can also go to the refining hall to refine and earn merit points."
"I see."
"I thought that after becoming a fire-starting servant under the weapon master, I would only be able to work for the weapon master."
"Since I still have freedom, I'd like to follow a weapon maker."
"Who wouldn't want to follow? If you had Jiang Huogong's skills, you could follow him too."
"Alright, alright, let's stop chatting. I need to eat some rice to replenish my energy."
The group chatted as they walked out of the refining hall. (End of Chapter)