Chapter 4: Fire Refining Doesn't Work, Let's Try Earth Refining

  "As soon as my divine soul was formed, I could actually sense the pulse of the earth." Kong Fang looked at the three pieces of refining material that he had trampled into the ground, his eyes flashing with excitement.

  This is a world based on the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, with light and darkness divided into two extremes, and wind and thunder as punishment. Kong Fang has the innate talent of earth element, so he naturally has an innate connection with the earth element among the five elements.

  But even so, Kong Fang never dared to hope that he could feel the pulse of the earth when his divine soul was first formed, because under normal circumstances, in order to feel the pulse of the earth, one must reach the "Enter Spirit Realm" before it is possible. Right, only possibly, not necessarily can feel.

  To know, the next realm of the Soul-Calling Realm is actually 'Entering Spirit Realm'.

  But now Kong Fang has actually done it ahead of time, which makes Kong Fang himself somewhat unbelievable for a while.

  But what excited Kung Fang even more was not just the feeling of the earth's pulse, but also that he had discovered an extremely strange thing when he felt the earth's pulse earlier. If that fleeting feeling was real, then this time's sect assessment might have a way to pass.

  Kong Fang stared excitedly at the three pieces of Refining material that he had trampled into the ground.

  "I had just formed my divine soul, and before I could cultivate any magical powers, I was unable to control the earth element between heaven and earth. But just now, when I sensed the pulse of the earth, I surprisingly found that I could control a bit of the earth element in the earth. What's even more bizarre is that the earth element in the earth can actually flow through these three pieces of refining material that I stepped into the earth. Kong Fang's heart was excited and unknown, the earth element can flow through the refining material, which means he can control various substances in the refining material."

  "If the feeling just now was real, I might really be able to refine equipment." Kong Fang's eyes shone with a brilliant light, and his heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

  Only to see Kong Fang's right hand suddenly pressed on the ground, the earth's power in the surrounding tens of meters quickly gathered towards his right hand, and then under Kong Fang's control, the earth's power directly drilled into the three refining materials inside the ground.

  "It really can." Kong Fang suddenly exclaimed.

  However, soon Kong Fang suppressed the excitement in his heart and tried his best to control the power of the earth element in the refining materials, removing those unnecessary impurities.

  Among the three refining materials, Sanjian Jin has a great benefit in improving the sharpness of weapons, but it is also the most difficult to remove impurities. Therefore, novice disciples will not easily use Sanjian Jin unless absolutely necessary, fearing that they cannot remove the impurities and ultimately making the quality of the entire weapon even lower.

  But at this time, the impurities in Feng Jinzhong were like gentle streams under the power of the earth element, slowly flowing out along the 'canal' formed by the power of the earth element.

  This discovery made Kong Fang's heart even more excited, and he also had some expectations for the weapon to be refined this time.

  The horizon, which was originally only a pale white color, had already begun to brighten up greatly, but Kong Fang, who was immersed in excitement, didn't notice at all.

  As the sky brightened, those same outer disciples who lived at the foot of the mountain also emerged from their small cottages. Some rushed to the Huoyun Hall to refine their unfinished weapons, while others who thought they could pass the assessment went to the Tianji Hall to look for things to do, hoping to accumulate some contributions to the sect, in order to exchange them for the cultivation methods or spiritual treasures they coveted.

  Just as everyone was about to leave, suddenly a loud and crazy laugh burst out, many people involuntarily stopped in their tracks and turned around to look in the direction of the laughter.

  "That direction... isn't that where Kong Fang lives, the one who's really down on his luck?"

  "It was indeed him."

  "How did he suddenly become so happy, could it be that he's found some good equipment materials again?" Although this was his guess, the speaker's voice was full of disdain. "Hmph, even if he does find something good, he won't be able to keep it, in the end it'll still benefit others."

  "That's what he deserves, a person with earth attribute talent actually came to the Instrument Sect to cultivate instruments, there must be something wrong with his brain."

  Yesterday, Elder Xu Chunyang's words in the Tianchu Hall had quickly spread, and many people already knew that Kong Fang only possessed a single Earthly Heavenly Gift.

  The crowd that had stopped in their tracks murmured a few words to each other before turning back to their own affairs, leaving Kong Fang behind. In the eyes of these novice disciples, no matter what, someone with an Earth attribute like Kong Fang would never be able to make a name for himself in the Ziqi Sect. As such, nobody was willing to bother with him. To them, getting close to someone with no future prospects whatsoever was simply a waste of time.

  At a place slightly farther away from the broken wooden house of Kong Fang, Zhao Yong and his three followers also stopped in their tracks to gaze at the small mountain valley where Kong Fang lived.

  "Hasn't he gotten something good again?" A glimmer of greed flashed in the eyes of Qian Ziguo beside Zhao Yong.

  Zhao Yong narrowed his eyes, looked carefully for a while, and then snorted, saying: "No matter whether he got something good or not, I'll keep an eye on him tightly in the last few days. I'm afraid that he knows he can't refine a good weapon, so he might try to escape secretly at the last moment."

  Zhao Yong glanced at the three people beside him and continued, "You three will take turns keeping an eye on him in the coming days. If you find anything good, quietly snatch it away, but be careful not to leave any evidence. As the assessment period approaches, the people from the Executive Hall are becoming increasingly serious. Once they catch you, even I won't be able to protect you."

  Qian Ziguo and his two companions smiled slightly, "Don't worry, we'll take care of it. Dealing with Kong Fang is a piece of cake."

  Zhao Yong nodded in satisfaction, "You all do a good job for me, and once we enter the inner hall, I will bring you three along and make you my followers. And you must all understand that my identity can only take effect after entering the inner hall. At that time, I naturally won't mistreat my own followers."

  Qian Ziguo and the other two exchanged a glance, their faces all bearing an irrepressible joy. In order to set foot on the path of cultivation in the Ziqiong sect, one must first become an inner disciple; only then would the Ziqiong sect bestow upon them the Soul Refining Method and the Cultivation Technique.

  However, becoming an inner disciple is not easy. Except for some talented apprentices, others must meet the requirements of the sect to be eligible to become an inner disciple, and this qualification is to rank among the top 30 in the refining equipment assessment held every two years.

  Qizong's entry-level disciples have nearly a thousand people, but only thirty people can become inner hall disciples, the competition is extremely fierce, and even some are tragic.

  Becoming an inner sect disciple is too difficult for many people, so some people with average talent will become followers of those with a good background or potential, and they can also obtain the sect's reward cultivation methods and soul refining techniques. Of course, the cultivation methods obtained by followers are no match for those of inner sect disciples.

  "You two follow the young master first, let me take care of this on the first day. A small fry like Kong Fang is still unable to escape our grasp." Qian Ziguo cackled with a strange smile.

  The four of them burst out laughing together.

  Zhao Yong and the others didn't take Kong Fang seriously at all, but it's not surprising. Previously, they had snatched away Kong Fang's Qingming Stone and even severely injured him, ultimately leading to his death.

  In the eyes of Zhao Yong and his three friends, Kong Fang was just a piece of meat on the chopping board, to be cut up as they pleased. What they didn't know was that this Kong Fang was no longer the one they could bully at will, but a brand new soul.

  After Zhao Yong left with two other followers, Qian Ziguo chose a small and inconspicuous path to sneak towards Xiaoshan Gou.

  In the broken wooden house,

  Kong Fang held a two-foot-long dark short sword in his right hand and gently stroked it with his left hand, looking extremely satisfied.

  "Haha, indeed there is no absolute way to heaven! Kong Fang was extremely delighted in his heart. "Although I don't have the talent for fire manipulation and can't control flames to forge weapons, who would have thought that earth manipulation could also be used to forge equipment? Moreover, earth manipulation has an advantage when it comes to removing impurities." Kong Fang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  The power of Tu Xing refines the instrument, this kind of thing has never happened in the history of the instrument sect. Although I dare not say that there will be no one after me, it is absolutely unprecedented before.

  If those elders of the Instrument Sect knew that someone was actually using the power of the Earthly Path to refine instruments, I wonder if they would be shocked to death.

  Looking at the dark short sword in his hand, Kong Fang hesitated slightly. "Although the power of Tu Xing can also be used to refine equipment, this is after all a completely new path. For now, I can only manage to remove impurities and create an ingot, but the quenching process will require going to Huo Yun Hall. Fortunately, Qi Ling can be done anywhere."

  Kong Fang held the dark short sword and was about to leave for Huoyun Hall when he suddenly furrowed his brow, casting a glance at a small mound not far away. A cold glint flashed in his eyes before disappearing.

  Qian Ziguo thought he was hiding secretly enough, but didn't know that Kong Fang had already condensed his spirit and soul, and his perception of the surroundings was extremely strong.