Chapter 525: Publicity and the Superior – Artifact Refinement Prodigy (88)

“Hahahaha!”

Finding it amusing, Jin Jun burst into laughter.

At his current level, he naturally couldn’t possibly take Zhang Yu before him as a true competitor.

But after laughing, he also understood that he couldn’t just turn around and leave as though nothing had happened.

After all, Zhang Yu had openly announced his own plan — which was effectively a direct challenge, a declaration of competition against him in an artifact refinement project.

If he were to leave without a word, it might tarnish his reputation in the Artifact Refinement Department.

Especially since Jin Jun didn’t really know much about Zhang Yu’s personality, nor that of his assistants — Ziyun Zhen and the others.

What if they were big talkers, like Feng Tingting?

Rumors might spread everywhere: “Zhang Yu openly challenged Jin Jun, and Jin Jun left without saying a word!” — wouldn’t that be a stain on his reputation?

So Jin Jun simply smiled faintly and raised a single finger.

At the tip of his finger, a light flickered, projecting an expanding number into the air.

10

50

120

“This is the funding I’ve currently raised for the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype project.”

As Jin Jun spoke, the number at his fingertip continued to rise — in the blink of an eye, it had jumped to 300 spirit coins, and still it climbed rapidly.

With this display of spirit currency, ripples spread through the Spiritual Realm. Light shimmered, and faint whispers seemed to echo through heaven and earth.

It was said that in ancient times, when an immortal descended to the mortal realm, there would be divine horns blowing, celestial flowers falling, auspicious beasts galloping, and radiant clouds spreading across the sky.

But in modern times, the display of vast sums of spirit coins brought forth its own kind of “visions.”

When the number at Jin Jun’s fingertip surged past 300, dazzling light projections began to appear all around — forming swirling advertisements for investment firms, artifact brands, and gambling promotions — all trying desperately to attract more spirit coin flow.

When the total reached 600, voices could be heard calling from the depths of the Spiritual Realm — countless soul cultivators softly whispering Jin Jun’s name, trying to sell him funds, mansions, and luxury goods.

Even the air began to hum faintly with divine energy — a sign that his massive transaction had drawn the attention of the Divine Power Network, which was now logging everything in detail.

At the same time, his bank’s premium-client verification system activated, unleashing a dazzling authenticity effect.

Brilliant divine light descended, turning into floating numbers that spread across every corner of the lab, confirming the reality of his account balance.

As the amount climbed, the verification grew increasingly grand. Layer after layer of cold, emotionless voices began to chant Jin Jun’s name and balance, further validating his wealth.

“User Jin Jun — account balance: 642 spirit coins!”

Ziyun Zhen could almost feel the heavens themselves echoing that number.

Her violet irises, shimmering with reflected coin-light, widened in awe. One thought filled her mind: “As expected of the prodigy challenging the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype… he’s so rich! So powerful!”

The other two assistants beside her were equally stunned, all thinking the same thing: “With such vast funds and abundant research resources, how could Zhang Yu ever compete with him?”

Jin Jun smiled in satisfaction as he admired the glowing digits and the vision of divine finance swirling around him.

To ensure the success of his project, he had done everything possible — savings, loans, investments — raising every bit of his 642 spirit coins through sheer determination.

Once he withdrew his finger, the spirit coin display vanished, and the celestial phenomena dispersed one by one.

Then he opened his hand again, sweeping his palm across the air.

Instantly, lines of artifact data were projected before everyone’s eyes — like layers of glowing files hovering in midair.

Artifacts were the pride of any refiner, and their parameters were the best proof of one’s skill.

As a top student of the Artifact Refinement Department, Jin Jun naturally always kept his artifact data ready for public viewing.

When meeting other artifact refiners, a simple glance at these parameters would tell them all they needed to know about his craftsmanship and specialization.

But what if the audience didn’t understand artifact parameters?

Just like Ziyun Zhen and the two assistants now — they were staring at the data, struggling to understand, searching up each term just to make sense of the numbers.

That was because these artifacts were either advanced designs taught only to upperclassmen, or entirely absent from the university syllabus — all far beyond their current level.

As for Zhang Yu, he could at least tell from the names that most of these designs were related to the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype — after all, he had previously asked Fu Ji to compile a similar list.

Soon, Ziyun Zhen noticed the comments attached beneath the artifact data, which gave a clearer idea of their level.

[Top Comment] True Lord Magneto: “Unique craftsmanship. Building upon a stable foundation over many years, these refinements show great personal innovation…”

There were also remarks from True Lord Thunder, Realman Jiujian, Yan Qianji, and other teachers and senior students.

However, when Jin Jun’s eyes landed on the comment left by True Lord Thunder, he frowned slightly — then with a casual swipe, deleted it.

Ziyun Zhen and the others, watching the long list of glowing praise, felt as if they were seeing a wall of endorsements backing Jin Jun — each one proof of his extraordinary skill.

Then Jin Jun said calmly, “To complete the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype, I’ve not only prepared sufficient funding, but also accumulated years of technical expertise.”

“These artifacts represent my journey — the skills I’ll need for the prototype’s core construction.”

“And to validate my level, I invited many teachers and top students to evaluate my work and provide feedback — seeking flaws to correct, so I may advance even further.”

He spoke no more, yet everyone present could feel the weight of his confidence.

Ziyun Zhen thought to herself, “He’s rich, skilled, and well-connected. Senior Jin Jun really has everything in place. How could Zhang Yu possibly compete?”

Ye Xingli mused inwardly, “Jin Jun’s preparation is even more thorough than I imagined. Looks like another Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype will appear next year.”

After that, having showcased his wealth and talent, Jin Jun saw no reason to linger.

He believed Zhang Yu must be regretting his earlier declaration — it wouldn’t be long before he came to beg for a place in Jin Jun’s project.

“By then,” he thought, “the terms won’t be nearly as generous.”

With that, Jin Jun greeted Ye Xingli, then turned and left.

But before leaving the lab, he paused to say to the others, “As for what I said just now — feel free to share it as you like. There’s no need to keep it secret for me.”

“My project still welcomes anyone interested to submit their résumé.”

After he departed, silence settled once more over the laboratory.

Zhang Yu acted as though nothing had happened, returning calmly to his workbench to continue practicing artifact refinement.

Meanwhile, Ziyun Zhen, washing materials on the side, kept stealing glances at him, thinking, “He must be feeling so unsettled right now. Probably in a few days he’ll go to Senior Jin Jun to admit defeat.”

Soon, the events of that day began spreading throughout the Artifact Refinement Department.

When Su Yunni, the top student in their class, heard of it, her first reaction was that it must have been a publicity stunt.

She messaged their private chat group:

“There’s no way anyone that stupid exists — switching departments and immediately challenging Jin Jun, who’s been preparing for years and mastered the Void Artifact Codex?”

“All that funding display and data projection… this is obviously Jin Jun’s way of hyping up his project. Zhang Yu must be his prop.”

“Give it a few days — Zhang Yu will ‘admit defeat’ and join Jin Jun’s team. Then they’ll milk the publicity again.”

Reading that, Ziyun Zhen felt enlightened. “Right! It’s a staged promotion! After all this buzz, Jin Jun will surely get more applicants — maybe even new investors and lenders.”

…

No matter what kind of rumors swirled outside, after Zhang Yu announced his plan to refine the prototype, he continued at his own steady pace.

He wasn’t in a rush — every day, he quietly practiced artifact refinement, accumulating progress toward his Artifact Refinement Prodigy advancement.

Jin Jun’s grand display had indeed put pressure on him, but it also fueled his fighting spirit even more.

Time flew, and soon a month had passed. By the end of June, Zhang Yu finally completed the eighth and final refinement technique.

Superior – Artifact Refinement Prodigy (8/8): Artifact quality and refinement success rate greatly increased.

Staring at the description of the second-tier effect, Zhang Yu’s eyes sharpened. After some testing, he understood what it meant.

“Artifact quality” referred to the level of the refined product — whether an artifact or a Law Husk.

Even if one refined the same design multiple times, the quality of each result would naturally differ — in strength, power output, and other metrics.

Now, “greatly increased artifact quality” meant that every item he refined would approach the absolute limit of his current skill and design — with maximum strength, efficiency, mana storage, response speed, and functional range.

Meanwhile, the “greatly increased refinement success rate” referred to fewer errors during the refinement process.

Every mistake meant wasted materials — so a higher success rate directly meant higher material efficiency and lower costs.

All in all, the second-tier effect of Artifact Refinement Prodigy dramatically increased both the performance and cost-efficiency of his craft.

Zhang Yu smiled faintly. All that effort was worth it.

With this new ability unlocked, he would hold a decisive advantage in the upcoming competition over the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype.

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