Chapter 21: The Great Battle Approaches

Huangfu Ting made the final decision, directly assigning the artifact-forging tasks.
Upon hearing Huangfu Ting’s words, Qu Yi merely smiled faintly—this outcome was within his expectations.
Tan Chongji and Tan Changhuo, upon hearing Huangfu Ting’s announcement, were overjoyed but also realized that Qu Yi had received the other half of the tasks, filling them with dissatisfaction. If not for Qu Yi’s interference, all the artifact-forging tasks would have gone to the Xiaoding Hall.
At that moment, Huangfu Ting spoke again.
“Tan Chongji, Qu Yi, do you have any further requests?” Huangfu Ting asked with a smile.
Huangfu Ting couldn’t believe that these two parties, with their current strength, could complete all the artifact-forging tasks, so he immediately asked.
Tan Chongji stood up right away and exclaimed happily, “President, as I’ve said before, for our Xiaoding Hall to complete these tasks, we need the help of artifact-forgers at the Divine Weapon level from various sects. Therefore, I earnestly ask the president to arrange for artifact-forgers from other sects in Huobao Town to assist us.”
Upon hearing this, the other artifact-forgers grew angry, but instead of rebuking Tan Chongji, they looked anxiously at Huangfu Ting.
Huangfu Ting remained calm and turned to Qu Yi.
Qu Yi smiled and said, “President, I’ve already said that if I handle it alone, I’ll forge those five hundred thousand divine artifacts by myself. But the president must arrange the necessary materials for me. Our Fanggui Pavilion doesn’t have enough people to purchase materials from various places—this is something the president must take care of.”
In truth, Qu Yi’s goal in taking on these tasks was to forge a large number of divine artifacts at the Divine Weapon level as practice after mastering the “Two-Dimensional Dao” formation.
When he mastered the “One-Dimensional Dao” formation in Bai Shou Village, he had forged millions of divine artifacts at the Divine Human level, thereby fully mastering the One-Dimensional Dao and elevating his crafting skills to an extreme level.
The ability to forge hundreds of divine artifacts in just ten days was proof of Qu Yi’s skill at creating such artifacts.
Now, by taking on these tasks, he aimed to forge a large number of Divine Weapon-level artifacts, thereby fully mastering the “Two-Dimensional Dao” formation and pushing his crafting skills to their limit.
Originally, Qu Yi wanted to take on the task of forging one million divine artifacts, but out of caution, Huangfu Ting had to divide the tasks evenly, so Qu Yi only received fifty thousand.

However, fifty thousand crafting tasks were more than enough for Qu Yi to push his crafting skills to their limit. After hearing Tan Chongji and Qu Yi’s words, Huangfu Ting felt relieved—their conditions were not at all conflicting, making it easy for him to handle things. “I’ll respond to Qu Yi’s condition first. I can agree to it right now. I’ll mobilize all the merchant groups in Huobao Town. As long as you give me the list of crafting materials you need, I’ll have those groups deliver them to the Fangqi Pavilion immediately,” Huangfu Ting said with a smile. Qu Yi nodded in return. Huangfu Ting then turned to Tan Chongji and said with a smile, “As for the requirements of the Xiaoding Hall, I can meet them. Any craftsman registered with the Crafting Guild can be assigned to your Xiaoding Hall.” The Crafting Guild only had the authority to manage registered craftsmen and could not interfere with craftsmen within individual sects. Since most craftsmen in Huobao Town were registered with the guild, Huangfu Ting’s agreement meant that craftsmen from other sects could also be assigned to the Xiaoding Hall. Tan Chongji understood what Huangfu Ting meant and nodded happily. The hundred thousand craftsmen seated there, after hearing Huangfu Ting’s words, felt resentment but couldn’t express it. The Crafting Guild, under Huangfu Ting’s control, determined the fate of their own sects. If they voiced objections now, their sects would surely face pressure from him. The cultivators in the Divine Realm were all formidable figures on their paths of cultivation. Although Huangfu Ting appeared kind on the surface, every craftsman knew that offending him would bring severe hardships to their future. All the craftsmen fell silent. Satisfied with their reaction, Huangfu Ting said with a smile, “Very good. Huobao Town truly is a place full of hidden talents. We have a good chance of completing these crafting tasks. Now, you can all leave. I’ll issue orders one by one. I hope all sects will fully support my decisions.” “Yes, President,” the hundred thousand craftsmen replied calmly. Then, with mixed feelings, the craftsmen left the competition arena. ※※※ Crafting Guild, Xiayun Hall. When Huangfu Ting saw Qu Yi about to leave the competition arena, he sent a mental message, asking Qu Yi to meet with him. Now, Huangfu Ting and Qu Yi were sitting together. “Qu Yi, tell me now—can you really craft five hundred thousand divine artifacts by yourself?” Huangfu Ting asked, looking at Qu Yi with a puzzled expression.

To be honest, Huangfu Ting was also a bit worried, which was why he had divided the crafting task equally. This way, if Qu Yi failed to complete it, the Xiaoding Hall could take over his task.

Qu Yi smiled faintly and said, “President, rest assured. I made a public vow that if I failed to complete the task, I would commit suicide. I’m not willing to die; I will finish the task. You just need to help me gather the crafting materials.”

At this point, Qu Yi knew he couldn’t provoke Huangfu Ting any further. If he told him that he hadn’t yet created a single divine weapon at the Divine Weapon level, it would likely make Huangfu Ting furious enough to kill him with a single palm strike.

Huangfu Ting watched Qu Yi quietly for a long time without asking another question.

“Alright. After examining you for so long, I didn’t sense any abnormal fluctuations in your soul’s energy. I believe in your strength,” Huangfu Ting finally said, his expression visibly relaxing.

Qu Yi nodded and smiled. “Then, President, I’ll head back to the Fangqi Pavilion first. Also, please prepare that Divine General-level divine weapon you promised me as soon as possible. It definitely belongs to me.”

Huangfu Ting chuckled, even more convinced now that Qu Yi had the ability to complete this crafting task.

After that, Qu Yi left the Crafting Guild and returned directly to Shop No. 1 of the Fangqi Pavilion. The Fangqi Pavilion now had two shops in Huobao Town—the original shop being Shop No. 1, and the one obtained from the Xiaoding Hall being Shop No. 2. Fang Xinfei and Fang Mo were currently in Shop No. 1. Upon seeing Qu Yi return, they rushed up to greet him happily.

“Master Qu Yi, it’s great to hear that you’ve gotten half of the crafting task!” Fang Xinfei exclaimed, not knowing what to do with his hands and waving them around frantically.

The Fangqi Pavilion had already gained fame, and some leaders of crafting sects were now reaching out to Fang Xinfei on their own. Thus, news of Qu Yi’s performance in the competition had already reached him.

Qu Yi nodded and calmly walked into the shop, then sat down, looking at the two who followed in. “Pavilion Master, the Fangqi Pavilion sells divine weapons at the Divine Human level. With the hundred thousand divine weapons I provided, we can last for a hundred thousand years. During this time, I’ll focus entirely on completing the crafting task, so I likely won’t be involved much in the affairs of the Pavilion. You and Fang Mo will have to work harder,” Qu Yi said with a smile.

Fang Xinfei and Fang Mo immediately nodded in agreement. Of course, they understood that as long as Qu Yi completed the artifact-forging task, the points earned from those 500,000 tasks could be exchanged for vast wealth, and the status of the Fang Qi Pavilion would also rise significantly—marking the true beginning of its revival. With wealth, status, and fame, the Fang Qi Pavilion would have no trouble attracting artifact forgers.

“Master Qu Yi, rest assured. We will definitely take care of the other matters of the Fang Qi Pavilion. You can focus on forging artifacts,” Fang Xinfei replied with enthusiasm.

Fang Mo also clenched his fist excitedly, clearly determined to seize this opportunity.

Qu Yi nodded in satisfaction and smiled, saying, “Alright, I’ll go study the formation tactics now. When the person assigned by the guild leader brings the forging materials, let me know and I’ll come over.”

The forging materials collected by Huangfu Ting were to be delivered to Store No. 1 of the Fang Qi Pavilion. Without waiting for their reply, Qu Yi stood up and flew away.

On a remote mountain peak in Huo Bao Town, Qu Yi landed and sat down on a huge rock. “Artifact God, the Artifact Forging Association—why suddenly order the creation of so many divine artifacts?” Qu Yi’s consciousness connected directly with the Artifact God inside the Cun Jie Ball.

It wasn’t just the artifact-forging guild in Huo Bao Town that had received forging tasks; other renowned artifact-forging guilds across the entire Huo Li Divine Realm also got such tasks, sparking a wave of artifact-forging activity throughout the realm. To ordinary cultivators, this trend was undoubtedly puzzling, leaving them wondering what the intent behind it was.

Soon, the Artifact God replied, “Qu Yi, I have a rough guess. The forging tasks assigned by the Artifact Forging Association were ordered by the two Divine Kings of the Huo Li Divine Realm.”

Qu Yi was shocked, too stunned to speak. This wave of forging tasks was actually related to Divine Kings—something truly astonishing.

After a while, Qu Yi’s expression eased. “Artifact God, how are you so sure it was the two Divine Kings’ idea? They’re already Divine Kings—what use would they have for divine artifacts at the Divine Weapon level?” He asked, still puzzled.

The Artifact God replied quickly, “Because in 100,000 years, there will be a massive battle among the cultivators at the Divine Weapon level across the entire divine realm. I think Yan Yi and Yan Que, in order to save face, want to equip each of the Divine Weapon-level cultivators in the Huo Li Divine Realm with a divine artifact.”

Yan Yi and Yan Que were the two Divine Kings of the Huo Li Divine Realm at present.

Upon hearing the Words of the Divine Weapon, Qu Yi became even more confused. What was a massive battle among cultivators at the Divine Weapon stage? And what did it mean for the two Divine Kings to save face?