Chapter 345: Chapter 332: Let’s Make a Deal

"Kid, I know you little guys like to boast or crack jokes to get your elders’ attention, but as far as I’m concerned, a joke like this isn’t funny at all!"

Bai Feifei was silent for a moment, her languid expression turning stern.

’So it’s true, a newborn calf fears no tiger?’

’How dare a little brat like him spout such outrageous nonsense in front of me?’

’Does this punk even know the first thing about Artifact Refining?’

’Doesn’t he know how troublesome it is to repair a Spiritual Artifact?’

’Doesn’t he know that those old geezers send me dozens of Spiritual Artifacts to repair at a time?’

’Even if I gave up drinking and sleeping, it would still take me months to finish them all!’

’And "Spirit Level Third Grade"?’

’What does he take me for, a dignified Spirit Level Fourth Grade Artifact Refining Master?’

’This is absolutely infuriating!’

’He looks decent enough, but I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover. To think such a fine-featured boy could be so stupid.’

’Aiyoyo, I drank too much yesterday, and now getting angry is making my head hurt again... Whose unlucky kid is this, causing so much trouble!’

Shu Lan, standing to the side, was stunned for a long while. When she finally came to her senses, she wanted to reason with Bai Feifei, but though her lips moved for some time, not a single word came out—because she had absolutely no idea what to say.

"Whew!" Bai Feifei exhaled, composing herself. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Forget it. You’re not my disciple, so I can’t be bothered to lecture you... I’d rather use this time to go back to bed. Getting angry harms your health and makes you old. It’s not worth it, not worth it at all."

With that, she took a few graceful steps into the center of the courtyard, faced north, and bellowed at the sky, "Little Fengfeng! Time to get up and work!"

Her voice immediately began to echo among the peaks: "Time to work... time to work... time to work..."

"That voice... uh, that Gale Lion’s Roar... is seriously powerful!" Shen Lang said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

Just then, a long cry answered from the distance. Immediately, a figure began leaping between the vines in a faraway mountain ravine, rapidly approaching.

In no time, a young man in white appeared in Shen Lang’s line of sight.

The man was agile, moving across the slanted cliff face as if it were level ground. He performed a graceful somersault in mid-air, landing stylishly in the courtyard.

"Master, I’m already grown up. I’ve told you before, can you please stop calling me ’Little Fengfeng,’ ’Little Fengfeng’? It ruins my image!" the young man in white said helplessly.

Seeing this, Shu Lan immediately made an introduction to Shen Lang. "Senior Brother, this is my Senior Brother Fang Hongfeng... Senior Brother Fang, this is Senior Brother Shen Lang."

This Fang Hongfeng was quite handsome, looking to be only about twenty-four or twenty-five. Bai Feifei, on the other hand, looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Standing together, they looked more like brother and sister than anything else. Shen Lang was rather taken aback to learn they were actually master and disciple.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Fang," Shen Lang said politely.

Fang Hongfeng sized up Shen Lang with a sideways glance and muttered, "Another one here to get himself killed..."

"Bastard, what kind of talk is that!" Bai Feifei roared.

Fang Hongfeng shrugged. "Alright, Master. I’ve been cultivating for ages while you were just getting up. Let’s get to work. I have to get back to my cultivation when we’re done."

Bai Feifei pouted. "You’ve been cultivating for twenty years and you’re only at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven. You have the nerve to bring up cultivation?"

"..." Fang Hongfeng was furious. ’This unreliable master of mine really has no filter! It’s one thing for her to constantly wound my pride in private, but to scold me in front of a junior brother and sister? How outrageous!’

"I... I... Isn’t my slow cultivation progress all thanks to my master’s ’excellent guidance’? I’ve been on this mountain for twenty years, and you’ve slept for twenty years and drank for twenty years! If you had just spent two days a month teaching me, I wouldn’t have lost to that person from Cloud Trace Peak last month!" Fang Hongfeng roared, his face flushed red with grief and indignation.

An awkward expression crossed Bai Feifei’s face. She cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject, turning to Shen Lang. "Ahem... Let’s talk about work. You, uh, what’s-your-name, Shen Lang, right? Kid Shen Lang, listen up. Just be a good boy and go grind the Bone Powder. Little Fengfeng can help you. I need that stuff urgently. If you can grind all those bones into powder quickly, just tell me who you’ve offended, and I’ll go sort them out for you."

At this point, Shu Lan finally spoke up. "Senior Brother, Master Bai rarely makes promises, but when she does, she always keeps them. You... if you can’t finish in time, I can take some back with me to help you grind. We’ll definitely be able to finish it quickly!"

Still steeped in his grief and indignation, Fang Hongfeng saw that he had been forgotten so quickly. He felt his presence was so weak, he just wanted to find a corner and cry his eyes out.

Shen Lang gave Shu Lan a slight nod, then turned back to Bai Feifei. "Master Bai, let Senior Brother Fang handle the Bone Powder. Just bring out the Spiritual Artifacts that need repairing. I’ll take care of them all at once. I have other things to do."

"You—you!" Bai Feifei nearly fainted from anger.

Seeing this, Shu Lan hurriedly grabbed Bai Feifei’s hand, afraid she would fly into a rage.

"Huh?" Fang Hongfeng, standing to the side, was stunned. ’This new kid in black has some skill, being able to provoke my master to this extent.’

’Come to think of it, Master didn’t even get this angry when I lost to someone from another peak, did she?’

Meanwhile, Shen Lang was still adding fuel to the fire. "Master Bai, let’s make a deal. Three days. Give me three days, and within these three days, I’ll help you repair all the Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts."

"Anything below Spirit Level Third Grade—I’ll repair as many as you have!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"My request is simple. I just need you, Master Bai, to publicly declare that I’ve been working as your assistant. That way, they won’t assign me any more mandatory missions for a year. That’s all."

"At the same time, you have to promise not to tell anyone else in the sect that I can repair Spiritual Artifacts. And don’t come looking for me for Artifact Refining in the future. I hate trouble."

Fang Hongfeng squinted, listening from the side for a while, and finally understood what was going on.

’From the looks of it, this kid came to be an assistant, and Master told him to go grind Bone Powder. But he’s claiming he knows Artifact Refining and wants to help Master repair Spiritual Artifacts—even boasting that he can fix Spirit Level Third Grade ones...’

"Holy hell, what kind of bastard kid is this? Bragging all the way to Songdu Peak’s greatest Artifact Refining Master?" Fang Hongfeng redirected all his recent frustrations onto Shen Lang and started yelling.

"So young and you don’t know your place! Do you have any idea what level of Artifact Refiner my master is? Do you know how hard it is to become an Artifact Refiner? How old are you, anyway? Sixteen? Seventeen? And you dare claim you can repair Third Grade Spiritual Artifacts? Aren’t you afraid of biting your tongue from all that lying? Get back to grinding Bone Powder! I get annoyed just looking at trash like you!"

Bai Feifei slapped Fang Hongfeng on the back of the head. "Alright, alright, you’re a grown man, why are you arguing with a kid? Everyone get ready, time to start working! Little Fengfeng and Shen Lang, go grind three catties of Bone Powder first, I’ll need it in a bit. Shu Lan, help me sort the materials... Looks like there’s even more than last month. I’m up to my ears in debt, now I have to work like an ox for others. The heavens are truly blind!"

Now Shen Lang was getting frustrated. He couldn’t believe it. He had been so conservative, only claiming he could repair Spiritual Artifacts below Spirit Level Third Grade, and still nobody believed him.

And he’d even gotten a lecture for it...

He sighed and said, "I know more words are useless, so I won’t bother... Just give me a damaged First or Second Grade Spiritual Artifact. I’ll repair it right here in front of you, Master Bai. If I can’t do it, not only will I be responsible for grinding all these baskets of bones into Bone Powder, but I’ll also work for you for free for a year, without asking for a single Contribution Point. How about it?"

Bai Feifei stared intently into Shen Lang’s eyes. Her expression, initially furious, slowly grew serious.

"Kid, are you sure you’re not joking? Repairing Spiritual Artifacts is no small matter. The ones brought to me belong to disciples from every peak. If you destroy one..."

With a flick of his wrist, Shen Lang produced Zhan Lan, a longsword that shimmered like azure water.

"This longsword is a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact. If I damage the artifact I’m repairing, you can have this sword as compensation."

"A Second Grade Water Element Spiritual Artifact!" Fang Hongfeng exclaimed in shock. "This kid actually has a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact!"

Just then, Shu Lan, who had been silent all this time, spoke up timidly, "My... my Phoenix Feather Bow was damaged during the fight with the Earth-Shattering Demon Beast. Why not... let Senior Brother try with my Phoenix Feather Bow? It’s already broken anyway..."

"Shu Lan, are you crazy?" Fang Hongfeng snapped, his face cold. "You’ve been in the Profound Dao Sect for several years now, and this isn’t the first or second time you’ve helped my master. If becoming an Artifact Refiner were that easy, wouldn’t you and I have become Spirit Level Artifact Refiners long ago? To repair a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact, you need the skills of at least a Spirit Level Third Grade Artifact Refiner. Don’t tell me you actually believe this kid can repair Spiritual Artifacts?"

Shu Lan blushed and said weakly, "I... I just feel like Senior Brother Shen Lang wouldn’t lie. His eyes tell me he’s telling the truth."

At this point, Bai Feifei spoke up. "Forget it. Since the kid is so confident, we might as well let him try. If he really fails, this sword will be Shu Lan’s. It’s no loss."

Seeing her chance, Shu Lan immediately took out the Phoenix Feather Bow and handed it to Shen Lang.

This longbow was called the "Phoenix Feather Bow." Its entire body was a dark cyan color, seeming neither metal nor wood, and it possessed a perfect curve.

Carved upon it were patterns resembling phoenix feathers. Its design was ancient, and it was quite beautiful and wondrous.

However, the Phoenix Feather Bow now seemed to have suffered a powerful impact. It was covered in cracks, looking as if it could shatter at any moment.

"A bow is a ranged weapon. This longbow is a First Grade Spiritual Artifact with a range of at least nine hundred meters. For it to be damaged to this extent, you must have been too careless," Shen Lang said, gently stroking the Phoenix Feather Bow.

These words immediately made Shu Lan flush beet-red. Back then, she had been too close to the Demon Beast they were surrounding, and her attack had drawn its attention. That’s how she had met with disaster, nearly dying on the spot.

Even now, the memory made her heart pound with fear, and she found it hard to let go.

Shen Lang continued, "Not only is the Phoenix Feather Bow severely damaged, but the Wind Spirit Array Map inside it has also been destroyed... Judging from the residual aura left on the bow, the Earth-shattering Demon Beast you encountered must have been at the Fifth Level Peak."

"What’s the use of spouting all this nonsense? Anyone could have guessed that!" Fang Hongfeng said coldly. "You keep claiming you can repair Spiritual Artifacts, even Third Grade ones. Now you’re holding a mere First Grade Spiritual Artifact, and you don’t know where to start? Where’d all that arrogance from before go?"