I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 624: Chapter 571: The Debate Meeting

”I have finished writing.”

In just one hour, Jiang Yuebai completed all fifty pages of the exam, handing them over with a furrowed brow, unsure whether she was dissatisfied with her answers or faced with a puzzling challenge.

The middle-aged female cultivator who came to collect the exam noticed her expression and comforted, ”Fellow Daoist, don’t worry. This exam is indeed quite difficult. Even I, as the Great Elder of the Secret Academy overseeing all the books and cultivation techniques of the Zhuge Family, couldn’t answer everything correctly. This is merely to understand your strengths and weaknesses comprehensively and won’t affect anything.”

”Okay.”

Jiang Yuebai nodded absentmindedly, seemingly lost in thought. Both her hands slightly twitched, and her frown deepened. Finally, she simply took out a booklet and picked up a pen, writing vigorously.

Zhuge Hongjian of the Secret Academy smiled and paid no further attention, taking the exam papers to the other four elders for evaluation.

In addition to her, those present today included Great Elder Zhuge Xiu of the Mechanical Institute, Great Elder Tie Wanjiang of the Armor Making Institute, Zhuge Yi of the Map Making Institute, and the Supreme Elder Zhuge Jing, specially invited by Family Head Zhuge Shou.

There are seven Supreme Elders in the Zhuge Family, but six of them, like the Zhuge Family’s Refining Void Ancestor, focus solely on cultivation and do not concern themselves with mundane affairs unless there’s a major crisis. Only Zhuge Jing assists the Family Head with family matters.

The Great Elders of each institute, including the Family Head, have traditionally been held by Nascent Soul cultivators. The position of Great Elder is not limited to those with the surname Zhuge; it is occupied by the most capable, and even other elders may challenge and replace them if they are able.

The benefits of being an Elder in these institutes far surpass those of ordinary teaching elders and guest elders. The reward of obtaining a Secret Technique from the Zhuge Family alone is enough to drive everyone mad with desire.

The four Great Elders split the exam papers and graded the sections they were adept in. Initially, they marked the basic questions smoothly until the latter sections, where each of them involuntarily paused.

”Oh my—this discussion, I can’t...” understand it?

Great Elder Zhuge Xiu of the Mechanical Institute had a troubled expression, almost pulling out his mustache.

”Marvelous! To think the Array Map could be dissected like this!” Learned something new!

The young Great Elder Zhuge Yi of the Map Making Institute squinted his already small eyes, almost pressing his face against the paper in excitement.

”What on earth is this? Wrong, wrong, all wrong!”

The straightforward, loud-voiced Tie Wanjiang angrily marked the test papers with a vermillion pen, leaving glaring red marks.

”What’s wrong?”

The word ”wrong” provoked Jiang Yuebai, who looked up sharply at the muscular, bronze-skinned Tie Wanjiang.

Tie Wanjiang was critiquing the artifact refining section. He was the most powerful artifact refiner in the Zhuge Family and even the Nine Rivers Realm, having managed the Armor Making Institute for over fifty years. The armor he produced supplied the Taiwei Star Alliance front line against the Demon Clan, consistently receiving high praise and remaining in short supply.

Though Tie Wanjiang appeared straightforward, he had a peculiar hobby of collecting various artifact refining diagrams. Regardless of how difficult the refining diagram was, as long as he gathered the necessary materials, he could flawlessly refine the artifact.

Tie Wanjiang smacked the test papers onto the table, his calloused fingers almost piercing through the sheets.

”These artifact refining steps are a total mess! Silver Frost Bamboo is hard and cold in nature and should be refined by burning with fire for six hours to extract Bamboo Essence. What’s this about dissolving in Purple Jade Grass Dew? The dew is water-based—putting Silver Frost Bamboo in it would freeze everything solid!”

”And these later steps, so many are missing. Not following the methods summarized by the Great Powers of earlier generations, how do you ensure the quality and success rate of artifact refining?”

Tie Wanjiang’s loud voice drew Family Head Zhuge Shou and Supreme Elder Zhuge Jing, who had been drinking tea and discussing matters, over to see what was happening.

Moh Baichun and Zhuge Ziqian were also attracted, enclosing Jiang Yuebai and Tie Wanjiang.

Jiang Yuebai calmly stood up, not angered, but instead asked, ”Dare I ask, Senior Brother, where did the artifact refining methods of the Great Powers of the past come from? The refining techniques from the Ancient Times were crude; how did they evolve into the sophisticated methods we have today?”

”Before questioning my method, you should at least try what I wrote to confirm its infeasibility before declaring it wrong. Not everything in this world is immutable; people become smarter, as do plants. There was a time when nothing could survive where Silver Frost Bamboo grew, but who knows when, Purple Jade Grass took root in the bamboo forest.”

”Have you ever considered why, Senior Brother? It’s because Purple Jade Grass evolved a new ability, immune to the cold of Silver Frost Bamboo, and it very aggressively saps the bamboo’s nutrients, making itself stronger. Under the Heavenly Dao, all things are interrelated; Purple Jade Grass is the nemesis of Silver Frost Bamboo. If you don’t believe it, go test it yourself!”

Tie Wanjiang was still unconvinced, but Zhuge Shou had already asked Zhuge Hongjian, the Great Elder of the Secret Academy, to fetch Silver Frost Bamboo and Purple Jade Grass Dew.

Seizing the opportunity, Great Elder Zhuge Xiu of the Mechanical Institute, who hadn’t understood Jiang Yuebai’s discussion earlier, approached her with the exam papers.

”What do you mean here?”

Jiang Yuebai glanced at it and said, ”Actually, I have some doubts here as well, so my answer isn’t very precise. May I ask, Senior Brother, why must the revolving crossbow’s lateral rotation angle be so large? Granted, a larger shooting angle covers more area, but it significantly disperses the force, reducing impact. Could we perhaps reduce the shooting angle somewhat, for instance...”

Jiang Yuebai eloquently articulated her ideas, and as Zhuge Xiu smoothed his mustache, he nodded repeatedly in thought.

”It sounds feasible, but mechanism studies are extremely intricate, involving numerology. Junior Sister, please wait, let me calculate it first.”

Zhuge Xiu took the collection of questions, picked up a pen, and began verifying whether the firing angle Jiang Yuebai mentioned could activate the mechanism.

”This Junior Sister, hehehe.”

The Great Elder of the Map Making Institute, Zhuge Yi, who looked young but had notably small eyes, leaned towards Jiang Yuebai, almost bumping his forehead against her face, causing Jiang Yuebai to quickly step back.

Zhuge Yi squinted, ”Apologies, I’ve spent years bent over drawing armor structural diagrams, and my eyes aren’t very good. My Sea of Consciousness was damaged early on, so my Divine Sense isn’t keen, nor can I use external objects to assist my vision. I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to ask, what is the basis for this problem of yours, breaking down the array this way?”

Jiang Yuebai pressed down the collection of questions that Zhuge Yi almost thrust into her face, glanced at it—it was about breaking a complete talisman array into five parts, then drawing them onto five mechanisms, and combining them into armor. Ensuring the array functions smoothly requires careful and cautious dissection methods.

While retrieving items from her storage ring, Jiang Yuebai said, ”This method isn’t actually mine; it was taught by a senior. She has exceptional talent in Array Dao, and I’ve only learned the rudimentary aspects.”

Jiang Yuebai flipped through the notes she had made when consulting Zhao Fuyi earlier, pointing them out to Zhuge Yi, ”Look, the entire dissection process and demonstration are recorded here, and this Memory Jade contains images of the verification process. Senior Brother may take a look.”

”Okay, okay, thank you, thank you.”

Zhuge Yi took Jiang Yuebai’s booklet and looked at it, pressing it against his face.

”Senior Brother, be careful of saliva! That’s my treasure!”

”Sorry, sorry.” Zhuge Yi quickly held the booklet farther away.

Zhuge Yi walked away, and Zhuge Xiu, from the Mechanical Institute with his bushy mustache, called out to Jiang Yuebai again.

”Junior Sister, come over here for a moment; the firing angle you’ve modified doesn’t work.”

”Let me see... Senior Brother, you’ve calculated this formula wrong; it should be... this number!”

”How do you calculate so quickly!”

”Isn’t it pretty simple?”

”Simple... is it?”

The Family Head Zhuge Shou and the Supreme Elder Zhuge Jing watched this scene nearby, both shaking their heads with a smile. Clearly, it was supposed to be a test for Jiang Yuebai, yet it turned into asking each other questions and debating.

Moreover, Jiang Yuebai and Zhuge Xiu had strayed from mechanisms to numerology, and Jiang Yuebai transformed from the tested into the instructor, challenging Zhuge Xiu.

Facing the numerology problems posed by Zhuge Xiu, Jiang Yuebai responded with ease, offering examples and alternatives, prompting Zhuge Xiu to nod continuously. Despite frequent exchanges, Zhuge Xiu found himself unable to answer Jiang Yuebai’s questions several times, feeling somewhat awkward.

During this time, Zhuge Yi kept inquiring about questions on talisman arrays, to which Jiang Yuebai always responded smoothly. But as she answered, her innovative thinking left Zhuge Yi confused.

”Fellow Daoist Wangshu’s knowledge is quite extensive!”

Zhuge Ziqian exclaimed in surprise, with Moh Baichun also stunned, once again having her perception renewed by Jiang Yuebai. She now realized the earlier ’big words’ spoken by Jiang Yuebai were indeed the truth.

With such a reservoir of knowledge, being able to interact effortlessly with the two Great Elders of the Zhuge Family handling mechanisms and talisman arrays, perhaps there truly isn’t anything she can’t learn in this world.

What on earth did this cheeky girl grow up eating?

The Supreme Elder Zhuge Jing, seeing this, also greatly admired Jiang Yuebai.

”If this person could stay permanently with the Zhuge Family, it would be a blessing for the Zhuge Family!”

Hearing this, Zhuge Shou nodded in agreement, but seeing the current situation, a regular guest elder contract might not be satisfactory for Jiang Yuebai, nor be weighty enough.

”Family Head, the Silver Frost Bamboo and Purple Jade Grass Dew have been acquired.”

At this moment, Zhuge Hongjian entered, holding a storage bag in hand.

The resolute Great Elder of the Armor Making Institute, Tie Wanjiang, stood up directly from his chair and strode over to Zhuge Hongjian, taking the storage bag from her.

He’d refuse to believe that as the number one in Artifact Refining in the Nine Rivers Realm, he could be wrong!