I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

"What did you say?"

Su Lie whirled around, staring intently at Lu Yuan, his brows furrowed. "Kid, do you even know what nonsense you're spouting? With this divine weapon in hand, the opportunity to fight is fleeting. And you're telling me it's not okay now?"

Tang Long looked equally puzzled, looking down at Lu Yuan in his arms: "Kid, are you still half asleep? Yan Ji is unstoppable with this sword right now, why can't she do it?"

Yan Ji also stopped and looked back at Lu Yuan, her golden eyes filled with a hint of doubt.

She could sense the power of the Phoenix Cry, a terrifying power capable of incinerating everything. She was absolutely confident that if she were to face that "Void Nightmare," she could reduce it to ashes within a minute.

But why did the creator of this sword say no?

"Cough cough..." Lu Yuan struggled to sit up straight from Tang Long's arms. Zhao Qingxuan quickly stepped forward to support him and handed him a bottle of the highest grade life recovery potion.

Lu Yuan waved his hand, indicating he wouldn't drink.

Looking at the anxious and confused eyes of the crowd, he took a breath before slowly explaining, "[Phoenix-Cry] is very strong, that's beyond doubt."

His gaze shifted to Yan Ji, a hint of pride in his eyes as her creator: "It is the greatest masterpiece I have achieved so far, a weapon perfectly suited to your talent and fighting style, Instructor Yan Ji. With it, your combat power will increase by at least 50%."

Upon hearing this, Yan Ji's heart skipped a beat.

Increase by 50%!

For a powerhouse of her caliber, even a 50% increase in strength would be an incredible stroke of luck. And now, Lu Yuan is saying that this sword can directly increase her strength by 50%!

"However," Lu Yuan's tone shifted, his expression turning serious, "it is not omnipotent. Its core attributes are 'fire' and 'wind,' emphasizing extreme bursts and destruction. Using it to deal with those tough, physical-type star beasts, or to carry out large-scale clearing operations, is absolutely invincible."

"But our enemy is the 'Void Nightmare'."

Lu Yuan looked at Su Lie and said, word by word, "According to the information I found in the database, the 'Void Nightmare' is a very special energy life form. It has no physical form and is immune to all physical attacks. Its main attack methods are mental attacks and soul pollution. Its defense is that it has extremely high resistance to conventional elemental energy."

"【Phoenix Cry】'Nirvana Flame' does have true damage, so theoretically it can be used to damage it. However," Lu Yuan emphasized, "it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, no, it's like using a howitzer to blast a mosquito. It might hit, but the efficiency is too low, and the consumption is huge."

"If Instructor Yan Ji misses her attack or fails to kill her completely, the immense drain from 'Nirvana Flame' will instantly leave her weakened. On the brutal battlefields of the North, a weakened SSS-rank Star Envoy will become the enemy's primary target. We cannot afford to take that risk."

Lu Yuan's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing everyone's burning passion.

The ecstasy on Su Lie's face gradually froze.

Tang Long also frowned and fell into deep thought.

They were all seasoned veterans who had experienced countless battles, so they naturally understood the reasoning behind Lu Yuan's words.

Strategically, we must despise the enemy.

However, tactically, it must be taken very seriously.

Using the right weapons to fight the right enemy is the most basic military common sense.

They were indeed overwhelmed by the earth-shattering power of the Phoenix's birth.

"Then...what do we do?" Tang Long couldn't help but ask, his voice tinged with impatience. "Are we just going to stand by and watch our brothers in the North continue to fill that bottomless pit with their lives?"

"Yes, Lu Yuan." Su Lie looked at him, his expression turning serious again. "We don't have time. Even if it's inefficient, it's better than having no weapons at all. Let's deal with the immediate crisis first."

Yan Ji nodded and said in a deep voice, "I'm willing to take this risk. As long as I can kill it, I'm willing to exhaust all my life force."

Seeing everyone's anxious yet resolute expressions, Lu Yuan felt a pang of unease.

But he knew that it was precisely in times like these that he must not act impulsively.

He looked at Yan Ji and shook his head: "Instructor, this isn't an adventure, it's suicide. Your life is far more precious than that beast's. Trading your life for its life is a huge loss."

After saying that, he turned his head, met Su Lie's almost murderous gaze, and calmly said, word by word:

"Therefore, we cannot use [Phoenix Cry] to kill it."

"We will use a weapon specifically designed for it to judge it."

Su Lie was stunned: "A weapon specially made for it? Where would you find one? Where are you going to look for it now?"

Lu Yuan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

That smile, though pale due to weakness, was full of boundless confidence and a reassuring power.

"Far away, yet right before my eyes."

He pointed to himself, then to the "Heavenly Craftsmanship" furnace behind him, which was still radiating residual heat.

"Grandpa Su, don't worry."

"I'll make you another one."

"What did you say?"

When Lu Yuan casually said, "I'll make you another one," the entire forging room fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

Su Lie, Tang Long, Yan Ji, Zhao Qingxuan...

Four people, eight eyes, all stared intently at the pale-faced boy who was still leaning against Tang Long, as if he were an alien.

At the same time, a thought popped into their minds.

Did this kid overexert his mental energy and damage his brain?

To rebuild?

What are you building?

To forge a divine artifact of the caliber of the Phoenix Cry?!

What a joke!

Is this some kind of cabbage growing by the roadside? Why are you making it like this?

"Kid, you... say it again?" Tang Long's tongue was tied. He looked down at Lu Yuan in his arms, his voice filled with uncertainty. He even began to wonder if he had misheard.

"I said," Lu Yuan chuckled at the horrified expressions on everyone's faces, cleared his throat, and repeated, "I can make another one. A weapon specifically designed to counter the kind of mental system star beasts like 'Void Nightmare'."

This time, everyone heard it clearly.

It was precisely because they heard it clearly that they found it even more absurd and unbelievable.

"Lu Yuan!" Su Lie was the first to react. He rushed to Lu Yuan in three strides, disregarding his former superior's dignity, and reached out to touch Lu Yuan's forehead. "Are you running a fever? Do you know what you were doing? You almost killed yourself! Do you want to do it again?"

He had just witnessed Lu Yuan exhaust his spiritual power, bleed from all seven orifices, and barely complete the final step of [Phoenix Cry] by burning his own life force and essence.

In that state, let alone doing it again, someone with weaker willpower would probably turn into an idiot on the spot!

Now, this kid is actually telling him that he can make another one?

"Grandpa Su, I don't have a fever, and my mind is perfectly clear." Lu Yuan helplessly dodged Su Lie's hand. "I know my own body."

He struggled to his feet, stretched his limbs, and felt the spiritual power within his body, which had become more solid and immense due to the breakthrough, and a confident smile appeared on his face.

"Forging the Phoenix Cry did push me to my limits. But that was also because it was my first attempt at forging a legendary weapon. I was still figuring things out in many ways, took a lot of detours, and wasted a lot of mental energy."

"But things are different now." Lu Yuan's eyes gleamed with wisdom and confidence. "I have complete experience now. I know how to fuse materials most efficiently and how to weave patterns most economically. More importantly..."

He took a deep breath, feeling the "ocean" in his mind that was at least twice as vast as before.

"After that breakthrough, both the total amount and quality of my spiritual power have reached a new level. I am now much stronger than I was before I forged the Phoenix Cry."

"Therefore, forging another weapon of the same level is not impossible for me."

Listening to Lu Yuan's clear and logical analysis, the shock on Su Lie and the others' faces was gradually replaced by a complex emotion of doubt and skepticism.

They knew that Lu Yuan wasn't one to boast.

But what he said was so utterly contrary to their understanding that it completely overturned their perceptions.

Mass production... a miraculous artifact?

This word stirred up a storm in their minds.

Throughout history, any weapon of legendary quality or above has been the result of a perfect combination of favorable timing, location, and human factors. It takes a top-tier master blacksmith years or even decades of painstaking effort to create just one or two of them.

Failure is the norm.

Success is a miracle.

But now, Lu Yuan is telling them that he can turn this "miracle" into "everyday life"?

"Kid, are you... are you sure you're not bragging?" Tang Long looked at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with doubt. "Making this thing isn't like molding clay. With your current small frame, if you did it again, you really would die."

"Instructor Tang, I never joke with my own life." Lu Yuan smiled, then held up one finger and said to Su Lie, "I just need to rest for one day. After one day, my energy and spirit will be back to their peak."

"When the time comes, as long as I have enough materials, I can start the furnace immediately."

"And I assure you," Lu Yuan's eyes became incredibly serious, "this time, it will definitely not be as embarrassing as last time."

Looking into Lu Yuan's confident eyes and listening to his unquestionable promise, Su Lie's heart pounded violently once again.

Reason told him that this was absurd.

But his intuition told him that this kid might actually be able to do it!

He recalled the miracles Lu Yuan had created along the way.

From F-rank blacksmith to the awakening of "Blessing of All Things".

From an unknown theoretical genius to a "master craftsman" personally selected by him.

From an ordinary military dagger to the "Wind and Thunder Guide" that can instantly kill a level 30 elite.

And today, there is this divine sword, [Phoenix Cry], which is enough to drive even SSS-level Star Envoys crazy.

This young man seems to have been born to break conventions and create miracles.

"good!"

Su Lie stared intently at Lu Yuan, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he spat out this single word through gritted teeth.

"I'll trust you one more time!"

He pointed at Lu Yuan, and a flame, even more intense than before, reignited in his tiger-like eyes.

"One day! I'll give you one day to rest!"

"Whatever you need in a day, I'll get it for you! Even if it's the stars in the sky, I'll find a way to pluck them down for you!"

"But kid, listen to me carefully!" Su Lie's voice carried an unprecedented resolve. "If you dare to get yourself half-dead again this time... I'll personally tie you up, and you can forget about ever touching that furnace again!"

These words sounded like a threat, but Lu Yuan could hear the care and concern they contained.

He felt a warmth in his heart and nodded heavily.

"Just you wait and see."