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

The two groups, Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian, were the most conspicuous.

Various ores shimmering with metallic luster, star beast cores radiating powerful energy fluctuations, and some strangely shaped, unknown spiritual plants... a dazzling array that dazzles the eye.

Although Mu Bingli, Lin Ziling, and the others did not bring a large quantity of materials, each piece was a masterpiece, priceless.

Looking at the scene before him, which was comparable to a top-tier auction, Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

It seems that these "geniuses" all come from quite wealthy families.

"Alright, let's begin."

Lu Yuan walked to the front, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

"Who's going first?"

He had barely finished speaking.

"Me! Me! Mr. Lu! I'll go first!"

Gu Tianye, like a vicious dog that has spotted a bone, was the first to rush forward, pushing his "mountain" of food in front of Lu Yuan as if it were a treasure.

Gu Tianye practically tumbled and crawled to Lu Yuan's side, his rugged face plastered with a fawning smile, creating a comical contrast with his burly, bear-like physique.

"Master Lu! Look! I had my father send all of this overnight from our family's treasure vault using a space compression box!"

As he spoke, he frantically opened several seemingly ordinary but actually quite valuable metal boxes.

"Buzz—"

As the box was opened, waves of rich energy instantly spread out.

"This is the complete gallbladder of a level 30 elite star beast, the 'Earth Raging Bear'! It's said that eating it can greatly enhance strength!"

"This is a Grade B rare ore, 'Red Copper Essence,' a full fifty kilograms! Perfect for forging heavy weapons!"

"And this! This! Mr. Lu, look!"

Like presenting a treasure, Gu Tianye carefully took out a head-sized, slightly pulsating, blood-red crystal from the bottom of a box, resembling a heart.

As soon as the crystal appeared, a violent and primal bloody aura rushed over, causing many of the lower-level people present to feel a chill in their hearts.

"This is... the heart crystal of a level 40 lord-level star beast, the 'Berserk Blood Demon Ape'!"

When Xiang Batian saw the crystal, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his eyes filled with jealousy.

The Berserker Ape is a top-tier star beast renowned for its strength and ferocity. Its heart crystal is a coveted treasure for all power-type talents! It is said that absorbing it completely can grant a qualitative leap in one's power within a short period!

The Gu family has actually brought out such a treasured item!

"Hehe," Gu Tianye chuckled smugly upon hearing Xiang Batian's exclamation. He respectfully presented the heart crystal to Lu Yuan. "Master Lu, what do you think of this 'sincerity' of mine? Is it acceptable?"

Lu Yuan looked at the dazzling array of materials in front of him, his face expressionless.

He simply reached out and gently tapped the crystallized heart of the "Berserk Blood Demon Ape".

Then, he uttered two words softly.

"Rubbish."

"what?"

Gu Tianye's smile froze instantly.

Everyone present was stunned.

Rubbish?

That's the core material of a Lord-level Star Beast! Its value is enough to buy an entire street in Jianghai City! And here... it's just trash?

"This heart crystal is extremely volatile in energy and contains too many impurities. Using it directly to forge weapons would only affect the weapon's stability. At best, it can only be used as a one-time, enhancement-type consumable."

Lu Yuan's voice was calm and undisturbed, as if he were evaluating a roadside stone.

"And this pile of red copper essence is too low in purity and not tough enough. The weapons made from it are heavy and brittle, and will break at the slightest touch."

"As for the bear bile... take it back and make soup with it. It might be good for your current level."

With just a few words, Lu Yuan belittled Gu Tianye's proud "meeting gift" into nothing.

Gu Tianye's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He wanted to retort, but looking into Lu Yuan's calm eyes that seemed to see through everything, he couldn't utter a single word.

Because he knew that everything Lu Yuan said was true.

In his eyes, these things were already top-tier treasures.

But in the eyes of a true "master craftsman," it might just be a pile of barely usable scrap metal.

"Then...then Master Lu...I..." Gu Tianye was so anxious he was almost crying. He felt that his first chance to "cling to someone's coattails" was about to slip away.

"However," just as Gu Tianye was about to despair, Lu Yuan changed the subject, "considering that your attitude is somewhat sincere, this time, I'll let you off the hook."

"Come, sit down."

Lu Yuan pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Huh? Oh, okay!"

Gu Tianye felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly pulled over a chair and obediently sat down opposite Lu Yuan like a primary school student.

His nervous demeanor contrasted sharply with his burly physique, causing Xiang Batian and the others queuing behind him to stifle their laughter.

"Stretch out your hand," Lu Yuan said.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Tianye immediately stretched out his large, fan-like hand.

Lu Yuan extended two fingers and placed them on his wrist.

Then, I closed my eyes.

A gentle yet incredibly pure spiritual energy flowed slowly into Gu Tianye's body through Lu Yuan's fingers.

Gu Tianye felt a cool sensation spread throughout his body, calming his agitated blood and qi caused by tension.

He knew that Lu Yuan was probing his "private data".

Although he felt a little nervous, he was mostly filled with anticipation.

He was eager to know how this mysterious "master craftsman" would evaluate his SSS-level talent.

Lu Yuan's investigation lasted for a full five minutes.

During those five minutes, his brow furrowed and relaxed at times.

His brain was working at an incredibly high speed, frantically.

Every meridian in Gu Tianye's body, every energy node, every subtle characteristic of his SSS-level [Beast God Bloodline] talent... everything was laid bare under his mental probing.

Then, in his mind, this massive and complex data was rapidly decomposed, reorganized, modeled, and extrapolated...

Five minutes later, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at the expectant "Beast King" before him and slowly spoke.

"Your talent is very strong."

This was his first comment.

Upon hearing this, Gu Tianye immediately broke into a proud smile.

Of course! I have an SSS-level talent! How could I not be strong?

"However," Lu Yuan's next words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, "the way you're using it is simply... a waste of its potential."

"Huh?" Gu Tianye's smile froze again.

"The core of the [Beast God Bloodline] lies in 'fusion' and 'evolution,' not in your current approach of simply and crudely imitating the brute force of star beasts."

Lu Yuan's voice was unhurried, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

"Every time you fuse with a bloodline, your body will gain a new 'possibility.' For example, if you fuse with the bloodline of the 'Earth Bear,' you will not only gain its power, but you should also gain its ability to communicate with the earth and manipulate earth elements."

"You have fused with the bloodline of the 'Berserk Blood Demon Ape.' You should not only learn its ferocity, but also its fighting instinct to break through your own limits by burning your blood and qi in battle."

"And you, all you've learned is to smash people with your fists. You've turned a potential SSS-level talent into an A-level talent that only has strength."

With each sentence Lu Yuan spoke, Gu Tianye's face paled a little more.

In the end, he was like a soul that had been ripped out; he just sat there blankly.

Because he knew that every word Lu Yuan said hit him where it hurt!

He really only knows how to use brute force.

He did indeed feel that his talent had reached a certain level and then hit a bottleneck, making it impossible to make any further progress.

He always believed that he hadn't tried hard enough.

Now he realized that he had taken the wrong path from the very beginning!

"Then... what should I do?"

Gu Tianye looked at Lu Yuan, and the previous fawning and flattery were gone from his eyes.

Instead, there is a purest form of learning and reverence that students feel when facing their teachers.

Looking at him like this, Lu Yuan knew that the time was almost right.

He picked up a blank sheet of paper and a pen from the table next to him.

Then, on that blank drawing, he quickly sketched out the outline of a weapon with swift, flowing strokes.

It was an enormous, menacing two-handed battle axe.

But strangely, several circular grooves, like gemstone inlays, were left on that ferocious axe blade.

"What is this...?" Kotenno looked at the blueprints in confusion.

"This is a weapon tailor-made for you. I call it... [Thousand Transformations Beast Soul Axe]."

Lu Yuan pointed to the grooves on the drawing and explained:

"These grooves are for embedding the 'Beast Soul Core'."

"In the future, every time you fuse with a powerful star beast bloodline, you can extract its core and make it into a 'Beast Soul Core' to be embedded into this battle axe."

"When you need to use the power of the 'Earth Bear,' you activate the corresponding beast soul. This battle axe will instantly become as heavy as a mountain, and each swing will be imbued with the power of the earth, possessing the effects of 'Earthshaking' and 'Petrifying.'"

"When you need the 'Berserker Ape's' ferocity, switch to its beast soul. This battle axe will become bloodthirsty and berserk, draining the enemy's life force with each attack to replenish yourself."

"This axe will no longer be an inanimate object. It will become an extension of your bloodline, an omnipotent 'container' that can hold all your power."

"It will evolve alongside you!"

As Gu Tianye listened to Lu Yuan's description, his breathing became increasingly rapid.

A picture seemed to have already appeared in his mind.

Wielding this ever-changing divine axe, he transforms into various powerful ancient beasts on the battlefield, tearing apart all enemies!

How majestic! How powerful!

"This...this...this is simply...fuckily awesome!"

Gu Tianye could no longer find any fancy words; he could only use the simplest and most direct language to express the shock in his heart.

"Well then," Lu Yuan pushed the blueprints in front of him, a "friendly" smile on his face, "if you want to get it, you should know what materials you need to prepare, right?"

He picked up a pen and quickly wrote down a long list of materials on the back of the drawing, a list that shimmered with various "legendary" and "epic" glories.

Gu Tianye looked at the dauntingly long list of materials on the back of the blueprint, a list so long that every name made his eyelids twitch. Instead of feeling troubled, he became excited, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"No problem! Mr. Lu! Don't worry! Even if I have to turn the entire Gu family upside down, I'll definitely gather all these things for you!"

He carefully folded the blueprint, which was more important to him than his own life, and tucked it into his bosom. Then, he bowed deeply to Lu Yuan at a ninety-degree angle.

"Master Lu! From this day forward, you are my one and only brother, Gu Tianye!"

"From now on, if you ever need my services, even if it means going through fire and water, if I, Gu Tianye, even flinch, I'm not human!"

After saying that, he turned around and left like a bull on steroids, looking like he was about to rush back to his family to "rob and plunder".

Seeing Gu Tianye's excited back, everyone present had even more fervent eyes.

Even someone like Kotenno, whose brain is all muscles, can get such a "custom-made" weapon design that sounds incredibly awesome.

What about them?

Immediately, everyone began to rub their hands together, preparing to perform well in the upcoming "interview".

"Next."

Lu Yuan's voice rang out again.

This time, before that brute Xiang Batian could even charge forward...

A cold, aloof figure appeared silently before Lu Yuan as if by teleportation.

It's Mu Bingli.

She remained aloof and detached, seemingly untouched by worldly concerns.

But her tightly clenched hands, with knuckles turning white, betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Unlike Gu Tianye, she didn't display all her materials like a treasure.

She simply and quietly placed the "Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Soul," which exuded extreme cold, on Lu Yuan's table.

Then, she just quietly looked at Lu Yuan without saying a word.

But her eyes said it all.

My sincerity is right here.

You decide what to do.

Lu Yuan looked at the legendary material on the table, then at the aloof and beautiful woman in front of him, and couldn't help but nod in approval.

This woman is much smarter than those two simpletons, Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian.

She knew that quantity was meaningless in front of her.

Only quality is what truly moves you; that's the key.

A single legendary core material is far more valuable than the pile of "junk" belonging to those two brutes.

"very good."

Lu Yuan reached out and gently stroked the "Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Soul".

A bone-chilling cold, as if capable of freezing the soul, instantly traveled from my fingertips.

But amidst this extreme cold, Lu Yuan keenly sensed a trace of pure, soulful rhythm.

"sit."

Lu Yuan pointed to the chair opposite him.

Mu Bingli obeyed and slowly sat down. Her posture remained as dignified and elegant as ever, like a perfect ice sculpture.

"hand."

Lu Yuan's words were concise and to the point.

Mu Bingli hesitated for a moment, but still slowly extended her right hand, which was as delicate and smooth as the finest white jade.

When Lu Yuan's warm fingers touched her cold wrist.

Mu Bingli's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

A strange, electric-like tingling sensation spread from her wrist throughout her body in an instant. Even her perpetually icy, beautiful face blushed slightly, a rare occurrence.

Lu Yuan did not notice these details.

His entire focus was on probing the special energy within Mu Bingli's body.

【Ice Soul】.

This is an extremely rare and extremely powerful soul mutation talent.

The usual ice-type talents manipulate the low-temperature form of water elements.

Mu Bingli, on the other hand, controls absolute "coldness" in a "conceptual" sense.

It is the ultimate chill, capable of freezing time, shattering space, and even... annihilating the soul.

Lu Yuan's brows gradually furrowed.

He discovered that the power within Mu Bingli's body, while strong, was extremely unstable.

It's like an ancient, frost-covered behemoth imprisoned in a cage.

Fierce, unruly, and filled with a destructive desire.

Mu Bingli, on the other hand, was like a weak beast tamer, who could only use her not-so-powerful soul power to barely put a shackle on this giant beast.

Her manipulation of this power was more like "guiding" and "soothing" than truly "controlling" it.

Every time she uses her talent, it is a huge drain and a risk for her.

If she is not careful, she herself will be devoured by this terrifying icy power and frozen into an eternal ice sculpture.

"I see."

Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at the seemingly powerful and aloof ice queen in front of him, and a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes.

There was also a hint of... sympathy.

The so-called S-class genius, the so-called ice queen, is nothing more than a pitiful girl who struggles every day with the terrifying "inner demon" within her.