The burly man cursed his way out the door and was gone in moments.
"Ha, that Master Yang Yan just got chewed out again." Someone in the hall laughed with schadenfreude.
"He's got no business taking on work he can't handle. Can't even refine a single Saint King grade Artifact properly, and he still has the nerve to boast about being a Void grade Artifact Refiner? If all the refiners in the world were like him, who'd guarantee the quality of our Artifacts?"
"Exactly! I heard that a few days ago, someone brought an Artifact they'd been using for decades and asked Master Yang Yan to enhance it. It was a perfectly fine high-grade Saint King Artifact, but after his enhancement, it dropped a whole tier down to mid-grade Saint King. The owner was devastated—how pathetic!"
"That's nothing. I also heard that someone asked Master Yang Yan to forge a sword-type Artifact, and he somehow ended up making a heavy chopping blade... An Artifact Refiner who can't meet a warrior's requirements—how can you call him a qualified refiner? I think his skill is extremely limited. I can't believe the Artifact Refining Pavilion hired someone so incompetent."
"That's got nothing to do with the Artifact Refining Pavilion. Master Yang Yan was only brought on as a contracted refiner. The Pavilion's staff always tell the truth to anyone who comes seeking his services, but people still fall for it. You can only blame those people for being greedy fools, chasing after the hollow prestige of a Void grade refiner."
"Either way, I'd rather wait a few months than let that man touch my Artifact."
…
All sorts of comments drifted into Yang Kai's ears, and his expression grew increasingly peculiar.
The attendant beside him sighed as well. "Sigh, Master Yang Yan really is quite the stubborn one. We've warned him many times at the Pavilion, but he refuses to change. It looks like he'll be gone within a few days."
"Why's that?" Yang Kai turned to look at him.
"His behavior is causing some damage to the Pavilion's reputation. Naturally, they won't keep him around."
"But the hammer Artifact that big man pulled out earlier looked to be of excellent quality, and it matched his build and Saint Yuan attributes perfectly. Why wasn't he satisfied?"
The attendant chuckled. "That man wanted a hammer forged, but what Master Yang Yan made was an axe…"
Yang Kai's face darkened immediately as he understood why the burly man had been so furious. It was just as those voices had said—an Artifact Refiner who couldn't meet a warrior's requirements was no good refiner at all.
"Have you made your selection, sir?" the attendant asked, turning back to Yang Kai.
"I have." Yang Kai nodded and handed back the slip of paper. "I'll go with Master Yang Yan."
The attendant blinked, then said with a strange look, "Are you sure?"
Yang Kai smiled. "What I need refined isn't some grand Artifact—just a few very simple things. Even if he's as bad as they say, he should be able to handle that."
"In that case, I won't say anything more. This way!" The attendant stopped trying to dissuade him and led Yang Kai toward one of the rooms. He halted at the door, signaling that Yang Kai could go in on his own, and added meaningfully, "Good luck!"
Yang Kai chuckled to himself and stepped inside.
The room was spacious, covering roughly a hundred zhang in area. A massive furnace dominated the space. Behind the furnace sat a figure in meditation—this was presumably Master Yang Yan.
The burly man's furious tirade hadn't disturbed her in the slightest. Her aura was steady and calm as a still well, with only the sound of even breathing drifting over.
Yang Kai walked to the cushion in front of the furnace and sat down. From behind the furnace came Master Yang Yan's voice immediately: "What would you like refined?"
Yang Kai was taken aback and couldn't help leaning sideways to peer around the furnace at her.
He had discovered that this Artifact Refiner called Yang Yan was actually a woman!
And her voice was sweet and pleasing to the ear. It gave him a little jolt of surprise, and he found himself eager to see what a woman with such a lovely voice looked like.
Upon looking, Yang Kai was disappointed. All he could see in the darkness was a pair of bright eyes gazing back at him. Yang Yan was entirely wrapped in a voluminous black robe, concealing both her features and her figure.
"Every single one of you does this. Are you here to have something refined, or to stare at people?" Yang Yan grumbled in displeasure.
Yang Kai looked abashed and immediately realized that probably everyone who came here was just as curious. He said apologetically, "My apologies, I was just a bit curious. I assumed Master Yang Yan was a man."
"Mm." Yang Yan didn't dwell on it and continued, "What do you need refined?"
Yang Kai answered, "A few simple things—not Artifacts. I'll draw them for you."
With that, he picked up the paper and brush that had been prepared beside the cushion and quickly sketched several oddly shaped objects.
Warriors always came with specific requirements when having things forged, and Artifacts were designed according to their own visions, so paper and brushes were always kept ready.
Once he was done, Yang Kai handed the drawings over.
Yang Yan took them and looked, letting out a soft sound of surprise that seemed to indicate genuine astonishment. She asked, "You want to set up a formation?"