Cha Hu was a very patient teacher. Having learned of Yang Kai's level in Artifact Refining, he naturally tailored his instruction to the student, starting from the very beginning.
Yang Kai studied diligently.
One learned in earnest, the other taught with care, and they got along quite well.
Whether in martial cultivation or alchemy, Yang Kai had demonstrated remarkable talent, but his aptitude for Artifact Refining was notably lacking.
Fortunately, he already possessed a Seventh-Stage Open Heaven cultivation, and since alchemy and Artifact Refining shared much common ground, his somewhat limited natural talent in the latter was offset by his steady improvement in the craft.
However, for someone in his situation, reaching the true pinnacle of Artifact Refining was out of the question. At a certain stage, he would encounter an insurmountable bottleneck, and that bottleneck would represent the absolute limit of his achievement in Artifact Refining for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had no intention of pushing his Artifact Refining skills to any great height. This entire endeavor was purely for the intelligence-gathering missions ahead—he needed only a baseline level of proficiency.
Cha Hu could never quite figure out why Yang Kai had suddenly taken such an interest in Artifact Refining. Over their time together, he could sense that Yang Kai was absorbing the intricacies of the craft with almost desperate hunger, neglecting sleep and food in his pursuit of its mysteries. With such dedication, his progress was remarkably fast. After all, with the foundation of a high-level cultivation backing him, everything he undertook yielded twice the result for half the effort.
Day after day, year after year.
Yang Kai practically lived in the Artifact Refining Hall, never stepping outside, and even neglected his own cultivation as a result. Fortunately, the depth of his Small Universe was constantly expanding thanks to the beings he nurtured within his body, so compared to a normal person's progress, he didn't fall too far behind.
Ten full years passed this way, until Cha Hu felt he had nothing left to teach, at which point Yang Kai finally brought this particular period of training to an end.
Cha Hu's inability to teach further wasn't because Yang Kai's Artifact Refining skills had surpassed his own—it was simply that he had already imparted everything he knew about the craft. How far Yang Kai could go from here would depend entirely on his own talent.
A master can only open the door; the rest is up to the practitioner. The same technique, in different hands, yields different results. The path of Artifact Refining was no different from the path of cultivation.
By Yang Kai's own framework for ranking levels of mastery, ten years of painstaking, sleepless effort had only elevated his attainment in Artifact Refining from barely at the entry level to the third tier—Entering the Hall.
A Grandmaster-level Artifact Refiner like Dongguo Anping would possess attainment at no less than the seventh tier—Peerless—minimum.
Only at this level would one have the skill and qualification to forge Travel Palace Artifacts, and Grandmaster-level Artifact Refiners like that were few and far between across all of Biluo Pass.
Then there was Cha Hu, who had spent ten years teaching Yang Kai. Yang Kai estimated his Artifact Refining attainment to be at the fifth tier—Comprehensive Mastery.
The advancement of the Dao grew increasingly difficult the further one progressed, perhaps even more so than advancing through the grades of the Open Heaven realm.
Yang Kai lagged two tiers behind Cha Hu and a full four major tiers behind Dongguo Anping—a gulf that spoke for itself.
If he devoted enough energy and time in his remaining lifetime, he might eventually catch up to Cha Hu's current level, but reaching a Grandmaster tier like Dongguo Anping's was utterly beyond reach. Such was the limitation of talent; mortal effort could only go so far.
The Ink disciple in the Yin-Yang Battle Zone was already developing Travel Palace Artifacts. Judging from that, that Ink disciple's attainment in Artifact Refining was likely only a single step away from the Grandmaster level. By Yang Kai's estimate, they should currently be at the sixth tier—Exceptional.
If he had the time, Yang Kai would have preferred to push his skills one step further, at least to the fourth tier—Proficiency.
But he had already spent ten years in the Artifact Refining Hall, and during that time, the Commander had visited him several times. Though nothing was ever said, Yang Kai could sense the urgency burning behind those visits.
The longer they delayed here, the more likely the Black Ink Clan would succeed in forging a true Travel Palace Artifact. Ten years was no short span of time.
And so, when Yang Kai suddenly appeared before the Commander, the Commander was momentarily stunned.
But he quickly recovered, setting down a document in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Ready?"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir!"
The Commander slowly shook his head. "This mission is dangerous. If you don't want to go, no one will force you."
Yang Kai smiled. "Ten years sharpening the sword, all for this moment. Why would I shrink away?"
The Commander's eyes were filled with satisfaction and approval. "If all our Human Race warriors were like you, why would we worry about failing our great cause? Have you notified Dawn?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "There's no need. The matter of the Black Ink Clan's Travel Palace Artifact hasn't been made public yet, has it? I don't know when I'll be able to return from this, and it would be hard to explain—so I won't bother with goodbyes. Besides, without me, Dawn can still fight on the front lines. They'll take care of themselves. There's no time to waste, sir. I'll set off for Yin-Yang Pass at once."
The Commander nodded slightly. "Very well. Come with me. They've been pressing us repeatedly over there—if you don't arrive soon, that old fool Tang Qiu is going to start cursing."
With that, he rose and led the way.
Halfway there, the Commander handed Yang Kai a jade slip. "This contains some basic information about Yin-Yang Pass and the Yin-Yang Battle Zone. Read it when you have the chance."
Yang Kai took it without inspecting it immediately, tucking it away into his Small Universe first.