From Family Fisherman to Water Virtue Immortal

Dong!! 

In the center of the Fire Hall, the jade chime rang out once more, its resonant tones marking the official end of the assessment. 

The sound waves lingered in the air, echoing endlessly. 

Li Quanqing looked up, somewhat dazed, only now realizing that all his clansmen had completed their work. 

Some were joyful, while others were filled with sorrow. 

He turned his gaze to the forging table in front of him, where a suit of armor lay quietly, composed of thousands of cherry-sized green scales layered like a blooming lotus. 

Under the firelight, the jade-like armor appeared flawless, as beautiful as a piece of art. 

Unfortunately, this "Jade Armor" was far from complete. It lacked arms and a lower body, making it more of a "breastplate" than a full suit of armor. 

"By the heavens! Junior Brother, you have too much free time!" 

Beside him, Li Quanshu was utterly stunned, looking at the young man as if he were a monster. 

"It's too difficult. Until I become a formal refiner, I shouldn't attempt something like this again." 

Li Quanqing rubbed his temples, feeling dizzy and seeing stars as his mind shifted out of its focused state. 

His spiritual energy had been heavily depleted. 

Though the armor looked delicate and small, it was composed of three layers of interlocking scales, a marvel of ingenuity. 

But Li Quanqing wasn't entirely satisfied. 

A true top-grade magical artifact, the Jade Armor, was made of nine layers of scales, with spirit runes etched onto their surfaces. The difficulty increased exponentially. 

When a spell struck the Jade Armor, it would be weakened nine times over, leaving the wearer virtually unharmed. 

Truly invincible defense! 

"The art of refining is vast and profound!" 

Li Quanqing sighed softly, his earlier pride quietly dissipating. 

"Silence!" 

"Now announcing the results of this assessment!" 

Li Quanlin began inspecting the weapons forged by the students, starting from the first forging station. 

He picked up a sword and a shield, striking them against each other. By the weight, feel, and the crispness of the sound, he could quickly gauge the quality of the work. 

Some Green Carp Swords looked magnificent, but with a single swing, the blade would shatter a shoddy job. 

"Li Quanlu, grade B-, assessment passed!" 

"Li Quanping failed to complete forging, assessment failed!" 

... 

"Li Quanqing, grade A+, assessment passed!" 

This was the highest score so far, and everyone couldn't help but look over it. 

Then they saw the half-finished Jade Armor, and their emotions became complicated, silently cursing the "monster" before them. 

Senior Brother Li Quanlin ran his hand over the Jade Armor, his eyes filled with admiration. 

Though forged from copper and iron, the armor was as smooth and flawless as jade this was already the work of a master refiner. 

He then examined Li Quanshu's weapons, testing them before giving her a B+ grade. 

The young woman's tense expression immediately relaxed, her furrowed brows smoothing out as she breathed a sigh of relief. 

Out of the sixty-plus participants, only a third passed the assessment. 

Some had the skills but lacked the temperament, failing to perform at their best and thus falling short. 

For example, the miserable Li Quanzhu. 

When his failure was announced, the boy's face turned as red as a pig's liver, his expression dark and furious. 

Fortunately, he retained a shred of rationality and didn't lash out at the examiners. 

Instead, he hurled his weapons to the ground, stomped on them a few times, and stormed off in a rage. 

"Youth these days, their temperament just isn't up to par. If you're not good enough, practice more." 

Li Quanqing stroked his chin, certainly not admitting that he might have played a part in this. 

"Your cousin hasn't been having a good time lately." 

Li Quanshu blinked, keeping her voice low so only the two of them could hear. 

"Oh? Senior Sister, do tell." 

Li Quanqing's interest was immediately piqued. 

When it came to gossip, women naturally had the upper hand. 

"Your uncle had connections and was supposed to be promoted to a family steward. But at the last moment, someone else took the position." 

"I heard from some sisters in the family that Qingpan Island has been quite lively lately. Your uncle has been storming into the elders' residences every day, demanding an explanation." 

Li Quanqing couldn't help but click his tongue. He had been living and sleeping by the fish pond these days, completely missing out on the drama. 

"Who managed to snatch the position from him?" 

Li Quanqing was quite curious. 

Li Yuheng had decent cultivation, had struck it rich in the ancient cultivator's cave, and had connections through his wife's family. With spirit stones paving the way, the steward position should have been a sure thing. 

"Senior Sister is just repeating rumors, Junior Brother. Don't go spreading this around." 

Li Quanshu put on a serious face, glancing around before whispering a name: "The main lineage Li Quangeng." 

"So it's this young master, no wonder!" 

Li Quanqing exclaimed in surprise. Even though he usually kept to himself and focused on raising fish, he had heard of this name. 

Li Quangeng was the only "Quan" generation member with a top-grade spiritual root. 

His great-grandfather was none other than the Li family's patriarch, the Foundation Establishment cultivator Li Zongyao. His background was illustrious. 

He was the cream of the crop among the main lineage. 

Touted as the leading figure of the Li family's younger generation, he was a surefire candidate for Foundation Establishment. 

"The gap between people is just too vast. I heard Li Quangeng is only in his twenties and has already reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement." 

The young woman twirled a strand of hair by her ear, sighing softly. 

Not only did she have a low-grade spiritual root, but it was also a conflicting water-fire combination. 

She had been stuck at the third level of Qi Refinement for nearly a year, slowly grinding her way forward. 

Li Quanqing didn't have the heart to tell her that he had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement. 

In terms of cultivation speed, he wasn't far behind Li Quangeng in his early years. 

As they chatted, the assessment came to an end, and the clansmen began filing out of the hall. 

Li Quanqing eagerly packed the ores into his storage bag, ready to return to the fish pond, when Senior Brother Li Quanlin called out to him. 

"Quanqing, come help." 

Li Quanlin waved him over. "Take these successfully forged weapons to the back hall." 

Li Quanshu, who had just finished packing her things, immediately looked envious. 

"On it, Senior Brother!" 

Li Quanqing quickly got to work, darting around the hall. 

The Green Carp Swords were small and could be stored in large quantities in the storage bag, but the Green Scale Shields were too bulky and had to be carried by hand. 

During this process, Li Quanqing also found a few leftover ores, which he happily pocketed. 

In the back hall, the weapons were placed on racks, their cold gleam and sharp edges exuding an intimidating aura. 

"These mortal weapons still contain spiritual energy, so they'll be taken by the Law Hall for the refiners to practice on." 

"Though they'll only end up as low-grade magical artifacts sold to struggling wandering cultivators, they're still worth a fair amount of spirit stones." 

Li Quanqing nodded in understanding. 

The family never loses out. Even the failed weapons would likely be melted down and recycled. 

Li Quanlin picked up Li Quanqing's works and looked at the young man. "You're about to enter the Earth-level class. Do you know what you'll be learning?" 

"The origins of formations, spirit rune engraving, artifact appraisal..." 

Li Quanqing counted on his fingers, listing them off one by one. 

The past few months of study and forging were just the foundation. 

This next step was the true core of the refining legacy. 

As for those in the Heaven-level class, they had already learned everything. 

All that remained was to independently forge a low-grade magical artifact to become a formally recognized refiner of the family. 

Unsurprisingly, the Heaven-level class also had the most "repeat students," including some who had been studying for decades. 

Li Quanlin nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly said, "I plan to refine your two weapons into magical artifacts. If you can continue to take first place in the Earth-level assessments, I promise to let you assist me in refining." 

"How about it?" 

Li Quanqing was overjoyed. 

Li Quanlin, despite his young age, was already a first-grade mid-tier refiner, a prodigy highly regarded by the Third Elder in the Artifact Refining Hall. 

Assisting him in refining two magical artifacts was a dream opportunity for any refining apprentice. 

Though Li Quanqing was fairly confident he could independently forge a low-grade Green Carp Sword, he didn't dare show it. 

Becoming a refiner in just half a year was too monstrous. He was afraid of being added to some enemy family's assassination list. 

It was better to lay low, to stay under the radar. 

For now, being an ordinary genius was just fine. 

Living a peaceful, stable life, and enjoying the happiness of raising fish wasn't that enough?