Chapter 709: Chapter 711: Playing with Mud
Nian Shutong didn’t know what everyone was thinking, but if she had known, she would have said, "You really are clever."
"Today we will play with mud."
"Lian Qing!"
"Present!"
The aforementioned Lian Qing stepped forward, took out the mud he had prepared all afternoon, and placed it between him and the student professors opposite.
Then, Lian Qing went to each of the professors and students, distributing a pot of mud to each person.
After finishing, Lian Qing returned to stand behind and to the right of Nian Shutong, calmly taking out a pot of mud and placing it in front of himself.
Nian Shutong, observing everyone had prepared, without any nonsense, commenced the lesson.
"The task you will practice today is singular; only once you’ve reached a certain level can you proceed to the next lesson."
"Please watch my demonstration closely, you will have only one chance."
Nian Shutong’s fingers pointed to the pot of mud in front of her, and all eyes followed her hand.
Everyone here knew that Nian Shutong only taught once, and there would not be a second time.
"What you need to do is use your own spiritual power to control this pot of mud and shape it into what you desire."
"For example, a sword."
Before everyone’s eyes, the mud in the pot rose and transformed into the shape of a sword in midair.
"Or a flower."
The mud in the air shifted again, swiftly transforming from a sword to a budding flower which slowly unfurled, and if one could ignore the color of the mud, it was indeed a very beautiful flower.
"Or a house."
The blooming mud rose transformed before everyone’s eyes, slowly becoming the framework of a house. As the mud exhausted, more rose from the pot, morphing into beds, couches, and filling up the mud house.
Even the engraved patterns on the beds and the floral designs on the floor tiles were clearly visible, and the curtains on the windows fluttered as if there was a breeze passing through.
This was not just a house—it was a home.
Every detail within the modest mud house was included, even down to the creases in the bedsheets and mosquitoes flying around, so vividly real.
After the final touch, Nian Shutong, controlling it to hover in the air, said to the people opposite, "Your task is to make your own house."
"When you are successful, that will be the time for our next lesson."
"Oh, right, this task also has a deadline—three months’ time, fail and you will be dismissed."
Nian Shutong waved her hand lightly, and the mud house obediently returned to the pot.
"Next, please begin trying, I will provide some guidance for the next two hours, seize this valuable opportunity."
Nian Shutong’s words instantly prompted everyone into action, as opportunities for her guidance were rare.
Actually, this step tested their training in the control of spiritual power.
During Artifact Refining, all the weapons were shaped by their own spiritual powers bit by bit; if they couldn’t control mud, how could they control ores?
Precise control is an indispensable part of becoming an Artifact Refiner.
Nian Shutong, true to her word, provided guidance to every student, without partiality. Those who couldn’t achieve this step had no qualifications to become Artifact Refiners.
The two hours passed quickly, and, on time, Nian Shutong left for the next lesson with Lian Qing, whose timing was uncertain.
The eighteen students and five professors each left, holding a pot of mud, heading in their directions.
The five professors took their mud homes, their wives or children not understanding why they were bringing the mud into their study rooms, even making a point to say that this pot of mud was very important and must not be touched by anyone.
The eighteen students, taking a pot of mud back to their dorms, when questioned by roomies, simply mentioned it was part of their lesson, after which they kept staring at their pots of mud until the lights-out signal was sounded.
This pot of mud was then stored carefully in their Space Buttons, cherished dearly.
On the internal network of the Military Empire College, a topic rapidly surged in popularity:
"Discussing the Connection Between a Pot of Mud and Artifact Refining?"
Below, many people joked and made wild guesses, but no one spoke ill—with five professors together, and knowing they were eliminations, who would dare criticize those who advanced?
The matter of mud occupied just a small corner; those not from the Artifact Refining Department simply didn’t care.
But another matter had caught everyone’s attention: Fu Yunhe was starting to compete for credits.
"Somehow I knew Fu Yunhe would start competing for credits early, but I didn’t expect him to come to our class on the first day—let me clarify, we’re seniors, Mechanical Department."
"You don’t know, our teacher saw Fu Yunhe and initially was overjoyed, but it turned into: ’Fu Yunhe, do you think what the teacher is saying is correct?’"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! It’s too damn real; we are juniors in combat class, no one dares to approach us when he stands there!"
"Who would dare? Us a group of Level 1 A, going over to someone from SS level to seek existence."
"And the result is he didn’t move, but he ranked first in scores, and no one had any complaints."
"You all have some traces; we are from the Command Department, thinking how even with great talent and strength, the Command Department isn’t really related closely."
"I think the guy above is totally screwed!"
"Hey, not just screwed—today in our Command Department virtual exercise, Fu Yunhe led a ten-person squad alone and wiped out our three hundred-person squads!"
"Holy shit! That’s a stark contrast."
"I remember the teacher asking Fu Yunhe how he did it, and Fu Yunhe answered with one word: ’Thirty-six Stratagems.’"
"What is that?"
"Don’t know, just know everyone in Command Department was annihilated."
"This sort of person is born to demoralize others."
Discussions about Fu Yunhe grew further; it was evident that on his first day of classes, he dominated all the students thoroughly.
Whether freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors—all met the same fate.
However, with Fu Yunhe’s abilities and talent evident, nobody said much.
Everyone knew one thing: envying Fu Yunhe’s talent was pointless.
Furthermore, Fu Yunhe had demonstrated his formidable strength with the attitude of "If you’re not convinced, then try to beat me."
Since that was impossible, what more was there to say?
As Fu Yunhe continued his quest for accumulating credits, Nian Shutong had to return to Blue Star for a while; she didn’t have much else to do here and had already stayed for a short period.
So, the next morning, before the early exercises, Nian Shutong and Fu Yunhe met in a corner to bid farewell.
"I’ll go home first."
"Okay, I’ll wait for you."