Chapter 3802: A Test

Alex looked at the two metals he had been given. They were relatively well-known metals. A regular cultivator may not be as readily knowledgeable about them, but anyone who worked with metals would know them by heart.

One was a blue metal with ice and yin energy, called the Ghost-Vein Steel. The other one was called the Jade-Heart Alloy, which was green in color and looked more like polished steel than anything.

Alex went through his information on the two metals and said them out one after another.

"The Ghost-Vein Steel is found in regions with a high yin concentration. The metal itself is mildly toxic, causing partial frostbite-like necrosis when cut by its edge. It’s generally lighter and can be compounded many times before it becomes fragile. Perfect for people with Water or Yin spirit roots or physiques."

"For an artifact maker, it is generally difficult to work with since it is very particular about the temperature range it wants to be forged in. Anything else and it loses its properties drastically. It is also known to poison anyone who works with it for a long time, so it is suggested that one take a break or eat some pills with yang energy in between to not get affected."

The Artifact God raised a brow as she listened to his description of the sword.

"The Jade-Heart Alloy, as the name suggests, is an alloy of jade powder, mercury, and meteoric iron. It is as much a metal as it is a stone. It is mostly used by people with Earth spirit roots as it accepts Earth energy the most. The alloy itself doesn’t have any property that makes it easier or difficult to work with. Though it becomes very fragile if it is compounded more than twice. It also loses durability with more surface area, so it is advised that it be used to make smaller artifacts, such as hairpins or amulets and such."

The Artifact God nodded along as she listened to Alex’s words. She seemed lost in thought for a few seconds too long before nodding aggressively once again.

"That’s correct," she said, causing Alex to beam. "Also, it’s information that is fully remembered."

Alex blinked. "I’m sorry? Did I say something wrong?"

"I wonder too. Did you?" she asked.

Alex tried to go through everything he had said. He didn’t say anything wrong as far as he was aware. Then, had he missed something perhaps?

"I’m sorry, but I can’t tell what I said was wrong."

The Artifact God took the two metal ingots back and lifted them in her hand. She showed the blue metal first. "What is it called again?"

"Ghost-Vein Steel," Alex said.

"Wrong!"

Alex reacted with surprise. "Is... is it not that?"

The woman ignored him and lifted the second metal. "What did you say this was?"

"Jade-Heart Alloy," Alex answered.

"Also wrong."

Alex didn’t know what to say.

"Don’t be down on yourself," the woman said, placing the two metals away. "I had to test something, so I gave you a trick question. And you fell right into the trap."

Alex still didn’t understand. "What were those metals, Senior?"

"The first one was Ghost-Vein Steel mixed with some Summer Nickel. It doesn’t change the appearance of the metal, but it vastly changes its properties. Ghost-Vein Steel with Summer Nickel loses its toxic power, making it easier to work with. It also makes the metal closer to neutral in power, allowing others to use it as well."

Alex hadn’t realized that at all.

"As for the other one, it is made from the ingredients of the Jade-Heart Alloy, but the ratios have been altered to make it not exactly the Jade-Heart Alloy."

Alex frowned. "Does that make it better?"

The woman shook her head. "No. It’s a much worse metal. That’s why Jade-Heart Alloy is so widely used and not the other variations of its alloy. Same for the mixture of Ghost-Vein Steel and Summer Nickel alloy. It’s the toxic property of the Ghost-Vein Steel that makes it good to be used as a weapon. What is the point of ruining that in order to make it a generic metal? Any other metal could be used in that case."

Alex agreed with her entirely, which was why he didn’t understand the point of it all.

"Then why did you have that?" he asked.

"To test you. Had I asked you to make a sword with the Ghost-Vein Steel, and you made one that was entirely formed around its toxic property, how would the sword come out to be?" she asked.

Alex understood what she meant.

"It would be useless, since it no longer has the property."

"Exactly," she said. "And yet..."

"And yet, I didn’t stop to consider that they may be different."

The woman nodded. "There’s that too, but what I wanted to show you was that you couldn’t realize it was different from just a basic glance. I was testing just how good you were at determining the quality and properties of a material, and while you failed, I did not expect anything more."

Alex couldn’t help but feel sad still.

"Also, it’s a perfect way to show you the difference between smithing and making artifacts. Though people like to consider the two one and the same, that could not be further from the truth," she said. "Smithing concerns itself mostly with the shape and the size of the thing being made, while it entirely leaves the properties to the material itself. Meanwhile, artifacts take the properties of the material and use them to create something entirely different that can do a lot more than the sum of its parts."

"Not to mention, smithing mostly only works with metal. Meanwhile, artifacts deal with much more. We’ve got wood, glass, rocks, and many times even parts of animals themselves. There is so much there to learn and remember that it makes no sense to do so at all."

"As such, the best talent an artifact maker can have is to recognize the properties of a material by just a glance. And that is what I will teach you first."

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