Chapter 26: Emergence of the Divine Artifact, The Rankings Begin

"Master, hello, I’ve brought back all the materials you requested." Zhang Shan handed over dozens of different materials to Master Lu.

Fortunately, he had expanded his backpack beforehand; otherwise, it would never have fit.

"Alright, wait here for a while. The repair will take some time."

With that, Master Lu approached a workbench, fixed the tube in place, and then began performing a series of intricate maneuvers, each incomprehensible to Zhang Shan, slowly incorporating each material into the process.

"My lifelong aspiration is to become a divine craftsman. I hope that through repairing this divine weapon, I might gain some new insights," Master Lu murmured, hands never ceasing their motion.

Engineering, along with blacksmithing, tailoring, and alchemy, all culminated in the rank of divine craftsman, while the ultimate stage for apothecaries was Apothecary God—a rank, theoretically, even players could one day reach.

In this new world, the rules for life professions dictated that blacksmiths could forge weapons for all classes except hunters, as well as all equipment for plate armor classes; tailors produced leather and cloth armor; alchemists crafted accessories; and apothecaries made potions.

Engineers, meanwhile, could not only create weapons for fire hunters, but also bullets and various siege and defense machinery for battles over cities. The variety was immense—players would only discover what could be made when they obtained the respective blueprints.

Zhang Shan was considering learning engineering as a secondary profession—he could manufacture his own bullets, saving a great deal. More importantly, in the future, there might be higher-quality bullets with special attributes that players would need to craft themselves, as they wouldn’t be sold in shops.

Currently, shops sold only regular and superior bullets; regular ones had no added attributes, and while superior bullets did boost attack, they’d become less useful in the late game—and they were expensive.

So Zhang Shan’s plan was, if the chance arose, to become an engineering apprentice and gradually collect blueprints and materials for upgrades. Although he didn’t have the grand ambition to become a legendary craftsman like Master Lu, he at least wanted to meet some of his own needs.

To learn a life profession, one first needed a profession certificate. Zhang Shan hadn’t acquired one yet, though there were some for sale at the auction house. But there was no rush—for now, low-level life professions weren’t particularly useful.

Upgrading a life profession required vast amounts of materials, a certain number of blueprints, and the accumulation of time. There was no need to hurry, Zhang Shan thought; that could come later.

Watching Master Lu’s hands fly over the materials, Zhang Shan couldn’t help but ask, "Master, are divine weapons the most powerful equipment in the world?"

"Of course not. Divine weapons are formidable, but even greater exist. Above divine weapons are sacred artifacts, such as the Emperor’s Sword wielded by the Eastern Capital’s Zhou Emperor, or Grand Preceptor Jiang’s Godslayer Staff in the Western Capital. Those are sacred artifacts."

"So there’s even stronger gear! I always thought red-grade equipment was the pinnacle."

"It’s normal you wouldn’t know. For ordinary people, red-grade equipment is usually the highest they’ll ever see. But above red, there are the Three Sacred Relics. Only gods can forge divine weapons and spirit instruments, while sacred artifacts can only be crafted by saints—they’re extremely rare in this world."

"But master, since you can repair divine weapons, you must be able to craft spirit instruments as well. Have you become a god?" Zhang Shan threw in a compliment.

Master Lu replied with pride, "I have not yet become a god, but I was able to craft spirit instruments many years ago. The day I forge a divine weapon, I will surely ascend."

Zhang Shan thought, what a proud old man. But then, Master Lu did have every right to be proud.

"Master, if the human race possesses sacred artifacts, why can’t we exterminate the demon race?"

"Ah, the demons are not so easily dealt with. Though there are nine Demon Gods, they’re not the real threat—the Emperor and the Grand Preceptor could destroy them with ease. But doing so is pointless. The Demon Gods are simply inheritors of the demon divinity; as long as that divinity exists, the nine Demon Gods will never be eradicated—kill one, and another soon appears."

Hm? What kind of setting is this? Demon Gods respawn just like regular monsters? It made sense, though—it was a game, after all. No matter how strong the Demon Gods were, they were still just bosses, and respawning was par for the course.

Master Lu continued, "The Demon Gods are not the terrible ones; it’s the Holy Demons you should fear. When the demons invaded, the Holy Demons wielded tremendous power, corrupting heaven and earth and turning all things into demons. If not for the human saints suppressing the nation’s fate with the Nine Provinces Cauldron and preserving the seven kingdoms and thirty cities, humanity would have perished."

"Yes, there are countless monsters outside the city—they never end," Zhang Shan agreed.

"But it’s not hopeless. The saints once said that when humanity is strong enough, the demons will retreat on their own. Young man, the future of our people depends on thousands like you and me. We must all strive to become stronger to drive the demons away."

"Yes, Master, I’ll do my utmost to grow and contribute to our people’s rise," Zhang Shan replied indifferently. Grow stronger? That just meant grinding monsters and leveling up—nothing out of the ordinary.

"Enough talking. The repair is nearly complete," Master Lu said solemnly.

His hands moved faster, his expression grave.

Zhang Shan watched quietly from the side. Soon, Master Lu ceased his movements.

On the workbench, a rugged yet magnificent musket gradually took shape, a mysterious radiance swirling gently around it.

This divine musket was longer and had a thicker barrel than the purple musket Zhang Shan usually carried. It resembled a large-caliber sniper rifle from reality, though its design was simpler, free of unnecessary embellishments.

The moment the divine musket appeared on the workbench, Zhang Shan was instantly smitten—who wouldn’t love a divine weapon?

Excited, he asked, "Master, is it finished?"

"It’s done. A perfect divine weapon, truly," Master Lu replied.

"Can I pick it up now?" Zhang Shan asked a bit anxiously, worried that perhaps the weapon was too advanced for him to equip. That would be a disaster.

"You can. I’ve already fused your essence into the weapon—it will grow stronger along with you."

Master Lu lifted the divine musket from the workbench and handed it to Zhang Shan, speaking with gravity. "Every divine weapon represents the fate of a people. Cherish it, and use it well."

"I will, Master."

Zhang Shan took the divine weapon excitedly, just about to check its attributes when a system announcement rang out.

System announcement: Congratulations to player Six-Barrel Bodhisattva for acquiring the first divine weapon in the New World, ushering in a new era for humanity. Reward: Skill Points +10, Merit +1000.

System announcement: As a player has obtained a divine weapon, the leaderboard system is now open, featuring Equipment and Level rankings.

Hearing this, Zhang Shan was overjoyed. He had suspected there would be an announcement for the first divine weapon, but he had never expected a reward of ten skill points. That was equivalent to leveling up ten times! He could max out a skill with that. The merit was nice, too, but compared to the skill points, Zhang Shan hardly cared.