Longevity by Grinding Skills

Xu Yunfan’s brow arched at the sight. The facilities in Celestial Craft City were convenient in every way, but he hadn’t expected even the verification process to be so ingenious.

"Yes, identity confirmed."

This Elder had originally belonged to the Hidden Blade Pavilion. After his promotion, he had naturally left the Six Ministries to become an independent figure.

Seeing that the visitor was Xu Yunfan, the Weapon Casting Hall’s Newly Ascended True Inheritor, the Elder showed no malice. He simply sized him up with curiosity a few times before handing back the True Inheritance Token and offering a piece of advice.

"Without a letter stamped with the great seal of a ministry head, you are not permitted to remove any martial arts manuals from the Scripture Pavilion. There is another door ahead. You just need to embed your token to open it."

"Thank you for telling me, Elder."

After taking back his token, Xu Yunfan slowly stepped into the Scripture Pavilion.

The Scripture Pavilion was located deep within Celestial Craft City, the entire structure bathed in the cold light of fluorescent stones.

He inserted the token into a groove on the refined steel door before him and turned it three times. The whirring of mechanisms and the CLICK-CLACK-CLACK of turning gears struck him as quite novel.

When the mechanism automatically opened the large door, the air that rushed out wasn’t musty. Instead, it was a peculiar scent, a mix of metal and medicinal herbs.

As he descended the spiral stone staircase, the rock walls on either side gradually revealed the Scripture Pavilion’s shocking secret.

This "Scripture Pavilion" was actually built deep within Celestial Craft Cave, forged by hollowing out and transforming the mountain’s interior. It had at least four levels.

Embedded in the rock were not just scrolls, but also countless strange ores sealed in glass. He could even see molten lava rushing through transparent pipes set into the rock face.

’Glass?!’

Xu Yunfan couldn’t resist stepping forward for a closer look. Tapping the transparent pipe, he found it didn’t produce a crisp sound. Instead, the feedback was dull and heavy.

’It must be some kind of ore.’

’What are these pipes for?’

It wasn’t until he reached the book-browsing area for the Melt Gold Hall on the first floor that he noticed a few disciples scattered about, engrossed in their reading.

The bookshelves were crammed full. Between the light of the fluorescent stones and the glow from the nearby lava, the entire Scripture Pavilion was as bright as day.

Xu Yunfan browsed slowly until his steps suddenly halted. He pulled a book from the shelf. His fingers traced over the yellowed pages of the *Earth Vein Ore Recognition Scripture*, which recorded the fundamental ore identification techniques of the Melt Gold Hall.

He immediately found a seat and sat down.

"...The veins of red copper grow like earthworms; when met with cold, they gather frost. The patterns within Cold Iron resemble torn silk; when struck, it sings with a dragon’s cry."

Upon reading this, Xu Yunfan suddenly slapped his thigh. The sharp sound was piercingly clear in the quiet Scripture Pavilion, causing everyone to look over.

Xu Yunfan realized what he’d done and quickly made an apologetic gesture.

When the others saw it was Xu Yunfan, the True Disciple who had recently caused such a stir, they let the matter drop. A few wanted to strike up a conversation, but they were too intimidated.

The image of Xu Yunfan on the Martial Arts Arena of the True Inheritance Hall, swinging his Heavy Hammer with a frigid expression, was still fresh in their minds.

Xu Yunfan suddenly recalled his time mining in Ninggu Tower. He had encountered this Anomaly several times. Back then, he found it impossible to dig through, so he had simply changed direction. To think it was actually red copper.

His thoughts then turned to the Profound Iron piled beside the old Craftsman in the Weapon Casting Hall. ’So there’s this much complexity to the direction of ore veins and the mountain’s geological folds,’ he thought.

’You have attentively read the *Earth Vein Ore Recognition Scripture*. You sense that your Celestial Craft Forging Technique has been supplemented.’

’It’s working!’

Xu Yunfan’s spirits lifted. He returned the book and went over to the Mechanical Hall’s section. As he pulled out the *Thousand Mechanism Techniques*, a tremor from a mechanical hub rumbled up from beneath the ground.

’Interesting.’

Xu Yunfan looked at a trigger mechanism on the shelf that had been pressed down by the *Thousand Mechanism Techniques*. The moment the book was removed and the trigger popped up, a mechanical hub inside the rock wall stirred.

’Clearly an ingenious design.’

On a yellowed diagram, the first-generation Hall Master of the Mechanical Hall had used cinnabar to sketch the structure of a repeating crossbow.

’The gear mechanism must have seven layers of engagement. A winch must be used to build string tension. When quenching the arrowheads, add shards of Cold Iron to allow them to pierce Heavy Armor.’

Xu Yunfan turned the pages slowly. The further he got, the more complex the *Thousand Mechanism Techniques* became. Generations of Mechanical Hall disciples had continuously studied and expanded upon it, culminating in the Tiger-shaped Mechanical Beast designed three hundred years ago. Xu Yunfan felt like his eyes were truly being opened.

On a bronze bookshelf in the deepest area, he found the *Celestial Craft Technique*, a mandatory text for disciples of the Celestial Craft Department. Its cover bore an exquisitely drawn human portrait.

’...To build walls, one must use soil from the shaded side of Yin Mountain, mixed with glutinous rice paste and oyster lime. When tamping the earth, douse it with rhinoceros blood to repel insects and ants.’

Reading this, his gaze swept over the reinforced rock layers beside the lava pipes. He finally understood why Celestial Craft Cave had stood for centuries without collapsing.

By dawn the next day, Xu Yunfan had seen over a dozen notifications appear in his vision, each indicating that his Celestial Craft Forging Technique was being further completed.

Xu Yunfan asked disciples from various halls and learned that aside from their Martial Arts, they were all required to master this specialized knowledge. Only after reaching a certain level of proficiency and passing an examination would they be taught their department’s core techniques.

Over the years, the Martial Arts of each department had become thoroughly integrated with its specialized craft.

The Melt Gold Hall’s Melting Gold and Forging Iron, the Mechanical Hall’s Hundred Refinements Silk Binding Technique, and the Celestial Craft Department’s Profound Turtle Carrying Mountain Strength were all essentially learned on the job.

"Learn by doing."

In response to Xu Yunfan’s question, a Melt Gold Hall disciple who was about to leave the Scripture Pavilion shouldered an extremely sturdy Mining Pickaxe. With a flick of his finger, a mechanism clicked, and the Mining Pickaxe swiftly transformed into a long-handled Mountain-Opening Saber.

The Melt Gold Hall disciple laughed. "You might not know this, Senior Brother Xu, but our Melting Gold and Forging Iron can only be cultivated by constantly working in the mines. That’s how we temper our bodies and strengthen our physiques. Over time, the accumulated Geng Metal Aura from the Earth Vein’s ores seeps into our flesh and blood, making our bodies incredibly strong. It’s not a bit inferior to your Weapon Casting Hall’s Copper Body Skill."

Getting excited, the Melt Gold Hall disciple even turned around to flex his back muscles for Xu Yunfan.

Xu Yunfan: "..."

The next second, a Melt Gold Hall Steward rushed over and rapped the disciple on the head. He bowed apologetically to Xu Yunfan while quickly dragging the man away.

’I see.’

Xu Yunfan was lost in thought. ’In other words, if I want to cultivate the complete Celestial Craft Forging Technique, I’ll probably have to master the martial arts of all four departments before I can succeed.’

’It’s just as Fu Jin said. The two words "Celestial Craftsmanship" truly are all-encompassing.’

’That’s a massive undertaking.’

Xu Yunfan immediately dismissed the idea. It wasn’t an urgent matter. He could return to it after he reached Bone Refinement Perfection. In the meantime, he could find spare moments during his training to finish reading these foundational texts.

’I’ll just treat it like grinding for a hidden achievement.’

Just as Xu Yunfan decided to head home, he turned and went back into the Scripture Pavilion instead.

He didn’t stay long this time. He asked the Elder on duty and learned that the Martial Arts collected and created by Celestial Craft Cave over the generations were all housed on the third and fourth floors.

The core martial arts of each department were also there, but simply reading them without practical application would yield minimal results.

Half a day later, Xu Yunfan returned with a borrowing slip written out and stamped with Zhan Yan’s Great Seal, and checked out a martial arts manual from the Scripture Pavilion.

The Nine Profound Dragon Whip.

This Mace Technique wasn’t considered top-tier; it was barely even a second-rate art. However, the fundamental force-application techniques it contained were exceptionally comprehensive. If practiced to the stage of Great Success, using Nine Transformations Return to Origin as its core, one could combine the nine basic methods of exerting force to easily shatter mountains and split stone. It was said to have the effect of "one mace to break the Ten Thousand Laws."