Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 20: Monk's Spade

Day Eight.

Another twenty-plus artifact refiners had forfeited and left—mostly due to errors with their materials during forging. With not enough time left to start over, they had no choice but to give up.

During this time, Quan Jiaying had already used his spiritual flame to forge his blade into shape. Now he was controlling his spiritual power to refine the finer details of the weapon.

The hilt, in a matte silver-gray, was carved with intricate raised lines, like twisted, dried branches stretching toward the gleaming blade. The only thing left was the inscription of the blade’s pattern.

A weapon’s pattern—its engraved pattern—determines the upper limits of its performance in combat. The more intricate and rare the pattern, the more powerful the artifact can be.

Thus, with utmost care, Quan Jiaying used a brush dipped in Yaning Ink to sketch the design onto the blade, stroke by stroke.

Three months ago, inspired by the reconstruction of two broken wind-based patterns, he’d gone back to reread his old books on incomplete inscriptions. Compared to before, his understanding had grown immensely—he could now grasp complex structural layouts. So, he chose to reuse the very patterns he had repaired himself.

The Frostbreak Pattern and the Whirlwind Pattern—both incomplete inscriptions he had spent time restoring—were drawn on opposite sides of the blade. As soon as the ink dried, he channeled a thread of spiritual power into his fingertip and began carving the patterns along the traced lines.

Even for someone as skilled as Quan Jiaying, fine beads of sweat appeared on his brow.

This was the most critical step.

One slip, and the entire blade would be ruined.

After all, countless refiners had failed at this very stage, forced to start from scratch.

……

On the fifteenth day, all participants emerged from their refining rooms. Only those who had successfully completed their magic artifacts would pass the trial. These tools would then be submitted for public testing in the sect’s trial arena, where the elders would rank the top ten.

Quan Jiaying walked out of his refining room, mentally drained. The successful forging of his weapon didn’t stir much emotion in him. In contrast, Xiyu, Ming Liu Sha, and Xia Er—though clearly exhausted—wore expressions of excitement.

"Senior Sister, this trip was totally worth it!" Xia Er squeezed through the crowd to Ye Su. "So many great materials, and I actually got to use them—without paying a single spirit stone!"

"Senior Sister, what kind of weapon did you make?" Xiyu had been in the refining room furthest back, and by the time she came over, Ye Su had already submitted her finished tool.

"A monk's spade." Ye Su had only just managed to attach the two rings at the last moment.

To make sure she used all the provided materials within the time limit, Ye Su’s monk's spade was quite rough. She hadn’t even carved any spirit patterns onto the shaft, which normally would’ve been required.

Still, the tool was complete and usable. She could always finish engraving it later once she got it back.

"I used six kinds of materials," Xiyu said proudly, clearly satisfied with her work. "The other four I just touched—couldn’t refine them, so I gave up."

"You only touched them once? I went over each one at least twice!" Xia Er looked regretful, thinking about all those materials he couldn’t refine.

Ming Liu Sha held up five fingers. "Five times."

The three of them had only recently reached Foundation Establishment. Their spiritual fire wasn’t stable yet, and under the time limit, it was impossible to refine everything. They could only choose a few materials to forge the most suitable magic artifacts.

As they spoke, the crowd ahead began to move toward the trial arena of Poyuan Sect.

After fifteen days shut away in refining rooms, no one had gotten much sleep. They were all mentally and physically drained. Normally, they would go rest—but now, excitement for the results kept them wide awake. At the arena, the elders immediately began inspecting the submitted tools.

This step was crucial. Some weapons that looked decent at first would shatter on the spot when infused with spiritual energy.

"What? It was finished! I’m sure of it!"

"No way!"

Some toolsmiths stared in disbelief at their broken creations. Those less mentally resilient even fainted.

Rong Chuqiu stood at the center of the arena maintaining order. She raised a hand, and the Poyuan Sect disciples instantly quieted. The rogue cultivators followed suit.

"Refining tools is a complex and delicate art," Rong Chuqiu said solemnly, sweeping her gaze across the crowd. "Shaping the weapon is only the first step. A true magic artifact must withstand the immense spiritual power of a cultivator to be truly effective."

Of all the participants, only a small number had managed to complete their tools. And after eliminating the ones that couldn’t endure spiritual infusion, only forty-eight usable tools remained—most of them from Poyuan Sect disciples.

"Senior Sister, do you think we’ll get a reward?" Xia Er craned his neck, staring toward the stage.

"We’ll make the top ten," Ye Su said with certainty. The quality of the Poyuan Sect disciples' work seemed average. Of all the tools that passed, only one blade was worth noting.

If the Poyuan Sect elders knew what Ye Su was thinking, they might’ve blown a fuse. Aside from their inability to surpass Zhanjin Sect, the magic artifacts refined by Poyuan disciples were considered hot commodities—prized by weapon shops across the region.

With a wave of her sleeve, Rong Chuqiu sent all forty-eight tools floating into the air above the arena. "If any outsider refiner makes it into the top ten, they will receive a material reward—and have the opportunity to join Poyuan Sect as an inner sect disciple."

Her words caused a stir among the crowd.

As for the disciples of Qianji Sect, they only heard one thing—material reward. This trip to Poyuan Sect had already been worth it: free spiritual energy, finished tools to take home, and now potentially more resources.

Ye Su thought to herself, Next time I’m bringing more of my junior brothers and sisters to cash in on this.

The elders began testing the forty-eight tools one by one, striking them against a trial stone to evaluate their power, and recording the results to rank the top ten.

"Next up is Fang Xiu’s Plum Blossom Sword." Elder Zhang called out as he struck the trial stone. Just one blow left a deep gouge.

This trial stone was different from the one used in the preliminary selection—it was much tougher and specifically meant to test tools crafted by Foundation Establishment refiners.

The disciples of Poyuan Sect erupted in cheers, calling out Fang-shixiong’s name.

Fang Xiu looked quite smug. While he wasn’t the strongest among his peers, he was still one of the top refiners within the sect.

But his pride didn’t last long.

Ming Liu Sha’s Black Whip, Xia Er’s Moon Lance, and Xiyu’s Injustice Blade—each one left deeper marks than his.

Among them, the Injustice Blade made the deepest gouge, nearly cleaving the trial stone in two.

Likely due to their material choices, both Ming Liu Sha and Xia Er had forged weapons that didn’t quite suit them, which weakened their results a little.

Soon it was Quan Jiaying’s turn. The elders exchanged glances before deciding Elder Zhang would test it.

As soon as the blade struck, a fierce chill exploded outward. But that wasn’t all—when the tip of the blade touched the stone, its infused energy began spinning like a whirlwind. The stone cracked clean through, and then slowly slid apart.

A moment of silence fell before the Poyuan Sect disciples roared in celebration.

Then Quan Shen suddenly spoke up: "Bring out a new trial stone."

The arena fell quiet. This new stone was normally reserved for Core Formation-level toolsmiths. Only tools made by sect elders ever left a mark on it.

Elder Zhang gripped the blade again and struck.

"…"

"Junior Brother, you’re amazing!" Fang Xiu turned with wide eyes, smacking Quan Jiaying on the shoulder.

The Core Formation-level trial stone now bore a deep groove. Most mid-stage Core Formation refiners couldn’t even manage that.

Quan Jiaying quietly exhaled, though his face remained calm. "There are still a few more tools left."

"None of them will compare," Fang Xiu said excitedly. "Junior Brother, this will definitely bump your name up on the Baiqing Rankings—maybe even past those two from Zhanjin Sect!"

Quan Jiaying shook his head. He had crossed paths with those two before—they were incredibly strong.

Meanwhile, the rest of the disciples were still caught up in the thrill of Quan Jiaying’s blade and paid no attention to the final few tools. In their minds, nothing could top that performance.

"Last up, Ye Su’s Monk's Spade," one of the elders announced.

Upon hearing this, Quan Jiaying glanced at the crescent-shaped weapon, his expression turning strange. It looked far too rough—hard to believe this was the same person who had forged the Mistflower Fang.

He tilted his head to look toward Ye Su in the crowd. Her skill seemed to have dropped way too fast.