Sacred Artifact Transformation

Du Chen sat on the crystalline ground of the plaza, casually remarking, "My stomach felt off mid-journey, so I took a long break."

"Really?" Helen scrutinized Du Chen from head to toe, chuckling, "Then why didn't I see you on the way?"

"Didn't you hear me clearly? My stomach was upset, so naturally, I had to find a discreet spot to relieve myself!" Du Chen playfully eyed her, quipping, "Or perhaps I should tell you *where* I 'convenienced' myself, so you can go verify?"

"Hmph, no interest!" With a swish of her skirt, Helen settled beside Du Chen.

"Hey, why are you sitting here?" Du Chen pointed to the distant benches. "There are seats over there, hurry and claim one. We'll be stuck in this plaza for three days."

Helen ignored Du Chen, simply remaining seated in silence.

"Alright, if you like it here, I'll yield it to you!" Du Chen stood up, straightened his robe, and walked towards Steve, who was further away.

Steve and the Xino Dwarf, Sem, were gathered together, watching Du Chen. Seeing him approach, Steve stepped forward, grinning mischievously. "My dear brother, it looks like this girl has a thing for you!"

*This girl is only interested in my lock-picking skills!* Du Chen internally corrected Steve, then sat beside him, whispering, "Forget her. We've been running all night, let's find a place to eat quickly. I'm starving!"

While Lotus Internal Force could provide stamina, Du Chen was far from reaching the stage where he could subsist without food. He truly felt his stomach was glued to his back from hunger.

Sem spoke up, "Brother Francis, how are we supposed to eat? Teachers are everywhere."

Du Chen recalled the method Harry the Shieb had scouted out, and with a helpless shake of his head, said, "Just follow me." He then shouted, "Teachers, we need to use the restroom!"

"Oh no, it can't be…" Sem painfully closed his large eyes.

Faculty members assigned to cordon off the plaza ushered Du Chen and his companions into the restrooms beside the plaza. Of course, these teachers weren't so strict as to follow them *into* the stalls; they waited outside.

Thankfully, the hygienic conditions of the Battle God Isle restrooms were decent, and partitions separated the relieving and washing areas. In the washing area, Du Chen threw his hands up and pouted, "The environment's a bit rough, but it's better than starving to death." With that, he was the first to pull out dried beef jerky hidden in his pant leg.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sem stopped Du Chen. "This training lasts three days. The jerky you brought is too little. Eat mine first, I brought a lot more!"

Saying this, Sem removed the golden crown from his head. He tapped it, and like magic, a large pile of beef jerky poured out.

*He can hide so many things in his golden crown?* Du Chen stared at Sem in surprise.

"Hehe, this golden crown was transformed from a Sacred Artifact. Before training, I even imbued a layer of battle qi onto it. As long as I don't inject battle qi into it, the teachers will never discover it!" Sem happily picked up a piece of jerky, tossed it into his mouth, and chuckled, "This feeling is simply wonderful!"

Steve took Sem's golden crown, examined it, and clucked his tongue in admiration. "Excellent item! You actually have a Transforming Sacred Artifact! Haha, we'll be relying on you during future training!"

"A Transforming Sacred Artifact?" Du Chen quickly took the golden crown, surprised. "Sacred Artifacts can transform?"

"Uh, my apologies, dear brother. I never told you this common knowledge before because transforming Sacred Artifacts are extremely rare," Steve explained. "There's a type of Sacred Artifact that can assume multiple forms. For example, Sem's golden crown can also transform into a staff."

Du Chen's chewing on the beef jerky paused.

A Sacred Artifact was a mechanical structure. Theoretically, it certainly could change form. *He wondered if, besides Transforming Sacred Artifacts, fixed-form Sacred Artifacts could also be modified?*

*By the Battle God! If fixed-form Sacred Artifacts could be modified, wouldn't his two pieces of 'stolen goods' finally see the light of day?*

At this thought, Du Chen's fingers began to itch.

However, he didn't act immediately. After eating his fill, he returned to the plaza with Steve and Sem. Later in the afternoon, he independently requested to go to the restroom.

Hiding inside a closed stall, Du Chen took out the Ramhorn Warhammer.

A lock itself was a paradox; to pick one, you had to understand its structure inside and out. So, it wasn't an exaggeration to say Du Chen was a master mechanic.

He transformed the spherical Sacred Artifact into a warhammer – using Lotus Internal Force, so there was no risk of the instructors outside detecting any battle qi. In fact, when Du Chen wielded a Sacred Artifact with Lotus Internal Force, it left absolutely no trace of battle qi.

Following the metallic patterns on the warhammer, Du Chen disassembled the Sacred Artifact.

"Wow, such intricate engineering! But it's simple for me!" Du Chen bit his lip as he dismantled the warhammer to its core, suddenly discovering a dark cyan light orb amidst the precise machinery. It definitely didn't belong to the mechanical components.

Perceiving each component with his Lotus Internal Force, Du Chen almost cried out in surprise. "So, the power of a Sacred Artifact comes from this dark cyan light orb! Those mechanical parts are just scrap metal without it!"

"Damn it, with this thing, I can craft my own Sacred Artifacts!" Du Chen growled excitedly.

Summoning three Precious Lotuses, Du Chen began grinding and modifying the disassembled mechanical parts.

Not long after, a foot-long, azure-edged dagger appeared in his hand. Du Chen stared at the dagger, chuckling mischievously, "If anyone can still recognize you as the Ramhorn Warhammer, I'll use you to commit suicide! From today onward, you shall be called the Storm Dagger. Transform back!"

He placed the Sacred Artifact, now reverted to its spherical metal form, onto a Precious Lotus and hid it away. Du Chen suppressed his wild ecstasy and walked out. He wasn't in a hurry to modify the Cloud Mist Chains; it was too complex and definitely couldn't be completed in a day or two.

"What took you so long?" The instructor outside asked with displeasure.

"Hehe, I'm sorry, I had an upset stomach. Alas, otherwise, my performance in yesterday's run wouldn't have been so abysmal!" Du Chen's bright, sunny smile, coupled with his uniquely amiable demeanor, immediately caused the instructor's impression of him to greatly improve.

"Hm, pay more attention in the future, the training is still long. Hurry up, Professor Mina is looking for you!"

"Professor Mina?" Du Chen was momentarily stunned. *What could that beautiful spy want with him? Was it another assignment?*

The instructor led Du Chen to the edge of the plaza, where Professor Mina was waiting with a beaming smile. "Handsome young man, I have something serious to discuss with you this time!" Her words carried a double meaning, hinting to Du Chen that this wasn't an assignment. But to others, the meaning shifted: *today, Professor Mina wasn't interested in seducing young Francis!*

Du Chen, caught between amusement and frustration under the ambiguous gazes of the onlookers, said, "Please speak, Professor!"

"Before you reported, your talent and current situation caused the academy's instructors much distress. Someone with a Heaven-Bestowed Hydro-Body who couldn't even perform a single move—such a situation has never occurred in the academy's history, so we didn't know which class to assign you to."

"However, the academy's lowest-level class is still for One-Star Fighters; there's no 'preschool' class for little ones like you who know nothing. We discussed it and decided that since you have a Heaven-Bestowed Hydro-Body, your initial cultivation would be incredibly swift. Therefore, during this month of Intensive Training, a specialized tutor will teach you some fundamental techniques. After the training, we'll arrange your class based on your progress."

Du Chen nodded. "Thank you, Academy instructors, for your concern. May I ask which professor will be my tutor?"

Mina extended a jade finger, smiling, and pointed to her own nose.