The tip of the small wrist-mounted crossbow was similarly carved all over with runic magic circles, forming a high-grade magical weapon with immense destructive power. However, unlike commonly circulated magical weaponry, these were single-use items, designed to self-destruct after one discharge to prevent them from being seized and reused.

A Mage-Forger! Qian Jin turned to look at Uncle Black, who had woken up at some unknown time outside the thatched hut and was already smoking. This was no mere blacksmith; he was a Mage-Forger, a combination of blacksmith, inscribing master, and all related professions!

Qian Jin refocused his attention on the Magitech Compendium in his hands. If he truly crafted a few items based on this, not only would mages like Huangquan Langluo and Qingqing gain formidable defenses, but even he, a warrior, might survive if he truly encountered a stronger warrior...

Huh? After finishing the Magitech Compendium, Qian Jin realized it wasn't a complete notebook. The second volume, which should have been next on the bookshelf, was missing, not resting where it usually did.

Just as he was engrossed, eager to know the limits of the strongest magitech, the text abruptly cut off. Qian Jin scratched his head, stepped out of the hut, stood before Black, and forced a smile, respectfully saying, "Uncle, this Magitech Compendium introduction seems truly incomplete."

Black raised a withered finger to wipe a speck of sleep from his eye, blinking hard before speaking lazily, "Oh, that. I came up with those ideas purely by chance when I was wandering the mountains back then. Later, when I was moving things around, I just carelessly tossed some notes aside and never bothered to gather them back."

Tossed aside? Qian Jin scratched his head again. "Uncle, do you remember where you threw them?"

Black pointed his pipe stem towards the bookshelf in the hut. "There’s a map beneath the shelf. I drew it while looking for metal back then. The locations where the books are placed are all marked on that map."

"Thank you, Uncle." Qian Jin bowed and sprinted back into the hut. He fumbled beneath the bookshelf and pulled out the map. The excitement blazing in his eyes—flames that looked ready to erupt—were instantly dampened, almost extinguished, the moment he saw the map. The map, when fully unfurled, stretched three meters by three meters. It was only a section of the West Mountain map, yet it marked dozens of different collection sites.

Though Qian Jin couldn't identify every single location, he recognized seven or eight of them. Those places were certainly infested with terrifying, powerful magic beasts! Creatures like the Jiafu Monster, the Azure Mist Magic Bat, the Flying Head Demon—and one spot even indicated the territory of a high-tier magic beast, the Golden Griffin.

The weakest among these beasts were mid-to-high-rank Tier Six monsters, while the Golden Griffin was an upper-tier beast among high-tier monsters. All possessed extremely strong territorial instincts and pronounced aggression.

Venture into those areas to retrieve lost writings? The chances of dying there weren't much different from certain death in battle.

Black leaned against the doorframe, tapping the bottom of his shoe with his pipe stem, shaking the ash of the spent tobacco onto the ground. He gazed calmly at Qian Jin. "Now that you mention it, I actually feel like retrieving all those scattered notes."

"Retrieve them? That's wonderful!" Qian Jin instantly rejoiced. Although Uncle Black only admitted to being a blacksmith, he surely possessed shockingly formidable combat power. Those high-tier magic beasts would be nothing under his warhammer...

"You think so too?" Black smiled with satisfaction and nodded. Qian Jin suddenly felt this look wasn't unfamiliar; whenever he saw this expression...

"I'm getting old, and traveling isn't very convenient," Black said slowly, reloading his pipe with a fresh pouch of tobacco and lighting it. "So, you will go to these places and find all my notes for me."

As expected! The excitement in Qian Jin's heart was instantly doused with cold water. Sure enough, the blacksmith uncle had shirked the difficult, far-ranging task of mountain climbing onto him again.

The system prompt sounded slowly, devoid of any emotion. "Player Qian Jin, Magic-Forger Quest triggered. Accept? Please select."

The Magic-Forger Quest? What was that? Qian Jin sighed. He owed Uncle Black a great deal for everything he had achieved so far. Since it was what the blacksmith uncle requested, quest or no quest, he had to do it. However, facing something like the Golden Griffin right now offered absolutely no hope of victory.

Accept! Qian Jin chose to accept the quest, and again he heard the system notification sound: Player Qian Jin accepted the Magic-Forger Quest.

Opening his status panel, Qian Jin looked at a line of information stating: Reward for completing the Magic-Forger Quest: Become a Mage-Forger.

Become a Mage-Forger! Qian Jin felt his entire body surge with strength. Though he didn't know when he could possibly complete this so-called quest, achieving it meant becoming a Mage-Forger!

Currently, within the entire True Policy Dynasty, there probably wasn't a single pure Mage-Forger.

The moment he closed his status panel, Qian Jin inadvertently glanced at the Blacksmith title bar: Forging Master, Level Two!

Level Two Forging Master? Qian Jin paused briefly, then understood. After becoming a Level One Forging Master in the Endless World, he hadn't had much time to train further, and leveling up required massive amounts of proficiency. Now, jumping from Level One to Level Two Forging Master could only mean one thing...

The experience and proficiency gained from forging equipment outside the game world actually carried over into the Endless World. It was precisely because he successfully forged a Soul Weapon while being under-leveled that he received a massive influx of experience, thus increasing his Forging Master rank.

"Right, for the next few days, don't go to the Enlake Dou Qi Chamber," Uncle Black instructed casually as he walked away. "First, practice what you've learned here until it becomes more ingrained. Any Dou Skill, upon reaching its pinnacle, undergoes a major transformation and grants deeper comprehension."

Qian Jin nodded respectfully. Every time he leveled up a Dou Skill, he felt the increase in destructive power, but he had never "comprehended" anything from it, not like Uncle Black described. If the Uncle hadn't given this guidance beforehand, he might have gone to the Enlake Dou Qi Chamber today, seeking more combat techniques, hoping to challenge the establishment and learn better skills.

Time flew by swiftly, and the sixteen hours were used up in an instant. Qian Jin exited the Endless World with the regret of not achieving Apothecary Master, even though he didn't use the promotion potion.

While he hadn't become an Apothecary Master, he now had the chance to become a Mage-Forger, and he had gained more experience in forging Soul Weapons. Qian Jin stretched contentedly, tossed his magic hat into the Dou World, and strode out of his room, taking a deep breath of the sun that was just rising over the horizon.

The High War Academy, the Eternal Conquest Academy. In Oakland, Qian Jin had heard the name of this prestigious school countless times.

Today, standing truly before the gates of the Conquest Academy, Qian Jin held the letter of introduction issued by the Torrential Battle Fortress, and felt a subtle tremor of excitement hidden deep within his heart.

Inside the main entrance was a massive welcoming wall. Unlike common junior warrior and mage academies that displayed inscriptions from their founding headmasters, this wall held a painting.

It was a huge scroll depicting war: the fierce, life-and-death struggle between the human forces of the True Policy Dynasty and the demonic forces of the Lucifer Dynasty on the Human-Demon Battlefield.

Qian Jin gazed at the painting before him, and it seemed as if he could hear the distant sounds of slaughter from the Human-Demon Battlefield—the clash of swords, the roar of magic, and the cries of the dying.

"Oh! Truly magnificent!" Qian Jin snapped out of his trance, shaking his head repeatedly in awe. "Just a painting, yet I could hear the fighting of the Human-Demon Battlefield, smell the stench of blood, as if I were truly standing on that front line."

Fen Tu Kuang Ge nodded lightly. "I heard that the founder of the Conquest Academy, wanting the incoming warrior students to better understand the brutality of the Human-Demon Battlefield, to understand why they joined the High War Academy, specifically invited the greatest painter of that era to create this mural."

Qian Jin nodded slightly. True warriors, after all, had to experience genuine combat. For those talented warrior students who had not yet faced real slaughter but successfully advanced from junior academies to the High War Academy, this painting served as their first teacher.

"We... seem to be late..." Biluo, still wearing her usual large, old, black magic robe and hat, whispered timidly, "Should we perhaps enter the academy first to find our instructors and report in..."

Qian Jin smiled. "Right, let's find the instructors first."

"Wait... wait for a moment, all of you."

In the reception room outside the Conquest Academy gates, two young warriors dressed in uniform hastened their steps and blocked the path of the five people. "This is the Conquest Academy. Where are your identification tags?"

Identification tags? Qian Jin smiled; how could they have tags before even enrolling?

"We apologize."

Biluo bent down into a perfect ninety-degree bow, her magic hat bobbing rapidly. From beneath her voluminous robe, she produced the admission notice and whispered, "We are new students for this term. We were delayed by some matters, which is why we are reporting today."

"Delayed?" The two gate guards exchanged dissatisfied, cold sneers. "This is the Conquest Academy. Failing to report on time means forfeiting your eligibility. You..."

The guard who took Biluo's notice scanned the names on it, and his arrogant expression immediately froze in place.

The other guard was puzzled by his companion's reaction. Facing five late-reporting students, why wasn't he severely reprimanding them to teach them the ways of the Conquest Academy... Biluo!

Biluo! The two guards' eyes widened to their limits as they stared blankly at the student name on the brand-new admission notice: Magic Department: Biluo.

Biluo! The two guards felt as if iron bars had been placed around their necks. They stiffly turned their heads to look at each other, seeing only boundless astonishment in each other's eyes. Biluo! Rumor had it that when the Principal heard Biluo requested to join the Conquest Academy, he hadn't slept properly for three days out of sheer excitement.