At this moment, as Alina listened to everyone’s praise, much of the frustration she felt over her ranking began to fade.
Back in the office, although Kevin wasn’t particularly fond of such scenes, he had to admit that Alina’s ability to forge three S-rank energy guns in a single afternoon was quite impressive.
The other teachers also nodded. For a freshman to be able to forge S-rank weapons was indeed remarkable.
Then one teacher suddenly shifted the topic back to Ke Yunyao.
“By the way, Kevin, what rank are the weapons forged by your second-place student?”
The question immediately reminded everyone of something.
They had been so focused on Ke Yunyao custom-making weapons for her teammates that they had completely forgotten to ask about the weapon ranks.
Now that it had been mentioned, everyone became curious and looked toward Kevin.
Kevin was momentarily stunned.
He didn’t know either.
Not only had they forgotten, he had as well. Besides, Ke Yunyao had never actually tested the weapons.
There was no way to determine the rank just by looking at the footage. Specialized equipment was required.
Surely Ke Yunyao’s team had brought testing equipment?
For example, Alina’s team had. Alina herself carried a testing device. Every time she forged a weapon, she tested it before handing it over.
After obtaining the results, she gave the weapons to her teammates and even tested them again in front of everyone.
Because they had personally witnessed the results, they were praising Alina so enthusiastically.
“I don’t know either,” Kevin admitted. “I don’t think I saw her test them, so I have no idea what rank they are.”
“Could it be that the rank is too low, so she doesn’t dare test them?”
As soon as the teacher said that, the others looked toward Kevin.
Kevin immediately glared at him.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Did you forget the first blade Ke Yunyao forged?
Jiang Tian was cutting down A-rank star beasts with that thing like he was chopping vegetables. Even against S-rank star beasts, he could handle them easily on his own. Do you really think a weapon like that could have a low rank?”
“…”
Nobody had a response.
Kevin was right.
They had all seen the weapon’s performance. There was no way its rank was low.
But that only made them even more curious.
…
The teachers weren’t the only ones curious.
Yan Chixi and the others were as well.
After receiving their weapons and finding them extremely comfortable to use, they naturally became curious about the weapon ranks.
Before, they had been too excited about getting personalized custom weapons. Now that the weapons were finished, curiosity was unavoidable.
So after everyone had finished eating, Yan Chixi looked at Ke Yunyao and asked,
“Yunyao, what rank are these weapons?”
“Ah? Those?” Ke Yunyao scratched her head. “They should be S-rank.”
She hadn’t brought a testing device to the exam at all.
At the beginning, she hadn’t planned to test anything, so she had left the testing equipment in her original spatial storage device.
For her, unless a weapon was being sold, there was no need to test it.
Although she hadn’t tested this batch, based on experience, she was fairly certain.
After thinking for a moment, she sighed.
“We barely have any SS-rank materials. If I tried to forge SS-rank weapons, I couldn’t guarantee how much material I’d waste.
Besides, I’m much more experienced with S-rank weapon forging. To avoid wasting resources, I chose the safer option and kept the weapons at S-rank.”
Wasn’t S-rank already extremely high?
Very high, in fact.
The others were somewhat speechless.
“Do you want SS-rank weapons?” Ke Yunyao asked.
It wasn’t impossible.
As long as they found enough SS-rank ore and didn’t mind the possibility of wasted materials, she could try.
Everyone’s hearts stirred.
They certainly wanted them.
But the timing wasn’t right. SS-rank materials were far too difficult to obtain.
Yan Chixi immediately shook her head.
“No, no, no! These are already excellent. They’re more than enough for us right now.”
Vashi nodded as well.
“You made the right decision. Our priority is equipping everyone on the team with weapons. A reliable approach is better.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Ke Yunyao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had genuinely been worried that they would insist on SS-rank weapons.
Forging an SS-rank weapon was far more difficult than forging an S-rank one. It required more time, more effort, more materials, and even then success wasn’t guaranteed.
She wasn’t willing to experiment during an exam.
So having them give up the idea was the best possible outcome.
“Alright. I’ve rested enough. I’ll continue working overtime and finish everyone’s weapons first.”
Three days had been allocated for the exam, and nearly one-third of that time was already gone.
With weapons, they could fully unleash their abilities tomorrow and earn more points.
For the sake of points, Ke Yunyao was working hard.
She returned to her original spot from the afternoon and took out her familiar furnace.
Then she began performing another series of operations that left everyone confused.
Adding ore—they understood that.
Adding medicinal plants—they had seen that before.
But why did she suddenly grab a handful of dirt and throw it into the furnace?
Her actions left everyone astonished.
Still, the same principle applied:
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
They weren’t professionals.
The best thing they could do was quietly watch and avoid interfering.
So despite their confusion, nobody said anything.
Those assigned to guard continued guarding.
Those assigned to rest continued resting.
No one disturbed Ke Yunyao.
Meanwhile, Ke Yunyao was completely immersed in her own world.
Countless formulas flashed through her mind, the culmination of years of painstaking research.
Because funding had always been limited, she had constantly been forced to think about how to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of every material.
Once she started down that path, there was no turning back.
Eventually she began combining medicinal plants with ores.
That gradual process had evolved into the strange forging methods she used today.
At the moment, she was working on Wang Yelin’s gauntlets.
She couldn’t think of an ideal formula.
So she was improvising.
As she experimented, she kept feeling something was missing.
That was why she had grabbed a handful of dirt and added it.
She couldn’t explain why.
The idea had simply appeared when she looked at the ground.
A feeling told her it might improve the result.
It was a strange intuition—impossible to explain.
But Ke Yunyao was bold when it came to research.
When she had an idea, she was the type who immediately put it into practice.
…
Back in the office, the teachers once again turned toward Kevin.
After all, he was the professional instructor from the mecha department. Surely he could understand this mysterious process?
Kevin: “…Don’t look at me. I don’t know either.”
That was someone else’s unique formula. How could he possibly know why she was doing it?
Some teachers believed him.
Others clearly did not.
Helplessly, Kevin said,
“Just keep watching. Keep watching.”
Maybe if they watched long enough, the answer would reveal itself.
Everyone’s attention returned to the screen.
And right before their eyes, Ke Yunyao casually grabbed another handful of dirt and tossed it into the furnace.