Chapter 954: This Can Actually Turn Around!?
Ling Zhan stood before the equipment upgrade furnace and opened its specification panel.
What he saw was...
This device was specially crafted by the goblin race.
The goblins had deep ties with the dwarves.
Both races were naturally gifted in forging and enhancement.
This was the most advanced version available, capable of upgrading Sacred Artifacts.
Ling Zhan had already consumed a Lucky Potion.
The onlookers were all nervously staring at him.
"Is Commander Ling Zhan really just going to toss the gear in directly?"
"If so, the failure rate is high."
"I thought he'd hired a few god-tier blacksmiths to upgrade our gear, but he's using an auto-upgrade machine..."
"The success rate's pretty low. We've got this bet in the bag."
"..."
If you hired a god-tier blacksmith to do it manually, the success rate could reach 15%!
But it would take a long time.
And right now, Ling Zhan had tens of thousands of pieces of gear.
To upgrade them, tossing them into this automated device was the only option. Relying on blacksmiths would take forever.
With war breaking out urgently, no one had half a year to spare for upgrades.
At this moment—
Ling Zhan stood before the upgrade furnace. After reading the operation manual and parameter settings—
Buzz!!
His storage ring lit up.
A flame-covered longbow floated into his hand.
And then...
He used "Mage's Hand" to hold several extremely rare SSS-grade materials.
"That's my Blazing Flame Divine Bow\..."
One of the top ten members of the Demon-Slaying Legion immediately recognized it as her main weapon.
Her class was Holy Moon Goddess.
The fourth advancement of the Hunter class.
Her class weapon was a longbow.
This class specialized in long-range targeting.
And armor-piercing assault.
She clearly trusted Instructor Ling and had made the bold decision to hand over her 1-star Sacred Artifact, inherited from her family, to him.
If her family elders knew, they probably wouldn't have agreed.
After all, even her family only possessed three Sacred Artifacts.
If it shattered, it'd be a massive loss.
But she still chose to believe in Ling Zhan.
If it breaks, so be it!
Following Commander Ling Zhan into battle would earn her enough merit to get a new Sacred Artifact anyway.
The Amethyst Legion veterans were already staring at her.
"Little girl, that's your gear. If it breaks, don't cry!"
"Relax, relax—it won't break! If it does, I'll buy you a drink tonight!"
"Not to be a buzzkill, but you'd better prepare to bawl your eyes out!"
The veterans joked around.
"Shut it! Instructor Ling will definitely succeed!"
The girl, named Aiya, snapped defiantly.
But then...
Just as she said that—
"Ah! He threw it in! Instructor Ling threw it in!"
Someone suddenly cried out.
Sure enough—
Ling Zhan, without hesitation, tossed the Blazing Flame Divine Bow into the furnace!
He quickly added the rare, precious materials as well.
And the next second, he pressed the green start button!
"Damn! Not a shred of hesitation!"
"Come on! Please succeed!"
The Demon-Slaying Legion members were all rooting for Ling.
But their expressions were full of anxiety.
Clearly...
Even though they acted confident, deep down they weren't so sure.
Bzzzzzz...
The upgrade furnace roared to life.
Zhou Xue'er, Li Chaoge, and others watched nervously.
They were genuinely afraid of failure!
If this failed, Ling Zhan would be ridiculed!
And yet...
Ling Zhan's expression never wavered.
Not a single flicker in his eyes!
It was as if he'd tossed in a bronze-tier weapon, not a Sacred Artifact.
The furnace's glow pulsed.
A countdown appeared on the holographic display!
10 seconds until upgrade completion!
9 seconds!
8 seconds!
......
The furnace cycled through black, gray, white, gold, and rainbow hues—reflected on everyone's faces.
3 seconds!
2 seconds!
1 second!
Hissss!!
Suddenly, white mist sprayed out from the furnace!
Then...
Buzz!!
A black light burst forth!
"Ah! It failed!"
As soon as that black light shot out, someone wailed!
Aiya's face turned pale instantly!
Black light...
Meant failure!!
Not only that—
It meant the gear was destroyed!
Gray light meant failure but left behind a semi-Sacred Artifact.
White meant failure but with the Sacred Artifact intact.
Gold meant success.
Rainbow meant perfect success.
That black light drew grins from the Amethyst Legion veterans.
"Haha! I knew it would fail!"
"If it were that easy to upgrade Sacred Artifacts, we'd all be running around with high-star ones!"
"Exactly! Glad I didn't trust that guy..."
The veterans were gleeful.
Just like in games when you see a buddy's gear break—
Someone always laughs.
But just as everyone started sighing—
Whoosh!!
The black light vanished!
Hissss!!
White mist sprayed out again!
Then...
Under everyone's stunned gaze—
Buzz!!
A dazzling rainbow light burst from the furnace!
"Holy shit! This...!"
Everyone was dumbfounded!
No one expected a reversal at the last moment!!
Rainbow light!
A perfect success!
"Yes!!"
"Perfect success! Perfect success!"
"Upgraded from 1-star to 3-star in one go!"
"Instructor Ling! I love you!"
As the owner of the Blazing Flame Divine Bow, Aiya exploded with joy!
If she could, she'd have leapt over and kissed Ling Zhan right then!
Of course...
If she really did, she'd probably get drop-kicked by Zhou Xue'er, Li Chaoge, and the other prodigy girls.
Meanwhile, everyone else's faces froze.
What the hell!
A perfect upgrade on the first try?
That's insane!
This actually turned around!?