The Prodigies War
chapter-197

Chapter 197 Xumi Ring

Yun Qiao tactfully withdrew from the room when Chu Feng arrived.

Chu Feng did not beat around the bush and quickly explained everything to Lin Xun. It turned out that there were actually many reasons why the situation had become so explosive today.

Firstly, the Rune Master Association had tremendous influence and anything that happened there would soon reach the ears of many people.

Secondly, the Snowfury Blade that Lin Xun had crafted was far too unique and impossible to purchase on the market. It was easy to imagine how big of a commotion the appearance of such a rare and unheard of aeth weapon would cause.

Next, the provincial exam was starting in half a year. Due to this, there was a huge influx of cultivators coming to the Rune Master Association to buy aeth weapons.

After all, the Haze City Rune Master Association was the only Rune Master Association in the entire southwest province. Numerous cultivators, who had qualified for the provincial exam, hoped to purchase a good weapon and equipment from the Rune Master Association in preparation for the provincial exam.

Under these circumstances, news of a newly arrived Great Master Xun, who could craft unique and powerful aeth weapons, naturally drew a huge amount of attention.

After learning everything, Lin Xun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that his identity had been leaked but it seemed that he was just overthinking things.

“Here are the profits from selling the Snowfury Blade yesterday. After deducting the association fee of ten percent, the remaining nine hundred silver coins are yours.”

Chu Feng retrieved a storage ring and handed it to Lin Xun. “This is a storage ring made by the Divine Workshop and is known as the little Xumi Ring. Take it as a gift.”

Lin Xun was shocked. The little Xumi Ring was extremely famous. Legend said that the ring was personally crafted by a rune grandmaster from the Divine Workshop a hundred years ago. He had collected dozens of extremely rare void jade and took a whole three years to craft a hundred little Xumi Rings.

Not only did the ring possess a storage function, but wearing it would also keep the mind clear, nourish the spirit, and harmonize a person’s aura. It was amazing, to say the least.

When the hundred little Xumi Rings were released, they were immediately swept up by the empire’s upper echelons. In the end, none of them managed to reach the markets.

Moreover, some of the materials used to create these rings were no longer available. As a result, no similar rings had been crafted until now.

In other words, these hundred little Xumi Rings were peerless treasures!

For the influential figures of the empire, the ring had become more than an accessory and was a symbol of status and power.

Under such circumstances, it was easy to imagine how surprised Lin Xun was by this gift.

Lin Xun repeatedly tried to turn Chu Feng down but he stubbornly insisted, “If you turn it down, I will destroy it right here and now!”

In the end, Lin Xun surrendered and accepted the gift. He knew that he now owed an even bigger debt to Chu Feng.

“Brother, don’t think about this too much. I have no ulterior motives for doing this. Take it as a gift to commemorate our meeting. My only goal is to prove that I do not treat you as an outsider.” Chu Feng smiled warmly. His words were filled with sincerity.

“Thank you, elder.” Lin Xun cupped his hands together.

Chu Feng pretended to be angry, “What elder! You’re being way too unfamiliar. Age is irrelevant in the friendship between gentlemen and we should only seek to be understanding of each other. Just call me Elder Brother in the future.”

Lin Xun chuckled and said, “Then I shall be bold and call you Elder Brother.”

He could not help but be impressed by Chu Qing’s excellent social skills. At the very least, Lin Xun did not find himself feeling any resistance towards Chu Qing’s suggestion.

“Hahaha, excellent! This must be what they call friends at first sight.” Chu Qing laughed heartily. He looked ecstatic.

Lin Xun also began to laugh. However, he suddenly recalled Xue Jun’s words: The most difficult thing in the world to repay is friendship!

Lin Xun soon cast this thought out of his mind. He had already gained enlightenment yesterday and knew that he would not be bogged down by this issue.

“Elder Brother, I crafted these three aeth tools yesterday. Please appraise them. If possible, I hope to put them up for sale in the treasure department like yesterday.”

Lin Xun took out a Snowfury Blade, Bloodcopper Spear, and a pair of Swiftwind Boots, and handed them to Chu Feng.

Chu Qing’s eyes brightened and he cheerfully began to appraise them.

After ascertaining the power of the three aeth tools, Chu Qing could not help but narrow his eyes as his heart shook in astonishment.

Like the Snowfury Blade from yesterday, the power of these three aeth tools was clearly a level higher than expected!

“Younger Brother, you’ve really opened my eyes. I can only say that your amazing rune craftsmanship is peerless!”

Chu Qing did not hide his admiration. There was now a little more admiration in his gaze when he looked at Lin Xun again.

“Elder Brother, you will kill me with such praise.” Lin Xun displayed a forced smile.

“Haha.” Chu Qing began to laugh again.

“Leave these three aeth tools to me. May I ask if Younger Brother has any other plans?”

Lin Xun thought for a bit and said, “Currently, I only wish to earn a little more money for my daily needs. Does Elder Brother have any suggestions?”

Chu Feng immediately replied, “That’s easy. You just saw how busy the treasure department and commission department were. I suggest you also accept some commissions while crafting aeth tools.”

“Accept commissions?” Lin Xun was surprised.

“Correct. You will not only receive rewards from the completion of each commission but will also be awarded points by the association. The more points you have, the more advantages and special perks you will gain.”

Chu Feng swiftly said, “Of course, these might not have any practical benefits for you. However, these points have another use: they can be exchanged for goods! The aeth tools, materials, and other treasures in the Rune Master Association can be bought with points.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “Most importantly, the Rune Master Association has special connections that can source special materials you can’t find in the market. This is the most attractive aspect of the points.”

Lin Xun was finally tempted when he heard the last part. “How do I go about accepting commissions?”

Chu Feng smiled and rose to his feet. “I’ll get Yun Qiao to show you. You only need to choose which commission to accept.”

Lin Xun nodded.

Chu Feng soon called for Yun Qiao. She led Lin Xun out of the room and they entered a private room on the second floor that was specially prepared for rune masters.

The room was elegantly decorated and had a serene atmosphere.

“Young Master, these are the available commissions. They are sorted by difficulty. A one-star commission is the easiest while a nine-star commission is the hardest.”

Yun Qiao pointed to a bronze wall at the back of the room. Rune arrays had been imprinted into the wall and displayed a giant screen.

Lin Xun could see the contents of the commissions flow out like water. Every commission was graded by a differing number of stars which represented the difficulty level.

“There are currently 371 commissions available for you. Most of them are two-star commissions.”

Yun Qiao swiftly explained, “Two-star crafting commissions usually entail crafting human-grade mid-tier aeth tools. You may pick any commission you wish to accept.”

Lin Xun nodded as he casually looked through the list. A two-star commission soon caught his eye.

It was a request to craft an Azurestream Sword. The requester had already prepared three sets of materials and the reward was a thousand silver coins. Completing the commission would also award five points from the Rune Master Association.

Lin Xun said, “This one then.”

“Please wait here, Young Master.” Yun Qiao nodded. She walked to the bronze wall and lightly tapped the screen.

The screen buzzed as the two-star crafting commission turned into specks of light and disappeared.

Moments later, someone knocked at the door. A servant had brought the materials for the commission.

Yun Qiao placed the materials on the table and said, “Young Master, do you wish to start now?”

Lin Xun looked at the table. Upon seeing the prepared row of rune brushes, he nodded and said, “Sure.”

He picked a brush, dipped it in ink, and began carving on the sword.

It was an ordinary sword and served as the vessel. However, its material was specially prepared for crafting an Azurestream Sword.

Lin Xun’s task was to carve the rune array on the sword which would ultimately transform it into a human-grade mid-tier aeth weapon.

Normally, a human-grade low-tier aeth tool would have up to nine rune arrays.

A human-grade mid-tier aeth tool would have up to eighteen rune arrays.

A human-grade high-tier aeth tool would have up to thirty-six rune arrays.

A human-grade peak-tier aeth tool would have up to 108 rune arrays!

In other words, there was an inseparable relationship between the quality of an aeth tool and the number of rune arrays that had been carved into it.

The difference in quality would directly affect the aeth tool’s power!

The Azurestream Sword Lin Xun was currently working on required seventeen different rune arrays and was one of the more powerful human-grade mid-tier aeth weapons.

When he began his work, Lin Xun’s mind became calm and composed. His expression was focused and his movements were practiced and smooth like flowing water.

Yun Qiao silently watched from the side. She did not dare to breathe too heavily as she was afraid she would disturb Lin Xun.

Her eyes could not help but gleam with admiration when she occasionally glanced at him.

A young teenager possessing the mastery level of an initial stage rune master was unimaginable to Yun Qiao.

It was too outrageous and amazing!

This was Yun Qiao’s thought on the matter.

While Lin Xun was working, an excited shriek suddenly sounded in the first floor commission department of the Rune Master Association.

“Oh my god! Great Master Xun accepted my commission! Hahaha, hahahaha…”

An uproar erupted from the numerous cultivators in the commission department. After waiting for so long, the mysterious Great Master Xun had finally appeared!

Many people could not help but look at the lucky guy who had been chosen by Great Master Xun in envy.