A Chaotic World

As Lu Tianzi thought about enjoying the resources of the Nine Suns Sect, he suddenly recalled something that had slipped his mind.

Lu Tianzi hurriedly sat up and with a swipe of his hands, four small pearls of similar sizes landed on top of his palm.

Of the four pearls, three of them were a dull white in colour while the last one was emitting a reddish glow.

These three dull white pearls were none other than the beast cores that he had obtained from the Beast Hunt earlier today, while the last one was the mysterious red pearl that he had stolen from the treasury of Shadowfront Fortress.

Lu Tianzi closely examined the four items with his perception, and found out that they seemed to contain similar types of energy.

That was to say that it was extremely likely for the mysterious red pearl to be some sort of beast core as well.

On top of that, considering the amount of energy packed within the mysterious red pearl, it had to be a beast core that was of a higher level as compared to the other three.

As for how much higher, Lu Tianzi truly had no idea.

After all, the current Lu Tianzi was still considered quite clueless when it came to differentiating between different types of beast cores.

Before learning more about beast cores in general, Lu Tianzi decided that he would hold off on tapping into the power within the red beast core for now.

With that out of the way, Lu Tianzi spent the rest of the night in meditation as usual, sparing no rest for his cultivation.

Now that he had entered the Primary Essence Condensation realm in his Spiritual Essence system, the effect of Essence Stones on his cultivation speed had greatly diminished, causing his progress to slow significantly.

Even so, a slow progress was still better than no progress, and Lu Tianzi continued to religiously spent time on it every single day without fail.

As for his Slaughter Essence cultivation system, today he finally obtained a new resource for it!

The dull white beast cores were not as beneficial to his Slaughter Essence cultivation in comparison to how Essence Stones were beneficial to his Spiritual Essence cultivation back when he was still in the Essence Building realm.

However, they still provided him with quite a significant amount of primordial Slaughter Essence, allowing Lu Tianzi to slowly refine them into Slaughter Essence particles within his inner world.

The Heaven Devouring Divine Art was truly a fearsome cultivation technique, causing his cultivation speed to be way faster than others. The only down side was that it caused his resources to be devoured just as quickly.

Before long, Lu Tianzi had already expended all three of the dull white beast cores, causing him to scratch the back of his head in frustration.

It seemed like despite possessing a good set of cultivation techniques to work on, Lu Tianzi was still limited by the resources at his disposal. With that in mind, joining the Nine Suns Sect was indeed the right choice!

At least he would still be able to obtain beast cores from the sect itself once he officially joined.

After all, even though beast cores were a good substitute for the direct slaughtering of others, it was still too troublesome to gather sufficient beast cores to sustain his cultivation speed.

If even entering the Nine Suns Sect was unable to provide him with sufficient cultivation resources, then Lu Tianzi was seriously contemplating if he should just directly slaughter other demon martial artists on top of that!

Lu Tianzi might appear to have a mild personality right now, but his heart had already been hardened after the ordeals that he had been through.

Right now, if an opportunity arose where he could slaughter other martial artists freely without a care for the consequences, then there would be nothing stopping him from doing so in order to boost his own cultivation.

Of course, Lu Tianzi knew better than to just start blatantly murdering others before he gained a better understanding of the demon society.

The night passed quickly.

Right at daybreak, Lu Tianzi could already hear knocks on his front door.

As he promised, Nanqing Haowen came over early in the morning and started bringing Lu Tianzi on a tour of the sect grounds, giving a brief introduction of the sect while they were at it.

The Nine Suns Sect was divided into the Inner Sect and the Outer Sect.

When someone first joined the Nine Suns Sect, they would be considered as an Outer Sect member, allowed to access only the Outer Sect Grounds. Only when a member passed a test would they be allowed to join the Inner Sect and access the Inner Sect Grounds.

Unless given special exception by the elders, members of the Nine Suns Sect were required to accumulate a certain number of contribution points periodically, be it through accepting specific missions or taking on jobs within the sect. Organising the periodic Beast Hunts was considered one of such jobs.

In return, the sect would distribute beast cores to all members every month, with the Inner Sect members receiving more than the Outer Sect members.

On top of that, sect members were also able to exchange contribution points for access to cultivation techniques and combat manuals within the Nine Suns Sect.

Naturally, those manuals made available to Inner Sect members were also of a higher rank as compared to those made available to Outer Sect members.

Even the training facilities within the Inner Sect Grounds were of a higher quality than those in the Outer Sect Grounds.

From these, the obvious disparity between Inner Sect members and Outer Sect members could be seen.

Thus, it was no surprise that all sect members strove towards becoming an Inner Sect member.

But how could it be that easy?

Only those who possessed absolute talent would be able to pass the test and enjoy the numerous benefits of being an Inner Sect member.

Unfortunately, since Lu Tianzi was still considered an outsider for now, Nanqing Haowen was unable to bring Lu Tianzi into the Inner Sect Grounds to take a look.

"Why don't we leave the sect grounds and take a look around the city then?" Nanqing Haowen suggested. "From the looks of it, Brother Nanlu probably isn't too familiar with Bluenight City yet, am I right?"

"It is fine, Brother Nanqing. I won't want to trouble you. There is no harm in going to take a look around by myself," Lu Tianzi answered.

Having gotten closer after almost two days of chatting, Lu Tianzi had also started to address Nanqing Haowen as brothers.

After all, if Lu Tianzi managed to join the Nine Suns Sect, then the two of them would also be considered fellow sect members.

"Don't worry, Brother Nanlu. In fact, you are in luck!" Nanqing Haowen laughed. "Coincidentally, I have something that I need to do as well, so I might as well bring you along with me to widen your horizons! I am sure you have never seen something like this during your time in the wilderness!"

"Oh?" Lu Tianzi's interest was piqued. "What is it that Brother Nanqing needs to do?"

"Take a look at this!" Nanqing Haowen brought out a palm sized jade box from his spatial ring.

Lu Tianzi did not overlook this small detail.

Not just Nanqing Haowen, Nanlan Qianxue and even the five Outer Sect members from the day before had spatial rings of their own.

It seemed that spatial rings, considered rare treasures in Ivory Rock City, were just common belongings in the eyes of the Nine Suns Sect.

With a flick of his fingers, Nanqing Haowen opened the jade box to reveal a black fruit within.

Though small, the black fruit looked plump, as though the juice within was about to burst out at any moment. It emitted a scent of sweetness that wafted through the air, pleasing to the senses.

"This is a Darkwater Grape!" Lu Tianzi exclaimed in surprise.

Darkwater Grapes were rare plants that could only be found in treacherous terrains. Given how sweet the fruit was, it was practically impossible for harvesters to find them before they were taken by wild beasts.

But if someone did manage to obtain a Darkwater Grape, then the fruit itself was actually a medicine with miraculous healing properties!

Even though Lu Tianzi had never personally seen a Darkwater Grape before, he had seen records of the plant, and was able to tell its identity with a single glance.

"Oh? As expected of Brother Nanlu, you even know of the Darkwater Grape!" Nanqing Haowen was obviously not expecting Lu Tianzi to recognise the fruit immediately. "Since that is so, then I suppose Brother Nanlu can already guess where I am going next?"

"Is there someone who needs to be saved?" Lu Tianzi asked hesitatantly.

"Hahaha! That is not it at all!" Nanqing Haowen laughed out heartily. "I am going to place an inscription on the Darkwater Grape!"

"Place an inscription on it?" Lu Tianzi frowned.

He had no idea what Nanqing Haowen meant by that.

Seeing Lu Tianzi's expression, Nanqing Haowen playfully revealed a gloating expression.

"There are many different types of inscriptions. In this case, placing a medicinal inscription on it will boost the Darkwater Grape's medicinal properties further, making it into a true miracle medicine!" Nanqing Haowen returned the Darkwater Grape to his spatial ring. "Forget it, it will be much easier for you to see for yourself. Follow me!"

The duo directly left the sect grounds, passing through multiple streets before finally arriving before a grand tower.

Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower.

A sign depicting these four words was hung majestically above the front door, through which large crowds of people constantly went in and out. The sign itself gave off an imposing aura, revealing the Slaughter Essence that had been imbued into writing each word in the past.

"This is where you will place an inscription on the Darkwater Grape?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"To be exact, I will be requesting for an inscription master to help me place an inscription on the Darkwater Grape," Nanqing Haowen nodded before leading Lu Tianzi into the tower. "The Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower is the most famous inscription organisation within Bluenight City, and has branches even in other cities. The quality of their inscriptions is not to be doubted!"

"I see," Lu Tianzi's eyes kept darting around as he observed his surroundings.

There were countless people within the Heaven Constellation Inscription Tower, forming up into multiple queues. It seemed as if all of them were awaiting their turn to obtain the aid of an inscription master.

Many of these people were well dressed and appeared to be extremely wealthy, which added to the surprise factor that they would be willing to just patiently stand in line to await their turn.

Nanqing Haowen understood the surprise in Lu Tianzi's eyes and explained, "The Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower is a top tier influence within Bluenight City. Given that, they would naturally have their fair share of powerful experts. No matter how wealthy or arrogant these people are, they would not dare to offend the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower by making a ruckus here."

Lu Tianzi nodded in understanding.

In the end, strength was still the most important factor.

At that moment, a plump middle aged man hurried over towards Nanqing Haowen and Lu Tianzi.

"So it is Sir Nanqing!" the plump man greeted with a radiant smile on his face. "May I know how I can help you today? Do you need an inscription placed on a weapon? Or is it an armour?"

"Manager Nanhei, I have a Darkwater Grape that I hope to have an inscription placed upon," Nanqing Haowen answered with a friendly smile of his own.

"Oh? That's a rare item you have there!" the plump Manager Nanhei praised. "Please head on upstairs, I will definitely get you the best inscription master here to tend to your needs!"

Manager Nanhei actually personally led them up the stairs to the second level.

Lu Tianzi was surprised at the hospitality that Manger Nanhei was showing to Nanqing Haowen, but thinking a little deeper, Lu Tianzi was able to figure out the reason why.

Just like how the wealthy people within the city had to give face to the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower similarly had to give face to the Nine Suns Sect.

After all, the Nine Suns Sect was truly unmatched within Bluenight City in terms of strength.

This was the benefit of having a powerful organisation as his backing!

Unlike the first level of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower, there were far less people on the second level.

After leading Lu Tianzi and Nanqing Haowen into a private room, Manager Nanhei hurried off to find a suitable inscription master for them.

"How is it? The inscription tower is a bustling place, isn't it?" Nanqing Haowen asked casually.

"It is indeed. But if so many people require inscription services, does that mean there are many other places like this?" Lu Tianzi replied.

"It is true that there is a high demand for inscriptions, but how could it be that easy to learn inscription techniques?" Nanqing Haowen sighed. "In order to become an inscription master, one not only requires natural talent in the field, but also sufficient wealth to purchase materials to practise with. Even I myself have once tried to dabble in the art of inscriptions, only to end up failing and wasting all my invested resources!"

The process of forming an inscription required materials that could be be quite expensive to procure. On top of that, if the process of placing an inscription on an item turned out to be a failure, not only would the materials for the inscription go down the drain, the item in question could end up being damaged as well.

Thus, practising to become an inscription master was extremely costly.

Of course, if one managed to become an established inscription master, they would be able to gather wealth at a frightening rate by providing their inscription services. All these costs incurred during practice would seem ever so insignificant at that point in time.

However, just how many were able to reach such a step?

Behind the radiance of each inscription master, there were stories of countless others who had failed despite putting their all into practice.

Even someone like Nanqing Haowen who was talented enough to become an Inner Sect member of the Nine Suns Sect failed despite trying!

That was testament to the sheer difficulty of learning the art of inscriptions.

At this moment, the door was pushed open and a white haired old man stepped in along with Manager Nanhei.

"Sir Nanqing, this is Inscription Master Nanbai, one of the best inscription masters in our Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower!" Manager Nanhei introduced enthusiastically.

Nanbai?

Lu Tianzi's ears perked up immediately.

Could it be that this old inscription master in front of him was somehow related to General Nanbai Zhaoyu of Shadowfront Fortress?