A Chaotic World

Inscription Master Nanbai had drawn each inscription rune with absolute ease, making it seem as though such a complex process was nothing but an easy tasking.

Indeed, to the experienced Inscription Master Nanbai, drawing up this inscription was just a simple matter of repeating the same moves that he had always performed. He had drawn this inscription more than a hundred times in the past, and this time was no different from those.

Thus, every move of his was well practiced and consistent, not revealing even the slightest hints of any possible problems cropping up.

It was no wonder that Yueya had been so mesmerised by the smooth flow of the entire process, up to the point where the inscription was finally placed onto the dagger.

Each of these countless inscription runes was drawn in a manner that was textbook worthy, and just looking at them was sufficient to induce envy in other inscription masters.

However, what Lu Tianzi had focused on was something completely different.

Even though the inscription runes themselves had been drawn to perfection, the second part, which was the combination of the inscription runes, had been done in a complete mess!

All inscriptions were formed from combining countless inscription runes.

By specifically arranging each inscription rune in an array such that each inscription rune would interact with the others in a certain pre-planned manner, the completed inscription would then produce a resultant effect according to the arrangement of the runes.

Yet other than the inscription runes' relative positions within the array, the order in which each inscription rune was slotted into their respective positions was just as important!

Unfortunately, this was something that most inscription masters, if not all, neglected to take into consideration.

Lu Tianzi was blessed with a terrifying level of perception.

After his day of processing materials and pondering over the contents in the open library, he had gained further insights into the subject. Right now, he could be considered to possess an extremely deep understanding into the myriad of rules governing the art of inscriptions.

To a certain extent, his level of understanding was already starting to surpass even established inscription masters who had been practising for decades!

In his eyes, even though Inscription Master Nanbai had managed to successfully place down the completed inscription, the efficiency of the inscription could only be considered as subpar, losing more than fifty percent of its theoretic potential.

And all that was simply due to the fact that Inscription Master Nanbai had carried out the process without considering the order in which the inscription runes were guided into their respective positions.

Of course, Lu Tianzi had already learnt a lesson from his previous interaction with Inscription Master Nanbai.

Now, he knew better than to carelessly voice out his opinions lest he invoked the fury of the inscription master once again.

But despite that, being able to see Inscription Master Nanbai carry out the entire inscription process still solved some questions that had been running in Lu Tianzi's mind for a while.

"Did you see it well?" Inscription Master Nanbai casually asked as he turned towards the duo.

"Yes!" Lu Tianzi and Yueya answered loudly at the same time.

"Good, now bring me your badges. I will grant you your contribution points," Inscription Master Nanbai waved for them to approach.

"Contribution points?" Lu Tianzi asked in surprise.

"Oh right! You just came today so you are probably unfamiliar with this!" Yueya exclaimed in realisation. "Don't worry. Senior here is nice, so I will bring you to take a look at the contributions exchange counter later!"

"Oh? Senior?" Inscription Master Nanbai let out an amused smile while he was marking the two badges with his Slaughter Essence energy.

"Hehehe," Yueya simply grinned sheepishly in response, embarrassed to elaborate more.

"Senior Yueya has taught me a lot over the day," Lu Tianzi chimed in to lend her his support at this moment, and Yueya shot him a thankful look.

"Off you go then," Inscription Master Nanbai returned the badges to them with a smile, not intending to ask any further.

After taking their leave, Yueya took some time to explain to Lu Tianzi about how the contribution points for an inscription assistant worked.

According to the work done, inscription assistants would receive a certain amount of contribution points, which was similar to receiving salary for their work.

These contribution points could be exchanged for items that the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower was selling, and even for some items that were restricted to only members of the tower.

It was a system similar to that of the Nine Suns Sect, only that the points at the tower were traded for tangible items while the points at the sect were traded for access to manuals and other special facilities.

The items within the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower that could be exchanged for with contribution points included inscription materials, weapons, armours, pills, herbs, and countless other items.

After all, the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower was providing inscription services for all three main types of inscriptions. After such a long period of time in business, they had grown unimaginably rich and and had a wide range of treasures in their possession.

Of course, the contribution points could not be exchanged for items that were too rare, no matter how many points were collected.

One example was the exquisite dagger that Inscription Master Nanbai had just placed an inscription on.

It was originally a weapon at the Advanced Essence Condensation rank. With the inscription placed on it, the exquisite dagger was now able to wield power equivalent to a Peak Essence Condensation rank weapon.

Origin Core rank weapons were extremely rare even within the entire Bluenight City, almost to the point of being non-existent. Even if there were any, they would be in the hands of Origin Core realm martial artists, and such experts were few and far between.

Thus, Peak Essence Condensation rank weapons, being the next best alternative, were considered one of the most prized possessions that martial artists could obtain.

Such precious treasures were naturally not put up for mere inscription assistants.

But even with that restriction in place, Lu Tianzi was still overjoyed to learn of this system!

He had always thought that Inscription Master Nanbai was trying to make him work for his time spent browsing through jade slips in the open library.

Who knew that he would actually be paid for this?

Lu Tianzi did not even hesitate, immediately trading in the contribution points he just earned, exchanging for a few inscription materials before heading back to the Nine Suns Sect.

Seeing that Lu Tianzi had instantly spent all the contribution points he just earned, Yueya could only shake her head in disappointment.

To think that this new junior of hers would actually be someone who did not understand the concept of saving up for rainy days… it seemed that she really had to give him a good talk tomorrow when he returned!

Lu Tianzi went straight back to his accommodation upon his return.

After sensing that there was no one spying on his accommodation, Lu Tianzi excitedly took out the inscription materials and placed them on the table.

Now was the time to practise!

He knew better than to overestimate himself, and had no intentions of drawing up a complete inscription on his first try. However, drawing a few inscription runes should not be impossible!

Lu Tianzi closed his eyes in meditation, his mind flashing back to the scene where Inscription Master Nanbai was drawing the inscription runes.

After he was done scrutinising the scene a least a dozen times, Lu Tianzi finally started to process the materials.

His daily salary was only barely sufficient to exchange for enough materials for drawing five inscription runes. In other words, Lu Tianzi only had five tries for practice.

Emulating what Inscription Master Nanbai did, Lu Tianzi pointed out with two fingers and slowly moved his hand, drawing up a symbol in the air.

Drawing a single rune did not require earth shattering amounts of energy, but Lu Tianzi still drove both his Spiritual and Slaughter Essence to make up for his lack of control.

After all, no matter how profound his theoretical knowledge was, this was still his first time actually trying it out hands on.

Lu Tianzi's eyes lit up in joy as a bright white light lingered in the air, slowly taking shape.

However, this white light quickly turned shaky, and started wavering as though it was a weak candleflame under the assaulted of powerful winds.

Poof-!

The entire inscription rune dispersed as Lu Tianzi lost control at a critical juncture, rendering his previous efforts to naught.

But Lu Tianzi was not shaken by this failure.

The moment he decided to exchange his points for inscription materials, Lu Tianzi had already prepared to experience multiple failures.

It was impossible to know how to do it from the start, and this was the whole reason why he needed to practise as much as possible.

Again!

Lu Tianzi repeated the same process, and a bright white light started to form into a floating symbol once again.

This time, he almost reached the end before the inscription rune once again dissipated.

Yet again!

Lu Tianzi did not give up, and on the third try, he finally managed to complete the inscription rune he wanted!

Next!

Without stopping, Lu Tianzi moved his fingers to draw a second inscription rune, all while maintaining the first rune.

Doing so was far more difficult than simply drawing a single inscription rune, but Lu Tianzi was slowly starting to get a hang of it. In fact, he managed to complete the second inscription rune without any mishaps.

But halfway through drawing the third inscription rune, Lu Tianzi finally faltered.

Poof-! Poof-! Poof-!

All three inscription runes broke apart into countless energy fragments that dissipated into the air.

"Phew!" Lu Tianzi let out a deep breath as he fell into his bed in disappointment.

It seemed like he still had a long way to go before he could finally become an inscription master!

However, what Lu Tianzi did not know was that if anyone else managed to get wind of what he had just done, they would definitely be shocked out of their wits!

On his very first try, Lu Tianzi actually managed to get to the third inscription rune in one go.

This was something completely unheard of in the history of the Heaven Constellations Inscription Tower!

It was only due to his thick reserve of Essence energy and heaven defying level of perception that Lu Tianzi was able to accomplish this.

But now that he had run out of materials, Lu Tianzi could no longer continue practising.

At this moment, Lu Tianzi could not help but lament about the huge costs of learning inscription.

No wonder Nanqing Haowen decided to drop the idea of becoming an inscription master.

If Lu Tianzi had not become an inscription assistant, it would definitely be impossible for him to continue spending precious beast cores on acquiring materials as well.

In a sense, he had truly gotten lucky!

With that thought of appreciation in his mind, Lu Tianzi proceeded with his daily cultivation.

Even though learning the art of inscriptions was beneficial for him, cultivating was still the main path to obtain strength after all!

There was no way that he would neglect his cultivation for the sake of practising inscriptions.

That night, Lu Tianzi could not help but feel excited.

Tomorrow, he would finally be able to browse through the manuals stored within the Pagoda of Knowledge!

Even if they were just techniques available for Outer Sect members, surely they would still be of a sufficiently high level.

After all, this was the number one influence in Bluenight City – the Nine Suns Sect!

How could the techniques they offer be of a subpar standard?