Chapter 16

Cheating

Chu Shen walked up the path leading towards the blacksmithing area. Smoke billowed upwards as the clanging of metal rang out. Chu Shen smiled.

He walked into the side of the forge. There was his teacher at the forge, a rare occurrence really. Master Lang typically left the forging to the other blacksmiths or to him.

Because Master Lang was a great inscription master he typically wrote the inscriptions for Chu Shen. After all, his Qi destroyed an inscription when he tried to write one.

His master was forging several throwing knives at once. Each blow with his hammer was extremely strange. It seemed to hit all the knives at once.

Chu Shen stared at the strange sight before smirking. Master Lang truly was worthy of being called a master artificer. There is a difference between a blacksmith and an artificer.

A blacksmith forges weapons but that is all. While they can craft miraculously sharp and strong weapons with Qi or heavenly fire, it will always be worse than an artificer’s creation.

An artificer is an inscription master and a blacksmith. An inscription is a carving laid down by an inscription master that can have various effects. One is helping channel Qi into a weapon or even increasing the Qi’s efficiency and power.

Another effect would be to transform Qi into a different type of Qi. For example, a fireball inscription when powered by martial Qi can shoot a fireball at their opponent.

With the effect of an inscription a weapons combat ability can more than triple. However an artificer is different than both an inscription master and a blacksmith master. The reason for this is actually an extremely simple reason.

An artificer is both. Because an artificer has personally crafted the weapon they lay inscriptions upon, there is no flaw. They know everything there is to know about a weapon they craft and therefore can use an inscription that perfectly suits it as well.

Each weapon has its own personality and each inscription has its own. Only the most perfect union of inscription and weapon will be able to bring out a weapons true potential.

This is why when you compare two equal weapons made by a blacksmith and inscription duo and an artificer, the artificer will always win. He frowned. Of course, since he couldn’t lay down inscriptions because of his Qi erasing the inscription ink, he could only be called a blacksmith instead of an Artificer. He would have given up long ago but this was the best thing he could do with his Qi type

A sudden stop in the clanging of metal shook Chu Shen out of his stupor. Looking up he saw Master Lang standing in front of the throwing knives. Master Lang took out a couple vials stopped with a cork

Chu Shen recognized these vials. Each inscription required materials to be made into liquid called inscription ink. Using their Qi to manipulate this inscription ink the inscription master would then make the inscription.

Master Lang unstopped the vials. A glowing blue liquid floated out of the vial. The liquid collected into several b.a.l.l.s of liquid in front of each knife. The liquid started twisting and turning, a powerful Qi permeated the air.

The liquid formed into symbols. These symbols gave off an indescribable sense of power. Finally the symbols were complete, the glow turning golden. The leftover liquid flowed back into the vials and Master Lang stopped the vials.

The symbols hovered mysteriously in the air over the knives. Finally with a gesture of Master Lang’s hand the symbols flew down to the knives. With a flash of light the symbols turned into a circle on the knives handle.

Chu Shen mentally applauded Master Lang’s control of the inscription symbols. It was a simple inscription, basic really.

However, even the most basic inscription took a long time. Only an expert could do it in a matter of moments.

Master Lang collected the knives and put them in a basket. Turning towards Chu Shen he smiled.

“Chu Shen, get in here and start forging. The Lin sect wants some inscription throwing knives for their disciples.”

“Yes master.”

Chu Shen stepped up to another forge and started working on the knives. He grabbed some iron ore and started to forge. As he did he started circulating his Qi according to

  technique.

As he did golden lights started floating towards him. These lights was the Qi of the world. The Qi was only visible to those who were currently cultivating. There was a whole lot of lights, it looked like a swarm of lightning bugs.

Suddenly Chu Shen put down the hammer. He stared at his chest in befuddlement. ‘What! Since when did my cultivation speed become this fast! I previously just broke through to the 8th level of the man stage but now I almost instantly reached the middle stage. Just what is going on!’

‘Brat, that cultivation speed is just because of that technique

 that I gave you. Previously you were practicing a technique you were unsuitable for, now you will advance more than ten times faster!’

‘Haha, this is great! I really can reach the Emperor stage in five years’

‘I would be ashamed to call you my disciple if you didn’t do it in three.’

‘Yes master. With this cultivation speed, its practically cheating.’

“Chu Shen, keep forging. We still have to make this order.”

“En” Chu Shen nodded in his agreement.

Chu Shen picked up his hammer again. He started forging the daggers. They kept at it, each time he made a dagger his master would put an inscription on it.

Finally they finished forging all the weapons. Over 100 daggers in total were made. The inscription was a simple burst inscription. Qi would be stored in the inscription before being released on impact, creating an explosion of Qi.

It was quite formidable though it had a limit of Qi it could store. It was only useful for low-level cultivators.

Chu Shen grabbed the baskets and took them outside the forge and set them down. Chu Lan would pick them up and deliver them to the Lin sect.

Turning around he saw Master Lang was watching him.

“Chu Shen, your father told me that you are going to the main sect to join them. I have a gift for you, from master to disciple.”