Chapter 1567 – The Third Step

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The Asura Heavenly Dao was vast and endless, impossibly complex and difficult to understand. How to make the tiny runes align with the Asura Heavenly Dao was the essence of the divine runic arts!

The first two parts of the divine runic arts were similar to inscription technique. Many divine runic masters had been studying this field for hundreds and thousands of years and they had reached the twelfth grade in the inscription technique.

In the Divine Runic Masters Guild alone, there were several twelfth grade inscription masters.

However, these twelfth grade inscription masters were at most seventh grade divine runic masters; some of them weren’t even at the seventh grade. If one had to come up with a reason then that was that understanding the Asura Heavenly Dao was far too difficult. It was simply impossible to perfectly master the final third step of the divine runic arts.

There were innumerable divine runic grandmasters that had studied the Asura Heavenly Dao for their entire lives. These were the Laws the managed everything within the Asura Road, a world that stood parallel with the 33 Heavens. In terms of their complexity, they were on par with the 33 Heavens!

This was equal to an independent universe. The power of these Laws could be imagined!

In truth, even seventh grade divine runic masters were an extremely rare existence within the Asura Road. These characters were able to become the guild president of the Divine Runic Masters Guild. Such a character basically had to have an Empyrean level cultivation!

Only an Empyrean could rely upon their great strength to slightly borrow the strength of the Asura Heavenly Dao Laws. Moreover, this was only borrowing. Although an Empyrean was an existence that had experienced heavenly tribulation and could stand equal to the Heavenly Dao, the truth was that the area on which they stood was a tiny, nearly infinitesimal part. Moreover, that was only the transcendent divine might that they established. That alone allowed an Empyrean to stand at the same height as the Heavenly Dao.

If they wanted to stand equal to the entirety of the Heavenly Dao Laws then that was simply impossible. Not to mention an Empyrean, not even a True Divinity could comprehend all of the Heavenly Dao Laws in a universe!

As for those young martial artists who had only been studying the divine runic arts for a hundred years and didn’t even have a Holy Lord realm cultivation, wanting to have them borrow the Asura Heavenly Dao Laws was asking for far too much, no matter how heaven-shaking their talent was. Even though Clearshadow and Dreampearl were gifted daughters of heaven, when they were trying to complete the third step of a second grade divine runic symbol, they still had to be extremely cautious and proceed with absolute care. And even if they focused all of their attention, there would still be a high chance that they would be defeated.

Qin Yi glanced over at Clearshadow and Dreampearl, his lips curving up in a smile. The third step of the divine runic arts was what he was most confident in!

The essence of the divine runic arts was to join together the Asura Heavenly Dao into inscription technique.

In a sense, these were rune Laws that derived from the Asura Heavenly Dao.

The Asura Road could not be separated from its runes. Whether it was god runes or origin energy runes, these runes were the embodiment of the Asura Road Laws.

In terms of inscription technique skill, the Divine Void Divine Kingdom that Qin Yi came from could not compare to the Divine Runic Masters Guild.

But, in terms of understanding the Asura Heavenly Dao, the Divine Void Divine Kingdom that was ruled by a True Divinity actually surpassed the Divine Runic Masters Guild!

It was relying on this point that the Divine Void Divine Kingdom dared to state that they were no worse than the Divine Runic Masters Guild in terms of the skill of their divine runic masters.

And this was the truth. The divine runic master who taught Qin Yi could compare with the president of the Divine Runic Masters Guild in skill.

This was how important the third step was.

With his ability in this aspect, Qin Yi didn’t care much about the second grade divine runic master examination. This was simply a means to prove his strength.

“Are the four of you ready?” The white-robed Elder asked, glancing over them. Clearshadow and Dreampearl were somewhat nervous. As for Qin Yi, he was calm and composed. A divine runic pen jumped into his hands, spinning above his fingertips as if it had a mind of its own. The crystalline pen seemed to reflect a brilliant light.

Facing the second grade divine runic master examination, Qin Yi finally picked up his pen. Without a doubt, this divine runic pen was some priceless treasure.

As for the last examinee, others viewed him with a bit of bias. He quietly laid out his materials and began arranging them on the table. This fellow actually surprised the white-robed Elder. A human, and a young human at that, had actually decided to join the second grade divine runic master examination. This was a truly incredible event.

The white-robed Elder traced his chin and looked at Lin Ming for another second before passing over him.

“Then… I declare the beginning of the examination!”

The time allotted for the second grade divine runic master examination was 10 hours, the same as before!

A second grade divine runic symbol naturally took a much longer time than a first grade one. To give the same 10 hour time limit was equal to increasing the difficulty of the examination.

As the examination started, Clearshadow and Dreampearl began to anxiously process their materials. From the materials they had gathered, one could guess what rune they had decided to draw up. The divine runic symbol they had chosen was – Touch of Gold.

The use of this divine runic symbol was to turn stone into gold. This divine runic symbol was essentially useless and mostly a waste of resources to make. But, divine runic masters still held this symbol in high esteem because turning ‘stone to gold’ was something that only the divine runic arts could accomplish. Without the divine runic arts, even an Empyrean would be helpless in this matter.

Thus, although this was a worthless symbol, it was a divine runic symbol that put the charm of the divine runic arts on full display!

And as for the reason that Clearshadow and Dreampearl had chosen Touch of Gold, that was because this divine runic symbol was considered relatively easy and their chances of succeeding would be somewhat higher.

As for Qin Yi, he had chosen Heart of the Medicine Furnace. This was a divine runic symbol for pills. It could greatly increase the medicinal efficacy of a pill and was considered to be in the medium-high difficulty levels of second grade divine runic symbols.

As for Lin Ming, he had chosen the Pill Resting Symbol. This was also a divine runic symbol for pills. When placed on a powerful pill and rested for a month, it would make the properties of a pill far more temperate and the medicinal efficacy easier to absorb.

Although the name of the Pill Resting Symbol was a bit simple and rustic, in terms of how difficult it was to draw up, it was even beyond the Heart of the Medicine Furnace.

“How amusing!”

Qin Yi smiled as he saw Lin Ming choose such a difficult divine runic symbol.

He thought that the divine runic symbol he chose would be the most difficult. The other divine runic apprentices likely wouldn’t even have the courage to participate in the second grade divine runic master examination, much less choose a divine runic symbol as difficult as the Pill Resting Symbol.

But Lin Ming had chosen to do so and he was also a human.

“This brat, does he really have the ability to do it? Or does he know he can’t pass so he’s just putting on an act?” Qin Yi glanced at Lin Ming, a playful light in his eyes. He wanted to see just what Lin Ming’s performance would be like and how much of the Pill Resting Symbol he would be able to complete.

It wasn’t just Qin Yi that noticed Lin Ming, but the white-robed Elder was also tracing his chin in surprise. This sort of divine runic symbol was one that many well-known senior divine runic masters didn’t choose when they went through their second grade divine runic master examination. Yet, Lin Ming had made this choice even though he was a human, his name was unknown, and he didn’t have any obvious background.

As for Old Xue and Old Su, they were already left speechless. This Lin Ming wasn’t an idiot nor did he come here to cause a ruckus. Rather, he really was undergoing the second grade examination. And if he dared to choose the Pill Resting Symbol…

“Old Xue, you don’t think he’ll really be able to draw up the Pill Resting Symbol, right…?”

“I don’t know… don’t ask me. I originally thought that this boy’s divine runic arts talent was worse than that of Clearshadow and Dreampearl. In the first grade examination I was unable to see just how skilled he was, but after learning of his skeletal age I don’t dare to evaluate him yet. He is simply a monstrous genius!”

Lin Ming didn’t bother with everyone that was paying attention to him. He continued on at his slow and unhurried pace, processing the materials in a uniform manner. His movements were steady without any flaws to them, and the divine runic pen in his hands was like an iron chain spanning a raging river, simply unshakeable.

The reason Lin Ming chose the Pill Resting Symbol was because this divine runic symbol was worth a considerable amount of money and he would be able to sell it after he drew it up. Currently, Lin Ming’s net worth could withstand this sort of loss, but in a situation where he only spent money and didn’t earn any, he couldn’t continue like this forever. Sooner or later he would have to figure out some way to recoup his expenses.

A divine runic symbol like Touch of Gold was formed from expensive materials and couldn’t even be sold for a tiny bit of money. Lin Ming naturally wouldn’t choose such a worthless divine runic symbol.

For a second grade divine runic symbol, processing the materials and drawing up the tiny runes was a slightly more difficult process than it was for a first grade divine runic symbol. But to Lin Ming, this wasn’t hard at all.

As Lin Ming, Clearshadow, and Dreampearl began drawing, Qin Yi didn’t immediately begin. Instead, he crossed his hands behind his back and started observing everyone else, especially Lin Ming.

As Qin Yi saw Lin Ming’s steady technique, he was a bit astonished.

“This boy, I didn’t think his skill level was much during the first grade divine runic master examination; who knew he would have some modicum of skill. However, the speed and expertise of his drawing skill is still lacking compared to my own. Moreover, the key to completing a second grade divine runic symbol is the third and final step. In this aspect, Touch of Gold is far more simple, but you decided to choose the much more difficult Pill Resting Symbol. I want to see just how you complete the third step… of course, the premise of that is if you can last until the third step…”

Qin Yi faintly smiled and began his own work.

If Qin Yi wanted to watch Lin Ming’s ‘third step’ then he would have to finish drawing up his divine runic symbol before Lin Ming started on the third step. Otherwise, with his current skill level, it was impossible for him to draw up his own divine runic symbol while watching someone else.

This wouldn’t be a problem in Qin Yi’s eyes. His drawing speed was considerably faster than Lin Ming’s.

All sorts of materials flew into the air where they were pulled apart and processed by Qin Yi’s soul force. Then, he drew out the juices of these materials with his divine runic pen, forming brilliant colored lines in the air. This was an extremely enchanting sight.

“This Qin Yi is really fierce…”

A deacon praised out loud. The white-robed Elder also nodded in acknowledgement. Even for a second grade divine runic symbol, Qin Yi was able to maintain such a smooth drawing technique like passing clouds and flowing rivers. It wouldn’t be difficult for Qin Yi to form the main body of the divine runic symbol. The crux of the examination, the most difficult part, would be the final, third step. Everything would depend on how Qin Yi fused the Asura Road’s Heavenly Dao into the divine runic symbol.

“Divine Void Divine Kingdom’s third step has always been superior to ours. This is because they have inheritances related to the Asura Heavenly Dao…”

The white-robed Elder sighed as he recalled this.