Chapter 794: Progress

The news of Patriarch Kou’s absence had been causing quite a stir in the institution for some time and even though the deputy patriarchs came out to say something about it and Yun Jing took her position back in the institution to solidify their control, they couldn’t stop the rumors from propagating.

In the end, they decided to go with Shang Xia’s second approach and chose to spread the news of how Kou Chongxue might have left for another world to look for a way to break through to the Sixth Order. 2 of the deacons of the institution who were ‘humiliated’ by Yun Jing during her speech went to drink with their friends and started to complain about everything they heard. They accidentally revealed what Yun Jing said about how Kou Chongxue might have discovered another world and was finding a way to break through to the Sixth Order.

It didn’t take long for the ‘secret’ to spread out of the You Continent.

News of what happened quickly reached the Outreach Division and the 2 deacons who revealed what Yun Jing said were brought back for investigation. Before long, they were never heard from again.

Very quickly, rumors regarding Kou Chongxue’s disappearance or death started to spread through the city. It was as though someone was pushing for people to spread them.

There were many versions going around and there were some that seemed to contain some hints of truth behind it. There were also some that seemed extremely exaggerated. The original version that had been spread was quickly being washed away.

In the eyes of those who were truly paying attention to the matters, the different rumors related to Kou Chongxue seemed more like a smoke screen the institution released to cover up what was really going on.

As there were more and more guesses about what happened to Kou Congxue going around, things naturally blew out of proportion. However, the more absurd it got, the more the original version was proven to be ‘true’.

When the Tongyou City was getting incomparably heated, the 859th year of the Divine Martial Calendar had already passed. Shang Xia welcomed the 860th year while residing in Hai Min’s courtyard.

Hai Yuanyuan had already completed her divine sense transformation and she was given the responsibility of protecting an island the Tongyou Institution controlled. She could be considered an expert who could take charge of a territory by herself.

Because of that, the lass didn’t return for the new year. Shang Xia managed to enjoy some nice alone time with Hai Min.

However, his days of leisure didn’t last for long. After the fifth day of the new year, Chu Jia sent a transmission talisman to him every day to urge him to return to the institution.

Helpless, Shang Xia could only make his way back. He stopped by the Formation Hall once he returned, and he didn’t just meet Chu Jia. Ren Bainian, Ren Huan, and Shang Quan had been waiting for him for some time.

“I knew it...” Shang Xia grumbled to himself before trudging into the hall. He randomly looked for a spot to sit.

“Heh... Were you not planning to return after hiding in that nice and comfortable place you found?” Chu Jia mocked.

Ren Bainian, Ren Huan, and Shang Quan revealed expressions that showed they were in deep contemplation. They didn’t seem to hear what Chu Jia said. However, they couldn't help but hear the sourness in her voice.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Shang Xia mumbled, “Come on... You have to let me enjoy the coming of the new year in peace, right?!”

“Shut up. It’s already the fifth day of the new year.” Chu Jia rebuked immediately before pointing to the others. “Hey! I’m not the one looking for you anyway. They’re the ones looking for you and they were afraid of interrupting your life. They could only look for me...”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Alright, I got it...” Shang Xia sighed.

Chu Jia looked extremely pleased with herself. However, she heard how perfunctory Shang Xia’s answer was and she immediately started to feel annoyed. She turned to Ren Bainian and the others and snapped, “Alright! Who’s going to start talking first?!”

Shang Xia could tell that Chu Jia’s state of mind was extremely unsteady at the moment, but he didn’t know what was going on. He only felt as though the situation was slightly baffling.

Ren Bainian forced a chuckle and stepped out. “Alright. Let this old man start first...”

After he spoke, he brought out a long spiritual case that was sealed and muttered, “Manager Shang, this is the White Bone Brush that the Grandmaster Blacksmiths of the Hundred Weapons Mill modified!”

“Oh? They succeeded?!” Shang Xia’s eyes lit up and he retrieved the case before asking, “Oh right, when did I become ‘Manager Shang’?”

Instead of Ren Bainian, Ren Huan was the person who replied to his question. With a hearty laugh, Ren Huan started, “Well, no one was appointed to be the head of the Talisman Hall for a long time. All of us have been arranging our positions based on our knowledge in the way of talisman crafting. Originally, Master Gong was considered the head of the Talisman Hall, but Brother Shang, you quickly took over the position. Actually, since the start of the year, the institution decided to standardize the various positions. Brother Shang, you’re naturally the person in charge of the Talisman Hall. Everyone will start to call you ‘Manager Shang’ from now on. Oh right, the person in charge of the Formation Hall will be Grandmaster Chu, and as for the others...”

Shang Xia’s actions paused slightly when he opened the spiritual case and he quickly stopped Ren Huan from finishing. He said seriously, “I don’t care what the heads of the other halls call themselves, but from now on, you can call me Hall Master Shang. If anyone... If anyone calls me Manager Shang from now on... I... I won’t bother with anything related to the Talisman Hall from now on!”

Shang Xia still felt the need to emphasize again, “Right. This is extremely important to me!”

Ren Huan and the others glanced at each other in confusion. They didn’t know why Shang Xia was so particular about the title, but none of them had the guts to question him. They could only agree and let Shang Xia know that they would relay the message to the Talisman Hall soon. After all, no one would piss off a rank five Talisman Grandmaster over a mere title.

Opening the case, Shang Xia saw a talisman brush lying quietly within. After retrieving the spirit bone from a rank five sea beast, 2 Grandmaster Blacksmiths worked together to modify the weapon. They swapped the original shaft out for the spirit bone from the beast in order to create the new brush.

Shang Xia carefully held the brush and he could tell the difference immediately. Ren Huan wondered at the side, “Senior Ren, what do you think of the skills those Grandmaster Blacksmiths possess? Did they say anything after they were done?”

Ren Bainian laughed, “Those Grandmaster Blacksmiths don’t look too old to begin with... However, their methods are truly an eye-opener. I was merely watching from the side, but I learned a lot. I don’t really have an opinion of them... However, they did have a suggestion...”

Ren Bainian paused as Shang Xia raised an eyebrow curiously.

“They... They suggested that Manag... Hall Master Shang should swap out your inkstone for a better one...” Ren Bainian coughed.

“Inkstone?” Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something as he inspected the tip of the brush. Indeed... He discovered that it was slightly damaged.

He originally thought that the damage came from crafting rank five talismans. However, from what the Grandmaster Blacksmiths were saying, it seemed as though swapping his inkstone out for a better one might be able to slightly mitigate the damage the brush suffered.

Shang Xia nodded in response. He also followed up with another question. “Right. Did they have any suggestions to raise the White Bone Brush to a divine artifact?”

“They said that after swapping out the shaft and tip of the brush, the White Bone Brush can basically be considered a completely new brush. There is no value in modifying it further. If Hall... Hall Master Shang can find spirit fur from any rank five spiritual beast in the future, it would be for the best if you can obtain its spirit bone too. If you refine a new brush with them, it would close in on the ranks of a divine artifact. You will have to rely on your luck if you wish to turn it into a divine artifact in the future...” Ren Bainian explained.

Shang Xia nodded and sank into contemplation.

After Ren Bainian was done, Ren Huan stepped forward to speak. “Hall Master...”

Shang Xia frowned and raised his hand to interrupt Ren Huan. “Brother Ren, is there a need for such formalities between us?”

Ren Huan chuckled and quickly changed his tone. “Brother Shang, there have been improvements when it comes to crafting talisman paper and talisman ink with the elemental essence crystals...”

“Oh? Your experiments must have cost a lot, right?” A trace of excitement flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes.

“It’s alright... At least it didn’t go to waste!” Ren Huan laughed.

“After testing out different proportions of elemental essence crystal powder, we discovered that the talisman papers we made would have an effect of raising the success rate when they were used to craft talismans. Of course, that was only if the element used in the talisman is identical to that of the crystal we used. If it wasn’t, the success rate would drop greatly! If we go back to the fundamentals and craft talisman paper of a specific element with different elemental essence crystal powder, the success rate when crafting a talisman with it will drop to 0!” Ren Huan explained.

Shang Quan, who hadn’t said a word since the start, also stepped forward. “It’s the same for talisman ink. Using specific talisman ink for specific talismans will greatly increase the success rate, but that isn’t the case most of the time as talisman ink would be used to craft any sort of talisman... Now, the results of our experiments have taken shape and we’re getting more data by the day. From now on, talisman paper and talisman ink will be crafted for specific Talisman Masters or Grandmasters according to the type of talisman they wish to craft.”

Ren Huan added, “Oh right! We will need a lot more elemental essence crystals for that. Because of that, we stockpiled quite a bit of them back then.”

Chu Jia interrupted all of a sudden, “The institution has been preparing for this 3 years ago. We discovered many places that would yield elemental essence crystals of different attributes and started to strengthen our control over those areas. We also continued to spread out influence to look for it and we managed to gain an advantage over those who aren’t prepared to look for them.”

After thinking for a little, Shang Xia muttered, “This is really an improvement. In the past, talisman paper and ink had to be made to accommodate any type of talisman. That’s because a Talisman Master or Grandmaster only mastered a few types of talismans. They will obtain talisman paper and ink from anywhere they can find. Now that we have a lot more Talisman Masters, all of them only need to focus on several types of talismans. They can use talisman paper and ink based on the type of talisman they can craft and that will greatly increase their chances of success.”

Soon after, Shang Xia continued to chat with them to learn more about the current situation in the Weapons Hall, Talisman Hall, and Shang Clan.

Seemingly having lost her patience, Chu Jia, who was standing at the side, finally interrupted when she felt that they were nearly done. “Enough! This is the Formation Hall for crying out loud! Why don’t you continue this discussion in the Talisman Hall?!”

Ren Bainian, Ren Huan, and Shang Quan obviously caught the memo as they got to their feet immediately. They bade farewell to Shang Xia and Chu Jia before scurrying out of the hall.