The Prodigies War

Chi!

As Lin Xun gripped the brush, a wisp of aeth power flowed along the slender and straight violet brush body to the razor-sharp tip where it condensed into a ray of light as thin as a strand of hair. It constantly took in rune ink.

His wrist nimbly moved as the tip of the brush dipped into the dish of bright red rune ink. All rune ink was absorbed into the brush.

At the tip of the violet pheasant brush, the ray of light blazed like a flame, producing bright, blood-like beams of light.

Those two steps were called drawing aeth into the brush and absorbing ink as the source!

It tested the compatibility between a person’s aeth power and the rune brush. The higher the quality of a rune brush, the more sensitive it was in drawing aeth power and the more ink it absorbed.

Lin Xun wore an extremely solemn expression as he sat at the desk. His back was straight as a spear and his deep, dark eyes were completely focused on the swallow-winged blade on the desk. His mind was calm without the slightest ripple.

Unhesitatingly, he lifted his brush from the ink. The razor sharp tip suddenly scraped the swallow-winged blade, producing a subtle but pleasant rustle.

Strands of slender hair-like scarlet lines flowed out from the brush’s tip and spread like ink blooming in a clear river. It was a mysterious and beautiful spectacle.

Lin Xun’s wrist constantly twisted and moved like a slithering snake as he made brush strokes in a precise, clean, and smooth manner.

Despite it being Lin Xun’s first time to truly engrave a rune pattern, he didn’t feel a hint of nervousness.

He had practiced it countless times in the past months and he had familiarized himself with the littlest details of each rune pattern as well as the key to each brushstroke.

This was what he had learned from Mister Lu from a young age. He had to tackle various basic rune patterns every day during that period and so he had long observed and grasped the mysteries hidden beneath those complicated rune patterns.

The explosive flame rune he was engraving was one of those basic runes. The arrow that killed Lian Rufeng and the others at Feiyun Village entrance was also engraved with the explosion flame rune.

However, the explosive flame rune he was engraving was a little different because he was trying to create a true aeth tool!

What was an aeth tool?

A treasure that could fully coordinate with a cultivator’s aeth power to display its mighty powers!

The only difference between ordinary tools and aeth tools was that aeth tools were engraved with runes and, as a result, contained unbelievable powers.

The explosive flame rune engraved on Lin Xun’s arrow was only semi-completed and the quality of rune ink used was at most mediocre. The arrows had to be scrapped after one use and were only considered to be semi-aeth tools.

This time, Lin Xun specially purchased a swallow-winged blade and a plate of high quality scarlet fire rune ink so that the engraved explosive flame rune would be complete and integrated with the swallow-winged blade.

Only then would it be called a true aeth tool and display its mighty powers in a cultivator’s hands.

Although Lin Xun had already grasped the mysteries of engraving the explosive flame rune and had practiced countless times in the past, he still dared not be careless.

The reason for him being cautious was very simple. The process of creating an aeth tool seemed simple—it only needed a vessel, which was the tool for which the rune pattern would be engraved on—but there were strict requirements in each stage of the process.

It had been universally acknowledged that a rune master had to possess a Spirit Dipper cultivation base to be able to support the engraving of a complete rune pattern and forge an aeth tool.

Otherwise, the lack of aeth power would leave the rune engraving unfinished and it would be impossible to create a true aeth tool.

Now, Lin Xun only possessed a cultivation base of the Essence Refining Stage, the fifth layer True Martial Stage, and was still a distance from the Spirit Dipper Stage.

Fortunately, the engraving of rune wasn’t a test of a practitioner's cultivation level but instead the amount of aeth power within a cultivator’s body. Lin Xun’s strong aeth power foundation made up for his shortcoming in cultivation level.

As a matter of fact, the aeth power within Lin Xun’s body was indeed tremendous, strong and incredibly pure. It was the product of the four rune vortexes within Lin Xun’s heart.

After Lin Xun’s aeth power underwent refining as it passed the four Aeth Power Vortexes, his cultivation level was no different from other fifth layer True Martial Stage. But the purity and strength of his aeth power was far superior to those of other people.

This was why Lin Xun had the confidence to attempt to create an aeth tool despite only possessing a cultivation base of the fifth layer True Martial Stage.

Chi—

The blazing flame-like brush tip constantly drew across the surface of the swallow-winged blade, leaving several fine marks.

As time passed, Lin Xun’s spirit perception and aeth power reached a perfect harmony with the violet pheasant brush, unrestricted and unhindered by anything.

His aeth power was constantly consumed with time but it was still far from being a problem.

Lin Xun, who was fully concentrated on engraving runes, failed to notice the beam of light flash across the Omega Door standing silently in his mind-sea.

Lin Xun had completed the last mark of the explosive flame rune. As he lowered the brush tip down, an imperceptible aura silently gathered within the tip.

At that moment, Lin Xun felt as though a giant invisible hand had clutched his wrist and he subconsciously rotated the tip of his brush. The last rune mark slipped out his hand without any obstruction.

But when he lifted his hand and studied the completed explosive flame rune pattern, he couldn’t help but feel astonished. It looked familiar but there was a hint of unfamiliarity that he couldn’t put his finger on.

Could there be a problem?

Before Lin Xun could investigate further, a buzz caught his attention. Millions rays of dazzling flame-like light roared to the sparkling clean surface of the swallow-winged blade. Then, everything immediately returned to normal.

When Lin Xun looked at the blade’s surface again, it had become a faint scarlet color and the tip was much sharper than before. It seemed to have gained a spiritual nature.

Endless joy filled Lin Xun’s heart. He picked up the blade without any hesitation.

Boom!

As he instilled aeth power into the swallow-winged blade, a blinding fire light shot out and illuminated the entire house. As he waved the blade around, it boomed and crackled like lava was erupting.

He succeeded!

Lin Xun’s eyes lit up and his mind wandered.

He was certain that the swallow-winged blade had been transformed from an ordinary tool into a true aeth tool. There was no doubt about it.

But Lin Xun had never expected to succeed on his first attempt!

Mister Lu had once said that rune masters would inevitably suffer failure when forging aeth tools and that even experienced rune masters wouldn’t be able to guarantee success on their first attempt.

In other words, failure was normal when refining aeth tools and non-failure wasn’t normal!

Why else would aeth tools be worth so much on the current market?

Aeth tools were a product of repeated failures, which would not only waste rune materials and rune ink but also a rune master’s effort!

In general, rune masters would think it was impossible for a rune apprentice like Lin Xun, who possessed only a cultivation base of the fifth layer True Martial Stage, to create an aeth tool.

However, Lin Xun not only refined it, but he succeeded at one go!

Lin Xun was also perplexed by his own success. He had prepared three sets of ink and a blade in case he failed.

Who would have thought that he didn’t need to use the backups?

It was too unexpected!

Lin Xun stared intently at the swallow-winged blade in his hand, and all sorts of emotions welled up in his heart. No, it should be called the Explosion Blade now.

Who would have thought that he, a rune apprentice at only the fifth layer True Martial Stage, could create an aeth tool and also succeed at his first try?

How would other rune masters feel when they learned about his feat?

As Lin Xun thought about it, a ruminative smile crept to his lips. In the end, he shook his head and decided to never reveal this matter to anyone unless he was threatened with death.

The taller the tree, the more likely its top would be damaged by the wind. Lin Xun had understood this saying long ago. He realized that his feat would undoubtedly bring him unexpected disturbances.

“I’m going to rely on you to become rich…”

Lin Xun muttered as he gazed at the Explosion Blade. He had decided to sell the blade tomorrow!

In order to create an aeth tool, Lin Xun had purchased three sets of swallow-winged blades and scarlet fire rune ink, costing him sixty silver coins in total.

After renting the house for thirty silver coins and buying necessities and food over the past seven days, Lin Xun only had one hundred and thirty silver coins left from the three hundred silver coins he had brought to Donglin City.

If he didn’t make money as soon as possible, he might become penniless.

Fortunately, the Explosion Blade, an aeth tool, could be sold for a good amount.

Although Lin Xun didn’t know about the specific price, he knew that even the most damaged aeth tool was worth more than fifty silver coins!

“This blade is better than the one you have, are you really going to sell it?”

It was Xia Zhi’s voice.

Lin Xun was surprised to find Xia Zhi still awake at midnight and had been sitting next to him all that time.

“This is an aeth tool and it can only display its full power in the hands of a Spirit Dipper cultivator.”

Lin Xun casually said, “Of course, my strength will still no doubt be greater with the Explosion Blade compared to the Skybreaker Blade. After all, it’s an aeth tool and ordinary tools can't be compared to it.”

Lin Xun couldn’t help but sigh, “It's a pity that we need money now, so it’s best to sell it first. I will make another one when I have the chance.”

Xia Zhi said thoughtfully, “But I think the materials that make up your blade are very strange. It’s best that you keep your blade.”

Lin Xun couldn't help feeling moved. Of course he knew that the Skybreaker Blade was extraordinary. Mister Lu had personally gifted him the blade as a weapon for self-defense. Mister Lu had mentioned that the blade was made from incredibly rare and special materials so even he couldn’t engrave a rune pattern on it.

This fact alone demonstrated the uniqueness of the Skybreaker Blade.

It was also because the Skybreaker Blade hadn’t yet been refined into an aeth tool that the unique materials that made it up remained buried.

What astonished Lin Xun was that Xia Zhi was able to identify the extraordinary features of the Skybreaker Blade.