"You came back?" Old Juan remarked when he saw Lu Tianzi step into his shop. "But are you here as a customer or...?"

After spending around a week organising his harvests from the trip, Lu Tianzi finally returned to Old Juan's Equipment Shop.

As for consolidating his gains, it was something that would take quite some time, so Lu Tianzi was not in a hurry for that.

"Is the furnace still available for renting?" Lu Tianzi scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

He did tell Old Juan that he would be away for a while, but it took a little longer than he had expected.

Having been away for months, it would be too much to ask for the furnace to be reserved for him all this while.

As expected, Old Juan took a deep breath in impatience.

If not for the fact that he had seen much promise in Lu Tianzi, Old Juan would have already shouted at him to stop dreaming.

"I would love to tell you that the furnace is still available for your usage, but my apprentice Ah San just started smithing recently, so it will be difficult for me to tell him to stop," Old Juan let out a helpless sigh. "But if you are really interested in practising smithing again, you can just wait a few days. You will be able to use Ah Yi's furnace after that."

Old Juan's Equipment Shop had three furnances, currently assigned to his three apprentices working there.

Ah San and Ah Yi both counted among the three apprentices.

"Will Ah Yi be all right with that?" Lu Tianzi asked uncertainly.

Lu Tianzi knew Ah Yi personally as well, and would hate to deprive the latter of his rights.

"Hah, you don't have to worry about him!" Old Juan laughed. "I am not forcing Ah Yi to stop. He just has something to do for a while."

"I see, that'd be good," Lu Tianzi nodded. "Thank you again, Old Juan. Then I shall return in three days' time."

"Wait, don't be in so much of a hurry to leave!" Old Juan called out just as Lu Tianzi was about to head for the exit. "Since you are already here, why don't you help me out a little?"

"Hmm? What do you need help with?" Lu Tianzi looked at him in puzzlement.

Lu Tianzi was unfamiliar with the goods in the shop and their corresponding prices, so he could not possibly be the receptionist. And with his current level of skill, he certainly could not help with the smithing as well.

What could he possibly help with?

"Don't worry, I am not asking you to do anything difficult," Old Juan seemed to have read Lu Tianzi's mind. "There are some completed equipment at the back that need to be sent to the inscription master before they can be sold. Ah San will usually be the one doing this but he seems really engrossed in smithing these days, so I can't bear to interrupt him. Can you help me with that instead? Go bring the equipment over here, and I will pass you a list with the specific instructions on what inscription needs to be placed on which equipment. Don't worry if you don't understand, you just have to pass the list to the inscription master and he will do the rest."

"Inscription?" Lu Tianzi was surprised. "Can I take a look at the inscriptions you need?"

This time it was Old Juan's turn to be surprised. "Do you know about inscriptions?"

"Well, I do know a little about it. However, I am not sure how my knowledge compares to others," Lu Tianzi answered.

Lu Tianzi might be an official inscription master, but that was back in Bluenight City, Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

In comparison to the powerful influences in the central regions of the continent, Scarlet Moon Kingdom was simply not worth mentioning at all.

On top of that, Sacred Cliff City was even known as the City of Artificers.

Surely the standard of inscription masters here would be far above that of Bluenight City!

Considering that, Lu Tianzi dared not think too highly of himself.

"Haha, go ahead and take a look then!" Old Juan did not think too much about it.

After all, he was intending to pass the list of inscriptions to Lu Tianzi sooner or later anyway. Lu Tianzi would need to deliver the list along with the items so that the inscription master would know what to do.

Lu Tianzi took the slip of paper from Old Juan and saw that it paired twenty different equipment to their respective inscriptions.

This list revealed Old Juan's professional opinion as an artificer – what he believed was best for each piece of equipment.

Lu Tianzi had not seen these equipment, so he had no opinion there.

However, his eyes still lit up when he saw the inscriptions required.

That was because the inscriptions listed were nothing complicated at all!

"How is it? Do you understand it?" Old Juan smiled.

"Yes, I do," Lu Tianzi's eyes were filled with confidence when he looked back up at Old Juan. "These inscriptions... I would be able to place them for you as well!"

"You?" Old Juan raised an eyebrow in sceptism. "You know how to place inscriptions?"

"I know a thing or two about it," Lu Tianzi nodded. "In fact, I used to do it as a job."

"You are an inscription master?" Old Juan frowned, still unable to believe what he was hearing.

Lu Tianzi was not surprised at Old Juan's reaction though.

If he were Old Juan, he would be just as doubtful if someone he knew suddenly revealed that he was actually an inscription master.

With a flick of his wrist, the Torrential Sabre appeared in Lu Tianzi's hand.

"Take a look," Lu Tianzi passed the sabre over to Old Juan.

He could speak for hours, and Old Juan would still not believe him. The easiest way to convince Old Juan was to let his work do the talking for him.

The Torrential Sabre was a Peak Essence Condensation rank treasure when he won it from Nanqing Zhengxian. But after Lu Tianzi placed the Astral Way Inscription on it, it had been upgraded to a half-step Origin Core rank treasure.

Since there were even a few Primary Origin Core rank treasures up for sale in the Old Juan's Equipment Shop, Lu Tianzi was not worried that Old Juan would covet his Torrential Sabre.

Old Juan did not have high expectations as he picked up the Torrential Sabre, examining the Astral Way Inscription that was on it.

"You are the one who did this?" Old Juan's eyes narrowed as he scrutinised the quality of the inscription. "Not too bad for a Second Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist. But even so, what I want is not just some average level inscription. I might not be able to afford the best inscription masters out there, but I still have a decent relationship with a rather good inscription master. In his hands, the quality of the inscriptions placed on my equipment will surely be above average!"

"Oh?" Lu Tianzi was slightly surprised.

He had not expected the quality of his inscription to be considered as just average in Old Juan's eyes.

"It's good that you finally understand," Old Juan said after seeing the surprise on Lu Tianzi's face. "Unfortunately, this inscription master I know does not have a very good temperament. So it would be difficult for me to get you under his tutelage."

"I see, it can't be helped then," Lu Tianzi sighed helplessly. "Oh but there's one thing I need to clarify – I did not place the inscription on the Torrential Sabre when I was at the Second Cycle Origin Core realm. I did it when I was at the Primary Essence Condensation realm."

Old Juan stared blankly at Lu Tianzi, taking a few moments to digest what he just heard.

And then he broke out in laughter. "Hahaha! You are saying that you placed this inscription when you were at the Primary Essence Condensation realm? At least say something more believable! It is simply impossible for anyone to place an inscription at the Primary Essence Condensation realm. Even if your talent is there, your reserve of Essence energy will not be enough to keep up!"

"It is all right if you don't believe me, but that is the truth," Lu Tianzi shrugged nonchalantly.

He was different from others in that he cultivated two different cultivation systems, giving him a greater reserve of Essence energy than others.

However, Lu Tianzi did not see the point in arguing about such a matter.

So what if he managed to convince Old Juan?

There was nothing to gain out of it.

In the first place, he was only offering to help because Old Juan had been helpful to him. At the same time, he was thinking that he could revise a little on his inscription skills.

But all these were minor matters that he could do without as well.

"All right, how about this?" Old Juan said while tossing the Torrential Sabre back to Lu Tianzi. "At the bottom of the list is a spare shield that Ah Yi forged. It is not an order from a customer, but something he made in his own free time. Go ahead and place the required inscription on it. We'll see how good you really are then!"

"Heh," Lu Tianzi smirked. "Sure."

***

A beautiful young lady walked down the streets of Sacred Cliff City, each of her steps light as a feather.

Wherever she went, heads would turn in admiration of her beauty.

Unfortunately, she paid no attention to the numerous men who were trying to make eye contact with her. As she walked, her curious gaze scanned the items that were displayed by the shops along the sides of the streets, taking a good look at the wares out on sale.

"Hey, sweetheart!" a stubbled man who looked to be in his fifties suddenly stepped forward to block her way. "Are you out shopping? Is there something you are looking for? I am very familiar with the city, and I can show you exactly where to go to find it."

"I am fine alone," Nanlan Qianxue answered coldly.

"Come on, let's not reject my offer so quickly," the stubbled man grinned maliciously. "I am strong, you know? If anything happens, I will be able to protect you."

He placed extra emphasis on the fact that he was strong, using it as a subtle threat.

The stubbled man's cultivation level was at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm, one boundary higher than Nanlan Qianxue.

On top of that, Nanlan Qianxue's reply effectively told him that she was here without any companions, bolstering his courage even further.

However, he never expected that the girl would just ignore him completely and walk right past him.

"Hey, you little bitch! I'm talking to you!" the stubbled man yelled as he reached out to grab Nanlan Qianxue's shoulder.

Pa-!

Nanlan Qianxue turned around and slapped away his outstretched arm.

"Oh? Since you are the first to resort to violence, don't complain that I am bullying you!" the stubbled man sneered.

With a flick of his wrists, a huge battleaxe appeared in his hand.

By now, the two of them had garnered quite a bit of attention from the crowd.

A few individuals wanted to step forward and help Nanlan Qianxue, but they were promptly stopped by a group of bulky men.

"What are you looking at?"

"Go mind your own business if you don't want to get hurt!"

They were all subordinates of the stubbled man, and had carefully positioned themselves to isolate Nanlan Qianxue and the stubbled man from the crowd.

They cracked their knuckles in a threatening manner, their battle-hardened aura deterring anyone from interfering.

Nanlan Qianxue naturally saw this as well, but she was completely unfazed.

The Frost Jade Sword appeared in her hand as she turned her attention back to the stubbled man, her expression still as cold as before.

Back then, Lu Tianzi defeated the Third Cycle Origin Core realm Chiren even though he himself was only at the Advanced Essence Condensation realm.

Nanlan Qianxue did not hope to replicate Lu Tianzi's incredible feats, but if she could not even do the same while at the Second Cycle Origin Core realm, then she would really be a failure in comparison!

"Tch! Overestimating yourself!" the stubbled man was only intending to scare Nanlan Qianxue, but he never expected that Nanlan Qianxue would really intend to fight.

But just as the two were about to start fighting, a huge commotion started among the crowd.

There was a momentary flash of light, followed by a thunderous explosion.

With that, three of the stubbled man's subordinates were instantly sent flying, landing right by the stubbled man's feet as they groaned in pain.

"Who's there?" the stubbled man called out warily.

"Pick up your goons and get the hell out of here!" the middle-aged woman stepped out from the crowd, casually tidying her collar as she did. "Otherwise, this fairy is going to start a pest extermination exercise!"