The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 134: The Third Craft

The next morning, Li Lang tagged along with Long Yi to see his artifice mentor. The place they went to wasn’t the Artificer Guild or The Orchid Covenant’s headquarters. Instead, they arrived on a busy commercial street within Emberglow City.

The city’s populace largely comprised mortals. Those who were below the Foundation Establishment realm were the majority, but this particular street had the highest ratio of high-level cultivators. That was because it was where all the stores that catered to cultivators were located. In fact, Li Lang had once browsed these streets when he investigated the various crafts available to him.

He had once noticed the lack of brushweaver hardware stores, which led him to conclude the tools were mostly handcrafted by each brushweaver. It affected his decision to choose his mentor and was now where he would find his new mentor.

Li Lang had the opportunity to search for other artificers to learn under as well, but he decided it was better to join Long Yi. His plan had always been to learn and work together with his friend, so it made sense he would learn the same techniques. He also already knew what this particular mentor asked for in exchange for teaching him.

The two stepped into a store where various artifacts were displayed. They went straight into the back and entered a workshop area. There was a small forge in the corner, but the place mainly consisted of workbenches and cabinets. Only one person was inside the room, and they were sitting silently in the corner.

“Elder Tie, this is my friend, Li Lang, who also wants to study artificing under you,” Long Yi politely introduced his friend.

Li Lang immediately moved to clasp his fist and bow to the well-built woman with her hair tied up into a large bun.

“Elder Tie, I am Li Lang.”

The woman sat there silently with perfect posture, highlighting her strong build. Her hands were wrapped around a rounding hammer that she hugged close. She silently regarded the two young men before her with a neutral expression.

“As you know, I am Tie Qian. I assume Long Yi has already told you of my conditions?”

“That’s correct, Elder. I’m willing to undergo your test and complete any chores you ask of me while I’m studying under you.”

“You’ll have to answer a question for me first, before any tests. For what reason do you want to learn artificing?”

“Reason?” Li Lang repeated. “I simply wish to broaden my horizons and maybe create artifacts of my own.”

“It’s not that easy. If it was so, every cultivator would become an artificer and artifacts would become common. Long Yi here told me he wanted to utilize the opportunity the pocket realm offered. It may be a short-term goal, but it was a clear goal to work towards nevertheless. Now that that goal has been completed, his progress has stalled. That’s why I believe goals to strive towards are vital. I want to know if you have a goal to work towards.”

Being called out, Long Yi could only silently look away as he played with his hair. He had no words with which to defend himself. He knew his talents in artificing were limited, and that it would take him more time to master.

Meanwhile, Li Lang took a moment to consider his answer. If he had all the time in the world and no pressing matters to attend to, he would want to learn all the unique crafts of this new world. It was purely to sate his curiosity.

Unfortunately, the world was not an ideal place. He needed to consider his own well-being and those of his friends. His very childhood friends were still in a predicament, with their fates unknown. Everything he had seen and experienced in this world made him realize the importance of strength. The strong made the rules. Gaining strength was always an urgent matter if he wanted not only to stay alive but to save and protect his friends.

Strength came in many forms. The simplest was cultivation, but they were tied to the economic and political aspects as well. Only those who had the resources could achieve high cultivations. Excelling in political aspects could give you access to those resources or even command over experts to do your bidding.

That was why Li Lang had aimed to form his own organization. It allowed him to make use of the pooled resources of this hypothetical group and attain human resources as well. In order to do that, he would need enough incentives to attract others. His first step in doing so was establishing a strong economic foundation.

Artificing was to aid in that very endeavor, pushing forward in his project to print talismans. The problem was how much he should reveal to Elder Tie.

“Elder Tie, I’ll be honest. I don’t have any singular grand goal I strive towards. I only wish to satisfy my curiosity and learn a way to earn money at the same time.”

His words made the elder narrow her eyes. Li Lang could feel the tension rising.

“I’ll give you a chance. Is that your final answer?”

Without any delay, Li Lang nodded. He knew his answer was tantamount to admitting he was only in it for the money. Pure greed for money was something many looked down on. It was the reason why merchants had a poor reputation despite their wealth.

As quickly as the tension flared, it swiftly settled. The elder smiled as she cradled her round hammer.

“Honesty is good. Being able to admit your desires is a good thing. Demonic cultivators should avoid repressing too much or else they may suffer the consequences.”

“Well said, Senior.”

Li Lang had decided to answer the elder in such a way because he had grown familiar with the ways of the Demonic Cultivator Territory. Demonic cultivators here were often straightforward and kept to their principles. There weren’t many who kept on a facade all the time, as was common in the orthodox sect’s territories.

This was a natural product of their cultivation. Demonic cultivators suffered from mental influences as part of their techniques. Absorbing the Qi of others came at a price. They couldn’t afford not to be straightforward or they would suffer cultivation deviation.

“Very well. As uncouth as it may be, a desire for wealth is an adequate motivator. Let us go over the test you must take. It will take place tomorrow and will consist of a simple written test and an affinity test. Long Yi can grab you the materials you will need to study.”

“Senior Tie, isn’t tomorrow too soon?” Long Yi interjected, “When I did—”

“Silence. I have already decided. Your situations were different, and I have different expectations from an adult to that of a child. If he can’t accomplish even this much, then he isn’t worth my time.”

The elder’s words almost made Li Lang feel regret for not having learned artificing sooner. It only lasted a split second, as he knew he previously had his hands full with alchemy and brushweaving already.

Very soon, Elder Tie ushered the boys away, forcing them back into the other parts of the store. Long Yi guided his friend into another area in the back, where half a dozen young cultivators were busying away with the operations of the store.

As someone familiar with the place, Long Yi knew exactly where he needed to go to retrieve the materials Li Lang needed.

“Here’s everything you’ll need. You only have a day, so I suggest you get started right away.”

“Hmm, it should be fine. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s studying.”

Li Lang chose to omit the fact that he could abuse Ruby’s artifact space as well. So far, not even the artifact spirits of his Crucible could detect when he engaged Ruby. They were existences comparable to Spirit Divide realm cultivations, so it stands to reason that not even Violet Core realm elders would detect him accessing Ruby’s artifact space.

“What about the affinity test? Is that something covered in this text as well?”

“Oh, that. To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t think you can prepare for that. It’s like the aptitude test. You are born to either have it or not.”

Another thing they believe is decided at birth. Interesting. I can’t wait for the test now.

Li Lang’s trip was then cut short. There was nothing else that needed his attention, and he needed to prepare. He returned to the inn alone and began transcribing the contents over into Ruby. Having done so many times within the pocket realm, he finished without breaking a sweat.

“Let’s see what we have here, Ruby. Artificing should be very close to blacksmithing, which is essentially modern metalworking. I may not have studied metallurgy too much, but this shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Li Lang’s confident demeanor was destroyed within the hour. What he read was completely different from what he expected.

“What is this? They don’t even use heat!”