Chapter 367 - Glorious Soul Black Halberd

"Here! Congratulations on completing the inscription!" Nanlan Qianxue held up Lu Tianzi's hand and placed something onto his palm.

"Hmm? What is this?" Lu Tianzi looked at the strange object in his hands in confusion.

It was a black figurine around the size of his palm, its surface as cold to the touch as stone.

Apart from that, the figurine's features were also extremely lifelike.

It wore a sun hat and carried a big bag that was slung behind his back. A short sword was tied to the waist, and his clothes were snug and fit.

But perhaps most importantly, Lu Tianzi could feel a faint store of energy within this small black figurine.

"This is a talisman!" Nanlan Qianxue announced with a smile on her face. "I made it myself!"

"This is a talisman? And you are the one who made it?" Lu Tianzi repeated her words in surprise.

"Are you amazed? Talismans can actually come in many different forms," Nanlan Qianxue explained with a smirk on her face. "During this time while you were studying inscriptions, I have been learning how to make talismans. This talisman is modelled after the legendary explorer Lianjing, someone who wanted to travel all over the world and climb every peak, searching for the highest peak ever. It is said that he eventually found one that is so high up that it is free from the chaos of this world."

"Hahaha, what legendary explorer Lianjing? Where did you even hear that from?" Lu Tianzi laughed as he fiddled with the small talisman in his hand. "I have to admit that this is really well made though."

"I heard it from Fairy Pingxi, the same person who is teaching me talisman making right now. And she said he's real!" Nanlan Qianxue said with a frown.

"All right, all right," Lu Tianzi said. "So, what does this talisman do?"

"...it looks nice, and it is durable!" Nanlan Qianxue said after a moment of hesitation.

"It what?" Lu Tianzi raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I mean, what about apart from that?"

"Don't have such high expectations! I have only just started doing this!" Nanlan Qianxue complained. "Even though it doesn't do anything else, it is made from one of the strongest materials available. What's more, it even has a self-repair mechanism built in. As long as its core is not destroyed, it can slowly absorb World Origin Energy from the surroundings to restore any damage done to itself."

"Basically a hard token," Lu Tianzi summarised.

"A self-repairing talisman," Nanlan Qianxue corrected.

"I guess that is a better way to put it," Lu Tianzi smiled as he put it away into his spatial ring. "This legendary explorer Lianjing reminds me of you though. Is that why you chose to model it after him?"

"What do you mean he reminds you of me? In what way?" Nanlan Qianxue's frown deepened.

"Didn't you mention before that you used to dream of traveling around the world, tasting the snow at the peak of every mountain?" Lu Tianzi answered. "That sounds similar to this explorer who keeps searching for the highest peak."

"Are you going to keep mentioning that?" Nanlan Qianxue glared at him.

"Maybe, maybe not," Lu Tianzi smirked in response. "But I will certainly cherish this even more because of that. Thank you for the gift!"

***

Back at the Sacred Lotus Treasury Headquarters, Licong was carefully examining the black halberd placed on his desk. It was the same black halberd that Lu Tianzi had been working on before.

After a good ten minutes, he finally lifted his head and looked at Old Juan who was standing not far away.

"He called this the Glorious Soul Inscription?" Licong asked.

"That's right," Old Juan nodded. "In light of that, I am naming this the Glorious Soul Black Halberd!"

"Does it have an inscription skill?" Licong probed further.

"It is an offensive ability," Old Juan answered. "I have already tried it out myself, but I know you would have to confirm it yourself anyway, so go ahead and do so. Just let me know the result of the appraisal."

"Mm," Licong put away the Glorious Soul Black Halberd upon hearing that. "I will update you again on the findings. I have to admit that this looks extremely promising at first glance."

"That's good to hear," Old Juan grinned.

***

A shocking piece of news was spread by the Sacred Lotus Treasury over the next few days – a previously unknown inscription master had successfully invented a high level inscription, its effectiveness vouched for by the esteemed appraisers of the Sacred Lotus Treasury.

On top of that, the Sacred Lotus Treasury would be revealing the Glorious Soul Black Halberd in a closed demonstration, open only to invited members of the upper echelons of Sacred Cliff City.

This drew the attention of the various influences within the city, who went ahead to investigate this matter even before the demonstration was held.

All their investigations pointed to a single place – the Sky Snow Manor.

Suddenly, there were a lot more people trying to make idle chat with Housekeeper Changyu and the three maids whenever they left the house.

These were none other than people sent by the various influences to gather information about the owner of the Sky Snow Manor.

In regard to that, Housekeeper Changyu and the three maids did not suspect a thing.

After all, these people were all professionals in their field, and had approached Lu Tianzi's four servants in a very natural manner.

The four servants believed that it was only normal for other people to feel curious if someone new moved into the neighbourhood, especially since they had taken up residence in the rather impressive looking Sky Snow Manor.

Yet even though various influences had placed the manor under observation, nobody jumped the gun and made any rash moves.

Everyone was waiting for the result of the closed demonstration before deciding on their next course of action.

And the day of the closed demonstration arrived in the blink of an eye.

On this day, all eyes were on the Sacred Lotus Treasury, wanting to see exactly what they were up to. While only a select few were invited, others were all waiting for the news that these people would bring back after this was over.

"You are here, Brother Juan!" Licong greeted with open arms.

"Hahaha, of course I am here. I made sure to arrive early today, Brother Licong!" Old Juan laughed as he stepped forward. "This is an important day for the both of us. It is the day that determines whether our investments paid off!"

"That is indeed the case," Licong nodded with a knowing smile.

Both of them had invested much time and resources into Lu Tianzi, a young and unknown inscription master.

It was a pure gamble, all for the chance of riding on his coattails as he rose through the ranks.

Should Lu Tianzi manage to prove himself to the masses, they would be known as the ones who had discovered this diamond in the rough.

If Lu Tianzi knew how to be grateful, they would earn a big favour from Lu Tianzi.

Even if Lu Tianzi did not care for such things, they would at least earn the bragging rights for having a sharp eye for people, something which would still give their reputation a great boost.

They would benefit either way, but the premise was that Lu Tianzi had to be able to rise through the ranks in the first place.

That was why today was so important.

Placed onto Glorious Soul Black Halberd was the first high level inscription invented by Lu Tianzi that would be revealed to the public.

The first impression was important.

If the Glorious Soul Inscription were to be recognised as a high quality inscription, this closed demonstration could very well place Lu Tianzi among the ranks of top tier inscription masters, signalling the start of Lu Tianzi's meteoric rise within the City of Artificers!

But if it failed to satisfy the discerning eyes of the invitees, it would become much more difficult to gather them for another closed demonstration in the future as well, since they might no longer be interested in the same inscription master.

"However, there is something that I have to correct you about," Licong added.

"Correct me?" Old Juan raised an eyebrow. "Was I wrong about something?"

"The thing is that you aren't early at all, Brother Juan," Licong smirked. "In fact, almost all the invited guests have already arrived, and you are actually among the last!"

"What? They have all arrived?" Old Juan widened his eyes in astonishment.

He had already made sure to come a full hour ahead of schedule, and yet he was still among the last?

Just how much was everyone else looking forward to this closed demonstration?

Old Juan found himself grinning in excitement.

The greater the interest in this closed demonstration, the better it was for them!

But at the same time, Old Juan could not help but to feel slightly nervous.

The invited guests for this closed demonstration were all esteemed individuals in their own right, and were not easy to impress at all. Old Juan could only hope that the result would not end up disappointing everyone!

After exchanging greetings, Licong personally led Old Juan into the venue for the closed demonstration, but not to where the other invitees were gathered.

Instead, Old Juan was brought backstage to meet up with the star of the day.

"Here you are, Young Brother Tianzi!" Old Juan laughed in joy.

"Old Juan!" Lu Tianzi smiled. It was nice to finally see a familiar face apart from Licong.

"How are you feeling?" Old Juan asked. "They will be showing off your invention to the crowd later. Are you feeling confident?"

"This is nothing. If it doesn't impress them, then it just means that I still have a ways to go," Lu Tianzi shrugged nonchalantly.

Coming up with the Glorious Soul Inscription might apppear to be a big thing to others, but Lu Tianzi was not satisfied with just that.

What he was aiming for was to be one of the very best inscription masters around. For that, inventing a high level inscription in the form of the Glorious Soul Inscription was only the beginning.

Lu Tianzi fully understood that he still needed a lot more time to refine his understanding on the art of inscription before he could truly claim to be a top level inscription master.

To him, this closed demonstration was nothing but a way to gauge the level that he was currently at.

However, that was not the case for Licong and Old Juan.

The two of them exchanged glances with complicated feelings after hearing the nonchalance in Lu Tianzi's voice.

To them, this closed demonstration would be to verifiy of the legitimacy of their investment in Lu Tianzi.

This was especially important to Licong, who had basically vouched for Lu Tianzi with his reputation on the line in order to obtain the information on the art of inscriptions.

If Lu Tianzi turned out to be a failure of an inscription master, Licong's standing within the Sacred Lotus Treasury would surely be affected!

Fortunately, things did not turn out that way.

Under the professional management of the Sacred Lotus Treasury, the closed demonstration of the Glorious Soul Black Halberd was a great success, and most of the invitees were impressed by its quality.

The invitees were all experts in their field, with eyes as keen as that of eagles.

With a single look, they were able to tell that the Glorious Soul Black Halberd was still not on par with equipment forged by actual Grandmaster Artificers.

However, it was not too far below either.

That was especially the case for the inscription on the weapon.

From what the Sacred Lotus Treasury said, the Glorious Soul Inscription was just a recent invention from the inscription master.

Considering that, just what kind of potential was hidden within this inscription master?

If they were able to befriend this inscription master, they would be able to gain access to even more of such wonderful inscriptions in the future!

The Sacred Lotus Treasury understood what everyone wanted as well.

That was why they kept away the Glorious Soul Black Halberd after the closed demonstration, announcing that the weapon would be officially put up in an open auction on the following week.

In an open auctrion, everyone would be able to see who bought the Glorious Soul Black Halberd, and at what price.

Not only would the buyer be able to show off their appreciation for the weapon that way, the Sacred Lotus Treasury would be able to gain the maximum profit out of this as well!

It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

But something happened even before the Sacred Lotus Treasury could hold the auction as promised.

Owing to the success of the closed demonstration, the previously unknown Sky Snow Manor saw a sudden spike in the number of visitors.

Unfortunately, not all of them had kind intentions.