Chapter 371 - Bewitching Will Inscription

Lu Tianzi smiled in his heart when he saw the look of hesitation on Grandmaster Tiequan's face.

He had been worried that someone of Grandmaster Tiequan's capability would not be impressed by his invention, but that did not seem to be the case at all.

"How about this? Why don't we test this sword against one of yours?" Lu Tianzi suggested. "As Grandmaster Tiequan is certainly able to tell, this sword is of the Primary Origin Core rank. Why don't we test a sword of the same rank against it?"

"Primary Origin Core rank? Are you kidding me?" Fairy Pingxi scoffed. "I might not be an artificer, but even I can tell that it is not at the Primary Origin Core rank!"

"No, Pingxi, he's right," Grandmaster Tiequan interjected, his gaze fixed upon the Moon Culler, closely scrutinising it from end to end. "Without the inscription, the sword itself is only at the Primary Origin Core rank."

Fairy Pingxi frowned.

No matter how she looked at it, the Moon Culler seemed to be at the Advanced Origin Core rank at the very least.

But then again, she understood that Grandmaster Tiequan would surely know better than her.

If he said that the sword itself was only at the Primary Origin Core rank, wouldn't that mean that just by placing the inscription alone, the sword had advanced up by two whole small boundaries?

No way!

"Fine, I will play your little game," Grandmaster Tiequan started to get interested. With a flick of his wrist, a sword appeared in Grandmaster Tiequan's hands.

Even though he was a Grandmaster Artificer capable of forging even Overlord rank treasures, Grandmaster Tiequan had many lower rank items in his possession as well.

This was necessary because many of his clients needed items forged for their descendants, and these descendants were simply far too weak to wield Overlord rank treasures.

Lu Tianzi could not help but look over.

Just like Grandmaster Tiequan, Lu Tianzi had a good eye for items as well.

With just a single glance, he could tell that the sword that Grandmaster Tiequan had brought out was similar to the Moon Culler, and was at the Primary Origin Core rank.

The only difference was that Grandmaster Tiequan's sword did not have an inscription placed upon it.

"Senior truly lives up to your name as a Grandmaster Artificer, having weapons of all levels at the ready," Lu Tianzi said with a smile. "But is it all right if Senior's sword gets damaged in the process?"

"Tch! You really talk too much for your own good!" Grandmaster Tiequan clicked his tongue in irritation. "You don't need to worry about me. For items of such a level, I have plenty in my possession! So what if one or two gets damaged?"

Even though he said that, Grandmaster Tiequan could not help but feel uncomfortable in his heart.

The sword might be low in rank, it was still something that had been forged by one of his disciples.

For Lu Tianzi to undermine it in such a manner, Grandmaster Tiequan could not help but feel attacked.

After all, what would others think of him if word spread that a weapon forged by those from his lineage ended up being inferior to another weapon of the same rank?

In order to prevent that, Grandmaster Tiequan had deliberately brought out a sword without any inscriptions. This way, even if it failed to compare favourably to Lu Tianzi's Moon Culler, nobody would be able to criticise the make of the sword.

Without an inscription, it was only natural that it would be inferior!

He was going this far not because of his love for his disciples, but because of his love for his own reputation.

Even the weapons forged by his disciples could not afford to lose to others!

"How do you want to do this?" Grandmaster Tiequan asked.

"The simplest way – a direct clash," Lu Tianzi answered confidently.

"Mm," Grandmaster Tiequan nodded. That was indeed the simplest way to see the difference in quality between two swords. "Let's not waste anymore time then."

Grandmaster Tiequan got ready to stand up from his seat.

"Just a moment, Senior," Lu Tianzi hurriedly stopped him.

"What is it this time?" Grandmaster Tiequan frowned once more.

"A direct clash between the two swords might be the simplest method, but our cultivation levels are far too different! Doesn't Senior think that it would be unfair for us to wield our own weapons?" Lu Tianzi explained.

Lu Tianzi was only at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm, but Grandmaster Tiequan was already at the Nascent Core realm martial artist.

As long as Grandmaster Tiequan so much as willed it, any difference in their weapons would be rendered completely meaningless.

Even an Essence Condensation rank weapon in his hands could easily be used to crush an Origin Core rank weapon!

"Are you worried that I will take advantage of you?" Grandmaster Tiequan scoffed in disdain. "Aren't you overestimating yourself here? Who do you think I am? Do I even need to go out of my way to do such a thing?"

"Senior naturally has no need to do so, but even any accidental discharge of energy from Senior would completely crush this inferior junior," Lu Tianzi said before turning towards Fairy Pingxi. "The best way is still be for someone neutral to wield both weapons. Will Senior be wiling to do us a favour here?"

"Only if both of you are willing as well," Fairy Pingxi glanced at Grandmaster Tiequan. She could naturally sense Grandmaster Tiequan's unhappiness earlier.

"You do it then!" Grandmaster Tiequan snapped.

With a wave of his hands, Grandmaster Tiequan sent his sword floating over to Fairy Pingxi, who caught it easily with one hand.

"Thank you, Senior," Lu Tianzi said before using Origin Force to direct the Moon Culler over as well. "I will be relying on you then."

"Let's just get this over and done with so we can continue with our discussion," Fairy Pingxi grabbed the Moon Culler with her other hand.

But the moment she did, Fairy Pingxi could not help but raise her eyebrow in surprise.

Just by holding the two swords, she could already feel the difference in quality between the two weapons.

Lu Tianzi's Moon Culler was obviously far superior!

Was there really still a need for this test?

Fairy Pingxi hesitated for a moment, but she immediately shook off the feeling.

Since she had already agreed to test the swords, she should just go ahead with it.

Holding a sword in each hand, Fairy Pingxi drove her origin core and channelled an equal amount of Origin Force into each sword.

But at that moment, Fairy Pingxi's eyelids wavered just a little.

Even though she was already sending her Origin Force into the Moon Culler, she was unable to activate the inscription placed on the sword.

Despite Lu Tianzi's confidence earlier, the inscription was unexpectedly one without an inscription skill?

Shrugging off that thought, Fairy Pingxi walked in the middle of the room and held up the two swords. "Here I go!"

Fairy Pingxi did not hesitate, immediately smashing the two swords against each other with all her might.

Bang-!

A shockwave of energy rippled out in all directions, though it was not nearly strong enough to faze anyone present.

Grandmaster Tiequan closed his eyes solemnly.

At his current level, just by witnessing the very moment the two swords clashed, he was able to instantly tell the difference between them.

He had already expected the Moon Culler to be superior, but he never thought that it would be to such an extent.

To be able to bring about such a change in a sword… this inscription was truly impressive!

Apart from him, there was only one other person who finally realised the difference between the two swords. This was naturally the wielder of the two swords – Fairy Pingxi.

She silently lowered the two swords and, with a wave of her hands, sent the two swords floating back to their respective owners.

On the other hand, Nanlan Qianxue, Young Master Xuan Hao, and Housekeeper Changyu were still shifting their gazes between the two swords, unable to see anything abnormal.

The clash had been fierce, but both swords seemed to have remained intact.

This was supposed to be a test for the Moon Culler, but it had given them absolutely no new information.

"What is the name of the inscription?" Fairy Pingxi asked.

"I call it the Bewitching Will Inscription," Lu Tianzi answered frankly.

"Being able to raise the stats of the sword to such a level, I guess it is not too bad," Fairy Pingxi praised reluctantly. "However, an inscription without an inherent inscription skill is simply not worth as much. Too bad for you, but this is not enough to impress me."

"Senior seems to be mistakened," Lu Tianzi was not angered. "The Bewitching Will Inscription does come with an inscription skill."

"What?" Fairy Pingxi furrowed her brows. "Stop lying. I deliberately channelled my Origin Force into the inscription symbol earlier, but it had absolutely no reaction! How can it possibly-"

"It does," Grandmaster Tiequan interjected before Fairy Pingxi could finish her sentence. "The structure of the inscription might be complex, but I can tell that it will give birth to an inscription skill."

"This…" Fairy Pingxi was dumbfounded.

What did she do wrong earlier then?

Why didn't the inscription skill activate?

Wait a minute, if the inscription was able to strengthen the sword to such an extent, and had an inscription skill to boot, wouldn't that mean this Bewitching Will Inscription was actually of an extremely high level?

This young brat was actually capable of coming up with something like this?

Unbeknownst to even herself, Fairy Pingxi's impression of Lu Tianzi had taken a sudden favourable turn.

"You brat… what are you trying to do by showing us your Bewitching Will Inscription?" Grandmaster Tiequan's lips curled up at one end.

Even though he already had a rough idea, he still wanted to hear it directly from Lu Tianzi's mouth.

"Since Senior is being so straightforward, I shall not beat about the bush any longer. Our Sky Snow Manor would like to forge a good relationship with Seniors, I wonder what do Seniors think about it?" Lu Tianzi asked while putting away the Moon Culler.

"A good relationship? Are you trying to say that you want me, a Grandmaster Artificer, to vouch for you?" Grandmaster Tiequan probed. "Is this your plan to safeguard yourselves against the Sacred Cliff City Guards? And what would I gain from this?"

Fairy Pingxi sat down and leaned back into her chair, her gaze fixated upon Lu Tianzi. She had the same question in mind.

"Seniors have far more experience than I do, surely I don't need to spell it all out?" Lu Tianzi calmly took another sip of tea before continuing. "Sir Licong from the Sacred Lotus Treasury came over a week ago, and I showed him the Bewitching Will Inscription as well. As of now, Sky Snow Manor has been contracted by the Sacred Lotus Treasury as an affiliated inscription service provider."

Everyone present – be it Grandmaster Tiequan and Fairy Pingxi, or Young Master Xuan Hao and Housekeeper Changyu – widened their eyes in surprise.

The Sacred Lotus Treasury was actually willing to contract the Sky Snow Manor despite the ongoing rumours?

If that was true, then Sky Snow Manor already had the Sacred Lotus Treasury as a backing.

Coupled with Lu Tianzi's inscription skills, there would no longer be anything hindering the rise of Sky Snow Manor within Sacred Cliff City as long as they managed to resolve the current issue with the Sacred Cliff City Guards!

It was always better to make more friends than enemies, especially if these friends were capable ones.

The only issue now was... would Sky Snow Manor really be able to neutralise this conflict with the Sacred Cliff City Guards?

After all, the Sacred Cliff City Guards were the absolute strongest influence within Sacred Cliff City. If they truly wished to eliminate someone, even the Sacred Lotus Treasury would not be able to stop them.

But if they considered the involvement of Grandmaster Tiequan and Fairy Pingxi, on top of Young Master Xuan Hao's true identity, perhaps things might just turn out slightly differently.

Might.

Which meant that there was still an uncertainty.

In the worst case scenario, they themselves could end up getting in the bad books of the Sacred Cliff City Guards, severely impacting their future within Sacred Cliff City!

Unfortunately, they did not have much time to consider.

A few moments after Lu Tianzi completed his sentence, Housekeeper Changyu received a message through his communication ring. He stepped forward and whispered to Lu Tianzi, who in turn let out a deep breath.

"How timely, another guest has just arrived," Lu Tianzi said to the rest. "It seems that the Sacred Cliff City Guards have sent a Lieutenant over this time. Will Seniors be leaving first, or will you be willing to stay and join us for a chat?"