Chapter 117 – Guest Inscription Master
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Lin Ming said, “President Wang, I came this time because there are two matters that I wanted to inquire about. The first is that I would like to purchase some materials, and the second is that I would like to register as a guest inscription master and provide services to customers while gaining points.”
There were three types of inscription masters that could work at the Inscription Association. They were subordinate inscription masters, registered inscription masters, and guest inscription masters. A guest inscription master only had to hang his name up on a public board. However, the first two had to complete some tasks for the Inscription Association, such as solving some difficult problems for their colleagues, or creating some sort of special inscription symbol for their customers, and other such tasks before they could obtain points.
Now that Lin Ming needed to draw up a body inscription symbol, he was pushing the envelope in terms of his cultivation and skill in the aspects of inscription techniques. He needed to set aside a certain amount of special time in order to practice and improve his inscription technique. However, if he wanted to practice this sort of high-quality inscription technique, it required a substantial amount of money. Especially since he needed to do so with many precious materials, and even if he was able to buy these materials, he wouldn’t be able to find them in such a short amount of time.
In order to save money in the past, Lin Ming hadn’t used materials to practice and had instead only stimulated his true essence to visualize the drawing process. But such a method had a very low efficiency, and Lin Ming wasn’t able to afford the time that he needed in order to do so. Then he had remembered that he could come to the Inscription Association as a visiting inscription master, and be able to solve many different inscription related problems. This was the best method of cultivating his inscription technique, and the best part was that the precious materials would be provided by the customer. Doing this, Lin Ming no longer had to worry about economizing or saving his time.
Every day he would be able to encounter different precious materials and different problems. The materials needed would also be provided for free. After successfully drawing up or fixing whatever problem was at hand, he would also be awarded points. What way could possibly be more suitable for practice? However, not everyone would dare to practice in such a manner, because there had to be at least a 90% guaranteed success rate.
Lin Ming decided on this method of practice, and also had a general idea of how to acquire the materials he needed. He also didn’t plan on concealing his status as an inscription master any longer. At first, Lin Ming did not have strength or status, but yet he was still able to draw up rare and powerful inscription symbols that were worth 2 or 3 thousand gold taels. To someone with power, meeting such a weak person was like seeing a chicken that was able to lay golden eggs. Some people might have tried to capture him for their own benefit, and lock him in a dungeon where he would be forced to create inscription symbols all day. That was why Lin Ming had hidden his status as an inscription master at first.
But now, Lin Min was a famous character in Sky Fortune City who had a great deal of influence. With the dual protection of the Seven Profound Martial House and the Crown Prince, not even the Tenth Prince dared to publicly move against him. Since Lin Ming now had such a preeminent status, he no longer worried about needing to conceal his identity as an inscription master.
“Guest inscription master? Wang Xuanji asked, slightly stunned. Normally only a great inscription master would ask to occupy such a lofty post. This was because if there was a problem, such as if they failed to draw up the inscription symbol, the Inscription Association had to compensate the customer for their precious materials or treasure.
Without a deep background, no one would dare to do this job.
To become a guest inscription master, they had to undergo the strict inspection of the Inscription Association. Those who could pass the inspection were only top-class characters among inscriptionists. Lin Ming did have exceptional talent and strength in inscription techniques, but that was only in comparison to his contemporaries. Last time, he had drawn up an inscription symbol with a true essence amplification rate of 32%. Among his peers, this result was truly monstrous, but to become a guest inscription master, it was still lacking.
The crux of the issue was that Lin Ming was simply too young. A guest inscription master had to face many different kinds of problems and questions, some of which were quite difficult. It was a job that required a great depth of experience. However, experience was something that was accumulated over the years.
If Lin Ming repeatedly failed, not only would that damage the reputation of the Inscription Association, but the amount of materials and treasure that the Inscription Association would have to compensate would be enough to give them a headache.
“Mister Lin, the problems that the Inscription Association generally needs to solve are not so simple. Because the materials are often very rare and difficult to obtain, the guest inscription master must be able to guarantee at least an 80% success rate. They must be assured that they can solve these complex problems with a high success rate. Even in the entire Inscription Association, there are very few individuals who are competent enough for this position.” Wang Xuanji tactfully reminded Lin Ming. He wanted to persuade him without any difficulties; with Lin Ming’s present reputation, the Inscription Association had to flatter him as much as they could.
Lin Ming smiled and said, “President Wang doesn’t need to worry. I suppose, if I fail three times in a row, then I will offer to quit myself. As for the loss of materials and treasure, I will also take responsibility for compensating them.”
“This…” Wang Xuanji frowned. He would be able to stand the loss of reputation from failing three times, but the point was, Lin Ming was still a child. If they let a young boy draw up an inscription symbol and it failed, how would they explain this to the customer?
But considering Lin Ming’s present status, Wang Xuanji didn’t directly decline him. He thought about it for a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement. “Three times.”
By now, Wang Yuhan opened her mouth and suddenly said, “Mister Lin, may I ask if you have found the right assistant?”
“Mm? Assistant?”
An inscription master would normally have one or two assistants. This was because there were many materials that could not be immediately used after they were purchased; they needed to be processed in certain ways. For instance, for some rare and precious plants, the juice had to be extracted, or some ores had to be grinded into fine powder, or the active ingredient had to be extracted from certain solvents; all of this would normally be done by an assistant. In the past, Lin Ming had done all of these things by himself.
The position of an assistant was not a simple or easy job. There were many precious and expensive materials, the slightest mistake meant that they would have to be discarded. This was why only inscription apprentices would usually take up this task.
Lin Ming truthfully said, “I have no assistant.”
Wang Yuhan looked to her grandfather, bit her lips, and asked, “Do you mind if I be your assistant?”
The young women of the Sky Fortune Kingdom were traditionally reserved and polite. If a girl offered herself up as a volunteer to a young boy as an assistant, there might be some suspicions and it could be easily misunderstood. Lin Ming’s current status was especially sensitive these days, no one knew how many young girls of Sky Fortune City wanted to marry him; the number could only be called countless. As such, Wang Yuhan had to muster up a lot of courage in order to ask this question.
However, she remembered that Lin Ming’s drawing techniques when he drew up the symbols and lines were clearly different than those of Sky Fortune Kingdom. Wang Yuhan also dropped her girl’s modesty; she wanted to experience the schools of inscription techniques outside of the Sky Fortune Kingdom, and this was the best opportunity.
Lin Ming hesitated. With an assistant he would be able to save a lot of time. With Wang Yuhan’s ability, she would do perfectly well in handling materials.
Thinking this, Lin Ming nodded and said, “Then I will be relying on Miss Wang. I don’t know if Miss Wang has had lunch yet. If Miss Wang had already eaten, then we may begin as soon as possible.”
Wang Yuhan’s eye twitched. This Lin Ming was quite resolute and vigorous; he actually wanted to begin immediately.
“Mm. I’ve already eaten.”
“Good.”
Lin Ming, Wang Yuhan, Wang Xuanji, and the young reception lady all went to the Inscription Hall. It was lunch break for the guest inscription masters, and not many people were in the hall. But, there were still several customers waiting, so that when the lunch break ended, they might be the first one to have their problems solved.
According to the rules of the Inscription Association, a customer only had to provide their own materials and treasure, clearly state their problem, and then they could return at a later time. But most customers would rather wait here and personally watch as the guest inscription master solved their problem. This was because whether it was a precious materials or a treasure, they were often very valuable, so they worried over the outcome.
Many people here had already waited a long time. As they saw the Inscription Association’s President, Wang Xuanji enter the hall, their spirits immediately lifted. Was President Wang planning on personally taking action today? It had to be known that Wang Xuanji rarely personally stepped out these days. If someone could force him to take action, this characters had to be at least a duke or a prince, or a cultivator at the peak Houtian stage. When he utilized his inscription technique, with the end product being made by Wang Xuanji’s own hands, the effect would usually be far better than a normal inscription master.
If Wang Xuanji was willing to personally take up the task, this would be their great fortune!
Several people looked at Wang Xuanji with shining eyes, their faces filled with a fervent eagerness.
Seeing Wang Xuanji walking towards them, they hurried to welcome him. A martial artists in his forties had already stepped up, and asked, “President Wang, I didn’t expect to be able to meet you. Would you be able to take a look at this armor?” The martial artist said as he held up an ancient looking, plain black war armor.
This war armor looked to be made from the highest quality steel. After many years, there were only minor scratches on the surface of the armor, in particular the chest area. There was a half meter line that ran up the edge of a diamond shaped pattern. Because of this scratch, the diamond pattern was damaged.
This diamond pattern was the signifying mark left behind after placing on an inscription symbol. Because this war armor was damaged, that inscription symbol mark was ruined. If the inscription symbol mark was ruined, then the effects of the original inscription symbol would deteriorate, or even become completely invalid.
It was possible to damage treasures, especially those treasures that were in the armor class. Because they accumulated damage over time, in addition to the attacks from a top-level master, then it might even break.
This martial artist hoped that the Inscription Association was able to repair this inscription symbol. But, to repair an inscription symbol that was already placed on a treasure was a very difficult task. This diamond rune was an inscription symbol named the ‘Superhuman Strength Symbol’. It was a very complex inscription symbol; to repair it would not be easy. Even Wang Xuanji felt that this job was very problematic.
However, this kind of work was very appropriate for Lin Ming. Because the original inscription symbol had already shattered, even if Lin Ming failed, it couldn’t get any worse than it already was.
And the armor would not be broken. At most, it would be a loss of materials. If the materials were lost, then the Inscription Association would be able to compensate the exact same materials. But if the treasure was broken, then there was no means to refund the customer with the same armor.
Wang Xuanji glanced at Lin Ming with a faint smile. He was sure that Lin Ming would not be able to repair the ‘Superhuman Strength Symbol’. This was because Lin Ming’s school of inscription technique did not belong that of the Sky Fortune Kingdom’s. This ‘Superhuman Strength Symbol’ was one of the numerous and complex symbols that were produced from Sky Fortune Kingdom’s school of inscription techniques. If one did not understand its composition or drawing plan, then it would be impossible to know where to begin.
If Lin Ming was a guest inscription master, he would also encounter similar issues down the line. If he couldn’t solve something like this, it was better if he quit early.
Therefore even though Wang Xuanji knew the answer, he still sent a true essence sound transmission and asked, “How about it, does Mister Lin have a plan?”
At this point, Lin Ming had sent his soul force into the suit of war armor and was feeling the internal structure of the inscription symbol.
It was very difficult to detect the structure of an inscription symbol with soul force. If one didn’t understand the structure of an inscription symbol, it was impossible to know where to begin.
Lin Ming slight frowned, and eventually came to a conclusion. This diamond shaped inscription symbol should be some kind of inscription symbol with an effect of increasing the rate at which true essence was gathered. As for its internal structure, Lin Ming didn’t know anything about it. After all, there were many differences in the inscription technique system between the Sky Fortune Kingdom and the Realm of the Gods.