There were quite a few things to report.
But most of it was trivial.
For instance:
The Primordial Sect still hadn’t found the Evil Cultivator, but they’d caught quite a few Tribulation Cultivators, so security around the Market had improved.
Quite a few Loose Cultivators ca seeking Pills or looking to complete their Pill Formulas, and Zhao Deyou handled most of them. A few, upon learning Chen Che wasn’t there, turned around and left, clearly not trusting Zhao Deyou’s Alchemy skills.
There was also an outsider Loose Cultivator who didn’t know his place. Seeing that the Pill Shop’s business was good, he tried to extort them. Ding Fei had him beaten half to death and thrown out the door.
...
As for Dan Guanjing, after spending a month in the Market without ever stepping outside, he ended up angering the Royal Family. They broke both his legs and dragged him back to the Great Feng. His younger brother, Dan Guangao, ca to replace him. The latter even made a special trip to visit the Pill Shop once, though he didn’t bring a gift.
"He has no sense of propriety, showing up empty-handed like that. I didn’t even bother with him. I wonder how long he’ll last."
At this, Ding Fei shook his head mockingly.
’He was so cautious his own family couldn’t stand it anymore, but he did manage to save his own skin.’
Chen Che couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Anything else?"
"Nope!"
Ding Fei scratched his head, pondered for a mont, then slapped his forehead.
"Oh, right! A while ago, I went to get so tofu pudding, and Old Xiao casually ntioned he was going back to his hotown. He said he’d be gone for at least a month. It’s been about half a month since then. None of the other tofu pudding shops in the Market are as good as his."
Ding Fei sounded a little wistful.
After Old Xiao left, three or four new tofu pudding stalls popped up in the Market, but they were nowhere near as good as his.
He’d really missed it for the past half-month.
"...Going back to his hotown?"
Chen Che was lost in thought.
Clearly, the man had finished all his preparations and was starting his Foundation Establishnt. Since he didn’t see before leaving, he passed a ssage through Ding Fei.
On the Earth Elent Star, because all the theories have been perfected, Foundation Establishnt only takes three to five days.
But in this world, the ti limit is extended to a month. Moreover, various problems can arise during Foundation Establishnt, so people usually find soone they trust to act as a Protector. However, Xiao Chan didn’t have anyone he trusted; he had probably gone into hiding.
That made sense. With the Primordial Sect hunting for him, he wouldn’t risk attempting Foundation Establishnt unless it was absolutely safe.
’Going back to his hotown... Could he have gone back to the foot of the Primordial Sect’s mountain? Right, it’s darkest under the lamp. The Primordial Sect would never imagine he’d dare to go back.’
Chen Che thought to himself.
This was definitely big news. Once this Evil Cultivator achieved Foundation Establishnt, it would likely usher in another wave of blood and slaughter.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
As they were speaking, a clear gong sound echoed from the street. Chu Gong, with a Jade Flute tucked into his belt, was standing in the middle of the Market:
"Blacksmiths and those with experience in Artifact Casting are welco at Jinyun Valley. Those who pass the assessnt will receive a monthly stipend."
"Artifact Casting? Blacksmiths?"
In the Market, many people craned their necks to look, exclaiming in surprise:
"Hasn’t the Valley Master finished forging his Magical Artifact yet?"
"Yeah, it’s already been three months..."
As Chu Gong passed the Pill Shop, Chen Che glanced at him before looking away.
’They’ve already sent three shipnts of ore. That should be enough for any Magical Artifact. But now they’re recruiting another batch of blacksmiths. What on earth is he trying to make?’
His fingers tapped lightly.
Many people were curious, and so was he. A few days ago, he’d even secretly tried to probe with his Divine Thought. Unfortunately, there was a restriction on the valley, and his Divine Sense couldn’t get in at all.
’Whatever. It has nothing to do with anyway.’
Chen Che couldn’t figure it out, so he stopped dwelling on it.
’If I can win a fight, I’ll kill. If I can’t, I’ll run.’
...
After getting caught up on things, Chen Che didn’t stay long in Yunzhou and imdiately returned to the Earth Elent Star.
When he reappeared in the classroom, it caused another stir. Many students remarked that the ’missing person’ had returned. When class ended, Old Li called him to the office to ask about his recent seclusion.
"I recently had so insights during my Cultivation..."
Chen Che explained a few points:
"After many days in seclusion, I finally managed to fully grasp so Tier Two Swordsmanship."
Li Xiaoshuang wasn’t suspicious. After all, Chen Che looked to be in good shape. He just reminded him to balance work and rest, and that was the end of that.
However, since he had missed a month of classes, Chen Che spent the next few days cramming to catch up. He also did a lot of tests and exercises.
He even found the ti to go to the Ou Yazhi After-Sales Service Center to get his Pure Jun Sword repaired.
Because he had his sword repaired so often, he had beco quite familiar with the master repairman.
"You’re too rough with this weapon. Are you having dogfights with other people’s Flying Swords? The impacts are way too severe..."
The repair master’s surna was Zeng, and his na was Zeng Buke. He was a top student from the Yiben Daoist School.
According to him, on his first day at the company, he eagerly raised his hand to speak at a eting in response to a leader’s request. Unexpectedly, the very next day, he was banished to the Six Continents to work as a repair master just for stepping into the office with his right foot first.
Otherwise, with his academic credentials and Cultivation, he would be a regional manager at the very least. If his Realm were higher, he’d definitely be a provincial manager.
"Why don’t you quit?"
Chen Che asked casually.
"You think I don’t want to? It’s too hard to find a job these days. Being a repair master is less work, and I can take on a lot of side jobs. The pay is actually a bit higher than a regional manager’s. It’s only since you started coming that I’ve gotten busy."
He picked up Chen Che’s Pure Jun Sword, which was covered in scratches and even had a few nicks, and couldn’t help but frown.
"If every custor was like you, the Ouyi Subsidiary Company would have gone bankrupt long ago."
"You can’t bla . The quality isn’t that great."
Chen Che shook his head and sighed.
The only reason the Ouyi Subsidiary Company dared to offer three years of free repairs was because the Earth Elent Star is so peaceful, right?
Most people who buy Flying Swords just use them for transportation; they’d feel bad about even a tiny scratch. After riding them ho, they’ll oil them, buff and polish them, and spend money on maintenance every few days. They practically sleep with them in their arms.
Who else was like him, using it to fight people all day?
"True enough!"
Zeng Buke didn’t refute this, complaining at the sa ti:
"Big companies these days are way too focused on profit. They cut corners on materials whenever they can, which is why the quality has dropped."
As an Artifact Refiner, he naturally knew more of the inside story.
For example.
Before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, Forging skills were lacking, so Casting Masters would use the best Materials to build Weapons, ensuring they reached the required tier. In a sense, it was a surplus of materials.
But after the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, forging skills improved, and the sa materials could be used to forge higher-tiered weapons. So, to increase profits, all the major weapon companies started cutting back on materials, which led to a definite decline in quality.
In the anti, the man revealed a number of company scandals, which Chen Che listened to with great interest.
"People just aren’t what they used to be!"
Zeng Buke said, shaking his head.
"When the Ouyi Subsidiary Company was founded five hundred years ago, now *that* was quality. A Tier One High Grade weapon could clash with a Tier Two Low Grade one and not even get nicked. They released a new kitchen knife recently that breaks just from smashing garlic. It’s a complete joke!"
"They claim it’s ’improper use,’ but really, they’re just cutting corners and using shoddy materials!"
Although the man was just complaining, an idea sparked in Chen Che’s mind.
He still had two Tier Two Low Grade Flying Swords in his Cave Mansion. One was from Ye Zhihan of Yunzhou, and the other was from Zhou Changping. They couldn’t see the light of day in Yunzhou.
And they wouldn’t fetch a good price on the Earth Elent Star either.
They weren’t forged by a famous master, nor were they old enough to be antiques. They had no collection value and could only be recycled as second-hand weapons.
"If I have enough materials, can you help raise the tier of my Pure Jun Sword?"
"I can, but it’ll cost you extra!"
Zeng Buke was very direct, not like Wu Neng who liked to beat around the bush.
"Okay."
Chen Che imdiately returned to his Cave Mansion and retrieved the two swords.
"What a waste of good materials! The materials for these two swords aren’t bad at all, but the forging technique is outdated. Otherwise, they could have easily been made into Tier Two Middle Grade weapons..."
Zeng Buke glanced at them a few tis, giving the sa spiel as the other pawnshop owners. After confirming Chen Che wanted to lt them down, he continued:
"Re-forging them will result in so material loss during slting, but it’ll still be enough to upgrade your Pure Jun Sword to Tier Two Middle Grade. I’ll keep the leftover materials, and I won’t charge you. What do you think?"
"Deal!"
Chen Che nodded, but then stopped him. "Tier Two Low Grade is good enough!"
It wasn’t that he was worried about exposing anything, but that the higher the tier of a weapon or magical artifact, the more True Essence it consud.
If it beca a Tier Two Middle Grade weapon, even with his current True Essence reserves, he would be completely drained after two or three strikes at most, which would actually decrease his combat effectiveness.
"Alright then!"
Zeng Buke didn’t quite understand. After all, most custors pursued high grades and high specs, as it gave them more face when they showed it off. But the custor is always right, so he agreed:
"Then I’ll do a rougher forging. When you change your mind, bring it back, and I’ll refine it for you."
"How long will it take?"
"Half a month!"
Leaving the Pure Jun Sword behind, Chen Che headed ho.
When he passed the lock shop, he didn’t see Wu Neng, only his daughter, Wu Rui, who was watching the store while lying on her stomach doing howork.
"Did Master Wu go take a test?"
After asking where Wu Neng had gone, Chen Che was stunned and a little disbelieving.
"You’re not kidding ?"
Wu Neng had gone to take the ’Third-level Array Master certification exam’. This exam was held in the provincial capital only twice a year.
Of course, theoretical knowledge alone wasn’t enough.
The exam content included not only breaking arrays but also Array Formation. You needed a Foundation Establishnt Cultivation at minimum. Wu Neng’s Realm wasn’t high enough, so he had no chance of passing the Array Formation section. Therefore, it was basically impossible for him to pass.
"It’s true, my dad really went. He said he wasn’t sure he could pass, he just wanted to see the questions and prepare for taking the test in the future."
Wu Rui said with a serious face:
"He also told to learn about Cultivation from Big Brother Chen Che! So, if there’s sothing I don’t understand about Cultivation, can I ask you, Big Brother Chen Che?"
So that was it.
Chen Che understood now. For the certification exams of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, the higher the level, the harder they were to pass. Those who planned to take them would often familiarize themselves with the content several years in advance.
He nodded, then smiled and patted Wu Rui on the head.
"No problem. I’ll be waiting for you at Xiann First Middle School."
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