Last month, when Hong Yuan collected his monthly salary, he was among the many employees lined up at Workshop A06.
This time, Hong Yuan was right at the front of the line. He wasn't among the top three, but he made it into the top five!
When Lin Qi, Qian San, and Wang Dali, the three First-Order Forging Masters with considerable seniority, emerged from the small house with their monthly salaries, Li Wu called out Hong Yuan's name.
Hong Yuan stood up from his workstation and quickly walked toward the small room where his Senior Brother was.
"If only I were Lord Zhu Wushang's junior martial brother as well! Although I can't become a First-Order Forging Master as quickly as Hong Yuan, I'm sure I could meet the master's demands. Then my monthly salary would surely triple or even quadruple."
"You? Haha. You can't even forge a quality Miao Blade, yet you dream of becoming Lord Zhu Wushang's junior martial brother? What a joke!"
"You can't really say that. Admittedly, Du can't compare to Hong Yuan, but he's probably not much worse than Zhao Gonghe."
After Hong Yuan entered the small room, the disciples outside immediately began discussing fervently, admiring the accomplishments he had achieved.
Inevitably, Zhao Gonghe, who had arrived at Workshop A06 at the same time as Hong Yuan, became the object of comparison for the disciples.
They admitted they couldn't match Hong Yuan, that prodigious talent, but when compared with Zhao Gonghe, they still believed they had a fighting chance, and many even felt they could do better than him!
Yuan... Zhao Gonghe secretly clenched his teeth, feeling a heavy pressure upon him.
Before, he was the one imposing pressure on his peers, but he never expected that one day he would be outdone by another of his peers.
...
In the small room, Zhu Wushang spoke to Hong Yuan amiably, offering a few words of advice before handing over this month's salary.
A total of one hundred and thirty-two Energy Stones.
Compared to the twenty Energy Stones he received last month, Hong Yuan's salary had increased by more than sixfold!
Moreover, as his forging skill proficiency deepened, he would be able to earn even more Energy Stones.
[Skills and Arts: Forging First-Order (553/1,000)]
Together with the two hundred Energy Stones he got yesterday, Hong Yuan now had three hundred and thirty-two Energy Stones.
He had become wealthy again!
Just as Hong Yuan was about to take his leave, Zhu Wushang told him not to hurry off, as he had something important to discuss with him.
Zhu Wushang said, "Yuan, you can give the recipe materials for your Cultivation Technique to Lin Yiru to make elixirs. Her prices are very fair."
Give them to Lin Yiru? Hong Yuan shivered inexplicably.
The cultivation speed of his two Cultivation Techniques had slowed considerably. He needed to prepare the medicinal formulas and had planned to use this sum of Energy Stones for that very purpose.
But to give it to Lin Yiru— Hong Yuan certainly didn't want to get overly involved with Lin Yiru.
"Senior Brother, can the recipes be made into medicinal meals instead of elixirs? I don't really like taking elixirs," Hong Yuan tactfully refused.
"Medicinal meals? Do you know a culinary artisan who specializes in those?" Zhu Wushang asked, puzzled.
Hong Yuan looked at the culinary arts section on his skill proficiency panel, showing second-order mastery, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
[Skills and Arts: Culinary Second-Order (121/2,000)]
"I think I can do it," Hong Yuan said confidently.
"Haha, then go and give it a try. If it doesn't work out, look for Yiru. However, I suggest you first try with the recipe for the Qinglu Mountain Moving Skill," Zhu Wushang advised.
"The Qinglu Mountain Moving Skill... Senior Brother, do you know where I can find Qingmu Deer? They are first-order Demon Beasts and the main ingredient for the Deer Strength Powder recipe," Hong Yuan asked.
"Qingmu Deer? I'm not too sure myself, but they're definitely in the Ten Thousand Beast Cave Heaven," Zhu Wushang replied.
"Cave Heaven? What is Cave Heaven?" Hong Yuan inquired.
Following Hong Yuan's question, Zhu Wushang began to explain the concept of Cave Heaven.
Martial Artists range from the first to the fifth order, and Martial Saints from the sixth to the eighth order.
After a Martial Artist cultivates to the peak of the fifth order, continuously washing the Aperture with True Essence until it shatters will lead to the initiation of the Ascension Tribulation. This is the first step: "Aperture Shattering."
Once the Aperture is completely shattered, it is irreversible; failure means either death or becoming a mortal.
After the Aperture is shattered, it naturally attracts the Qi of Heaven and Earth from the outside, drawing out one's own human Qi. By harmonizing these three types of Qi to achieve balance—that is, making their quantities consistent—one can channel them into the location of the former Aperture.
This is the second step: "Qi Absorption."
Qi Absorption is an extreme test of a martial artist's ability to manipulate balance and of their mental fortitude. During Qi Absorption, the more Qi of Heaven and Earth absorbed, the stronger the subsequent Blessed Land will be.
During the process of Qi Absorption, the martial artist becomes one with Heaven and Earth and can directly ask Heaven and Earth for any knowledge they possess.
However, there is a limit to the knowledge that can be acquired. Asking questions that are too broad or advanced may not yield complete answers. It also depends on whether the questions relate to the knowledge of the practitioner's major cultivation school...
Upon successfully upgrading an Aperture to an Immortal Aperture, the sea of True Essence will form a Blessed Land Cave Heaven of varying qualities.
A high-quality Blessed Land Cave Heaven can even span an area as large as an entire province!
"..."
As he listened to Zhu Wushang's enthusiastic explanation, Hong Yuan looked doubtful.
How could a fourth-rank Martial Artist know so much about Martial Saints? This is too unscientific!
As his Senior Brother got more and more excited, Hong Yuan couldn't help but interrupt him, because at this rate, the distribution of monthly salaries might not be finished by tonight.
"Senior Brother, how do you know so much about advancing Apertures?" Hong Yuan asked.
"Er..." Zhu Wushang paused for a moment. He seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly his mood turned somber. "Becoming a Martial Saint is my dream, but it's not just my dream alone. All right, you can go now. The entrance to the Ten Thousand Beast Cave Heaven is at the Flying Immortal Hall. You can set off once you're ready. I'll grant you a week's leave."
After Hong Yuan left, Zhu Wushang took out two yellowed portraits from a large storage bag and became lost in reminiscence.
He was the third disciple of Lin Daoyan, and the one with the highest seniority among Lin Daoyan's currently living disciples!
His two most beloved senior brothers had both perished during the Aperture advancement process while trying to become Martial Saints, turning into ashes.
...
...
Under the gaze of the other workers, Hong Yuan left Workshop A06 and returned to his own courtyard.
At this moment, Hong Yuan was sitting in his bedroom, quietly reflecting on the words of his Senior Brother Zhu Wushang.
After a long while, Hong Yuan still couldn't figure out why Senior Brother Zhu Wushang was so passionate about becoming a Martial Saint, nor why he had suddenly become so sorrowful.
I won't think about it anymore. Things will sort themselves out when the time comes. I should focus on collecting the ingredients for the Deer Strength Powder recipe first. Hong Yuan shook his head, casting the thoughts aside.
After securing two small storage bags, Hong Yuan then headed towards the trading market.
He would not leave his seclusion unless it was absolutely necessary!
The Ten Thousand Beast Cave Heaven sounded dangerous.
「An hour later.」
Lida Business Firm.
Hong Yuan frowned slightly, examining the coarsely dressed employee before him.
"A single Qingmu Deer for only one hundred Energy Stones is already not expensive. Please don't find it too costly, sir. Other business firms will quote you even more outrageous prices," the employee hurriedly explained, afraid that Hong Yuan might misunderstand.
"But a second-rank Demon Beast, the Swift Sparrow, is priced at only one hundred and twenty Energy Stones. Why is that?" Hong Yuan calmly inquired.
The employee glanced around cautiously, and upon seeing that no one was paying attention, subtly rubbed his little finger.
"..." Hong Yuan was speechless.
So they play these tricks in this otherworld too.
Taking a deep breath, Hong Yuan, following the methods he recalled from a short video from his past life, quietly took out an Energy Stone and seized the opportunity to swiftly pass it under the counter.
The employee's eyes lit up instantly, silently praising Hong Yuan's generosity. He had originally intended to ask for Silver Coins, but he hadn't expected this sir to directly hand over an Energy Stone!
"Sir, you are generous! Rest assured, I will tell you all the insider information I know," the employee's attitude became even more humble.