Successful Condensing Fire Engraving (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

After leaving the stall, Zhou Ling went to a nearby pastry shop and spent three Broken Spirit on nine pastries before returning home.

He ate three himself and saved six for his father and mother.

When he entered the kitchen and lifted the pot lid, he found a large bowl inside. It held a stewed Fire Pattern Chicken and a bowl brimming with chicken soup.

Wisps of heat still rose from the soup, carrying an enticing fragrance, with a sprinkling of cilantro on top.

Faint spiritual energy could clearly be seen drifting through it.

There was also a small dish of Stir-Fried Greens.

The water in the pot still retained a little warmth.

Zhou Ling tore off the two large drumsticks and served himself a bowl of chicken soup.

Thinking of his father returning that night, he put one drumstick back.

After covering the pot, he happily finished his meal, ate a Spirit Cake, and returned to his room.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Zhou Ling began circulating the Spirit Flame Art, refining and absorbing the spiritual energy from the food he had just eaten.

Before long, he opened his eyes, then took out the Five Elements Basic Engraving Jade Slip and pressed it against his forehead.

He carefully studied the engravings within.

Only by first understanding the structure and connections of the engravings could he repair the Condensing Fire Engraving.

This was a profit of ten Low-grade Spirit Stones—equivalent to what his father earned from a month of risking his life in the mountains.

Moreover, studying while putting it into practice would deepen his understanding of engravings.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

The Jade Slip recorded the three most common construction methods for basic engravings: inscription pattern composition, connection methods, and arrangement methods.

It also contained thirty-six Five Elements Basic Engravings.

Each engraving was accompanied by diagrams recording the types of inscription patterns, the engraving combinations, and other key points.

They were relatively universal engraving diagrams.

These included how to choose engraving connection methods, how inscription patterns should be combined, the various mixing ratios for Spirit Ink, and how one needed to circulate spiritual power while controlling the brush to draw them.

It was far more complicated than the inscription patterns he had learned to draw before.

Even Zhou Ling found it somewhat difficult to understand.

This was Zhou Ling's first encounter with engravings. Although he could already draw six inscription patterns in one go, that was merely the result of his proficiency continuously improving.

Compared to the engravings before him, the difficulty was entirely different.

The Jade Slip also noted that only those at the Third Layer of Qi Condensation could attempt to draw engravings.

Fortunately, Zhou Ling had already reached the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Zhou Ling felt so dizzy and muddled that he nearly threw the Jade Slip away.

Comprehending these engravings was truly exhausting.

Just how were inscription patterns supposed to merge and connect?

[You are cultivating Five Elements Basic Engraving. Stronger from Adversity +1, Comprehension +3]

[You are cultivating Five Elements Basic Engraving. Born to Excel +1, Five Elements Basic Engraving Proficiency +1]

As the notifications appeared, it seemed as though a flash of insight crossed Zhou Ling's mind. He appeared to have gained some understanding of the brushwork used to connect engravings.

After pondering for so long without the slightest clue, everything was completely different with his talents bolstering him. In merely the time it took to burn an incense stick, Zhou Ling had roughly grasped several of the main engraving connection methods.

After his father and mother returned, they called him out for a late-night meal.

The large drumstick he had deliberately saved for Zhou Shan ended up back in his bowl.

With his father insisting, Zhou Ling could only eat it.

After eating his fill, Zhou Ling returned to his room and continued burying himself in the study of the Five Elements Basic Engraving.

He felt that the difficulty of engravings and inscription patterns was like heaven and earth apart.

The reason was not only that they were difficult to learn, but also that the drawing process was complicated and tedious.

The Spirit Ink ratios had to be precise, the engraving had to be fully mastered, and Internal Spiritual Power had to be mobilized throughout the process.

And even after mastering all that, success was not guaranteed.

The slightest mistake in the connection method meant failure!

If the inscription patterns did not merge properly, failure!

If the Spirit Ink did not match the material, failure!

Not a single stroke could afford the slightest error.

Once ordinary inscription patterns became familiar, their Success Rate was generally very high when drawing them.

But engravings were completely different. If any part of the Six Paths Inscription Pattern went wrong, all previous efforts would come to nothing.

Fortunately, Zhou Ling had the support of his talents. As long as he kept practicing, he would understand and master it sooner or later.

Time flew by.

After half a month of trial, error, and research, with the aid of [Stronger from Adversity] and [Born to Excel], Zhou Ling finally began to grasp the knack of drawing engravings.

Without the support of his talents, even given another year, Zhou Ling would not have found the way in.

However, when Zhou Ling next attempted to draw the basic Condensing Fire Engraving, things did not go very smoothly.

The Condensing Fire Engraving contained six flame inscription patterns, two of which Zhou Ling had never learned before.

The ways they linked together were rather complicated, making them difficult to draw.

Moreover, all six inscription patterns were difficult Five-Line Patterns, placing considerable demands on both Spiritual Power and Perception.

Drawing engravings was inherently difficult. There were certain tricks to it, and without guidance from a renowned master, they were simply hard to comprehend.

Fortunately, Zhou Ling had the support of the [Stronger from Adversity] talent. After drawing it several more times, he gradually came to understand the key points.

With the support of his talents, Zhou Ling's proficiency gradually improved.

But once he began drawing on Spirit Paper, the excessive Spiritual Power consumption made mistakes all too easy.

Either the inscription patterns he drew failed to form an engraving, or errors occurred in the linking and combining methods, preventing the Spiritual Power from forming a closed loop.

And each drawing consumed nearly a third of the Internal Spiritual Power in his body.

It also took quite some time to recover.

Zhou Ling could only be patient and proceed step by step.

Still, the Spirit Paper and Spirit Ink he used up each day were worth more than a dozen Broken Spirit, which pained him greatly.

[You are practicing Five Elements Basic Engraving. Born to Excel +1, Five Elements Basic Engraving Proficiency +1]

Fortunately, the system prompt made him feel that everything was moving in the right direction.

Only then did he feel relieved.

Another five days passed. When Zhou Ling returned home that day, he hurriedly finished his meal and began drawing the Condensing Fire Engraving again.

The first strokes went smoothly. Stroke by stroke, steady and sure, he finally succeeded in outlining it.

It just took rather a long time.

It took him nearly half an hour to draw the six-pattern Condensing Fire Engraving, consuming nearly half of the Spiritual Power within his body.

But when Zhou Ling examined it closely, he found that the Spiritual Power on the engraving was incomparably sluggish.

[You are analyzing the Condensing Fire Engraving. Basic Analysis +1, Condensing Fire Engraving Proficiency +1]

Zhou Ling quickly discovered where the problem lay.

The first inscription pattern was not powerful enough to cover and guide the other five inscription patterns that followed.

Having found the problem, Zhou Ling circulated the Spirit Flame Art through three cycles.

Only after some of the Spiritual Power in his body had recovered did he continue drawing.

This time, when he reached the sixth inscription pattern, the entire engraving flickered a few times. It looked as though it was about to dim, but as Zhou Ling lifted his engraving brush, a glow of spiritual light gradually emerged from the engraving.

"Finally, it's done!"

Zhou Ling let out a soft breath.

After nearly a month, he had finally succeeded in drawing his first engraving.

Zhou Ling was filled with excitement. This meant that from today onward, he was no longer an artifact refining apprentice.

He already possessed the qualifications of an Artifact Refiner.

Of course, to become a true First-Rank Artifact Refiner, he still had to refine a First-Grade High-Quality Magic Artifact and pass the Dao Alliance's assessment and certification.

Still, he was already quite satisfied with his current progress. After all, he was not yet eight years old.