Thunder Fire Bead and Thunder Fire Engraving (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

"What order?" Zhou Ling asked.

Then his gaze shifted as he added, "As long as it's a First-order Low-grade Engraving, I'll take it."

He had only comprehended First-order Low-grade Engravings so far. Coupled with the limits of his cultivation, that was all he could draw.

A typical First-order Low-grade Engraving consisted of six to twelve inscription strokes.

A First-order Mid-grade Engraving consisted of twelve to eighteen inscription strokes.

First-order High-grade Engravings had even more.

As for Second-Tier engravings, Zhou Ling had yet to encounter them and knew nothing about them for the time being.

The more inscription strokes an engraving had, the greater the drain on an artifact refiner's spiritual power.

With every additional inscription stroke, the consumption of spiritual power multiplied.

Of course, if his cultivation rose a little further and the grade of his [Precise Control] talent improved, he might have a chance to attempt refining a First-order Mid-grade Engraving by the end of the year.

But that was merely wishful thinking on his part.

He also knew that on the path of cultivation, haste could not cook hot tofu. He had to build steadily and advance step by step.

"A First-order Low-grade Thunder Flame Bead order. There are six Artifact Beads in total. Can you refine three finished Thunder Flame Beads within ten days, with a success rate of fifty percent?"

As he spoke, Master Lu took six black beads from his Storage Pouch and handed them to Zhou Ling. "These Thunder Flame Beads are forged by fusing Fire Gangue Sand with Purple Thunder Crystal. As long as you inscribe them with a Seven-Stroke Thunder Fire Engraving, their power when activated will be no less than that of a First-order Mid-grade Magic Artifact."

"If you can refine them, I'll pay you six Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"A Seven-Stroke Thunder Fire Engraving!"

"A fifty-percent success rate!"

Hearing this, Zhou Ling frowned.

The Five Elements Basic Engraving he currently practiced did not include the Thunder Fire Engraving.

Moreover, seven inscription strokes and a fifty-percent success rate still placed him under considerable pressure.

Normally, a First-Rank Artifact Refiner's success rate was only around fifty percent.

After all, drawing an engraving and repairing one were vastly different matters.

When repairing an engraving, once one spotted where the problem lay, it became much easier.

But when drawing an engraving, the moment the brush went down and something went wrong, the material was ruined.

He immediately asked, "Master Lu, do you have the pattern for the Thunder Fire Engraving?"

Master Lu nodded. He had originally assumed that artifact refiners generally kept a certain number of engravings on hand.

So he had not taken out the engraving diagram.

But considering Zhou Ling's age, it was impossible for him to have accumulated many engravings.

He then took out another scroll from his Storage Pouch and said, "This is a Thunder Fire Engraving left behind by an inscription master before. I don't know whether it's correct or not. Take a look and see whether it's of any use to you."

Zhou Ling accepted the scroll and carefully spread it open. A complex engraving pattern appeared on it.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Thunder Fire Engraving.

As his gaze passed over the introduction to the engraving at the front—

Seven inscription strokes, requiring Special Spirit Ink. It was not easy to draw.

Zhou Ling thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Master Lu, I can take this order, but the price needs to be higher."

"After all, I'll need to mix spirit ink with the Thunder Fire Attribute, and that isn't cheap either."

Master Lu looked at Zhou Ling and helplessly shook his head. "Fine. As long as you can refine them, I'll give you seven Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"But let's be clear first. The materials for these Thunder Flame Beads are special, and the success rate has to reach fifty percent. If it doesn't, you'll have to compensate two Low-grade Spirit Stones for the cost of each bead."

Zhou Ling nodded. He first put the scroll into his backpack, then received the six Artifact Beads with both hands and placed them in his backpack as well.

"Here, this is your payment for repairing the Fire-Repelling Bead this time."

Master Lu handed Zhou Ling another two spirit stones and smiled.

"Thank you, Master Lu!"

After accepting the spirit stones, Zhou Ling cupped his hands in thanks.

"Master Lu, do you make Brewing Furnaces here?"

After putting away the spirit stones, Zhou Ling thought for a moment and asked again.

"Yes. Brewing Furnaces, Cauldrons—so long as you can afford the price, we make them all!" Master Lu replied.

"About how much would one cost?" Zhou Ling asked.

Master Lu picked up the tea bowl on the stone table and took a great gulp, then picked up a palm-leaf fan and fanned himself before replying.

"That depends on what kind of Brewing Furnace you want."

"The prices of Brewing Furnaces made from Refined Iron and those made from Crystal Jade are worlds apart."

"First-Grade Low-Rank and First-Grade Mid-Rank differ in price by two or three times."

"For an ordinary First-Grade Low-Rank brewing furnace, the cost at our workshop is around twenty Spirit Stones."

"You'll also have to pay separately to hire an Inscription Master to engrave the inscription!"

"I happen to have an old quotation sheet for brewing furnaces. If you want it, I can give it to you!"

Master Lu searched through his Storage Pouch for a while longer. A moment later, he took out a blueprint and handed it to Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling accepted the blueprint and thanked him again.

He then left the Lu Family Workshop.

Before he left, Master Lu reminded him once more that he had to finish refining the Thunder Flame Beads within ten days.

When he returned to the Dao Academy, the lunch break was not yet over, and the Study Hall was silent.

Zhou Ling took out the brewing furnace quotation sheet and examined it carefully.

There were three sample brewing furnaces listed on it.

Two were First-Grade Low-Rank, while one was First-Grade Mid-Rank.

The prices of the various materials, different sizes and scales, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, were all listed one by one.

Even among First-Grade Low-Rank furnaces, the price differences were considerable depending on the materials used.

If the main material was Dark Iron, the price was roughly twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

If it was Crystal Jade, it would cost more than forty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The main difference between the two was that Crystal Jade fused more smoothly with inscriptions, producing gentler flames. The distilled liquor would also be purer.

At the same time, the brewer would consume less spiritual power.

"Looks like I still need to have a Crystal Jade brewing furnace made."

Zhou Ling put away the quotation sheet and thought to himself.

After all, his mother was only at the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation.

Using a Crystal Jade brewing furnace would keep her from working herself too hard.

"However, I don't have the Steam Fire Engraving needed to engrave a brewing furnace right now."

"I still need to find a way to get this Steam Fire Engraving. That way, I can save another thirty or forty Spirit Stones."

With his mind made up, Zhou Ling took out the Thunder Fire Engraving again and studied it.

This was a Seven-Stroke Inscription, formed from three lightning strokes and four fire strokes.

By fusing the Thunder Fire Engraving into the material, a Thunder Fire Bead could unleash tremendous destructive power.

Compared to the Condensing Fire Engraving Zhou Ling had previously mastered, the difficulty of this engraving lay not only in drawing all seven inscription strokes at once, but also in the fact that they included inscription strokes of differing lightning and fire attributes.

Drawing all seven inscription strokes simultaneously was manageable enough.

But he had never tried drawing lightning-attribute inscription strokes before.

Lightning-attribute and fire-attribute inscription strokes differed greatly. Flame inscription strokes were relatively common, and since he primarily cultivated fire-attribute techniques, they posed no major problem.

The former, however, required lightning-attribute Spirit Ink, and drawing them consumed far more spiritual power.

"Never mind all that. I'll comprehend the engraving first, then buy Spirit Ink after school!"

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

He then began studying the key points of drawing, linking, and constructing the Thunder Fire Engraving.

[You are cultivating inscriptions. Stronger from Adversity +1, Comprehension +1]

[You are analyzing the Thunder Fire Engraving. Basic Analysis +1, Thunder Fire Engraving proficiency +1]

Throughout the entire afternoon, Zhou Ling secretly pondered and comprehended the Thunder Fire Engraving in class.