Long Order and Independence (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

That day, after finishing his midday lesson, Zhou Ling went to the Lu Family Workshop on West Cloud Street and handed the three Thunder Fire Beads he had inscribed to Master Lu.

Only upon seeing the three Thunder Fire Beads did Master Lu finally breathe a sigh of relief. Tomorrow was the delivery date.

If he failed to provide the customer with the Thunder Fire Beads, he would have to compensate them with quite a few Spirit Stones.

After carefully inspecting them and confirming there were no issues, he praised Zhou Ling. "Little Master Ling, your inscriptions are becoming more and more skillful!"

His tone carried a little more respect and warmth toward Zhou Ling.

Though he was not an Inscription Master, he had dealt with them year-round and could tell the quality of an inscription at a glance.

The inscription strokes on the Thunder Fire Engravings Zhou Ling had drawn this time looked somewhat heavier and more substantial than those on the previous Fire-Repelling Beads.

He had clearly improved.

And it had only been ten days. This showed that Zhou Ling truly possessed considerable talent in inscription engraving.

"Thunder fire inscriptions are among the most spiritually taxing of all inscriptions. At your age and cultivation, this is truly rare!"

From their several interactions, Zhou Ling had seen that Master Lu was exceedingly strict, whether with his apprentices or the artifacts in the workshop.

He usually wore a stern face, with an expression that kept strangers at arm's length.

Now that he was all smiles, it was clear he was in an excellent mood.

However, Zhou Ling did not take it to heart and asked, "Master Lu, do you have any more Thunder Fire Bead artifact blanks on hand?"

Now that he had become fairly proficient with the Thunder Fire Engraving, Zhou Ling was considering whether he could buy a few artifact blanks from the workshop and refine a few more Thunder Fire Beads for his father.

Master Lu shook his head. "These are Magic Artifacts custom-ordered by a client. The materials I bought last time were only enough to forge six Thunder Fire Bead blanks."

Zhou Ling thought for a moment, then asked, "I would like to buy a few Thunder Fire Bead blanks. How many Spirit Stones would one cost?"

"This damned weather is hot enough to kill someone!" Master Lu wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, then gulped down several mouthfuls of tea.

Only then did he continue, "If you want them, I'll give you the lowest price—five Low-grade Spirit Stones for two."

Zhou Ling nodded. "Alright, then I'll reserve three first."

"How long before I can pick them up?"

"You'll need to pay a three-Spirit-Stone deposit first. Come collect them in three days," Master Lu replied.

Then he took out another four Spirit Stones and handed them to Zhou Ling. "This is your payment for refining the Thunder Fire Beads this time, with the three-Spirit-Stone deposit deducted."

Taking the Spirit Stones, Zhou Ling nodded repeatedly.

"I currently have another order from Myriad Treasures Pavilion for a batch of Golden Bristle Spirit Pens. Little Master Ling, are you interested?"

"If you take it, you must ensure the quality and stability of the inscriptions."

"This is a standing order. They need roughly ten to twenty Golden Bristle Spirit Pens every month."

"You can earn one and a half Spirit Stones for each Spirit Pen."

Master Lu glanced at Zhou Ling before adding.

"I'll take it. But do you have the inscription pattern for the Golden Bristle Brush?" Zhou Ling asked without hesitation.

He urgently needed to earn more Spirit Stones to buy Fire Haze Grass, and he also needed to save some up to forge a Brewing Furnace for his mother later.

As long as the order was within his current capabilities, naturally, the more the better.

"Here, this is the Spirit Condensing Engraving used to forge Golden Bristle Spirit Pens. Take a look yourself!"

Master Lu took out a scroll from his Storage Pouch and handed it to Zhou Ling.

At the same time, he called loudly toward the Inner Room, "Liu Zi, bring over the Golden Bristle Brush blanks."

"Coming, Master!"

Before long, a dark-skinned youth walked over, carrying a tray in both hands.

The youth looked thirteen or fourteen years old. His eyes were large and bright, and he was bare-chested. Though he was not particularly burly, his muscles were clearly defined.

Ten Spirit Pen blanks rested on the tray in his hands. Their shafts were green, while their bristles glimmered with faint golden radiance.

"This is a Golden Bristle Brush. Its shaft is refined from Green Pattern Bamboo, while its bristles are made from the tail hair of a first-tier Spirit Beast, the Golden Tail Sheep. Once fused with a Spirit Condensing Engraving, it can be used to draw Runes, inscriptions, formation patterns, and more."

Master Lu took out one of the brush blanks and introduced it to Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling was opening the scroll and examining the Spirit Condensing Engraving drawn upon it.

A Seven-Stroke Inscription—there should not be any problem!

"How many days until delivery?" Zhou Ling asked.

"Delivery is once every half month, but these Golden Bristle Brushes have a required pass rate. It cannot fall below sixty percent."

As Master Lu spoke, he took out a Yellow Brocade Box from his Storage Pouch and handed it to Liu Zi.

Liu Zi carefully placed the ten Golden Bristle Brushes into the brocade box, arranging them neatly one by one, before handing the box to Zhou Ling.

Taking the brocade box, Zhou Ling nodded.

"Liu Zi, this is Master Zhou Ling, an Inscription Master."

"Little Master Ling, this is my apprentice, Lu Liuan."

Master Lu introduced the two to each other.

Zhou Ling smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Liuan.

Lu Liuan hurriedly returned the gesture.

Only then did Zhou Ling leave the workshop.

On the way home, he bought another jar of Spirit Wine and nine pieces of Spirit Cake.

When he returned home, Li Ru had already prepared a lavish dinner.

Since Father would be heading into the mountains tomorrow, Li Ru had specifically taken half the day off today to prepare food and other supplies for Zhou Shan's journey.

When Zhou Shan saw the Spirit Wine Zhou Ling had brought back, his face lit up with delight.

But he quickly glanced at Li Ru, then said solemnly, "Ling'er, this Black Run Rice Wine is a bit harsh!"

"Father isn't used to drinking it, so don't buy it again in the future!"

As he spoke, he broke open the clay seal, pouring a bowl for Li Ru first before pouring one for himself.

Zhou Ling could not help but be a little stunned. Hadn't the last jar been finished in less than two days?

After thinking it over, he understood. Zhou Shan was afraid he would spend Spirit Stones recklessly.

He found it both amusing and helpless.

"Ling'er, the Dao Academy's residency assessment will be held the year after next. If you can become an Outer Sect Disciple then, you'll need a considerable sum for the apprenticeship gift."

"From now on, when you have Spirit Stones, you should still spend them more sparingly."

Li Ru ladled Zhou Ling a brimming bowl of meat soup and spoke earnestly.

"Mother, I signed a Long Order with the Lu Family Workshop. From now on, I'll be able to earn more than ten Low-grade Spirit Stones every month. I was happy today, so I bought a jar of wine to celebrate!"

"With these Spirit Stones in the future, they'll be enough for my expenses and cultivation at the Dao Academy. You won't need to prepare Spirit Stones for me anymore."

Zhou Ling said with a smile.

He then told them about the Golden Bristle Brush. Afraid they would not believe him, he even took out the Golden Bristle Brush's vessel blank for them to see.

"You can really earn so many Spirit Stones?" Li Ru touched Zhou Ling's face, still unable to quite believe it. "Ling'er has grown up!"

Why did it feel as though her son had suddenly grown up overnight?

Zhou Shan was equally excited as he said, "With Ling'er being this promising, we really should celebrate properly!"

The couple did not have any great demands of Zhou Ling. So long as he cultivated diligently, and could live a stable life in the future, without having to take risks and toil as they did, that would be enough.

Yet Zhou Ling was only eight years old, and he was already earning more Spirit Stones than they did.

This left them thrilled beyond measure.

"We should celebrate properly. Mother will cook two more dishes for you!"

Li Ru rose and headed toward the kitchen. As she turned away, she raised a hand and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Mother, with so many dishes, can we even finish them?" Zhou Ling could not help saying.

"Your mother is happy. Make a little more, and we can eat it slowly!" Zhou Shan said with a smile.