Little Deer Wins First Place, Big Workshop Poaches Talent

Having heard Lu Li claim that he only knew a little about welding, several Midstream disciples still felt slighted. Cursing under their breaths, they left one after another, each declaring that they would win back their honor in the afternoon's welder assessment.

Lu Li merely shrugged. He did not have such a fierce desire to win. He only wanted to do his best, obtain the two seals without incident, rent a stamping automaton, refine the Azure Underworld Painted Skin, and survive.

Compared with fitting, Lu Li had been learning for less time and was thus outclassed by the Midstream youths in operating stamping mechanisms. But when it came to welding, he was not about to joke around with these people.

By evening, before countless watching eyes, Lu Li took first place without suspense.

This time, everyone's faces turned completely green. The spectators outside the arena found it immensely satisfying. Watching Lu Li crush those lofty personages from the Midstream, even the most destitute beggar by the roadside could not help puffing out his chest.

Acting as both the conspicuous fool and the mouthpiece, Zou Bufan voiced the feelings of countless Midstream disciples in a single sentence.

"You said this morning that you only knew a little! You call this knowing a little?"

Faced with Zou Bufan's questioning, Lu Li merely said flatly, "I am but a mischievous child by the riverbank. Occasionally finding one or two spirit ores of crystalline hue fills me with delight, yet that vast sea overturned by heaven, containing the truths of the Dao's essence, still lies unimaginably far away. From beginning to end, I have never glimpsed even the slightest bit of it."

Lu Li's voice was calm, yet beneath that calm lay a trace of loneliness and faint sorrow. His fair, pretty face, however, held not the slightest emotion. He resembled an immortal maiden of the Jade Pool untouched by mortal dust delivering reflections on attaining the Dao—only one poem short of ascending to become an exalted being.

These Midstream disciples were all young and hot-blooded. Each clenched his fists and flushed red with suppressed frustration. They thought Lu Li sounded unbearably pretentious, yet also felt that what he said made perfect sense.

As the saying went, the Great Dao was boundless and vast; what they knew was no more than a single drop in the great sea.

At this very moment, just as at that moment before, Elder Duan was already accustomed to it. She had experienced a similar situation once already. The shock these spoiled young masters felt now was no less than the shock Lu Li had once brought her.

Though she did not know why this disappointing disciple of hers possessed such astonishing talent in formations and welding, as his master, she ought to be able to hold her head high because of him.

"Don't celebrate too soon. The Heaven-grade fitter assessment only restricts the cost of spirit materials; it does not restrict the use of automatons. The Heaven-grade welder assessment even requires you to design your own formation diagram! Don't make a fool of yourself the day after tomorrow."

"Mhm."

Lu Li nodded. There was no extra expression on his numb face, nor any further reaction. After all the Midstream disciples' shouting and bluster, it felt as though they had punched cotton.

The crowd dispersed amid noisy chatter. It was already late, and Lu Li was preparing to find something to eat while considering how to handle the following day's Heaven-grade assessment.

In the past, if Lu Li's competitors had been other Lowerstream craftsmen, things would have been fine. Everyone used mortal-grade mechanisms to assist in refining mechanism components, so the precision and effectiveness would not differ by much.

Many who did not own mortal-grade stamping mechanisms would spend money to rent one for the examination. But since these people had only just passed the Earth-grade assessment, the best they could rent was a mortal-grade stamping mechanism.

This time, however, Lu Li would be facing Midstream disciples.

Those second-generation immortals likewise lacked Heaven-grade seals and thus should not have been able to rent automatons. But they had no need to rent them at all—they could afford to buy their own. They had certainly brought them along for this assessment. If the Earth-grade assessment had not imposed restrictions, those people would have pulled out all manner of automatons during the day to assist their artifact refinement.

Though both served as lathes for assisting artifact refinement, the precision and effectiveness of a mortal-grade mechanism and a first-stage automaton were as different as heaven and earth.

The moment he left the examination grounds, dozens of Wood Crows swarmed around him. This time, however, they were not advertising for the academy, but for stamping workshops.

"Fine equipment for rent! Carefully selected by champions of past years! Delivery and setup included! Come take a look!"

Every month, there were a few such days when stamping workshops rented out their idle stamping mechanisms to fitters and welders about to take the Heaven-grade assessment, taking the opportunity to fleece them mercilessly.

This year, however, was somewhat different. After witnessing the terrifying strength of the Midstream disciples, most craftsmen were dejected.

"Our techniques and tools are both inferior to theirs. It's practically set in stone that they'll take the top twenty spots. What the hell are we even taking the test for?"

"If I'd known these young masters and ladies were coming, I wouldn't have come at all. I would've waited until next spring to register. What a waste of my eight taels of silver."

The results of every assessment would be posted publicly, so the name Deer Pear had become known among the many craftsmen. Their tone abruptly shifted, and they looked at Lu Li with faces full of hope.

"Miss Deer, you must do your best! Win some honor for our Maple Fragrance City! Don't let these Midstream people get smug. No matter what, you have to snatch at least one spot from them."

Lu Li shrugged. He had not expected this to involve him. Somehow, he had been tied to their war chariot and regarded as a companion through sheer wishful thinking. He did not like that feeling much.

Lu Li kept those discouraging thoughts to himself, but when the words reached his lips, they became, "Uh, I certainly won't disappoint everyone."

Before long, a plump middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd. He gave Lu Li an honest smile and said, "I am the proprietor of Cloud Moon Welding Workshop. For this Heaven-grade fitter assessment, this Xu can sponsor you with an Earthfire Cauldron."

"Hm? How much is the rental fee?"

"Money is no issue. Miss Deer may use it for free."

Free?

At that word, Lu Li's heart gave a jolt. Perhaps because of that Tang-surnamed workshop master from the Southern Sun Town stamping workshop, Lu Li did not have a good impression of workshop masters. Every one of them rose only for profit, constantly devising ways to squeeze their workers dry.

Free was already baffling enough, and this man was even making an exception to lend him a first-stage automaton. That was even harder to understand.

"With Master Deer's abilities, as long as you have the Earthfire Cauldron's aid, obtaining Heaven-grade fitter certification will be as easy as taking something from your pocket—"

"Alright, alright, just say it. What do I need to give up?"

"Ah, nothing more than hoping that after you succeed, Master Deer will come work at my workshop. Our Cloud Moon Workshop is backed by White Moon Palace. We have Maple Fragrance City's finest stamping mechanisms and resources. Your monthly salary starts at twenty spirit stones, and for order commissions, you take sixty percent while we take forty."

The moment those words fell, the surrounding master craftsmen's eyes lit up. Everyone knew that, throughout Maple Fragrance City, aside from several workshops run by the Mo Family, Cloud Moon Workshop had the best profits.

Workshop Master Xu had come personally to recruit him because he valued Lu Li's talents. Five spirit stones a month could hire a Heaven-grade fitter or welder, while fifteen spirit stones could hire an automaton master.

Yet Lu Li had not even become an automaton master, and the other party was willing to offer such a high monthly salary. It was enough to make everyone present green with envy.

A monthly income of twenty spirit stones was equivalent to six or seven slices of his kidney. In the past, it would have been enough for Lu Li's family of four to live in fine clothes and rich food. If they saw a fruit stall outside, they could buy ten jin of premium pears in one go... no, even buying out the entire fruit stall would not have been a problem.

Workshop Master Xu thought victory was already in his grasp. Everyone present, including Elder Duan, thought Lu Li would be unable to resist accepting.

In Elder Duan's eyes, there was nothing wrong with Lu Li as a disciple. He was perceptive, patient, and cautious in his work. The only problem was that he lacked ambition, always thinking about his little brother and those two or three premium pears.