Chen Village, inside the rune-making room.
Brand-new bone rune chip boards lay neatly arranged on the rune-making table. Chen Mu picked them up one by one and inspected them in order. Once he was sure nothing was wrong, he put them into the storage ring on his finger.
Ever since his transactions with Hou Sailei had stabilized, he had no longer needed to worry about funding his research. Naturally, his research into every aspect of runes had been making progress.
The technology behind the rune chip boards had grown increasingly mature. To distinguish between them more easily, Chen Mu had followed a habit from his previous job and named the rune chip he had previously installed in the printer "Rune Core No. 1."
Now, he called this improved rune chip board made from demonic beast bones "Rune Core No. 2."
Demonic beast bones could withstand spiritual power better and transmit it faster. Rune Core No. 2's processing speed was now more than ten times that of Rune Core No. 1, already comparable to a home computer from Chen Mu's previous life.
Chen Mu had used Rune Core No. 2 to make an auxiliary device, which stood beside the rune-making table. He had given it a name: the Multifunctional Analyzer.
Bzzz... beep, beep!
The Multifunctional Analyzer gave several crisp beeps. Chen Mu turned around and reached out to activate the illusion rune on the device.
A virtual horizontal screen appeared above the device, displaying only a few lines of small text.
"Hardness: level nine, spiritual power affinity: level eight, heat resistance: level fifteen... from a wolf-type demonic beast, the crimson wolf."
He was overjoyed after reading it.
"Level fifteen heat resistance!! Hehe, looks like I've found the material for the new Rune Gun."
The levels used here were the standard measurements rune masters used for spiritual power materials. Level fifteen heat resistance surpassed that of many fourth-grade spiritual materials.
The reason he had been unable to increase the Rune Gun's power before was that he lacked suitable materials. The Rune Gun's barrel had demanding heat resistance requirements, and he had never found a more heat-resistant material.
Chen Zihu had obtained this demonic beast bone from a hunt in the wilds some time ago. Chen Mu had not expected it to have such strong heat resistance.
With this demonic beast bone and the materials he had gathered earlier, he had enough to make a more powerful Rune Gun.
Chen Mu then began tapping on the rune board below the analyzer. As he tapped, ripples of spiritual power spread across the board, making for a wondrous sight.
He was operating the device manually, saving the analysis results to the database for future use.
Chen Mu had been a programmer before. Although he had some grounding in hardware, it was not his forte. Landuo had given him a great deal of help in completing this machine.
Rune masters like Landuo, who could make mechanical puppets, were actually very rare. There were many details of the physical structures that Chen Mu would never have thought of, but Landuo was highly skilled at them. Without him, Chen Mu could not have made the device so intricate.
The Multifunctional Analyzer could analyze the composition and properties of spiritual power materials, assist with calculations, store and retrieve data, perform spatial simulations, and more. It had made his everyday rune research much more convenient.
After saving the results, Chen Mu thought for a moment and created a new task for the analyzer.
Using its spatial simulation function, he made a 3D model of Chen Village and divided it into zones. Then he had the device analyze how to build it so that the defensive weapons could unleash their greatest power.
He also added data on his rune arrays, Rune Guns, mechanical puppets, and so on.
The computational task was extremely complex. Given the device's performance, he estimated it would take several days to complete.
But he was in no hurry. He had already gathered most of the supplies and could begin some groundwork first.
He then left the room and went into Landuo's workroom on the other side.
The room was large and filled with all sorts of strangely shaped machines. The rune printer occupied only one corner.
"Landuo, how's the precision rune engraving device coming along?"
"Almost done. Tomorrow-I can get it to you tomorrow."
The rune-making table where Landuo worked was covered with all kinds of spiritual materials, including some lenses Chen Mu had invented.
He answered Chen Mu without looking up, still absorbed in his research.
One month later, Wuyan Market.
The Vast Sea Bookshop had now been renamed the Vast Sea Pavilion. Besides books, it sold rune paper, treasure artifacts, pills, and more, and had grown more than ten times its former size.
The main building had also been expanded into a three-story structure. It was now in no way inferior to the nearby Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
On the top floor of the Vast Sea Pavilion's main building, Hou Sailei and Chen Mu sat facing each other, chatting happily.
"Brother Chen, it's thanks to you that the Vast Sea Pavilion has grown so smoothly! Come, let me offer you a toast!"
Hou Sailei raised his cup and drained it heartily, his face wreathed in smiles.
"You're too kind, Brother Hou!"
Unable to refuse such warm hospitality, Chen Mu had no choice but to raise the cup to his lips and take a sip.
"Besides coming to trade this time, I'm also planning to increase the volume of rune paper we trade next month. I wonder if you'd still dare take it, Brother Hou?"
Hearing this, Hou Sailei sprang to his feet in delighted surprise.
"I'll take it! Of course I will! I've been waiting for you to say that, Brother Chen."
As far back as three months ago, all the rune paper Chen Mu sold him had already been nine-rune paper. He had always remembered Chen Mu saying he would increase the trading volume once their partnership was stable, but he had not expected it to happen so soon.
"Rest assured, Brother Chen! I've already opened up my sales channels. As long as you have it, I can buy however much you bring."
Hou Sailei had always been a capable businessman. With such a steady trading channel as Chen Mu, he had even opened several branches in nearby markets, so he had no worries about finding buyers.
"It's not that much. I'm planning to double the trading volume again, to ten thousand sheets of nine-rune paper a month!"
Chen Mu spoke modestly.
"Good! Good! Good! No problem. Ten thousand it is."
Chen Mu had given him another enormous surprise. After all, the volume had doubled in one stroke. Even though all his businesses were making money now, none earned him as much as doubling his trade with Chen Mu would.
"Brother Hou, have you made any progress collecting the pills I asked you to find before, the ones that can help a martial artist break through to Martial Master?"
"Haha, how could I not do my utmost when you asked, Brother Chen?"
Hou Sailei took a jade box from the storage ring on his hand and opened it. Five pale blue pills lay in the center.
"These are Qi Gathering Pills. Taking one before breaking through to the Qi Nourishing Realm increases the chance of success."
Chen Mu happily accepted the jade box, full of praise.
Before the Qi Nourishing Realm, Spiritual Qi was hidden throughout the limbs and bones. At this stage, the Spiritual Qi in a martial artist's body was called Internal Force.
To break through from the Body Tempering Realm to the Qi Nourishing Realm, one had to use Internal Force to open a Qi Sea within the dantian. The depth of one's Internal Force was extremely important at this point, and a Qi Gathering Pill could strengthen its cohesion, making it easier for a martial artist to break through.
Of course, the pills were ultimately just an aid. Whether a martial artist could break through still depended on himself in the end.
"Thank you, Brother Hou. Deduct the cost of these pills from our next trade. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Chen Mu disliked social engagements. Having achieved his purpose, he wanted to leave.
"Of course, of course."
Hou Sailei had dealt with Chen Mu many times and knew his temperament. He did not try to stop him and saw him downstairs.