In the engraving room, two Engraving Priests were helping Zou Liang prepare. They had been plain grade Spirit Engraving Masters for a few years now and had naturally seen Ou Nisi Te’s Beast Spirit grade: it was the kind of Beast Spirit that would only be considered as the bare minimum. If they could create a 1~4 equipment from this, it would already be considered a very good job.
The two Engraving Priests did not try to persuade Zou Liang away from this. They knew that this junior wished for a Berserker Mode warrior to become a Crusader, and this rash youth’s name had already spread throughout the entire temple. However, this was only to be expected; though he was an Engraving Priest, he was also a Bi Er member, and Bi Er were all known for their “muddled” bear temper. Apparently even the Head Priest had been unable to stop him. Having confidence when young was a good thing, but being too arrogant would cause them to have to pay for their shortcomings.
After Zou Liang and Ou Nisi Te had entered, Ao Li Quan Ya—who was left waiting outside—seemed to grow worried. Though this damsel usually appeared simple-minded, in this moment she dearly wished for no accidents to happen. This was Ya Se’s first time initiating a Spirit Engraving, and even though Spirit Engraving didn’t mean much to her, she was very clear on the difficulty: first time failures happened everywhere but this would be especially difficult since Ou Nisi Te’s Beast Spirit was so low. If he could obtain even 1~3 Defence, they could thank the Heavens and the Earth.
Ao Li Quan Ya silently prayed, hoping that everything would be fine…… She wanted a happy Ya Se to bully.
Ao Li Quan Ya was not bored since Ai Wei Er’s arrival, though it was unknown if it had been planned or had just been a coincidence. The Rui Bo Te family had many eyes and ears in various places since they often donated to the temple; obtaining news of this event was not strange.
Ao Li Quan Ta rarely minded people, though if her behavior in Ye Lu Samo City was to be spread no one would believe it; it was as though she had almost completely changed into a new person. Very few people could interest her, and it didn’t matter what kind of genius Spirit Engraving Master, Berserker Mode warrior, or whatever they were, in her eyes they were nothing more than floating clouds 1. However, in an unimportant 2 place like Ye Lu Samo City, she had met two people she cared about.
The first was Ya Se. Ao Li Quan Ya did not often “save” people, yet the one she had saved was in fact this rascal.
One person alone could be counted as a miracle, yet there was another that Ao Li Quan Ya had noticed. It was reasonable to say that she was not a mere Rui Bo Te, but could even be counted among the young elites of the larger beast tribes.
This Ai Wei Er in front of her gave her a sense of competition!
It was evident that this Rui Bo Te was not a normal Rui Bo Te.
When Ya Se was not around, the two girls sat in the main hall drinking tea, entering a cloudy and mist-filled dreamland with the fragrance permeating the air. One was an unapproachable, tender Priestess while the other was a clever-eyed, well-bred young lady from a large family.
“Priestess Ao Li Quan Ya must be from the capital, right?” Ai Wei Er asked with a faint smile. It was a smile
full of affinity without showing a hint of weakness: not quite the same as the normal, weak Rui Bo Te people.
“That’s not too hard to guess. Older Sister Ai Wei Er is very abnormal, though,” Ao Li Quan Ya replied, not willing to challenge it; at this level of battle, whoever lost their self-control first would lose the discussion. However, since Ao Li Quan Ya was still a child, it was a given that she would still suffer a large loss.
It seemed that Ao Li Quan Ya was also of another level of quality. Everyone that Ai Wei Er had interacted with these many years—even her good friends in Ye Lu Samo City—did not feel that she was particularly different, but this Priestess she had only met a few times had seen through her in a single glance.
“We’re both in the same boat. Anyway, Priestess Ao Li Quan Ya must have come to Ye Lu Samo City for a vacation. This older sister is very familiar with this place; if there is time, I will take you around for a stroll.”
Ai Wei Er immediately suggested; Ao Li Quan Ya would have to leave the city sooner or later.
This was Ao Li Quan Ya’s weak spot as time was everyone’s most frightening enemy.
Some people are like a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers; like the river meeting the sea, some people will definitely meet again, while like the mountains others meet daily but are still like strangers to one another.” Ao Li Quan Ya responded; she was not a young lady that was easily provoked.
“That’s called being brought together over a thousand miles by the wheels of fate; seldom are such connections unbound by karma,” Ya Se’s crude voice sounded out.
The two girls showed a suspicious expression. This… just how long had he been standing there?
To create a shield, even an experienced expert would take a quarter of a day 3 to complete. Just how long did he take?
“Junior Brother, don’t be sad; failure is the origin of success. Just try harder next time!” Ao Li Quan Ya comforted whilst patting Zou Liang, demonstrating to Ai Wei Er that this was her territory.
Ai Wei Er showed a slight smile. “‘Brought together over a thousand miles by the wheels of fate; seldom are such connections unbound by karma’, hehe, Ya Se, is this also something that you’d heard? Ah, seems your first Engraving was very successful.”
This was the first direct confrontation between the two girls. This time, Ai Wei Er had exquisitely achieved victory since Zou Liang had completed his first work.
”Really? You really succeeded? Heavens above, how can this be; you couldn’t have tricked Ou Nisi Te, could you? How much is the attributed value?”
Ao Li Quan Ya exclaimed in surprise. Though this damsel had lost a point in her judgment, this actually made Ya Se happy; there really had been no tricks in this victory.
”2~5 Defence, only so-so. It’s a pity that a bit of Beast Power was wasted,” Zou Liang lamented with genuine regret. He had wished to create it perfectly, but it was still the first time he had tried; no matter how long he had prepared, there were still going to be naturally induced deficiencies that he could not fix. But to Zou Liang, the problem was experience; this world did not have any truly unsolvable problems, there were just idiots that couldn’t find the answer.
The priests that had heard it had finished also walked in at the perfect moment to hear the 2~5 numerical value. Everyone laugh, and even Ao Li Quan Ya and Ai Wei Er did not pay his words much attention.
”1~5, you really are a genius. Not bad; after a few years of training, you can even equal me, your senior sister.”
Ao Li Quan Ya unguardedly pulled Zou Liang to show off her might. For Zou Liang, if one did not take advantage of such an opportunity they would be stupid; her hand was so white and tender, one wouldn’t want to release it after holding it.
But what had to be corrected still had to be corrected. “It’s 2~5.”
”No way, there has never been a 2~5 plain grade gear; it is impossible. Below silver grade, they all start at one!” Engraving Priest Ma Lu (Mǎ Lǔ) exclaimed. This old scholar had been a plain grade Engraving Priest for half of his lifetime, and though he did not have the potential to be promoted, he was still seen as a good elder in the hearts of others, especially since the price charged by the temple was much lower than the Spirit Engraving Masters Guild.
Zou Liang stretched and yawned, too tired to explain while Ou Nisi Te walked out with his face all red.
On his hand was a 1 meter and 30 centimeters large shield. His mouth was spread so wide it had almost cracked to the back of his head, and when the people saw the numbers on the shield, they were all left dumbstruck.
It didn’t matter whether it was the Priests or even the knowledgeable Ao Li Quan Ya and Ai Wei Er.
1~6 was gained through luck, and though it was seldom seen, there would be a few geniuses every year that would produce it.
But 2~5 was something that was impossible. It was something that broke the rules. In all of the history of Spirit Engravings, something like this had never appeared before.
The two Priests had already rushed over, holding on to the shield while Ou Nisi Te tightly clung to the other side; if these old Priests hadn’t often delivered them food, Ou Nisi Te would have already tossed them away.
The two Priests’ hands trembled while Ma Lu cried profusely. “Miracle, ah, a real miracle! I never thought that I would be able to see this kind of resonance before I died! Glory to the Beast God! Glory to the Beast God!
The two old men—over half a century old—stopped there and trembled, leaving Ou Nisi Te very worried that these two’s saliva and tears would dirty his beloved shield.
Chapter 40 Title – 2~5 from Breaking the Rules Not a very interesting existence; something neglected. 名不见经传 no named place like it was not a famous city etc. Chinese uses 半个时辰 时辰 is a 12 hour portion of the day and 半 means half