Martial World

“He’s directly starting the third step!?”

A deacon remarked with surprise as he saw Lin Ming not going through any adjustments beforehand. If Lin Ming took out a gold god rune now then it was clearly because he was preparing to start the fusion process.

After a divine runic master completed the main form of a divine runic symbol, they would have consumed a great deal of soul force. And, the third step was the most essential step. If one didn’t rest then their chances of success would be much lower.

“Not everyone has the ability to maintain the main form of a divine runic symbol for such a long time without incurring some errors in the tiny runes. If he cannot calmly control the main form of the divine runic symbols and the order of the thousand some tiny runes, then the longer he continues the more soul force he will use up instead. Lin Ming might not have the ability to rest at this time so completing the drawing in a single continued attempt might be better.”

Another deacon said to the previous one.

The last deacon nodded, saying, “Yes, if he has the ability to rest at this time then he should be considered a teacher within the ranks of a second grade divine runic master.”

As these two deacons were speaking, Old Xue, Old Su, and the white-robed Elder were all staring at Lin Ming. They wanted to see just what this young man would do at this step.

Lin Ming’s right hand moved and the gold god rune slowly decomposed in a halo of golden light, turning into countless mystical lines that gathered onto the main form of the divine runic symbol. These laws were the Heavenly Dao Laws of the of Asura Road.

Without a doubt, Lin Ming’s understandings of the Asura Heavenly Dao far exceeded those of anyone present. In this aspect, after he thoroughly enlightened himself on the emperor jade as well as having studied the first volume of the Asura Sutra, although Lin Ming couldn’t control the Asura Heavenly Dao, wanting to borrow its strength was actually an extremely simple matter.

The Law lines soon fused into Lin Ming’s divine runic symbol. With Lin Ming’s familiarity with the Asura Heavenly Dao, he could complete the fusion process in a mere incense stick of time.

However, Lin Ming didn’t choose to do this. After all, completing the third step in a mere incense stick of time would have been far too shocking, and it might even arouse certain suspicious in those present.

Thus, Lin Ming decided to slow down his speed. This was only an examination and not a competition; as long as he finished then he was fine.

A quarter hour soon passed. Clearshadow and Dreampearl both completed the main forms of their divine runic symbol and began the third fusion step.

They were weaker than Qi Yi, so they couldn’t rest before the third step like he could. For them, this last fusion step would be filled with difficulties.

After half a quarter hour passed, beads of sweat began to appear on Qin Yi’s forehead. He had entered into a completely absorbed state. The Law runes were slowly pushed into the divine runic symbol. With his soul force, lasting until now was not easy.

Finally, Qin Yi fused the last Law line into the divine runic symbol. His Heart of the Medicine Furnace drawing was finally complete!

As Qin Yi felt the power of Laws gushing forth from the Heart of the Medicine Furnace, he grinned.

He had succeeded! Moreover, the process had been relatively easy. With overwhelming superiority he had obtained the qualifications to become a second grade divine runic master and was also the most extraordinary individual in this examination.

In that moment, beams of multicolored light blossomed from the Heart of the Medicine Furnace. Qin Yi reached out for the divine runic symbol, but just as he was about to touch it, his expression froze. With disbelief thick on his features, he turned to see Lin Ming. At some unknown time, Lin Ming had also completed his Pill Resting Symbol.

After taking his divine runic symbol, Lin Ming placed it on a tray in preparation for the proctor Elder to examine it.

Lin Ming had used less than half an hour to complete this third step fusion process. It was nearly half the time that Qin Yi had spent.

Old Su and Old Xue watched Lin Ming complete the third step. The entire process was completed without any kind of thrilling, soul-struggling scene at all. Rather, he had completed the third step easily and pleasantly, the entire drawing of the divine runic symbol having been completed in a single go.

No one had expected that Lin Ming’s third step would be completed in such a manner. The most difficult part of the second grade divine runic symbol was the third step, but in Lin Ming’s hands, there didn’t seem to be any difficulty at all.

“Is it… over?”

Old Xue and Old Sue glanced at each other. They had originally hoped that there would be some difficulties for Lin Ming in the third step and they wanted to see just how he resolved the situation, but, what truly happened had far outstripped their expectations. This inevitably caused a peculiar feeling to form in their hearts. Was Lin Ming’s third step really the same as everyone else’s third step?

Two deacons picked up Lin Ming and Qin Yi’s divine runic symbols, handing them over to the white-robed Elder.

The white-robed Elder looked deeply at the two examinees. The first divine runic symbol he chose to examine was Qin Yi’s Heart of the Medicine Furnace.

With a single sweep of his sense, the white-robed Elder approximately understood the situation. As a sixth grade divine runic master he could nearly instantly judge a second grade divine runic symbol and what the quality was like.

“Good!”

The white-robed Elder said from the depths of his heart. Although Qin Yi’s Heart of the Medicine Furnace couldn’t be called perfect in every aspect, every part of the drawing process had been above average. This was truly a commendable accomplishment. This Heart of the Medicine Furnace was a considerably well done divine runic symbol that could be sold at a decent price.

“Congratulations Qin Yi, you are now a second grade divine runic master!”

Qin Yi faintly smiled after having his results confirmed by the white-robed Elder. This assessment was well within his expectations; he was confident in his divine runic symbol. What he cared about was what Lin Ming’s evaluation would be like.

At this time, the white-robed Elder looked at the Pill Resting Symbol that Lin Ming had drawn up.

The white-robed Elder also wanted to see if there were any problems in this Pill Resting Symbol. Lin Ming had simply fused the Asura Heavenly Dao into this divine runic symbol far too easily.

The Pill Resting Symbol that Lin Ming drew up was three inches long and two inches wide, just like a rectangle. The charm’s surface was filled with countless mystical lines; it didn’t seem like something that was drawn up by a person. Even an amateur would see that this divine runic symbol was beautiful and symmetrical.

The white-robed Elder soaked his soul force into the Pill Resting Symbol and took a mental swim through its lines. After confirming the Asura Heavenly Dao Laws that were within the symbol, the white-robed Elder took a deep breath.

Not only was the Pill Resting Symbol that Lin Ming drew up completely up to standards, but it was extremely valuable.

“Perfect…”

The white-robed Elder whispered this evaluation to himself. This Pill Resting Symbol, whether it was the processing and handling of materials, structure of tiny runes, distribution of energy, or even the final fusion of the Asura Heavenly Dao rules, everything could be called the absolute peak of perfection that a low level divine runic master could accomplish.

It was hard to imagine that this divine runic symbol had come from the hands of a human youth. Just how did this boy study? And who was his teacher?

As the white-robed Elder was appraising Lin Ming’s Pill Resting Symbol, Qin Yi was noticing the expression on the old man’s face. As Qin Yi saw the awe on the old man’s face as well as the perfect evaluation, Qin Yi felt a surge of frustration. Without a doubt, the quality of the Pill Resting Symbol that Lin Ming drew up had been superior to his own Heart of the Medicine Furnace!

“Let me take a look!”

Old Xue impatiently walked over, nearly grabbing the Pill Resting Symbol from the white-robed Elder’s hands. After sweeping through it with his divine sense, his eyelids jumped up. This boy, his abilities were truly deep…

Old Xue even suspected that the Lin Ming he saw a year ago was a different person from the Lin Ming he was staring at now.

Old Xue passed the divine runic symbol to Old Su.

As Old Su looked at it, he too was left dumbfounded.

“What a great Pill Resting Symbol. Even a fourth grade divine runic master is inferior… I have no idea how he did the fusion process. There must be some sort of trick inside.”

Old Su speculated. Old Xue thought for a moment, then said, “This boy, he isn’t a part of my Divine Runic Masters Guild…”

“We must bring him in, we have to bring him in! We definitely cannot lose such talent! If we do things right then he might even become the next Guild President!”

The Divine Runic Masters Guild was always eager to bring in more talented individuals. The Divine Runic Masters Guild was originally a loose organization, and only by bringing in more talented people would Divine Rune City become more powerful. The previous Guild Presidents of the Divine Runic Masters Guild had all been extremely noble and renowned seventh grade divine runic masters that had been fairly elected by the guild.

“Lin Ming, I want to ask you, would you like to join my Divine Runic Masters Guild?” Without Old Su and Old Xue speaking, the white-robed Elder had already asked Lin Ming.

“Do I want to join the Divine Runic Masters Guild?”

Lin Ming traced his chin, making his decision seem as theatrical as he could.

He definitely wanted to join the Divine Runic Masters Guild, after all, this was the entire reason he had come to take this examination. Joining the Divine Runic Masters Guild would make everything far more convenient for him.

First, if he joined the Divine Runic Masters Guild then he would be able to obtain their protection. This would make him relatively more safe. Next, if he joined he would have sufficient status to contact Blood Moon and obtain the Celestial Tyrant Manual. Third, materials would be much easier to obtain in the Divine Runic Masters Guild and there would even be a discount. This was necessary for him to find the ancient pill recipes and materials needed for the Nine Stars of the Dao Palace.

Although Lin Ming had already come here with this plan, he knew that truly peak geniuses would have far more advantages if they joined the Divine Runic Masters Guild. This was because this sort of talented individual would have many other influences seeking to take them in. The inner Asura Road was an incomparably vast land and there were multiple divine runic master organizations besides Divine Rune City. For instance, Qin Yi’s Divine Void Divine Kingdom, in terms of divine runic arts skills, wasn’t that different from the Divine Runic Masters Guild.

Thus, Lin Ming didn’t mind trying to obtain more benefits from joining the Divine Runic Masters Guild.

Thinking of this, he said, “Can I wait before making this decision? When I passed the first grade divine runic master examination I was able to continue to the second grade divine runic master examination. So, since I’ve passed the second grade divine runic master examination, can I continue to the third grade divine runic master examination?”

As Lin Ming asked this, Old Xue, Old Su, and the white-robed Elder all froze, their expressions stiffening. Lin Ming wanted to take the third grade divine runic master examination?

“You’re saying that… you want to take the third grade divine runic master examination?”

Old Xue looked at Lin Ming with amazement. Not only were the three old men shocked but even the other examinees in the resting area, including Yue Qifeng and Yue Liuxing, were startled. It was already incredible for Lin Ming to pass the examination for a second grade divine runic master, but he wanted to continue to the third grade examination? Really, people never gave up until they failed!