Chapter 222: Runesmith
Xiang Yu barely glanced at the system notification that had appeared, his full attention captured by the appraisal results. The rings had actually reached pseudo-divine level?
Although they were still leagues away from becoming genuine divine treasures, the power increase was staggering, almost three times stronger than before.
He wondered if he should keep the artifacts for himself instead. The temptation was real, considering the incredible power they now possessed, not that they didn’t already have overwhelming power before.
He let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly. Well, he had already committed to giving his master and martial aunt his absolute best effort, so why would he go back on his word now? Besides, if he could create one pair of pseudo-divine artifacts, he could always craft another set later. He could even make better ones given more time and resources.
He finally gazed at the system notification floating before him. Xiang Yu’s eyes widened in surprise. His Talisman Maker profession had actually evolved into something called Runesmith. The transformation was probably the direct result of what he had done to enhance the rings.
The idea had struck him suddenly as he was observing them–what would happen if he engraved actual talisman blueprints directly onto the rings’ surface? He then proceeded to carefully carve a defensive blueprint into the defensive ring and an explosion pattern into the offensive one. He hadn’t expected the experiment to accomplish much at first, since he had never seen anything about this from his talisman-making insights.
Actually, now that he thought about it, the reason he had attempted this unconventional approach was the same reason behind his earlier idea of creating fourth-grade spirit metal. It was all thanks to his Teacher profession.
This profession was proving to be far more valuable than he had initially imagined. It actively pushed him to seek out innovative solutions to complex problems and helped him develop new theories based on his existing understanding of various concepts. He was clearly still underestimating the true potential of this profession.
As he focused on the newly acquired Runesmith profession, fresh insights began flowing into his mind.
Apparently, Runesmith was actually the original profession. Back in the distant past, runemasters would directly channel and borrow the raw energy of heaven and earth through their intricate runic inscriptions, using this borrowed power for countless applications and purposes.
But as cultivation techniques became more widely accessible to the general population, people’s natural comprehension abilities and attention spans gradually declined over the generations.
The new cultivators found the demanding runic arts far too complex and time-consuming to master properly. They began simplifying the complex runic blueprints, distilling them into standardized formulas that could be mass-produced on paper. This simplified approach eventually evolved into what was now known as the Talisman Maker profession.
The talisman making he had been practicing was essentially just a watered-down version of the original runecraft—relying on simplified symbols and pre-manufactured spiritual materials rather than inscribing patterns from pure understanding and raw spiritual energy. It was certainly more accessible to average practitioners, but it was also far less flexible and significantly less powerful than true runework.
Xiang Yu made a firm mental note to thoroughly test out these new runic capabilities later when he had proper time to experiment. It was already dawn and he needed to start moving soon.
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He gazed at the rest of the system notification, this was the second time he was receiving such a choice. The first time had been when he discovered the Spirit Farmer profession, and the choice he made had served him well.
This time, he didn’t need to deliberate extensively, in fact, he already had a clear choice in mind, something he had been considering in case an opportunity like this ever presented itself again.
Without hesitation, he selected the option to upgrade an existing system function, specifically targeting the Fusion function. The moment he confirmed his choice, there were no dramatic light shows or spectacular visual effects—just a quiet, immediate understanding that the function had been upgraded.
The upgraded Fusion function wasn’t drastically different from its previous version. The core mechanics remained largely the same, but now instead of being limited to just techniques and scriptures, he could also fuse bloodlines as well.
Of course, the fundamental principle of compatibility still applied, which meant he couldn’t merge his current dragon and phoenix bloodlines that were so violently hostile toward each other.
Still, he had chosen this upgrade path despite knowing about this obvious limitation. The reason behind his decision was because he was playing the long game. He firmly believed that at some point in the future, through additional upgrades or system evolution, this compatibility restriction might eventually be lifted or at least relaxed.
Although his dual bloodlines provided him with incredible benefits and unprecedented power, they were essentially a ticking time bomb buried deep within his body. If he hadn’t been extremely careful during today’s breakthrough, he might very well have died from their internal warfare.
He couldn’t know for certain if he could always rely on the power of his Abyssal Void Flame. Even though the fire was incredibly powerful and had saved his life multiple times, what would happen if something unexpected occurred? What if the flame failed him at a critical moment?
Xiang Yu absolutely refused to continue living with such a dangerous risk hanging over his head. He wanted to permanently deal with this bloodline conflict issue once and for all. He harbored genuine hope that he would receive more opportunities to upgrade the Fusion function in the future, eventually allowing him to merge these two opposing forces into a single, harmonious power and finally be done with their eternal struggle.
Still, he acknowledged that achieving such a resolution would likely take considerable time. With a resigned sigh, he rose from his seated position and carefully picked up the two gleaming wedding rings. He sealed them with meticulous care in an ornate red box he had prepared specifically for this purpose, then gently placed the container into his spatial ring.
He then used his spiritual energy to cleanse his entire body, washing away the sweat and grime from his intensive crafting session. After feeling properly refreshed, he put on a set of elegant clothes that Li Yao had specifically hand-picked for him the day before, ensuring he would look appropriately formal for the upcoming wedding ceremony.
With everything in order, he walked out of the spirit vein and into the brightening dawn.