The tranquility of Bing Character Seven Courtyard was shattered by a flurry of hurried footsteps the next morning.

Luo Feng had arrived.

This Formation Peak genius, who usually looked down his nose at everything except formation lines, now had an unmistakable glint of intense curiosity in his eyes. He strode in with such vigor that he didn’t even notice the morning dew dampening the hem of his signature white robe.

A faint, lingering scent of earth fire and sulfur still clung to him, clearly indicating he had come straight from the Earth Fire Cavern.

The menial disciples in the courtyard all stopped their work, looking at this inner sect senior brother with awe.

Su Ming was inspecting a batch of newly repaired “Spirit Gathering Plates.” Seeing the visitor, he set down his engraving knife and stepped forward to greet him. “Senior Brother Luo, judging by your expression, your trip to the Earth Fire Cavern must have concluded successfully?”

“More than just successful!”

Luo Feng strode forward and grabbed Su Ming’s arm with such force it actually hurt.

His gaze burned as he stared at Su Ming. Though his voice remained calm, his words came noticeably faster than usual. “Junior Brother Su, tell me the truth. That ‘Mystic Iron formation core’… besides its pure material quality, did it also contain some kind of… structure for channeling spiritual pressure?”

Su Ming’s heart stirred slightly, but his face showed confusion. “What makes you say that, Senior Brother?”

“The spiritual pressure the Molten Heart Furnace’s formation core had to bear far exceeded estimates!” Luo Feng’s tone carried a mix of lingering fear and excitement. “The earth fire had a sudden anomaly, causing the spiritual pressure to spike by thirty percent in an instant! Based on my original design, even a fourth-tier spiritual material would have definitely cracked. But that Mystic Iron of yours… at the critical moment, it spontaneously made micro-adjustments internally! It channeled the overloaded spiritual pressure into the earth veins through some strange ‘turbulent flow’ structure! This was no coincidence!”

Hearing this, Su Ming understood. This was likely some microscopic structure conducive to energy conduction that had inadvertently formed while he was organizing the material’s structure.

“That wasn’t a formation. It should be an effect of the material structure being so uniform that it naturally formed a channeling effect,” Su Ming explained. “All things follow their principles; it was simply following its inherent nature.”

“This is not an overstatement!” Luo Feng’s expression turned serious. “When the task was delivered, Elder Qingquan personally inspected the formation. The old man stared at that formation core for a full half-cup-of-tea’s time. In the end, he only said eight words.”

Su Ming’s heart stirred again. “What eight words?”

“‘Great skill appears clumsy; the foundation is profoundly solid.'”

A trace of envy flickered in Luo Feng’s eyes. “Elder Qingquan is a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage. He entered the Dao through water techniques and also cultivates the path of formations. His insight is razor-sharp. With one glance, he saw the extraordinary aspect of this formation core didn’t lie in flashy patterns, but in the ‘purity’ of the material itself.”

At this point, Luo Feng glanced left and right, lowered his voice even further, and leaned close to Su Ming’s ear. “The Elder immediately asked me whose handiwork the formation core was. I didn’t dare hide it and told the truth, saying it was a junior brother from the Repair Hall under the External Affairs Hall who assisted with the handling.”

Su Ming lowered his eyelids slightly, rapidly calculating the pros and cons in his mind.

“The Elder was silent for a moment, didn’t say much more, and only left one sentence before departing.” Luo Feng imitated the Elder’s steady tone. “‘This disciple possesses extraordinary insight into the fundamentals of the Dao. After the outer sect assessment, if he is willing, he may come to Emerald Wave Pond for a meeting.'”

Emerald Wave Pond!

Su Ming’s heart gave a violent leap.

Within the Cloud Hidden Sect, Emerald Wave Pond was Elder Qingquan’s personal cultivation ground.

And Elder Qingquan, though nominally attached to Formation Peak, because he primarily cultivates water techniques, had formed his own faction and wasn’t fully entangled in the internal power struggles of Formation Peak.

A late Golden Core stage major water-element cultivator, and a backer not at the center of the power vortex.

This was practically a tailor-made “protective umbrella” for Su Ming, who cultivated the “Like Water Art.”

“Congratulations, disciple,” Lin Yu’s lazy voice sounded in his mind. “This counts as getting a direct pass to the ‘big company’ interview. And this interviewer is a technical expert who looks at results, not background. This wave is steady.”

Su Ming’s face, however, still maintained a humble expression. He cupped his hands towards Luo Feng. “Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother Luo. If not for Senior Brother’s trust, I would have had no opportunity to display these insignificant skills.”

“Ah, no need for such formalities between us.” Luo Feng waved his hand, pulled out a hefty storage pouch from his robe, and stuffed it into Su Ming’s hands. “This is the reward for this task. I’m splitting it with you, half and half. Don’t refuse. If not for that formation core, I wouldn’t have completed this task and would have had to compensate a huge sum for materials. This is what you deserve.”

After seeing Luo Feng off, Su Ming hefted the storage pouch in his hand. It contained a full fifty low-grade spirit stones.

“This is the dividend from technology shares,” Lin Yu sighed with feeling. “In this world, core technology truly is the primary productive force.”

Su Ming stored the spirit stones properly, his gaze turning towards the distant main peak of Cloud Hidden Sect, his eyes profound.

Elder Qingquan’s olive branch was undoubtedly tempting, but that was something for “after the outer sect assessment.” Right now, the tree that was the Repair Hall had grown, but it had also attracted quite a few bugs.

“Master, it seems before we can ‘lay low’ and enter Emerald Wave Pond, we still have to clear a few hurdles first.”

…

The tree may desire stillness, but the wind will not cease.

The Repair Hall’s efficiency and “affordability,” while winning the praise of low-level disciples, had also genuinely taken a bite out of certain people’s profits.

Early the next morning, before the gates of Bing Character Seven Courtyard were even opened, a clamor of noisy commotion erupted right outside the entrance.

“By order of the Hall Master! The Repair Hall under the jurisdiction of the External Affairs Hall, heed this command!”

Su Ming pushed the door open and stepped out. He saw the entrance crowded with menial disciple onlookers. In the center of the crowd stood a middle-aged man wearing the attire of a Vessel Hall steward, looking down his nose arrogantly, with two inner sect disciples behind him who also had their noses in the air.

The steward didn’t enter the courtyard. Instead, he stood on the steps, holding a dark red command token, his voice booming as if he wanted half the mountain to hear.

“Effective immediately! Due to the sect’s various high-grade spiritual materials needing priority allocation to guarantee the cultivation and tasks of inner sect and true disciple disciples! Upon approval by the Vessel Hall, the material quotas for all subordinate institutions under the External Affairs Hall are to be cut by half!”

His gaze swept coldly over the pile of awaiting-repair magical tools in the courtyard, finally landing on Su Ming who had just stepped out, a mocking curl appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“Especially the Repair Hall! The requested strategic materials such as ‘Star Pattern Steel,’ ‘Flowing Cloud Iron,’ and ‘Purple Gold Sand’ are to be temporarily suspended from supply! Existing inventory must be sealed immediately, awaiting reallocation!”

Boom!

As soon as these words were spoken, the courtyard instantly erupted into chaos.

The account book in Old Wang’s hands fell to the ground with a clatter, his face turning deathly pale. Li Hou jumped up in agitation. “Temporarily suspended? Then what about these half-repaired formation plates in our hands? These are all urgently needed by senior brothers from various peaks!”

“That is your problem.”

The steward sneered, flicking at non-existent dust on his sleeve. “Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. If you don’t have the skill to repair them, then don’t take on such delicate work. Or perhaps…”

He looked at Su Ming with a meaningful glint in his eye. “…you could use some lower-grade materials. After all, those shoddy things from the outer sect just need to be usable. Why waste good resources?”

With that, he waved his hand grandly and strode off with his entourage, leaving behind a mess of feathers and a courtyard full of panicked menial disciples.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep