8 Artificer
When he got to the clearing, Xiao Ning'er was already there waiting.
"I thought you wouldn't come," she said.
"I am sorry, I had to deal with something at the last minute," Nie Li apologized. "But I didn't forget about my promise" He held out the book and the parchment with the Daoyin technique.
"Thank you" Xiao Ning'er took them.
"Check them first," said Nie Li. "If you need help with the technique just ask." He sat down to cultivate. He had to raise his soul force quickly. Because if not he will be left behind. His cultivation technique was also slower than those he was planning to give his friends. The girl before him was completely a monster.
If nurtured properly, she could reach the Silver rank by the tests less than two months later. He must not be left behind by his potential love interests. It would be embarrassing if the main character is behind everyone.
Xiao Ning'er looked at Nie Li with a complicated gaze. She knew that he was knowledgeable, with the way he identified her illness. And it was not a hoax. The medicine he recommended really helped. For the first time in many months, she felt pain lessening.
And the cultivation technique he gave her was something fantastic. She never imagined that there were techniques this strong. Only in a day without cultivating at night she had done more progress than before in a month. Now she had hope for the first time since she heard about her betrothal. And she was grateful to Nie Li for that.
The way he dealt with that arrogant Shen Xiu in the lesson was a complete delight. She hated the members of the Sacred family for the hostile take over of most of her family's property and the pressure they put on her to marry Shen Fei. So anyone who put them in their place was a hero in her eyes.
She didn't know his motives for helping her. But whatever they may be, she will follow him. If he wants to be friends she will be the best friend he would want. If he wants something more…she blushed looking at Nie Li's serene face. She shook her head, gathering her thoughts.
Then she sat down in front of Nie Li and opened the book to look through. The book was about different diseases related to cultivation and she quickly found the page describing hers. It explained things Nie Li already told her and more. About causes of the disease, symptoms, consequences, healing methods. When reading about the consequences, if the illness wasn't treated, she blanched. She could have exploded!?
She was even more grateful to Nie Li now. She didn't know what she would have done if Nie Li hadn't helped her. She noted down other methods of healing as well. Then she opened the parchment. There in neat handwriting was the method that would help her to get rid of the painful symptoms of her illness. She read thoroughly and repeated it in her mind a couple of times. When she completely understood the method she decided to test on the bruise in her leg.
When she let out a painful groan Nie Li opened his eyes. She knew that pain at the beginning was normal. Her frozen meridians must be opened first to let the gathered cold out. After her concentration breaking a few times due to pain, she was able to grasp the technique fully. Things went smoothly after that. After finishing she stared at her feet. The bruise was noticeably lighter.
She lifted her head and looked at Nie Li. His eyes were closed.
"Um. I finished," she called to him. She wasn't going to tell him another bruise. She will deal with it at home.
"Great! You have grasped the technique. You must use it every day before sleep. I think in a week bruises will completely dissipate" answered Nie Li standing up.
Xiao Ning'er stood up as well. "Thank you," Then she bowed, greatly surprising Nie Li, "I don't know how I can repay you."
Nie Li quickly said "Don't worry about it. What are friends for?"
"By the way," continued Nie Li, "If you want, you can join our study group. There we will share knowledge, help each other in our cultivation. The first meeting would be in four days at the library after classes."
"Okay, I'll come"
"Good. Bye then" said, Nie Li. And they separated.
At first, Nie Li wanted to ask her to buy Purple Haze Grass, but now after finding a new way to make money he decided to wait for a bit, and change his plans accordingly.
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After returning to his dorm, he took the Starlight Crafting Plate looked at its surface. It had many lines covering its surface like wear marks. But these were not the signs of wear. It was actually a big Inscription Pattern puzzle.
Only part of the pattern was visible. The new owner has to fill out the rest to take control of the artifact. It's not an easy feat. He has to solve the puzzle first. And then control his soul force precisely to fill out the gaps.
When the pattern is filled the Starlight Crafting Plate will activate and connect to the new owner.
Solving the puzzle was not difficult for Nie Li. His knowledge of Inscription Patterns is far higher than anyone in the world. But filling out the pattern with his meager soul force was not easy. He controlled every bit of his power to the imaginary lines and the Pattern was finished.
The Starlight Crafting Plate shined, forming a connection with him. Activating it Nie Li could see the Plate's pocket dimension. It was a workspace where artifacts were created. It was not a big space, but it will grow with Nie Li's cultivation. Nie Li put it down. Tomorrow he will buy some materials for testing. Right now he should concentrate on increasing his soul force.
And he should also include some of his clansmen studying here at the Holy Orchid Institute in his plans. In his first life, he got teased by them a lot. Some of them even bullied him because he was from a farmer branch of the family. Even though the current patriarch Nie Hai tried to allow as much of the younger generation to get an education family finances couldn't allow it. They could at most allow 40 members of their family to attend the Holy Orchid Institute.
And the kids were mostly chosen from Fighter and Spiritualist families because they were considered more talented. Only the position of Nie En 3 Star Gold Fighter from their branch allowed him and his cousin, Nie Yu, to attend The Holy Orchid Institute. And unlike his cousin who had an astounding talent, Nie Li was teased mercilessly. Because of this held a bit grudge against them.
But holding onto such childish grudges when there was so much at stake would be stupid. One should never waste resources. Intermediary and Senior class students may dismiss him, but he could put to use those that still are in Apprentice classes. And he will help them advance faster. It would also help his clan indirectly. That decided, he sat down to cultivate before going to sleep.
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The next day before classes he found his friends and gave them the cultivation techniques he had chosen. He was sure they were the same as in the novel. They tested out their new techniques and were astonished. Their cultivation speed was unimaginably higher. Du Ze and Lu Piao were very grateful and Zang Ming, Zhu Xiang Jun, and Wei Nan even called him their boss.
And Nie Li wasn't offered the job of library clerk. That meant the school administration didn't think that was in danger from the Sacred family.
After the classes, he took Lu Piao to the market. He wanted some metals, and the Lu family had some mining industry. He planned to look for different types of metal alloys that could be used to create enchanted items. Lu Piao led him to his family's shop that sold different materials, not only metals. Lu clan, despite being a small aristocratic family is considered well off.
He bought some Ice Silver and Blood Bronze for their conductivity of spirit energy. He bought some small spirit beast bones as well. He wanted to test them to find the best material for his Inscription pen. After paying 1000 spirit coins for his purchases. After saying goodbye to Lu Piao he went to the market to buy other things he needed. He bought Snow Wind attribute Bronze rank Demon spirit for 3200 and the other things like blank inscription scrolls, different types of blood from snow wind demon beasts for another 2000 spirit coins. In the end, he was left with only 500 demon spirit coins. He must create the pen and begin making Inscription scrolls soon. Poverty is annoying.
