Chapter 18

In the grand hall of the Qin Family, all the members of the Qin Family gathered, but their expressions were not pleasant.

"How is the situation in Tianyong City now?" Qin Chuan scanned the surroundings and asked.

"Head of the Family, it is now the end of the year, and many people who were cultivating outside have returned. However, Tianyong City still only allows entry but not exit. Although the martial guards of the old master have put great pressure on the Silver Feather Knights and the Chu Long Guard, our Qin Family members who go out are often bullied. People in Tianyong City are spreading rumors that our Qin Family may not be able to get through this crisis."

"What about the Imperial City? Have we received any news? And what about the Imperial Star Academy?" Qin Chuan asked again. The Qin Family naturally had its own intelligence network in the Imperial City.

"The Imperial City..." The person below hesitated and then said, "Almost no one in the Imperial City knows what is happening in Tianyong City; the news has been blocked. Ye Wuxie of the Ye Family recently advanced to the ninth level of the Wheel Pulse Realm, accelerating his progress towards the Yuan Mansion Realm. He has been favored by the higher-ups. The Imperial Star Academy feels the pressure, and with the royal family's pressure, they are not as proactive about Young Master's matter."

"Crack!" Qin Chuan clenched his fists, making a crisp sound, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Even with such talent, Wentian has not received enough attention. Ye Wuxie's talent and the pressure from the royal family have overshadowed his brilliance." Qin Chuan murmured to himself, "Wentian, I hope you can grow up quickly and prove yourself to those people."

"Send out the order: reduce the number of outings for the Qin Family members. Also, send the few star meteorites stored in the Qin Family to Wentian." Qin Chuan's expression flickered, making the crowd's hearts tremble. It seemed that Qin Chuan was determined to cultivate Qin Wentian at all costs, leaving a glimmer of hope even if the Qin Family faced disaster.

Qin Wentian soon received the star meteorites sent by Qin Chuan. This time, there were three, which made Qin Wentian feel uneasy. The Qin Family had been in a state of financial strain for years, with resources constantly being depleted, and could be considered very poor.

However, this also strengthened Qin Wentian's resolve to move forward.

On this day, Qin Wentian left the Qin Family, exiting through a side door. The Silver Feather Knights had already stationed troops at the main gate of the Qin Family, facing off with the Qin Family members, but they did not dare to issue a kill order. Although the surface was calm, Qin Wentian knew that there must be turbulent undercurrents, a game of strategy.

However, he did not pay attention to these matters and went alone to the Star River Guild in the central area of Tianyong City.

The Star River Guild was spread across a hundred cities in the Chu Kingdom, with its headquarters in the capital. The Star River Guild in Tianyong City was just a branch. Although the Star River Guild never interfered in external affairs, it still had significant influence, and its power was immeasurable. Qin Wentian even heard that the Star River Guild in the capital was not the headquarters.

Because of the special status of the Star River Guild, Qin Wentian came here. One reason was to learn alchemy, and the other was to gain a certain position in the Star River Guild, making it less likely to be targeted in the future when he went to the Imperial City.

"The Star River Guild has branches for alchemy, pill-making, martial destiny, and the Heavenly River. My adoptive father said the Star River Guild is the most mysterious force, unfathomable." Qin Wentian looked at the grand hall ahead and thought to himself.

"Qin Wentian." At that moment, a voice came, and Qin Wentian turned around to see a graceful figure appear in front of him. It was Lin Yue, one of the four beauties of Tianyong City, who had been admitted as a disciple of the Divine Wind Academy a few days ago.

Lin Yue was about to go to the Imperial City after the annual sacrifice, so she wanted to make more preparations. She came to the Star River Guild to ask Master Fengping to forge a divine weapon for her. Master Fengping could forge a first-class superior divine weapon.

"Is the Qin Family about to be destroyed, and you still have the heart to forge a divine weapon and prepare to go to the capital?" Lin Yue felt a bit strange when she saw Qin Wentian and couldn't help but laugh.

Qin Wentian's brows furrowed, and he said coldly, "Even if your Lin Family is destroyed, the Qin Family will still exist."

Lin Yue's opening remarks about the Qin Family's impending destruction made Qin Wentian dislike her.

"Ridiculous." Lin Yue's expression changed, and she scanned Qin Wentian. She was usually pampered and had never been talked back to, so she naturally scolded him. However, she then smiled and said, "I almost forgot, you Qin Wentian are now a genius, not the Qin Wentian of the past. No wonder you're so insolent."

"Insolent?" Qin Wentian was speechless. This woman was used to acting like a princess, he thought, and with a look of disgust at Lin Yue, he turned and left.

"You..." Lin Yue felt the disgust and contempt in Qin Wentian's eyes and followed him with a dark face.

Lin Yue was one of the four beauties of Tianyong City and a genius, shining brightly in the city. Every time she went out, her friends flattered her. However, after Bai Qiuxue awakened her star soul, everyone felt she was inferior to Bai Qiuxue. People from the capital personally came for Bai Qiuxue, making her very uncomfortable.

During the examination that day, she hoped to pass the Imperial Star Academy or the Royal Academy's examination with her talent, but she did not. However, Bai Qiuxue and Qin Wentian easily succeeded, and everyone's attention was focused on those two, no one noticed her. She hated this feeling and the contempt in Qin Wentian's eyes. In a sense, she was jealous of Qin Wentian.

In the grand hall of the Star River Guild, the spacious hall was filled with people, and as soon as one entered, they could see the reception area.

Qin Wentian walked up, and the receptionist was a beautiful woman wearing the Star River Guild's special star river robe, which accentuated her graceful figure, making her very alluring.

"Do you need alchemy or pill-making?" The woman smiled at Qin Wentian. Most people who came to the Star River Guild were for alchemy or pill-making.

"I want to become an alchemy apprentice," Qin Wentian said.

"Is that so? You're lucky today. Master Fengping will be here today, and I can recommend you. However, I can't guarantee that Master Fengping will take an apprentice. You can wait over there," the woman said. It was not uncommon for people to come to learn from a master, wanting to become an apprentice to an alchemy master or a pill-making master.

"An apprentice? Daydreaming." Lin Yue, who followed Qin Wentian in, spat out a sarcastic remark. It was extremely difficult to become a powerful alchemy master, and some alchemy masters would not teach their divine patterns to apprentices.

"Miss Lin Yue, Master Fengping knows you are coming today and will come to see you later," the receptionist smiled when she saw Lin Yue approach, making many people in the hall look at her. This was the genius girl who was about to join the Divine Wind Academy, indeed very beautiful.

"Thank you, Master Fengping." Lin Yue felt very honored by the attention and smiled.

"Master Fengping and your father are good friends, so he will give you special treatment."

"That's right, Lin Yue. Your father and I are old friends. You don't need to call me Master Fengping; just call me Uncle Feng," a cheerful voice came, and Fengping, also wearing a star river robe, walked over with a smile and said to Lin Yue.

"Uncle Feng, I'll trouble you this time." Lin Yue had a hint of satisfaction in her eyes and glanced at Qin Wentian.

"Not at all. Since Lin Yue, you have become a member of the Divine Wind Academy, if you need any divine weapons or have any special requirements, just tell me, and I will custom-make a divine weapon for you."

"Uncle Feng, my star soul is a rabbit, light and agile. I want to forge a sword, a three-foot sword, with a light and agile design."

"Good, I will engrave feather divine patterns on the sword to reduce its weight and enhance agility," Fengping said with a smile.

Lin Yue smiled in satisfaction, and at that moment, the receptionist walked over and said to Fengping, "Master Fengping, some people want to forge divine weapons, and one person wants to be an apprentice."

"Those who want to forge divine weapons should have recorded their requirements and the rewards they are willing to pay. I will look at them later and choose. Have them come back in three days. As for the one who wants to be an apprentice, who is it?" Fengping said, making the crowd sigh. This was a master, who would write down the requirements and rewards and choose whether to forge. In the Chu Kingdom, the status of alchemy masters was very high.

"It's him." Lin Yue pointed at Qin Wentian. "A mouthy guy."

Qin Wentian's brows furrowed. It seemed that Lin Yue herself was the one with a dirty mouth. This woman really had a princess complex.

"Did he offend you, Lin Yue?"

"Yes," Lin Yue nodded.

"Leave it to me." Fengping smiled. "Lin Yue, you come back in three days to get your divine weapon."

"As for the one who wants to be an apprentice, follow me."

Qin Wentian hesitated for a moment and then stood up, following Fengping.

Fengping and Lin Yue greeted each other, and he took the record paper from the receptionist, then led Qin Wentian to the left side of the hall, where the alchemy branch of the Star River Guild was located.

As a first-class alchemy master in the Star River branch, Fengping had his own dedicated alchemy hall. When Qin Wentian followed Fengping into the alchemy hall, a wave of heat hit him, and the temperature in the space illuminated by the flames was very high. In an instant, sweat appeared on Qin Wentian's forehead.

"Come in." Fengping walked in, and Qin Wentian saw that the alchemy hall had several rooms. The room he entered had a large furnace sunken into the ground, with terrifying flames burning continuously below.

"Take a look around." Fengping said casually. Qin Wentian nodded slightly, sensing the arrogance of Fengping as an alchemy master. Even as a first-class alchemy master, he had his own dedicated alchemy hall, and many people sought his help, showing the high status of alchemy masters.

"These are the alchemy materials." Qin Wentian walked to a side room, where there were many containers, each engraved with words and containing the metal materials needed for alchemy.

Qin Wentian then walked to another side room, which had many weapon models, including swords, spears, shields, and gloves.

"Empty!" Qin Wentian's expression changed when he found that the weapon models were all empty.

"Those are special molds, shaped like the divine weapons to be forged, and even engraved with various patterns. Just melt the alchemy materials in the furnace, pour the liquid into the molds, and let it solidify and cool to form the initial shape of the divine weapon. Put those molds next to the furnace; I need to start forging." Fengping's voice came, and Qin Wentian nodded inwardly, bringing the molds to the furnace. Fengping was looking at notes, probably choosing who to forge for.

"A sword, a shield, a spear, and two knives. Pour the liquid from the furnace into the molds I mentioned."

"Pour all the liquid from the furnace into the molds?" Qin Wentian's expression changed. Even without experience in alchemy, he understood that different divine weapons required different proportions of alchemy materials. For example, a sword needed to be sharp, while a shield needed to be heavy, so the requirements for alchemy materials were different.

"What do you know? The furnace is set with the golden ratio of alchemy materials, sufficient to forge any weapon. Once formed, different divine patterns can be engraved for different effects. The most important part of alchemy is the divine patterns, understand?" Fengping said coldly, seeing Qin Wentian's doubt.

"I understand." Qin Wentian said calmly, but inwardly he sneered. Fengping was just too lazy to put effort into forging. Using the same alchemy materials for all weapons and then engraving divine patterns to forge divine weapons to get paid, alchemy masters must be very wealthy!