Chapter Twenty: Do You Believe It?

These were traces left by inscriptions, essentially the outward manifestation of nine layers of gravity runes.

At this moment, the portly steward, having been stopped by him, grew even more impatient. If not for Tu Lu revealing the aura of a Mountain-Moving cultivator, the steward would have long since thrown this youngster out.

In fact, he encountered artifacts like the one Tu Lu had produced nearly a thousand times a day; it was a constant source of annoyance! Particularly bothersome were those adorned with circles of runes, like the one before him.

Each inscribed artifact represented immense profit and, more importantly, the inscription master standing behind it. If a fake one slipped through, it would tarnish the reputation of the trading market. If it was genuine, it could not be neglected, lest the master behind it be offended.

This forced him to handle every case with utmost caution, requiring repeated evaluations by the inscription masters at the market. After countless such requests, not only had the inscription masters grown irritable, but even he himself found the process intolerably vexing.

Especially in times like these, with tense battles raging at the front and the trading market already overwhelmed, every sort of stray cat and dog appeared, presenting so-called inscribed artifacts. Some were battered remnants scavenged from the battlefield, most were outright forgeries, and occasionally a convincing fake even slipped past the inscription masters.

Several cultivators had already come to complain after purchasing forged inscribed artifacts—one, in fact, was a peak-level Sea-Filling master. This had only rendered the already chaotic market even more hectic.

Truth be told, how could a place like Divine Wind City have so many inscribed artifacts? There were only a handful of true masters in the city, and they rarely took commissions. Even when they did, whether refining externally or internally, each artifact required several, sometimes a dozen or more rigorous trials before there was any hope of success. This made genuine inscribed artifacts exceedingly rare and, once available, they fetched exorbitant prices.

But if the artifact had truly been crafted by one of those masters, there would be no need for his review. Those masters had their own dedicated stalls in the market—their names alone were guarantee enough.

“Fellow Daoist, the situation at the front is pressing, and our market is exceedingly busy. We really don’t have time to waste here. You know yourself whether your inscribed artifact is genuine. If it’s real, go find a recognized inscription master and get it appraised. With a certificate from one of them, you won’t need my approval—the market will automatically assign you a booth. Otherwise, you can just leave the way you came.”

With that, he waved his hand impatiently and, despite Tu Lu’s attempts to argue, simply walked away.

Tu Lu was incensed.

He could understand the market’s busyness, and even tolerate the steward’s poor attitude, but to dismiss his artifact as a fake without even inspecting it—that was infuriating.

He had spent several days crafting this piece!

Yet, once he’d calmed himself, he realized that although the steward’s manner had been offensive, his logic was sound. He needed only to find a recognized inscription master for an appraisal and certificate—a minor inconvenience, nothing more.

“Hmph!”

With a snort of annoyance, he returned to the trading floor. After searching for a while, he finally located the booth belonging to Master Xu Lei.

The booth was attended by a young man at the pinnacle of Martial Breaking, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen. Tu Lu noticed a mixed scent of beast blood about him—the unique aroma of inscription elixirs. He must be an apprentice inscription master himself.

Initially, the young man seemed excited to see Tu Lu approach, but upon learning his purpose, his demeanor became indifferent. Only because Tu Lu was clearly a cultivator did he refrain from outright rudeness. He reluctantly sent a message to the so-called Master Xu Lei and told Tu Lu to wait.

Though this treatment left Tu Lu somewhat displeased, he couldn’t fault the young man.

After three or four hours, an elderly man with braided whiskers finally strolled over at a leisurely pace.

“So you’re the one who wants an appraisal certificate from me?” the old man asked, glancing up at him. Though not tall, he carried himself with great arrogance, barely sparing Tu Lu a second look.

“Never mind, I won’t ask anything else. Two thousand Thunder Stones and I’ll write your certificate. Then you can take it to Steward Liu and exchange it for a booth,” he said irritably.

Tu Lu’s eyes widened at this.

An inscribed artifact might fetch three to five thousand Thunder Stones at most, yet the certificate alone cost two thousand? What was this?

Worse still, for an ordinary inscription master, a single successful refining might cost three to five thousand Thunder Stones in materials—leaving no profit at all, perhaps even a loss!

Most importantly, this old man wasn’t even going to examine the artifact before issuing a certificate?

“Aren’t you even going to look at it?” Tu Lu couldn’t help but ask.

Xu Lei scowled, visibly annoyed. “Why are you so troublesome, boy? Look at what? Do you think you can fool me with a fake? Pay up—two thousand Thunder Stones, and I’ll get you your certificate. But whatever happens afterward is none of my concern. If you’re unwilling, then get lost! Don’t waste my time!”

Tu Lu immediately grasped the situation, his face growing cold.

Clearly, Xu Lei had issued false certificates before. Who knew how he’d gotten away with it without the market noticing?

With his expression now frosty, Tu Lu’s tone became equally curt. “I think you’d better take a look. If it’s a fake, I certainly won’t begrudge you two thousand Thunder Stones. But if it’s genuine, I expect a fair certificate.”

Xu Lei, who had been impatient, softened slightly at this and, half in doubt, accepted the artifact from Tu Lu. He flicked it several times, closed his eyes, and listened intently. At the same time, he sent his spiritual sense through the runes into the artifact’s core.

This manner of appraisal was actually quite disrespectful, bordering on taboo—there were proper methods for such things. But Tu Lu was too exasperated to care about decorum; he hadn’t imagined that selling a few inscribed artifacts would be so troublesome. All he wanted was to rent a booth and get on with it.

The evaluation went on for nearly half an hour.

At first, Xu Lei’s expression was impatient, but it soon turned grave, then perplexed, and finally, astonished—almost disbelieving.

Even the young man manning the booth glanced over in surprise and confusion.

He had witnessed his master react this way only when encountering a peerless rune manual or a masterpiece of inscription art.

Could this middle-aged man’s artifact really be that exquisite?

He couldn’t help but look at Tu Lu more closely.

When Xu Lei finally opened his eyes, the whites were streaked with blood.

“It’s indeed an inscribed artifact, and one refined internally at that. Fellow Daoist, may I ask which master inscribed this piece?”

Taking a deep breath, his voice quavered slightly as he spoke.

Only on examining the artifact’s interior did he truly grasp the creator’s skill. After all, runes are not static—a hundred inscription masters imprinting the same rune will each leave their unique style.

It’s like handwriting: the same character, yet each person writes it differently.

So it is with inscriptions.

But the runes within this artifact bore no discernible style whatsoever—perfect and flawless, as if formed by nature itself!

It was simply unbelievable.

He himself could inscribe gravity runes, but if he tried, nine layers would yield only nine hundred pounds of force at most. Even the famed Zhao Yuyang could not reach the theoretical maximum of a thousand pounds.

But this master had achieved just that. What did it mean?

It meant that, at least in the art of gravity runes, the creator surpassed even Zhao Yuyang, the foremost inscription master of Divine Wind City!

“If I told you... that I inscribed it myself, would you believe me?” Tu Lu asked, rubbing his nose with some embarrassment at being called ‘master’ for the first time.

Still, his mood had improved considerably.