Chapter 1227

That very night, the empire's upper echelons, upon receiving the news, were finally consumed by regret—previously there had been several chances to draw closer to Lin Cheng.

But they had felt that the empire produced far too many geniuses like Lin Cheng every year, and he simply wasn't worth their personal intervention.

Now, Lin Cheng had leapt up to become the empire's fourth eighth-rank Forgemaster, his status vaulting him directly above the masses, which led many to sigh that opportunity truly waits for no one, and all they could do was seize the chance to make up for lost time.

High-ranking imperial officials, along with the various Highnesses within the imperial palace, one after another sent their blessings to Lin Cheng in Boulder Fortress City, along with all manner of gifts.

As for these matters, Lin Cheng, as the protagonist, naturally knew nothing of them; even if he had, he would have remained unmoved.

This is reality—when one is obscure and unknown, no one comes asking; but once fame and fortune arrive, people swarm in with congratulations and flattery.

The next day.

Lin Cheng rose early, thinking he had gotten up early enough, but he hadn't expected the carriage sent to pick him up to arrive even earlier. According to a waiter at the inn, the carriage had been waiting at the inn's entrance before dawn had even broken.

That was honestly a bit over the top.

On another level, it also showed just how much importance President Huoerde placed on Lin Cheng.

After breakfast, Lin Cheng called out a greeting to Sister Zhang and headed out the door.

At this hour, Miss Qianhui had not yet gotten up, but General Ji Xia had already gone out for her morning exercise and returned, drenched in sweat.

"Want me to come along with you?" General Ji Xia asked, casting a glance at the coachman—a third-rank cultivation clearly failed to draw her attention.

"No need, it's just some academic discussion on inscriptions. As for safety, I don't think anyone would dare storm straight into the Forgemasters' main headquarters."

Although Forgemasters were generally not very powerful in personal strength, their branch network connections possessed the most extensive web of contacts in the entire nation—from the royal family and nobility at the top, down to mercenaries and common folk.

They were the foundational bedrock upholding the empire's industry; no one would dream of offending them. The Forgemasters' Guild in particular, which gathered a massive number of Forgemasters, was unquestionably one of the most influential organizational forces within the empire.

"Good morning, Master Lin Cheng."

Once aboard the carriage, the coachman responsible for sending Lin Cheng to the Forgemasters' Guild greeted him warmly.

"Mm, good morning! You don't need to come pick me up this early tomorrow—arriving around this time like today is fine."

"Understood, Master Lin Cheng."

On the road, the carriage rolled slowly along the street, with hardly anyone about—only the early-rising vendors, who were busily loading their carts, preparing to haul their goods to the nearest market to sell.

Arriving at the Forgemasters' Guild, Lin Cheng had thought he could prepare a bit early, but the facts proved otherwise: those studious Forgemasters had already been waiting at the guild's entrance for his arrival, practically straining their eyes in anticipation.

The moment the carriage carrying him appeared at the street corner, the lookout immediately shouted toward the inside.

"Master Lin Cheng has arrived."

"Quick, quick, quick, get up, stop dozing off."

"Everyone out to welcome him together."

"Right, right, right, welcome him—almost forgot the main business."

The moment Lin Cheng stepped down from the carriage, the crowd of all ages greeted him while clustering around him, escorting him inside the guild.

Lin Cheng responded in kind, showing his approachable side.

On the third floor, President Huoerde, upon learning of this, hurried down to personally welcome him as well. However, the welcoming crowd was simply too large, so he took charge and led the way at the front.

The temporary classroom was arranged in the largest conference room on the guild's third floor, large enough to hold fifty people.

However, when the guild opened in the morning, the Forgemasters who came after hearing the news were simply too many—a full hundred or more—nearly trampling the guild's threshold to pieces........

Thus, Vice President Sitefu and President Huoerde consulted and made a snap decision to expand the third-floor conference room, knocking through the surrounding rooms, striving to let every Forgemaster be able to attend the lesson.

The majority were Forgemasters from Boulder Fortress City, old and young—basically, anyone who was a Forgemaster had almost all come.

There were also some branch presidents and members from nearby cities who had rushed over through the night, solely for the sake of the complete inscriptions.

Even more Forgemasters were still on their way, and it was estimated that the coming month would be extremely lively.

One could well imagine how immense the temptation of the Complete Inscription Compendium was to Forgemasters.

From ancient times to the present, the incompleteness and fragmentary nature of inscriptions had rendered how many renowned Forgemasters helpless—not that they didn't wish to, but that the inscription knowledge they had learned was simply too limited; they simply couldn't do it.

However, Lin Cheng's time for teaching was limited; it was impossible for him to teach this whole bunch of old men every single day for a month.

Originally, President Huoerde's news wouldn't have been delivered to every corner of the nation so quickly.

But given Huoerde's status and position, he still had the authority to have the empire's intelligence department help disseminate the news.

Especially when that person within the imperial palace learned of the situation, he immediately had the intelligence department deliver the news to every corner of the nation at the fastest speed, at the highest priority!

One year later would be the Master Artisan Skills Competition, held by the empire once every ten years—a rare opportunity, drawing Forgemasters from all over the nation

to participate; even royal craftsmen would join in.

As long as the knowledge of these complete inscriptions was spread throughout the nation, then next year's Master Artisan Skills Competition would, as expected, likely become the most fiercely contested competition in history—a true Hundred Schools of Thought contending!