Chapter 1229

Only in that way can the forging profession grow bigger and bigger; if one merely waits for others to share, the trade is doomed to decline.

"But such a way of thinking is far too selfish, and utterly useless. The strength of a single person, a single family, is ultimately limited. Just as my Tut family now has only me left—when I don't step forward at this moment, and if my descendant in the future doesn't wish to be a forger, am I supposed to take the inscriptions down into the ground with me?"

"If my contribution can awaken even a portion of our people—even if only one in ten forgers is willing to hone their forging craft while studying inscriptions—then starting from our era, we will step by step march toward the peak!"

Lin Cheng shamelessly attributed some of the knowledge systems from his system to the Tut family; in any case, only he remained of the Tut descendants, so he could fabricate however he wished.

It also served perfectly to cover up the mystery of the system, attributing everything to his ancestors—those stubborn fellows couldn't possibly go confront the ancestors of the Tut clan, could they?

Down below, silence didn't last long; very soon, an old man with white hair and a long beard, just like Chairman Huoerde, stood up to answer Lin Cheng's question.

"It is said that in ancient times, inscriptions, like incantations, were one of the mediums through which the powers of heaven and earth were communicated."

"What else?" Lin Cheng nodded, gesturing for the old man to sit down.

"According to the records of my Tut family, the function of inscriptions is far more than just that—communicating with heaven and earth is only its basic power..."

Another middle-aged man of plain appearance, standing outside the classroom, suddenly said to Lin Cheng: "The forgers of ancient times, by arranging and combining different inscriptions, could achieve infinite possibilities."

That was what the middle-aged man was thinking—if he answered correctly, he might very well be able to enter and attend the lecture.

"That should fall within the category of enchanting—barely counts. You may come in and attend the lecture. Anything else?"

The middle-aged man happily entered the meeting room and took a corner seat to listen; he had gambled right.

"It is said that the human scholars of ancient times believed inscriptions could unveil the secrets of heaven and earth, and even the world!" From the back row of the meeting room, a white-haired youth suddenly spoke up.

"But the specifics are unknown; the related historical secrets seem to have been destroyed by the elves."

Following the voice, Lin Cheng looked over directly—and it was that white-haired youth with a head for business from before.

He nodded, his eyes lighting up slightly—this fellow was indeed a promising talent.

"Indeed, this answer comes very close to the truth my Tut family has uncovered over a thousand years of studying inscriptions."

Everyone below who heard was shocked without exception; they had previously guessed that Master Lin Cheng might have a different understanding of inscriptions, but they hadn't expected there to be unknown secrets behind them.

"What is it?"

"The truth of inscriptions?"

"There couldn't be some conspiracy, could there?"

Lin Cheng could still hear clearly the quiet murmuring of the crowd, but none of them had hit the point.

"Ahem, quiet."

The crowd immediately fell silent; countless pairs of puzzled yet curious eyes gathered on Lin Cheng.

"Let me tell you—inscriptions are actually a kind of writing! My Tut family believes that the Heavenly Book records the knowledge and power of super-intelligence, and inscriptions are the key to unlocking the Heavenly Book's secrets."

"The Heavenly Book? Unbelievable—do you have proof?" An old man simply couldn't believe it, his whole body trembling with agitation; he was an inheritor who possessed a forger's lineage.

But Lin Cheng's theory ran completely counter to the knowledge he had learned; in his education, inscriptions were merely an auxiliary tool used by the humans of the ancient era to forge equipment, granting weapons special power—beyond that, there was no further knowledge about inscriptions.

"Sorry, my Tut family fell into decline three generations ago, so I can't produce evidence now. But this is the knowledge passed down to us, and I'm telling you now—that's all there is to it."

Seeing that the old man who had objected earlier still seemed to have something to say, Lin Cheng simply gave him no chance to interrupt.

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, it doesn't matter. I know that among you there must be families with your own forger lineages, but arguing is pointless. To be honest, our understanding of inscriptions is all too one-sided. Anything is possible."

"As I said before, the people of ancient times achieved infinite possibilities by arranging and combining different inscriptions; at the same time, the number of inscriptions in the ancient era was far greater than what we have now. But most of them were lost—only a small portion has been preserved to this day."

"Now, class officially begins!"

Lin Cheng turned around and carved five completely different yet strikingly similar inscription yao on the magic blackboard.

"These inscriptions are respectively Inheritance, Sage, Crimson Moon, Mutation, and Strife."

"Just by looking at the inscriptions themselves, you won't be able to make anything out, because they look too alike, and while their powers are similar, they are also completely different. My ancestors spent several hundred years distinguishing them, and named them with the words that best fit the category of power they belonged to."