Chapter 1250

The city guard captain didn't take the prison warden's words seriously at all. He had long heard that the prison warden in charge of the fortress city's prison was a useless bootlicker, and now seeing him in person, it was indeed the case.

These words only made the prison warden even more disdainful.

"The no-flight ordinance? Then why don't you go arrest those rank-seven and above mercenaries? The prison warden has seen those mercenaries fighting and flying inside the fortress city many times. You don't arrest those mercenaries, yet at this moment you arrest a group of forgers. In the past it was forgivable, but now you've really got a death wish."

The city guard was left speechless for a moment. He was only a rank-five cultivator himself; how would he dare arrest those rank-seven big shots? Moreover, those rank-seven big shots all had some connection with his uncle to a greater or lesser degree, so naturally he sometimes turned a blind eye.

"Obstructing your law enforcement? If you didn't go arrest Master Lin Cheng—oh no, Master Lin Cheng—would those forgers have obstructed you? The hottest name lately is Master Lin Cheng, don't you know that? Even His Majesty openly supports the rise of forgers. At this moment, you arrested the most important Master Lin Cheng among the forgers. Are you trying to fly up to the heavens?"

The prison warden spoke louder and louder, finally roaring at the city guard captain, wishing he could vent every grievance he had suffered before all onto him.

This made the city guard captain step back. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, but taking another step forward was hindered by their respective status and position—the prison warden was still slightly higher. No matter how unhappy he was inside, he could only force himself to hold back; if it really came to blows, the one who would suffer a loss was definitely him.

The night passed without a word.

The third day of teaching inscriptions was also about to end. During the afternoon class, a special guest arrived at the Zaoshigong Society—a forger who had come all the way from the Western Regions, with blue eyes, golden hair, and a fair, handsome face that seemed a bit broader than that of the people of the Tianwu Empire. Lin Cheng spotted him at a glance among the crowd; a Western Regions face among a group of Tianwu people was simply too easy to recognize.

It was said he came from the Chirpeli Kingdom, was a prince of the Chirpeli Kingdom, and was also a forger.

He had heard that the ancient Eastern kingdom had produced a fourth rank-eight forger, and was also publicly teaching new inscriptions. For this reason, he had specially taken an extremely precious airship from the Chirpeli Kingdom. Even so, he still spent three days on the airship, exhausted from the journey, but his exhaustion was far outweighed by his interest in the brand-new inscriptions.

This meant that on the very day Lin Cheng announced he would teach brand-new inscriptions, the other party had already received the news. Separated by ten thousand li, yet still possessing such terrifying information transmission capability—this was not only a reflection of the other kingdom's intelligence-gathering ability, but also a kind of covetous, invisible ambition toward the great and small affairs within the Empire.

Although this had nothing to do with Lin Cheng, he undoubtedly became a few degrees more cautious.

When the class ended, President Huoerde deliberately glanced at Lin Cheng, and Lin Cheng gave a slight nod.

President Huoerde had previously told him that when the class was about to end, he had something to announce! Now was the moment.

"Esteemed fellow forgers, last night we received a letter of regards from His Majesty. In the letter, His Majesty expressed that he is greatly looking forward to the once-in-ten-years Master Craftsman Skills Competition next year, and hopes that all fellow forgers can, using the brand-new inscriptions they have learned, create new glory for the forging profession! He also said that next year's Master Craftsman Skills Competition will be personally hosted by the royal family, absolutely fair, just, and open!"

"I hope all fellow forgers will participate enthusiastically!"

"Ohhh!"

Once these words were spoken, the forgers below boiled like bubbling water. Although some had received bits of information, the fact that the Zaoshigong Society could receive a letter of regards from His Majesty meant that His Majesty truly intended to support the resurgence of the Empire's forging industry.

Recalling the Master Craftsman Skills Competitions of the past few editions, they were essentially picking the tallest among the short—no spectacle at all, and their forging philosophy showed not the slightest progress. Even His Majesty had never personally attended.

One could well imagine how terrible the past few editions of the Master Craftsman Skills Competition were. It wasn't that the Empire's forgers were no good, but the Master Craftsman Skills Competition itself was held in the Imperial Capital, and in terms of participation, it didn't really excite forgers from across the nation. On top of that, inside the Master Craftsman Skills Competition, various insider dealings and unspoken rules kept being exposed—disappointing scandals like these gradually caused forgers across the nation to lose their last bit of confidence in this once-every-ten-years event.

The Master Craftsman Skills Competition was supposed to be the only path for grassroots forgers to rise, yet it had also been seized by those so-called black-hearted officials in the Imperial Capital and turned into a means of transaction and backing one's way to the top. Now that the royal family would host it, the credibility was clearly much higher.

Perhaps the victorious master craftsman would even have a chance to enter the Imperial Ministry of Works.

While the forgers were letting their imaginations run, President Huoerde's words were not yet finished.

"In order to better welcome next year's Master Craftsman Skills Competition, I and the elders have decided to hold an Inscription Skills Friendly Competition. The victorious forger will be able to choose one precious material from the Zaoshigong Society's treasury and take it away!"