Chapter 16: Rune Master Guild

The main hall was bustling with activity. Rune apprentices were walking back and forth, occasionally retrieving various materials from the storage rooms.

At the core of the crowd was a cross-shaped hexagram array, with a cauldron floating above it.

"A fourth-tier art refining array?" Lu Fan was slightly surprised. To think a third-tier Rune Master Guild would actually possess a fourth-tier art refining array—it seemed this place was not ordinary!

"Hehe! Kid, I didn't expect someone your age to have such keen insight. That's right, this is indeed a fourth-tier art refining array. In the entire Mingyue Empire, the highest level available is only a fifth-tier art refining array."

Zu Qing Tan chuckled, unable to help but look at Lu Fan with a bit more respect, though his tone turned arrogant toward the end, clearly quite proud of himself.

"Hmph! You look quite old, but your skin is thick enough. Using a fourth-tier art refining array to craft a fourth-tier rune tool and still needing so many people to help—how truly shameless."

Lu Fan let out a cold snort, speaking with a look of disdain.

Zu Qing Tan's face darkened instantly, turning as red as a monkey's backside. He was so furious he puffed out his beard and glared, ready to fly into a rage and teach Lu Fan a lesson.

Lu Fan, however, didn't even glance at him. He pushed aside the crowd in front of him and walked up to the art refining array. Suddenly, he waved his hand, and a streak of runic rhyme shot out, merging into it.

"Boom!"

The art refining array, which had been rotating slowly, stopped instantly, its profound light dissipating. The cauldron it had been supporting crashed down under the force of gravity, shaking the entire guild hall until it felt like the earth was moving.

"Kid, what are you doing?"

Zu Qing Tan's expression changed drastically. The treasure he had gathered the entire Rune Master Guild's strength to craft was now ruined by this mid-process interruption.

"President, what is going on? Everyone has been working intensely for half a month; why did the array just stop like this?"

Vice President Qi Yue walked over, looking completely bewildered, never having noticed Lu Fan at all.

Zu Qing Tan stared fixedly at Lu Fan, his face filled with extreme resentment. Why had he invited this brat in? Now everything was ruined; this brat deserved to die ten thousand times over.

Following Zu Qing Tan's gaze, everyone suddenly realized that Lu Fan had clearly come from outside—he must be the one who caused the trouble.

"Where did this wild brat come from? The Rune Master Guild is not a place for the likes of you."

The guild's gate guard snorted coldly and leaped into the air. He had been careless and let Lu Fan slip in; if he didn't remedy the situation now, these art-refining masters would likely skin him alive.

"Noisy! Get lost!"

Lu Fan looked at him with contempt, kicked out, and instantly sent the guard flying into a corner, where he spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

"A third-tier Rune Master Guild is truly bottom-tier. Even a lowly Martial Warrior dares to step up—overestimating one's own strength."

Lu Fan shook his head slightly, looking quite dismissive.

"Young Master Lu! Come down quickly, the Rune Master Guild is not someone we can afford to provoke!"

Han Zhen's face turned pale as liver, and seeing the angry glares of the rune masters around them, he was already scared half to death.

He had thought he'd found a powerful backer, but to think this brother of his was so reckless—he had to find a way to escape!

"Kid, you are dead today. Even if you were a prince of the Mingyue Empire, you wouldn't walk out of my guild's gates!"

Zu Qing Tan's face was cold with malice. He flicked his sleeve, and the runes on his robe began to circulate on their own, transforming into a rune array that pressed down toward Lu Fan.

"Hmph! Still trying to show off at a time like this!" Lu Fan sneered. He flipped his large hand and tapped rapidly in front of him, and the incoming rune array came to a sudden, jarring halt.

"How is this possible? The President's attainments in the Rune Dao are heaven-sent; even a Great Martial Master couldn't possibly block this rune array!"

"Since when would a Great Martial Master dare to fight the President? They would be too busy trying to curry favor with him!"

"What is wrong with this kid? He actually blocked the President's rune array—this is simply too unbelievable."

Everyone in the guild hall was stunned, looking as if they had seen a ghost. Even Zu Qing Tan was bewildered, muttering incessantly, "Impossible, impossible!"

Lu Fan flicked his sleeves, and the rune array in front of him vanished into smoke. He scolded Zu Qing Tan:

"Zu Qing Tan, you dared to craft a fourth-tier profound artifact beyond your level and even mobilized the entire guild. In such a public place, do you intend to have the entire Shanjin Town guild buried with you?"

He spoke with righteous indignation, his tone that of a teacher reprimanding a student, as if he were the one in charge of the Shanjin Town Rune Master Guild.

The surrounding rune masters could no longer sit still; they jumped up one after another, glaring at Lu Fan, waiting for the President to make his move.

Zu Qing Tan, however, felt his old face flush red. He stammered, looking like a child who had made a mistake, unable to say a word.

"Hmph! You recklessly used a fourth-tier art refining array, trying to take shortcuts. With your strength as a peak third-tier Rune Master, there shouldn't have been any problems. Yet you insisted on gathering so many people, adding chaos to the work and making mistake after mistake!"

Lu Fan acted as if he didn't see the glares of the surrounding rune masters. With his hands behind his back, he began to list the errors one by one, just like a teacher lecturing a student.

"Star Sand and Heavenly Crystal Steel are both third-tier materials, but when used together on the same object, they reach the fourth-tier level."

"The former increases the object's strength, the latter improves its efficiency, but this is clearly beyond your control. Human greed is a great taboo in art refining—did your teacher never teach you that?"

Lu Fan spoke eloquently, and the only three second-tier Rune Masters present seemed to understand some of it.

Their eyes lit up, and they pushed through the crowd to stand before Lu Fan, listening like disciples receiving a teacher's instruction. Even Vice President Qi Yue took out a leather notebook to record everything.

As for Zu Qing Tan, his head sank lower and lower; he wished he could act like an ostrich, too ashamed to face anyone.

Han Zhen was dumbfounded. He had thought his life was over today, but he never expected Lu Fan to be so capable, making a group of high-and-mighty art-refining masters act like obedient little puppies.

"Sigh! You lot are truly reckless! Fine, I've talked until my mouth is dry! Come, I will give you some pointers myself!"

Lu Fan shook his head, looking as if he were disappointed that they hadn't lived up to his expectations.

As soon as these words fell, the three second-tier Rune Masters were overjoyed.

Even Zu Qing Tan, that old man, became interested. Seeming to forget his shame, he hurriedly put on his President's airs, pushed the three of them aside, and occupied the best position.

Those who had been skeptical were now convinced. Seeing the President and the other masters act this way, they all perked up, eyes wide, staring fixedly at Lu Fan, terrified of missing even the slightest detail.

"Give me an art refining rune array, and I can overturn seas and collapse stars. Watch closely, this is how a fourth-tier rune array is truly utilized."

As soon as Ye Fei finished speaking, he raised his hands gently, forming seals and casting spells. Basic rune seals shot out one after another, merging into the hexagram array.

With a "creak," the cauldron shifted slightly and then slowly floated up.

Light shimmered all around, pulsing on its own. It didn't seem much more profound than before, but the speed was ten times faster.

Everyone felt dazzled. After a short while, the light of the art refining array dissipated, and the cauldron shimmered with light—the artifact's rhyme had been achieved.

"Your idea of crafting together is good—many hands make light work. However, your methodology is deeply flawed. Do not attempt this again without professional training!"

Lu Fan slapped the cauldron, and with a loud shout, the people around them were startled out of their trance, still wanting more.

"Kid, how did you do that?"

Zu Qing Tan's face was flushed; he was simply too excited. He felt as if he had vaguely caught a glimpse of the figures he had followed in his youth.

"Kid?" Lu Fan frowned and stared coldly at Zu Qing Tan, scaring the old man so much that he hurriedly changed his address.

"Young Master Lu, how are you able to control a fourth-tier art refining array? I see your spiritual power is at most that of a first-tier Rune Master."

Lu Fan rolled his eyes at him and snorted coldly, "None of your business! You called me in from outside the guild—what exactly is the matter?"

Zu Qing Tan rubbed his hands together, feeling embarrassed, and said directly, "Oh! I just felt that this art refining crystal furnace was about to succeed, and I wanted to find a rune master to test it!"

He realized what he had said only after the words left his mouth, and his face turned cold—he had let it slip.

Newly crafted rune tools were generally unstable; finding a rune apprentice to test them was extremely dangerous.

Especially for a rune tool crafted beyond one's level, it was even more so. Because it was fourth-tier, it required at least a first-tier Rune Master to handle it.

After Zu Qing Tan's words, the three second-tier Rune Masters' expressions changed, and they loudly objected, "President, how can you do this? Young Master Lu is a master of rune refining; for such a dangerous task, just find any disciple!"

Lu Fan didn't get angry at all upon hearing this; he laughed heartily, "So that's what it is! Easy, I'll help you out!"

Zu Qing Tan and the others were horrified, and the surrounding rune apprentices looked on in disbelief—they had clearly suffered from testing rune tools before and looked at him like he was a fool.

Lu Fan didn't care at all. He turned, slapped the cauldron, and cast a spell into it. Without even a hint of testing, he pried open the lid. He patted his waist, took out the piece of secret silver stone, and tossed it in.

"This rune tool is for refining spirit ores, right? Ordinary rune arrays can do it too, but this one seems universal. I can imagine that this thing will become a hot commodity in Shanjin Town in the future."

Zu Qing Tan's mind was shaken. Seeing Ye Fei's skillful movements and hearing these words, he found it hard to believe.

The rune tool he had painstakingly designed with such originality had its mysteries revealed by the other party in an instant.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the secret silver stone was refined, leaving only an egg-sized piece, with all remaining impurities extracted.

The silver light was warm and moist, spilling out like a flowing liquid.

Most people here had seen secret silver, but secret silver of this purity was rare in the world; few had ever seen it.

"I'll be damned, is this pure secret silver?"

Qi Yue looked incredulous, even subconsciously rubbing his eyes, thinking he had been too tired these past few days and was seeing things.

"Pure secret silver? This crystal furnace can actually refine pure secret silver!" Zu Qing Tan's eyes shone, and he laughed heartily, "We're going to be rich! Our Rune Master Guild is going to flourish!"

The path of rune cultivation involved dealing with various materials, requiring exquisite craftsmanship. Purifying various materials was one of the difficult problems, a complex and crucial key point.

Everyone in the Rune Master Guild had shining eyes. The apprentices seemed to see a bright future ahead, finally no longer needing to stay up all night in front of the tedious refining arrays.

"Ahem," Lu Fan coughed twice, then said nonchalantly, "Oh! I forgot to tell you, I just engraved a few unique marks on this crystal furnace. Apart from me, no one else can operate it!" ===== CHAPTER 17 =====