Chapter 226: Rune Words and Talismans (1/3)

"Since everyone is here, this old man has a proposal that is yet to fully take shape." Just at that moment, Nalan Hongwu spoke up.

"Please, speak." Everyone looked over toward him.

"You all should know about that... institute or whatever, set up by Boss Fang, young Master Li, and the girl Xue..." Nalan Hongwu still found the name a bit clumsy on his tongue, so he asked, "That is the name, correct?"

"Their research has already yielded significant results, and they even have finished products. This is all thanks to a tripartite cooperation, drawing upon the strengths of each party to achieve today's efficacy. This old man believes..." He continued, "Those of us here can also cooperate in such a manner now."

Nalan Hongwu's words were mainly directed at the Wuwei Daoist Alliance. Although the Nalan family had claimed the highest reward in the Diablo individual tournament, and Nalan Mingxing held the position of captain in the Counter-Strike team tournament, the Wuwei Daoist Alliance wouldn't fare much worse either. They had AKs now, and gold-grade equipment was something they could get close enough to win over.

There was no longer any point in hoarding secrets and hiding away; it was far better for several parties to work together with all their might. Furthermore, although the Nalan family had recruited a fair number of cultivators, their artifact-forging techniques were in a completely different league compared to those of the Wuwei Daoist Alliance.

And what he could bring to the table—exceptional dark gold equipment and sniper rifles—were things that artifact-forgers would covet with burning eyes.

"In addition..." Nalan Hongwu turned his gaze back to Liang Shi and the others, saying, "If you gentlemen are willing, this old man can purchase the items in your hands. As for the price, with Boss Fang right here, this old man will hardly swindle you. It will absolutely be to your satisfaction."

"Uh... well..." Liang Shi and his companions hesitated. They truly wanted a reliable firearm, but no one ever complained about having too many spirit crystals either. Crucially, these were the spoils from the very first tournament, holding immense significance for them. Unless absolutely necessary, they could never bring themselves to sell them.

"In my view, don't bother selling," Fang Qi said, looking at Nalan Hongwu. "Lend the Desert Eagle out, and in the future, you can participate in a share of the profits for any technology derived from it. How about that?"

Fang Qi spoke these words partly out of consideration for Fatty Wang. An innocent man becomes guilty by harboring a treasure; if Wang Tai were to wander the streets with a one-of-a-kind magical weapon, one could imagine how perilous it would be, and the same applied to Liang Shi and his friends.

But it would be a different story if it were placed in the hands of the Wuwei Daoist Alliance.

"This method..." Liang Shi and the others gave it some thought, and it truly seemed to be a way to satisfy both sides.

...

"Ah—!" Upon leaving the Origin Internet Club, Liang Shi and his companions let out a fierce, roaring shout!

It was simply too incredible; these past few days of life had felt like a dream!

It was true that he was unwilling to join any faction, but that was only because an allegiance would force him to do many things against his conscience. Yet now, it was merely a simple cooperation—a cooperation with giants like the Wuwei Daoist Alliance and the Nalan Family!

These were things he wouldn't have dared to dream of before!

It seemed that his life ahead would be completely different!

Liang Shi cradled the back of his head in both hands, saying comfortably, "In the past, I used to think that if I earned some money later on, I could let those talented children in the town study martial arts. I never expected it could actually come true!"

Just like most ordinary people, their ideals were never particularly grand or far-reaching.

"Hahaha!" Wu Shan laughed so hard that his full beard trembled. "Old Wu thinks we should still open a bottle of Coke to celebrate first when the time comes!"

"Why not celebrate right now?"

"Uh... a bit short on funds..." Wu Shan's face darkened. "Let's save a bit for now."

...

"Qi'zi, thank you!" On the street lined with white walls and black tiles, customers entered or departed in small groups, and the orange-red sunset stretched everyone's shadows exceptionally long.

Whether during the tournament or after it was over, he always heard bits of idle gossip—for instance, rumors that when the boss recommended the class back then, he had already envisioned today's situation.

In truth, even he hadn't expected that the class Fang Qi had casually recommended back then would shine with such magnificent splendor!

Of course, what he did not know was that this filthy class, which bordered almost on a heretical path, had once sung of its terror-inducing side in countless tales across another world!

Fang Qi shrugged: "This is the result of your own hard work, there's no need to dump the credit on my head."

"In any case, thank you all the same." Fatty Wang grinned, laughing a bit foolishly. "By the way, I've also chosen the equipment I need—a blue staff with plus two to Raise Skeleton, plus one to Clay Golem, and plus one to Amplify Damage."

"Not bad. Come pick it up tomorrow." Fang Qi nodded. For magic equipment under level ten, having these attributes was already quite excellent.

...

"Boss! Where is this old man's halberd!?"

"And my gold equipment!"

Almost at the crack of dawn, Nalan Hongwu and Bu Che rushed over, and Wang Tai, too, had clearly arrived exceptionally early today.

Even Jun Yangzi and the other artifact-forgers had followed along.

The Razortine (Trident)

Required Level: 12

+49% Enhanced Damage

Slows Target by 25%

30% Increased Attack Speed

-50% Target Defense

+8 to Dexterity

+15 to Strength

When this long halberd, cast in a metallic white with a faint tinge of dark gold, was brought out, it instantly captured everyone's gaze. Everyone could see that upon the heavy, man-height shaft of the halberd, numerous strangely shaped characters were inscribed. The moment one's hand gripped it, the power contained within could be felt!

In reality, there was naturally no digitized data, yet from the power surging within the halberd's frame alone, one could feel that this long halberd was indeed an extraordinarily superior weapon!

"Let this old man try it first!" Nalan Hongwu tentatively drew the edge of the halberd across his own thumb.

Originally, given Nalan Hongwu's physique, even without deploying his full martial qi for defense, he was impervious to common iron and steel. Yet this gentle stroke actually sliced a gash directly across his thumb!

A highly peculiar and bizarre power immediately flowed through the wound and permeated his entire body, causing his every movement to feel unaccountably and significantly heavier!

"It is indeed a slowing effect!" Nalan Hongwu said. "Furthermore, after this old man gripped this weapon, I felt both my strength and physical agility increase! It is absolutely imbued with magical power!"

"Let this old man see!" Jun Yangzi could not sit still a moment longer. He immediately snatched the trident from Nalan Hongwu's hand, caressing the strange characters on the halberd's body with slight agitation, feeling the flow of power within. "Indeed! This is the power of talismans!"

"Talismans?!" Everyone looked toward Jun Yangzi in utter astonishment.

"It is talismans!" Jun Yangzi explained. "After a long period of research, Haoran and I discovered that the creation of these dharma vessels relies on characters extremely similar to those used when inscribing talismans. But the difference is, just as we use square and upright characters, they typically use those twisted, strange characters. While this method of artifact-forging is similar to talismans, it also deviates vastly."

"To be able to apply talismans to this extent, their research and application in this path is clearly far deeper than our mere use of talismans for storing low-level cultivator spells!"

"This is also why our research yielded so little fruit despite trying for so long," Jun Yangzi said with confidence. "But I think, now that we have a real object for reference, it won't take very long before we surely achieve results!"

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