Ye An turned to look at Huang Zexun and asked seriously, "What rune stones are you talking about?"
"Rune fusion stones," Huang Zexun frowned, wondering if Ye An was unfamiliar with them. "I mean, what level of rune stones are you looking at?"
"No kidding," Huang Zexun snorted. "It'll definitely be ten rune stones."
"Ten rune stones?" Ye An suddenly felt somewhat uninterested.
This surprised Huang Zexun. Did Ye An have so many rune stones at home? Ye An was thinking that ten rune stones didn't seem to have a high success rate. If it failed, it could reduce his combat power, and he didn't want to take that risk.
On the side, Master Liu, too, was puzzled. He said, "Little Ye, ten rune stones are already quite good. According to your current level, your rune energy shouldn't be too overwhelming. As long as you're not fusing innate talent runes, the success rate for skill runes and special attribute runes is over 50%. If the runes are somewhat compatible, the success rate can even reach 80%. If it really doesn't work out, I can lend you a hand. I taught rune fusion for a period when I was younger, improving the success rate by 10% shouldn't be a problem."
As he spoke, Master Liu suddenly lowered his voice and said in Ye An's ear, "Huang Qingmai has passed away. His entire estate is now on this one son. He's got money, so he's not going to spare any expenses. Things like rune stones, no one minds having too many. You're not really that foolish, are you?"
Upon hearing this, Ye An thought again. Yeah, has he been stupid lately? He could do without rune stones, but not without them! The matter of fusion could wait; first, he needed to get his hands on the rune stones.
Ye An stood up and looked at Huang Zexun, saying calmly, "What are we comparing?"
Huang Zexun heard this and was pleased. "Climb the Vermillion Bird Steps."
Ye An frowned upon hearing this. Didn't he know that he was climbing the Vermillion Bird Steps every day? Comparing something he was proficient in wasn't advantageous for Huang Zexun. He wasn't stupid; there had to be something else.
Sure enough, Huang Zexun changed the subject and said, "As everyone knows, you're training on the Vermillion Bird Steps all day. Challenging me in this aspect isn't favorable for me. But it doesn't matter. After all, only the weak challenge others' weaknesses. Yet I still feel a bit shortchanged. If I lose, it's ten rune stones, but what will you pay if you lose?"
Ye An furrowed his brow. "What do you want?"
Huang Zexun smirked slightly. "The power of Xuanwu."
At these words, Ye An's heart tightened involuntarily. This guy was directly asking for my top power. Could runes be transferred? Ye An didn't know much about this, but if Huang Zexun dared to ask, it surely meant it was possible.
Seeing Ye An's silence, Huang Zexun was about to say something to imply that he was afraid. But unexpectedly, Ye An suddenly looked up and said, "Let's compare."
"Right now."
Hearing this, Huang Zexun looked up at the sun. Climbing the Vermillion Bird Steps was of hellish difficulty. But so what? He had secretly climbed the steps while Ye An was not training, easily surpassing the record set by the former King of Men. No matter how strong Ye An was, could he break historical records?
"Let's go then."
Huang Zexun turned and walked out of the shop door.
Master Liu suddenly became interested and said, "I'll go too."
Another young man beside him couldn't help but say, "Dad, I want to go too."
Upon hearing this, Ye An realized that the person following Huang Zexun was Master Liu's son.
Unexpectedly, Master Liu suddenly became serious and said, "You stay here to watch the store."
"What!?" His son was unhappy.
"Do you think anyone can climb the Vermillion Bird Steps?" Master Liu glanced at his son and said, "Stay put and don't annoy Lord Vermillion Bird."
Upon hearing this, his son widened his eyes, thinking, "I can't go, but you can?"
The three of them headed to the Phoenix Sky Forest.
Along the way, Ye An noticed a hint of reminiscence on Master Liu's face. He suddenly asked, "Do you know Lord Vermillion Bird?"
Master Liu came back to himself and answered this question subconsciously, "Not bad, but not too familiar."
This answer surprised Ye An. There was no formality in his speech. There was almost no sense of respect in his tone. But earlier in the blacksmith's shop, he spoke of Lord Vermillion Bird with full admiration. In the one or two seconds that Ye An quickly thought, Master Liu seemed to realize something too. He glanced at Ye An and said, "How could I possibly know Lord Vermillion Bird?"
But Ye An also frowned. Was this old guy pretending to be an ordinary person for me? A mediocre blacksmith who made one after another famous divine weapons that shook the heavens, crafted from precious Ice Cicada materials he happened to obtain, and even received the blessing of Lord Vermillion Bird. He said earlier that he had been a rune fusion professor when he was young. Lord Vermillion Bird said that rune fusion professors needed to achieve research results, and they were all old men with white hair. Something was wrong. Master Liu was very wrong.
Soon.
The three arrived at the Phoenix Sky Forest.
Ye An and Huang Zexun ascended the steps very decisively.
They were both over five thousand steps, so the earlier they started climbing, the earlier they finished.
Master Liu naturally sat quietly on the pavilion at the foot of the mountain, silently watching the two young geniuses climb the steps.
He suddenly felt a bit unhappy, with a hint of loneliness in his eyes, and finally sighed. With a complex expression, he looked at the increasingly distant figures of the two.
"Master Liu."
Suddenly.
Lord Vermillion Bird's figure appeared beside Master Liu.
She called Master Liu's original name directly, and there was a hint of teasing in her eyes.
Master Liu hurriedly said, "Lord Vermillion Bird."
"Oh." Lord Vermillion Bird chuckled and said, "It's been many years."
"When did your kid's waist bend so nimblely?"
Master Liu smiled awkwardly and said, "That's all when I was young and didn't know any better."
"Young and frivolous, ignorant and fearless."
Suddenly, Lord Vermillion Bird changed the subject and said, "Are you still unwilling?"
Master Liu's expression suddenly dimmed at these words, then he took a deep breath and smiled with relief, looking at the towering red steps. He said, "Now this kind of life is quite good."
But just as he finished speaking, the relief in his eyes turned into sadness. "But what's the use of being unwilling?"
"My meridians are all withered, beyond treatment."
"He can heal them." Lord Vermillion Bird pointed to Ye An's back and said, "Dreams can achieve anything."
"His strength is still far from enough," Master Liu shook his head.
Suddenly, he stood up and walked to the shade beside him.
He stood with his feet together, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he swept his fingers into the void in front of him.
A silver spear appeared.
Master Liu firmly grasped the heavy silver spear in both hands, staring at the figures of Ye An and Huang Zexun, which were becoming smaller and smaller.
Then, he began to wield the long spear in his hands, the sound of the spear mingling with the magnificent moon arcs on the lush greenery under the blazing sun.
Lord Vermillion Bird joked, "Didn't neglect the spear technique."
"Over these years, have you been sneaking practice every night?"
Master Liu suddenly planted the spear heavily into the ground, leaned against the spear, looked up at the two who had become small black dots, and said calmly, "Can't get used to not practicing."
Lord Vermillion Bird suddenly asked with curiosity, "If you were to return to that battlefield of Shura."
"Would you still be willing to go and save people?"
"And now that you know, your extraordinary meridians will be dragged to aging and become a complete waste in the future?"
Master Liu smiled and said, "Of course."
"That year everyone called me the Young Spear Saint, with a silver spear and a white horse breaking through ten thousand enemies."
"Bearing such a title, I must move forward!"
"Moreover, have I become useless?"
"I can't charge into battle anymore, but I'm still the youngest rune fusion master, the strongest third-stage alchemist among the human race."
"I'm not useless, I'm still of great use to the human race!"
Lord Vermillion Bird had seen too many geniuses.
Master Liu was someone she found quite interesting.
That year, a man and a spear.
Proud and arrogant, upon seeing her, he said, "Hey, you're Vermillion Bird, huh?"
"Prettier than I imagined."
This kind of language made Lord Vermillion Bird unsure whether to be angry or not.