I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 54 - Gray Face, Red Face, Ice Face

—

In any profession, competition is inevitable.

Rune engravers are no exception.

Originally, rune engravers didn’t have a ranking system. However, in larger cities, a classification system gradually emerged.

Similar to cultivation realms, rune engravers are categorized into four levels: Soul (魂), Ming (冥), Silent (寂), and Destruction (滅).

The level of runes an engraver can create or modify determines their rank as a rune engraver.

In smaller places like Yuan City, the concept of ranking didn’t exist. There were barely any rune engravers there to begin with, let alone a system to classify them.

—

After hearing Dong Tianming’s explanation, Xu Shen turned his gaze toward Xu Guang with a calm but piercing look.

“What exactly did you tell them?” Xu Shen asked.

Xu Guang, looking like he was about to cry, recounted everything he had said earlier.

Xu Shen: …

—

“Brother Shen, maybe we should move somewhere else. I’m worried they’ll come looking for trouble,” Xu Guang said nervously, scratching his head. He felt like he had stirred up a massive problem and was already considering an escape plan.

Dong Tianming stood off to the side with his arms crossed, silently observing. He wanted to see how Xu Shen would handle this situation.

Xu Shen shook his head, his expression remaining indifferent. “I’ll just set some rules. One engraving per month, and I’ll choose the clients. That should solve the problem.”

Xu Guang slapped his bald head in realization. “Oh yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?”

—

That evening, a bold post appeared on Capital University’s forum:

[Breaking News! Someone is opening a rune engraving shop in the abandoned house near campus!]

The post quickly gained traction, becoming the top thread in less than half an hour. It far surpassed the usual gossip posts in popularity.

The thread was filled with comments from students across various departments, with many from the rune engraving department fanning the flames.

—

“Who do they think they are, opening a rune shop here? Are they Ming Realm? Silent Realm?”

“I can’t stand this! I’m definitely going to crash their opening!”

“This is an insult to our engraving department! A slap in the face to our professors!”

“Fight! Fight!”

“OP, what do these engravers look like?”

—

The original poster—Slick-Hair—quickly replied:

“There were three of them. One was a big guy with a red face—definitely not the engraver. The other two had gray and ice-colored faces. I’m not sure which one it is.”

“What do you mean red face and gray face? OP, are you seeing things from too much ‘handy work’?”

“They were wearing masks! Those were the mask colors!”

“Oh. Could you sense their cultivation levels?”

“I could sense a little when I got close. The masks seemed special. The red-faced and gray-faced ones are probably below Flame Mastery.”

“The other one… I couldn’t tell. But being near him made my heart tremble.”

“What’s your cultivation level, OP?”

“I’m at Core Solidification Peak!”

“Then why are you even talking? Of course you couldn’t sense anything.”

Slick-Hair was furious at the comment and furiously typed back: “The red-faced guy said his brother is invincible in rune engraving! Anyone who challenges him will die!”

—

“What?! That arrogant?! I can’t stand it anymore—let’s go, brothers!”

The thread’s popularity skyrocketed as rumors spread like wildfire.

What started as “invincible in rune engraving” soon escalated to “invincible in Xia Nation.” By the end of the night, it had become “the greatest engraver in Xia Nation’s history—peerless and unmatched.”

Even some professors and instructors were drawn to the commotion.

Unlike their students, the professors weren’t as emotional. They knew how easily online rumors could spiral out of control. However, one thing was certain: someone had indeed opened a rune engraving shop near campus.

—

“This person must be quite confident to open a shop here… interesting,” an elderly professor murmured as he scrolled through the forum on his phone.

Beside him sat a young woman in her twenties with a red mark on her forehead. She pouted as she glanced at the screen.

“Grandpa, someone’s challenging your engraving department’s reputation! Aren’t you angry?” she asked indignantly.

The old man put down his phone and shook his head with a smile. “Xuexue, every rune engraver is important to Xia Nation.”

“No matter their rank, they contribute greatly to our strength.”

“The more engravers we have, the stronger our cultivators become.”

“Seeing someone open a shop here fills me with joy,” he said with a hearty laugh.

—

“Fine, fine. You’re so noble,” the girl huffed. “But I’m still going to check it out. If it turns out to be some fraud selling garbage, I won’t hold back.”

Her eyes gleamed with curiosity despite her words.

—

Meanwhile, Xu Shen remained blissfully unaware that he had already become famous on his first day in the capital.

He was currently sitting cross-legged on a nearby mountain peak with his eyes closed in meditation.

Recent events had left him with little time for cultivation. Now that the house was settled, he finally had a chance to focus on training.

—

Instead of practicing Battle Art, Xu Shen chose to cultivate Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal.

Ever since the system’s prompt about focusing on his technique, he had been paying special attention to it. However, something always felt off during his practice sessions.

After consulting Dong Tianming, he learned that cultivating techniques wasn’t just about sitting and absorbing spiritual energy—it required finding the right environment.

For example:

– Those with river-based runes should train near rivers.

– Fire-based runes worked best near volcanoes or fiery locations.

– Wind-based runes benefited from windy areas.

—

Xu Shen didn’t know the exact nature of his Weapon Rune or what Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal required. However, the name of its first stage—Observing Mountains—provided a clue.

And so, he came to the mountains.

Wearing his mask, Xu Shen exhaled deeply as his aura spread outward like rolling thunder. He muttered softly to himself:

“Observing Mountains… is it about understanding their essence or their form?”

His consciousness began to sink deeper as he synchronized with his technique. Slowly but surely, he entered a profound state of enlightenment.

—

In this state, Xu Shen felt as though he could “see” everything—the surrounding mountains’ shapes, their entirety, and even their souls.

Golden energy radiated faintly from his body as he sat there enveloped in its glow. In his mind’s eye, the illusory mountain began solidifying ever so slightly.

This trance-like state lasted for an unknown amount of time before Xu Shen finally opened his eyes.

A flash of understanding crossed his gaze—he now knew how to cultivate Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal.

—

To observe mountains was to immerse oneself in their essence—to feel their presence and understand their energy. This process strengthened the illusory mountain within his mind.

However, it seemed that each location only worked once. After reaching enlightenment here, further attempts yielded no additional progress.

“So I need to keep finding new mountains to comprehend?” Xu Shen mused with a frown. While there were plenty of mountains around the capital, he wasn’t sure if they’d be enough.

If each mountain could only be used once, would he have to travel to other cities?

—

“No… it can’t be that strict,” he reasoned. “Perhaps reaching a certain level will unlock the next stage.”

Shaking his head, Xu Shen decided not to dwell on it. Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal had multiple stages—it wouldn’t make sense for him to be stuck focusing solely on mountains forever.

“Looks like I’ll need to visit Changbai Mountain again during New Year,” he muttered. “There are plenty of mountains there.”

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

—

The system’s technique was truly extraordinary. Even after just one session of cultivation, Xu Shen could feel his mental strength increasing significantly.

Checking his interface, he noted his staggering number of engraving points: 3170!

All these points had been accumulated during his time at Changbai Mountain while slaughtering corpse apes. He had been so focused on survival that he hadn’t even noticed how many points he’d earned until afterward.

Now that he thought about it… it was terrifying how many low-tier corpse apes he must’ve killed during that battle.

—

“I still don’t fully understand how engraving points are calculated,” Xu Shen mused. “But one thing’s clear—engraving runes for high-level cultivators yields more points.”

“When I modified Uncle Wang’s rune with just one stroke, I gained 50 points.”

After pondering for a while longer, Xu Shen stood up and dusted himself off. “Well, as long as I keep earning points, it doesn’t matter how—it’s all good.”

“If needed… I’ll just hunt more ghouls.”

With his hands clasped behind his back and a cheerful tune on his lips, Xu Shen strolled leisurely down the mountain path.

“I wonder who my first customer will be,” he mused aloud. “The future looks promising…”