Chapter 0316: Mystic Weapon Blueprint

Chapter 0316: Mystic Weapon Blueprint

Although Qin Yun had obtained the Star Rune, he was feeling down. On the way back, he didn’t say a word.

Lan Fengjin and Zhuochuan were well aware of how upset he was.

After the grand ceremony, Xiao Yanglong would be marrying Yang Shiyue.

And Qin Yun felt utterly helpless about it.

Although Zhuochuan and the others were quite powerful, they couldn’t intervene in this matter unless they killed Xiao Yanglong!

Killing Xiao Yanglong was no easy task. On one hand, he was protected by the strong experts of the Blue Spirit West Palace, and on the other, no one could act within the Blue Spirit Star Palace.

Returning to the small forest, the exhausted and injured Qin Yun hurried back to his room to rest. He was also equipped with Runes Gear, which would help him recover from his injuries more quickly.

...

Yang Shiyue was practicing the Star Profound Steps in the forest when she suddenly saw Lan Fengjin approaching.

"Fengjin, how did it go? Did Qin Yun make it to the next round? What was the reward for the fourth round?" Yang Shiyue, dressed in an elegant white dress, glided over gracefully like a fairy, a faint smile on her face as she asked softly.

"He made it, but there was a complication!" Lan Fengjin sighed lightly and then recounted the events of the competition to Yang Shiyue.

As Yang Shiyue listened, her expression gradually changed, filled with anger and helplessness. She seemed to feel Qin Yun’s deep sorrow.

"Sigh, I hope Qin Yun won’t be affected by this!" Yang Shiyue sighed deeply. "I’ve already accepted my fate, but Qin Yun hasn’t given up. His determination moves me!"

Lan Fengjin said, "Shiyue, you can escape! I can help you escape from the Blue Spirit Star Palace!"

Yang Shiyue shook her head, smiling bitterly. "For many years, I could have escaped at any time, but Xiao Yanglong never worried that I would run away... That’s because... well, you can probably guess."

Lan Fengjin didn’t press further. She truly wanted to help Yang Shiyue. After all, there weren’t many young female martial artists in the Blue Spirit Holy Palace.

"Qin Yun is now a disciple of the Blue Spirit West Palace. I’m worried that he might act rashly because of your marriage, challenging Xiao Yanglong with only the ninth level of the Martial Body stage!" Lan Fengjin expressed her concern.

"I’ll try to talk him out of it..." Yang Shiyue said. "There are still two rounds of the martial competition, which will take a few more days. I’ll use this time to mentor him properly. With his talent, he is destined to become a legend. I don’t want him to be ruined by Xiao Yanglong because of me!"

"Can you really persuade him?" Lan Fengjin smiled helplessly.

"If Yuelan comes out of seclusion, she would definitely be able to persuade Qin Yun!" Yang Shiyue said.

As the two women chatted, night fell.

Yang Shiyue followed Lan Fengjin to her small wooden cabin, where they confided in each other under the night sky.

...

Qin Yun, who had been feeling down, suddenly thought that if he gave up, Yang Shiyue’s only hope would be lost!

"I must not let teacher Yang see me in despair! Although I am only at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage, I have three golden core inner elixirs. The traces of the Great Dao on the surface of the three elixirs are becoming more distinct. I am just one step away from the Martial Dao realm. I will definitely defeat Xiao Yanglong!"

Instantly filled with confidence, his previously gloomy eyes now shone brightly and sharply.

He lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.

As dawn broke, Qin Yun got up, washed, and dressed in a clean set of white clothes, looking spirited and full of vitality. The bad mood from the previous day had completely vanished.

Qin Yun stepped out of the wooden cabin and saw Lan Huayu. Smiling, he greeted, "Good morning, Senior Lan. Today is the fifth round of the Runes competition. Is the prize really better than the Star Rune?"

Zhuochuan, Yang Shiyue, and Lan Fengjin were also present. Seeing Qin Yun brimming with confident joy, they all felt reassured.

This confident and resolute young man was the Qin Yun they knew so well!

"The reward for the fifth round, I believe, surpasses the Star Rune! After all, the Star Rune you obtained is merely special, merely rare. As for its strength, everyone has their own opinion! As for the fifth round's reward, hehe, you'll see when the time comes!" Lan Huayu said with a mysterious laugh.

"Alright, I'll wait and see!" Qin Yun smiled faintly: "Teacher, will you be watching my match today?"

"I won't be going. Good luck to you. Remember not to get yourself all beaten up again. Return in the afternoon and seriously study the Star Profound Steps!" Yang Shiyue said softly with a smile.

Qin Yun nodded and then headed to the Rune Hall with Lan Huayu and the others.

...

As soon as they entered the Rune Hall, they sensed several powerful and familiar auras. The leaders of the four palaces had gathered beside the competition arena. They had been secretly watching the matches from the rooms in the main hall before.

Now, they wanted to get a closer look at Qin Yun's performance in the fifth round!

The Runes Masters who could enter the fifth round were all quite skilled.

Besides Qin Yun, there were four elders, two from the West Palace and the South Palace respectively, and the other two were from the Blue Spirit Holy Palace.

Evidently, the Runes Masters from the West and South Palaces were stronger than those from the North and East Palaces, with the East Palace being the weakest.

The five Runes Masters had all arrived at the competition arena.

Lan Huayu began to announce the content of this round's competition: "The fifth round's competition is neither too difficult nor too simple! There are two rewards in total, and whether you can obtain them depends on your strength!"

He took out two light blue boxes and continued: "Inside these two boxes, there is a blueprint for a Mystic Artifact each, which is also the reward for the fifth round!"

A blueprint for a Mystic Artifact, which can be used to craft a Mystic Artifact, containing Mystic Runes!

This reward is indeed much better than the Star Rune!

Qin Yun's Giant Spirit King Hammer is only a King-grade Spirit Artifact, which has certain limitations.

But a Mystic Artifact is different. If one steps into the Martial Realm and possesses a Mystic Artifact, their strength should not be underestimated.

Qin Yun's father, Qin Long, was feared by many old Martial Realm experts because he had a Dragon King Spear!

Lan Huayu said: "There are five blueprints here, all the same! Based on the spirit patterns and shapes on them, refine a key. The one who refines the fastest and whose key fits will be able to open the box!"

"Don't think the key is simple... Some of my senior Runes Master friends, although they can refine the key, cannot open the box!"

Qin Yun took the blueprint and asked: "Why can't it be opened? Is there anything to pay attention to?"

Lan Huayu smiled without speaking and shook his head: "This is something you need to discover for yourselves. It's a test for you!"

"The furnace and carving knives are provided by us, and the materials are your own!"

A Runes Master from the Holy Palace asked: "What materials should we use?"

"You decide what materials to use. The total time is three hours!" Lan Huayu said: "If you fail, you can go back and refine again, then try to open the box... As long as there are still boxes unopened within three hours, you can repeatedly refine keys to try!"

Qin Yun frowned at the blueprint. It appeared straightforward. The spirit patterns used were also the most common solid patterns and alchemical patterns. The key was as big as a finger and had a simple shape.

At first glance, this seemed like a very easy key to refine!

"Could the Mystic level be in those two boxes?" Qin Yun looked at the two boxes, and the keyholes seemed normal.

Lan Huayu shouted, "The fifth round of the Runes competition begins now!"

A large hourglass was flipped over, and the timing began.

The three-hour duration was the longest of the five rounds.

The four senior Runes Masters immediately took out their materials and began refining the key according to the blueprint.

Only Qin Yun stood there, staring at the blueprint, lost in thought.

"This is easier than refining a low-grade spirit artifact—it's almost at the level of a semi-spirit artifact! With the skills of a senior Runes Master like us, we could refine several keys within three hours!"

"But the fifth round of the competition is definitely not that simple. Where does the mystery lie?"

Qin Yun frowned, feeling restless.

"Qin Yun, hurry up and start! Don't overthink it, just refine a key first!" Lan Fengjin shouted from outside the competition arena, as the other four senior Runes Masters had already begun.

Xie Wufeng turned to Zhuochuan and asked, "Senior Zhuochuan, do you know what the mystery is here?"

Zhuochuan shook his head, "I don't know! But it's definitely not that simple!"

"Maybe Elder Lan is just playing tricks, making people overthink it?" Murong Daren said, "Brother Yun, hurry up and start! Maybe Elder Lan is just messing with you, making you overcomplicate things!"

Elder Lan chuckled, making things even more mysterious.

The observing Runes Masters, unable to see the blueprint, could only speculate wildly.

"There are no material requirements, just low-grade solid runes and low-grade alchemy runes. All we need to do is carve these two sets of runes onto the key, and even the positions of the runes on the key are specified. Could it be that we need to focus on precision?" Qin Yun thought about precision but felt it wasn't the case.

He flipped the blueprint over and over, examining it very carefully, but found nothing else.

"I can only start refining now!" Qin Yun, unable to figure it out, took out some low-grade bone steel and placed it into the furnace.

The low-grade bone steel quickly softened, and he took it out, forging and shaping it according to the key dimensions marked on the blueprint.

The process was straightforward and completed in just a moment. After polishing, the key's shape matched the blueprint perfectly.

Next came the engraving of the runes.

The engraving process was also simple, and Qin Yun finished it quickly.

Although he started later due to his initial contemplation, he caught up with the other Runes Masters.

He finished refining the key first, taking just a little over half an hour!

Everyone watched intently as he walked towards the two blue boxes.

Qin Yun inserted the key into the lock and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't move!

He had failed—the key didn't work.

"Can I use more force to turn the key?" Qin Yun asked.

"Yes!" Lan Huayu nodded.

Qin Yun gritted his teeth and twisted the key with force, only to find it deformed and still unable to open the box.

At that moment, one of the senior Runes Masters hurried to the other blue box. After inserting his key into the lock, he also couldn't turn it, just like Qin Yun.

Qin Yun's key was already twisted out of shape, so he had to pull it out and return to the furnace, filled with doubt.

"I followed the blueprint exactly, so why didn't it open?" He glanced at the senior Runes Master from the West Palace, who had also deformed his key and failed to open the box.