"He left the building unharmed." The Hall master reported to the first elder. An expression of relief surfaced over his face upon hearing this.
"Who was in charge of the negotiations with Lu Ming?" The first elder didn't expect the brown-stone guild to take the matter so lightly. The one who handled the situation must be an experienced one to have handled it so well.
"He was invited into elder Xuan Ying's room" The first elder couldn't help but smile. If it was Xuan Ying, he is sure to have tested the waters first. Since Lu Ming did come out of the guild unharmed, his initial efforts have caused him to lose even more.
"That sly old fox must have encountered a steel plate. He is sure to have paid a huge amount to resolve this situation." The first elder was laughing his guts out.
"Lu Ming's demand wouldn't be too big. He is capable of analyzing the situation quite well."
"Lu Ming's demands have nothing to do with the situation. Xuan Ying is not a small character. He is one of the top elders whose authority is just below the organization's head. His ability to foresee a situation is quite godly. He must have tested the waters when dealing with Lu Ming, trying to intimidate him."
"It is a common logic while making a trade. You should always have the upper hand to gain a better part of the deal. Since Lu Ming walked with ease, it means that his intimidation failed to scare him. Given the personality of our disciple, what do you think his reaction would be?"
"He must have been pissed off and demanded another set of compensation. I guess the brown-stone guild did not take a loss this time."
"I said they had to pay a high price, but I don't remember saying that they took a loss at Lu Ming's hand." The first elder pointed out.
"Are you saying that this was within the expectation of Elder Xuan Ying?"
"Xuan Ying is someone who has been born with a talent in trading. That old fox was famous even during my years as a disciple. He wouldn't ever take part in a deal that was not beneficial for the organization. Given Lu Ming's performance, he must have already valued him quite high up the board. This was just a test to estimate Lu Ming's skill level."
"He was willing to pay such a huge price just to test out Lu Ming's skill." The hall master was surprised.
"What do you think is the core reason behind the brown-stone guild becoming so huge, except for the obvious strength of its constituting members?"
"Their contacts." A sudden realization dawned upon the hall master.
"Yes. Xuan Ying was testing whether Lu Ming was eligible to be classified as such a contact. His performance had already given 90% certification, while this test would be sealing the deal. He must have given something in addition to Lu Ming's demand just to build a relationship. That is the extent of cunningness that an old bastard possesses."
......…��.........…..
"What is your impression of that boy?" Xuan Ying was sitting in his room in seclusion with his eyes closed. The words were being telepathically transmitted to him from somewhere else.
"The boy is quite a character. Ruthlessness and absurd confidence were visible in his eyes. He didn't even get nervous when I threatened him with the name of our guild and he was confident of escaping my clutches."
"Such characters are quite sinister and it is better to make friends out of them rather than an enemy. I would like to request you to look out for him. He is bound to rise above his peers, and the Pill valley wouldn't be able to contain him."
"Such a high assessment of you is quite rare. I guess your choice was correct in this matter. I would like for you to build a relationship with him. As per the girl, make sure to teach her a lesson when she returns. Even after such thorough training in the guild, she dared to underestimate her opponent." The voice on the other side was showing signs of displeasure.
"I will be sure to do that leader." Xuan Ying's words were quite shocking to hear. The person on the other side was none other than the leader of the brown-stone guild. Even such a character took notice of Lu Ming's performance.
............
"The materials present within the ring should be enough for the limiter rune, right?"
"It is enough to draw runes onto all your avatars. I will now transmit the theory and procedure of drawing the rune to you. Make sure to comprehend it before you start drawing."
Information was being transmitted into Long Tao's brain. The whole set contained the theory, the various forms which went into the structure and the uses of every one of them, and the idea behind the usage of this rune. Long Tao was surprised by the complexity. Although the building blocks were easily identified, the number of micro blocks which went into creating the rune was astronomical.
"Just who came up with such an idea?"
"Every major structure is built upon some basic blocks. The same is true for the Dao of formation and runes too. Since you are adept with the Dao of formation until the third level you should be easily able to understand the basic building blocks. The limiting rune is just a massive structure built out of it."
"The Limiter rune doesn't have any finite completion limit. The greater number of blocks you build, the higher will the amount of Qi which it can suppress, or rather store within itself. The whole theory behind it is the fact that it absorbs the Qi within your body while suppressing circulation. This helps in blocking the ability of your body to absorb QI by itself and hence your cultivation base wouldn't increase, or rather increase very slowly."
"The second set is about the collection, which helps in the absorption of the Qi from your body and stores it within these formation lines. The limiter rune acts both as a cultivation suppressor and as a Qi storage and supply unit which can come in handy during the time of need."
"The formation is derived from not just one but all types of Qi which you practice and hence can store all kinds of energy which would help you promote the cultivation base."
"The Formation lines helps the formation in regulating the absorbed and Qi and hence the Qi remains stored within the formation for a definite time."
"The formation must have a limit above which it is not able to absorb Qi." Lu Ming pointed.
"That factor is compensated by the number of micro-blocks drawn by you, and hence I need you to comprehend the formation first."
Lu Ming nodded and started practicing the formations one after the other.
