The Precious Atlas

After the formal apprenticeship ceremony, the atmosphere at the banquet became much more relaxed.

Naturally, Jiang Feng and his three companions still had to work hard, as they would be participating in the provincial examination in a month's time.

Thus, they could not afford to slack off and had to continue their rigorous training.

Wang Erhu had been unable to sleep the previous night, torn between his initial plan to retake the county examination next year, and fulfilling Xiang Sheng's last wish to study at Linjian Academy.

It was only this morning that he suddenly realized that living out someone else’s life was merely a form of self-indulgence. What he truly ought to do was to follow his own chosen path.

After listening to him, Jiang Feng and the others exchanged glances and raised their cups together. “You’re absolutely right!”

Ping Luanshan laughed, “Besides, working hard to secure a place as an Inner Sect disciple is also a way to avenge old Xiang!”

The youths replied in unison, pouring their wine before Xiang Sheng’s empty chair.

Fang Liuxian, holding his cup, listened quietly to their conversation, then turned to Hua Su with a smile. “Children always grow faster than we imagine…”

Just as he spoke, his eyes widened. “Wait a minute! That dish was made by my disciple for me. You can’t eat it all by yourself!”

Hua Su, sitting to the side drinking alone, had almost finished a plate of braised rhinoceros tripe.

Hua Su snorted. “What are you talking about? Isn’t he my disciple as well? If seniority matters, I’m the head master, and you’re only the second. What’s a plate of tripe to that?”

Fang Liuxian spat, “We each teach our own disciples—there’s no question of who came first! No, you can’t have the rest. Give it here!”

Ping Luanshan turned his head and shouted, “Save some for us too!”

At once, the youths exchanged glances and rushed forward, joining in the chaotic scramble for food.

...

Hua Su had already arranged a place for them in the backyard. After dinner, Jiang Feng followed Fang Liuxian to formally become his apprentice and began learning the art of forging treasured artifacts.

The apprenticeship required offering obeisance to the founder—not a person, but a painting.

The painting was called the Treasure Atlas. When the scroll was unrolled, countless artifacts scrolled by before one’s eyes. Jiang Feng found himself captivated, and soon spotted two familiar items—the Bright Bronze Tree and the Mismatched Door he had used in the grand examination.

Suddenly, he understood. “These are all the artifacts made by Teacher Fang!”

Fang Liuxian nodded with satisfaction. “That’s right. Every artifact forger receives a Treasure Atlas upon formal initiation.”

With that, he respectfully produced a blank scroll and handed it to Jiang Feng.

The scroll was completely empty, as if awaiting its contents to be painted.

Fang Liuxian explained, “From now on, every artifact you forge will automatically leave its image here. The Treasure Atlas is protected by heaven and earth—it cannot be violated. Unless you yourself willingly hand it over, even if someone else acquires it, they will see nothing.”

Fang Liuxian rolled up his own scroll and handed it to Jiang Feng. As soon as Jiang Feng took hold, it felt as though countless streams of information waited just outside his mind, ready to surge in.

Startled, he asked, “What is this?”

Though his question was vague, Fang Liuxian understood. Stroking his beard, he smiled. “The Treasure Atlas records not only the images of your artifacts, but also every material required and the entire process of their creation. How much one can comprehend depends entirely on one’s own insight.”

Jiang Feng was struck speechless. Fang Liuxian was entrusting him with all his knowledge and experience, without reservation!

Fang Liuxian said, “In the next few days, I’ll lay your foundation. Three days from now, I must return to the Academy to continue preparing for the grand examination. The path of an artifact forger depends above all on this—”

He tapped Jiang Feng lightly on the forehead, and Jiang Feng nodded in understanding.

With a smile, Fang Liuxian said, “Then, you’ll rely on this atlas to study on your own. If you haven’t made progress by the next time we meet, I’ll have to expel you from my tutelage!”

Jiang Feng gripped the scroll tightly. “Teacher, you may rest assured!”

Fang Liuxian then explained more about the profession.

There were indeed associations for artifact forgers in certain organizations, but the certification of an artifact forger did not depend on them.

Artifact forgers were believed to be blessed by the heavens—their qualifications decreed by fate.

In other words, qualification was determined by what appeared on one’s Treasure Atlas.

At first, the qualifications displayed were indistinct, but over time, a standard emerged.

Generally, successfully crafting more than ten upgrade-class artifacts with a success rate above fifty percent qualified one as a first-tier forger.

The following tiers—second, third, and fourth—had similar benchmarks. Only the fifth tier was different.

No one had ever determined the standard for becoming a fifth-tier artifact forger—not even those who had reached it could articulate the requirements.

At that level, there arose a profound sense of intuition, and though they might understand within themselves, it could not be passed on to others.

In short, receiving a Treasure Atlas from one’s master was the starting point for all artifact forgers.

From this day forward, the blank atlas would record Jiang Feng’s entire journey as a forger.

Fang Liuxian had given Jiang Feng every mark on his own atlas—a true act of pouring out all his knowledge.

Jiang Feng, clutching both atlases, returned to his room, emotions surging within him.

The silhouette of Ye Xiao appeared before him. Looking down at the scroll in his hands, Jiang Feng suddenly looked up and smiled. “Ye Xiao, in this world, good people still outnumber the bad!”

...

That night, he organized the information Ye Xiao had passed on to him.

Ye Xiao instructed him to go to the Mustard Seed Pavilion in Taicang City before the provincial examination to collect an item.

The Mustard Seed Pavilion was a property of the Zhong family, serving as a bank, auction house, and treasure vault. Vast sums of money and precious artifacts passed through its halls daily, making it one of the most important institutions on the continent.

The treasure vault was a special service, open only to key individuals.

Ye Xiao had once stored something there. Now she wanted Jiang Feng to retrieve it; it was unknown to others but sufficient to attest to his identity and arouse no suspicion.

No token was needed to access the vault, only a 48-character alphanumeric code. This code was intricately designed by Ji Qingyun in collaboration with two fifth-tier artifact forgers.

Although Ji Qingyun herself was not a martial artist, the code possessed a unique, mysterious quality that rendered it nearly unbreakable. Only the creator could use it, or someone given direct instruction, as Ye Xiao had done.

After reviewing the information, Jiang Feng recited the code silently in his heart—realizing it was impossible to express in spoken language.

In other words, the item could never be retrieved by proxy; he had to go himself.

His curiosity about Ye Xiao’s identity deepened. What kind of person had the authority to open a treasure vault at Mustard Seed Pavilion?

Taicang City was also the site of the provincial examination, but according to the information, he would need to arrive early.

This was because the item was not stored locally, but would need to be transferred from elsewhere, requiring at least half a month.

With a month until the examination, Jiang Feng had to visit in advance to make the necessary arrangements.

...

For the next three days, all of Jiang Feng’s time belonged to Fang Liuxian.

Fang Liuxian devoted himself fully, taking Jiang Feng to Twilight Forest to track luminous beasts and teaching him how to handle materials. He used these materials to explain the principles of artifact forging.

Upgrade-class artifacts were even more complex than Jiang Feng had imagined, and the materials they had acquired were far from sufficient.

Fang Liuxian was just about to go buy more at the nearby market when Hua Su, cigarette dangling from his lips, silently led them to the warehouse behind the martial hall and threw open the doors.

Inside, piles of materials, like small mountains, were stacked from the lowest to the highest grades—worth a king’s ransom.

Fang Liuxian was delighted, though he grumbled about Hua Su’s clumsy handling as a martial artist, which had caused much of the luminous energy to dissipate. Still, he unceremoniously dragged Jiang Feng in to pick through the piles in detail.

Materials flowed through Jiang Feng’s hands like water. Used to being thrifty, he winced at the waste.

But Fang Liuxian was unconcerned. He told Jiang Feng that, in this craft, the forger’s skill was built upon mountains of materials, and that he needed to be mentally prepared.

For every artifact forger, a solid foundation was crucial.

The more one wasted in practice today, the greater one’s achievements might be tomorrow.

Once Jiang Feng could successfully craft artifacts, he would no longer need to worry about money.

Even upgrade-class artifacts fetched high prices on the market, and selling them could cover the cost of materials and additional supplies, keeping things more or less balanced.

At higher levels—second or third tier, like Fang Liuxian—one’s craft alone could make one a wealthy man.

Though Fang Liuxian only stayed at Yuanshan Martial Hall for four days, those days brought Jiang Feng immense benefit.

Every word Fang Liuxian spoke, Jiang Feng committed to heart; every data point he mentioned was absorbed into Jiang Feng’s mind and the Heavenly Mechanism Cube, becoming part of his understanding.

Time was short, so all Fang Liuxian taught were the core essentials, which Jiang Feng devoured eagerly.

If, before, Jiang Feng had been ignorant of what it meant to be an artifact forger, now a clear framework had taken shape in his mind—the best foundation for an aspiring forger.

Three days after the apprenticeship, Fang Liuxian left Yuanshan Martial Hall.

Jiang Feng bowed deeply, rising only when the old master’s figure had completely vanished.

Hua Su stood behind him, exhaling a ring of smoke. “Old Fang is gone. Time for you to get back to your martial training!”

Jiang Feng turned and smiled. “Yes, sir!”

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