I Live Forever With My Proficiency

Chapter 11: Law Weapon Embryo

Late at night, in the quietness.

The faint yellow flame of the oil lamp gently flickered in the breeze, illuminating the small space of the leather-making room.

Chen Ping adjusted the wick of the lamp with a needle pin, making the light brighter.

Then he began to work at the desk.

---

Making symbol skins.

During the three days of learning, Chen Ping had never revealed his exquisite dissection skills, adopting a lower posture to extract as much knowledge as possible from Master Qi.

Therefore, his skill in making symbol skins had not been displayed on the panel.

He was still a beginner.

Now, he calmed down and picked up a piece of purchased raw skin, carefully observing its thickness, patterns, meridian directions, and the presence of hard meridian strips.

Then, using his dissection skills, he slowly cut along the inconspicuous layers between one pattern and another, instinctively avoiding damaging even a trace of the patterns and meridians.

With one clean cut, a thin piece of skin was separated.

Chen Ping picked up the thin piece, examined it carefully, then switched to another tool and slowly hooked a hard meridian strip, pulling it up slowly.

Perhaps because it was his first time using dissection skills for this task, he accidentally tore a small gap in one place.

This made Chen Ping somewhat frustrated.

But he didn't give up, and continued to repair the gap with his knife.

After repairing it, he carefully checked the uniformity of the skin's thickness, a process that was not easily noticeable.

But due to his dissection skills, Chen Ping had a natural sensitivity to flesh and skin, which made this task much easier.

Finally, a piece of symbol skin was completed.

He nervously looked at the panel.

Unfortunately, he hadn't reached the beginner level.

"It's really not easy. Even with my extraordinary dissection skills, I couldn't reach the beginner level on my first try. It's hard to imagine how difficult it is for other cultivators."

"No wonder so many people say this job is not enjoyable."

Although he didn't reach the beginner level this time, Chen Ping gained some insights.

He summarized the shortcomings of the first failed symbol skin:

1. Poor control of strength and speed.

When using dissection skills for the first time to make symbol skins, he didn't control the strength and speed well, resulting in some damage to the skin.

This could be improved with practice.

2. Pursuing precision too much, resulting in losing sight of the bigger picture.

Cutting too slowly during the process resulted in less smoothness.

He should do it more naturally.

3. Unsatisfactory groove repair.

This was related to his own cultivation level. This process required the integration of the inserted flesh and tissue with the original skin, leaving no trace, which required the infusion of spiritual energy.

But his cultivation level was not sufficient.

If it didn't work, he could try a different approach, thinning the symbol skin and grinding it according to the thickness of the lowest point of the groove.

These were the three core issues.

Since he had found directions for improvement, he could continue practicing.

Chen Ping picked up another piece of raw skin and began making the second symbol skin.

Then the third.

The fourth.

After the fifth symbol skin was completed, the feeling of surprise finally came.

[Skill: Dissection (Expert): 234/1000. Symbol Skin (Beginner): 1/1000. Culinary Arts (Proficient): 162/1000.]

"Not bad, I finally reached the beginner level in symbol skin making. It took three days of learning and five focused practices to cross the threshold."

"Is this... the spirit of craftsmanship?"

Chen Ping put away his joyful mood, adjusted the oil lamp, and took another piece of raw skin to continue practicing.

The following process became simpler.

As long as he kept practicing repeatedly, he could continuously improve during the process.

After reaching the beginner level, every time Chen Ping made a symbol skin, he could feel an indescribable force guiding him.

When he made a mistake, he seemed to instinctively sense it and realize the direction for improvement.

This was a feeling he didn't have before reaching the beginner level.

"This one won't do. The upper left corner is too thin and not evenly distributed."

Chen Ping shook his head and discarded the failed symbol skin.

He continued with the next one.

"This one is close, but the pattern, although I know how to improve its clarity, I haven't mastered the optimal strength."

He continued with the next one.

"This one is slightly thicker, not transparent enough, and not of moderate thickness."

"..."

"This one lacks flexibility, definitely not strong enough to bear the laws of the symbol."

"..."

Chen Ping kept discarding failed symbol skins, accurately identifying the problems he discovered, and repeatedly improving his skill.

This cycle continued.

Until a relatively satisfactory symbol skin was placed in front of him, he examined it for a moment and felt quite satisfied.

"This one is not bad. It's the most successful one I made tonight."

Chen Ping put down the symbol skin and manifested the panel, seeing that the experience value for symbol skin was:

Symbol Skin (Beginner): 312/1000.

It had increased by over 300 points.

Not bad.

Chen Ping looked up at the window... It was already dawn, and he had unknowingly stayed up all night...

The last time he stayed up all night was when he graduated from university and played games all night with his classmates.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

But at least now he was a Qi Refining cultivator, and occasionally staying up all night didn't make him feel too tired.

He looked at the results.

He had wasted 16 pieces of raw skin overnight.

He had made 26 unusable symbol skins.

The conversion rate was not high.

Skill level still needs to be improved.

...

Sharpening the knife is not in vain for the woodcutter.

Chen Ping is still using the tool for making talisman skins that was given to him by Master Qi during his apprenticeship stage. It feels a bit inadequate to use.

So he decided to buy a better set for himself.

He strolled around the market and walked into a tool shop.

The shop was filled with various goods, and there were many different tools for making talisman skins.

Chen Ping thought that since he was going to buy, he must buy a good set. After all, it's something he will use for a lifetime, so he can't afford to make a mistake.

He picked one and pointed to a set, asking the shopkeeper,

"Is this set also for sale? Why does it look a bit strange?"

"Fellow Daoist has a good eye. This set is a model, a set of Rank One Middle Grade Law Weapon models. Fellow Daoist wants to use it himself, right? A set of Rank One Middle Grade Law Weapon tools for making talisman skins can greatly increase the success rate of making talismans and improve the quality of the talisman skins. It's definitely worth it." The shopkeeper warmly welcomed him.

Rank One Middle Grade Law Weapon?

Chen Ping felt a sense of excitement that he had never felt before when he came so close to the concept of Rank One Middle Grade Law Weapon.

Rank One Middle Grade Law Weapon + exquisite talisman-making skills.

How could I not soar?

"You said it's a model, so how is it sold?" Chen Ping remained calm.

"Fellow Daoist, as long as you are interested, you can pay a deposit, and our shop can represent you in the auction to bid for it. Our shop operates with integrity, and it is safe and reliable. We will never engage in any fraudulent behavior. Our shop has several years of experience in auctioning, and we are confident that we can get a more suitable price than Fellow Daoist bidding on your own." The shopkeeper smiled professionally, perhaps afraid that Chen Ping would hesitate, so he introduced the advantages of his shop in one go.

This model... is quite good.

At least I don't have to show up.

Chen Ping felt a little excited inside.

"Based on past experience, how much does a set usually cost?"

"Usually around 13 Middle Grade spirit stones. Our shop can set a maximum price, and if it exceeds the maximum price, our shop can stop the bidding to avoid losses for the client." The shopkeeper continued to explain.

Chen Ping thought to himself.

I was too hasty.

Is this a matter of setting a limit or not?

It's not.

"I've just started making talisman skins, I don't need such expensive tools. It has nothing to do with being poor or not."

"Now it's not safe to buy such good tools, it's like carrying a burden. I'll wait until my cultivation level improves." It has nothing to do with being poor or not. Chen Ping kept patching himself up.

After browsing for a while, he finally set his sights on another set of tool kits.

The entire set of tools was complete, and each tool had a luster like a Law Weapon, making Chen Ping unable to put it down.

"What about this set?"

"If I may say, Fellow Daoist has a good eye. This set is truly excellent value for money. All the tools in this set are Law Weapon embryos. Although they are not Law Weapons, they have the advantages of Law Weapons. They are also made of high-grade mysterious iron, just look at the luster. Let me tap it for you to listen... Ding, buzz..." The shopkeeper gave a dazzling introduction.

And finally, at Chen Ping's urging, he quoted the price,

"One Middle Grade spirit stone."

Chen Ping had never pursued these things before and didn't know they were so expensive.

One Middle Grade spirit stone is equivalent to 100 Low Grade spirit stones, and he only has a total of 172 spirit stones at his disposal.

How many talisman skins does he have to make to earn it back?

But he really likes this set.

After seeing this set, he no longer wants to use the set given by Master Qi.

It's like night and day.

Chen Ping shook his head and said, "Too expensive. This is just a Law Weapon embryo, not a real Law Weapon. True masters wouldn't even bother with such unfinished tools. In other words, this set of Law Weapons relies on someone with a discerning eye to buy it. Besides me, not many cultivators would be willing to buy it, right?"

"Take a look at the handle of this knife. It doesn't even have any carvings. Clearly, it's a shoddy work with cost-cutting measures. And it's not a Law Weapon, so why is it so expensive?"

"You cultivators, is it cost-cutting if there are no carvings on the handle?" The shopkeeper smiled and said, "It's precisely because it's not a Law Weapon that it's only worth one Middle Grade spirit stone. If it were a Rank One Low Grade Law Weapon, it would cost at least five Middle Grade spirit stones. How about this, since you seem sincere, you tell me, how much money?"

"60 Low Grade spirit stones."

"Go away, get out. I won't do business with you. How can my Law Weapon embryo be cheaper than the ordinary weapons in other shops?" The shopkeeper's face turned black, impatiently driving Chen Ping away.

Chen Ping didn't move and smiled, "In business, you ask for a sky-high price, but you pay on the spot. You sell and you repay. Give me a fair price."

After a pause, he added, "Let's make it clear, there are a few more tool shops ahead. If you give me an unfair price, I'll turn around and leave."

The shopkeeper's mouth twitched.

He was caught by Chen Ping's thoughts.

Although this set of tools was good, it wasn't easy to sell. Only people with discerning eyes would appreciate it.

There are generally two types of people who buy tools for making talisman skins.

One type is the masters.

The other type is cultivators who barely make a living with talisman skins.

The former wouldn't be interested in Law Weapon embryos, at the very least, they would buy tools for Rank One Low Grade Law Weapons.

The latter couldn't afford it.

So although these tools were good, the situation was awkward.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "90 Low Grade spirit stones. Ah, this shop is really selling at a loss to you, losing so much. Alright, 90, let's consider it making a friend."

Chen Ping said, "You motherfucker, you continue."

After a fierce tug-of-war, they finally settled on a price of 79 Low Grade spirit stones.

Before the transaction was completed, Chen Ping took out the set of tools given by Master Qi and said, "Here is a set of excellent tools, very handy to use. It's not an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece. Does your shop buy second-hand goods?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

Most of the businesses here both buy and sell, so naturally, they also hope to have customers deliver goods to their doorsteps.

But when the shopkeeper saw the tools in Chen Ping's hands, his face suddenly changed.

"You... these are from Qi... Jianglun, right?"

Chen Ping didn't expect the other party to recognize it at a glance and felt embarrassed, "Indeed."

"Ah, to be honest, no one would want these tools even if you threw them on the roadside. This shop encounters Fellow Daoists who come to resell this set of tools every once in a while." The shopkeeper said helplessly.

Chen Ping was even more speechless.

Qi Jianglun was too stingy.

He had claimed they were very precious back then.

Very well, I'll remember you!

(End of this chapter)