Chapter 409: Ridicule
Zen had been taught to produce the divine textures. The rune production techniques of Central Region were nothing compared to it.
But he did hear Lasseter's instructions. Felix was the top runic expert of Cloud Hall; a person with great influence, whom Zen wouldn't even dare to offend. This was why when they met, he immediately bowed respectfully. “I'm just an amateur. I may not even be half as professional as you are when it comes to rune production. But I do hope to learn from you and I wish you could put me under your tutelage.”
Felix didn't respond to him. Instead, he eyed the young man from head to toe. He was incredibly proud of his accomplishments in rune production. He wasn't someone to teach amateurs the basics. Besides, his visit today was ordered by Tia, who had commanded him to criticize and belittle Zen. How could he possibly provide Zen with any directions?
“Show me what you've got,” Felix stated straightforwardly.
Zen nodded quietly, accepting the instruction. He had been planning to have the divine textures he drew yesterday evaluated. Even if they were novice work, he wanted to see where he lay in mastery. “I bought some materials yesterday and drew these two dev—I, I mean, runes, overnight. Please have a look at them,”
Zen said, stuttering in between his speech. He didn't want Felix to know that his work was divine textures. He wished Felix didn't hear his stutter.
Luckily enough, they didn't figure it out, but were shocked nonetheless. Their eyes were wide and their mouth opened slightly in disbelief. How could Zen have turned the materials into a rune within just a day?
Lasseter was even more dumbfounded than Felix. He knew Zen was nothing but a newbie, with barely little to no knowledge in rune production. At the beginning, he had assumed that the materials Zen bought would have turned into waste by now. He had been even pitying the materials Zen bought since they were top-tier quality. Men who didn't know how to handle the materials should have destroyed them by now.
It was something every runic expert had to experience in order to learn and improve in their craft. That was why it cost a lot more money to cultivate a runic expert than a master warrior. But using level-four materials in the beginning was a risk because nobody would ever have crafted a rune at this stage.
Lasseter had been expecting that Zen would ask for more materials. But Zen exceeded everyone's expectations by being able to produce a rune this quickly.
What did Zen think a rune was? A picture with several strokes of whatever material? Just a bunch of doodles and sketches?
Lasseter cleared his throat before speaking. “Mr. Luo. You have just learned how to produce runes. Are you telling us you've completed not one, but two runes, after just a day's worth of practicing? That's impressive. Come, let us have a look at your masterpiece!”
Felix felt like laughing out loud. He now understood where Zen's arrogance was coming from. He understood why Zen challenged all the disciples of the Elite House. It wasn't because he had the ability. It was because Zen was insane! This man couldn't be of right mind. Nobody could have drawn a rune on his very first try, and he wouldn't dare proclaim that he'd succeeded. Did Zen even know what a rune was? He probably didn't. There was no way he could know and be this arrogant to say his creation was a rune.
“I'm also interested in Mr. Luo's work. Let's have a look,” Felix said mischievously. He could see his assigned work done; he could completely ruin this man with just a few words!
Zen complied almost immediately. He took out one of the divine textures from the space ring and presented it to Felix. “Please feel free to critique the work. I know I may still have a lot to improve on.”
Zen stepped back to let his superiors inspect his work.
Lasseter and Felix walked up to the desk and fixed their eyes on the “rune”. The longer they had a look at it, the wider their grins got. What was this?
Although the runes and divine textures were originated from the same material, divine textures had been passed down for thousands of generations. The complexity of divine textures exceeded the imagination of any runic expert of Central Region. And that was why Zen's “rune” looked obscure and bizarre to the two of them. In their eyes, there was no technique in his drawing whatsoever.
Before Lasseter could shred him to pieces, he decided that Felix should speak first. Felix was also tasked to shrink Zen's pride down to size. According to Tia, he had to prevent Zen from learning rune making. But seeing what Zen had made, he didn't have to worry about accomplishing his task. Zen had absolutely no idea about what runes were. Zen had the audacity to think that his “scribbles” were at par to what runes really were.
“Listen, lad. Runes are like small magic arrays. They'll only work if the connection within the lines is first established. An amateur would have been able to get that immediately. But you... You not only ruined the material; you missed every key point in learning rune production. It's garbage. I don't think you're equipped to practice in this field any longer. You aren't suited for this profession,” Felix said coldly, sneering at the young man.
Zen was shocked by what he had heard. He was simply asking them to evaluate his pieces, not his work ethic or talents. He hadn't even met this Felix before. Why was he being so rude towards him? As shocked as he was, Zen tried to keep his emotions in check. He merely smiled and nodded towards Felix, before turning to Lasseter. “Manager, what do you think?”
Lasseter cleared his throat and waved his hand dismissively. “I think Felix has made my point for me.” On the inside, Lasseter was laughing to himself. 'Evaluate? What's there to evaluate? This piece of trash? If you hadn't helped me translate the Phoenix Clan's ancient language, you would have already been driven out from here.'
Zen, confused as he was, actually took the hint. 'Is my work really that bad?' Zen thought quietly, shoulders slumping dejectedly.
He tried to wrack his brain for a reason. 'Cyan dragon! Cyan dragon! Come out! Did you trick me? Were you just lying when you told me about the divine textures?'
The cyan dragon kept quiet. What Zen didn't know was that the cyan dragon was absolutely furious. He thought Zen's works were magnificent, so much that he even thought about making Zen his protege once he trained more.
What Lasseter and Felix said was like a slap on the dragon's face. His temper was starting to boil up. 'Who cares what those idiots think! The two of them know nothing about divine texture. They don't know what they're talking about.' The cyan dragon couldn't help but curse the two men in displeasure.
'What? Are you saying it's their fault then? So what do I do?' Zen asked.
'What do you do? You leave, of course! These two idiots do not know what they're doing. Do not dignify their hideous standards by responding to them, ' the cyan dragon said angrily.
Zen was hesitant. He knew what the cyan dragon was capable of. He knew that the cyan dragon must have at least an extensive amount of knowledge considering how long he had been alive. But at the same time, he didn't want to offend Felix and Lasseter if he didn't take their criticism well. But before Zen could even say anything, Felix spurred him out of his train of thought. “Just forget about this training, young man. Martial arts could bring you fame and fortune if you're focused on that instead.”
“You may be right. But let's get back to the runes, shall we? I don't think my rune is so bad. You said it was garbage, but we haven't even activated it yet. Could you take a look again after we activate it?” Zen suggested.
Felix shot a look at Lasseter and he had done the same. They smirked together.
In Central Region, mastering rune production was a skill that had been passed down for thousands of years. Those who were able to produce runes were divided into two schools: The North, and the South. Normally, a runic expert would need to master in one specific school. Felix, however, was able to hone his knowledge from both fields. His skill and knowledge was what got him the position as Cloud Hall's top runic master. He was adept at drawing both the delicate rune types from the south and the ferocious rune types of the north. That gave him some leverage and credibility for Zen to believe him. If what Zen made was truly a meditation rune, it must be something that Felix had never seen before; a feat so impossible to happen. Felix shook his head in frustration. “How dare you, young man. Do you really think that this... abomination of a scribble is a rune? No special tools or special materials would be able to activate such a thing if you can't even understand the basics. Your drawing is not a rune. I've said this many times. No matter how much energy you have put in there, that 'thing' cannot be activated.”
Felix spat angrily. Zen, seemingly defeated, sighed heavily. It would be impossible to knock some sense into these men. They didn't have the heart to believe in Zen and this incredibly unique rune.
Instead, he was going to convince them by showing them. Zen walked closer to the rune. With a wave of his hand, a string of energy flowed into the divine texture.
Almost immediately, the divine texture lit up. The meditation rune began to glow softly in light cerulean blue, a sign that the potent kudzu root was activated. At the same time, energy seemed to emanate from the meditation rune, almost immediately striking the three men.
Under the cyan glow, the three of them had suddenly felt incredibly refreshed and light-footed, ready to seize the day with new found energy. It also felt like their spirits had been lifted.
Feeling the immediate effect of the rune, Lasseter was dumbfounded. He knew how powerful Zen's rune was compared to those he had seen in his life as a merchant's.
Felix's face, however, was wracked with horror.
What Lasseter must have deduced was correct. It was powerful. But since Felix was one of the best runic experts in Central region, he was able to pinpoint several characteristics about Zen's rune.
Felix noted the rune strokes. Before they were activated they seemed so poorly made and amateurish. But now that they glowed, he knew what that light was and what the rune had meant. Felix began to stutter as he realized what it was. “I...It's... This color... It's the Perfect Brushwork!”