Chapter 94: One Month Later
A month had passed since Yao Shen had chosen to accept Tianjian Shuans audacious proposal.
In that month, the Mortal Capital All Haven had seen a tremendous amount of growth. The construction of the Apartment units that had been thrown in jeopardy after Gavrils incursion had been completed, the once barren land transformed into a monolith of Earths modern era.
The empty space in the center of the Apartment units had been transformed, with scenic parks and soon to be heated pools making for an impressive vista. The Runic Formations for the apartment units and the pools were in the process of being laid down under his oversight.
His presence was key to the whole process, for as a Soul Emperor his Divine Sense was vast enough to affix multiple Divine Sense brands without taking a toll on his psyche. One Divine Sense brand for each apartment was all that was required, to serve as the control unit for the Basic Runes that had already been laid out by Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Disciples.
Theoretically, a Core Formation ranked chunk of spiritual ore should have been enough to power a single apartment building for decades and two Nascent Soul Elders had already verified Yao Shens calculations on the matter in the planning phase.
However, when the moment had finally arrived, Yao Shen had admittedly been nervous. The Basic Runes had been connected to the Divine Sense brand imprinted artifact by him personally, but he could not rule out any adverse reactions brought on by the sheer potency of his own Soul.
Not willing to take any chances, Yao Shen had tested one of the Runes that he believed would see the most use. The Light Rune for soft, diffused illumination that unobtrusively provided for a large surface area required him to tap twice on the rune in quick succession.
The moment of truth had arrived and Yao Shen was not one for suspense, so he tapped the rune at a speed that stretched what should have been possible for a mortal.
It worked.
There was no flickering of light, a possibility if the rune had misinterpreted the command. No adverse reaction that focused the light rune at intensities that would have been harmful for mortals. Neither did the rune implode, which would have been a far unlikelier possibility.
The Control Panel Artifact had worked exactly as intended.
Naturally, Yao Shen hadnt ceased his testing there. Switching the light rune off, he had gone on to personally inspect every single working rune in the apartment building manually, requiring him the better part of a day to do so.
Only when he was absolutely certain that there was nothing else that could be done to verify both the safety and efficacy of the power supply, did Yao Shen declare it a success.
The response from the Disciples and Guardians that had contributed their efforts to the cause had been lukewarm at best, their exuberant cheers directed more towards the rewards their respective divisions would be issuing to them for their contributions instead of actual pride at what they had accomplished.
Perhaps only Yao Shen and Vondar truly understood the significance of what they had accomplished on that day, beyond the novel architectural concepts and the simple, yet effective use of Divine Sense brands to serve as the equivalent of a circuit breaker in Earths modern apartments.
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Long after his era had passed, decades or even centuries after the Apartment Building and even All Haven had returned to dust, Yao Shen hoped for something far more valuable to persist. No cultivator could live forever, yet at the same time, not even the elusive Soul Paragons of Ionea were capable of slaying an ideal.
The Mortal Capital was not a fleeting construct bound by a physical place or political power, no. What Yao Shen wanted to show Eliria was the possibility of mortals and cultivators not just coexisting, but instead entering a true union where both parties stood to gain from each other, consequently valuing the others presence as equals.
The overarching Mortal Capital was also rapidly gaining definition, the skeleton structures for the Auction House along with the rest of the commercial district were already in place, while the excavation required for the Martial School and The Mortal College of Spycraft and Warfare had been completed.
Presently, Yao Shen was in the midst of a forging session, no longer requiring Tianjian Shuans oversight as he applied the finishing touches to a robust chestplate that he had spent the last couple of hours working on.
His forging skill had now reached a stage where he was ready to work on Lumenite, albeit with Vondars assistance.
Vondar, Yao Shen addressed the artifact spirit dwelling in Runebound Oresplitter moments after applying a finishing stroke to the chestplate.
Yao Shen, A wizened voice acknowledged.
I have another trade to make, Yao Shen declared.
Oh? How serendipitous, Vondar remarked, as his curiosity spilled into his tone.
I have received a quaint forging technique in exchange for the Divine Sense method I spoke to you about earlier, Yao Shen explained, his expression a little disappointed.
It is less a method and more of the basics. If I had known your instructor to be so inept, I would have found a way to teach you myself, Vondar dismissively replied.
You judged that my forging will suffice for the task at hand, so that is besides the point.
Barely suffice, Vondar corrected, barely keeping his contempt from leaking into his tone. However, I suppose that receiving a forging technique in return for such trivial knowledge speaks about your acumen as a leader. Political bickering has always been something that I despised, dedicating my ambitions and talents solely dedicated to mastering my craft perhaps that is why I stood alone when the tides turned and the Tellurarchs no longer saw any use for me.
Casting aside a craftsman of your talents in favor of antiquated traditions can be attributed to either hubris or incompetence, though in all likelihood it was a combination of both.
A few moments passed in silence, before Vondars emotionless tone broke the silence, I suppose so.
Yao Shen wasnt sure how to further address such a delicate topic, so he simply chose to press on with his inquiry, This technique is unlike anything I have seen before. I will not conceal this from you, Vondar I have spent the last week trying to channel my Qi in accordance with this manual, only to nearly suffer Qi Deviation, with no results to show for it.
Oh. Then you wish for me to decipher it for you?
Yes.
What do you offer in return?
Im afraid that this deal will not be as lucrative as the last one. The technique in and of its own is all I can offer, Yao Shen stated, his tone firm.
Let me be the one to prospect lumenite from a mountain of rubble. After all, it is my speciality.
Yao Shen was amused by the response, allowing a chuckle to escape him before he nodded and held up the unfurled scroll that had been traded to him; a copy of the original.
Fifteen minutes ticked away in silence, before Vondar finally offered his assessment.
His words were slow and measured, almost bordering on cautious as he finally replied,
Yao Shen, for one so resentful of the heavens, you seem to be quite blessed.
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