In the world of Jinhai Manufacturing, the first two foundational steps were widely acknowledged as the hardest.
The first was drawing the Spirit Rune Diagram Path.
The second was Spirit Pattern Engraving.
These were not tasks that could be rushed, simplified, or replaced by ordinary machines. Even the most advanced devices could not guarantee absolute precision.
That was because the margin for error was practically nonexistent.
Every line, every curve, every symbol had to be exact.
A single mistake could ruin the entire product.
For that reason, these two stages could only be completed by a true Jinhai Master.
To understand the difficulty, one only needed to imagine compressing hundreds of thousands of microscopic lines into a space no larger than a fingernail.
How difficult was that?
Even an extraordinary genius would normally need one to two years of relentless practice before reaching the required level.
Yet Zhao Mu had completed the process in less than a month.
The reason was actually simple.
Spirit Pattern Engraving primarily tested three things:
Stability of the hand
Sharpness of eyesight
Calmness of mind
Most people tried to master everything at once and became overwhelmed.
Zhao Mu, however, approached it differently.
He broke the skill into separate components and trained them one by one.
He first trained hand control.
Then visual precision.
Then mental focus.
Only after mastering each individual part did he combine them together.
As a result, within ten days, he had already reached the level where he could engrave within the required precision domain.
At that point, all he needed to do was reproduce the Spirit Rune Diagram Paths stored in his memory.
During this period, Liang Gongchi's guidance had been indispensable.
Although she already knew Zhao Mu's talent was terrifying, even she had not expected him to improve this quickly.
For the first time in her life, Liang Gongchi felt that a man being too fast was not necessarily a good thing.
Zhao Mu looked at her eagerly.
"Teacher, how far am I from becoming a First-Level Jinhai Master?"
Liang Gongchi crossed her arms and stared at him for several seconds.
Then she suddenly smiled.
"Probably a few hundred million Xuanfeng Coins away."
Zhao Mu froze.
"...What?"
His face was full of confusion.
"Xuanfeng Coins? What does that mean?"
Liang Gongchi snorted.
"Why do you think Jinhai Masters are so rare?"
She rubbed two fingers together in the universal gesture for money.
"Because every Jinhai Master is built from mountains of cash."
She continued coldly.
"The next stage of your training requires producing Ember Remains using real Jinhai materials."
"In the beginning, you'll fail repeatedly."
"You'll waste materials."
"You'll destroy prototypes."
"You'll burn through money faster than water."
She then listed the required ingredients.
Exotic beast bone remains
Dark Race skeletal fragments
Mithril
Mystic gold
Seal catalysts
Refining powders
"Every single one of these is expensive," she said flatly.
"Even your senior sister, Gu Ningli, needed five years before she successfully became a First-Level Jinhai Master."
Then she looked directly at Zhao Mu.
"So yes. To become a Jinhai Master, you need money."
She paused dramatically.
"Lots and lots of money."
Zhao Mu thought in silence for a moment.
Then he suddenly looked at her with bright eyes.
"Teacher…"
Liang Gongchi immediately became wary.
"What?"
"Your student is already this talented. Shouldn't you reward me a little?"
Liang Gongchi's expression instantly turned disgusted.
"Dream on."
She opened a drawer, took out a small silver ingot, and tossed it toward him.
Zhao Mu caught it instinctively.
"This piece of Mithril is enough for more than ten practice attempts."
"It's the only help you're getting."
"For everything else, solve it yourself."
Zhao Mu still wanted to act pitiful and squeeze out more support, but Liang Gongchi directly pointed toward the door.
"Get out."
"And don't come back until you've found materials."
After leaving, Zhao Mu looked at the silver ingot in his hand.
He had no idea that this tiny piece of Mithril was worth several million Xuanfeng Coins.
Under Qingfeng Camp regulations, trainees normally had to exchange academic credits for all supplies.
Liang Gongchi had already shown him considerable favoritism.
But Zhao Mu only muttered gloomily:
"Hundreds of millions of Xuanfeng Coins…"
"Are you joking?"
Where was he supposed to get that kind of money?
After calming down, Zhao Mu began analyzing the problem logically.
If failure rates consumed money…
Then lowering the scrap rate would reduce total cost.
That meant improving efficiency was equivalent to earning money.
Still, no matter how he calculated it, he needed starting capital.
And he needed it soon.
Because he had already decided:
He must become a Jinhai Master.
Waiting one or two years was impossible.
Too slow.
Far too slow.
That meant he needed to start with the most immediate source of funds—
Jin Xiangcheng.
More than half a month had passed.
Why had the promised forty million Xuanfeng Coins still not arrived?
Zhao Mu went to find Meng Qiuqiu and explained the situation regarding Jinhai Materials.
After hearing everything, Meng Qiuqiu pounded his chest dramatically.
"Brother Xiao Mu!"
"It's no problem at all!"
"How about this? From now on, I'll cover all your Jinhai Manufacturing materials!"
Zhao Mu smiled and shook his head.
"Business is business."
"Sell them to me at the proper price."
"The cost of learning this craft is enormous. I can't let you take the loss."
The Meng Family was a merchant clan.
They pursued profit through calculation and long-term relationships.
Zhao Mu did not want to owe such a huge favor lightly.
Meng Qiuqiu looked offended.
"You're treating me like an outsider!"
"We're brothers!"
Zhao Mu laughed.
"I still have forty million coming from Jin Xiangcheng."
"That should be enough for now."
"If I run out later, I'll definitely ask for your help."
Only after hearing that did Meng Qiuqiu reluctantly calm down.
Still, he added:
"Fine. But I'll supply you with the best materials at a discount."
After that, Zhao Mu sent a message to Jin Xiangcheng.
Is the money ready?
I've found another buyer willing to pay the same price.
If you can't pay soon, I may have to sell it elsewhere.
Then Zhao Mu sat in his dormitory and waited quietly.
He silently counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Before he even reached ten—
Bang!
The dormitory door was shoved open violently.
Jin Xiangcheng rushed inside with a bitter expression.
"Brother Zhao!"
"Please don't do this!"
"Didn't we already make an agreement?"
Zhao Mu looked calm.
"Then where is my money?"
"I need funds urgently. I can't keep waiting."
Jin Xiangcheng's face twitched.
Finally, he admitted the truth.
He had only managed to gather twenty million Xuanfeng Coins so far.
The remaining twenty million would need more time.
Zhao Mu thought briefly, then nodded.
"Fine."
"I'll accept the twenty million now."
"But the silver sword stays with me until full payment is completed."
Jin Xiangcheng wanted to argue, but he knew he was in the wrong.
In the end, he could only leave resentfully.
After he left, Zhao Mu smiled faintly.
This arrangement was actually ideal.
He received immediate capital.
And he still retained the silver sword as leverage.
Not bad at all.
Meanwhile, Meng Qiuqiu walked onto the balcony.
He closed the floor-to-ceiling window and activated his communication device.
Far away, in a luxurious private club room within the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, a pot-bellied middle-aged man with a small mustache answered the call.
He was Meng Fugui—
Third son of the president of the Jiangnan Meng Clan Chamber of Commerce.
The moment he saw his son calling, Meng Fugui instantly pushed away the glamorous hostesses seated beside him and straightened his clothes.
Then he smiled warmly.
"My precious son!"
"How are things at Qingfeng Camp?"
"Made many friends?"
Meng Qiuqiu chuckled.
"Don't worry, Dad."
"I haven't forgotten the Meng Family motto."
Then his expression turned serious.
"There's something I need arranged."
Meng Fugui's eyes narrowed.
"What is it?"
"Jinhai materials."
"I've made a friend."
"A highly talented quasi-Jinhai Master."
"He needs resources for practice."
The moment Meng Fugui heard the words Jinhai Master, his eyes lit up.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Cultivating one required immense investment.
But once successful, the returns were extraordinary.
After a pause, he asked carefully:
"This friend of yours…"
"Do you truly think highly of him?"
Meng Qiuqiu inhaled deeply.
He turned and looked through the glass toward Zhao Mu inside the dormitory.
Then he spoke four solemn words.
"A rare commodity worth hoarding."
Silence filled the line.
Those words carried heavy meaning.
They were once used by the Meng ancestor, Meng Buwei, to describe a prince before he rose to greatness.
Now Meng Qiuqiu used the same judgment for Zhao Mu.
Meng Fugui's expression changed instantly.
His playful smile disappeared.
His gaze became serious.
Then he burst into laughter.
"Excellent!"
"My son's judgment has never disappointed me."
"Don't worry."
"I'll personally arrange the resources."
He leaned back proudly and declared:
"Supply him everything at seventy percent of cost price."
Back in the dormitory, Zhao Mu still had no idea what had just happened.
He was busy calculating budgets, material usage, failure rates, and production efficiency.
But quietly, without him knowing—
The Meng Family had already begun investing in his future.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)