Chapter Eighty-Seven: Preparations, Part One

Tulu gave a faint smile and continued, “Although Young Master Zi is the manor lord’s betrothed, you know as well as I that whether he can truly reach that day is still uncertain. Even if he does succeed, in the end he would only be the manor lord’s husband, not the manor lord himself.”

Having said this, Tulu fell silent.

He believed Zhao Yuyang would make his own judgment.

These words were not without purpose, but they were also the truth.

Zhao Yuyang was no fool, nor was he any kind of saint; Tulu had already seen as much back in Divine Wind City.

His current obsession with inscription art was nothing more than the opening of a new world to him, and for the moment he was lost in the study of it. But that did not mean he had no ambition.

After a long silence, Zhao Yuyang finally spoke.

“Master Tulu makes a valid point. I do not have a high-level rune of the ice attribute here, but I do have a set of intermediate runes that are no worse than high-level ones. It would of course be no problem to hand them over to Master. I only wonder what benefit I might receive in return?”

Tulu smiled faintly. “Once the inscription succeeds, the magical treasure can be offered to the manor lord under both our names. I wonder whether that benefit would be enough?”

“Very well.”

After a brief pause, Zhao Yuyang nodded heavily and took a thick manual from his storage ring.

“This is the inheritance manual for the intermediate rune, Frozen River Domain.

“The Frozen River Domain rune is composed of nine basic attribute runes. To inscribe it, one must carve ninety-nine Frozen River Domain patterns in succession and fuse them into a single whole before it can succeed. Among intermediate runes, it ranks among the very best.

“This was a fortuitous encounter I obtained in my early years. Unfortunately, the requirements are too strict. Even now I have no more than a ten percent chance of success. Still, Master Tulu should find it easy enough.”

With that, he handed over the manual.

Tulu hurriedly reached out and took it.

Inheritance manuals for inscription art were things one could encounter only by chance, not seek at will. He had too many things to do and simply had neither the time nor the energy to gather inscription techniques himself, and he could not hand everything over to Zhang Cheng and the others.

An intermediate rune was a little below his hopes, but it was still enough.

“However, I still hope Master Tulu will not forget his promise.”

Watching Tulu’s face light up with delight, Zhao Yuyang said in a grave voice.

“Of course.”

After Tulu departed, Zhao Yuyang shook his head with a smile and then entered the secret chamber.

Though the Frozen River Domain pattern was precious, he had already seen a new path. To exchange an obsolete manual for a little room to maneuver was well worth it.

Meanwhile, Tulu, after leaving the secret chamber, made straight for the residence of Zi Tufeng.

But just as he arrived within several hundred paces of the residence, he was stopped by someone.

“Master Tulu, please wait. I’ll go in and report first.”

Tulu nodded.

After a while, laughter rang out from within the manor.

Zi Tufeng emerged.

“Master Tulu, what wind has blown you here? Could it be that there has been some progress with the Ninefold Sacred Embryo Pattern?”

“How could that be?”

Tulu smiled wryly. “To be honest, the Ninefold Sacred Embryo Pattern is far too intricate. I have made some progress, but it will still be some time before success.”

“Then what brings Master Tulu here...?”

At this, Tulu explained the matter of Zhen Ling’s birthday, and then said, “Young Master Zi, I do not possess a magical treasure of ice attribute, so I have come to ask for your assistance.”

Yet to Tulu’s surprise, after hearing him out, Zi Tufeng did not seem particularly interested. Instead, he fell into thought.

But with a turn of his mind, Tulu understood Zi Tufeng’s thinking.

For Zi Tufeng, what mattered most was probably only the identity of becoming the manor lord’s husband; he had little real interest in currying favor with Zhen Ling.

“Young Master Zi, I wonder if I may say something?”

“Master Tulu need not be so polite. Go ahead,” Zi Tufeng said.

Tulu nodded. “It is like this: I understand your thinking, Young Master. However, although you are to become the manor lord’s husband and rule over a domain, there are likely still many within the Void Manor who are displeased with your existence.”

Zi Tufeng nodded.

Tulu smiled faintly and continued, “Most of those who are displeased with you belong to the manor lord’s faction. If you make a gesture of closeness toward the manor lord, I imagine their resistance will ease somewhat as well. At the very least, it would be better than doing nothing. It should also help you in taking control of the Void Manor.”

Having said this, Tulu fell silent.

In truth, he could have made use of Zhang Cheng and the others for this matter. However, after considering certain circumstances, Zi Tufeng was still the more suitable choice.