Aimless Ascension

Guo Zong wasn't that great at scripting. Even with thirty years of experience, he still was an apprentice, although close to breaking into an actual Scriber at some point in his career.

However, these days guild work took most of his time these days. His master handed him everything and went into seclusion in order to break through to Master artisan.

His life in Wayshire had been peaceful and boring. Guo Zong couldn't wait to return to the capital if someone capable enough comes to their branch. Even if he would barely have a little prestige anywhere save for these backwater branches, he always likes to stay amidst events.

Wayshire couldn't provide him with that, or any opportunity.

However, new variables came into the equation when two foreigners came to the town without notice.

Guo Zong didn't understand their purpose, but he could glimpse their talent from afar. One was a peerless youth whose talent in spirit art could make anyone envious. Guo Zong later learned the youth was a descendant of the great Sun clan from reports sent off from the capital.

While the other one was a hawkish man who sometimes has an expression that entailed he would murder anyone if they annoyed him. That was mostly when that foreigner was annoyed.

He looked annoyed a lot of the time.

At first, Guo Zong was sure, the southerner couldn't compare with the scion of Sun Clan. But nowadays, he wasn't sure anymore.

Anyway, Guo Zong always tries to keep his distance from this type of person. No good comes getting in contact with a murderhobo, after all. Thus, he acted to never be on the wrong side of that foreigner.

However, the foreigner was more amiable than he appeared in reality. Without the beard, he appeared less of the brute type, although his figure was still intimidating enough. Guo Zong still couldn't get around the fact that this man was an artisan. A master artisan at that.

Guo Zong had handled all the foreigner's work and slowly learned the odd foreigner had more depth than his aura control could figure out. The first was the artificial fate lock core. Guo Zong had never seen that model. He examined it before sending it to the other branches.

Weirdly, his conclusion and the master artisans were about the same. The fate lock core was a waste of time for the master artisan who created it. Although he reckoned there was some other meaning behind such practice.

Anyway, Guo Zong wasn't sure that the foreigner was the one who created the core, but later he got an offhanded admittance from the foreigner, which crashed his world.

His master, who was well over two hundred years old, hadn't yet managed to break into the realm of Master artisans, yet this youth who looked in his early twenties was a master artisan.

There was something wrong with this world.

Later, Guo Zong asked for records on this certain foreigner from other branches, only to be dumbfounded getting almost nothing. All he learned was that the foreigner appeared in various parts of Tianhui, until he specifically chose Wayshire to be his place of action.

What's even in Wayshire? The Han family shifted here from the capital a few years ago, although that could be a mere coincidence. Not to mention, they were forced to shift here.

Guo Zong was at his wit's end for a few days, trying to come up with a valid reason for individuals of such caliber to take an interest in this urban town.

But in the end, he could only see the proceeding played out. He refrained from making any moves even when many opportunities came. And that seemed to be the right direction.

Why offend a Master artisan? There was certainly a higher individual behind the foreigner, or how could he have cultivated this realm this early? Instead, he should hope for building a good relationship between them and try to find a way to bring the Master artisan to their organisation.

Even if their organisation had many masters and even a few grandmasters, they were always shorthand in production. At the rate the influence of artificial fate locks was growing, and it wouldn't stop until the market came to saturation. That would take decades, and even then the influence of artificial fate locks wouldn't be lost.

In all that time, the market would surely be chaotic. However, chaotic times was the best time for business as well. All they had to do was stay out of troubled water and do what they do best.

Amass wealth.

Although nothing went amiss yet, Guo Zong was aware it didn't take much for conflict to go out of proportion in the martial world. There was already a growing conflict between the governing body and the foreigner.

All he could hope was that it wouldn't blow out of proportion on short notice.

"So manager, what's your appraisal on the fate-lock?" Wang Yushen asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Guo Zong didn't answer and kept his attention on his appraisal of the translucent cloth.

"It is a unique fate-lock," he concluded, eventually. "An extremely rare kind. Although Plant and Life attributes are closely related, the function this one has is perfect for anyone who strives to become an alchemist. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think this can be used to remediate many alchemic toxicities.

"As for the other function, it was exactly what your granddaughter was looking for the other day in our guild. . . ."

Grandma Wang nodded. "What do you think of its price?"

Guo Zong sneaked a glance at Gale, who was the owner of the fate-lock cloth. He cleared his throat to add.

"As you know, dual attribute fate-lock is pretty rare, ignoring all its features just with that dual attribute, it would be priced at ten thousand gold marks in our guild," he said. "However, with the features of boosting any organic components, the price can hike to three times easily."

"So thirty thousand; that's your assessment?"

"At thirty thousand, it's a steal," Guo Zong said. "If it's auctioned at some big auction house, I can see it reaching sixty thousand or more."

"That seemed a bit overboard," Wang Li said with some uncertainty.

"Not at all, young madam," Guo Zong said. "With this fate-lock and some hard work a silver ranker can earn a couple of thousand gold marks every year just by making wine. And you can do a lot more with this? Culturing herbs and organisms, alchemic potions and pills, it can do all. You know how high all their values are, don't you?"

Wang Li certainly didn't have a good estimate of what the fate lock could do to make assumption of the profit. However, Elder Wang was more experienced. She would know better how amazing this chance was.

"If Master Gale is ready to sell it to us instead," Guo Zong added, "we're ready to pay forty thousand this very day."

Guo Zong glanced towards Gale for any reaction. The foreigner was impassive the whole time.

Forty thousand Gold marks didn't appear to be a big amount to him. Still, as far as Guo Zong was concerned, it would take a master artisan a few months to earn forty thousand gold marks.

'Why does it feel like its nothing to him?'