Powerful warriors would inscribe certain techniques into scrolls as runic patterns, and when battle came, they could activate the inscription scrolls to unleash formidable combat arts — far faster than executing them directly. However, inscription scrolls were notoriously expensive. A blank scroll alone cost several hundred Demon Spirit Coins, a Bronze-level inscription scroll sold for over a thousand, a Silver-level one could run to tens of thousands, and as for Gold-level — the price was simply beyond imagination.
This kind of thing wasn't something an ordinary person could afford. It was extraordinarily precious.
"Both of these inscription scrolls contain Wind Snow Sigils," Ye Ziyun said, her slender, jade-white fingers gently unrolling one of the Bronze-level scrolls. "There seems to be some problem with these two sigils when they were inscribed — they've never been usable. But I can't figure out where the issue lies."
In his previous life, after spending so much time studying within the Book of Time-Space Demon Spirit, Nie Li's understanding of every type of runic pattern had reached the absolute pinnacle. All attributes, all categories of sigils — he knew them inside and out. Correcting two Bronze-level sigils was child's play for him.
"Even a typical professor couldn't spot what's wrong with these two Bronze sigils," Nie Li said, looking at Ye Ziyun. "Given your family background, couldn't you go to your father for an answer?"
A flicker of melancholy passed through Ye Ziyun's light-purple pupils.
Nie Li suddenly understood. Ye Ziyun had lost her mother as a child. Her father was the City Lord, swamped with affairs, and her grandfather was a Legendary Demon Spirit Master who had to lead his subordinates to explore the
The thought filled Nie Li with a pang of sympathy. "From now on, whenever you have questions, you can come find me here at this time every day!"
With that, his gaze settled on the two Bronze inscription scrolls. He pointed at one of them. "This Bronze inscription is a Wind Snow Element sigil called 'Wind Snow Blade.' The structure of the inscription itself is actually fine — the problem is that this is a defective scroll."
"A defective scroll?" Ye Ziyun exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right. Whoever made this was incredibly skilled at forgery. If your eye isn't sharp enough, getting tricked into buying something like this is perfectly understandable," Nie Li said with a faint smile. "'Wind Snow Blade' sigils are written with the blood of Wind Snow Spirit Bugs. Normally, an adult Wind Snow Spirit Bug's blood is silver-gray, not this vivid silvery-red. From what I can tell, this was written with the blood of a larval Wind Snow Spirit Bug. The larvae aren't powerful enough, which is why this 'Wind Snow Blade' sigil can't be activated."
An adult Wind Snow Spirit Bug's blood was silver-gray, while a larva's was silvery-red. Ye Ziyun had never imagined that the problem lay there. She had taken this unusable Bronze inscription scroll to numerous professors at the academy — even the vice-principal — yet not a single one had found the issue, because the Bronze inscription scroll itself was complete!
This puzzle had been lodged in Ye Ziyun's heart for a long time, and only today had it been swept clean.
It turned out the angle she'd been approaching it from was entirely wrong. There was nothing wrong with the way the sigil had been written. Trying to find a flaw in the inscription process was a complete dead end!
To think that Nie Li could spot this problem at a glance — just how deep did his knowledge run? Even those professors and the vice-principal couldn't compare to him when it came to learning?
Ye Ziyun felt a deep respect for Nie Li well up inside her, and she quietly lowered her guard. Someone with such vast, profound knowledge probably wasn't a bad person, right?
"And what about this Bronze inscription?" Ye Ziyun pointed at the other Bronze scroll, her eyes re-examining Nie Li as she did so. He stood just slightly taller than her, with sharp, well-defined features, sword-like brows, and clear, bright eyes — quite handsome, actually.
Before today, Nie Li had been nearly invisible in class. But now that Ye Ziyun was beginning to learn who he really was, a deep admiration was taking root in her heart.
"This sigil is called 'Fierce Wind and Snow' from the Wind Snow Element. 'Fierce Wind and Snow' was originally a Silver-level sigil, but the version that survived from the Dark Age was incomplete. When later generations filled in the gaps, the sigil dropped a tier and became a Bronze-level one," Nie Li explained.
Ye Ziyun looked puzzled. She hadn't expected there to be such a history behind it. Which book recorded this? How had she never seen it before?
Nie Li continued, "Besides being downgraded to a Bronze-level sigil, the restored 'Fierce Wind and Snow' sigil had structural issues. It frequently fails during use and can't be properly activated. The sigil's structure needs to be modified."
"Modified? How do you modify it?" Ye Ziyun's eyes were filled with confusion. Even her grandfather wouldn't dare casually alter a sigil — the ancient patterns passed down through the ages were already in a relatively perfect state. Although he was a Legendary Demon Spirit Master capable of creating new sigils, modifying an existing one was a different matter entirely.
"Do you have a pen?" Nie Li asked, looking at Ye Ziyun.
Ye Ziyun moved her right hand and produced a Silver Horn Pen from her Space Ring, crafted from the horn of a Horned Sheep.
Nie Li took the Silver Horn Pen from her hand, and his fingertips inadvertently brushed her palm. That smooth, delicate skin sent a ripple through his heart.
Ye Ziyun pulled her hand back immediately, her head snapping up as she eyed Nie Li warily. She'd thought he was deliberately taking advantage of her, only to see him holding the Silver Horn Pen with a perfectly serious expression, his face grave and focused.
Perhaps she'd been overthinking it. That fleeting contact had stirred something strange and unexpected in the young woman's heart.
With a few simple strokes on a blank sheet of paper, Nie Li sketched out a sigil more complete than the "Fierce Wind and Snow" one. Every proportion of every line was flawless, as if it had been stamped onto the page.
Such a complex sigil, and Nie Li had drawn it with just a few casual strokes. This astonishing ability left her in awe. The modified "Fierce Wind and Snow" sigil was far more intricate than the original — so much so that Ye Ziyun found she couldn't fully read it.
"This is the complete 'Fierce Wind and Snow' sigil," Nie Li said, looking at Ye Ziyun. "It belongs to the Silver tier."