Chapter 7: Poverty.JPG
On the path of education, Yun Yingzhi had wanted to enter the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department since he was young.
However, Madame Yun wouldn’t allow it.
According to Madame Yun, she no longer expected much from Yun Yingzhi, but as a child of the Yun family, he had to enter a military academy’s Combat Department and graduate smoothly according to the established path.
As a child of the Yun family, Yun Yingzhi had no choice. Despite having no real strength and being just a fragile little white rabbit, he had to obediently enter the Combat Department and follow the path set by Madame Yun.
However, over the years, he never gave up on Source Weapon manufacturing.
Even after so many years, Yun Yingzhi still remembered that he initially started manufacturing mainly to gain the approval of General and Madame Yun.
Later on, their approval was no longer important. He just wanted to be a useful person—specifically, a useful person for Yun Yinghui.
Unfortunately, the age gap between him and Yun Yinghui was too large.
With such a gap, no matter how hard Yun Yingzhi worked, he couldn’t manufacture a Source Weapon suitable for Yun Yinghui yet.
Generally, the growth rate of Source Weapon manufacturers is slower than that of ability warriors.
For example, at Fense Academy.
The sophomore valedictorian, Huai Boshe, is already a Level 7 warrior. Other students are mostly Level 5 or 6, and even those in the tail-end class are usually Level 4 or 5 warriors.
Even Yun Yingzhi, through training, has reached Level 5 Source Energy.
However, in the eyes of others, Yun Yingzhi’s Level 5—since he hasn’t awakened an ability—is considered “ineffective” strength. Some even say his level was achieved solely through medicinal supplements.
Supplements often result in very weak combat power, sometimes even inferior to a normal Level 3 warrior.
Fense Academy didn’t demand much from students who entered through the “back door.” Graduating by “clinging to others’ thighs” was perfectly acceptable.
This was the current state of the sophomore Combat Department. Meanwhile, in the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department of the same year, levels were clearly lower than in the Combat Department. There were no Level 7s, and Level 6s were few and far between. In the entire sophomore year, only two students could manufacture Level 6 Source Weapons. Most could only make Level 3 or 4 weapons, and the tail-end class even saw Level 2 manufacturers.
In the realm of Source Weapon manufacturing, Yun Yingzhi possessed unique talent. Even so, he was currently only a Level 6 manufacturer. When luck was on his side, he had a certain chance of making a Level 7 weapon or even a low-quality Level 8 weapon.
On the other hand, Yun Yinghui was already a Level 9 warrior. He needed weapons that were at least Level 9, preferably Level 10.
Yun Yingzhi was a bit unwilling to accept this, but then he thought: the higher the level, the slower the progression. As long as he worked harder, one day he would definitely be able to tailor the most suitable weapon for Yun Yinghui!
Yun Yingzhi shook his head and stopped dwelling on the issue. What was more important now was that he was very angry.
He was going to show Huai Boshe a thing or two by manufacturing a Source Weapon that would let his own strength skyrocket and defeat him.
Yun Yingzhi informed his three roommates and headed to the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department next door.
The three roommates felt a bit complicated when they heard Yun Yingzhi was going there.
It had to be said that Yun Yingzhi had been attracting “bees and butterflies” since childhood.
Back when Alvin took him to the talent testing center, the group of children had fought over him, and since then, he had become the “White Moonlight” in the hearts of many.
Word about Yun Yingzhi spread through the children’s gossip.
Interests and hobbies don’t require talent; even without it, as long as one loves something, they can be deeply passionate about it.
Many of those children went to primary school with Yun Yingzhi, so everyone knew.
Yun Yingzhi was full of interest in Source Weapon manufacturing, but…
Those children said that Yun Yingzhi’s initial Mental Power test resulted in a D-rank. At the time, his mental state collapsed, and he sobbed piteously.
Just thinking about it made one’s heart ache.
So many years had passed, yet Yun Yingzhi—the one who tested as D-rank—was still full of interest in manufacturing.
The three roommates were worried about him and offered to go along, but he refused.
About half an hour later, Yun Yingzhi entered the Source Weapon Manufacturing workshop and was immediately surrounded by students from the department. Many of them looked at him with gazes full of heartache.
They thought: despite having no talent for manufacturing, Yun Yingzhi still spent all his time here. If he was working this hard, what excuse did they—the talented ones—have not to work hard?
Yun Yingzhi bid farewell to the enthusiastic students and prepared to enter the workshop.
Suddenly, one of the students grabbed him.
Yun Yingzhi froze and looked back at the student who had stopped him—it was a very beautiful female student.
The student said, “It’s like this, Yingzhi. A week from now is Fense Academy’s monthly open day.”
Yun Yingzhi was a bit happy hearing this; his depressed mood from the day began to improve.
Since childhood, excluding his parents, he liked two people most: Yun Yinghui and Alvin.
Yun Yinghui was on the front lines, making it hard to see him, but he was always happy to see Alvin.
The student continued, “We’re planning to hold a social mixer with students from other academies during the holiday. Would you like to participate too?”
Regarding the mixer, Yun Yingzhi had already received an invitation several days ago. It happened to be scheduled for the monthly open day, so he had naturally refused.
Instead of attending a mixer, he would rather spend the entire day at Alvin’s workshop or stay with Huai Boshe.
No, wait—at a time like this, he couldn’t think about Huai Boshe anymore. He’d be better off being a “clinging spirit” for his brother and calling Yun Yinghui all day.
Yun Yingzhi had been clinging to Yun Yinghui since he was small, wishing he could stick to him twenty-four hours a day. It wasn’t until he turned twelve that this habit slightly changed.
Yun Yingzhi shook his head and said, “Sorry, that day I—”
Suddenly, his ears twitched. He heard a student in the distance say, “You mean His Highness Elvis is actually going to participate too?”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelid gave a heavy jump.
His Highness Elvis?
The Crown Prince of the Los Empire, the senior valedictorian with white hair and violet eyes. He was the most prominent figure at Fense Academy. Most terrifyingly, His Highness Elvis possessed 4S-rank talent in both his Second Form and his abilities.
Undoubtedly, he possessed overwhelming strength, but there was also a drawback.
The stronger the talent, the lower the chance of having offspring.
For instance, the Emperor and Empress, who both possess 3S-rank forms, only have one child: Elvis.
The Los Empire places great importance on children. Rumor had it that when the palace physicians performed a physical for Elvis, they said that due to his extreme talent, his chances of having offspring in the future were infinitesimal.
Because of this, the Emperor and Empress had always wanted a second child, but since both have 3S-rank talent, it was to no avail.
Whether true or not, Yun Yingzhi also heard that since Elvis turned eighteen, the Emperor had tried scientific means to cultivate an heir for him, but without exception, they all failed.
“My God, His Highness Elvis is actually going to a mixer? I’m so nervous!”
Yun Yingzhi blinked. A formula slowly appeared in his mind.
His Highness Elvis: 4S-rank talent, senior valedictorian, superior to Huai Boshe in every way. He was one of the best candidates for a “temporary boyfriend.”
However, balanced against Elvis’s immense power was his reputation for being cold, heartless, and bloodthirsty.
Yun Yingzhi: “…”
Yun Yingzhi blinked and fell into thought.
Besides Elvis, he could also meet other people that day, regardless of gender.
The student asked, “Yingzhi, what’s wrong?”
Yun Yingzhi snapped out of it and said, “Alright, I’ll participate in the mixer!”
The moment he said this, many students looked at him in surprise, somewhat unexpected that he had agreed.
In the past, no matter how they invited him, Yun Yingzhi never attended any gatherings.
After making the pact with his classmates, Yun Yingzhi completed the rental procedures and entered the workshop.
The Source Weapon manufacturing workshop was equipped with complete facilities, including a massive Source material vending machine.
Students could purchase materials from the machine via scanning and transfer.
For materials not in the machine, they could call a staff member to purchase them separately.
The department had a storage warehouse with various materials ranging from Level 2 to Level 8. Unless it was a rare material, everything was in stock.
As a student benefit, materials were sold at 60% of the market price.
Yun Yingzhi pondered.
Huai Boshe was a Level 7 warrior, while he was currently a stable Level 6 manufacturer with an occasional chance to make Level 8 weapons.
Of course, Yun Yingzhi could simply buy a weapon made by another manufacturer. However, custom prices were high, and more importantly, they weren’t a perfect fit or strong enough; he didn’t like them.
Especially now, what he wanted to create was a weapon that could defeat Huai Boshe. That meant…
He needed to manufacture a Level 7 or even Level 8 Source Weapon. And…
There was another prerequisite: a Level 7 or 8 weapon that could be controlled by a Level 5 warrior.
The design would be incredibly complex.
In truth, while Yun Yingzhi was a Level 6 manufacturer, he himself was only a Level 5 Source Energy user. Unless it was a weapon he specifically tailored for himself, he couldn’t control high-level weapons well.
In fact, warriors can generally only control weapons of the same level. A few exceptionally talented ones can control weapons one level higher. But Yun Yingzhi—a Level 5 warrior—could control Level 7 weapons.
Controlling a weapon two levels higher was nearly impossible, but it was possible if he tailored it for himself.
Yun Yingzhi’s Mental Power was exceptionally strong, giving him a much deeper perception than others in this regard. Alvin had constantly marveled at this.
A warrior’s ability has an attribute, but in a Source Weapon, attributes are basically non-existent, following a standardized model. After all, Source Energy is a composite of all sorts of attributes.
Unlike the vast majority of manufacturers, Yun Yingzhi could clearly perceive the various Source attributes in the air.
When manufacturing, he could use specific attribute materials to restrict the weapon, only allowing Source Energy of the same attribute to pass through. This way, the Source Energy became a single-element power, meeting the required output while releasing its might in its most refined form.
Achieving this meant perfect “alignment” or “fit.”
Yun Yingzhi discovered long ago that he had the strongest affinity with the fire attribute. Thus, the weapons he made for himself were generally fire-attribute weapons.
It was precisely through repeated adjustments of this fit that Yun Yingzhi could barely control Level 7 weapons.
Yun Yingzhi discovered this solely because he knew he lacked individual combat power—being just a fragile rabbit without an awakened ability. To become stronger, he had racked his brains to follow the path of “equipment-based power.”
Alvin, a former Grandmaster, had told Yun Yingzhi that in the history of the Los Empire, he was the first manufacturer who could separate elemental attributes.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t something every manufacturer could do, as most couldn’t even sense the different Source attribute auras.
To others, the weapons Yun Yingzhi made just felt “strange” in that they were superior in every way, though they couldn’t pinpoint why.
Warriors using his weapons felt a better “fit,” but they didn’t know the reason; they just knew it let them showcase their strength more effectively.
Yun Yingzhi looked at the materials in the vending machine, contemplating what kind of weapon to design for himself.
He opened the design panel on his personal terminal.
Though he hadn’t awakened an ability, his affinity with fire was the strongest, allowing him to better gather fire Source Energy.
He listed a series of materials on the design draft that would better align with the fire element.
In manufacturing, elemental separation was an incredibly difficult path because no one had left any information on it. Yun Yingzhi had to figure out everything on his own. He had also spent a massive amount of money on this path; almost all his money went there.
Regarding money, it was quite complicated.
Yun Yingzhi didn’t know initially, but he found out later.
As a child of the General’s Manor, Yun Yinghui had been self-sufficient from an early age.
Yun Yingzhi and Yun Yingyao were only a year apart, but resources were heavily skewed.
The Yun family gave Yun Yingzhi 3,000 credits a month for living expenses. In a normal school, that would be plenty, but at Fense Academy, it wasn’t enough.
Similarly, Yun Yingyao’s base allowance was 3,000 credits, but she also received other supplements. For instance, Madame Yun gave her at least 100,000 credits a month for “socializing with other noble ladies.”
Nurturing a genius requires massive resources. For example, specialized potions for warriors cost tens of thousands of credits per vial—these included potions to improve comprehension or awaken potential.
Yun Yingzhi had none of these.
Before age six, Yun Yingzhi was envious of his sister. Later, he stopped being envious.
He had his brother to act as his father and mother. Although he didn’t have as much money or resources as Yun Yingyao, Yun Yinghui had been covering the vast majority of his expenses since he was very small.
Calculating it, that expenditure was not less than what Yun Yingyao received.
As he grew older and more sensible, Yun Yingzhi noticed his brother’s hardships and consciously began to cut back on his spending.
However, after entering the university, he was genuinely busy. Between the time constraints and the time spent researching Source Weapons, he rarely had time to manufacture weapons for others.
Generally, he only tailored weapons for others when Alvin requested it.
Yun Yingzhi wasn’t exactly destitute, but he didn’t have much money.
He looked at the list of Level 7 materials he’d written down in just a few minutes. His eyelid jumped, and he turned his gaze back to the vending machine.
Level 1 weapons started at 1,000 credits with very average power and negligible boost. Level 2 and 3 weapons doubled in price, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 credits. Top-tier Level 3 weapons could even cost several hundred thousand, offering decent performance boosts.
But for the weapons Yun Yingzhi could manufacture…
The material cost alone started in the hundreds of thousands.
Back at Alvin’s workshop when he assisted him, the material cost for the weapons they made exceeded seven figures, approaching eight—and that didn’t include potential loss.
Yun Yingzhi thought: if he were at Teacher Alvin’s workshop, he could “leech” materials at a lower price. But Fense Academy was a fully closed-off school with only two open days a month. Trying to manufacture a powerful enough weapon using only those two days was almost…
Yun Yingzhi: “…”
A giant question mark slowly formed in his mind.
Inside the isolated workshop, he looked toward the direction of Fense Academy’s main gate.
Then his gaze shifted toward the back area… where he heard the best “escape route” for students was located.
He pondered: he couldn’t do it openly, but escaping… that should be possible… right?
Translator’s Note:
- Poverty.JPG: Similar to Chapter 5, the “.JPG” describes Yun Yingzhi’s current state of being “frozen” in financial despair.
- Yan Gou (顏狗): Often translated as “Face-con,” this refers to people who are entirely driven by beauty. In this chapter, it describes the students in the manufacturing department who are moved to tears just by watching Zhizhi work.
- Male Mother (男媽媽): Zhizhi explicitly calls his brother “Mama” in Chapter 6. This nurturer role is a common trope where a male character provides the emotional support typically associated with a mother.
- A little note from me: Zhizhi’s special skill is basically “Fire Attribute Separation.” He’s a Level 5 bunny carrying Level 7 fire-power. No wonder the machine showed 4S earlier! Also, him planning to sneak out? He’s definitely becoming a “bad student” for the sake of his “equipment-based revenge.”
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