Chapter 7: Poverty.JPG
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
Since childhood, Yun Yingzhi had wanted to enter the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department. However, Madam Yun would not allow it. According to her, she no longer expected Yun Yingzhi to accomplish anything. But as a member of the Yun family, he was required to enter the Combat Department of the military academy and follow the prescribed path to graduation.
As a Yun family child, Yun Yingzhi had no choice. Despite his lack of strength and being a fragile little white rabbit, he obediently entered the Combat Department and followed the route designated by Madam Yun. Yet, throughout all these years, he had never given up on source-weapon manufacturing.
Even after all this time, Yun Yingzhi still remembered that he first began exploring source-weapon creation in hopes of gaining the approval of General Yun and Madam Yun. Later, parental approval became irrelevant. He simply wanted to be useful—useful to Yun Yinghui, and only to him. Unfortunately, the age gap between him and Yun Yinghui was too great.
With such a large gap, no matter how hard Yun Yingzhi worked, he could not produce source weapons suitable for Yun Yinghui. Generally, source-weapon makers develop more slowly compared to esper fighters.
At Fansa Academy, for instance, the top student of the second year, Huai Boshe, was already a Level 7 esper fighter. Other students were mostly Level 5 or 6. Students at the very bottom of the class were Level 4 or 5. Even Yun Yingzhi, after undergoing training, had reached Level 5 in source energy. But without awakened abilities, his Level 5 was essentially meaningless in the eyes of other people. Some even claimed his Level 5 was obtained through drugs.
Generally speaking, drugs could boost levels, but results in weak overall strength—often weaker than a normal Level 3 warrior. Fansa Academy placed few requirements on students admitted through connections. Graduation could often be achieved by “riding someone else’s coattails.”
This was the reality for second-year Combat Department students. Meanwhile, the second-year Source Weapon Manufacturing Department was notably weaker. There were no Level 7 makers, Level 6 makers were rare. Across the second year, only two students could produce Level 6 source weapons. Most could only produce Level 3 or 4. At the bottom of the class, Level 2 makers were not uncommon.
Yun Yingzhi had innate talent in source-weapon creation, but even so, he was only a Level 6 maker, occasionally producing Level 7 weapons and sometimes low-quality Level 8 weapons. Meanwhile, Yun Yinghui was already a Level 9 esper fighter. He required at least Level 9, preferably Level 10, source weapons.
Yun Yingzhi felt a twinge of frustration. Higher-level production meant slower progression, but he resolved that with enough effort, one day he would craft the perfect weapon for Yun Yinghui.
Shaking his head, he pushed that thought aside. Right now, he was angry. He wanted to show Huai Boshe a thing or two—produce source weapons that would give himself a massive power boost to defeat him.
Yun Yingzhi told his three roommates he was heading to the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department. The three roommates exchanged subtle looks.
It had to be said: Yun Yingzhi had always drawn attention. When Alvin had taken him to the talent-testing center years ago, other children had competed for his attention, enamored by his looks. From then on, he became the “white moonlight” in the hearts of many of these children. Through word of mouth among the children, more people learned about Yun Yingzhi. Interests and hobbies do not require any talent. Even without being naturally gifted, passion alone could inspire deep admiration.
Many of those children had attended the same elementary school as Yun Yingzhi and knew of his passion for source-weapon creation. They also remembered his D-level mental power test as a child—how heartbreakingly he had cried after the result. Years later, that same child still held a deep interest in source-weapon creation.
The three roommates worried about him and wanted to accompany him, but Yun Yingzhi 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 concern.
They thought, Yun Yingzhi had no talent in source-weapon creation, yet he worked tirelessly. If he could strive so hard without innate talent, what excuse did they, the naturally gifted students, have to slack off?
Yun Yingzhi bid the enthusiastic students farewell and prepared to enter the workshop.
Suddenly, one student grabbed him. Yun Yingzhi looked back, slightly surprised. The student was a strikingly beautiful girl. She said, “Yingzhi, in a week, it will be the Academy’s monthly open day.”
Yun Yingzhi’s spirits lifted slightly. The disappointment he had felt all day eased a bit. Since childhood, excluding his parents, he had two favorite people: Yun Yinghui and Alvin. Yun Yinghui was at the frontlines, so he rarely saw him. But meeting up with Alvin always made him happy.
The girl continued, “During the holiday, we plan to host a social event with students from other departments. Why don’t you come too?”
Days earlier, Yun Yingzhi had already received the invitation for the same monthly open day. Naturally, he had declined. Time spent at a social event could be better spent at Alvin’s workshop or together with Huai Boshe.
No, not Huai Boshe. He couldn’t think of him now. He could better use the time to stick to Big Brother Yun Yinghui, spending an entire day messaging him. Since childhood, Yun Yingzhi had been clingy toward Yun Yinghui. He had wanted to stay attached to him 24/7, only gradually adjusting this habit after age twelve.
Shaking his head, Yun Yingzhi said, “Sorry, that day I—”
Suddenly, his ears twitched. From a distance, he heard a student say, “Do you mean His Highness Elvis will come as well?”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids jumped. His Highness Elvis? The heir of the Empire, the top student of the fourth year, with white hair and violet eyes—a rising star at Fansa Academy. Most terrifyingly, His Highness Elvis possessed both SSSS-level second form and abilities.
There was no doubt he had overwhelming power. Yet with such talent came drawbacks: the stronger the talent, the less likely they were to produce offspring. It was like the Emperor and Imperial Consort, who both possessed SSS-level second forms; currently, their only child was His Highness Elvis.
Rumors in the Empire whispered that during a physical examination, the palace doctors had said that because of Elvis’s extraordinary talent, the likelihood of him having offspring in the future was extremely low. For this reason, the Emperor and Imperial Consort had always wanted a second child. But both themselves possessed SSS-level abilities, and their attempts had been fruitless.
Whether it was true or not, Yun Yingzhi also heard that starting from the age of eighteen, the Emperor had tried to use scientific means to produce offspring for Elvis—but without exception, all efforts failed.
“Oh my god, His Highness Elvis is actually attending the social event? I’m so nervous!”
Yun Yingzhi blinked, and a formula slowly appeared in his mind. His Highness Elvis, SSSS-level second form, fourth-year top student, surpasses Huai Boshe in every way—definitely one of the best candidates for a temporary boyfriend. But proportionate to his overwhelming talent was his cold, merciless, bloodthirsty reputation.
Yun Yingzhi… blinked and fell into deep thought. Aside from Elvis, that day he should also be able to meet other students, regardless of gender.
The female student asked, “Yingzhi, what’s wrong?”
Yun Yingzhi snapped out of his thoughts. “Alright, I’ll attend the social event!”
As soon as he said this, many students stared in surprise. Some were shocked that he had agreed. In the past, no matter how they invited him, Yun Yingzhi had never participated in any gathering. After confirming his participation with his classmates, he went through the borrowing procedures and entered the workshop.
The Source Weapon Manufacturing workshop was fully equipped, including a huge vending machine for Source materials. The vending machine contained abundant materials for source-weapon creation. Students could purchase materials via scanning and transfer payments. Materials not in the vending machine could be requested separately by ringing a bell to contact the staff.
The Source Weapon Manufacturing department also had a storage warehouse containing various source-weapon materials from Level 2 to Level 8. Unless the material was extremely rare, it was always stocked. As a student benefit, materials were sold at 60% of the market price.
Yun Yingzhi thought carefully. Huai Boshe was a Level 7 gifted warrior, while he was currently a stable Level 6 source-weapon maker who was occasionally able to produce a Level 8 weapon when luck favored him. Of course, Yun Yingzhi could purchase source weapons made by other makers, but the custom price was exorbitant; and, most importantly, the weapons wouldn’t be fully compatible and their attack power would be insufficient, which he disliked.
Especially now, he wanted to craft a source weapon that could defeat Huai Boshe. That meant… He needed to create Level 7, or even Level 8, source weapons, and… There was one prerequisite: weapons that a Level 5 esper fighter could control. The design would be extremely complex.
The truth was, although Yun Yingzhi was a Level 6 source-weapons maker, he himself was only a Level 5 esper. Unless he designed weapons specifically for himself, he could not control other source weapons well.
In fact, most espers can only control weapons of their same level. A few with exceptional talent can control weapons one level higher. But Yun Yingzhi, a Level 5 esper, could control Level 7 weapons. Controlling weapons two levels above one’s ability is nearly impossible—but if Yun Yingzhi made a custom weapon for himself, it was possible.
His mental power was extremely strong. In this regard, he had far keener perception than anyone else, something Alvin had always marveled at. Abilities could be divided by elemental attributes, but when applied to source weapons, these attributes largely had no meaning. After all, Source is a composite, comprised of various elements.
Unlike most source-weapon makers, Yun Yingzhi could clearly sense the elemental properties of Source in the surrounding air. When creating a weapon, he could limit the materials to a single property, ensuring only that element channeled energy through the weapon. This allowed the energy to condense into a single-element form, releasing maximum potential in the purest way.
Achieving this meant perfect compatibility.
Yun Yingzhi had discovered early on that he was naturally compatible with fire-element energy. Thus, the weapons he created for himself were predominantly fire-element. Thanks to continuous adjustments to compatibility, he could barely manage Level 7 source weapons. He was able to discover this simply because he knew he had no other abilities. His second form was a fragile little rabbit, and his abilities were unawakened. To make himself stronger, he had to rely on equipment, devising clever ways to grow through weapons.
Alvin, a former grandmaster of source-weapon creation, had told Yun Yingzhi that he was the first in the Empire’s history to split elemental attributes in weapons. Unfortunately, not every master could do this. Most top-tier makers couldn’t even sense the different elemental energies. To them, Yun Yingzhi’s weapons were strange—powerful in every aspect, but somehow “off,” though they couldn’t articulate why.
For espers using Yun Yingzhi’s weapons in combat, they could feel the increased compatibility, but not why. The weapons simply allowed them to perform better.
Yun Yingzhi stared at the vending machine, contemplating how he would design his next source weapon. Opening the personal terminal’s design panel, he looked at the Source materials in the vending machine and began planning his design. Although his abilities had not yet awakened, among all the elemental affinities, his compatibility with fire was the strongest. He could gather fire energy more effectively.
On the blueprint, he wrote a series of notes specifying Source materials that would best harmonize with fire. In source-weapon crafting, splitting elemental attributes was an extremely difficult path. No predecessors had left any information. Everything had to be discovered by Yun Yingzhi himself. On this path, he spent enormous amounts of money—almost all of his funds went into this research.
And speaking of money, the situation was delicate.
Yun Yingzhi hadn’t realized it at first, but later he understood. As a child of General Yun’s household, Yun Yingzhi’s elder brother, Yun Yinghui, had already been self-sufficient from an early age. Yun Yingzhi and Yun Yingyao were only a year apart in age, but resources were heavily skewed.
The Yun household gave Yun Yingzhi a monthly allowance of 3,000 Imperial credits. For an ordinary academy, this would be more than enough, but at Fansa Academy, it was insufficient.
Yun Yingyao also received 3,000 Imperial credits per month, but in addition, she had other forms of support. Their mother personally gave her monthly pocket money, starting at 100,000 Imperial credits, supposedly to help her mingle and connect with noble young ladies.
Raising a genius consumed massive resources. Even the simplest items, like potions suitable for espers, were priced in the tens of thousands per vial, including special potions to enhance comprehension or unlock potential.
Yun Yingzhi had none of this. Before the age of six, he sometimes envied Yun Yingyao. Later, he no longer did. He had his brother act as both father and mother. Though he didn’t have as much money or as many resources as Yun Yingyao, Yun Yinghui had taken responsibility for most of his expenses since he was very young.
If calculated carefully, this expenditure was not less than Yun Yingyao’s. As he grew older, the increasingly sensible Yun Yingzhi realized the burden Yun Yinghui bore and began consciously reducing his own spending. However, once he entered university, he became truly busy. Between time constraints and the hours required for researching source weapons, he barely had time to craft weapons for others.
Normally, only when Alvin asked would Yun Yingzhi create custom source weapons for others. Yun Yingzhi wasn’t poor, but he didn’t have much money either. He looked at the variety of Level 7 Source materials he had written down in just a few minutes on his blueprint, his eyelids twitching. His gaze then shifted to the vending machine.
Level 1 source weapons started in the thousands of credits, with mediocre attack power and negligible enhancement rates. Level 2 and 3 weapons doubled in price—from 10,000 to 100,000—and top-tier Level 3 weapons could even reach hundreds of thousands. The enhancement rates at these levels were decent.
But for the weapons Yun Yingzhi could craft… The raw material costs alone started in the hundreds of thousands.
For example, previously, when Yun Yingzhi had assisted Alvin in the workshop, the source weapons they crafted together had material costs exceeding seven figures, nearly eight figures, not counting wastage.
Yun Yingzhi thought: if he were in Alvin’s workshop, he could still “borrow” Source materials at lower costs. But Fansa Academy was a closed-campus school that opened only two days a month. He wanted to use those two days to craft sufficiently powerful source weapons, which was almost…
Yun Yingzhi’s mind slowly formed a question mark. Inside the fully enclosed workshop, his gaze swept toward the main gate of Fansa Academy. Then it shifted toward the back, the direction that was rumored to be best suited for students to break out of the academy.
He thought, I can’t go openly. If I slip out… it should be possible… right?
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