Deities: Rulers of Nature

In the logic that rune masters have figured out over the years, a truly effective rune group must have at least three parts.

The first part is the core runes, which are essentially the soul of the entire rune set.

The core runes directly define the tendencies of the rune cluster. Just like the ice and cold runes that Jin Tai chose, a rune cluster centered around these two will inevitably tend towards the frost element.

In other words, the core determines what a rune group is.

The second part is effect runes, which are the ways and means by which rune clusters take effect.

If the core determines what it is, then the effect runes determine how to do it.

Whether it turns the cold air into solid ice, clings tightly to the enemy's wounds, or explodes directly... effect runes give rune teams extremely high tactical value.

This is the part that tests a runemaster's imagination the most, and it's also where it's easiest to come up with creative ideas.

The third part is the judgment rune, which is the encapsulator of the rune cluster.

The judgment rune is like a door that only opens and activates the rune cluster when certain conditions are met.

To some extent, judgment runes are also important, but for rune masters in the Mountain and Sea Divine Realm, judgment runes are the least of their concerns, because among all the runes they possess, there is only one judgment rune.

Jin Tai is not an overly ambitious person. He neither immediately devoted himself to the five-character script group nor had he already thoroughly studied the three-character script group.

In fact, Jin Tai initially considered three-character rune clusters, but after various attempts and combinations, he found that combining existing runes into three-character combinations was not suitable for Silver Azure Steel.

Three-character runes may be simpler, but when inscribed onto equipment made of silver steel, they can easily cause conflicts, leading to inscription failure.

This is why, despite years of research by rune masters, no one has yet been able to create the first truly extraordinary piece of equipment.

"You're right, Kylohn. I do need to change the course of some loops and find a few new connection points." After carefully sensing with his perception talent, Jin Tai nodded in agreement with Kylohn's point of view.

"How about we work together to figure out the locations of a few new connection points, and you can stop your inscription for today?" Kylohn suggested.

Kairon had noticed that Jin Tai had been secretly rubbing his wrist. Clearly, after most of the day of engraving, Jin Tai's wrist was overly fatigued and wouldn't recover in a short time.

Continuing to inscribe it is not impossible, but the success rate may become even lower.

"Fine then." Jin Tai sheepishly withdrew his hands from behind his back, secretly rubbing his wrists.

"No rush, let's take this scrap basket to the forge next door first." Caroline rolled her eyes at Jin Tai, annoyed.

Carolyn and Kim have known each other for quite a while, but he still feels that Kim's behavior is sometimes too childish. But there's nothing he can do, since they are good friends, so Carolyn can only let Kim do as he pleases.

The two walked along the corridor, arguing incessantly about the new node as they went.

This is how Kylohn and Kimtae work together. Kimtae's perception talent is more suited to engraving, and he is also more hands-on. Kylohn is more quick-witted and has a deeper understanding of runes, so she can often point out Kimtae's mistakes and offer suggestions.

However, it's only because Kim has a good personality that he's able to stand up for her. If it were someone else, they probably would have already started arguing with Caroline.

Pushing open the door to the forging room, a complex smell of sulfur, iron, and sweat hit them, causing them to hold their breath and halt their heated discussion.

By the light of the water moonstone, the two saw a figure with a bare upper body, bulging muscles, wielding an iron hammer and smashing it wildly at a red-hot metal ingot.

"Bang! Clang! Boom!"

"Father!"

Jin Tai shouted at the top of his lungs, barely managing to draw Jin Lei's attention away from forging. However, Jin Lei did not immediately stop what he was doing. After nodding to the two of them, he continued to hammer the metal ingot.

Jin Tai was already used to this kind of scene. He carried the waste basket, walked past Jin Lei as if he knew the way, and went to the processing area not far away.

After setting down the ruined sword blank, Jin Tai put some unprocessable metal into the basket, planning to feed the Iron Beast with Kairon later.

After Jin Lei delivered the final hammer blow, he used pliers to pick up the metal ingot and placed it directly into the water tank next to him to cool it down.

"Tch~"

Once the white mist stopped rising from the pool, Jin Lei turned around, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave Jin Tai and Kailuon a hearty smile that was tinged with fatigue.

"You two arrived quite early today. How's the result?" Jin Lei asked with a smile.

Jin Lei wasn't surprised by the arrival of Jin Tai and Kailuon; this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.

This forging room is shared by Jin Lei and another White Scale Serpent Spirit blacksmith to some extent. Since the two of them do not take on apprentices, no one usually pushes the door open to enter when the forging room door is closed.

Aside from his son Jin Tai, who dared to run into a first-floor underground cave to find him when he was only four years old.

Although Jin Lei's level is not as high as his son's now, in terms of forging skills alone, including all the snake spirit blacksmiths, Jin Lei can be ranked in the top five. This is the fundamental reason why Jin Lei does not have to share a forging room with a bunch of people.

"We've made some progress. If this approach works, we might have results by the end of the month." After saying that, Jin Tai picked up the full waste basket and called to Kailoen to go to the Iron Beast's lair.

"You're not kidding me, are you?" Jin Lei said with a laugh.

"Uncle Jin Lei, what Jin Tai said is true," Kailuon said, turning to defend Jin Tai.

"Oh dear, Father, you should know that even the High Priest has praised your son's talent. It's just a small rune group, and the day when I take it over is not far off. Just wait and see how others envy you for having such a good son." After joking around for a few moments, Jin Tai pulled Kylo En out of the forge and closed the door behind him.

"This kid." Jin Lei shook his head with a smile, then picked up the cooled metal ingot and threw it into a new round of frantic smashing.

Jin Tai wasn't exaggerating. It wasn't even the end of the month yet, only ten days after that day, and Jin Tai had completely opened up the connection loop of the five-character script and perfectly engraved it on a silver-green steel battle blade forged by Jin Lei.

The moment the final loop was engraved by Jin Tai, the entire rune cluster seemed to come alive, its icy blue light guiding the five-character rune cluster into the battle blade.

Visible gusts of cold air emanated from the blade, and nearby Kylohn felt a significant cooling sensation throughout his body.

"Jin Tai, you did it!" Caroline rushed to Jin Tai's side and picked him up in her arms.

If it weren't so inappropriate, Kylo Ren might have been spinning around and cheering.

However, Kylo Ren truly felt that no amount of praise was too much for Kinta at this moment, because just now, Kinta had personally created the first extraordinary weapon in the Familia.

The weapon was given a name by the two of them when it was first engraved – Frost Blade.