The Geared Immortal

An Academy Life: 15

Several weeks have passed since Shin Jiao stayed in the Great Wu City. Many changes had happened and these changes helped the Great Wu City in a great way.

The researchers in the academy, at last, we\'re able to find and understand the algorithm and array used on the phone. Although it took them a while yet it was all good. Thought Shin Jiao didn\'t help in the process of their research, he instead slowly and carefully guided them. He has spent most of his time in the academy laboratory that he didn\'t even have time to go home.

But with the use of his personal communicator, he still had contact with his family from time to time. Through that, he was able to learn that his mother has successfully integrated herself in their business with the help of Prince Mingsha Wu, Ai Ji, Jie Ye, Jiyi, and the two servants of Aye Muyan, Shao-Shao, and Tin-tin.

With the crafting ability of Ai Ji the business was able to make it big with customers from all over the kingdom of Wu. As she was able to make artifacts with the strength almost in an equal to a gold core realm cultivator, she was hailed as one of the youngest yet best artificers in the city. But what baffled everyone is that she is just a mere mortal.

Because of her skill in crafting artifact, many envious eyes began concocting schemes against her in the shadows. Yet, they were all foiled by Shin Jiao\'s mother Aye Muyan, who had advanced to the late stages of the gold core realm, along with the family. Since Aye Muyan\'s cultivation was hampered for a long time, her body and core have been already prepared so her advancement rose like a rocket with the help of the cultivation pod.

"I truly have a great family and a gifted student," is what Shin Jiao has told himself upon learning what has happened outside of the Great Wu academy.

As for Tong Lei, Shin Jiao also began teaching him about the fundamentals of crafting which made the pudgy guy excited. Since Tong Lei experienced the power of the glasses, He has begged Shin Jiao again and again just to have a glimpse of what it is made of.

Today the two of them are in class with many other crafting students. Since Shin Jiao decided to help with the making of the \'phone\', he decided to stay near the research building hence he took crafting as his secondary learning course.

"It\'s far too early for you… Learn to refine your crafting style first. If you are able to make something like this… then I will consider teaching you some inept array patterns." Shin Jiao said while taking out a finely crafted pendant of a silver dragon.

The way the object was crafted is almost life-like making those who look at it became awed with the detail given to the object.

So, when Tong Lei saw this, he was truly dumbfounded and almost didn\'t want to let go of the beautiful item in his hand.

"Brother… Ma… master Shin, who… who made this?" Tong Lei immediately asked with a shaking voice.

It is clear that he is very excited about the craftsmanship of the pendant.

"That one is made by one of my students, she is called artificer Ai Ji." Shin Jiao said casually.

But what he didn\'t know is that when he called Ai Ji\'s name some of the students heard this and immediately turned their heads towards Shin Jiao and Tong Lei who are talking with each other. In their eyes, there is a clear hint of doubt and mockery.

"Che, you can talk rubbish master Shin." Suddenly someone said.

From behind Shin Jiao and Tong Lei stood a young man wearing a grim expression on his face, he seems to have a deep hatred towards the two.

The young man is the person that was both defeated by Shin Jiao and Tong Lei, Sai Wu, the 7th prince of the great Wu Kingdom.

Sai Wu has been very angry after his total defeat against the two people. He was even more shamed upon knowing that Shin Jiao was able to draw the current blueprint that his mentors and teachers are trying to follow in making the new communication device.

"So what if he can make that blueprint, that doesn\'t mean that he is special. I already found someone who is better than you and I will let you face defeat after learning from that person." That was what on Sai Wu\'s mind.

A few days after his defeat, he has heard about a new master artificer that is making waves in the kingdom of Wu named Ai Ji, and she is working under his cousin, Mingsha Wu. So he tried to approach Mingsha Wu and begged him to introduce him to the artificer. Through his begging, Mingsha Wu relented and gave him a chance to meet Ai Ji one day in his office.

Though Sai Wu knew that the artificer is just a mortal young woman, only when he saw her, he was suddenly dumbstruck. This is because Ai Ji\'s temperament has changed and her aura control has already improved by leaps and bound. If Shin Jiao can see her right now, then he would be dumbfounded because both spiritual Qi and natural energy are flowing from her body in a subtle manner.

This all started a few days ago while crafting a special artifact that was ordered by a military officer from the city. She suddenly saw something in the air which made her scared. Then she saw multiple colors along with the wisp of white smoke. At first, she thought that it was a ghost, but her curiosity got the best of her and began to experiment on those spectacular things.

The first to notice her weird behavior was Jie Ye, who became her friend. Thought the two have a wide gap in their ages, both were considered as mortals by many. So the two became best friends and they began to bond with each other.

At that time Jie Ye decided to visit Ai Ji in the now three-floored crafting shop. And saw the weird expression on her friend\'s face. But she soon realized that Ai Ji can actually see the elements in her surroundings, and her body seems to attract more of them.

"Hey, what\'s wrong?" Jie Ye decided to interrupt Ai Ji\'s foolish reaction.

"Oh… I… I don\'t know? I seem to see something in the air." Ai Ji suddenly blurted out.

"Tiny colorful crystal-like lights, right?" Jie Ye said with a faint smile.

"Yeah, that right. There are many colorful…" Ai Ji replied, but suddenly stopped.

With a wide eye, she suddenly turned her attention towards Jie Ye who is standing beside her with a smile.

"You! What did you say? You… you can see them? Older sister Jie Ye… you can see these things right?" Ai Ji blurted out as she jumped up from her chair and grabbed Jie Ye\'s arms in excitement.

Right now, all she wanted to do is figure out what those things are and how come those things are attracted to her.

"Calm down… I\'ll explain everything to you." Jie Ye said as he led the excited Ai Ji to sit while she took another chair to sit to the opposite side of Ai Ji.

"Those are called natural energies of the world or what the mages called mana…" Jie Ye started explained about the different kinds of powerful people in this world.

It took her a couple of hours to explain about her experience in becoming a mage, and the growth of her power from the time that her master Shin Jiao discovered her talent.

As Jie Ye explained, Ai Ji began to feel excited deep in her heart. She knows that her master Shin Jiao is someone with a unique set of skills and very powerful. Although she learned a lot about his master, and already contented to be by his side, however, ever since he entered the academy and she became busy, the two hadn\'t seen each other for a few weeks now. In these weeks she realized something which actually scared her.

She truly missed him so much.

His gentle smile and the way he taught her patiently made her recall all the things they did together. Although it was just a few weeks of artifact crafting training, still it was enough for her to feel something. But what discourage her from this thought is that Shin Jiao is a cultivator, while she is just a mere mortal. Which made her decide to bury the feeling she has for him.

But now, everything has changed. She is not just any ordinary mortal; she is actually a mage, a powerful being in equal with the cultivators in the cultivation land.

Jie Ye decided to let Ai Ji borrow the glasses she is currently using in learning her skills after they got home that night.

The glasses that Jie Ye is using are different from the normal glasses that Shin Jiao gave to Ai Ji. When she first saw the glasses she became excited to know how they were made, but she soon discovered that she is not yet knowledgeable enough to make such advance artifacts.

That night she decided to train herself and asked Jie Ye to hide her newfound power from Shin Jiao as Ai Ji wanted to surprise his master. So she began to learn from the instructions in the glasses.

Ai Ji is a very curious person and when she learned that the glasses are different she began to explore it and was stunned to discover something. From the glasses, she learned that there are many forms of energy on this planet and that those energies can be combined.. And from the glasses, she learned how to combine the energy, which the glasses instructed as making a sphere in one\'s dantian.