When Liu Hua saw the dress, she looked awed. The hanfu robe looked beautiful, and she could feel a cool and refreshing aura emanating from it.
As Little Yu Xin got closer, Liu Hua couldn't help but ask,
"Did you really make it?"
Little Yu Xin said proudly,
"Really. This hanfu robe is made by me from the silk of the ice silkworm, a rank‑1 low‑grade spiritual insect, making it a rank‑1 low‑grade material. Even though the robe is technically a quasi‑first‑grade artifact since there are no divine runes embroidered on it, it is more than sufficient for staying cool on the hottest of days."
Liu Hua understood why Little Yu Xin had made this. It was because she was used to saving money and tolerating the heat of the southern region, always coming home covered in sweat and exhausted. Little Yu Xin must have kept it in mind and found a way to help her.
Liu Hua's eyes couldn't help but turn a little red.
'As expected of my son,' she thought, and she pulled Little Yu Xin from upon Su Rong and hugged him tightly, saying happily,
"Thank you, Xin'er. This is the best gift your mother has ever gotten."
After that, they had dinner together. During the meal, Yu Jin couldn't help but glance at Liu Hua a few more times. Liu Hua was wearing a beautiful ice‑blue hanfu robe, and Yu Jin already knew how she had gotten it.
Yu Jin felt a bit jealous and couldn't help but say,
"Xin'er, don't you make male robes?"
Little Yu Xin was a little stunned, but still replied,
"I can make them."
Yu Jin looked at him with a look that said, 'Then why didn't you make me one?'
Little Yu Xin immediately promised,
"I will definitely make one for you."
Only then did Yu Jin nod in satisfaction.
---
The next morning,
Little Yu Xin woke up and silently recited,
'System, sign‑in.'
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on signing in.]
[Reward: Divine Rune Compendium (Rank 1)]
[Item has been added to memory.]
Little Yu Xin's brain was immediately flooded with an overwhelming amount of information. It took him quite a while to calm down.
After roughly going through it, he finally understood what divine runes were. They were symbols carved onto an artifact during its forging or weaving process. Carving them consumed divine sense—the power of the sea of consciousness, also called mental energy.
For Rank‑1 divine runes, at least Qi Refining Level 3 or Acquired Level 3 cultivation was required.
Little Yu Xin immediately perked up and thoroughly reviewed all the information stuffed into his brain. Only then did he fully comprehend what divine runes were: they were like circuits carved onto an artifact during forging, allowing a cultivator to input spiritual energy and produce an effect.
And only now did he understand why a cultivator at Qi Refining Level 3 was needed to carve them—because only divine sense at that level was sufficient. Divine runes had to be carved all at once; one couldn't stop and resume later.
Little Yu Xin immediately began to practice. While stitching a cloth, he also tried to stitch a divine rune into it. He decided to attempt a simple 'fire‑element enhancement' divine rune.
After preparing the cloth, when he tried to stitch the divine rune onto it, Little Yu Xin immediately felt his divine sense leaving his sea of consciousness. It traveled through his hand, through the needle, and toward the spiritual cloth.
He was startled by the sensation, and by the time he recovered, the divine rune was already ruined. Only half of the rune was completed. The red cloth glowed with a fiery‑red treasure light over only half its area.
"So this is what it means to have a failed refinement…"
Even though his first attempt ended in failure, Little Yu Xin wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, he had learned a great deal about artifact‑refining principles.
This cloth artifact was a product of a failed refinement, meaning it could not be used again. If this had been a metal spiritual artifact, it could still be melted and reforged for a second try—but even that would require restarting the artifact‑refining furnace, wasting both time and effort.
This was why many people were wary of advanced cultivation arts such as alchemy and artifact refining. Constant expenditure and failure could deter even the most talented youths from this path.
But Little Yu Xin had already decided not to fear failure, and he had a Sign‑in System to help cover the expenses.
Little Yu Xin kept practicing until breakfast. After eating a delicious meal made by his mother, he set off for Flame City riding Su Rong.
Su Rong's cultivation was also increasing every moment. Her aura was already at the peak of rank‑1 middle‑grade. She might break through at any time.
Little Yu Xin picked up his flute and played a tune to practice on the way.
The sound was peaceful, like a light rain outside the window at night, making one unconsciously drawn into it and forget the worries of life.
On the main road, many travelers turned their heads, looking curiously at Little Yu Xin, surprised that he possessed such skill at such a young age.
It was another musical spell returned by the System, with a simple name: 'Dream.' It was just that Little Yu Xin couldn't yet perform the spell perfectly; otherwise, all these curious people would have been knocked unconscious, sleeping on the road in broad daylight.
To fully comprehend the spell, one needed relevant life experience. Like when he had performed the spell 'Farewell'—Little Yu Xin could still remember his friends and family from his previous life, and the recent goodbye with Jiang Dali had put him in a very sad mood, so that spell had come relatively easily.
But to perform 'Dream,' he would need a more leisurely demeanor. Unfortunately, he had lived with anxiety in his previous life and was striving hard in this one.
Yet there is only one profound truth in this world:
Only those who try can succeed. Even if one fails, it can still be considered a lesson.
'Perhaps you can succeed after trying ten times; perhaps it will take even more chances. But you will never achieve success in anything, even after a thousand years, if you never try.'
Thinking this, Little Yu Xin played the flute with even more leisure, completely unconcerned about mastering the spell immediately. And in that leisurely ambiance, Little Yu Xin rode Su Rong while playing the flute…