The Avalon Of Five Elements

“Embroidery is one of the more lucrative occupations,” Lou Lan said, as he morphed into a book. A voice boomed out as the pages flipped. “For the past twenty-two years, embroidery has consistently had a place in the top ten most lucrative occupations within the Avalon of Five Elements.”

Ai Hui’s eyes lit up like the stars in the night sky.

Even wielding a sword could not captivate him to such an extent.

“This has to do with embroidery being applicable across a large number of fields, especially with regards to the handling of plant and leather materials. Due to the high prices of even basic embroidered goods, the sales volume isn’t all that high. One sheet of elemental cloth costs a hundred times more than normal cloth, with the average price over the past ten years being five hundred thousand yuan.”

Ai Hui sucked in a breath of cold air. Never had he imagined that one sheet of elemental cloth would cost this much.

Five hundred thousand!

Before his debt of eighty million yuan, five hundred thousand yuan was an astronomical figure to Ai Hui. But now, this was the price for only one sheet of elemental cloth!

Huge profits! Such huge profits!

Ai Hui’s eyes glowed at the prospect of making so much money. In his mind, he was already running down to his teacher, shouting “Teacher, I want to learn embroidery!” with utmost passion and sincerity.

These profits were really too much!

Ai Hui gritted his teeth, controlling himself.

How could such a lucrative trade possibly exist in this world? Surely it exists so that he may join it!

How much of the [Twin Weaving Technique] did he remember? Ai Hui had initially embraced the task with an attitude of experimentation, but he had now completely changed his mind. Overcoming this test was a must.

My head can be chopped off, my blood can be lost, but don’t ask whether or not I would learn embroidery! Let the wind blow, beat the war drums, but I won’t be called Ai Hui if I don’t learn embroidery!

“What are elemental cloths used for? Why are they worth so much? Is weaving muslin considered as elemental cloth?” Ai Hui asked rapidly.

“Elemental cloths are weaved using elemental energy needles with threads made of materials rich in elemental energy. Elemental cloths are expensive because it is easy to add elemental traces to them. For instance, embroidery can be used to create these traces. Elemental cloths have many uses, including making weapons. Lian Feier, the vice division leader of the North Sea Division, has a weapon called [Dying Peach] that is created through embroidery. Much protective equipment and many armor linings are also made with such cloths, providing a layer of protection against the dire beasts’ elemental energy-charged attacks.”

Lou Lan returned to his normal form, appearing in front of the heap of yarn.

“Are you referring to these? These balls of yarn have elemental energy and can be used to make elemental cloths. The use of an elemental energy needle, however, is required. Ai Hui, do you know how to do it? Weaving cloth is one of the more profound techniques in embroidery,” Lou Lan said, as he looked at Ai Hui.

“There’s no other choice,” Ai Hui stated resolutely. There was no room for negotiation.

Hearing about the five hundred thousand yuan had steeled his resolve to learn embroidery. If one piece was worth that much, his debt could be settled with a hundred and sixty-four pieces. This quick calculation left Ai Hui feeling momentarily relieved.

Learning embroidery was suddenly so much more worthwhile.

[Twin Weaving Technique]......

Ai Hui recalled every detail of Senior Mingxiu’s weaving demonstration. Without the aid of the sword embryo, his thought processes were much slower, but at least he could still remember everything clearly.

Ai Hui had no intention of borrowing the sword embryo’s seed’s strength for the task ahead.

He was clear about his stance. The increase in the seed’s power brought with it an even greater sense of obsession.

Ai Hui maintained a cautious and restrained approach while tapping on the seed’s strength. Regardless of how strong it may be, using power beyond one’s control can easily go south. The sword embryo’s transformation meant that Ai Hui had to now be even more vigilant than before.

“Do you know about the [Twin Weaving Technique]?” Ai Hui asked.

Lou Lan morphed into a book again, its pages flipping rapidly.

“The [Twin Weaving Technique] was created by Master Han Yuqin when she was nineteen. It is the embodiment of Master Han Yuqin’s skills with the needle.”

Lou Lan’s first sentence deepened Ai Hui’s respect for Master Han Yuqin. Creating a whole new weaving technique at just nineteen years old was no mean feat—she truly was worthy of being a master!

“The [Twin Weaving Technique] revolves around the simultaneous coordination of two needles. It works by having one needle lead the other, tapping on the interaction between two needles that are bound by the same elemental energy. Building on the foundations of the [Twin Weaving Technique], Master Han Yuqin developed many other needlework techniques which ultimately culminated in her creation of the [Fish Waterfall] needlework style. It is so named for the enormous number of needles used. She currently holds the record for the greatest number of needles used simultaneously.”

The rapid book-flipping sounds came to an abrupt stop as Lou Lan returned to his original form. “That’s all I have, Ai Hui. Master Shao has very few books regarding the embroidery workshop.”

Ai Hui did not hear what Lou Lan was saying. He repeated to himself, “Tapping on the interaction between the two needles that are bound by the same elemental energy......”

Thanks to the sword embryo’s seed, Senior Mingxiu’s actions were seared into his head, down to the smallest details. If he had not relied on the seed during the demonstration, he surely would have been at a loss. Lou Lan’s words reminded him of some important details that immediately surfaced in his mind.

So this is how it works......

The sentence had enlightened him, clearing up the fuzzy understanding he had of the concept.

Ai Hui’s expression became serious.

Understanding the principles behind the [Twin Weaving Technique] made Ai Hui realize why his teacher wasn’t optimistic about the task. Although the technique’s concepts weren’t exactly complicated, its execution required excellent control of elemental energy.

Ai Hui’s control of elemental energy was far below the minimum requirements of the technique.

However, he was not dejected by this revelation; he had no time to lose.

Ai Hui began his attempt at creating elemental needles. His prior experience allowed him to form the needles much faster this time, and the needles also stabilized quicker. Ai Hui’s learning ability was decent. Once he succeeded with an attempt, he would quickly get the hang of things.

As he went through all of Senior Mingxiu’s actions, he found a huge problem—he wasn’t able to control the elemental needles from a distance.

Throughout the entire demonstration, Senior Mingxiu had not used her palms to directly control the elemental energy needles. The theory behind that was simple enough. The densely packed elemental energy was used to form the needles, which were connected to the user via an “invisible thread” of elemental energy. This “invisible thread” was created using an extremely thin and faint form of elemental energy that was not only invisible but also undetectable.

A high level development of elemental energy was needed to be proficient in the detachment of elemental energy needles. In fact, forming the “invisible thread” was much harder than conjuring the elemental energy needles.

Elemental energy was Ai Hui’s biggest weakness. Having only just opened his natal residence, he didn’t have enough elemental energy to detach the elemental energy needles from his body.

But Ai Hui was not willing to give up just like that.

Five hundred thousand yuan per cloth!

He was excited by this figure.

Ai Hui racked his brains, trying to come up with a solution. The [Twin Weaving Technique] required the two needles to simultaneously move along the horizontal and vertical planes, one needle for each plane. Only when the two needles moved in complete coordination could it be considered as the [Twin Weaving Technique].

He didn’t have to match Senior Mingxiu’s speed; a more achievable pace would be adequate.

While Senior Mingxiu’s demonstration had made the technique look completely effortless and simple, a deeper analysis helped Ai Hui discover its true complexity. The deceptively simple technique actually possessed several intricacies that might leave one feeling at a loss of where to start.

It’s not that easy to earn five hundred thousand yuan after all!

Ai Hui let out a defeated sigh.