I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 41 - Systems New Upgrade

—

Xu Shen had always been a little confused about his Black Blade system. It wasn’t like the ones he’d read about in novels. There was no flashy system shop or overpowered features—just a basic interface. It felt… underwhelming.

But now, with the appearance of a new panel, everything changed.

It was a shop!

Yes, the new panel was a system shop.

The screen was filled with rows of tiny text. Despite the small font, Xu Shen could somehow “see” everything clearly.

“Yellow Spring Sand? What the hell is that?” Xu Shen muttered as he read the first item on the list.

He scrolled down further.

[Dust of Mountain Soil: 500 Engraving Points]

[Vast Cold Water: 500 Engraving Points]

[Netherfire Crystal Dust: 500 Engraving Points]

…

As he continued reading, Xu Shen’s breathing quickened. His eyes widened as realization struck.

“These are… materials for enhancing runes?!”

Xu Shen had always engraved runes directly onto people using his blade. It wasn’t that materials weren’t needed—it was just that he couldn’t afford them.

Rune-enhancing materials were ridiculously expensive. When he first engraved his own weapon rune, he’d used a red powder that cost him two years’ worth of saved spirit stones. And even then, it hadn’t worked as intended—the rune had later expelled the powder on its own.

Now, looking at the names of these materials and their listed attributes, Xu Shen couldn’t help but feel that the system was pushing him toward becoming a professional rune engraver.

The shop offered materials for nearly every attribute imaginable. There were even options for ghost-type runes.

—

“Wait a minute… something’s not right,” Xu Shen muttered to himself, suddenly pausing. He realized he didn’t even know what attribute his own weapon rune belonged to.

The red powder he’d used before was supposed to make the rune more compatible, but it hadn’t revealed anything about its attribute.

“My weapon rune channels pure blood energy. Could it be blood-type?” Xu Shen wondered aloud. After some hesitation, he decided to test a blood-type material from the shop. If it didn’t work, he could always sell it later for a good price.

Just as he was about to spend 500 points to redeem an item, the system chimed in unexpectedly:

[Attention: The host’s cultivation technique serves as the engraving material. The host does not need to redeem shop materials for personal use.]

The sudden message startled Xu Shen so much that he nearly dropped his blade.

“My cultivation technique? Are you kidding me?” Xu Shen asked incredulously.

The system remained silent. He wasn’t sure if it was automated or capable of actual communication. In fact, this might’ve been the first time it had spoken directly to him.

—

“Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal?” Xu Shen murmured, furrowing his brows. If the system claimed his technique could act as an engraving material, then it must be true. But how was he supposed to use it?

Sitting up straight, Xu Shen pulled out his black blade. As he circulated his blood energy, the weapon rune began to glow faintly on his arm.

“If the system says so, there must be a way. I’ve probably just been overlooking something important,” Xu Shen thought, determination flashing in his eyes.

Reflecting on his progress with Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal, he realized he hadn’t advanced beyond its first stage. He’d been too focused on practicing Battle Art and engraving runes for others—or attending school—to give it much attention.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Shen sat cross-legged and began meditating. He activated Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal, allowing spiritual energy to flow into him as the illusory mountain in his mind trembled faintly.

—

Half an hour later, Xu Shen opened his eyes. While there were no visible changes, he felt as though he’d gained an instinctive understanding of what to do next.

Picking up his black blade again, Xu Shen sliced open the skin on his forearm. Blood flowed freely as his muscles twitched in pain.

Circulating his cultivation technique, the mountain’s tremors grew more intense. Xu Shen noticed that the tip of his blade felt heavier—almost as if the mountain itself had materialized there.

With a resolute glint in his eyes, Xu Shen plunged the blade into his flesh and began engraving upward along his arm.

—

CRACK! CRACK!

“Shit!!” Xu Shen cursed as beads of sweat dripped down his pale face. His muscles felt like they were being torn apart by some immense force. Even his bones creaked ominously, as though they might shatter at any moment.

Yet amidst the agony, Xu Shen sensed something extraordinary: the mountain’s energy was flowing through the blade and being etched into his rune!

At the same time, his engraving points were depleting at an alarming rate. Watching them drain so quickly made Xu Shen’s heart ache.

Bit by bit, he continued until reaching just below his elbow. Then, with a sharp tug, he pulled out the blade.

Blood splattered across his face as he gasped for air. He knew that if he’d delayed even a second longer, his entire forearm might’ve exploded.

In just that short stretch of engraving, over half of his 1,200 points had been consumed!

—

As Xu Shen watched his wound slowly heal, he noticed subtle changes in his weapon rune. The lines remained bold and crimson but now carried faint mountain-like patterns—reminiscent of Yan Gui’s mountain rune.

“So that’s how it works…” Xu Shen muttered as he flexed his arm experimentally. He could feel an additional surge of power coursing through him.

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

By activating Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal during engraving, the mountain’s energy had been infused into the rune itself. Even without actively using the technique, any punch he threw would now carry its strength.

And if he fully activated Nine Observations during combat? The combined effects would be devastating.

—

“I wonder… is this mountain shadow part of my weapon rune’s nature? Or is it an overlay added by my cultivation technique?” Xu Shen pondered aloud.

“No wonder… no wonder the system kept nudging me toward focusing on my technique,” he realized. “Battle Art is powerful, but what the system provides is on another level entirely.”

“This is my greatest secret—far more important than Battle Art.”

Xu Shen couldn’t help but marvel at how terrifyingly unique his system was. He’d never heard of a cultivation technique that could be used as engraving material to enhance runes. If word got out, people would undoubtedly hunt him down to extract its secrets by any means necessary.

—

“It seems like the system is deliberately steering me toward becoming a rune engraver,” Xu Shen mused. Beyond providing him with engraving points and materials for others’ runes, it also incentivized him to kill ghouls and refine his craft further—a self-sustaining cycle.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Xu Shen suddenly noticed something strange: Had his black blade just… trembled?

Gripping it tightly, he stared at it intently but saw no further movement. Dismissing it as lingering fatigue from his earlier ordeal, Xu Shen sighed deeply and leaned back against the bedframe.

—

His gaze became unfocused as he stared blankly ahead, lost in thought. Recent events had unfolded so quickly that they left him feeling overwhelmed.

First came the entanglement with the Cheng Family. Now there was also the Moon Cult to contend with.

The world felt impossibly vast and perilous—far beyond what Xu Shen could grasp or control.

He recalled Lu Zhuling and her mysterious elder back at the repair shop. Judging by their demeanor, they likely hailed from another influential family. How did they compare to the Chengs?

SMACK!

Xu Shen slapped himself across the face before muttering angrily, “I’m only eighteen! Why am I worrying about all this crap?”

“One step at a time,” he resolved aloud. “If worst comes to worst, I’ll go find Wu Yun—or Ye Xiaoxin if I have to.”

“They won’t just let me die.”

Feeling slightly more optimistic, Xu Shen got up and headed toward the door with plans to find Wang Qingqing and the others.

—

As soon as he opened it, however, he was greeted by a thin middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes and a faint smile on his face.

“And you are?” Xu Shen asked cautiously.

“Hello, Xu Shen,” the man replied politely. “I’m Chang Kai—one of Xinhuo Guard’s captains.”

“May I come in for a word?”