"Where the hell am I…?" Lian groaned as his eyes snapped open.
Clang! Clang!
The sharp sound of chains echoed through the chamber. He tried to move—and pain flared instantly.
He was laid out on a cold stone table. His wrists, ankles, and legs were bound with heavy steel chains, each limb pulled taut.
"Hey—Bo!" he shouted.
"Tsk…" a familiar voice clicked its tongue.
"Brat, I already took you in as my student. The least you could do is call me Master like you used to. Is it because you're chained up that you've suddenly forgotten your manners?"
Standing nearby was a short, broad man with a thick white beard. His hands were calloused and massive, clearly those of a craftsman. A black eyepatch covered his left eye as he inspected Lian with interest.
"So, this is the brat you want to use the material on?" the man asked, his voice hoarse, eyes roaming over Lian's body. He was stripped down to nothing but his undergarments.
"It took you over half a century to find them, you are just going to give them up just like that," the man's gaze shifted to Bo, he was clearly puzzled.
"What the hell is this?!" Lian roared.
"You drugged me, didn't you?!" "The hell am I naked? Why am I naked?!"
Bo ignored him completely.
"Yeah," Bo said thoughtfully, walking closer.
"If I'm going to invest in him, I might as well go all the way, right?"
He stopped beside the table, peering down at Lian.
"I told you before, didn't I?" Bo continued casually.
"Your body is absolute trash right now. Since that's the case, we'll have to use a shortcut since we don't have time to do it properly."
He grinned, eyes glinting.
"And you're lucky we've got the perfect person here. An Alrick artisan, no less. You should be grateful."
"Alrick ha…. I read in the journals of the Pill Saint that they are masters when it comes to forging; in fact, human learnt alchemic forging by mimicking their techniques." Lian Gaze wanted to drop to see properly, but he couldn't.
"And I didn't drug you," Bo added, waving a hand dismissively.
"That would be petty. Can't you feel it? Your turbulent Qi is flowing much more smoothly now."
Lian clenched his teeth.
"Well… now that I think about it, he's right," Lian muttered internally as he inspected himself.
"It's so calm it almost feels like it isn't even there."
His brows furrowed.
"Then why am I in chains…?"
"Tch—this boy, does he even listen?" Bo snapped.
"I told you this process would be painful. To prevent you from running amok and going mad due to the intense pain, we have to restrain you."
"Yeah, yeah, enough talking," the Alrick interrupted impatiently.
"Get out of here, Bo. Let me begin the process."
Before Bo could respond, the Alrick shoved him toward the door.
"Remember your promise," the man added, practically drooling.
"You're bringing me fifty barrels of Snow Blossom Brew."
"Fifty? Are you mad—?" Bo snapped, his gaze locking onto the Alrick.
"Tck. Right," the man corrected himself casually.
"It was forty-nine."
"Forty-nine? You're quite brave," Bo scoffed.
"I'm giving you five."
"Only five? I might as well be working for free," the Alrick shot back.
"I won't take anything under fifteen."
"Ten. Take it or leave it," Bo said flatly.
"I'll take it," the Alrick replied instantly.
"What the hell… is the wine really that good?" Lian wondered as Bo stormed out of the room.
"Tch. Alrick people are outright scammers," Bo muttered to himself as he walked away.
"Fifty of my precious barrels… is he insane?"
"Tch, that brat Bo… still as greedy as ever," the man muttered as his gaze shifting to Lian.
"This body of yours is far too weak for someone of Jiangsu," he continued, circling him slowly.
"But your internal energy says otherwise. What the hell is going on here? Did you come from a lower realm or something?" He paused, frowning.
"No… that can't be. I know all the gates are locked; you just might have a weak constitution."
He placed a heavy case atop the stone slab and opened it. Inside were three hammers, one grey, one red, and one blue.
"He deduced everything in moments… just from a glance?" Lian thought.
"I guess that's a Legendary Refiner for you."
The man lifted the first hammer.
"This is the Hammer of Destruction. Before we build, we must demolish," he said calmly.
"Honestly, I don't even know what to call what you have now. It's just… worthless."
You could be more polite about it, Lian thought bitterly.
"The pain will be unbearable," the Alrick continued flatly.
"I will break every bone in your body and disconnect all your Qi pathways. It's vital that you do not lose consciousness—if you do, you will die."
His single eye locked onto Lian.
"I'm ready," Lian answered without hesitation.
"Oh?" The man smiled.
"You have your teacher's guts. Let's hope you can live up to them."
"This hammer was forged from over fifty materials Bo gathered," the Alrick said, raising it high with his left hand.
The air screamed.
PAAAAANG!
The impact echoed violently as it struck Lian's left side.
"CHHHHH—!"
Lian screamed, the pain unlike anything he had ever experienced, so intense it swallowed sound, thought, and breath all at once.
"What the hell am I doing here… it hurts… it hurts so much," he wailed.
PAAAAAANG!
"Second strike," the Alrick murmured to himself, ignoring the screams entirely.
The hammer fell again.
Then again.
And again.
He moved methodically across Lian's body. Though each blow was devastating, it wasn't just physical force; each strike carried dense spirit energy, driven into him in such a way that it lingered, hovering inside his flesh and bones instead of dispersing.
"Shit… shit… shit… why am I doing this?"
"I was fine before… I could have just stayed the way I was…"
A voice echoed—his, yet not his.
"Mmm. He's doing great," the Alrick thought calmly.
"Most people we try this on would already be spitting blood by now or collapsing under their inner demon."
The hammer came down once more.
"Come on, boy. Don't fail," the Alrick muttered.
"Fight through the demon and get stronger."
PAAAAANG!
A crack spread along the hammer's surface.
"You're a failure," the voice whispered inside Lian again.
"Just give up."