Chapter 782: Sinner (2)
The news continued spreading among the upper echelons.
Nanyuan.
Su Yu was still in a discussion with others. Should they grab a meal before leaving? At that time, his voice transmission talisman shook.
He took it out openly and checked the message. Then, he smiled and said, "Everyone, I think we need to leave quickly. My teacher told me to return and stop running. I don't want to get dragged back to Tiandu. This place is still not too far from Tiandu."
Inwardly, he was incredibly shaken. That was a message from Xia Huyou. That fellow had just received news that Feng Ji had been captured. Feng Ji had also confessed to killing those commanders.
As for Chen Yong, his whereabouts were still unknown. Nobody knew what was going on with him. Some Invincibles were on the way to Great Xia for the public trial. His Martial Uncle Feng had been captured! Where was Chen Yong?
Su Yu was shocked, but he maintained the same smile on his face. Feng Ji was the murderer? No. It was definitely Chen Yong.
Previously, the Great Ming storyteller had said that the dead commander enjoyed using cultural researchers as bait. And Su Yu was now certain that those cultural researchers were from the multiple character faction.
Chen Yong was definitely the killer. What was his martial uncle thinking? Killing those Mountainsea commanders without sufficient proof would place him in great trouble. All those people were from the military. Killing them without reason was punishable by death.
It wasn't like Su Yu's hands were clean. But he knew what he was doing. If anything happened, he only needed to run to Great Ming and he would be fine. Those he had killed were only some Sunmoon descendants. He also had a good reason for killing them. They had intruded upon his home to steal his secret.
In that situation, as long as he had a sufficient backer, he would be fine. As long as Great Ming protected him, those Sunmoons wouldn't be able to do anything. This matter wasn't important enough to attract the involvement of those Invincibles.
But killing military officials so rashly would result in death. The murders Su Yu committed could be resolved with a strong backer. But killing military officials could not be resolved even with a strong backer.
Had his martial uncle killed those people for revenge? Was he avenging the multiple character faction? But was his martial uncle really so close to the other multiple character faction branches? Or was there an unknown reason?
And what was up with Martial Uncle Feng Ji? Public trial by Invincibles. Since there would be some Invincibles in Great Xia City, the smart thing for him to do was to avoid Great Xia City. But could he do that?
Even at the risk of discovery, he couldn't miss something like that. He didn't know if he would even get the chance to learn anything, but he had to try. In comparison, the people he planned to kill in Nanyuan were no longer so important. He would have plenty of chances to do so in the future.
Su Yu started urging the others to depart immediately.
At the same time.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Hong Tan was seated opposite Marquis Xia. Marquis Xia sighed helplessly and said, "Feng Ji has been captured, but he will probably be fine. Since he has been left behind, I reckon even Invincibles won't be able to find anything. Instead, the Invincibles might be the ones to prove his innocence. As for Chen Yong...since he decided to not return, it is clear that he has reached a decision."
He left one thing unsaid. Similar assassinations had also happened in Nanyuan, but only a Sunmoon descendant had been killed. A Sunmoon descendant was not the same as a Sunmoon.
As for the other two deaths, they were merely the descendants of some Mountainseas. Their deaths did not matter. Marquis Xia suspected that these deaths were related to Su Yu. But he didn't feel like telling Hong Tan this. For now, that was not important enough.
Hong Tan remained silent. He stared blankly. He was seventy years old this year while Liu Wenyan was two years older than him. Fifty-one years ago, Liu Wenyan was twenty-one while he was nineteen. At that time, he had only entered the academy for a little bit over one year.
Not long after that, his teacher died and Liu Wenyan left. When he was thirty-three, he accepted the eighteen-year-old Chen Yong as his first student. Thirty-seven years had passed.
Chen Yong was fifteen years younger than him. This year, he was fifty-five. He had the ability to enter the Mountainsea Realm many years ago. At the time, Hong Tan had viewed him as the hope of the faction.
After being together for thirty-seven years, he would sometimes feel like that fellow was like his son. That was what he felt even though he had no real son.
In his mind, scene after scene from Chen Yong's youth appeared. Back then, Chen Yong was a cheerful youth. As a middle-aged man, he had a gloomy personality. And at an old age, he became a patient man.
Hong Tan blanked out for a long while. Finally, he said, "Second Brother, can I ask you something?"
Second brother...
How many years had it been since Hong Tan had called him that? Even Marquis Xia turned absent-minded. That was how this kid would address him during their youth. But that had stopped decades ago.
"Ask..."
Marquis Xia felt his throat turning dry.
"Second Brother...what is the Xia Family still waiting for?" Hong Tan flashed an ugly smile and said, "I know, I understand. My senior brother understands as well. We are all abandoned chess pieces. Our persistence is pointless. Is that right?"
With a bitter feeling, Marquis Xia forced himself to smile and said, "Don't talk nonsense. How is that possible? We won't abandon you guys. You guys are the hope..."
"Hope?" Hong Tan laughed, "No. We're not the hope. The multiple character faction is the hope, but not us. We're the multiple character faction, but we're not the only ones. Am I right? Second Brother, can you tell me the truth this time? Please?"
Marquis Xia's throat turned even drier than before as he said, "No. It's you! You are the only multiple character faction! This place is the origin of the multiple character faction. This place is the place where the multiple character faction has risen into prominence. Only with this place and you guys will the multiple character faction be the multiple character faction."
Hong Tan said, "Was this how you guys fooled my teacher back then? Even my senior brother was fooled. I was fooled as well. All of us were fooled. Second Brother, you're very good at lying. This has been the case since we were young."
"I'm not lying!"
Hong Tan flashed another ugly smile that looked more like he was crying and said, "I have always believed that if we try to struggle, we might be able to save ourselves. But...Second Brother, I have a question. Is there...still saving us? When the day comes...who should we even take our revenge on? Could we even do it?"
"Yes! Definitely!" Marquis Xia was starting to choke with emotions. He said, "It will be fine! Trust me! Trust us! Little Hong, trust us once, please? Trust us again! It will work out! Otherwise, what would be the point of what we have done all these years? The moment Longwu succeeds, there will be hope!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Marquis Xia nodded heavily and said, "Longwu, my father, and some other people will be enough to get justice for you..."
"Really?
Hong Tan's tears streamed down as he said, "But...but my student...can he live until then? Will they spare him after killing so many Mountainsea commanders? Second Brother, you can save him, right?"
Marquis Xia wanted to say yes. But he couldn't bring himself to say that.
Marquis Xia felt terrible. He clenched his teeth and said, "Chen Yong is a smart man. He must have guessed something. It isn't necessarily a bad thing for him to leave. Su Yu is gone. Chen Yong is gone. Liu Wenyan is away at the Allheaven Battlefield. This is actually a good thing for us. We also have some trump cards in hiding. It will be fine, Little Hong! It will be fine!" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelFirｅ.net
Hong Tan gazed at Marquis Xia for a very long time before calm covered his face. He looked so serene it was scary. "Second Brother, I want to kill. I think I'm going crazy. I'm going to be crazy soon..."
"Yes. Kill. You'll get to kill soon." Marquis Xia nodded, "We'll kill a lot of people."
"But...they claim to be the good guys?" Hong Tan blankly said, "In this era, we are the villains. We are the ones who should die. Do you understand me, Second Brother?"
"Yes, I understand you."
Marquis Xia flashed an ugly smile and said, "We all understand. Are they the good guys just because they say so? Who are they to make that judgment? We are all humans. Why should they be the ones to make that judgment? Their words don't count!"
"But we're weak..."
Marquis Xia said, "It's fine. Being weak now doesn't mean that you will be weak forever. Don't you have me by your side?"
Hong Tan had a self-mocking smile as he said, "No, you're not. You still have a path of return. Second Brother, you can still turn back. But that is not an option for me, my senior brother, my students, and my grandstudent...I will start killing. Not now, but I will. I promise you that."
"Yes, you will...and I'll help you..."
Hong Tan smiled, stood up, and turned to leave. While walking away, he said, "Marquis, I have been staying patient for this faction, this world, and this race. A day will come when I live for myself and my loved ones. At that time, I will stop caring about the Xia Family, the Human Realm, and everyone else..."
Marquis Xia lowered his head silently. His fists were clenched tight.
Hong Tan left. He left with a smile. He left with a sense of relief. Perhaps...this was how he should have acted long ago. He had thought that Chen Yong could continue staying patient.
After all, it had been so many years. Why was Chen Yong suddenly acting like the kid, Su Yu? He was too foolish. Why was he going crazy at this age? While Hong Tan walked, he looked at the distant Heart Cultivating Pavilion. His gaze landed on the top of the building as he smiled. And what was that old fellow planning?
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Wan Tiansheng stared at the ceiling blankly. After a long time, he muttered, "Ye Batian, you fool. You sure have it easy dying so early and leaving this terrible mess behind for me. What am I supposed to do about it? Fine, fine. Perhaps...this is the final bout of madness before the end? Chen Yong has gone mad. Hong Tan has gone mad. Liu Wenyan has gone mad long ago. Your students and grandstudent have all gone mad. And it's all your fault. Will you not feel shame when you meet them in the afterlife?"
Creak! Creak!
Creaking sounds came from the wooden chair he sat on.
Slowly, Wan Tiansheng regained his calm. Wait. He would wait a little bit longer. He wanted to get a clearer look. Some things were still unclear. He still wasn't sure who he should kill. Would he...turn into a sinner as well? No. He was already a sinner. Including Ye Batian, Hong Tan, Chen Yong, Xia Xiao'er, and Xia Longwu, all of them were sinners.
So be it.
One only lived once. If they couldn't leave their names behind as the shining beacons of humanity, they shall immortalize their names through their sheer infamy instead. Once again, creaking sounds came from the swaying wooden chair as Wan Tiansheng shut his eyes.
Future...only one of the possible futures. The battle he saw...was it something he started? Or was it someone else? He was a sinner. But he would not atone for his sins.
***
That day, Su Yu talked and laughed with Zhou Hongbo and the others as they traveled in the direction of Great Xia City. As for Nanyuan, he could no longer pay any attention to it. As for the deaths in Nanyuan, the people in the group didn't care about them.
While they were traveling, some of them received word that Feng Ji had just been captured. Since Feng Ji had been captured in Great Wu, was it possible that Chen Yong was the one in Nanyuan?
As for whether it was possible for Chen Yong to be the culprit in both Great Wu and Great Xia, nobody could be sure as well. After all, he might have a unique ability that was capable of doing that.
He had hidden his abilities too well before this. Perhaps he had a clone? That wouldn't even be surprising. After all, he was a cultural researcher. And since he was someone capable of killing seventh and eighth stage Mountainseas, having a clone would be the least surprising thing about him.
He also seemed to possess elemental transformation escape abilities as traces of these abilities had been found in the previous murder scenes. Feng Ji would be trialed by Invincibles soon. Perhaps there would be some new discoveries after that. For a lot of people, this was a great chance to capture a secret cultist like Chen Yong or even more like him. Before long, the entire group learned of that.
Zhou Hongbo smiled and said, "In that case, the same group of people might be the culprits behind the murders in Nanyuan. Who knows? Perhaps Chen Yong is an ally of the Six-Winged Divine Sect. I will try my best to give all of you the chance to attend the public trial. If Chen Yong was really the culprit...sigh. First, Su Yu escaped. Then, Chen Yong defected. Not long ago, Su Yu even made a fake accusation about Principal Zhou, causing chaos in the Human Realm. Their line is truly disgusting."
Someone else asked, "But we still don't know who the culprit is, right?"
Zhou Hongbo smiled, "I was merely speculating based on the clues. The Invincibles will naturally find out the truth. Sigh. Multiple character faction...there are plenty of multiple character cultivators out there. But very few of them are troublemakers like those from Great Xia. Back then, they were troublemakers. Today, they are still troublemakers. When will this end?"
"Great Xia's multiple character faction is indeed filled with troublemakers. Their news has dominated the Human Realm for the past two years. If I were from the Xia Family, I would have expelled them long ago. That would make life much easier for them. Things wouldn't have been so difficult for Prefect Xia. I can't understand what they are thinking."
They couldn't understand what the Xia Family was thinking while Su Yu was turning absent-minded as he listened to them. So the truth was that for everyone else, they were the ones dragging the Xia Family down, not the other way around.
In the eyes of everyone, the multiple character faction had turned into baggage. No, not the multiple character faction as a whole. Only Great Xia's multiple character faction. Or to be precise, only a few individuals.
Liu Wenyan, Hong Tan, Chen Yong, and Su Yu himself.
For many people, they were troublemakers. They were the source of calamity. As far as everyone was concerned, the correct action for the Xia Family to take was to abandon them entirely. Since the Xia Family had not abandoned them, it had turned into an embodiment of justice.
Beside him, Zhou Hongbo, who was mounted on a demonic beast, smiled at him and asked, "Brother Cui, what are you thinking about?"
Su Yu smiled, "Women."
"..."
Zhou Hongbo laughed, "Brother Cui sure is honest."
Su Yu laughed heartily, "I call this honesty. I am no hypocrite. I will speak everything on my mind. We only live once. Why tire ourselves thinking about so many things? We have the big shots worrying about the matters that are truly important. The rest of us should just enjoy life."
"You are an optimistic person, Brother Cui."
Someone else spoke, "I have a lot to learn from you. That's right. The big shots can worry about those matters. We can talk all we want, but we will be nothing but spectators. We won't even know what the actual truth is."
A different person asked, "Brother Cui, since you know Su Yu, do you think Great Ming will do anything if the trial manages to confirm that Chen Yong is the killer?"
Su Yu smiled, "Su Yu himself might not accept that. But he's too weak. This is the crime of murdering military officials. There is no escaping the capital punishment. Why would Great Ming get involved in this? At most, they will not participate in the hunt for Chen Yong for Su Yu's sake. Are they supposed to stand against humanity for someone unrelated to them like Chen Yong? Great Ming is not interested in something like that. We don't care about the events outside Great Ming. This has always been how we conduct ourselves"
"True. We'll see. If it was really Chen Yong, Great Xia would probably be in some trouble, including Hong Tan. The dead military officials were people with friends and teachers. Chen Yong will probably become a wanted criminal across the entire Human Realm."
Su Yu laughed, "Who cares? That has nothing to do with me. That has nothing to do with any of you. Are you even capable of killing him? You must be dreaming. Don't court death. I am merely a bystander. If you keep talking about this topic, I will start ignoring you. I don't want to get implicated alongside all of you."
"You're right."
Someone nodded. This was too dangerous. And it was completely unrelated to them. They shouldn't get involved. Su Yu smiled with a carefree and cheerful expression on his face.
Inwardly, he was feeling extremely gloomy. What would come out of that trial? Would his grandteacher do something? Where was his martial uncle?
Why was he receiving one bad news after another after leaving Great Ming? Why did he feel like the entire Human Realm was standing against them?
Were they the ones in the wrong?
Or was everyone else wrong instead?
Chapter 783: A Glimpse Of Future (1)
While heading toward Great Xia City, Su Yu cultivated silently.
He was forging his body. He continuously absorbed heavenly source qi in secret as he cultivated. This was an era where he couldn't do anything without strength. And his growth was still too slow for his liking.
He did not lack resources. He did not lack cultivation methods. He only lacked situations where he danced on the edge of death. Only by tempering himself through these dangers would he be able to rapidly grow and learn. He had to pursue death in order to grow and traverse the path others would take decades or centuries to reach.
Seclusion could help him grow, but that would take a long time. He couldn't wait any longer. Great Ming could still protect him now. Just like back then, Great Xia was capable of protecting the multiple character faction. But because of Xia Longwu, they were finding themselves increasingly incapable of doing so.
If a day arrived when Zhu Tiandao needed to affirm his dao as well, would Great Ming still be so confident they could protect him? Ultimately, nobody was more reliable than himself.
***
Seated on his cloudrush horse, Su Yu's eyes were shut in cultivation. Nobody disturbed him when they noticed that.
Finally, when Su Yu finally opened his eyes, Zhou Hongbo said, "Brother Cui...are you traveling for the sake of tempering yourself and entering the Cloudbreach Realm?"
This Cui Lang did not seem like he was only traveling for the sake of having fun. Instead, it looked more like he was also using the trip to temper himself.
Su Yu smiled, "Yes. I have been a ninth-stage Skysoar for a few years. I am only a step away from the Cloudbreach Realm. My willpower is still not strong enough. The moment my willpower reaches the corresponding level, I will be able to advance."
He laughed and said, "Brother Zhou, you must be one of the top geniuses in the Knowledge Seeking Academy. Your cultivation is similar to mine yet you're probably younger than me."
Zhou Hongbo said, "I'm nothing special in the academy. Yes, I am a ninth-stage Skysoar, but I'm far from reaching the Cloudbreach Realm."
"How old are you, Brother Zhou?"
"Twenty-eight."
Su Yu exclaimed in admiration, "With your strength and your age, you will be considered a top genius in any prefecture. You're probably comparable to the likes of Huang Teng and Qin Fang." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel{f}ire.net
Zhou Hongbo merely smiled, but he did not deny that.
Liu Han, the silent woman from the War Shrine Academy said, "In the current Human Realm, only people like Su Yu and Shan Xiong are qualified to be called geniuses. Compared to them, we're still lacking."
Zhou Hongbo smiled without saying anything, but Su Yu disagreed, "That's because they were lucky. If we were as lucky as them, we would be just as outstanding."
Liu Han couldn't even be bothered to argue. There was no need to defend Su Yu since she didn't know him personally.
Su Yu asked, "Brother Zhou, are you from Great Zhou?"
Zhou Hongbo said, "You can say so?"
"What does that mean?"
"You probably don't know this, Brother Cui. Generally, Invincible families will split into two branches. One will remain in their respective prefectures while the other will remain in the holy lands. I hail from the holy land branch. We're not exactly the same as the Great Zhou branch."
Zhou Hongbo provided an explanation. Sure, they descended from the same ancestor, but they were no longer the same.
Su Yu nodded, "I'm aware of that. Prefect Zhu's first son went to the Knowledge Seeking Realm not long ago to settle down there. Have you seen him before, Brother Zhou?"
At the mention of Zhu Guangshen, Zhou Hongbo merely laughed awkwardly without saying anything. Of course he had met that fellow before. In fact, he would see that fellow every single day.
That guy was driving everyone there crazy. He had started a farm right in front of the Knowledge Seeking Realm's main gate. And ten thousand Strength Guard soldiers were helping tend to his farm. That was unbelievable.
That was crazy. They had never seen someone like that before. Even Great Han King was rendered speechless. He went to the farm once, but he said nothing. He merely forcefully shifted the gate a thousand paces away from the farm. Liu Han was also aware of that. She laughed, but she said nothing as well.
Zhu Guangshen. Great Ming's Zhu Family. That was a very interesting family. They could also be considered one of the hegemons of the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Thus, nobody could say anything if they wanted to start a farm in the holy land.
After all, their family was also one of the owners of the Knowledge Seeking Realm. The eight great families of the Knowledge Seeking Realm had turned into the nine great families. From the looks of things, Zhu Guangshen would really start laying down roots in the Knowledge Seeking Realm.
Seeing that they weren't interested in talking about Zhu Guangshen, Su Yu moved on from the topic.
After thinking for a bit, he asked curiously, "To speak the truth, I've never been to the two holy lands. Are the other students there strong? Previously, some holy land students came to Great Ming, but they didn't look too impressive."
Zhou Hongbo said, "The holy land students are very strong. That is a place where a large number of geniuses from the large families of humanity are gathered. They have sufficient resources, good talent, a good base of knowledge, numerous cultivation methods, and the boost of the heavenly source qi lands. Generally, a student can only graduate at the Cloudbreach Realm. Even now, I'm still considered a student."
Su Yu inhaled in shock, "What? So I'll still be considered a student if I'm a member of a holy land academy as well?"
"Yes." Zhou Hongbo said, "But your weaponsmithing has reached the profound grade. Thus, your cultivation does not matter. You will enjoy the same status as Cloudbreaches and Mountainseas. At the earth grade, you will be considered a Sunmoon. Even Invincibles will treat you with great respect."
In fact, this was why Zhou Hongbo had been so respectful with Cui Lang. For him, a ninth-stage Skysoar was nothing. He was also a ninth-stage Skysoar himself, but he was only twenty-eight. Not even the Cloudbreach Realm was that far away from him. As a holy land student, his strength was also far above others at the same cultivation level.
"Are there a lot of people in the two holy land academies?"
Su Yu asked another question. Seeing that Zhou Hongbo was starting to frown, he smiled, "Brother Zhou, are there any talented and strong beauties with no powerful background there?"
"..."
Zhou Hongbo was getting exhausted from speaking to this person. Beside him, Liu Han snorted coldly and said, "Most students there are either Sunmoon descendants or Invincible descendants. The rest will be incredibly talented ones or those with family in important positions."
For example, Wan Tiansheng was officially a Mountainsea. But since he was a principal, the juniors from his family were allowed to enter a holy land academy.
Zheng Yunhui was also one such example as his grandfather was a principal. The juniors of regular Mountainseas would rarely be given such an opportunity.
Su Yu did not seem impressed as he said, "I'm not afraid of Sunmoon descendants. There are so many Sunmoons around and their descendants are everywhere. In terms of status, is any of them as noble as me?"
Su Yu grinned, "Little girl, don't get all cocky in front of me. I'll be honest. Maybe Invincible descendants deserve some respect from me. And that is only applicable to those that are less than five generations apart from the Invincibles. An exception can be made for those who have caught the attention of Invincibles. Anyone else won't be as important as me. Why are you feeling so proud?"
Su Yu looked incomparably arrogant as he spoke those words. Zhou Hongbo merely smiled silently. Liu Han's expression changed, but she also stayed silent. The surrounding youths felt very comfortable hearing that.
That was especially true for those who were not even Sunmoon descendants. Exactly. Why were those holy land students so arrogant? What was the big deal about them? Cui Lang might not be the descendant of an Invincible or a Sunmoon, but he was the student of a Sunmoon and a grandson-in-law of a ninth-stage Sunmoon. In terms of status, he was absolutely not lacking when compared against the so-called Sunmoon and Invincible descendants.
Su Yu curled his lips and continued, "I was only asking some questions out of curiosity yet you're here feeling all superior. Tsk tsk. Are all holy land geniuses this ignorant? What's even the big deal about the holy lands? Those holy lands were jointly established by the various prefectures. Without these prefectures, these so-called holy lands won't amount to anything."
"Cui Lang!"
Someone shouted in warning.
It was the Mountainsea elder from the Knowledge Seeking Realm. He frowned as he said, "Some words will lose your life once spoken. Do not talk wildly."
Su Yu merely shrugged, "My apologies. People of Great Ming are quite straightforward when speaking. I'm already used to this. I was speaking the truth. The holy lands will be nothing without the Invincibles of the various prefectures. Our prefect said that the holy lands are nothing. Not even saints will dare to provoke Great Ming. Ah, sorry, I'm not talking about you guys. Brother Zhou, don't misunderstand me. In short, Great Ming doesn't care too much about the holy lands."
These holy land members found his words hard to accept. But they didn't say anything. They knew very well that this was how the various prefectures thought about them. The holy lands were jointly established by the alliance of humanity. With Invincibles propping the two holy lands up, everyone would be willing to show them a little bit of respect.
Without Invincibles...well, respect would be much harder to come by. But even with Invincibles around, some people might still not care about the holy lands. For example, Great Han King was the current Invincible watching over the Knowledge Seeking Realm. As a result, the people of Great Han started disregarding everyone from the holy land. Since their ancestor was the one watching over the holy land, why should they care about the holy land? Respect? The holy land wouldn't have a shred of dignity without their ancestor.
Chapter 784: A Glimpse Of Future (2)
Huang He and the others could only accept the fact that those from Great Ming were truly crazy. Why was he saying all that right in front of these holy land members? Was he not afraid of occurring their wrath?
Su Yu smiled, "I have a stinky mouth. Don't mind me. This is how I am. Please be tolerant of me. I did not intend to belittle anyone."
"We understand." Zhou Hongbo smiled, "Brother Cui is truly a blunt person. You're right. The holy lands are nothing special. It is but a name. We're the same as the various prefectures. In fact, the holy lands were established to promote more communication and unity between the various prefectures."
This was also why the Invincibles of the various prefectures established branch families in the holy lands. Alas, they had failed in their efforts to promote unity. In fact, not even the holy land branches were united with the prefecture branches anymore. This was not surprising. With one branch in charge of the prefecture and the other branch in charge of the holy land, neither side was willing to acknowledge the other as the leader.
They continued traveling rapidly while they talked. Before they knew it, they were far away from any cities. No mishaps had occurred in their journey thus far. Su Yu's disguise, Cui Lang, was a very talkative person. After talking about all sorts of topics, he slowly familiarized himself with everyone in the group, including those who were complete strangers before this.
He wasn't too bad as a person. He was too straightforward, but he did not mean any malice when he spoke. Thus, everyone was quite willing to befriend him. Then again, they also admitted that he could be quite infuriating at times.
Those who were familiar with Cui Lang would say apart from talking about women, he would spend the rest of his time angering others. But not even Cui Lang himself would realize that he was doing so.
During the travel, Su Yu had also been training his willpower. He wanted to push his willpower to the next rank. Only by getting a third-tier willpower and entering the Cloudbreach Realm would he be able to start pushing his characters into the fourth tier.
If the deceit, change, and calm characters could reach the fourth tier, they would become Mountainsea characters. WIth a cultivation at the Cloudbreach Realm, 180 apertures, his cultivation methods, racial abilities, and the talismans obtained from Old Niu, he would be able to easily keep his disguise even in front of Sunmoons.
Even Invincibles would need a deep scan to see through his disguise. But which Invincible would waste their time scanning any random person? He stopped tempering his willpower with his hammer.
He aimed for a breakthrough. His hammer was still capable of further tempering his willpower, but his current priority was the Cloudbreach Realm. He needed this cultivation level to hide from some Sunmoons, including the likes of Marquis Xia.
Things like forming new characters or expanding his sea of willpower were not as important. He could probably use weaponsmithing to further boost his cultivation.
At that thought, he started preparing for his upcoming weaponsmithing session with Zhao Li. First, he had to create a good background story for that. Thus, he started talking about weaponsmithing with his travel companions.
He looked at someone in the group and said, "Little Li, apart from Grandmaster Ma, are there any other great weaponsmiths in Great Xia?"
Grandmaster Ma was the sole earth weaponsmith of Great Xia.
Little Li was a young genius from the capital. He had graduated some time ago. When he heard Su Yu's question, he smiled and said, "Of course. We only have one earth weaponsmith, but strictly speaking, we also have a pseudo-earth weaponsmith."
Su Yu asked, "Are you talking about Master Zhao Li? The son of the fourth principal and junior brother of Great Zhou Weaponsmithing Academy?"
"Yes. It's him." Little Li said, "I know you would be aware of him. You can agree that he is a pseudo earth weaponsmith, yes?"
Su Yu shrugged, "I don't disagree. But what a pity. I heard my teacher talking about Master Zhao with regret many times before. If he hadn't been so ambitious in the past, he would have advanced into an earth weaponsmith long ago. I am probably not qualified to meet Grandmaster Ma, but I can probably visit Master Zhao, right?"
Little Li said, "That's hard to say. Master Zhao is an eccentric. His temper has been very unstable for the past six months. But since you're a genius weaponsmith, I'll give you a suggestion. Tell Master Zhao you know Su Yu. Strictly speaking, Master Zhao is also Su Yu's teacher. Perhaps you can meet him this way."
"Su Yu?" Su Yu asked blankly, "He's Master Zhao's student? Is he even a weaponsmith? Don't joke with me. Why do I not know this?"
Little Li said, "He's naturally not a weaponsmith. But he used to minor in weaponsmithing during his time in Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. His Soul Expanding Art was learned from Master Zhao. That's the famous hammer he has been using to attack his opponents. That hammer was meant to be a weaponsmithing tool, but he has been using it as a weapon."
"Soul Expanding Art...that's a good art." Zhou Hongbo chimed in, "I know about that as well. What a pity that he doesn't teach any outsiders that art. An art that is excellent at both killing and weaponsmithing should be passed on to the future generations."
Su Yu laughed, "Brother Zhou, stop coveting that art. Everyone is also coveting the secret arts of the Invincibles. And how many of these arts are available to outsiders?"
"That's different." Zhou Honbo said, "Invincibles don't spread their secret arts to outsiders to prevent the myriad races from obtaining these arts and coming out with counters. Meanwhile, Researcher Zhao Li isn't an Invincible. He's only a Cloudbreach. It won't be a big deal to spread his art. What do you think, Brother Cui?"
"I think...that this is none of my business. It's not like I'll get to learn it."
Su Yu smiled, "But perhaps I can have a chat with him. Does Master Zhao have a granddaughter? Or a great granddaughter? To speak the truth, I won't mind marrying into his family if he is willing to teach me the Soul Expanding Art."
Everyone was rendered speechless. Here we go again. How many grandfathers-in-law was this fellow going to accept?
Su Yu laughed heartily and looked at Little Li, "Little Li, I'll be troubling you when we arrive. Please introduce me to Master Zhao. I won't make you do this for nothing. What do you think about a profound cultural weapon as payment?
"I only need you to deliver Master Zhao one of the weapons I forged. I wish to seek some guidance from him. If my weapon fails to pique his attention, so be it. A weaponsmith who is in the same rank as me and on the cusp of entering the next rank like Master Zhao Li will be very helpful for me. This is one of the reasons I'm heading toward Great Xia City."
Su Yu sighed, "For profound weaponsmiths, above thirty-seven golden stripes, nine stripes will elevate one a single grade. With forty-six stripes, one will become a middle-grade profound weaponsmith. I did manage to forge a forty-six cultural weapon in the Hundred Dao Pagoda before, but I wasn't able to replicate this feat in reality..."
Several expressions changed upon hearing those words. Middle profound weaponsmith? One could basically treat the Hundred Dao Pagoda as reality. This signified that Cui Lang was only a tiny bit away from being a proper middle profound weaponsmith.
A Mountainsea from a big family asked, "Young Friend Cui, did you really manage to forge a cultural weapon with forty-six stripes before?" Dıscover more novels at ɴovelfire.net
"Is there a need for me to lie about this?" Su Yu rolled his eyes, "But I can't do that in reality. Thus, I am traveling to seek the guidance of weaponsmiths of different legacies. I learned from Great Ming's main legacy, but I keep feeling like I lack something. Perhaps my willpower is too weak. If I can enter the Cloudbreach Realm, I might be able to become a proper middle profound weaponsmith.
Even Zhou Hongbo and company had no choice but to place more importance on Cui Lang. This person was truly talented in weaponsmithing. With this person's talent, he might even reach the peak of the profound grade as a Cloudbreach like Zhao Li. Perhaps in a decade or two, this person would become yet another earth weaponsmith.
Little Li hurriedly said, "No problem. Don't worry about it, Brother Cui. I am quite close to a student of Master Zhao Li. I'll get his help with this. But...I can't promise that Master Zhao will be willing to take a look at your weapon. There...is nothing I can do about that."
Su Yu smiled, "It's fine. That's enough. In that case, let's head to the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy right after we reach the city. To speak the truth, I am very interested in a weaponsmith who has failed to enter the earth grade like Master Zhao. If I could help him complete his weapon, would I benefit from it as well? Each completion of a cultural weapon will generate some willpower for the weaponsmith's absorption. Will this be enough to push me into the Cloudbreach Realm?"
Nobody said anything. This guy should stop dreaming. Him? Helping complete an earth-grade cultural weapon? This was way too arrogant.
Su Yu said, "I'll only be helping. I won't be the main weaponsmith. I learned from Great Ming's orthodox weaponsmithing teachings. Master Zhao's teachings are probably different. He has probably followed the path of the fourth principal."
"That's not the issue." Little Li explained, "Master Zhao is an eccentric. You should know his senior brother. That's someone near the heaven grade. He could have completed the weapon for Master Zhao years ago. But Master Zhao did not accept this help. He almost disowned his senior brother after his senior brother joined Great Zhou."
Su Yu looked surprised, "Is that true? But I remember seeing his senior brother helping Su Yu in the leaked recording not long ago."
"Who knows? But it is public knowledge in Great Xia that Master Zhao does not like Principal Zhao Tianbing. He won't let you help him with that weapon as well. He is being very stubborn about it. He would rather not advance then let someone help him with it."
Su Yu smiled, "That might not be the case. He has an issue with his senior brother, but he has no issue with me. I'll give it a try. If I fail, so be it. I'll take this as a learning experience."
"Fine."
Little Li believed that this guy was dreaming. That was impossible. Zhao Li was known as a super eccentric. He did not care one bit about Cui Lang's level of talent. Even some of his own students were already profound weaponsmiths. If he really wanted to get help, he wouldn't get the help of an outsider like Cui Lang.
Chapter 785: A Glimpse Of Future (3)
The group continued chatting while traveling.
They finally arrived on the 22nd of May.
Feng Ji was escorted back by General Zhao at around the same time. Nobody knew if the Invincibles were already there. Great Xia had yet to make any announcement about the public trial.
The people in Su Yu's group dispersed. Some went to visit their friends while some headed toward the prefect's residence to ask about the trial. As for Su Yu, he followed Little Li to Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Weaponsmith Faculty.
Inside his research center, Zhao Li was busy working on a puppet. He had been ignoring everything as he worked on his project. It had been a very long time since he last left his research center. He didn't mind as the academy felt very dead as of late. It had gotten quite lively recently, but that was not the type of liveliness he wanted to see.
These days, he had been spending his time working on his own research. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Zhao Li couldn't be bothered to do anything and acted like he heard nothing.
Outside, his first student had a helpless expression as he yelled, "Teacher, you have a guest."
He wasn't interested in showing any cultural weapons to his teacher. If this was in the past, he would have ignored this request. But he felt like his teacher could use a slight diversion right now. The fact that this visitor was a genius weaponsmith from Great Ming made his decision even easier.
"Not interested."
"Teacher, it's a weaponsmith from Great Ming. He claimed to know Junior Brother Su. He's also a profound weaponsmith. He sent one of his weapons over. Do you want to take a look at it?"
"Great Ming?" Zhao Li impatiently said, "I thought Great Ming has always looked down on Great Xia weaponsmiths? Why is one of them here?"
"He has been stuck between the early and middle stages of the profound grade. He's looking to learn from weaponsmiths with different lines of thought so that he can break through. He's here to see you after learning about your ability. He's also an unofficial student of Principal Niu so he knows Junior Brother Su."
"Su Yu..."
Zhao Li muttered. So this visitor knew that kid? After thinking for a bit, he opened the door. His first student was overjoyed.
Looking at his teacher once again, his teacher seemed to have aged considerably. Grief welled in his heart as he said, "Teacher, you need to take care of yourself. You need more rest..."
"Cut the crap!" Zhao Li said, "Do I need you to teach me? If you're capable enough, just enter the earth grade. That way, I can stop worrying about you. Where's the weapon? If it's a piece of trash, that visitor better fuck off. I don't waste my time on garbage."
His student didn't dare to tarry and hurriedly handed a case over. When Zhao Li opened the case, he blanked out. That was a saber. A small, black saber. This weapon greatly resembled what he gave Su Yu back then. But it was not the same weapon. This weapon had forty-five golden stripes on it. It was a pretty decent weapon.
After studying the weapon for a bit and seeing that it was forged through Great Ming's orthodox teachings, he curled his lips and said, "Standardized forging method. It's too ordinary. This is the same as the many mass-produced weapons Great Ming has been producing. The Heavenly Forge King has ruined so many good talents with his bullshit teachings. Everyone in Great Ming is like a mold made from the Hundred Dao Pagoda. Does the Heavenly Forge King think that everyone can become the next heaven-grade weaponsmith just by imitating him?
"If that's really possible, Great Ming would have produced new heaven-grade weaponsmiths long ago. If Hu Qi hadn't learned from him, she would have reached the same level as that Zhao fellow in Great Zhou by now. But instead, she has fallen far behind him."
Yes. The Hundred Dao Pagoda's weaponsmithing teachings originated from the Heavenly Forge King, the sole heaven weaponsmith of humanity. Zhao Li believed that just because that path suited Heavenly Forge King, it didn't mean that everyone was compatible with it.
Mass-producing weaponsmiths like this would only result in the creation of unflexible weaponsmiths. As far as he was concerned, all these weaponsmiths were the same as factories only capable of mass manufacturing standardized products. It was imperative that a weaponsmith had their own ideas and considerations when forging weapons. They should be more flexible in their thinking. Thus, he had always looked down on the weaponsmiths of Great Ming.
His student hurriedly said, "This is actually pretty good. He's only thirty-five. And this weapon is only a step away from reaching middle profound grade. He can probably become a high profound weaponsmith before forty."
"Tsk. Even if he becomes a high profound weaponsmith, he will still remain one of the mass-produced weaponsmiths of the pagoda."
Zhao Li curled his lips in disdain. But when he turned the weapon around, he blanked out. Several tiny words were carved on the back of the weapon.
"The day I become a Cloudbreach will be the day the earth weapon is forged."
Zhao Li's student saw those words as well. He laughed, "This Cui Lang is quite ambitious. I've long heard that he's an arrogant and boastful individual. So that's true, after all. Is he saying that he will be able to forge an earth weapon after entering the Cloudbreach Realm? If it's really that easy, there will be earth weaponsmiths everywhere."
Zhao Li remained silent. He silently rubbed the saber. With the saber's design and the words carved on it, he knew who the visitor was. That damn kid had returned. That was fast. It had only been about half a year.
Cui Lang!
Zhao Li resisted the urge to smile and continued speaking with his standard ugly expression, "Whatever. He is barely acceptable, I guess. Since he's from Great Ming, get him to see me. What rubbish is this thing here? There are too many errors. If it wasn't for these stupid mistakes, this weapon could have reached the middle profound grade. Of course, he's still slightly better than you. If you keep failing to become a peak profound weaponsmith, you should get ready to pack up. Don't tell anyone that you're my student after that." The most update n0vels are published on novelFɪre.net
The student was overjoyed to hear that. His teacher had finally agreed to meet someone! As for the harsh words of his teacher, he ignored all of them.
He said, "Alright. I'll notify him to come here immediately. Please wait a moment, Teacher."
"Hurry up."
The student was too preoccupied to think about those words. If he had stopped to think, he would wonder why his teacher was in such a rush. Generally, Zhao Li would remain indifferent even if an Invincible was here to see him.
After his student left, Zhao Li smiled. But he instantly stopped smiling before turning around. Was this a weapon forged by that kid? Incredible. Profound grade! The kid's weaponsmithing skills were pretty good. He knew he was right about the kid's talent. How much time had that kid spent on weaponsmithing?
With only some casual practice, the kid had reached the middle profound grade. If the kid had focused on learning weaponsmithing from Zhao Li, he could have reached the earth grade by now. He might even be the second ever heaven-grade weaponsmith of humanity.
What a pity. Why did the kid insist on cultivating multiple characters? Sigh.
Zhao Li sighed regretfully. He should have forced the kid to become his student back then. Bai Feng? He should have slapped that bastard to death before stealing his student. Just look at what Bai Feng did! He had dragged Su Yu into the massive crisis of the multiple character faction!
Multiple character faction...hmph! It was only a matter of time before that faction was destroyed. Most people might be confused about the current circumstances, but Zhao Li wasn't most people.
He could see that the multiple character faction would be destroyed sooner or later. Why? Because Hong Tan was opening the Multiple Character Faculty. That would be the source of disaster.
Why had Su Yu returned at this time? Zhao Li frowned. It was far too soon. Then again, this might probably be the right timing. If the kid waited one more year before returning, Hong Tan and the others might not be around anymore.
After thinking about all that, Zhao Li smiled. No matter what, it was still good to see the kid back again.
***
At the same time.
Su Yu walked into the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, looking around curiously like it was his first time there. He smiled and said, "Senior Brother Wang, I heard that there are some myriad race students here. Why aren't I seeing any of them around?"
Senior Brother Wang, Zhao Li's student, answered, "They generally only stay in their own faculty. We don't really mix around that much."
"Oh." Su Yu said regretfully, "What a pity."
He continued walking through the familiar path. On the way, he saw some familiar faces. Not far away, Lin Yao was walking alone with his head lowered. He smiled as he looked at all these familiar faces.
He had returned! After half a year, he had returned to this place. Alas, he was no longer Su Yu. He was Cui Lang. He was a profound weaponsmith. He was an outsider here to visit Zhao Li. He was no longer genius student Su Yu of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Looking at the distant Heart Cultivating Pavilion, he smiled again. Was that spy-loving principal spying on him right this moment? Could the principal see through his disguise? With the same smile on his face, he followed Zhao Li's student deep into the academy.
***
At the same moment, Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Someone appeared before Wan Tiansheng's eyes. At first, he did not pay too much attention to that person. But the instant Su Yu stepped into the academy, Wan Tiansheng smiled. Why was that kid returning right now?
That was a pretty good disguise. Alas, the kid had forgotten that he had left something on the kid back then. He wouldn't notice anything if he hadn't been paying attention. What a pity. Could that kid hide from him?
Feng Ji had just been escorted back. Chen Yong was about to be declared a traitor. Hong Tan was about to open the Multiple Character Faculty. Why was that kid back? So the kid was already a ninth-stage Skysoar. At that moment, Wan Tiansheng blanked out slightly.
Ninth-stage Skysoar? Cloudbreach...battling Mountainseas. But what stage was the kid in when that happened?
Wan Tiansheng had not paid too much attention to that. He only knew that the kid was a Cloudbreach when that happened.
Wan Tiansheng was stunned. Just...how far ahead in the future had he seen? He had sacrificed a hundred years of lifespan to see the scene of the kid battling Mountainseas as a Cloudbreach. But what was the kid's stage?
When would that happen? The kid was already near the Cloudbreach Realm! Wan Tiansheng sat straight in shock. The look in his eyes changed. He had thought that after sacrificing a hundred years of lifespan, he would be able to see ten or even twenty years in the future...
But Su Yu had returned. And he was on the cusp of Cloudbreach. Wan Tiansheng stood up and gazed into the distance. There, several incomparably powerful auras could be felt. A regular person couldn't feel anything, but he knew that Invincibles were on their way here.
Invincibles...Cloudbreach...Mountainseas...
He became absent-minded.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy!
Mountains of dead Mountainseas! That was the illusion Su Yu was presented when he entered the Heart Cultivating Pavilion. Wan Tiansheng had also seen the same scene.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy...Great Xia Cultural Research Academy!
Wan Tiansheng walked to the window and overlooked the academy. Looking down at Su Yu, the look in his eyes changed completely. After a long while, he cursed. Was the future he saw actually such a near future?
Holy shit!
He had sacrificed a hundred years of lifespan to get a glimpse of such a near future? Just how long had it been since then? So a hundred years of lifespan was only worth a glimpse of an event six months in the future? No way...right?
Wan Tiansheng's face sank. He felt like everything was running out of control. That shouldn't be possible. What would happen this early to cause that event? He was still unprepared! When would that happen?
"Kid, you're a damn bringer of calamity!"
He felt completely helpless. He started doubting life itself. Was this going to be the catalyst of that event? After all, everything that should be present was present, including Invincibles.
Chapter 786: I Want To Forge (1)
Su Yu was still walking with Zhao Li's student. He ignored everyone else in the academy. He did not go to meet Hong Tan and the others. At this time, they were the center of attention. A lot of eyes were on them. After a while, they arrived at Zhao Li's research center.
Su Yu blanked out slightly when he looked at the familiar research center in front of him. But he recovered immediately. Senior Brother Wang smiled and said, "Brother Cui, this is my teacher's research center. He showed a lot of appreciation when he saw your product earlier..."
Su Yu smiled, "Senior Brother Wang, are you sure Master Zhao didn't say that it was a trash weapon? A mass-manufactured product?"
"..."
Senior Brother Wang looked quite awkward. So this fellow was aware of his teacher's reputation? Fine. He had wasted his effort trying to cover for his teacher.
At that moment, the door of the research center swung open. Looking at Su Yu who had completely changed his appearance, Zhao Li said, "It's acceptable. For your age, it's not too bad. But if it's a veteran weaponsmith instead, that weapon will be trash among trash."
"Teacher!" Senior Brother Wang cupped his hands at his teacher.
Su Yu inhaled slightly and smiled, "Greetings, Master Zhao."
Zhao Li turned around and walked inside, leaving the door open behind him as he said, "Come in."
Su Yu and Senior Brother Wang entered together. This was a familiar environment. Compared to the research centers in Great Ming, Zhao Li's research center was akin to a beggar's hut.
But for some reason, Su Yu felt at home here. After entering the living area, he saw that the couch there was still as shabby as ever. He wondered when was the last time Zhao Li changed his furniture.
Not waiting for the two to say anything, Zhao Li went straight to the basement. He said, "Come with me to the forging room and forge a weapon for me. I'll check your skills."
His student felt very helpless. His teacher was as antisocial as ever.
The guest had just arrived. The old man had directly demanded that the guest forge a weapon before even asking for the guest's name. This was quite rude. If this was a petty person, that person would think that Zhao Li was coveting his weaponsmithing secrets.
Su Yu did not seem offended. He smiled and said, "Sure. I do intend to seek some guidance from you, Master Zhao."
Before long, the three arrived at the large basement. With a wave of his hand, the nearby furnace floated into the air.
Su Yu said, "I don't need the earthfire. I have relevant forging characters so I can do it myself."
Zhao Li nodded. Su Yu did not use to have these characters. He must have formed these characters in Great Ming.
Zhao Li then looked at his student and asked in astonishment, "Why are you here?"
"..."
Senior Brother Wang was astonished as well. Where should he be if not here?
"Leave. Are you trying to spy on his weaponsmithing skills? Do you think that the weaponsmithing teachings of my Zhao Family are weaker than Great Ming's?"
"..."
Senior Brother Wang was left completely speechless. What...could he say here? Such double standards from his teacher! What could he say about that?
He helplessly cupped his hands at Su Yu and said, "Brother Cui, I'll be taking my leave. I hope you have a pleasant exchange with my teacher."
Su Yu cupped his hands as well, "Thanks, Senior Brother."
"You're welcome."
Senior Brother Wang left reluctantly. He was itching to witness Cui Lang's weaponsmithing skills. Alas, his teacher didn't want him here. What was the point of chasing him away? It wasn't like he had never learned about the weaponsmithing teachings of Great Ming before.
After Senior Brother Wang left, Zhao Li gazed at Su Yu.
Instead of exposing Su Yu's identity, he said, "Hurry up. Show me your skills."
Su Yu smiled, "Be patient, Teacher. My skills are quite incredible."
With a casual wave of his hand, a pile of materials appeared on the ground. Then, his five elemental characters materialized.
Zhao Li's eyes flickered as he saw that. Su Yu activated both his fire and water characters at the same time. The materials floated from the ground and had their essence extracted by the fire and water characters before transforming into liquid.
Then, a hammer appeared in Su Yu's hand. All five elemental characters fused with the hammer as Su Yu started striking the refined materials. He struck the materials at a rapid rhythm.
He had greatly improved compared to before. During the month he spent in the pagoda, he had forged hundreds of weapons. Not even someone like Zhao Li could afford to forge too many weapons due to the limitation of materials.
Generally, one would only be able to forge one weapon every three to five days. Over the period of one year, one would only be able to forge around a hundred weapons. And that was only applicable to the more hardworking weaponsmiths.
Thus, Su Yu was already as skilled as some veteran weaponsmiths. Zhao Li watched in silence. The kid had improved significantly. Back when Su Yu was still in Great Xia, he didn't have the time to spare to learn about weaponsmithing. Thus, he was quite clumsy even when extracting materials.
Su Yu continued hammering the materials, blending the essence of the materials together. Strike after strike, he utilized both the teachings of Heavenly Forge King and Zhao Family. He was fully focused on his work while Zhao Li was fully focused on watching the process. The two did not say a single word.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Eventually, a small saber took form. And after some time, the first golden stripe appeared on it. Su Yu continued hammering the saber at a steady pace. His willpower was being continuously drained as he kept his characters active, creating a glimmer of light that flowed all over the saber.
He was forging the weapon with all five elements.
One stripe, two stripes...
More and more golden stripes took form. Beads of sweat started appearing on Su Yu's forehead as more and more of his willpower was drained.
After a while, Zhao Li frowned and said, "You're too inflexible. Your fire has remained constant all along, as though you're a machine without a soul. Start adjusting your fire. At the thirty-sixth golden stripe, increase the heat by thirty percent."
Su Yu said nothing, but he did as told. At the thirty-sixth golden stripe, he increased the intensity of the fire.
"Wood fuels fire. With wood as the fuel, increase the might of your fire."
Su Yu continued following the instructions.
"Fan the flames with wind. Do you have the wind character?"
"Yes."
At this moment, Zhao Li cursed inwardly. This damn kid seemed to have every single character you need for forging. It hadn't been that long since the kid left, but he had formed so many new characters.
"Temper it with the metal character."
Su Yu did as told. At this point, the fortieth golden stripe had appeared. Zhao Li continued giving him instructions that were slightly different from the way Great Ming did things. Su Yu followed all of them.
After yet another hour, Zhao Li said, "Start striking with the Soul Expanding Hammer. Use all your strength and don't stop. The more strikes you can land, the better it is. This is a matter of endurance."
"Alright."
At this point, there were forty-five golden stripes on the weapon. This was the limit of an early profound weaponsmith. Su Yu lifted his hammer and started striking the saber. He started sweating heavily. His white robes were instantly soaked with sweat, his previous elegant image completely destroyed. His medium-length hair whipped about wildly, and the strands of hair stuck to his sweaty brows were left ignored.
Zhao Li watched on silently.
One strike. Two strikes...
Slowly, the forty-sixth golden stripe started taking form. But before it could complete its formation, it bent slightly after a hammer strike by Su Yu.
Zhao Li frowned and struck the saber once with his hammer before scolding, "Trash! Again!"
"Teacher..."
"Hurry up!" Zhao Li said, "With a bent golden stripe, you can still complete the forty-sixth golden stripe. But a cultural weapon like this is garbage. A cultural researcher might be fine when using this weapon most of the time. But during a massive battle, the weapon might break suddenly, resulting in the death of the cultural researcher. Are you going to take responsibility for this death?"
"During your first day in the class, I told you to never settle with second-rate products. This is something only garbage weaponsmiths will do. If you think you're also garbage, you can continue ahead like this."
Su Yu was feeling very speechless. Garbage? No matter what, this was an early profound cultural weapon. It was only a tiny bit away from the middle profound grade. Whatever. So be it.
A total of three hours had passed. He had exhausted a lot of his willpower. In fact, not even some Cloudbreaches could last this long. But his recovery speed was excellent as well. Zhao Li had also lit up a stick of incense when nobody noticed. The incense was also helping Su Yu with his willpower recovery.
Zhao Li said nothing else and watched silently as Su Yu resumed his work. The more Zhao Li watched, the more complicated his emotions became. What a genius.
A true genius and an excellent seedling in weaponsmithing. If this kid focused on weaponsmithing, he would definitely become an earth weaponsmith within three to five years. What a pity.
On his second attempt to forge the same weapon, Su Yu's actions were much smoother than before. Fire, extraction, water, quenching...
Yet another two hours passed. At this point, Su Yu was completely drenched. A small puddle of sweat had formed beneath him.
But he paid no attention to that. He had reached the forty-fifth golden stripe yet again. This update ıs available on novel~fire~net
Zhao Li calmly said, "Continue. Press on. Your willingness to pursue your goal relentlessly was why you caught my attention back then. Your talent is nothing special, but perseverance alone is sufficient. This is the basic quality one needs to succeed in any field."
During their first meeting, Su Yu had used his willpower to help the army with killing some cultists. Even during a state of willpower exhaustion, Su Yu was still able to stand and talk to him. That was when he decided that Su Yu was a good seedling for weaponsmithing.
At the time, he was very weak yet his perseverance was very high.
Zhao Li was reminding Su Yu to not forget about the basics. He sternly said, "Keep forging. Let me see how many golden stripes you can make."
"Yes..."
Su Yu groaned a response with great difficulty as he continued hammering the small saber. The more he struck the saber, the smaller it became. The Soul Expanding Hammer had the ability to temper and refine an item to remove its impurities. And when forging a cultural weapon, it was better the purer it was.
Chapter 787: I Want To Forge (2)
At the third hour, Su Yu finally produced his forty-sixth golden stripe. His weapon had reached the middle profound grade. This time, he had reached that stage smoothly. As of this moment, he had fully digested all the experience he had gained in the pagoda.
Zhao Li did not tell him to stop, so he continued striking the saber. Eventually, the forty-seventh golden stripe appeared. And after about half an hour, the forty-eighth golden stripe appeared.
At this point, Su Yu was greatly exhausted. He was starting to find it hard to keep the change character active. His face started warping as he did not have enough willpower to maintain his disguise.
Zhao Li glanced at him and coldly said, "Fool. Are cultural researchers the only ones capable of forging weapons? Do you think that warriors can't do the same? Wrong! Warriors can forge weapons as well! Willpower can be used as energy, but can't source qi be used for the same purpose?"
"Heavenly Forge King's teachings only utilize willpower because he knows too little. Our Zhao Family's teachings utilize both willpower and source qi. You have a powerful source qi cultivation without knowing how to utilize it. How idiotic."
Su Yu was greatly tired, but he continued striking the saber. He slowly spoke, "Teacher...it's the problem of continuity. The moment I stop channeling willpower and switch to a different type of energy, the forging might fail immediately..."
Zhao Li said, "That's because you lack experience. The moment a new golden stripe appears, there will be a window for you to switch your energy. That will not affect the formation of the next golden stripe. This way, you can constantly switch between source qi and willpower."
A smile formed on Zhao Li's face as he said, "How many days do you think I lasted back when I attempted to forge an earth weapon as a Cloudbreach? I only lasted so long through switching between the two different types of energy. Of course, I still ran out of energy in the end and failed the forging."
"Earth cultural weapons were rarely forged by even Mountainseas. Most people can only forge one at the Sunmoon Realm. Why the Sunmoon Realm? Because of their strength. After fusing their acupoints and apertures, they are able to rapidly recover their source qi and willpower."
"..."
Zhao Li said, "Keep going until you complete your fiftieth golden stripe before switching energy to forge your fifty-first golden stripe. Of course, the more golden stripes you form, the greater the effort required. Switching energy recklessly will also result in failure. But it doesn't matter. You're rich so feel free to waste your materials. Since you have returned, don't think of leaving before forging a truly powerful cultural weapon."
At the fifty-fifth golden stripe, the weapon would reach the high profound grade. Su Yu thought that this was impossible for him. He still didn't have enough strength, experience, and skills for that.
But since Zhao Li was making such a request, he decided to try his best. Failure did not matter. It would only ruin this weapon. Sure, middle profound cultural weapons weren't cheap, but anything that could be bought with money wouldn't be something truly valuable.
As Su Yu continued, he slowly entered a unique state. This forging session felt free and unrestrained. When he was weaponsmithing in Great Ming, he had been paying close attention to all the tricks he learned from the pagoda, resulting in a rather inflexible mindset.
The teachings left in the pagoda were rather unsuitable for him. But he had no choice but to learn it. The pagoda would not teach him something uniquely suitable for him as the teachings of the pagoda were already fixed.
He could feel that he was on the verge of fully emptying his willpower reserve. Suddenly, his body shook as a large amount of heavenly source qi appeared and wrapped around his body.
Zhao Li blanked out when he saw that. He couldn't help cursing that this kid was too wasteful.
Holy shit!
What the fuck was this kid using to regenerate his energy?
Heavenly source qi? Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NoveI~Fire.net
Did the kid rob a family of their heavenly source fruit trees?
"Body forging!"
He instantly absorbed the heavenly source qi and started recovering, forging his body, and forging the weapon at the same time. He was rich enough to act wantonly like this. He lacked a lot of things, but money wasn't something he lacked at the moment.
Forging a weapon was also a way of cultivation. Most weaponsmiths had rather powerful bodies. That was because when forging a weapon, the sharpness and five elemental powers of the weapon would constantly fight back against the weaponsmith, tempering the body of the weaponsmith.
As Su Yu's body turned gold, he completed his fiftieth golden stripe. Instantly, he switched to source qi. Right after the switch, the first part of the fifty-first golden stripe took form. But when he struck the weapon next, it exploded. That created a chain reaction that resulted in the destruction of the weapon. Su Yu was blasted away.
Zhao Li did not seem too surprised. This was very normal when weaponsmithing, just like how pillmakers would sometimes cause their cauldrons to explode when making pills. The kid had failed to switch his energy properly, but it was fine as long as the kid was still alive.
Su Yu cut a sorry figure with grime and soot covering his face. Zhao Li ignored Su Yu and picked up the broken weapon. After taking a look at it, he said, "You were too hasty during the switch, resulting in violent source qi. You need to slow it down and reduce the power of your source qi by about half. Only increase the intensity progressively, not all at once."
"I understand."
"What are you waiting for? Continue."
Su Yu had a helpless expression. He wanted to tell his teacher that he had been forging for eight hours in a row right after arriving. Even if he was a puppet, he wouldn't be able to keep going.
Zhao Li coldly said, "Aren't you thinking of helping me with the earth weapon? You're still not good enough. With this tiny bit of ability, why dream of completing an earth weapon? Also, do you think I can fail an earth weapon so easily?
"Do you think I'm going to settle with forging some garbage earth weapon? That weapon was also prepared for my future advancement into the heaven grade. Do you know what heaven grade means? That is a weapon with at least 108 golden stripes. Do you know why I failed? I was too ambitious. I tried to create semi-completed stripes from the 74th to the 108th stripes. That would allow the earth weapon to grow by itself. And upon reaching sufficient cultivation level, my weapon could be directly pushed into the heaven grade. Thus, I needed to forge the initial 73 golden stripes and the subsequent 35 incomplete golden stripes.
"You're a weaponsmith as well. You understand how difficult the forging process will be the higher the level. The countershock from the weapon will keep growing. I was too greedy. Thus, I failed. If I don't want to destroy that incomplete weapon, I need to reforge the 35 incomplete golden stripes."
Su Yu was very surprised. This was the first time he learned about this. He couldn't resist asking, "Teacher, why didn't you look for Zhao Tianbing to help?" Since he was so ambitious, he should have looked for Zhao Tianbing.
Su Yu previously thought that his teacher would probably forge only an early earth cultural weapon. Thus, he believed that he could help. But instead, his teacher wanted to forge the embryonic form of a heaven weapon.
"Him?" Zhao Li said, "Why should I look for him? Sure, he will be able to help, but that's not my goal. With his help, he will be the main weaponsmith while I'll be the assistant. In that situation, can I still call myself the creator of this weapon?"
"You're different. You're my student with my teachings. You're also weaker than me. You're also a user of the Soul Expanding Art. A cultural weapon forged with your help will be more compatible with me."
Su Yu nodded. He could only stand up and take out a large pile of materials. He was going to keep trying.
Zhao Li said, "Since you're back, don't be in a rush to leave. Since you want to help me with my earth weapon, you will need some time to practice. When you gain the ability to forge a high profound cultural weapon, we can consider trying. You also need to increase the durability of your willpower so don't be in a rush to enter the Cloudbreach Realm. Temper your willpower more with the Soul Expanding Art."
"Teacher, I wish to take a look at Martial Uncle Feng Ji. He was captured. They're going to trial him publicly."
"I heard about this from your Senior Brother Wang."
Zhao Li was aware of this matter. He had merely been ignoring it previously. He said, "You want to enter the Cloudbreach Realm so that you can maintain your disguise before Invincibles? The difficulty will be high. And it's not like you can do anything apart from spectating the trial."
He paused to think before saying, "But since you're already here, I doubt anyone can change your mind. In that case, the best option is to delay the trial for a bit."
"Delay?"
That was a trial held by Invincibles. How were they supposed to delay it? Every single Invincible was incomparably mysterious and hard to see. Since the Invincibles were coming personally, it was unlikely that they would take things slow. Su Yu estimated that the trial would be held in a few days.
Zhao Li sneered, "You only need to think of a way to do so. Why is it not possible? It's simple. If you can reach the high profound grade before the trial, I'll announce an attempt to complete my earth weapon."
Su Yu stared at his teacher silently. He wanted to say that his teacher had overestimated himself. Forging an earth weapon...wasn't big enough of a deal. Would those Invincibles delay their plan just to witness the forging process?
Mountainseas and Sunmoons were the main users of earth-grade cultural weapons. For them, these weapons were treasures. But for Invincibles, only heaven-grade cultural weapons were worthy.
"Fool. Do you think I'm forging a regular earth weapon?"
Zhao Li proudly said, "If I only cared about being an earth weaponsmith, I would have done so decades ago. But that's pointless. Just watch. I guarantee even the Invincibles won't have the mood to launch the public trial after my announcement."
After saying that, he looked at the back of the room. That was where he stored his incomplete earth-grade cultural weapon.
He smiled and said, "After your advancement, come with me to the Source Qi Secret Grotto. No, scratch that. I'll move the grotto here. For this forging attempt, we will do it in the grotto. It will create quite a big ruckus. You might be able to advance during the process. In the event of success, you will receive even more rewards from the weapon itself during completion. Even your body forging will improve. And after the forging, you can leave the grotto as a high or even a peak profound weaponsmith. At that point, very few people will dare to spy on you. I can also publicly praise you for your potential to become a heaven weaponsmith in the future.
"A heaven weaponsmith is equivalent in status as Invincibles. In fact, you can say that heaven weaponsmiths are basically the Invincibles of weaponsmiths. And a heaven weaponsmith will be even more popular than a regular Invincible. I have been very stingy with my praise. Thus, they will have no choice but to believe in your potential. They will no longer dare to spy on you as they wish due to your newly elevated status. After all, nobody knows if they will need the help of a heaven weaponsmith in the future."
It would be very hard for Su Yu to hide from Invincibles with his own ability. As far as Zhao Li was concerned, if one lacked both strength and status, one would be completely helpless before an Invincible. The Invincible would be able to perform a scan on someone like that at any time.
But if one lacked strength yet had sufficient status, even Invincibles would hold back out of respect. After all, this was someone who might become a heaven weaponsmith in the future. Did that Invincible still want a weapon or not?
At present, Heavenly Forge King was the sole heaven weaponsmith of humanity. Zhao Li was still not an earth weaponsmith, but if he succeeded in the forging, he would definitely reach that level. Furthermore, his senior brother was a peak earth weaponsmith. If someone like him claimed that Su Yu had the potential to become a heaven weaponsmith, quite a lot of people would believe it.
Su Yu nodded before helplessly saying, "But...I don't think I can grow so quickly. I feel like I have reached my current limit with fifty golden stripes."
"Anything is possible." Zhao Li ignored Su Yu's protest and said, "Keep working hard. I'll get some people to move my grotto over here before taking my incomplete earth weapon out of the vault. After that, you will be the only person I'm waiting for. The weapon is currently sealed and it can only be taken out once. If we don't complete it after I take it out, it will turn into scrap iron, alongside my main character. Decide for yourself what you want to do."
"..."
Su Yu grimaced. He was really not confident. If they failed, Zhao Li would lose his main character and suffer a heavy injury. With his advanced age, he would be in big trouble. Was there a need to be in such a rush?