Profound-Rank Weapon Forger

At the end of March, Su Yu formally entered closed-door seclusion, announcing to the outside world that it was to nurse his injuries. He had detonated 144 Yuan apertures, resulting in exceptionally severe injuries. Under normal circumstances, detonating 144 Yuan apertures would obliterate one's physical body. Of course, that applied to ordinary people and ordinary geniuses; Su Yu was hardly ordinary. Furthermore, Heaven Yuan Qi was the ultimate sacred remedy for healing. Injured on March 25, by March 30, Su Yu had already restored 10 damaged apertures—an average of two per day—and that was despite being distracted by other matters. Healing also gained momentum in the later stages. Once a substantial number of apertures recovered, the remainder would mend swiftly. By Su Yu's estimate, it would take around a month and a half. Meanwhile, onlookers in the outside world judged that with wounds of this severity, even a monster like Su Yu would likely require six months to a year to fully recover. Anyone else would have simply rebuilt their cultivation from scratch; there was virtually no point in trying to heal. *** Inside the cultivation chamber. Su Yu continuously absorbed Heaven Yuan Qi, simultaneously tempering his physical body and healing his injuries, while perusing elementary texts and a vast collection of books on weapon forging. When he clashed with Shan Xiong that day, he hadn't used a cultural weapon. It was primarily because his current cultural weapon was far too fragile. A half-step Profound-rank weapon would shatter easily against Shan Xiong. Su Yu hadn't bothered finding someone to forge a new one either; dealing with Shan Xiong made little difference whether he wielded a cultural weapon or not. Every school of weapon forging possessed its own unique specialties. Su Yu was currently studying Great Ming Prefecture's forging techniques. Zhao Li's forging art leaned toward the traditional, whereas some of Great Ming's texts and introductions were somewhat unorthodox. "Essence Blood Forging Art!" The manual Su Yu was currently reading introduced a method of forging weapons using the power of essence blood. It was bloody and brutal. When Hu Qi refined a Sun Moon expert that day, she had actually employed this Essence Blood Forging Art, which was quite savage. It was not particularly well-received in the Human Realm either. However, on that day, an All-Races Cult Sun Moon had launched an ambush, and Hu Qi merely refined him in retaliation, so no one raised any objections. Under ordinary circumstances, such forging methods drew widespread condemnation. "Refining the power of essence blood..." Su Yu studied it for a while with no intention of trying it himself. Still, learning more never hurt. Over the past few days, he had lived comfortably, and reading books put him in far better spirits. "Perhaps I can test myself in the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, attempting to forge weapons floor by floor starting from the very first." The emergence of the Five Elements divine character provided immense assistance to his weapon forging. It could be considered a superlative auxiliary divine character. Moreover, when paired with the Mind Expansion Hammer, Su Yu felt its effects would be even more pronounced. As for the matter of the yang aperture, Su Yu could not experiment with it right now; he would wait until his apertures fully recovered. Of course, he could test it on some of the captives below. Having roughly pinpointed the location of the yang aperture, he could let them attempt to open it whenever he had time. Whether people died in the process was none of his concern. Alongside these texts, Su Yu read various other books, occasionally browsing through the Invincible manuscripts in his possession. Nowadays, his study of divine characters was considerably more targeted. Spatial divine characters, stealth divine characters, breath-concealing divine characters, disguise divine characters—he needed them all. Xu Bin, from the traveling merchant guild, had also returned over the past two days. Su Yu inquired about the text of will he had studied to outline his divine character and had someone purchase it so he could examine it thoroughly. This was precisely where Civilization Masters derived their formidable strength. They had far too many methods at their disposal! Divine characters were simply too wondrous! In truth, warriors were quite formidable as well, except they lacked such a vast variety of cultivation methods. Su Yu, however, was versed in numerous arts: transforming into water, transforming into wind... all of which could be realized through shifting apertures. It was merely that the human race possessed too few battle techniques of this caliber, and the myriad races had few as well, leaving warriors lagging far behind Civilization Masters in the art of shapeshifting and variation. Healing, tempering his body, reading books. Such was Su Yu's current daily routine. The outside world remained quiet for the moment, likely because the myriad races had only just received word and had yet to mount a response. Su Yu couldn't be bothered with any of that; taking care of himself took precedence. He had heard Shan Xiong's return journey was fraught with perils and that he had yet to make it back to Great Zhou Prefecture. Su Yu had no interest in caring whether the man lived or died. *** In the blink of an eye, April arrived. April 1st. Beneath the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. This time, Su Yu maintained a relatively low profile. He did not alter his facial features, but he wore a ferocious tiger mask. One should not assume wearing a mask was conspicuous; on the contrary, many students at Great Ming Civilization Academy favored eccentric attire—even crossdressers were common—so it raised no eyebrows. Guarding the tower was still that same Old Man Yun. While others paid no mind to Su Yu, Old Man Yun certainly did. He had to register entrants and inspect student tokens, and the moment Su Yu produced his Honorary Elder credential, the elder knew precisely who lurked beneath the tiger mask. "Going in again?" Old Man Yun's tooth ached. The Pavilion of a Hundred Dao had rested for barely over a month, and you're already back to wreak havoc? "Ahem!" Su Yu felt a bit awkward. The elder's attitude was completely uncalled for—what did he mean by "going in again"? He was permitted three entries a month. He had gone in February, hadn't entered once in March, and it was already April now! "Mm," Su Yu acknowledged, then promptly asked, "Senior, starting from the first floor, can I change my name?" "Why bother changing it? Even if you enter the 50th floor now, no one would bat an eye." "Keeping too high a profile is unwise," Su Yu said with a smile. "Few who court attention meet a good end. Just look at the three names on the 100th and 99th floors... two are dead, and the remaining one is drowning in trouble!" His reasoning was so sound that it left no room for refutation. Old Man Yun was rendered speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, "Once inside, channel Yuan Qi and willpower into the first-floor wall again to modify your name. What name do you plan to use?" Su Yu pondered for a moment, then replied, "Zhou Podao!" "..." What kind of blasted name was that?! The elder stood utterly dumbfounded. The Zhou family had several members named Zhou Po-something, and you go and pick this? Zhou Podao—breaking which Dao? Niu Baidao? Zhu Tiandao? Or someone else? Did this brat intend to impersonate a member of the Zhou family? The old man remained speechless and couldn't be bothered to say more. He waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for him to hurry inside. He had no desire to waste words on him. Instead of nursing his wounds, this kid ran over here to clear trials out of sheer boredom. That was fine too; at least there was no need to worry about him fleecing too many resources. *** In high spirits, Su Yu entered the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. On the first floor, the stone wall reappeared. Su Yu adopted a new name. One had to keep a low profile; just as he said, most of those who flaunted themselves were practically dead. Out of the three people on the 100th and 99th floors of the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, two had perished, and Zhou Polong was currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. If anyone ever spotted his name left behind in the pavilion, they would merely wonder whether a member of the Zhou family had paid a visit. What did that have to do with him? Stepping onto the first floor, he found the familiar, spacious chamber. Having gained experience, Su Yu didn't waste any time. His Five Elements divine character and Mind Expansion Hammer manifested, hammering wildly into thin air to signal to the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao that he was here to forge weapons, prompting it to arrange weapon forging trials for him going forward. Sure enough, he was soon transported to the second floor. A furnace materialized in midair. This was the most rudimentary method of forging. What true powerhouse still relied on a furnace? Zhao Li had long since mastered forging out of thin air. What he was tasked with crafting was not a cultural weapon, but a martial weapon. Forging martial weapons was not particularly demanding; the core requirements were durability and sharpness, without requiring many special traits. Barring custom-made arms for top experts, the various prefectures could mass-produce them under normal circumstances. Equipping the military on a grand scale! The simulated objects here were indistinguishable from reality. Excellent. Su Yu picked up some materials and began hammering away, the metal clanging crisply. With his formidable strength and basic foundation in forging, crafting rudimentary martial weapons posed no difficulty whatsoever. The second floor was merely a trial meant for novices who had just entered Character Nurturing. In the blink of an eye, Su Yu cleared the trial, producing an unranked piece of junk martial weapon, primarily because the raw materials were atrocious. Upon completion, the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao actually offered a critique: "Heat control inadequate. At 3 minutes and 31 seconds, flame was 30% too weak; at 3 minutes and 58 seconds, flame was 20% too strong..." Su Yu was astonished. So that was how it worked! It provided the most direct and intuitive guidance! It pointed out where things went awry during the forging process and how to correct them. In any case, the materials here were illusory, requiring no expenditure to purchase. "Holy crap!" Su Yu was inwardly shaken. This trial was extraordinary. No wonder Great Ming Prefecture's weapon forging tradition was so robust, boasting numerous Earth-rank weapon forgers. However, students molded by such direct guidance would inevitably carry more artisan rigidity and less natural brilliance. It was somewhat formulaic! Weapon forging and alchemy often yielded breakthroughs through unexpected discoveries. Adhering strictly to a template could produce competent talents, but never grandmasters. Of course, Su Yu cared little about that. He had no ambition to become a grandmaster! If he could master all the standard methods, why would he care about such nuances? If one could become an Earth-rank weapon forger, who cared whether the forged weapon possessed a soul? This Pavilion of a Hundred Dao was truly remarkable. Soon, he advanced to the third floor. Just as before, he continued forging, and the materials were identical to the previous stage. This meant the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao required him to forge the same weapon using identical materials to test whether he had absorbed the lessons from the previous stage. "Interesting. This counts as improving the score, right?" He had no idea what score the junk weapon he forged in the second stage had received, but passing meant the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao deemed it acceptable. They were merely unranked weapons! Having absorbed the previous lesson and bearing in mind the reminders from the last trial, Su Yu deliberately regulated the heat at several crucial junctures according to the feedback. Another flurry of clattering and pounding ensued, and soon, a small knife took shape. Compared to the knife from the previous stage, it possessed a touch more sharpness. He passed once more! This time, the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao delivered another evaluation, concluding with: "An exquisite piece among unranked martial weapons; can be exchanged for a few steamed buns." "..." Su Yu froze for a moment. Was this the assessment of the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, or the judgment left behind by one of the ancient weapon forgers who built it? Only worth a few steamed buns? Are you kidding me?! If sold among commoners, this weapon would easily fetch several thousand coins! Are your family's steamed buns made of solid gold?! Too lazy to take offense at the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, he pressed on to clear trials. On the fourth floor, with the same materials and furnace, he continued forging weapons. Still martial weapons! *** Outside the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, Old Man Yun felt something was amiss. Did that kid Su Yu truly change his name to Zhou Podao? The point was, no name had appeared yet. Glancing left and right, he cautiously produced a bronze mirror to sneak a peek. Soon, he spotted it on the fifth floor: Zhou Podao, rank 987... "Fifth floor, rank 987? Did this kid stop to eat and take a dump in there?" Floors 1 through 20 were designed for Character Nurturing! With Su Yu's strength, to reach only the fifth floor and rank nearly 1,000th—just how dreadful was that? Was he loitering inside and refusing to leave? What was the point? The lower floors offered no supplementary rewards. Shaking his head, he decided not to pry. Geniuses were always eccentric; who knew what Su Yu was doing inside? As for what trial Su Yu was undertaking, he couldn't tell. Probably only the master of the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao had the authority to check. As for who the master of the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao was... that was truly unclear. People claimed it was King Daming, yet King Daming never seemed to manage it. Some believed it was Zhu Tiandao, yet when Zhu Tiandao occasionally mobilized the pavilion, the synchronization wasn't particularly high, suggesting it might not belong to him. Or perhaps it belonged to one of the ancient creators who built it? Even Old Man Yun, as a controller and guardian of the tower, knew very little about it. Having guarded the pavilion for centuries without incident, his sole duty was maintaining order. Old Man Yun was in no hurry. Having resided here for hundreds of years, what did a little time matter? If Su Yu wished to keep a low profile, so be it. Time trickled by. A few hours later, Old Man Yun checked again, feeling powerless to complain. Several hours, and he had only reached the 10th floor. Not bad—he had attained the intermediate Character Nurturing standard. Su Yu, you really are bored out of your mind! Fine, linger as long as you like on those lower floors; play however you please. *** At the same time. Su Yu had indeed cleared the 10th floor. Using the same materials, by continuously absorbing lessons and experience all the way to the 10th floor, with Su Yu's strength and control, he actually forged a low-grade Yellow-rank martial weapon! "Holy crap... this place is truly incredible!" Su Yu was astonished. Based on his experience and forging techniques, those materials were strictly meant for unranked weapons. Yet now, following the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao's refinements, he had genuinely forged a low-grade Yellow-rank martial weapon. If this item were dropped on the street, current Su Yu might not even bother picking it up. Yet turning the crude into something miraculous, forging a weapon that had no business reaching Yellow rank into a Yellow-rank weapon—that was remarkable! "The experience imparted here definitely didn't come from an ordinary weapon forger; it must be an expert grandmaster!" Su Yu clicked his tongue. Earlier, he had thought that following the pavilion's instructions lacked a sense of natural artistry. Looking back now, what did he know? He knew nothing! A top-tier forging grandmaster was practically teaching you step-by-step. Grasping even a sliver of that would benefit him immensely, yet he had the nerve to be finicky! "The powerhouse who left behind this forging system back then was at least a top Earth-rank weapon forger, if not Heaven-rank!" As for Heaven-rank weapon forgers, there seemed to be only one: King Tianzhu. He was not a founding King of a prefecture, but an Invincible who emerged afterward, possessing supreme forging mastery—the sole Heaven-rank weapon forger in the Human Realm today. Generally, only Invincibles wielded Heaven-rank cultural weapons. Of course, top Sun Moons who possessed the means to seek out King Tianzhu also stood a chance of acquiring one. Alternatively, multiple Earth-rank forgers joining forces could also forge Heaven-rank weapons with a fair degree of certainty. Su Yu paid no more mind to these thoughts. When he completed the 10th floor's forging, the benefit of reaching a multiple-of-ten floor arrived. Unlike last time, it did not bestow tangible items. At the 10th floor, an elderly figure suddenly appeared—a phantom image, yet indistinguishable from reality, appearing much like inspecting a text of will. "Weapon forging is actually very simple!" A furnace and materials appeared before the old man, identical to the ones Su Yu had used. "Especially martial weapons—far too simple. As long as it is sturdy enough, sharp enough, capable of bearing more Yuan Qi, and unleashing greater power, it is a good martial weapon. There is no need to invite trouble like cultural weapons, having to match divine characters..." As the old man spoke, he muttered, "Watch closely. Observe how this old man forges, and learn well!" Su Yu watched with wide eyes. Could he really pull off miracles? The old man wasn't particularly fast or slow; Su Yu could see everything with utmost clarity. The procedure and technique were virtually the same as Su Yu's, yet in the old man's hands, the forging flowed like drifting clouds and flowing water, utterly seamless, without the slightest hesitation or hitch from start to finish. What material was needed one second, what material the next—it was all second nature. Almost the moment it was required, the material was blended in and forged. When Su Yu forged, a single cycle took roughly 15 minutes. Yet the old man took around 12 minutes—following the exact same steps, he shaved off three whole minutes compared to Su Yu. Twelve minutes later, a rapier emerged. Su Yu looked at it; three gold lines were visible upon the blade. Cultural weapons and martial weapons were graded in this exact manner. Three lines! Whereas Su Yu, after toiling and adjusting for ages, had barely managed to produce a single gold line, two minor sub-ranks below. Nine lines or fewer were all considered low-grade Yellow rank. Yet the quality gap between them was immense. When the forging concluded, the old man's figure vanished. In Su Yu's mind, the scene of the old man's forging process replayed continuously. He murmured, "A top-tier weapon forger's inheritance!" Within this Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, a top-tier weapon forger was imparting his craft, though it was unknown who he was. The old man hadn't introduced himself either! Su Yu's interest was piqued instantly. If the 10th floor had this, then subsequent floors certainly would too. At the 20th and 40th floors, perhaps he could exploit the checkpoints. As for the utility of exploiting checkpoints, perhaps... he could watch it several more times? He wasn't entirely certain! Watching it a few more times wouldn't hurt. This was a top weapon forger demonstrating the process again and again, realistic as life itself—tantamount to an in-person exchange of experience with a grandmaster. "The 10th floor requires low-grade Yellow rank; does the 20th floor require mid-grade?" "40th floor top-grade Yellow rank?" "60th floor mid-grade Profound rank?" "80th floor top-grade Profound rank?" "100th floor mid-grade Earth rank?" Su Yu calculated in his heart. Could it be that in the weapon forging path, forging an Earth-rank cultural weapon was enough to reach the 100th floor? Yet the academy had Earth-rank weapon forgers. Mid-grade... was Hu Qi one? Zhao Tianbing was seemingly at peak Earth rank; had he never visited the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao? Too lazy to think further, Su Yu had modest expectations for himself: forging a Profound-rank weapon would suffice; Earth rank was still far away. Ascending further! Starting from the 11th floor, the materials and furnace changed, requiring different types of weapons to be forged. They were no longer strictly offensive weapons; the materials provided could also forge defensive gear like shields. Su Yu continued, absorbing experience and nourishment floor by floor. In his eyes, the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao grew increasingly precious. This artifact should never be treated as an offensive weapon, but as an auxiliary one. Using it to kill people and damaging it in the process would be an outright crime! Great Ming Prefecture's flourishing of a hundred paths was indisputably indebted to the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao! King Daming truly possessed great foresight. *** April 2nd. A full day had passed. Old Man Yun yawned and sneaked another glance. Very good: Zhou Podao, 20th floor, rank 178. Not bad, his ranking had climbed, and he had reached the 20th floor—no small feat. Others in the Tengkong Realm reached it within 20 minutes; you... took a whole day! No one knew what this kid was actually doing inside. In the Character Nurturing realm, what could you possibly learn? "Could it be you went to study auxiliary fields?" The old man chuckled. Don't kid yourself, how would Su Yu have the time to learn that? Forging? He heard Su Yu had a good relationship with Zhao Li, but this brat wouldn't have time to study that either. The old man relaxed leisurely, unhurried in the slightest. Let Su Yu play on. *** Su Yu was indeed playing—and playing at all costs. The Fire of Civilization burned! He felt that upon reaching the 20th floor, he struggled to digest all the knowledge imparted by the old man. On the 20th floor, the old man was forging, and this phantom image had replayed numerous times. Exploiting checkpoints—Su Yu loved doing this. For the forging path, exploiting checkpoints was simple. On the 20th floor, one only needed to forge a weapon with 10 gold lines. If you wanted to hold the checkpoint, forge one with 11 gold lines, then 12, continuing up to 18 gold lines before the image would dissipate. One could milk it quite a few times. Eighteen gold lines marked the peak of mid-grade Yellow rank. At this moment, Su Yu observed the old man forging again and again, learning alongside him. As long as the old man's image didn't vanish, he didn't stop. He was no longer just watching raptly as he had the first time; he was learning as he watched. When the old man struck with his hammer, Su Yu struck with his. When the old man adjusted the flame, Su Yu adjusted his. For now, he refrained from utilizing divine characters; those could wait. Forging again and again, tempering over and over. This place saved so much money! No real materials required! Of course, using real materials would cost much more, though the experience would likely be great as well. Time after time, who knew how long had passed. The old man's image finally vanished completely! Su Yu felt a trace of regret; he still wanted to keep learning. Moreover, with each exploit of the checkpoint, the weapon forged by the old man grew slightly stronger. By the time the image faded, the old man's forged weapon possessed eighteen and a half gold lines! While it appeared inferior to high-grade Yellow rank, in reality, such weapons were incredible—they could be wielded without expending the Yuan Qi demanded by high-grade Yellow-rank weapons, requiring only the Yuan Qi consumption of mid-grade Yellow-rank weapons! This was similar to the effect of the cultural weapon Zhao Li had forged for him. Of course, his was peak Yellow rank. "Amazing, simply amazing! A supreme grandmaster personally taught me dozens of times, forging the exact same weapon. Truly incredible!" It was fortunate Su Yu possessed vast willpower. If he were a genuine Character Nurturing cultivator, he would have collapsed from exhaustion after the first forging session. A whole day had passed! However, Su Yu recovered too quickly; his 180 divine apertures replenished at astounding speed. Continue! Su Yu continued upward. If given the chance in the future, he might try all hundred paths in the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. Su Yu was radiant with energy. With the Fire of Civilization burning, the various knowledge points he had learned earlier were continuously digested. Past the 21st floor, Su Yu's forging became less difficult, more proficient, and increasingly seasoned. 25th floor, 30th floor... On the 30th floor, Su Yu effortlessly forged a weapon with 19 gold lines. Afterward, he tried to exploit the checkpoint again, but failed; it seemed he could only do so at the 40th floor. The 40th floor required Su Yu to forge a peak Yellow-rank cultural weapon. Twenty-eight gold lines were required to qualify as peak Yellow rank. This was typically the limit of what a Tengkong cultivator could forge. Under normal circumstances, Tengkong cultivators could only forge up to peak Yellow rank, primarily because their willpower wasn't profound enough; forging peak Yellow rank demanded immense expenditure. This time, Su Yu still passed easily. Advancing floor by floor and constantly learning, forging a 28-line weapon wasn't as hard as imagined. It was mainly because his willpower was strong enough and his Mind Expansion Hammer was formidable enough. However, at this stage, Su Yu needed auxiliary support—such as divine characters and willpower—rather than relying solely on pure physical forging. The old man's phantom image reappeared, continuing to instruct Su Yu in forging. *** April 3rd. The third day since Su Yu entered. For several days in a row, Su Yu hadn't appeared in the academy or the Primordial Spirit Research Institute. Even Wu Lan and the others didn't know Su Yu had run off to the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. As for the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, because it didn't attract excessive attention on ordinary days, the name Zhou Podao flashed on the 40th floor a few times without drawing much notice. Even if someone spotted it, not recognizing the name, they couldn't be bothered to care. This time, Old Man Yun was genuinely somewhat surprised. What on earth was Su Yu doing in there? The consumption was considerable! The Pavilion of a Hundred Dao suffered heavy drain, but not the previous kind of consumption—it wasn't draining willpower or Yuan Qi, but a special heritage that even he couldn't quite articulate. This situation had occurred in the past as well. When several alchemists, weapon forgers, and divine talisman masters in the academy had exploited checkpoints in their earlier years, similar occurrences took place. This signified that these individuals were absorbing some of the foundational heritage within the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. Outside the tower, Old Man Yun frowned. Did this kid really go to cultivate auxiliary fields? Reaching the 40th floor, regardless of which auxiliary path it was, was considered quite impressive. If it was weapon forging, it would at least be peak Yellow rank, and having milked the checkpoints so many times, perhaps it was even stronger—half-step Profound rank was possible. A Profound-rank weapon forger could be addressed as a grandmaster outside. A Profound-rank weapon forger corresponded to the Lingyun and Shanhai Realms. Reaching Earth rank generally corresponded to the Sun Moon Realm. Someone capable of forging peak Profound-rank cultural weapons, like Zhao Li, held status no lower than any Shanhai cultivator. "Is this kid studying weapon forging?" If so, reaching the 40th floor on his first try was terrifying. It meant this kid's foundation was shockingly solid. Where did Su Yu get such a foundation? He hadn't studied the forging path before, had he? *** Su Yu was indeed finding it increasingly taxing. However, the tier-three Fire of Civilization paired with the old man's phantom image was simply a match made in heaven! Continue forging! Continuously employing the Five Elements divine character, he reached 34 gold lines! Just two lines away from the maximum 36 gold lines. When he forged to 35 lines, Su Yu could forge no further. The phantom image vanished! He failed to milk the checkpoint to the absolute limit. What a pity. Pushing it to the limit would have meant forging 36 gold lines. Back then, Zhao Li had said that very few people could forge 36 or 72 gold lines, as doing so signified that the forger had attained a pinnacle in the forging path. Being able to forge Profound-rank cultural weapons did not mean one could forge a 36-line peak Yellow-rank cultural weapon. Su Yu closed his eyes to rest his mind; his willpower consumption was immense. After resting for a while, he reached the 41st floor. Starting from this floor, he had to forge a Profound-rank cultural weapon to pass. Three attempts! First attempt: failure. Second attempt: failure. Third attempt... failure again. Su Yu's figure suddenly flashed, exiting the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. Seeing him emerge, Old Man Yun was about to speak when Su Yu said, "Three times a month—I still have two free attempts!" With that, he went right back inside. This time, he started directly from the 41st floor. Outside the pavilion, Old Man Yun was speechless. I didn't even have time to ask what you were cultivating in there! A few hours later, Su Yu emerged once more. "Third free attempt!" He dashed back in! A few hours later, Su Yu appeared again. "If I pay, how much per entry?" Old Man Yun answered reflexively, "For our academy's students, Character Nurturing is 100 merit points per entry; Tengkong is 200..." "Deduct 2,000 points first!" Su Yu swiftly transferred the points, and the moment his words fell, he charged back inside. "..." Old Man Yun was rendered speechless. This kid truly spent without hesitation. 2,000 merit points... not bad either. Su Yu had always been fleecing them; this time they finally fleeced this kid. But what on earth was he doing? The elder forgot to ask again. Over the next period, he watched Su Yu enter and exit repeatedly. In a single day, Su Yu went in and out seven or eight times, averaging once every three hours. When the 2,000 points were nearly exhausted, Su Yu didn't come out again. And Su Yu had broken through the 41st trial! This indicated Su Yu had already forged a Profound-rank weapon. Whether it was a cultural weapon or a martial weapon remained unknown; in truth, they were comparable—cultural weapons were slightly harder, but as long as one possessed sufficient subsequent methods, forging cultural weapons was entirely feasible. At this moment, no one yet knew that Su Yu could forge Profound-rank weapons! There was only one Earth-rank weapon forger in Great Xia Prefecture, and while there were more who could forge Profound-rank weapons, they totaled fewer than twenty individuals. At this juncture, Su Yu could claim to be a master-rank weapon forger. Of course, having just entered the Profound rank, claiming so might be a bit shameless; someone like Zhao Li, however, had every right to. Su Yu continued grinding in the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, day after day. His injuries steadily improved. Weapon forging was itself a form of cultivation; when forging succeeded, it brought enlightenment and feedback. In particular, the moment he became a Profound-rank weapon forger, Su Yu's willpower tier directly stepped into peak tier two. At this moment, he could truly claim to have attained the peak of the Tengkong Realm in every sense. Divine characters, willpower, and divine apertures had all reached it. He was a bona fide ninth-stage Tengkong Realm Civilization Master! Without the slightest pretense! *** With Su Yu in closed-door recovery, Zhou Polong also entered seclusion, and Shan Xiong's party returned to Great Zhou Prefecture. At this point, external attention began to dissipate. Great Zhou Prefecture was quiet; Great Ming Prefecture was quiet. Only Great Xia Prefecture remained somewhat restless. With Bai Feng's return and the construction of the Multiple Divine Character College underway, most people turned their eyes back toward Great Xia Prefecture. Soon, it would be the new semester's recruitment. This time, Great Xia Prefecture seemed poised to recruit many students from powerful races, which also caused many people worry: was recruiting so many students from powerful races truly a good thing? The Multiple Divine Character College would also officially launch next semester. At this moment, many scions of prominent clans were already preparing to apply to Great Xia Civilization Academy, specifically to its Multiple Divine Character College! Other places had multiple divine character branches, but how could they compare to their birthplace in Great Xia Prefecture? Moreover, the Sun Moon Realm Hong Tan was present here. Other places lacked such multiple divine character Civilization Masters. Great Zhou Prefecture might have one—namely Zhou Polong—but he had entered seclusion, and it felt far more perilous over there than with Hong Tan, so not many chose that path. This period of transition lasted until the end of April. A full month had elapsed since the duel between Su Yu and Shan Xiong, and whatever needed to ferment had finished doing so. On the final day of the month, Su Yu emerged from the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao. Without lingering, he returned straight to the Primordial Spirit Research Institute. Meanwhile, Old Man Yun sneakily checked the records. Zhou Podao, 51st floor. Su Yu had spent nearly a month in the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao, entering more than 100 times and spending 20,000 merit points before finally ceasing his grind, which allowed Old Man Yun to breathe a sigh of relief. This kid was truly wealthy. The crux was that he didn't know whether Su Yu reached the 51st floor through martial prowess or something else. If it was an auxiliary field, that would be truly terrifying. Mid-grade Profound rank! Alchemy, talisman crafting, weapon forging—reaching this level, one was already a formidable expert.