Su Yu's furious curses still echoed through the void.
Outside the Calm Heart Spring, the armamentsmiths wore anxious expressions, and many glared furiously at General Zhang.
The lineage of armamentsmiths could not truly be considered a single unified faction, but because their numbers were so few, they remained remarkably united in order to preserve their status and importance.
If there were so few of them and they didn't stick together, did they intend to let people pen them up like livestock to do free labor?
From King Tianzhu on down, all armamentsmiths across the Human Realm were exceptionally united.
Without unity, they would have no status.
And without status, standing, or authority, what was the point of being an armamentsmith?
Right now, an armamentsmith on the verge of advancing to the Earth rank had their forging process disrupted. Even though Cui Lang was continuing to forge, everyone knew that if anything went awry during the process, it could easily end in failure.
Armament forging sometimes depended on luck.
If he failed this time, he might never find that flash of inspiration again.
General Zhang looked thoroughly displeased as well.
*Rotten luck!*
Yet he truly suspected Cui Lang. Over the past few days, he had tracked the clues all the way from Nanyuan. He had obtained the profiles of everyone present in Nanyuan that day, including the descendants of several Invincibles, though there were some individuals he had not yet investigated thoroughly.
Even so, he had managed to uncover a few clues over the past few days. Tracing the trajectory along which the blood aura spread following his son's murder, he had burned a considerable amount of his own bloodline essence to track it. After all, it had been his di son, and their bloodline connection was strong.
Tracking it all the way to the north of the Great Xia Prefecture, the aura had finally grown faint.
He deduced that the killer had very likely departed the Great Xia Prefecture and headed straight north.
And in recent days, not too many people had traveled north.
Well, actually, quite a few had.
Zhou Hongbo and his cohort had also traveled north to return to the Quest Realm.
Sealing off the Calm Heart Spring had merely been clinging to a slim glimmer of hope.
Yet as luck would have it, Cui Lang arrived right at this moment, and he happened to be one of the suspects on his list. How could he not be suspicious?
According to what he knew, this Cui Lang had arrived on that very day, and his son had died that night.
Although Cui Lang had an alibi, Civilization Masters possessed far too many tricks. Who knew what had really happened, or whether it had all been an illusion?
Therefore, he had rushed back. Just now, unable to restrain his impatience, he had wanted to enter and take a look, only to discover... the man truly was forging an armament, and at a critical juncture at that. Evidently, he had borrowed the Calm Heart Spring genuinely intending to advance to an Earth-rank armamentsmith.
Now look at what had happened: without any proof, he had disrupted an armamentsmith's work...
What a massive headache!
Deliberately interfering with an armamentsmith's advancement would make him ostracized by the entire dao of armamentsmiths. It might even provoke the disapproval of the sole Heaven-rank smith; King Tianzhu might learn of this and punish him.
Whether it was truly Cui Lang, he could not be sure.
Cui Lang had very little motive. If Cui Lang was not the killer of his son, he would have offended a whole group of people for nothing.
At this moment, General Zhang frowned and looked toward the Calm Heart Spring, filled with helplessness.
He sighed softly under his breath.
Regardless of whether it was him, finding evidence now would be very difficult. If it had been Cui Lang, there might have been a sliver of hope to uncover proof before he entered the spring, but by now the man had stayed inside for so long...
Breaking in earlier had merely been an act of momentary fury. In reality, it hadn't even been right away, so what good was entering?
Only now did General Zhang genuinely feel regret; the gains could never make up for the losses.
Meanwhile, outside the Calm Heart Spring, the void quivered as origin qi churned and boiled—not from a heavenly phenomenon, but from the armament forging. The weapon was absorbing massive quantities of origin qi, and by now, the origin qi inside the Calm Heart Spring was insufficient, requiring a gathering from the outside.
The Calm Heart Spring was never a particularly sturdy mystic realm to begin with.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been torn open by any Sunmoon expert at will.
By now, the barrier was flickering in and out of view.
Faintly, Su Yu could be seen.
Su Yu's shirt had shattered once again. Brandishing a massive hammer, he struck blow after blow as his willpower boiled and churned.
Faintly, his cursing could still be heard!
He was cursing like a madman!
This was no different from a cultivator attempting to break through to the Sunmoon Realm only to be interrupted halfway. Anyone in his shoes would go berserk.
To put it harshly, this was a mortal, irreconcilable enmity.
Opportunities like this didn't come every day!
If he failed to break through today, it might be years or even decades before he encountered such inspiration and fortune again, leaving him stuck at the peak of the Xuan rank.
*Boom!*
He kept forging!
The scene was not as grandiose as Zhao Li's had been, but the commotion was by no means small. Gradually, the barrier of the Calm Heart Spring showed signs of being battered through and shattered, and Su Yu's figure grew clearer and clearer.
Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth—he was spitting blood as he forged!
Su Yu could faintly see outside and hear the voices beyond. He felt a lingering sense of relief; thank goodness he had resolved the blood aura problem beforehand, or things truly would have been troublesome!
At this moment, his sea of will churned violently.
As for forging, frankly speaking, with sufficient strength, there was no such thing as failure. He wasn't relying on a fleeting spark of inspiration; Zhao Li had provided him with the foundation and confidence. As long as his strength was sufficient, he could forge an Earth armament.
*Forging an Earth armament would be best!*
Framing or taking revenge on this general while merely a Xuan-rank smith had little point, as Xuan-rank armamentsmiths didn't have exceptionally high status—at most comparable to the Shanhai Realm. Only an Earth-rank smith possessed the stature to stand as an equal with Sunmoon experts, or even scold a Sunmoon into silence.
If he succeeded, that would be ideal—he would brim with confidence!
If he failed... then it would be this general's fault.
*It's all your doing that I failed!*
Of course, even in failure, he had to make sure everyone knew that he would soon succeed and step into the Earth rank.
Earth armaments were weapons exclusive to the Shanhai and Sunmoon Realms.
Even a novice Earth-rank smith could craft cultural and martial weapons suited for high-stage Shanhai experts. Once they reached the high or peak Earth rank, Sunmoon experts would be begging them to craft weapons.
There might not even be more Earth-rank armamentsmiths than Invincibles.
In the entire Human Realm, there were only around fifty of them, and all the Shanhai and Sunmoon experts across the realm depended on these fifty-odd smiths to craft their armaments.
Inside the Calm Heart Spring.
Su Yu hammered repeatedly, though by now he was exhausted as well. His sea of will continued to churn, his willpower expanding. In the next moment, a surge of boundless willpower spilled outward!
*Boom!*
The barrier shuddered under the impact as the willpower spilled out, and General Zhang's expression shifted slightly.
*So strong!*
*He has stepped into the Lingyun Realm!*
That wasn't even the crucial part; rather, having just entered Lingyun, he already had the confidence to forge an Earth armament. This Cui Lang's willpower was exceedingly dense!
*"A 'Fire' divine character, and willpower comparable to Shanhai... Before stepping into Lingyun, he was merely at Tengkong, so he shouldn't have been this powerful, but he did possess that 'Fire' divine character. As for his physical body... it's hard to tell for now... but to withstand the rebound force, it can't be weak."*
The sun and moon revolved within his eyes as he looked toward Su Yu.
Now, because of Su Yu's breakthrough, suspicion rose faintly in his mind once more.
*He's too strong!*
Forging an Earth armament required not just experience and talent, but also raw cultivation. Without strength, how could anyone forge an Earth armament? Back when Zhao Li forged an Earth armament, he was already in late-stage Lingyun.
Cui Lang had only just entered Lingyun!
Yet the willpower leaking out just now seemed no weaker than that of an ordinary mid-stage Lingyun cultivator.
*"Could it be you?"*
General Zhang stared at Su Yu, sinking into deep thought. Evidence was gone now.
A ninth-stage Lingyun expert had also died that day. Could Cui Lang, who was only at ninth-stage Tengkong back then, have been capable of killing a ninth-stage Lingyun?
Why would he kill them?
All of these were questions.
His son had never met Cui Lang before.
Of course, it could have been someone else, like those individuals from the Quest Realm. As for why someone would murder his son, could his son have discovered news regarding the ancient relic?
Or was it the Xia family?
In short, all kinds of thoughts surged in General Zhang's mind at this moment.
Meanwhile, having broken through, Su Yu let out a low roar as his willpower surged violently. Seizing the momentum, he roared again—*Boom!*—his hammer blow shattering the barrier outright. Upon the cultural weapon, the seventy-first gold inscription formally took shape!
Outside, Master Chen clenched his fists, speaking nervously: "The seventy-first is done! If he can forge seventy-two, he actually has hope of forging seventy-three and officially advancing it to an Earth armament!"
Seventy-two inscriptions marked the peak of the Xuan rank.
Forging seventy-two gold inscriptions was generally beyond the reach of most peak Xuan-rank smiths. Doing so indicated that there was virtually no remaining bottleneck between this person and the Earth rank.
Seventy-two inscriptions could also be considered a semi-Earth armament, and such weapons were often even more popular than certain ordinary Earth armaments.
Of course, it could not compare to Zhao Li's weapon.
Zhao Li's weapon contained his own divine character, had undergone recastings, and possessed the fundamental basis of a Heaven armament prototype. Even if Su Yu crafted an Earth armament, it wouldn't be on the same level as that one, lagging behind by at least a small sub-rank.
Zhao Li's Earth armament had seventy-seven gold inscriptions originally, plus nine additional inscriptions; calculating its might at eighty-six inscriptions was no overestimation whatsoever.
"He must succeed!"
Several armamentsmiths clustered together, eyeing General Zhang with deep vigilance.
The city lord of Calm Heart Spring also quickly sent a voice transmission: "General Zhang, please, don't cause any more trouble right now! Whatever business you have, wait until it's over. Cui Lang is about to forge an Earth armament. The Great Jin Prefecture only has a single Earth-rank armamentsmith. If the Prefectural Lord finds out we nearly ruined a prospective Earth-rank smith... neither of us will be able to bear the consequences! And we won't be able to account for this to King Tianzhu, either!"
General Zhang's face darkened as he replied via transmission, "I understand that better than you!"
The city lord fell silent, cursing internally.
*Understand my ass!*
*If you understood, why did you cause trouble?*
*We lent out the Calm Heart Spring, and if he advanced, he would owe us a massive favor. It wasn't easy for me to bestow such a favor, and now you tore it all to pieces with that intrusion!*
*With that connection, even if we couldn't make him stay permanently, if he came to Jingxin City for a month or so each year to forge an Earth armament for someone, Jingxin City would quickly become far more prosperous.*
*You ruined it all!*
*Your son died, so go investigate! Could it really have been Cui Lang? Why on earth are you investigating him?!*
General Zhang knew people were cursing him in their heads, but he said nothing, watching in gloomy silence.
As for leaving... even if there was a misunderstanding, he had to wait until Cui Lang emerged to clear it up.
Leaving now would make this an irreconcilable feud.
After waiting nearly two more hours, Su Yu roared, driving the hammer down. *Boom!* He was sent flying by the rebound, smashing through the remnants of the barrier and hurtling straight out toward the crowd!
Master Chen was also a Shanhai realm expert; seeing this, he leaped into the air and caught Su Yu, tearing through the air and stumbling back several steps.
Blood spilled from Su Yu's mouth, dripping down drop by drop.
However, this blood... was not his. Su Yu was exceedingly cautious; after General Zhang tore open the barrier and stepped back earlier, Su Yu had taken some of the real Cui Lang's blood and held it in his mouth.
This was something Niu Baidao had taught him before departing.
Even if someone inspected it, they would find that this was indeed the real Cui Lang's blood.
Meanwhile, he would seal off the real Cui Lang's aura and tracks. Even if an Invincible rewound time, this was genuinely Cui Lang's blood. As for where the person was, with his aura sealed away, even an Invincible would find it hard to track him.
Seeing Su Yu bleed, General Zhang's heart indeed stirred.
Cui Lang's blood wasn't his son's, so he couldn't actually detect much from it.
However, having Cui Lang's blood might allow him to analyze a thing or two.
Throwing caution to the wind, he rushed forward, placing a hand on Su Yu with an apologetic expression: "Master Cui, my apologies. Earlier, in my agitation, I acted rashly without thinking..."
His fingers inadvertently touched a bit of the blood, and the blood vanished instantly, as though it had never existed.
Su Yu said nothing in return.
Ignoring him, Su Yu looked toward the hammer in midair. The seventy-second gold inscription had formed, but in the next instant, the seventy-two inscriptions dimmed slightly, and the hammer tumbled to the ground.
The forging... had concluded!
Moreover, even that seventy-second inscription was not entirely flawless because Su Yu had been thrown back.
Even so, Master Chen was overjoyed: "Seventy-two inscriptions succeeded—a semi-Earth armament! Next time you forge, Brother Cui has real hope of advancing directly..."
Yet Su Yu's face was dark as thunder.
He coughed and stood up, stepping forward to pick up the hammer. Turning to General Zhang, his face was terrifyingly grim.
"Cough... I had originally planned to seize the momentum of breaking through to Lingyun, when my willpower surged, to forge the seventy-third inscription. But after being startled, I was forced to rush my breakthrough ahead of time. In the end... my forging failed!"
Gritting his teeth, Su Yu casually tossed the hammer toward the crowd. "It's yours! Damn it, my Earth armament is ruined!"
He was furious!
The crowd, however, went mad!
A semi-Earth armament!
They were going insane!
Many lunged forward to grab the hammer. Even General Zhang and City Lord Liu's eyes flickered with desire—this was an extraordinary treasure!
*Fuck!*
*So damn willful!*
*Are armamentsmiths this capricious?*
*He's tossing aside a weapon of this caliber just like that?*
Although Cui Lang had said he would give away whatever he forged this time, he hadn't said he would give away something of this grade!
Su Yu sneered, saying coldly, "Had I truly advanced to the Earth rank, I would have given away an Earth armament just the same. What I needed was the breakthrough, not some weapon! General, aren't you going to offer me an explanation?"
General Zhang hurriedly said, "Master Cui, please don't misunderstand. Earlier, I..."
Su Yu cut him off with a cold harrumph. "The only reason I haven't gone berserk is because I know for certain that the next time I forge, I can step into the Earth rank! But that doesn't mean a casual 'misunderstanding' settles the matter!"
Master Chen didn't have time to worry about anything else, asking eagerly, "Brother Cui, can you truly forge an Earth armament? How about resting for a few days before trying again? Next time, I will invite a Sunmoon expert to act as Dao Protector for you! It was my oversight earlier—forging an Earth armament without a Sunmoon Dao Protector simply won't do!"
The crux was that he hadn't expected Cui Lang to forge an Earth armament right now!
Otherwise, he definitely would have arranged for Sunmoon protectors.
Even Zhao Li, who had forged within the Great Xia Prefecture, had multiple Sunmoon experts protecting his forging.
Su Yu wore an expression of suppressed rage and forced a smile: "Thank you, Brother Chen, but there's no need to trouble yourself. When I forge next time, I'll invite Sunmoon experts to back me up myself. This time, I've truly learned my lesson. Now I understand why everyone invites fellow daoists from all directions when forging. I was too young and suffered a bitter loss! Otherwise, with success, the feedback from an Earth armament might have propelled me straight into the second or third stage of Lingyun upon breakthrough... Now... it's all ruined!"
Master Chen was equally indignant, saying in a low voice, "What an absolute pity. Such an opportunity is truly rare! Crafting an Earth armament simultaneously with a cultivation breakthrough yields immense feedback. I see Brother Cui couldn't even advance his divine characters..."
Su Yu said helplessly, "Where was the time? In all that chaos, everything fell out of control!"
He looked thoroughly frustrated and furious!
The other armamentsmiths possessed lower status than a Sunmoon expert, but they too showed deep resentment and shared grief.
Sure, armamentsmiths lacked martial strength, but this went too far!
In the middle of a forging session, a Sunmoon expert had barged in to cause trouble!
In the crowd, a Shanhai expert snatched the hammer. Although others wanted to contest it, they gave up; breaking into a brawl here was ill-advised.
At this moment, that Shanhai was overjoyed. *What an insane profit!*
A semi-Earth armament!
Granted, it was a cultural weapon, not a martial weapon.
The burly man was a warrior, but if he sold this semi-Earth cultural weapon, trading it for an Earth martial weapon wouldn't be difficult in the slightest.
Ten merit points exchanged for a weapon worth tens of thousands of merit points—how could he not be thrilled?
Hearing the master smiths talking, the man chimed in eagerly: "Master Cui, next time you forge, though this general is not strong and merely in the Shanhai Realm, one word from you and I will come to protect your forging! I am from the Great Song Prefecture's Tianbo Army. Master, just say the word, and I'll be there whenever summoned!"
Su Yu cupped his hands, forcing a smile. "Thank you! I probably won't be in the mood anytime soon."
His displeasure was written all over his face!
General Zhang could only apologize at this point. Looking thoroughly embarrassed, he offered a placating smile: "Master Cui, I was in the wrong this time. My son died a wrongful death in the Great Xia Prefecture, and I've been distraught and confused these past days..."
Su Yu's expression shifted slightly. "You... my condolences!"
His face flickered as he added, "So that was it. I did hear some rumors earlier... Are you... Commander Zhang He of the Great Jin Prefectural Army?"
"It is I."
Zhang He wore a bitter smile. "I had just rushed back from the Great Xia Prefecture. Hearing that someone was washing away blood aura in the Calm Heart Spring, in my rashness, I didn't think things through and tore open the barrier. Zhang offers his sincere apologies to Master Cui once more!"
"So that was the reason!"
Su Yu nodded. "I thought... well, never mind. I thought you did it on purpose to sever my path of forging, or that you were sent by my cheap excuse for a grandfather. Seems it was a misunderstanding after all!"
"..."
The others were stunned. Cheap grandfather... Cheng Mo?
A chill ran down their spines—a mighty figure at the ninth stage of the Sunmoon Realm!
Right, Cui Lang was about to advance to the Earth rank. If that old man found out... he truly might come to drag him back.
If he had looked down on Cui Lang before, looking down on him now would mean Cheng Mo's standards were absurdly high—his granddaughter might as well never marry, because no one would qualify!
Zhang He also felt a chill in his heart!
He said hurriedly, "Master Cui, I have delayed your progress today. Will it affect you going forward? I shall compensate you for all losses! Next time you forge, I will serve as your Dao Protector, and today's situation will never occur again!"
If he had severed Cui Lang's path of forging, he would be completely finished; that would be a true blood feud!
Su Yu said nonchalantly, "It's fine. In truth, I didn't expect to successfully forge an Earth armament this time anyway. The Calm Heart Spring helped me immensely. After resting for a period and stabilizing my realm before forging again, the odds of success will be very high!"
At this point, Su Yu's voice turned icy: "However, while I sympathize with the General's grief over losing his son, if I let this slide without holding you accountable, it would make me look far too saintly! Even my fellow armamentsmiths would curse me as spineless! If having one's forging disrupted can just be brushed aside, then when other smiths encounter this in the future, people will say, 'Even Cui Lang didn't pursue the matter back then.' Wouldn't my peers curse me to death?"
Zhang He hurriedly replied, "That makes sense. I acted recklessly this time. Whether Master Cui wishes to beat or punish me, I will accept it!"
"You are a Sunmoon expert; beating and punishing is out of the question," Su Yu said calmly. "Compensate me with the materials for an Earth armament—I will write the list, and you will procure them! In addition, pay twenty thousand merit points as a token for emotional damages. My demands aren't high. Wealth is merely external. If we armamentsmiths are willing to humble ourselves and forge for others, we are never short on money. What I asked for isn't unreasonable, is it?"
Zhang He winced!
The materials for an Earth armament plus twenty thousand merit points came to no less than thirty to forty thousand merit points.
Was that not high?
It was extraordinarily high!
Yet compared to sabotaging an Earth-rank smith's advancement, this compensation truly wasn't exorbitant.
Thirty to forty thousand merit points... even as a Sunmoon expert, he would have to scrape it together from various places. Not all Sunmoon experts were wealthy; many had spent everything just to cultivate to this point and were dead broke. The wealthy ones were usually veteran Sunmoon experts who had been stuck at a bottleneck for ages.
"Master Cui's request is not excessive. Zhang has no objections!"
Zhang He felt the sting in his pocket, but kept his expression neutral. Settling the matter this way was the best possible outcome!
Su Yu then added indifferently, "Furthermore, why trouble a second party when one is already here? As it happens, I plan to visit the All-Heavens Battlefield soon. How about General Zhang escorts me there?"
"..."
Zhang He froze slightly. "Master Cui is going to the All-Heavens Battlefield?"
Master Chen also chimed in anxiously: "Brother Cui, what are you going to the battlefield for? It's very dangerous!"
*Why aren't you focusing on advancing your forging? Why run to the battlefield?*
Su Yu smiled. "A few things. First, to pay respects to King Tianzhu and seek some guidance."
"..."
Silence fell.
Then Master Chen nodded with an envious look: "Naturally, naturally! If Brother Cui goes, King Tianzhu will definitely grant you an audience, and perhaps he might even accept you as a disciple on the spot. You should indeed pay your respects!"
He had no qualifications to go!
Cui Lang, however, did!
A prospective Earth-rank armamentsmith—by the time he reached the battlefield, he might already be a full-fledged Earth-rank smith. King Tianzhu would undoubtedly be delighted to meet such a young Earth-rank smith.
Zhang He smiled as well, though his heart was troubled.
*Could Cui Lang feel that he can't do anything to me right now, so he's tricking me into going to the battlefield just to lodge a complaint before King Tianzhu?*
*This...*
He wanted to refuse, but at this moment, it was hard to speak up.
Never mind. Even if King Tianzhu reprimanded him, he was still a Sunmoon expert, after all. It had merely been an unintentional mishap, and he had paid compensation, so King Tianzhu wouldn't be overly harsh, right?
Su Yu looked at Master Chen and chuckled. "Paying respects to King Tianzhu is only one reason. Second, I also want to meet King Daming. If I truly advance... well, my original purpose in going to the All-Heavens Battlefield was to meet Lord King Daming..."
He looked helpless as he continued: "I... I need King Daming to warn that old man so that I can walk around freely outside. Otherwise, I'm always worried that as I walk along, I'll end up in the Great Tang Prefecture, dragged there to bow before the ancestors and wed that tigress..."
"Earlier, I didn't have much confidence, but once I reach the Earth rank, King Daming should be willing to grant me an audience! I must speak with him, and ideally meet King Datang as well so King Datang can help me out."
"..."
Everyone stood dumbfounded.
*Fuck!*
*You're truly that unwilling?!*
*Is the granddaughter of a ninth-stage Sunmoon expert really that awful?*
*You're heading to the All-Heavens Battlefield just to seek out Invincibles to warn Cheng Mo? You're something else!*
Seeing their dumbfounded stares, Su Yu said helplessly, "Everyone, don't look at me like that. It's not that I don't know what's good for me, but I'm still young, only thirty-five! I have a long life ahead of me—must I be tied down right now? That would be far too tragic! Even if I do marry, it should wait until I'm around fifty! I need to leave quickly, or if Director Cheng learns that I'm about to advance to the Earth rank, he'll come to capture me immediately. Everyone, even if news of my impending advancement spreads, please don't let it reach the Great Tang Prefecture right away. At least wait until I reach the All-Heavens Battlefield..."
Seeing his terrified look, everyone was completely speechless!
Hearing this, Zhang He relaxed significantly and said hurriedly, "That's no problem. Zhang will escort Master Cui to the All-Heavens Battlefield. However... if we run into Elder Cheng on the way... well, I am no match for Elder Cheng."
Su Yu gritted his teeth: "You disrupted my advancement. Even if you're no match, you have to hold him off for me! Otherwise, does General Zhang truly believe this matter ends so easily? What do a few tens of thousands of merit points matter to me! Do you think I asked you to be my Dao Protector out of fear of petty scoundrels? What I fear is Director Cheng capturing me!"
"..."
Now everyone understood completely!
Zhang He wore a helpless look. He finally grasped what Cui Lang meant—asking him to act as Dao Protector was purely to use him as a meat shield against Cheng Mo.
Would Cheng Mo come?
The moment he came out of secluded cultivation and heard the news, he would come, a hundred percent!
He... might be in for some trouble.
He was only at the third stage of Sunmoon, while the other party was at the ninth stage. Of course, this wasn't a fight to the death, but even if he managed to stall him, he would probably take a beating. He would definitely suffer a bit!
"Master Cui... this request of yours..." Zhang He said bitterly. "Very well. It was my fault this time. I will do my best to hold back Elder Cheng for you."
"Not 'do your best'—you must!" Su Yu said bluntly. "General Zhang, if I get caught, I'll tell Director Cheng that I can't advance to the Earth rank anymore, and that it's all your doing. You're my inner demon, and unless you die, I can never advance!"
"..."
Ruthless!
Zhang He's cheek twitched!
Would Cheng Mo kill him?
Not likely, nor would he dare—Zhang He was a Sunmoon expert, after all.
But giving him a brutal thrashing until Cui Lang was satisfied? That was extremely probable! Even the Great Jin Prefecture would have nothing to say; after all, you had disrupted an armamentsmith's advancement, so you should be glad your life was spared! You'd even have to thank them for not making more trouble!
"I will... give it my all to escort Master Cui into the All-Heavens Battlefield!"
Only then did Su Yu nod in satisfaction: "Good. As long as you escort me to the All-Heavens Battlefield, today's matter is settled! My hopes won't be dashed either, or I truly wouldn't know how to resolve this grudge with you. Better to resolve enmities than cultivate them. My teacher told me that when traveling abroad, suffering a small loss is nothing."
*Suffering a loss?*
Zhang He felt utterly helpless—he was the one suffering the real loss here.
Furthermore, the murderer of his son... frankly, Cui Lang had not been entirely cleared of suspicion even now.
Whenever he thought that Cui Lang might be the killer... surely not. If he were truly the killer, how could he be bold enough to have him escort him to the All-Heavens Battlefield? He would be itching to stay as far away as possible.
At this moment, Zhang He wasn't sure anymore, but Cui Lang's suspicion was indeed greatly reduced.
He didn't bring up his son again, but Su Yu took the initiative: "General Zhang, was your son named Zhang Heng?"
"Yes."
Zhang He said with a bitter look, "He was my only son. I only had him when I was past a hundred years old... Sigh, the white-haired burying the black-haired..."
"Master Cui seemed to be in Nanyuan City that day as well. Did you happen to see anything?"
He probed once more. Su Yu shook his head: "Didn't see much. I was getting a foot massage at a club with someone, and only found out later. But I think General Zhang should keep a bit of hope. Maybe he didn't die and simply entered the relic! When he comes out again, he might be a Sunmoon or an Invincible!"
Su Yu comforted him: "That place is mysterious. I know Su Yu too; to say his talent is overwhelmingly formidable isn't really true, yet even Shan Xiong lost to him. In my view, it's all thanks to that relic. Look on the bright side!"
"May your words come true, Master Cui!"
Zhang He held no hope. His senses told him his son was almost certainly dead.
Entering the relic was nothing more than self-delusion.
Seeing Zhang He's bitter look, Su Yu chuckled and said, "I'm not trying to poke at your sore spots—that would be pointless. I don't have many skills, and forging armaments is merely a hobby. My true calling is... hehe, you all know."
Su Yu narrowed his eyes with a grin: "General Zhang's single child wasn't because you didn't want more, but because your primordial essence is too dense, making it difficult to conceive. That's a trivial matter! I know a cultivation art called the Essence Stimulation Art... Hehe, back in the day, I went through dozens in a single night... Cough, cough, there are women present, so I won't go into detail. Once General Zhang learns it, you'll have a horde of sons and daughters in a few years, though your strength might dip slightly!"
Su Yu smirked cheekily: "There's also an Essence Consolidation Art. In all my years wandering the world, the reason I haven't ended up with a horde of children everywhere is thanks to the effects of this art. It was also taught to me by my shameless old teacher. My teacher is even more profligate than I am, yet do you see any illegitimate descendants of his wandering about?"
Su Yu smiled mischievously. "General Zhang, to put it bluntly, if he's truly gone, you'd better hurry and make a few more. Sunmoon experts live long lives, and you're not that old, General. In a dozen years, another fine young man will have grown up!"
Zhang He paused, looking around. Seeing everyone staring at him, he felt awkward, but swiftly sent a voice transmission: "Master Cui, are you speaking the truth? I am in the Sunmoon Realm; my primordial essence is solidly locked, so it should be exceedingly difficult, no?"
Su Yu, however, didn't bother using transmission, saying with a broad grin, "Trust me. Forget Sunmoon—even Invincibles... cough, cough, haven't tested that, but Sunmoon definitely works!"
Zhang He seemed to let out a sigh of relief, no longer minding the strange looks from everyone. He spoke aloud this time: "Master Cui, we can discuss this thoroughly on the road."
What Cui Lang said made sense. If his son was truly dead, what good would killing the culprit do?
He had to hurry and have a few more!
It was just that because of his great strength, siring offspring was difficult. If he could smoothly father a few more, then... life had to go on. He was in the Sunmoon Realm and had many years left to live.
Not just him—at this moment, even City Lord Liu couldn't help chiming in: "Master Cui, what about us... can we..."
"Not for outsiders!"
Su Yu chuckled. "This is an ultimate secret art, strictly not for public dissemination. The only reason I'm passing it to General Zhang is... honestly, a sudden surge of sympathy. Also, without sufficient strength, dispersing your essence will cause your cultivation to drop, so it can't be taught recklessly. If some Invincible wanted to learn it and suffered a drop in strength, the other Invincibles would hack me to death!"
Su Yu smiled. "Alright, enough of this!"
With that, he brought out a Xuan armament, thought for a moment, and retrieved another one—both forged during this session. He looked at City Lord Liu: "I've troubled City Lord this time. As I said, borrowing the Calm Heart Spring comes with a price. These aren't anything special, just two Xuan armaments with sixty-some gold inscriptions—total junk. I'll gift them to City Lord to play around with."
"..."
Two peak Xuan-rank weapons—and he called them trinkets!
One had to know that the city lord himself only used a Xuan armament, also at the peak.
Most Shanhai experts used Xuan armaments.
Only upon reaching the seventh stage of Shanhai did one have a good chance of procuring an Earth armament.
City Lord Liu didn't feign modesty this time, accepting the weapons very politely. Such deep pockets! Armamentsmiths truly were different. The cost of materials wasn't particularly high—for peak Xuan rank, materials ran around one to two thousand merit points.
But when sold, the price was an entirely different story!
Su Yu soon turned to Master Chen and the other armamentsmiths, smiling: "I've troubled my fellow daoists this time. Tonight, I will discuss the dao of forging with you all, and tomorrow morning I must depart!"
With deep regret, he added, "I actually wanted to stay a few days longer and forge once more at the Calm Heart Spring to produce a true Earth armament. But... I can't stay. With so many people present, some bastards from the Great Tang Prefecture might have already sent word back. If Old Cheng comes to catch me, I'll be in deep trouble! I have to leave as soon as possible!"
Around the area, several people looked sheepish.
As if they had been caught red-handed!
Someone truly had sent a message!
*Fuck!*
*An Earth-rank armamentsmith! Old Director Cheng, hurry and drag him back! Once he's caught and brought back, the Great Tang Prefecture will have another Earth-rank armamentsmith, and forging armaments will be so much easier for us!*
Master Chen and the others knew the situation as well, caught between laughter and tears.
"Then many thanks, Brother Cui!"
Cui Lang discussing the dao of forging with them meant he would likely impart his personal insights. A prospective Earth-rank smith sharing such things would be beneficial to all of them.
This was a favor, so naturally they had to express their gratitude.
Su Yu smiled. "A small matter. I've troubled everyone to act as my Dao Protectors this time, and Brother Chen helped me secure the Calm Heart Spring—that was a tremendous help!"
Having said that, he turned to Zhang He and said with a smile, "General Zhang, I won't leave tonight. I'll discuss the dao until tomorrow morning. At first light, we must set out. General, go handle whatever you need to, and it's best to prepare two powerful demon beasts with fast speed so we can flee early. The Great Tang Prefecture is still some distance away."
Zhang He was anxious as well—he wanted to learn that Essence Stimulation Art.
The sooner he learned it, the better. Moreover, sending Cui Lang off as quickly as possible was best to avoid actually being overtaken, which would be troublesome.
"Good, I will prepare immediately and come pick up Master Cui tomorrow morning!"
"Thank you!"
Su Yu chuckled and departed with the armamentsmiths.
Meanwhile, discussions buzzed incessantly among the crowd.
"Another Earth-rank armamentsmith is about to emerge!"
"Indeed. General Zhang was quite lucky; he picked the wrong target this time, but the man didn't make a fuss. Otherwise, whether it was Principal Niu, Director Cheng, or even King Tianzhu... tsk tsk, if they made trouble, General Zhang would have suffered horribly!"
"He simply couldn't be bothered to pursue it and wanted to leave early. How enviable! The granddaughter of a ninth-stage Sunmoon powerhouse is throwing herself at him, yet he treats her like a tigress! If it were me, I'd crawl all the way to the Great Tang Prefecture!"
"That's why he's a big shot and you're a nobody. If Master Cui becomes a Heaven-rank smith in the future, even the daughter of an Invincible... cough cough, never mind. At that time, his status would be so exalted that even a ninth-stage Sunmoon might not compare!"
"A Heaven-rank smith... so envious! By the way, did anyone from the Great Tang Prefecture send a transmission back? I'd love to watch the drama!"
"Of course there are! Look at Old Zhang, sneaking around like that—he probably sent one back long ago!"
"Nonsense! I did no such thing!"
"Hah, if it were me, I'd send one too. Drag him back! With his deep pockets, having him forge weapons later might be free, done at his leisure—how great would that be?"
"Exactly! We just don't have an excuse to grab him, or we'd inform people to do it too. Master Cui slept with Director Cheng's granddaughter—how can he not take responsibility? He must be caught! Once he's caught and dragged back, we can go to the Great Tang Prefecture to forge weapons in the future. Armamentsmiths nowadays are harder and harder to meet, but if he's dragged back, at least there'll be a fixed address!"
"..."
Everyone laughed and joked, wishing for nothing more than for Cui Lang to be captured.
...
Meanwhile.
The news spread with lightning speed.
Cui Lang had forged an armament with seventy-two gold inscriptions in the Calm Heart Spring, falling just shy of crafting an Earth armament because of Zhang He's disruption from the Great Jin Prefecture. However, there was reliable news that his next attempt at forging an Earth armament was practically guaranteed!
In an instant, the name of Cui Lang resonated far and wide.
A thirty-five-year-old Earth-rank smith!
That seemed even faster than Zhao Tianbing!
...
Great Ming Prefecture.
Yuexin Island.
Niu Baidao received the news. Looking at "Su Yu," who was out for some fresh air today, he bared his teeth after a long silence: "Cui Lang, forged an armament with seventy-two gold inscriptions, on the verge of advancing to Earth-rank armamentsmith, famous throughout the Human Realm! Stepped into the Lingyun Realm..."
"Su Yu's" mouth fell wide open. After quite a while, he gave a dry chuckle: "Um, that... I... I don't want to stay in secluded cultivation anymore, can I?"
"No!"
Niu Baidao said sympathetically, "Don't worry. Once he settles everything, you'll be fine. Still... your fame is truly immense now!"
The real Cui Lang was on the verge of tears!
*I'm Earth-rank now?*
*I'm only at the Yellow rank, dammit, and you've made me into an Earth-rank smith! Before this identity problem is resolved, I can never step outside again!*
*Otherwise, it'll be disaster!*
...
At that exact same time.
Great Tang Prefecture.
In a sprawling manor, the Great Tang Prefectural Lord paid a personal visit, calling out loudly: "Elder Cheng, I trouble you to emerge from secluded cultivation to capture someone. That grandson-in-law of yours is about to advance to an Earth-rank armamentsmith. A joyous occasion worthy of congratulations!"
A moment later, an old man appeared, frowning: "What grandson-in-law?"
"Cui Lang! Tonight in the Great Jin Prefecture, he forged an armament with seventy-two gold inscriptions. If not for someone disrupting him, he would already be a certified Earth-rank armamentsmith!"
"Cui Lang?"
The old man murmured, "Someone disrupted him?"
In the next instant, the old man tore through the sky, roaring with fury: "Insolence! How dare anyone disrupt my grandson-in-law's forging! Watch me slay him!"
"..."
The Great Tang Prefectural Lord burst into hearty laughter. *Just a moment ago he refused to acknowledge him, and now he's his grandson-in-law!*
"Hurry, Elder Cheng, lest he slip away!"
"Rest assured!"
The old man shattered the void and vanished in a flash. *Grandson-in-law, this old man is coming to avenge you!*
Chapter 351