Holding a Grudge

Clang! Clang! Clang! Inside the Armament Forging Hall, sweat poured off Su Yu like rain as he silently helped Eldest Uncle Liu repair the Earth armament. An expert must have forged this Earth armament back in the day; its quality was superb. Even though it had sustained severe damage, its foundation remained intact, though repairing it was no small feat. Su Yu threw himself into the work. Beside him, Liu Wenyan watched in silence, a myriad of thoughts swirling through his mind. Neither master nor disciple spoke, letting silence hang between them. Just like old times, it felt as though they had returned to those days when Su Yu was engrossed in study while Liu Wenyan quietly watched over him. Yet things were not quite the same. Back then, whenever Su Yu encountered a difficult problem, he could ask Liu Wenyan for guidance; today, even if Su Yu asked him about armament forging, Liu Wenyan would have no answers to give. Time slipped by, and one inscription after another lit up along the damaged Earth armament. Seventy-three, seventy-four... Repairing was simpler than forging from scratch. In the blink of an eye, eighty-one inscriptions shone bright. A mid-rank Earth armament possessed eighty-one inscriptions or more, but once Su Yu reached this point, he halted his hammer. "This is the best I can do. I'm afraid attempting a full restoration might destroy it completely. For now, it's barely restored to the peak of low-rank Earth armament." Su Yu tossed the weapon to Eldest Uncle Liu and said indifferently, "If the two of you can wait, you can come back after I officially advance to Earth armamentsmith and have forged a few Earth armaments. Then I'll fully restore this weapon for you." Eldest Uncle Liu caressed the longsword, feeling the formidable power coursing through it. It was far stronger than before. Su Yu's forging skills were truly extraordinary. Eldest Uncle Liu nodded slightly. "This is already wonderful. I am only in the Shanhai Realm right now; if it were truly restored to mid-rank Earth grade, it would actually be somewhat unwieldy for me. Thank you... Master Cui!" Su Yu replied calmly, "You're welcome! But remember our agreement: if I ever need help, the two of you must come without delay. No problem with that, right?" Eldest Uncle Liu was taken aback for a second, but Liu Wenyan understood what he meant and nodded. "No problem at all. My uncle and I are not convicts of the Vanguard Camp. If we wish to leave, we can depart at any time." Su Yu nodded slightly and said nonchalantly, "I know that. To have your sentences commuted, that good-for-nothing disciple of yours, Su Yu, went and offended the Great Xia Prefecture through and through. Brother Liu, be sure to keep your disciple's kindness in mind, and don't spend all your days cursing his name!" "..." Liu Wenyan screamed internally in exasperation! You little brat, praising yourself to your own face like that—you really have no shame, do you? Putting the subject aside, Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "Master Cui, you've helped everyone repair their weapons this time. Although the Vanguard Camp is full of bloodthirsty killers, they believe in repaying kindness. Out on the All-Heavens Battlefield, if you ever run into trouble, you can seek us out at any time. If we can't handle it, you can turn to General Cao and the others as well." He was offering a word of caution. Su Yu nodded with a smile. "Understood. No need to say more." Liu Wenyan looked at him once more, took a soft breath, and said, "Then we shall take our leave!" "Next!" Su Yu kept his head down, refusing to look at him. Neither Liu Wenyan nor Eldest Uncle Liu lingered, quietly exiting the room. The next person came in, immediately buttering him up: "Master Cui is incredible! You can even repair Earth armaments! Master..." "Save the chatter. You won't get a single coin off!" The newcomer looked embarrassed and swallowed his flattery, taking out his weapon for Su Yu to begin repairs. ... Vanguard Camp, the commander-in-chief's tent. General Cao looked around at the officers assembled beneath him. Having shed his black armor, his somewhat pale face was revealed. He looked very young, his expression stern and cold. Looking about, General Cao said flatly, "These past days, the Vanguard Army has suffered catastrophic casualties. General Qin went to the headquarters to request reinforcements and has not yet returned. I fear reinforcements will be hard to come by." Below, a woman with a scar running across her face sneered. "Headquarters would like nothing more than for all of us to drop dead so they can wash their hands of it. Why would they send reinforcements? General Qin is only humiliating himself!" She looked grim and ruthless, her words devoid of any goodwill toward the headquarters. She added coldly, "We don't need their rescue. We'll fight! Fight to the death! We're all sinners anyway—dead here, dead there, what's the difference?" General Cao glanced at her and said calmly, "As deputy commander, I still hope some of our people can return alive. Return alive to the Human Realm, living... living free of guilt, living with clean names!" General Cao looked at the crowd and continued, "I have submitted a petition to headquarters. Seeing as the fighting is ferocious and never-ending, all sentences should be cut in half, and our stipends increased by thirty percent..." At those words, Hong Du, who stood beside the scarred woman, spoke up: "General, will the higher-ups agree?" General Cao was silent for a moment before replying solemnly, "They will! If they refuse, they are sending the entire Vanguard Army to die. If death is guaranteed sooner or later, there would be no reason to keep fighting. There are still brothers who wish to return alive!" Having said that, General Cao moved on, saying in a heavy voice, "Right now, we need support—Earth armamentsmiths, alchemists, divine talisman masters, beast tamers... All of these are in direly short supply." "Didn't we drag back a quasi-Earth armamentsmith?" The scarred woman suddenly grinned, the scar on her face twisting like a sprawling centipede, giving her a sinister look. "The fellow is young and full of potential. It's only a matter of time before he becomes an Earth armamentsmith. Just keep him here!" General Cao shook his head. "We cannot force him to stay. He has several Sunmoons backing him. Forcing him would only breed enmity—there is no need." He did not dwell on Su Yu, continuing, "These matters were merely incidental to calling you all here. The real key lies elsewhere. Currently, many geniuses from the Human Realm have entered the All-Heavens Battlefield. Likewise, across the East Rift Valley on the Desire Sea Plain, a massive number of geniuses from the various races have gathered." He stated gravely, "Headquarters wants us to hold the East Rift Valley firmly. Some of our geniuses may cross the rift to take part in this hunt against the myriad races' geniuses. We are their lifeline, a defense line that will allow our geniuses to fall back swiftly into human territory." At this, the woman sneered coldly, "That old trick again! It's always like this! For the sake of those so-called geniuses, some idiot inevitably provokes a powerful foe, can't handle the mess they made, and comes scurrying back to the East Rift Valley. Countless experts from the Vanguard Army have died fighting for those pampered geniuses! "Why is it always us who have to wipe their asses?" The woman fumed, but General Cao said softly, "It's an order. In the eyes of the higher-ups, all of us combined might not be worth as much as a handful of geniuses. Stop complaining! Orders are orders! I only hope those brats don't stir up too much trouble, and more importantly, that they hunt down more geniuses of the myriad races over there instead of being hunted themselves." "Tch!" The woman scoffed. "Whatever! It'd be best if they died outside the East Rift Valley—then it'll have nothing to do with us!" General Cao said nothing more, giving a few final instructions before dismissing them. Once everyone had left, he kept Hong Du behind. After contemplating for a moment, he asked, "That Cui Lang—he was planning to cross the East Rift Valley earlier?" "Yes." "Give him a warning. It hasn't been peaceful over there lately, quite unlike previous years." General Cao chose to add, "Over the past two days, he has repaired more than a dozen high-grade armaments for us without asking for much in return. Warn him. If he insists on going... give him a detailed map of the Desire Sea Plain, along with a list of the geniuses from the myriad races who might cross over." "Understood!" General Cao thought it over and added, "Give him the coordinates of a few rescue points. If he runs into trouble, he can seek help there. The Vanguard Army does not owe favors!" "Sir!" Hong Du acknowledged the order, then asked, "General, shouldn't we try to dissuade Cui Lang?" "No need. Geniuses are always wild and untamable. Only by taking a beating will he learn that the All-Heavens Battlefield is not a place for making a name for oneself, but a burial ground." General Cao spoke casually, concluding, "Tomorrow will be his last day before departing. Have him repair a few more weapons. Doesn't he like essence blood? We still have plenty of powerful racial essence blood in the vault. Send it all to him and have him forge through the night!" "Sir!" Hong Du quickly withdrew. ... Soon, Su Yu received a batch of essence blood delivered by Hong Du. Originally, he hadn't planned on forging at night. But alas, they simply offered too much—and Su Yu had never used some of these varieties before. His eyes gleamed with covetous greed. With so much given, he chose to forge through the night after all. Working the night shift! One weapon after another was repaired beneath his hands. During this time, small-scale skirmishes broke out around the East Rift Valley, but Su Yu ignored them entirely. He also learned about the geniuses crossing the border and gathering on the Desire Sea Plain across the rift; many human geniuses had crossed the East Rift Valley and were advancing in that direction as well. "The more geniuses there are, the more fun it'll be!" Su Yu pondered this as he forged. As for Hong Du's warning and the rescue points provided, Su Yu committed them all to memory without making a fuss. If he truly ran into a formidable enemy, he might very well need to call for help. ... He spent three full days forging, repairing most of the Vanguard Camp's weapons that needed mending. On the third night. Instead of leaving, Su Yu began forging an armament for himself. He wanted to forge himself a pair of Earth-rank boots, and preferably comprehend a speed-type divine character or something similar before heading out. At this point, he stopped repairing weapons for others. Days of relentless repairs had deepened his comprehension of the Dao of armament forging. His "Shock" character and the Mind Expansion Hammer had both made notable progress. The forging began; Su Yu worked entirely alone. Throughout the night, ringing clangs sounded without pause. No one came to disturb him. Su Yu had stated that he would no longer repair weapons for others as he needed to forge his own armament, and disturbing an armamentsmith while forging was clearly an unwise choice. By the time the sky grew pale, Su Yu was exhausted. The boots before him already displayed seventy-two golden lines. "Even if I succeed in forging an Earth armament right now, it would be complete junk and consume too much energy. Maybe... I can try forging seventy-two and a half inscriptions to make a semi-Earth armament. The energy cost would be lower, and the difference wouldn't be that great." Su Yu calculated in his mind. Yet such semi-Earth armaments were sometimes even harder to forge than genuine Earth armaments. Still, Su Yu possessed some experience, as Zhao Li had forged just such a semi-Earth armament years ago. Last time Zhao Li forged an armament, Su Yu had watched from beginning to end. If he could pull it off, his forging skills would catch up to Zhao Li's level back when his master forged that Earth armament. ... After working for quite a while longer, until daylight fully broke, the pair of boots was completed. There were not seventy-three golden lines, only seventy-two, though a faint outline of the seventy-third was visible. It was vastly superior to ordinary peak Mystic-rank equipment. Su Yu swiftly refined the boots, and a pair of tall boots appeared on his feet. With a shift of his body, he moved at blinding speed. At least thirty percent faster than before! Su Yu was secretly overjoyed. As for not forging a full Earth armament, that didn't matter. If he truly forged an Earth armament, using it would be troublesome and overly exhausting at his current level. Thirty percent faster! At this speed, even without relying on divine characters or Time, he was no slower than some at the seventh stage of Lingyun. Coupled with Time, he might even measure up against the Shanhai Realm. It would be even better if he could outline a "Fast" character or a spatial character. Unfortunately, up to now, Su Yu had only outlined a "Slow" character. "Seems it's already July." Today appeared to be July first. He had been on the All-Heavens Battlefield for some time, yet had not even stepped outside the East Rift Valley. That wouldn't do. "Time to go!" He had seen his father, seen his teacher, and finished forging his weapon... Except for his divine character goals, everything else had been accomplished. Now was the moment to step outside the East Rift Valley and experience the real All-Heavens Battlefield. ... Outside the Vanguard Camp. "Master Cui, are you truly heading to the Desire Sea Plain?" Hong Du looked both regretful and worried—regretful that they couldn't keep him, and worried that if he died out there, it would be difficult to find someone to repair their weapons in the future. "Yes." Su Yu chuckled. "Just a minor matter. I'm only going to look for a few materials..." "How about we send men to find them while Master Cui rests here?" "You lot?" Su Yu said indifferently, "Forget it. You're fine at killing people, but when it comes to finding materials, you're hopeless! I've checked—the Desire Sea Plain has what I need." "Master Cui, it really is dangerous over there right now!" Hong Du urged again, "Just last night, scouts from the Vanguard Army sent word that over the past few days, several names were crossed off the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's Yellow Ranking. Moreover, Master Cui has also been placed on the Yellow Ranking." "I made the Yellow Ranking?" Thinking he was frightened, Hong Du hurried to say, "Yes, Master Cui has been listed on the Yellow Ranking—in the very last spot." "Looking down on me?" Su Yu looked thoroughly annoyed. Hong Du was dumbfounded. You actually wanted to be on the list? Su Yu scoffed. "Last place... Got it. I'm off!" Leaving no room for further discussion, he stepped into the air and flew away. Ahead lay the colossal East Rift Valley, and behind it, the massive East Rift Mountain Range. Crossing this gorge meant leaving the human sphere of influence. "Master Cui..." Hong Du watched him leave, feeling helpless. He moved so quickly. You're just an armamentsmith, yet you really insist on going—aren't you afraid of dying? Do you really think being newly entered into the Lingyun Realm makes you hot stuff? If someone like you runs into a genius Tengkong, killing you across cultivation realms wouldn't be hard at all. Moments later, General Cao appeared where Hong Du stood. "General!" Hong Du said hastily, "He wouldn't listen to advice and left in a hurry. General, I couldn't stop him." General Cao gave a slight nod, looking toward the direction Su Yu had vanished. After a brief pause, he said, "Let him go. I saw no fear or worry in him; rather, he seemed eager to try his luck. Perhaps he has real skill." With that, he dismissed the topic of Su Yu and bellowed, "All troops on high alert! Do not let the enemy cross the East Rift Valley!" Behind them, within the Vanguard Army camp, one powerhouse after another soared into the air, taking their stations. In the coming days, they would likely face another major battle. The Desire Sea Plain was in utter chaos as geniuses from various races fell, and the Dao Protectors of some slain geniuses were now rampaging, seeking mad vengeance. Over there, complete turmoil reigned. They had to prevent the chaos from spilling over into the Human Realm. ... Meanwhile, Su Yu wore an utterly relaxed expression. He had finally left the human sphere of influence! Within human territory, things were honestly suffocating; he didn't dare go all out. Furthermore, there were people he couldn't kill. Across the East Rift Valley, however, anyone could be killed. As long as you didn't know them, they were fair game. Even if you killed them, no one would necessarily come looking for trouble. This place was a hunting ground for geniuses. No matter who died, it wouldn't surprise anyone. A massive mountain range stretched across his vision. Once past these peaks lay the Desire Sea Plain. As he flew, a figure shot past in the distance at tremendous speed, vanishing in a flash. Su Yu paid no mind, but a moment later, the figure suddenly halted, circled back, and a young man stared at Su Yu with a peculiar look. "Great Ming Prefecture's Cui Lang?" Su Yu glanced at him. Not recognizing the man, he gave a slight nod. "An armamentsmith dares come here? Courting death, are you?" The young man shook his head. "Head back while you still can! Take it easy! The Desire Sea Plain has been in absolute chaos these past two days. Even the Great Xia Prefecture's Huang Teng is fleeing everywhere under hot pursuit, and Great Xia's Wu Qi was nearly cut down! An armamentsmith newly entered into the Lingyun Realm dares show his face here?" Su Yu's heart stirred. "Huang Teng and Wu Qi? Those two are quite strong, aren't they? They came here too, and are being hunted?" "That's right. Back then, to break through to Tengkong, Wu Qi literally tore a Demon Race genius to death with her teeth. Now, that fellow's older brother brought people to avenge him. They've fought several bitter battles on the Desire Sea Plain..." The young man said briskly, "I'm heading over to see how it's going. Cui Lang, you'd best leave this place as soon as you can. I won't waste any more time on you!" With that, the young man vanished in a flash. Su Yu called after him, "Who might you be?" "Great Song Prefecture's Song Yi!" Su Yu said nothing more. He knew of this person—a genius from the Great Song Prefecture and someone on the Four Rankings. It seemed he was going to join in the commotion. Wu Qi, Huang Teng? Su Yu was somewhat surprised to hear about those two the moment he arrived. From the Great Xia Prefecture, he had heard Huang Teng's name countless times. The guy was ranked number one on the Earth Ranking! Yet even he had run into trouble and was being hunted down. This place truly was perilous. Even now, Su Yu wouldn't dare claim a hundred percent certainty of beating Huang Teng. Of course, losing... having never fought, Su Yu didn't believe he was necessarily inferior either. He flew forward for dozens of li. Once he crossed the mountain range, a brand-new vista unfolded before his eyes. A boundless plain! Beyond the East Rift Mountain lay an endless expanse of flatland. In the distance, faint silhouettes of cities and towns could be seen, though he had no idea who lived in them. He did have a map, but it didn't detail the origins of these cities and towns. Hong Du had only warned Su Yu that some cities served as resting spots where one could take shelter in times of danger, though cities also harbored great peril, so he shouldn't enter recklessly. "The Desire Sea Plain!" Su Yu sampled the air. The origin qi here was extraordinarily dense; cultivating in this place was far superior to cultivating in the Human Realm. "This is no longer human territory!" As the thought crossed his mind, a massive flying yaoguai rapidly approached from the distance. The next moment, atop the beast, a figure encased in blood-red armor swept their willpower toward him. Su Yu frowned slightly. The armored figure swept an eye over him and spoke in the All-Heavens Common Tongue: "Human? First time here? Human brat, you've been commandeered! From this moment on, you are a captive of Tianmie City!" Su Yu stood dumbfounded. What's going on? I just stepped into the world, and already I'm your captive? This fellow's strength was not weak, seemingly at the seventh stage of the Lingyun Realm, and the flying yaoguai beneath him was also in the Lingyun Realm. Su Yu wasn't particularly worried, only puzzled: "Tianmie City? I've read some records. Tianmie City is on the western side of the Desire Sea Plain, near the central war zone. You came all the way here to take captives?" The armored figure said coldly, "Brat, didn't human experts teach you that here, you must respect the strong and obey the rules of this place? Here, even the Eternal experts of the human race cannot interfere! You are my captive! Get over here at once..." Su Yu found it strange. Tianmie City did exist, but why capture someone the moment you met? "What use do you have for captives?" "Do you want to die?" Bang! No sooner had the words left his mouth than Su Yu vanished. A hammer smashed down with a deafening boom. The armored figure disappeared from where he stood, while the giant flying bird beneath him was hammered senseless! With a heavy crash, it plummeted downward! Not far away, the armored figure was shocked. What insolence! And what terrifying strength! Su Yu sent the bird crashing with a single strike, looking at the figure with a strange glint in his eyes. "What race are you? You run pretty fast." "Arrogant!" The armored figure barked and vanished from his spot. Su Yu shifted his feet, and the ground where he had just stood erupted in an explosion. Just as he stepped back a few paces, Su Yu sensed imminent danger and snapped his head to the side. Pfft! A steel barb grazed past his ear, accompanied by a sharp hiss as a potent corrosive power surged forth. The armored figure completely vanished. In the blink of an eye, Su Yu felt a wave of dizziness. Poison! Holy shit! I just got here, and I've already run into an expert? No—are all the people around here this strong? He feels formidable! Is this guy a warrior? He has quite a few tricks up his sleeve! Su Yu swung his great hammer in a sweeping arc, and with a thunderous roar, smashed the armored figure right out of hiding! On the Sensing Jade, the fellow couldn't hide from him. Just as he struck him out of concealment and prepared to deliver a lethal blow, his vision blurred—an illusion! "A Civilization Master?" Su Yu was startled. Did I run into a Civilization Master right off the bat? His "Blood" divine character flared, instantly shattering the illusion. "Huh?" The armored figure was alarmed. He broke through that too? The next moment, the armored figure refused to tangle any further and swiftly fled into the distance. It wasn't that he conceded defeat, but rather that there was no need to get bogged down fighting an expert here, lest someone else reap the spoils. He had initially assumed this human was ordinary and weak, but who could have guessed how formidable the opponent actually was? The armored figure had no desire for a fight to the death. Su Yu frowned and wanted to give chase, but the Sensing Jade began to flicker. Cursing under his breath, Su Yu swiftly vanished into the sky and departed. ... A moment later. Su Yu materialized somewhere else, cursing softly, "Am I that weak?" He had only just arrived and already hit a minor snag. The other party was probably only at the seventh stage of Lingyun, yet in their brief clash, Su Yu hadn't gained much of an upper hand and had even suffered a slight disadvantage. Was he really too weak? Were the people on the All-Heavens Battlefield all this powerful? ... Meanwhile. Not far from Su Yu, beside a river, a group of people were resting. The armored figure flashed into view. Several others here wore similar armor. Seeing him return, one laughed, "Red Armor, where did you go off to have fun? Where's your mount?" "Lost it!" The armored figure snapped back, then complained, "Ran into a powerful human. Pure bad luck!" "In the Shanhai Realm?" His companion chuckled, "If you ran into a Shanhai and came back without a scratch, that's already pretty good." "No." The armored figure shook his head. "Not a Shanhai. A Lingyun. Not Huang Teng or the rest of their bunch either. The human race really has plenty of geniuses. I've never heard of this guy before, but one swing of his hammer nearly knocked me unconscious!" "A hammer?" The others exchanged glances. None of them knew of any prominent genius who used a hammer. As for Cui Lang, who was ranked last on the Yellow Ranking, the description merely stated he was an armamentsmith; none of them even considered him. Su Yu felt unlucky and weak. Yet Red Armor felt even unluckier! He was a seventh-stage Lingyun, an elite genius on the Mystic Ranking who had slain ninth-stage Lingyun foes and traded blows with Shanhai Realm combatants. Even when facing first- or second-stage Shanhai opponents, though he hadn't killed them across cultivation realms, he could still retreat unscathed. Yet he had run into a supposed weakling in Lingyun who nearly hammered him senseless several times, forcing him to make a hasty retreat. He was utterly depressed. "Red Armor, do you need our help?" "No need!" Red Armor refused. "Forget about that guy. The one we need to deal with right now isn't him, but that young dragon!" Red Armor said in a low voice, "A dragon is the ultimate mount! That young dragon will soon advance to the Shanhai Realm. If we capture it, we'll soon have a Shanhai dragon mount!" "We're short on hands. The Dragon Race is formidable by nature, and that fellow belongs to the Golden Dragon Clan, second only to the Heavenly Dragon Clan... It won't be easy to deal with." Red Armor nodded. If it were easy, it wouldn't require so much trouble. His plan to take captives was precisely to use them to lure the young dragon into a trap. "It doesn't matter. We'll just grab a few people as bait. That young dragon probably hasn't been out of the Dragon Realm for long—we might be able to poison it unconscious!" As for Su Yu, since the guy wasn't weak, forget it. He wouldn't bother capturing him, lest it ruin their plans. He didn't pay too much mind to the clash just now. On the Desire Sea Plain, running into someone, trading blows, and neither side coming out the worse for wear was nothing unusual. Everyone just went their separate ways. ... Red Armor didn't care. Su Yu, however, cared a great deal. He was thoroughly pissed! Fuck! I barely stepped out the door and somebody jumped me! Even if I didn't come out on the losing end, I was attacked for no reason at all, and then the guy ran like a rabbit! He refused to accept it. He hadn't even unleashed his real capabilities yet! "Armored bastard... you're dead meat!" Su Yu gritted his teeth. I hold grudges like nobody else. You're a dead man. I said it, and no one can save you! His good mood had been ruined in a heartbeat. "Fur Ball, catch his scent! We're tracking that bastard down!" Su Yu called out in his mind. Sprawled out on its back in slumber, the little fur ball yawned and groggily woke up. Over these past few days, the little creature had nothing to do and had slept in utter comfort. Hearing Su Yu's voice, its tiny nose twitched ever so slightly—so faintly that Su Yu could barely see it—and it piped up, "To the left! The scent hasn't faded yet!" Without a word, Su Yu melted into the void, transformed into astral wind, and vanished in the blink of an eye. That bastard was dead! Coming to the Desire Sea Plain had started off on the wrong foot. If he didn't put an end to that guy, his mood would remain sour—and how could he let that stand?