After a pause, Fu Jin continued, "The Wuzhou Incense and Fire Sect has also become a powerful force. Now it is too powerful to be eliminated. It is far beyond the ability of the 100,000 Tiger Guards and Black Armored Soldiers to extinguish it. The leader of the Incense and Fire Sect, Luo Kai, is a ninth-level supreme Qigong Grandmaster. Now that the Empress has taken the throne, the Qigong Grandmasters of the Great Zhou Imperial Court have disappeared.
The Empress was even more confused. One hundred thousand Tiger Guards in black armor entered Wuzhou, but instead of targeting the Xianghuo Sect, they raised their butcher knives towards the fourteen sects in Wuzhou.
Fu Jin groaned when he said this.
"That empress has completely disregarded the people and is truly unworthy of being a human being."
Watching Fu Jin jumping up and down and cursing the current empress, wishing he could smash the empress's head with his double-guanidine hammer, Xu Yunfan thought quietly on the side.
The empress was able to ascend to the throne as a woman, and her means and wisdom were incomparable to ordinary people. This move must have a deeper meaning.
Those upper-class people could plunge the people into dire straits with just a thought, and Xu Yunfan, who came from Wuzhou, naturally had a deep understanding of this.
"Brother, the Empress's actions have probably pushed the sect into opposition. What exactly does she want to do?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Jin's cursing suddenly subsided. He exhaled, cleaned the dust off his body, and sighed, "Back then, the people from the Jiuyao Sect entered Yujing and came out without saying a word, as if nothing had happened."
After a pause, he said, "I'm afraid only the leader of the Hong Sect knows the inside story of this matter. We don't need to be too anxious. If the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up. The most important thing is that you prepare well for the ceremony of the true teaching."
Xu Yunfan agreed readily and told Fu Jin what had just happened.
Fu Jin sneered when he heard this. "Junior brother, you're right. You can be more lenient with him in the future. Qi Huan is the first disciple of the Cangfeng Pavilion. He's extremely talented and his swordsmanship is truly superb. But he's narrow-minded and can't tolerate any injustice. He'll hold a grudge against you if you're not satisfied, and he's always trying to stir up trouble behind the scenes."
He said with disdain, "He's the same kind of guy as their hall master. Next time we meet him, we'll find a chance to give him a hammer. Although our Weapon Casting Hall is low-key, we won't let others bully us to the point of having to tuck our tails between our legs."
"…"
In the following days, Xu Yunfan stayed at home and practiced Tianchan Jin continuously. With the help of the secret martial art Tianchan body training, and sufficient elixirs and exotic beast meat as supplements, his proficiency improved rapidly.
In no more than five months, he would be able to reach perfection in bone training.
...
Time flies. Xu Yunfan basically never leaves the house and spends the whole day practicing Tianchan Jin in the courtyard.
A month later, the fine steel-forged walls of Tiangong City glowed coldly, and the midday sun cast shadows of the battlements on the bluestone bricks.
The number of warriors in the city increased, and they gathered from all directions. At the north gate of Tiangong City, sixteen dragon-blood horses were breathing out the smell of sulfur, and the black iron chariot was making half-foot deep ruts on the bluestone slabs.
The bearded rickshaw driver held down the stone lock with one arm, the veins on his wrist twisted like iron chains. The chief escort of the Changfeng Escort Agency across from him, sweat dripping from his forehead, smashed three floor tiles, vying for who would enter the city first.
The two families already had old and new grudges, and if they hadn't been concerned about the Jiuyao Sect and the Tiangong Cave territory behind them, they would have probably fought on the spot.
…
Wait until all the guests attending the ceremony are seated.
In the huge square of Tiangong Cave Mechanical City, seven statues of the ancestors were polished to a cold shine. On the high platform cast from hundred-fold tempered steel, Hong Baichuan's muscles under his brocade robe were twisted like the roots of an old tree.
This master, who became the best in Cangzhou with the "Nine-Turn Xuan Ji Meridian Tempering Method", left half an inch of shoe prints on the iron and wooden table with every step he took. The leader of the Red Dragon Gang, who was watching the ceremony below, squinted his eyes and counted the dents.
"Three steps to shock a tiger, seven steps to collapse a mountain. This old ghost Hong has reached the highest level of marrow cleansing strength. If he hadn't passed his peak and had no chance of breaking through, he would have really entered the stage of internal organ training."
"My fellow heroes, today is the day of the grand ceremony of the True Transmission Ceremony of the Weapon Casting Hall of Tiangong Cave. Thank you all for coming.
Since its founding, Tiangong Cave has always upheld the principle of 'using instruments to convey the Dao, and using the Dao to control instruments.' The Weapon Casting Hall is the foundation of Tiangong Cave, so selecting true disciples is naturally a top priority. This time, we invite all sects to attend the ceremony, and we also want to take this opportunity to open the weapon warehouse again."
Hong Baichuan's voice was loud and echoed over the square.
When they heard that Hyogo was going to be opened again, even the envoy from Jiuyao Sect couldn't help but sit up straight.
The leader of the Qingluan Sword Sect below showed a hint of understanding.
"Oh, this old ghost Hong, I'm afraid this is his ultimate goal. The True Transmission Ceremony is probably just a way to go... He's really greedy for money!"
"Bu Si wants money. How did he build this mechanical city? It is the only one of its kind in the Great Zhou."
The speaker was a bearded man, the head of Guanshan Sect, one of the eight sects in Cangzhou. He had a look of sadness on his face and was quite envious of Tiangong Cave's ability to make money.
…
After Hong Baichuan finished speaking, he and Zhan Yan looked at him.
Xu Yunfan exhaled, and the Thunder Fire Qilin Hammer on his back glowed darkly in the sunlight.
It's my turn to play.
The nearly 400-pound hammer cloth did not affect his movements at all. His steps were silent and his movements were gentle, but they made people feel full of power.
Zhan Yan stood on the side of the platform, watching Xu Yunfan walk onto the stage, a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.
He stepped forward, bowed to the crowd below the stage, and said, "Everyone, this is Xu Yunfan, the newest disciple of our Weapon Casting Hall."
He glanced at the Nine Peaks and Six Divisions of Tiangong Cave, a smile on his face, and said with a bow, "If anyone in Tiangong Cave refuses to obey, they can come forward and ask for instruction. If they can win, they will be awarded a place in the Weapon Casting Hall!"
As soon as these words were spoken, many disciples who had been kept in the dark immediately became noisy and talked a lot, their eyes full of eagerness to try.
A true disciple of the hall!
That means we will spare no effort and devote all resources to cultivation.
Look at Xu Yunfan standing on the high platform, with the heavy hammer behind him. The hammer head is shining purple in the sunlight, and each lightning pattern is a groove that Zhan Yan personally hammered out with the tail vertebrae of the Chilong. How many people can enjoy such treatment?
The sound of metal rubbing against each other came from the viewing seats. Yue Shan from Cangfeng Pavilion was grinding his back molars. His newly installed bronze front teeth were still stained with cypress debris. Fu Jin had thrown them before, causing his teeth to shake. He had no choice but to go to the Machinery Hall to install two new ones.
After waiting for a while and seeing no one moving, Zhan Yan pointed his hand towards the flickering fire hole behind him.
"Walk out of the Quenching Cave and pass the Quenching Level, and I will grant you the True Transmission Token!"
Someone below chuckled, "There's no one left in Tiangong Cave, so they let a disciple like this go through the Tempering Test and even considered him a true disciple. That's quite acceptable."
"Wait a minute!"
A light shout interrupted the existing process.
As for the other seven major sects, the envoy of Jiuyao Sect finally showed some meaning in his eyes that the event was finally coming.
Which sect's true disciples were not made through fighting? How could it be so easy for them to just walk away so easily?
Qi Huan of the Hidden Sword Pavilion walked into the arena, saluted everyone, then looked at Xu Yunfan and said loudly: "Qi Huan of the Hidden Sword Pavilion, I practice the Thousand Waves Sword, and I am at the third level of martial artist. I have come to ask for instruction. Do you dare to challenge me? If you are not willing, the Weapon Casting Hall will give my Hidden Sword Pavilion a chance to inherit the true teachings!"
As he spoke, the fine steel sword case on his back suddenly fell to the ground. The heavy force made the ground shake slightly, and the fine steel sword case actually sank three inches into the bricks and stones.
Xu Yunfan raised his eyebrows, took off the Thunder and Fire Qilin Hammer on his back, walked down the platform, and stood opposite Qi Huan.
"Why not?"