Chapter 15 - 15

Chapter 858: Vanguard Regiment (2)

The youth brought the two into the building. It was very spacious inside, with numerous independent smithing rooms. Before long, they reached the innermost hall. The hall was massive. An old man with white hair was observing the weaponsmithing process of a middle-aged man with several youngsters.

When the old man sensed the newcomers, he looked over and nodded before asking doubtfully, "Is the battle over? Are you here to repair your weapons? Feel free to hand over all weapons below the high profound grade. As for high profound weapons, you need to accept that there is a risk of failure."

The old man was only a high profound weaponsmith. Most people at this level were also at the Cloudbreach Realm. Generally, only Cloudbreaches would use high profound weapons. That was enough for them.

As for peak profound weapons, most of the people using them were early or middle Mountainseas. High-stage Mountainseas would opt to use earth weapons if they could afford it. Most Sunmoons would use middle or even high earth weapons.

Before Hong Du could say anything, the youth said, "Teacher, Deputy General Hong said that Deputy General Cao invited a pseudo earth weaponsmith over to help with weapon repairs. He's Cui Lang of Great Ming."

"Cui Lang?"

"Yes. The same Cui Lang who is related to Great Tang's Cheng Family. Do you remember him?"

"Ohh..."

Finally, the old man remembered. Su Yu's face sank as he glanced at the youth. Wrong choice, brat. That fellow would come to regret this later.

Su Yu couldn't be bothered to waste his time saying anything. When he saw that the middle-aged man was almost done weaponsmithing, he stepped forth and turned on a different furnace.

The other weaponsmiths realized that he was going to forge a weapon. None of them said anything. Evidently, this newcomer was going to showcase his skills.

At times, things were very straightforward between weaponsmiths. As long as one had the ability, there was no need to be overly humble. Of course, the premise for that was the presence of actual ability. After all, that was the most important thing for a weaponsmith.

Su Yu took out some materials, materialized a clump of flame, and instantly melted the materials. Just that one move was enough to cause the old man's expression to change.

What powerful fire. That was a fourth-tier character! The essence of the materials was easily extracted. Su Yu continued working. In the blink of an eye, steam covered his surroundings. With a golden flash, the mold of a sword was created. As this was only a mold, there was no golden stripe on it.

The old man's eyes lit up right after seeing that move. He sent a move transmission to the others, "Everyone, come and observe him. Little Wang, pay close attention. This is truly someone at the level of a grandmaster."

Meanwhile, the youth had a look of shock. A mold had been created so easily? Was this guy really a pseudo earth weaponsmith already?

Su Yu ignored all of them as he continued his work. After his many discussions with other weaponsmiths, his experience helping Old Zhao with the embryonic heaven weapon, and his success at forging a cultural weapon with seventy-two golden stripes, he had gained his own understanding of weaponsmithing.

And now, he was only going to forge a peak profound martial weapon. The difficulty wasn't high. Quenching the fire, refining the materials, and forging the mold... Then, a large hammer appeared and descended, creating a large rumble. It descended at an incomparably rapid speed. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NoveI-Fire.ɴet

"Is this...the weaponsmithing style of the Zhao Family?"

The old man was able to see the origin of the style. Hong Du didn't know what he was looking at, but he was aware of something else. He said, "Master Cui helped Master Zhao Li complete a weapon not long ago. Master Zhao Li was able to advance into the Mountainsea Realm and forge an embryonic heaven weapon. At the same time, he also advanced into a peak profound weaponsmith."

"I see." The old man exclaimed in admiration, "So Zhao Li succeeded. That is worthy of celebration."

He hurriedly said to the other weaponsmiths, "Pay close attention, everyone. Cui Lang...no, Fellow Daoist Cui might really be able to forge something with seventy-two golden stripes."

Only by forging something with seventy-two golden stripes would one be considered a pseudo earth weaponsmith. Previously, he was unsure. But now, he was starting to believe in Su Yu.

Meanwhile, Su Yu was completely ignoring them. He continued focusing on his forging. As for his weaponsmithing tricks, it wasn't like those people could learn everything he knew from a single observation. Furthermore, the core of his weaponsmithing skills was the Soul Expanding Hammer and his five elemental characters.

In fact, most weaponsmiths didn't mind having any observers unless they were forging an exceptionally powerful weapon. The hammer continued dropping rapidly and ferociously. The fire raged in the furnace.

Su Yu worked at a rapid pace. Eventually, the first golden stripe appeared. A short while later, two golden stripes appeared. He was able to form one golden stripe in about five minutes.

In one hour, twelve golden stripes were formed. He maintained the same speed the entire time, and the strength behind his hammer strikes stayed constant as well. At this point, even Hong Du was able to see just how durable and tenacious Su Yu's willpower was.

The sword mold reduced in size, but it also became more and more polished. Unknowingly, more people had arrived in the room. All of them observed silently without saying anything.

Two hours, three hours...

Boom!

The weapon reached the profound grade with thirty-seven golden stripes. In three hours, a profound weapon had been produced. But Su Yu was not stopping yet. He added more materials, each move of his as smooth as flowing water. He had learned from the Hundred Dao Pagoda and Zhao Li, and both teachings were the best of the best in the Human Realm.

A few hours passed. With a loud rumble, the sword suddenly unleashed sharp sword qi. The youths in the room were all forced to retreat after getting cut by the sharp sword qi.

"Sixty-four golden stripes!"

The old man exclaimed in admiration. This weapon had reached peak profound grade. This young man had forged something like that so easily. And the entire process had been extremely smooth.

This was a level above his. His current limit was sixty-three golden stripes. Moreover, he needed to spend a very long time to forge something like that. Meanwhile, the young man before him was able to do so without much trouble.

The golden stripes continued increasing in number. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, but they instantly evaporated due to the heat from the furnace. The hammer was striking down in a unique rhythm, and the banging sounds started spreading further and further away.

The fire raged violently.

Sixty-five golden stripes, sixty-six golden stripes...

At this point, night had arrived.

After a while, Su Yu added even more materials. And finally, when the seventy-second golden stripe was on the verge of forming, Su Yu frowned. The newest golden stripe was slightly warped.

With a soft roar, he slammed his hammer down. With that hammer strike, the forming golden stripe actually started fading away.

"Reforging!"

The old man shook. Reforging a psuedo earth weapon? Was Cui Lang capable of that? This was not something everyone could do. In fact, there were some earth weaponsmiths out there who were still incapable of this.

Right as that thought crossed his mind, the seventy-second golden stripe faded completely with a loud rumble. But at that moment, Su Yu stopped and shook his head, "I can't completely reforge the whole thing. How unfortunate. The seventy-second golden stripe is not good enough. I am not going to forge a problematic peak profound weapon. Whatever. I'll stop at seventy-one stripes."

Then, his metal character activated. With a hum, an incomparably sharp sword qi erupted from the newly completed sword.

The old man sighed with admiration, "Incredible. Fellow Daoist Cui's weaponsmithing skills have reached an extremely high level. You can probably complete a pseudo earth weapon with seventy-two golden stripes easily. Most pseudo earth weaponsmiths wouldn't reduce their golden stripes from seventy-two to seventy-one even if it was an imperfect product. Have you perhaps advanced into the earth grade, Fellow Daoist Cui?"

This feat would be too difficult for someone below the earth grade.

Su Yu shook his head, "I have yet to try forging an earth weapon. I have been too busy recently. Also, such an attempt is very time-consuming and eye-catching. I won't be trying anytime soon. But I believe I can succeed if I do make an attempt. Then again, I would probably end up creating a garbage earth weapon. We'll see."

Those words were greatly hurtful to the other weaponsmiths in the room.

Right that moment, the Sunmoon in black armor clapped and praised, "Spectacular. Master Cui, you have not disappointed me. An earth weaponsmith at the Cloudbreach Realm. You're probably the first in history. I don't know the dao of weaponsmithing well, but from how smooth the process was, I believe you're definitely as good as Old Zhang"

Old Zhang was the previous earth weaponsmith of the Vanguard Regiment.

Deputy General Cao, who was the Sunmoon clad in black, said, "I saw Old Zhang forging weapons a few times before. In my opinion, Master Cui has surpassed him in both speed and skills. Cui Lang, on behalf of the Vanguard Regiment, I am officially inviting you to join us. Please name your terms."

Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "No terms. I'll leave after three days. Fine, I'll be generous and count tomorrow as the first day. I won't stay here. Do you think I have so much free time? Also, this place is too dangerous. You guys even got a Sunmoon earth weaponsmith dead. You guys don't care about the lives of your weaponsmiths."

The deputy general in black sank into silence for a bit before nodding, "Fine. I also agree that we're at fault for Old Zhang's death. We will have to trouble you for the coming three days, Master Zhang. You don't need to work on anything below the peak profound grade. We need you to focus on peak profound and earth weapons."

He paused for a short moment and continued, "My spear is a middle earth weapon. Can you repair it as well?"

He did not try to force Cui Lang to stay. That was not an option. After all, if a weaponsmith was angered, they could leave some hidden triggers in the weapon that might be fatal. This was better than nothing. Three days were enough to get some of their weapons repaired.

Su Yu frowned and said, "That won't be easy unless I really advance into the earth grade. Otherwise, success is very unlikely. But I can try repairing early earth weapons."

"That is enough." Deputy General Cao turned to leave. While walking away, his voice rang out, "Hong Du, show Master Cui his living quarters. Let him take a good rest. Be sure to protect him well. Tomorrow, Master Cui will start repairing our weapons. But tell everyone to not bother coming with weapons below the peak profound grade."

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Su Yu appeared completely indifferent toward Deputy General Cao. That fellow had been wearing a helmet the entire time, so he didn't even know what that fellow looked like.

In any case, he would only stay a few days here. He could even find a chance to meet his Teacher Liu.

The old man nearby sighed regretfully and asked, "Fellow Daoist Cui, are you not going to consider staying?"

Su Yu shook his head, "Nope. It's too dangerous to work here."

"Sigh." The old man nodded. He looked at the departing Deputy General Cao and said, "Yes, this place is dangerous. But...forget it. Fellow Daoist Cui, please rest well. You will get busy starting tomorrow. I can help with peak profound weapons, but we will be relying on you for the more troublesome cases."

Su Yu looked at the old man. Noticing the doubt in Su Yu's eyes, the old man contemplated for a bit before explaining, "Perhaps in your eyes, everyone here is a criminal. They all deserve death. Thus, you don't care about helping them. But despite their crimes, these people are now fighting for humanity. I am not capable of helping them with anything else, but I am still capable of repairing and improving their weapons."

Su Yu said nothing and started walking away.

Perhaps. Everyone had their own pursuits. At his current stage, this was something he couldn't understand.

Suddenly, the youth called out, "Master Cui, I apologize for what I said earlier. Are you willing to give us some guidance on weaponsmithing?"

"Not interested."

The youth had a look of regret. When Su Yu was far away, he gloomily said, "Holy shit. So he's really a pseudo earth weaponsmith now. Teacher, how did he improve so quickly? Can you really grow that much from sleeping around? Teacher, you told me to stay away from women. Are you sure about that? Perhaps I can try sleeping around as well..."

"..."

The old man was left completely speechless. Screw this brat! The fuck was he thinking?

But when he thought of "Cui Lang" again, he stroked his beard pensively. Was it possible that the flame in every weaponsmith was too strong and needed to be balanced by interactions with the fairer sex?

That might be the case. Should he...give it a try? The old man blanked out in confusion. Should he try it first? After verifying that it worked, he could then allow his students to try it as well.

Chapter 859: Things Remained, People Changed (1)

Inside the Vanguard Regiment base was a large stone house. The house looked rather beaten. This was Su Yu's current residence. Compared to the Great Ming Consulate, this place was probably worse than a toilet.

After sending Su Yu over, Hong Du stationed a Skysoar to act as the guard outside the building. The guard would also act as a messenger Su Yu could contact whenever he needed something. Then, he left to get busy with his own tasks.

As for Su Yu, he sat cross-legged on the cold stone bed and cultivated silently while scanning his surroundings.

His Perception Jade was the best tool to examine his surroundings. With a range of one kilometer, it allowed him to see a lot of things.

"The Vanguard Regiment is not weak at all."

Su Yu lamented to himself. The base was filled with experts. In fact, he found two Sunmoons and six Mountainseas just in the area one kilometer around him. And this was only a tiny portion of what the Vanguard Regiment had to offer.

The Vanguard Regiment was also the vanguard of humanity. This was an army specializing in nothing but killing. But the aura of death here was too thick. This was unlike the other armies that would be filled with vitality and solemnity. Instead, this place felt exceptionally cold.

Even the Skysoar acting as a guard outside his residence did not carry himself with strict discipline as a regular soldier would. Perhaps he believed that Su Yu wouldn't look for him so soon. The guard had actually walked further away from his station before starting a bonfire there.

After a moment, he took out an entire chicken and started roasting it. Slowly, the aroma of the roasted chicken started spreading in the air.

The Skysoar whose hair was starting to turn white from age grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. After scattering some condiments over the roasted chicken, he opened his mouth to take a bite.

But right at that moment, his vision blurred and the roasted chicken vanished. The Skysoar was alarmed. He hurriedly rolled backward before opening his mouth to shout. But before he actually started shouting, he noticed something. It was the weaponsmith he was supposed to be guarding.

"You're still awake, Master Cui?"

The old Skysoar greeted with a smile. Su Yu nonchalantly said, "You're roasting a chicken right outside my residence. How am I supposed to fall asleep?"

"Cough, cough. Don't mind me, Master Cui. I'm hungry after spending an entire day fighting." Are you hungry as well, Master Cui? I'll get Deputy General Hong..."

"No. It's fine." Su Yu sat down and tore half the chicken off before tossing the other half back to the old soldier. He said, "Let's eat together."

"I wouldn't dare. You can have the whole thing, Lord."

"If I say we're eating together, we're eating together."

The old man sat down awkwardly and started eating in silence.

The taste was quite rough, but Su Yu didn't mind it. While eating, he said, "Is this how it is in the Vanguard Regiment?"

"What?"

"The lack of discipline."

Su Yu was very curious. Compared to a regular army, the Vanguard Regiment was indeed undisciplined. This wouldn't have happened in any other army.

The old soldier grinned and said, "Discipline? Rules? Here, killing is the only thing we need to do. We don't even know if we will live to see another day. What do we need discipline and rules for?"

"How did you end up here?"

The old soldier answered with a cheerful smile, "I killed someone. I came from Great Shang. Ten years ago when I was still a fresh Skysoar, my son was still at school. He got into a conflict with someone there and was crippled. In my anger, I killed the father of that kid."

"..."

Su Yu asked, "Why kill the father?"

"As the saying goes, to feed without teaching is the father's fault. Who should I kill if not his father?" The old soldier said, "At first, I wanted him to get an expert to heal my son. Treatment would be expensive, but there was still hope. I was willing to let it go at that. But that fellow claimed that my son's aptitude was too bad to be worth treating. Instead, he offered a hundred merit points to solve the issue. In my fury, I killed him."

"What's your sentence?"

"Twenty years of service in the Vanguard Regiment."

The old soldier grinned, "In short, they're telling me to throw my life away in the Allheaven Battlefield. During my first decade, I was lucky. There weren't a lot of battles so I was lucky enough to survive this long. But things have changed recently. One-third of the people in the Skysoar Unit are already dead. There is no need to waste your time punishing me, Lord. It's not like roasting a chicken is actually a crime. At most, it would cause my sentence to be extended by a few months. But I doubt I would even live that long."

Su Yu said nothing. He continued eating the roasted chicken. After a while, he asked, "Is everyone here in a similar situation?"

"There are all sorts of people here. Some were bandits, some were murderers, some were framed, some had killed accidentally..." For origınal chapters go to novel-fire.ɴet

Seeing that this weaponsmith was quite easy to talk with, the old soldier said, "Lord, you better not stay here for too long. This shitty place is too dangerous."

"Has nobody tried running before?"

"Run? Where to?" The old soldier laughed, "There is only one end result: death. We might as well die while fighting here. That way, we can get some compensation for our family. We are criminals, but we don't want to implicate our family. But if we become deserters, we will be labeled traitors. That is an offense that can implicate our family."

Su Yu nodded and continued eating silently. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Do you think humanity stands a chance at winning?"

"Huh?"

That question stumped the old man. He laughed awkwardly and said, "I'm a nobody. How can I answer that question? We will simply step forth and fight whoever those big shots tell us to kill. That is all we know."

"Have you never thought of an alternative?"

"There's no point." The old soldier thought about it and smiled, "Lord, are you asking me all these questions because you want to learn more about people at the bottom like us?"

He grew excited at the thought of that. He said, "Lord, you're a very important person. Even Deputy General Cao needs to treat you with respect. Can you get an audience with those kings?"

"Probably."

"In that case, can you ask them for equal treatment for all armies?"

"Hmm?" Su Yu asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Basically, we want all armies to receive the same treatment. The more we kill, the more we should earn. You might not know this, but things have been intense between the various armies in recent years due to a difference in treatment. Some of these armies started pulling back in protest, and because of that, the pressure on the Vanguard Regiment has been getting heavier and heavier.

"For example, the armies of Great Xia and Great Qin used to be stationed near the Vanguard Regiment. Their armies were crazy strong. When they were around, life had been pretty good for us. Those fellows would always roar loudly and embrace every battle like lunatics. But the more they fought, the more people they lost. And they never earned much from all these battles. Eventually, they had to withdraw due to financial troubles. Both Great Xia and Great Qin are poor. We all know that. There are some rich prefectures out there, but those prefectures are pretty bad at fighting."

The old soldier shook his head and said, "Take Great Ming as an example. Their armies have the best equipment among all the human armies, but they are very bad at fighting. How would the other armies feel when they saw this? The Great Ming armies have the best treatment when they are so weak. Nowadays, the armies from Great Qin and Great Xia are starting to get very calculative. Before fighting, they would first calculate their potential casualties and losses, the expenses these casualties would incur, and whether they could recoup their losses from the battle before fighting. Because of that, life has been getting harder and harder for us at the Vanguard Regiment."

He sighed, "Life is getting hard nowadays. Those capable of fighting are too poor to fight. Those with enough money are relaxing behind the frontlines. The various prefectures often brag that they have ten million of soldiers in the Allheaven Battlefield, but the ones truly capable of combat probably numbered less than two million. The rest of them are only here to make up the numbers."

"..."

Su Yu laughed and said, "That's because their prefectures are too poor. There's nothing we can do about it."

"True." The old soldier shook his head with regret, "What a pity. If Great Qin King could unify the Human Realm. He could then retire the eight million incapable soldiers and concentrate all resources on those actually capable of combat. That would absolutely create an army that is smaller yet stronger."

Su Yu asked doubtfully, "Is this your personal opinion or is it a common consensus among the soldiers?"

"A lot of people share this opinion." The old soldier said, "That includes those among the rich but weak armies. Do you think they love coming here? They aren't even good at fighting. They know very well that when war breaks out, they won't be able to prevail over the enemies. But they have no choice but to fight. When the elites from Great Xia and Great Qin die off...sigh. Humanity should start praying for luck."

"Retiring the weaker soldiers and uniting all armies..."

Su Yu shook his head. That was impossible. Not even the Invincibles could unify under a single command. All of them had their own agendas. There was no need to talk about merging the command of the various armies.

In fact, Great Qin and Great Xia should be thankful the other prefectures weren't accusing them of being too militaristic after they exhausted their resources from all the battles they fought. Helping them with their financial situation? Dream on.

The old soldier said, "Humanity is actually quite strong. At the very least, that's what I believe. We are probably as strong as the divines and devils. If they stop joining hands and fight one one-on-one against us, we might not necessarily lose. Unfortunately, we have no unity. Sure, the divines and devils are divided as well, but they each have a Pseudo Emperor. With one word from their respective Pseudo Emperor, they will come together. This is what we lack. Great Qin King is unable to make everyone obey him."

Su Yu nodded. A lot of people were aware of that. But there was nothing they could do. Even the Invincibles realize this, but what could they do? Were they supposed to bow and accept Great Qin King's authority? Why should they?

It wasn't like he was overwhelmingly stronger than them. Why must they listen to him? He should be grateful that they were willing to listen to him in only some specific circumstances.

After the chat with the old soldier, Su Yu's understanding of the Allheaven Battlefield deepened considerably.

Chapter 860: Things Remained, People Changed (2)

This was a sleepless night for Su Yu.

The next day, he started his work.

Inside the Weaponsmith Hall.

He received the request to repair a peak profound saber with sixty-eight golden stripes. This was the weapon of a fifth-stage Mountainsea. The Mountainsea in question was a burly man with wide shoulders. He looked incomparably ferocious.

But such a person was actually smiling fawningly in Su Yu's presence as he said, "Master Cui, can this weapon be repaired?"

Su Yu lifted the saber and took a closer look. There were numerous chips on the blade, marks left behind from the sheer number of battles this weapon had seen. Even some of the golden stripes on the blade were no longer complete due to the damage on the blade.

This might be a peak profound weapon, but at this point, it was probably only as strong as a middle profound weapon.

After a moment, Su Yu nodded, "It's possible. I only need to use some materials for the repair."

"That's good to hear!" The burly man was overjoyed. He said, "What materials do you need, Master Cui? Just mention them. If I don't have the materials but you happen to have them, I'm also willing to pay for them. The price doesn't matter!" For more chapters visıt novel⚑fire.net

Su Yu still had some materials in his possession. He had bought materials worth a hundred thousand merit points previously. Sure, most of them had been used or given away, but he still had some left.

Furthermore, he had also received a large batch of materials from Hong Du early in the morning.

"I have the materials. And I don't lack money."

Su Yu nonchalantly said, "You can pay with blood essence or some unique cultivation methods that you can't find on the market. I don't need anything else."

"That..." After thinking about it, the burly man said, "I do have a unique cultivation method, but I don't know if it is good enough to catch your eye."

"Tell me more."

"You can simply take a look for yourself. Someone like you won't lower yourself to steal from me, anyway."

The burly man laughed and took a jade talisman out before handing it to Su Yu.

After taking a look, Su Yu muttered, "A cultivation method of the demonic beasts?"

"Yeah. This is my loot after killing a demonic beast during a battle. It's not a willpower text. It's merely a simple record of the method. But it's not usable for humans. However, its concepts are still worth learning from. This is a supportive art capable of increasing the sharpness of your source qi. Of course, it might not be good enough for you."

After a while, Su Yu said nothing and kept the talisman before starting his work on the weapon. The burly man was overjoyed. Holy shit! So this was free? This great master sure was open. Even something like that was sufficient as payment for him?

Not only was Su Yu repairing the weapon, but he was also improving it based on his own weaponsmithing style to increase the sharpness of its blade.

This was only a martial weapon. There was no need to consider its compatibility with characters. But it also needed to be strong and sharp enough. Additionally, it also needed to be conductive enough for source qi. And the more golden stripes it had, the more conducive it would be. In fact, a truly good weapon could even boost the might of the source qi channeled into it.

After a while, Su Yu asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead, Master!"

"You're a fifth-stage Mountainsea. Ignoring all unique techniques and tricks, how much strength can your body muster when measured in basic acupoints?"

The burly man scratched his head and thought about it. After a while, he answered, "Master, I don't normally share this information with outsiders, but you're not an outsider. You must be trying to estimate my attack prowess, right? This will be helpful when repairing my weapon, am I right?"

Wow. How creative.

But that was an excellent excuse. Thus, Su Yu nodded, "Exactly. I'm afraid that the weapon won't be able to withstand your strength. If that's the case, I might need to reinforce its toughness."

"About fifty thousand basic acupoints, I guess."

The burly man said, "That's nothing special, but it's also not too weak. Among warriors, I probably rank solidly in the middle. But offensive strength is not the only thing that is important. For us, speed is also very important.

The burly man gloomily said, "I'm a tad bit too slow. No matter how strong your attack is, it means nothing if you can't hit your opponent. In fact, I've suffered quite a few times due to this weakness in the past."

Su Yu nodded as he continued working on the weapon. A fifth-stage Mountainsea with the strength of fifty thousand acupoints. Was that strong? That was alright. Then again, that was definitely not weak.

Combat experience was also very important in the measurement of one's combat strength, but that was not an issue in the Vanguard Regiment. Combat experience was the one thing they did not lack. Someone with a reasonably higher cultivation level might not be able to defeat a member of the Vanguard Regiment due to the difference in their levels of experience.

Su Yu started contemplating about his own strength. Thus far, he had completed twelve body forgings. That granted him the strength of 5,600 basic acupoints. With the strength character and the semi-opened yang acupoint, he could unleash the strength of more than 6,000 acupoints.

And in terms of speed...well, he wasn't exactly slow. Silk Destroying King's Time technique was essentially a speed-boosting technique. However, Su Yu's comprehension of the technique was not deep enough. Compared to some Mountainseas or even seventh-stage Cloudbreaches, he was still not fast enough.

"My comprehension of the Time technique is too low."

The words of the burly man reminded him of the importance of speed. He had gained a respectable level of strength, but speed was a big flaw of his. Perhaps he could consider forging himself a pair of speed-boosting shoes.

With his new shoes and a greater mastery over the Time technique, he could probably keep up with those seventh-stage Cloudbreaches. He could also consider looking for some other speed-boosting techniques.

Speed was very important. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to escape when encountering danger. Only after arriving at the Allheaven Battlefield did he realize just how many experts there were out there. Thus far, he had already encountered several Sunmoons. And he hadn't even been in the Allheaven Battlefield for long.

Thinking about it, his decision to not rush toward the Eastrift Valley rashly was perhaps the right decision. He should better prepare himself before leaving. Perhaps he could make himself a pair of shoes while he was here in the Vanguard Regiment.

The compensation he obtained from Zhang He included a large amount of materials suitable for forging earth weapons. Yes. That wouldn't be a bad idea. He should complete an earth weapon here and officially step into the earth grade.

When Su Yu was done repairing the burly man's weapon, he proceeded to repair the next weapon. Almost all the requests he had received came from Mountainseas.

One...two...

Eventually, a certain individual entered the room. When Su Yu saw who it was, he blanked out.

Zheng Yuming.

This was a familiar face.

"Master Cui."

Zheng Yuming had a respectful smile on his face. He was only a second-stage Mountainsea. Here, he was nothing special.

Su Yu nodded indifferently, "Here to repair your cultural weapon?"

"Yes." Zheng Yuming hurriedly took out his cultural weapon. It was a sword. With a look of heartache, he said, "Master Cui, can this weapon still be repaired?"

"An earth weapon?"

Su Yu frowned. He looked up at Zheng Yuming. Wow. This guy was quite rich. Most Mountainseas wouldn't be able to afford earth weapons. But this fellow actually had one.

"Yes. It's an earth weapon, but only an early earth weapon with seventy-four stripes."

With the sword in hand, Su Yu gave Zheng Yuming another look and indifferently said, "There is a possibility of failure. Also, it requires a lot of effort since this is also a cultural weapon."

Su Yu spoke in a detached manner, "I won't be giving you any compensation in the event of failure. You're a cultural researcher. As for the payment, I want to take a look at one of your fourth-tier characters. If you agree, we can proceed. If you disagree, forget it."

"Taking a look at my character?"

Zheng Yuming struggled to agree, "Master Cui, I am willing to pay or offer you some treasures like the others."

"No." Su Yu tossed the sword back, "If you can't agree with that, please leave. Cultural weapons have always been harder to repair. And this is an earth weapon. This weapon of yours must be something forged by Master Chen of Great Xia. I am quite familiar with his weaponsmithing style, so I'll have a success rate of eighty percent. You are free to look for someone else instead."

"Yes, yes, it was forged by Master Chen!"

Zheng Yuming had a helpless look. But he was also quite impressed at how Su Yu was able to determine the maker of the weapon with one look.

After some hesitation, he asked, "Must it be a fourth-tier character?"

"What a stupid question." Su Yu held nothing back, "I only want to observe your character to broaden my horizons and improve my own cultivation. What's the point of looking at third-tier characters? I have third-tier characters myself. This will also make it easier for me to work on your cultural weapon after learning about the characteristics of your character."

Chapter 861: Things Remained, People Changed (3)

Zheng Yuming sighed with acceptance.

After a moment, he nodded, "Master Cui, I can agree with this arrangement. But...I hope you will keep the characteristics of my character secret."

"Cut the crap. Every field has its own rules. I naturally know what to do. Do you want to repair your weapon or not?"

Inwardly, Su Yu was getting excited. Back when he was still a student in the academy, this person was so far above him. But now, the same person had no choice but to bow before him.

This was a perfect chance to take a look at Zheng Yuming's character. His previous characters had been broken by Wan Tiansheng. Su Yu wanted to see the result of that.

Wan Tiansheng seemed to have crushed even his main character. So what characters was he cultivating now? And how was he cultivating them? Was he able to cultivate a new fourth-tier character in such a short period of time? Was he focusing on human characters?

According to Su Yu's memories, Wan Tiansheng had left Zheng Yuming's human characters alone. Zheng Yuming did not have a choice. If he refused to repair his cultural weapon now, it wouldn't last much longer. After some hesitation, he materialized his character.

Suppress. It was a human character.

Su Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "You're cultivating human characters?"

"Yes."

"Won't it be impossible to enter the Sunmoon Realm with human characters? Are you cultivating this as your main character? What are your plans?"

"That..." Zheng Yuming awkwardly said, "I'm experimenting with something new. Nowadays, a lot of myriad race character cultivators are stuck at the peak Mountainsea Realm. I want to try and see if advancement is easier with human characters."

Su Yu nodded and reached out to the character. Zheng Yuming wanted to move by sheer instinct, but he stopped himself from moving. With the character in hand, Su Yu mused that he could heavily injure this fellow just by crushing the character in his hand. Of course, there was no need for him to do that. Harming a member of the Vanguard Regiment right in the middle of their base was the same as courting death.

After studying the character for a bit, Su Yu said, "Is this a character specializing in suppressing your opponents?"

"Good eyes, Master!"

Su Yu ignored the praise. He spent more time studying the character before saying, "Something feels different about this character..."

He looked at Zheng Yuming and solemnly said, "It feels unique."

"Unique?"

Zheng Yuming laughed awkwardly and said, "Are you feeling that way because it's a human character?"

"No!" Su Yu said, "From my senses, this character feels somewhat unstable. It feels...like a product of induced growth."

Su Yu muttered, "Induced growth...is this a character that has been artificially grown? How was it made? Where was it made?"

He looked up at Zheng Yuming again. There was an uncomfortable expression on Zheng Yuming's face.

Zheng Yuming smiled and squeezed a calm expression onto his face, "Good eyes, Master. I was injured gravely previously, but subsequently, I absorbed a large amount of willpower to forcefully grow this character to the fourth tier. Thus, it feels quite hollow and unstable."

Su Yu nodded, "I knew it. But you need a lot of willpower to forcefully upgrade a characrer to the fourth tier. I am actually trying to find a way to get more willpower. Do you have any suggestions?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novèlfire.net

"No. The willpower I used was what I saved and purified over a long period of time. I don't have any left."

Su Yu nodded. Bullshit. How did he have the ability to purify willpower?

Also, Zheng Yuming's explanation was most likely not the full truth. This character was rather unstable since its growth was artificial rather than natural. But it would slowly stabilize after a while. It did not seem like something Zheng Yuming had formed himself.

It felt more like...an inheritance. Yes, an inherited character! Did someone transfer his character to Zheng Yuming? Some new thoughts surfaced in Su Yu's mind, but he was unable to grab hold of those thoughts.

He spent more time sensing the character. Abruptly, he asked, "Is this character...part of a set?"

"Huh?"

"I'm referring to character combinations." Su Yu frowned and said, "It doesn't feel like something that should exist alone. I am quite sensitive toward characters. This character probably originated from a set of characters. Am I right?"

"You have sharp eyes, Master."

Zheng Yuming might be smiling, but he was cursing inwardly. What a troublesome weaponsmith. The request had been fulfilled. He had allowed this weaponsmith to study his character. Why was this guy asking him so many questions?

But there was no doubt that this weaponsmith had very sharp eyes. This weaponsmith might be young, but he seemed to really know a lot.

As for Su Yu, he was greatly shocked inwardly. A part of a set. A fourth-tier character that had been artificially grown to that level...

Numerous thoughts rose in his mind. After a long while, a certain conclusion took form. Could it be that...some people were actually manufacturing characters? Was that possible? How were they doing that?

And how were they transplanting these manufactured characters into the cultural researchers that were supposed to use them?

Zheng Yuming had lost his original characters not long ago, yet he had obtained a new fourth- tier character in such a short period of time. He might even have more than one fourth-tier character. Something was off about this.

Zheng Yuming and Zhou Mingren had a close working relationship with Great Zhou. Was it possible that this was a technology unique to Great Zhou? Character manufacturing and transplanting? If that were the case, Great Zhou would truly be a terrifying existence.

"Great Zhou..."

Su Yu was unable to stay calm. If there was really such technology in Great Zhou, did this not signify that they had already produced a large number of characters they could transplant into others at any time? Was this a preparation they made to gain more characters or was this done to nurture more experts? Growing characters had always been a difficult task.

Su Yu did not ask any other questions. If he continued asking, Zheng Yuming would probably go crazy. Earth weapons weren't easy to repair. Su Yu took out his hammer. When Zheng Yuming saw the hammer, a look of discomfort appeared on his face. This was a familiar hammer. It resembled Zhao Li's Soul Expanding Hammer.

He had asked around before coming here and learned that this fellow had helped Zhao Li before. Thanks to that help, Zhao Li had successfully entered the Mountainsea Realm. Su Yu started working on the weapon.

Booming sounds rang out as Su Yu started hammering the weapon. As he worked, he started thinking of a way to leave something extra in the weapon. It was inconvenient for him to actually do anything to Zheng Yuming right now, but there was still a need for him to prepare a trump card for himself.

Zheng Yuming was the one who had visited him for a weapon repair. How could he resist leaving a backdoor on the weapon? Su Yu activated his characters as he worked on the weapon, causing the seventy-four golden stripes to shine brightly. The powers of his metal and fire characters started seeping into the weapon.

A majority of the powers were concentrated into the golden stripes before he compressed, refined, and sealed them. With this backdoor, he gained the ability to easily cause this weapon to explode if they were to go against each other in the future.

Su Yu worked at a rapid pace. Zheng Yuming kept a close watch on the process, but all he could feel was the fiery aura of the fire character and the sharp aura of the sword character. It was not out of place for either of them to be here so he didn't notice anything suspicious. After all, weaponsmithing was not his forte.

The process took a very long time. When it was late in the evening, Su Yu finally stopped. At that point, he was already sweating all over. While handing the weapon over, he said, "The difficulty is high, but it is more or less fully repaired now. Some of its attributes have waned, but you can fix that by nurturing the weapon more in your sea of willpower."

"Thank you, Master Cui."

Zheng Yuming was overjoyed. He checked the weapon and found nothing suspicious. In fact, it felt even sharper than before. After expressing his gratitude, he left. After Zheng Yuming's departure, a look of doubt appeared on Su Yu's face.

Something was off about that person's character. What a pity that he knew too little to further investigate this matter.

***

The first day of repairs lasted until late at night. During the day, Su Yu repaired eight peak profound weapons and two early earth weapons. He might only be repairing weapons, but this was also a good chance for him to expand his horizons. He was able to witness the styles of different weaponsmiths, deepening his understanding of the path of weaponsmithing.

The second day proceeded in the same manner He continued repairing weapons while chatting with the members of the Vanguard Regiment. Thanks to these chats, he learned even more about all sorts of topics. He also received some unique cultivation methods, treasures, and blood essence.

Excluding his fire character that had advanced to the fourth tier, his other five elemental characters had also grown reasonably while he was working on all those weapons. As he worked on more and more weapons, the name Cui Lang became more and more popular in the Vanguard Regiment.

Late at night on the second day, Su Yu finally saw the person he had been waiting for.

Liu Wenyan!

Liu Wenyan was here with his uncle. His uncle was also the one needing a weapon repaired.

Chapter 862: Things Remained, People Changed (4)

"Brother Liu." Su Yu grinned and said, "Didn't I say that I won't be repairing your weapon?"

Liu Wenyan was left speechless. Was this guy targeting him?

He felt quite helpless, but he could only smile fawningly and said, "Please calm your anger, Master Cui. I'm not the one here for a weapon repair. It's my uncle. Master Cui, an important man like you is certainly magnanimous as well. Why waste your time bickering with an old piece of trash like me?"

When Uncle Liu heard that, his face sank. He was about to give up when Su Yu smiled and said, "Sure. I will do you this favor out of respect for your reputation back then."

When he received the earth weapon that was on the verge of breaking in half, he was alarmed. This earth weapon must have suffered heavy damage. Not only that, but it also seemed to have degraded from its original grade. A few faint stripes could be seen on it.

"Was this a middle earth weapon before this?"

Uncle Liu was surprised. He nodded, "Yeah. Back then, it suffered a heavy blow."

Seeing that the weaponsmith was able to easily determine the weapon's previous grade, Liu Wenyan explained, "Back then, my uncle was a Sunmoon. But subsequently, he dropped in rank due to heavy injuries. Even his earth weapon was badly damaged. A few of the stripes on it were destroyed."

"Heavy injuries?"

Su Yu rubbed his chin and asked, "Was it damage to your willpower or physical body? Since you're a warrior, it should be damage to your body, right?"

Uncle Liu frowned and remained silent. Liu Wenyan cursed inwardly. Why was this weaponsmith asking so many questions? They only needed to know if the weapon could be repaired. Why waste their time like this?

After a glance at Uncle Liu, Su Yu said, "Sir, you don't seem to be in a good condition. Due to excessive exhaustion, your body is starting to rot. You won't be able to live much longer. Since you're going to die soon, why bother repairing your weapon?"

Liu Wenyan was finally furious. He said, "Master Cui, if you can't repair it, just be honest. Must you play with us like this?"

Su Yu beamed, "Brother Liu, why are you so impatient? When it comes to repairing weapons, there is a difference between someone who is truly doing a good job and someone who is pretending to do a good job. If you're willing to say some nice words and get me in a good mood, perhaps I'll do a better job. But if you offend me, I might only restore the weapon to forty percent of its original state even if I can restore it to ninety percent of its original state. As for the remaining fifty percent, I'll simply polish the weapon for a bit and pretend it's ninety percent restored."

Liu Wenyan blanked out. What was the meaning of those words?

Su Yu said, "This is the same as writing a willpower text. For example, a saber technique with nine moves. What if I only write the first four moves properly while disguising the rest with normal words? Nobody will notice immediately, right? And when the truth is finally exposed, I can simply shift the blame to the other person by claiming that they are too stupid to comprehend the rest of the moves..."

"..."

Liu Wenyan's eyes and mouth widened. Holy shit! Him? No way...right?

Uncle Liu did not notice anything. He frowned and said, "In that case, I won't be repairing this weapon anymore."

He reached out for his sword, but Su Yu did not return it. Meanwhile, Liu Wenyan was still stupefied.

Saber technique. What saber technique was this fellow talking about? The Lightning Source Blade!

Back then, he wrote a willpower text of the Lightning Source Blade for Su Yu. Due to a lack of willpower, he only wrote four moves and faked the rest. He was sure that just the first four moves alone would take Su Yu a long time to learn.

He was the only person aware of that. The old principal might have guessed something, but he had successfully laughed the matter off. Thus, apart from him and the old principal, Su Yu was the only person who might discover the truth.

As for the other students present while he was writing the text, they failed to learn even the first move. Thus, there was no need to even consider them. Uncle Liu was furious. He had the urge to snatch his weapon back and leave. This weaponsmith was insulting his nephew!

He had seen a lot of people like this. Back then, Liu Wenyan was as bright as the sun. Seeing that he had fallen into hard times, a lot of people derived pleasure from humiliating him. Clearly, he was seeing Cui Lang as one such person.

As for Liu Wenyan, he had an odd look in his eyes. He stared at Su Yu for a long while before saying, "What is the point of this, Master Cui? Since you're capable of doing a better job, you naturally need to do your best. It's like writing a willpower text. Perhaps the fake part was only written due to a lack of ability. It might not be deliberate."

Su Yu smiled, "True. In the end, strength matters. For example, my head used to hurt after learning eighteen languages. Even learning one more was beyond my ability. I couldn't learn more. This is the same for weaponsmithing. One must act according to their own capabilities."

"..."

Screw this brat!

Holy shit!

So it was really that brat!

Had this brat forgotten who his first teacher was? What did the brat call him earlier? Little geezer? This unfilial student!

Liu Wenyan was bursting with rage. But he was also greatly alarmed. How did this kid become an earth weaponsmith? And a Cloudbreach on top of that? When he left the Human Realm, the kid was still at the Mental Tempering Stage. Just how long had it been since then? The kid had actually surpassed him? He felt like burying himself somewhere out of shame.

Eighteen languages? He still remembered how back then, Su Yu had spent a very long time mastering eighteen languages. Thus, when Su Yu mentioned that, he finally realized that this was his student.

What a surprise. This was too big of a surprise.

He clenched his teeth and said, "Master Cui, why don't we make a trade? You repair my uncle's weapon I'll give you something nice. No matter what, I'm still a student of Ye Batian. I have some secret techniques in my possession. If you repair my uncle's weapon, I'll teach you these secret techniques through voice transmission."

Su Yu's eyes lit up as he said, "For real?" New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel★fire.net

"Of course."

"Wenyan!" Uncle Liu shouted, "You can't do that! I'm not repairing this weapon anymore!"

"Uncle!" Liu Wenyan said, "Don't say anything. Seal our surroundings for me. I don't want anyone to eavesdrop on us. Some people are still targetting me..."

"Wenyan!"

"Uncle, I can't allow your weapon to remain damaged. I am not willing to give up so easily. Just listen to me."

"..."

Uncle Liu was feeling helpless. After shooting Su Yu a furious glare, he snorted and sealed their surroundings. Right after that was done, Liu Wenyan leaped forward and slapped Su Yu on his head.

Screw this! This damn brat! How dare he step all over his teacher?

Uncle Liu was stunned. Was his nephew planning to kill Cui Lang to vent his anger? Wasn't this a tad bit too excessive? More importantly, his nephew might not be Cui Lang's match.

That thought had barely crossed his mind when Su Yu rubbed his head with a grimace and awkwardly said, "Stop, stop! Teacher, we're short of time! We shouldn't be wasting our time with this! Can't we talk properly?"

"Talk properly?" Liu Wenyan flared his nose furiously and said, "What did you call me earlier?"

"..."

Su Yu laughed awkwardly and said, "Y-you're still a Skysoar while I'm a Cloudbreach. I'm also a weaponsmith. It is normal for Cui Lang to address you that way. I need to keep my disguise, right?"

"Screw you!"

Liu Wenyan cursed from sheer anger. Or to be precise, his embarrassment had transformed into anger.

So what if he was a Skysoar? Was the brat so amazing? He had killed plenty of Cloudbreaches before. What was so special about Cloudbreaches?

Uncle Liu was stunned. He looked at his nephew doubtfully and asked, "Wenyan, this..."

Why was this weaponsmith calling his nephew teacher? When did his nephew accept this student?

Liu Wenyan gloomily said, "This is the same kid Bai Feng took under him."

Uncle Liu instantly understood. He was completely stunned. Su Yu?

Su Yu flashed a bashful smile and said, "Teacher, Grandpa Liu, I was only acting in accordance with my disguise. Don't mind me. I'm here just to see you, Teacher."

"Screw you!" Liu Wenyan said, "Stop wasting time. Repairing a weapon won't take too long. A lot of people might be paying close attention to us. Why are you here? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?"

"I'm aware. It's fine. My current identity is only slightly popular due to my weaponsmithing skills. Nothing else." Su Yu said, "Grandpa Liu, you seem to have sustained a terrible injury. Your flesh is starting to rot. I have an art that might be helpful for your recovery."

Su Yu handed a few items to Liu Wenyan and said, "You can slowly go over them later. I won't say anything else. I'll try to repair your weapon as soon as possible. Teacher, do you need anything?"

"Me?"

Liu Wenyan thought about it and shook his head, "No. I don't lack resources. I only lack a proper opportunity to break through. Kid, when you're done repairing weapons here, leave and return to the Human Realm."

"Nope." Su Yu shook his head, "I want to cross the Eastrift Valley and fight powerful opponents."

"You!" Liu Wenyan furiously said, "It's very dangerous there!"

"That's why I need to go there!" Su Yu calmed himself and said, "Teacher, I must go. I'm not weak. If I'm being blunt, I'm already stronger than you. And I have numerous trump cards. I can even deal with the weaker Mountainseas."

"..."

Liu Wenyan was stunned. The brat was strong enough to deal with Mountainseas?

Su Yu smiled, "I'm telling the truth. Teacher, I'm no longer the same weak kid of the past. I am no longer a weakling who can only beg for others to help my teacher by offering my cultivation methods."

As he recalled the past, he clenched his teeth and said, "And I'll keep growing! I won't stop growing! I will no longer be a weakling who can only shout for help. I will gain the strength to kill those people with my own hands!

"A day will come when I go after those bastards. Everything will change. I am not a child anymore. I am no longer the wimpy kid who will come crying at you after having a nightmare. I'm now an adult. I'm now strong."

After a short silence, Liu Wenyan sighed, "It's my fault."

"Not at all." Su Yu shook his head, "I won't be who I am today without you. Furthermore, I'm not your only student. You have so many students, but why am I the only one to be dragged into this mess? There is only one reason. I am too outstanding. So outstanding that everyone is jealous of me."

"..."

Liu Wenyan was speechless. Damn it. When did this kid become so narcissistic? He didn't forget to sing himself praises while talking about all that?

"After tomorrow, I'll leave. Don't worry, Teacher. I have never suffered much losses before. That won't change now that I'm in the Allheaven Battlefield."

Liu Wenyan sighed again and nodded, "You have your own path. In that case, keep walking your path. If you really encounter any trouble, just come here. Kid...you're all grown up now. You're no longer the same person."

"I'm still the same person. I will remain the same person now and in the future.

Liu Wenyan said, "Let's stop talking about all that. This one meeting is enough for me. Kid, continue working on the weapons. Don't let anyone suspect you. Not everyone in the Vanguard Regiment can be trusted."

"Got it."

Su Yu started repairing the weapon while Uncle Liu removed the seal around them. However, he couldn't calm his heart. This was his nephew's student? This kid was almost an earth weaponsmith! How did his nephew produce a student like this?

Teacher and student said nothing else to each other. Su Yu focused on repairing the weapon while Liu Wenyan watched on silently. Back when they were in Nanyuan, he was in charge of guiding and teaching this kid. Things had changed.

Su Yu spent five years under his tutelage.

He had witnessed the kid's growth with his own eyes. In the blink of an eye, the wimpy brat from back then had transformed into a Cloudbreach. Liu Wenyan couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the thought of being surpassed by his student.

Thinking of the past, he sighed inwardly.

Chapter 863: Petty (1)

Restore scroll position

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Su Yu was drenched in sweat as he worked on Uncle Liu's weapon without saying anything.

This earth weapon must have been forged by a powerful weaponsmith in the past. Its quality was pretty high. Even with such heavy damage dealt to it, its core remained fine. But because of its excellent quality, it was also very hard to repair.

Su Yu worked seriously. Liu Wenyan watched silently while thinking about numerous things.

Teacher and student maintained their silence. None took the initiative to speak. It was as though they had returned to the past. Back then, Su Yu would study while Liu Wenyan watched silently by the side. But things were no longer the same. Back then, Su Yu could ask for Liu Wenyan's guidance when he encountered any problem. But now, Liu Wenyan wouldn't be able to answer even if Su Yu asked him something about weaponsmithing.

Time passed slowly as the stripes on the earth weapon shone one after another.

Seventy-three stripes, seventy-four stripes...

Repairing was easier than forging a new weapon. Before they knew it, all eighty-one of the golden stripes were shining brightly again. To qualify as a middle earth weapon, it required at least eighty-two stripes. But Su Yu had stopped.

"This is as far as I can go. There is a risk of destroying this weapon if I attempt to restore it fully. For now, it is at the very peak of the early earth grade." Su Yu tossed the weapon to Uncle Liu and said, "If you are patient, perhaps you can wait until I officially become an earth weaponsmith. After forging a few earth weapons, I can fully restore this weapon for you."

Uncle Liu rubbed the sword and felt that it had grown much stronger than before. Su Yu was truly very good at weaponsmithing.

Uncle Liu nodded and said, "This is good enough. I'm only a Mountainsea. I might not be able to control it properly if it is fully restored. Thank you...Master Cui."

Su Yu answered, "You're welcome. But as we agreed, the two of you need to help me the moment I need assistance. Don't forget that."

Uncle Liu blanked out in confusion. Liu Wenyan understood what Su Yu was getting at. He nodded, "No problem. We aren't criminals serving our sentence here. We can leave at any time."

Su Yu nodded, "I'm aware of that. The student your lucky self managed to accept in the past offended the entire Great Xia for the sake of getting you pardoned. Brother Liu, remember to be grateful to that excellent student of yours. Don't scold him all the time."

"..."

Liu Wenyan cursed inwardly. This damn brat was praising himself again. Was he not tired of that?

Liu Wenyan pretended like Su Yu hadn't said anything and smiled, "Master Cui, you did us a huge favor helping us with our weapons. The Vanguard Regiment might be filled with coarse and murderous individuals, but we still know gratitude. Feel free to look for us if you encounter any trouble during your travels in the Allheaven Battlefield. If the two of us are too weak to help, you can look for Deputy General Cao and the others."

Su Yu nodded at the reminder and said, "I understand."

Liu Wenyan took one final look at Su Yu, inhaled deeply, and said, "In that case, we'll be taking our leave here."

"Next."

Su Yu looked down, refusing to look at Liu Wenyan.

Liu Wenyan and Uncle Liu left silently. Behind them, the next visitor started fawning right after entering the room, "Master Cui, you are truly incredible. You can even repair earth weapons?" For origınal chapters go to ⓝovelFire.net

"Cut the bullshit. You're not getting a discount."

The newcomer's expression turned awkward. He wasted no time and took out his weapon.

***

Vanguard Regiment. Command Center.

Deputy General Cao was looking at the group of military officials seated below him. His black helmet had been removed, revealing his pale face. The cold and stern face looked very young.

After scanning the group, he indifferently said, "These days, the Vanguard Regiment has suffered heavy casualties. General Qin has requested help from the main headquarters. But since he's not back yet, I'm afraid there is no good news for us."

A woman with a scar on her face sneered and said, "The main headquarters are more than happy to see all of us dead. Why would they help us? General Qin is merely looking for humiliation with this action of his."

The woman had an unfeeling expression. From the way she spoke, she clearly didn't have a good opinion of the headquarters. She said, "We don't need their help. We will just fight until the end. Fight until we die. We're a bunch of criminals, anyway. What difference does it make if we die back home instead of here?"

Deputy General Cao looked at her and calmly said, "As the deputy general, I still wish to see more of us return alive. I wish to see more of us live on. Live on without the tag of a criminal."

He looked at the crowd and continued, "I already sent a request to the headquarters. The situation is getting more and more intense. There are too many skirmishes. I asked for a fifty percent reduction in the sentence of everyone here and an increase of thirty percent in our benefits."

Hong Du asked, "Would they agree?"

After a short silence, Deputy General Cao replied solemnly, "Yes. If not, that would be the same as telling us to throw our lives away. If there is no hope of survival, why should we keep fighting? Some of the brothers here still wish to return alive. We need all sorts of support, including weaponsmiths, pillmasters, talisman masters, beast tamers, and so on. But all those professions are too rare."

"Didn't we catch a pseudo earth weaponsmith back recently?"

The woman laughed, stretching the scar on her face, making her look scarier than before.

"That fellow is still young. He's very promising. It's a matter of time before he becomes an earth weaponsmith. Just keep him with us." Deputy General Cao shook his head, "We can't force him to stay. He has the backing of several Sunmoons. Forcing him to stay will turn him against us. There is no need for that."

He moved on from the topic and said, "I called all of you here today for a different matter. Recently, a lot of human geniuses have entered the Allheaven Battlefield. Similarly, numerous myriad race geniuses have gathered in the Plain of Desires right across the Eastrift Valley.

"According to the higher-ups, we should keep watch over the Eastrift Valley. Some of our geniuses might try to cross the Eastrift Valley to face the gathered myriad race geniuses. We will serve as their lifeline. With us there, our geniuses will be able to retreat rapidly to a safe location when they encounter danger."

The woman coldly said, "They're doing this again? Every single time! Every single time! Some of those so-called geniuses would provoke some powerful opponents they couldn't deal with before returning behind the Eastrift Valley. So many of our brothers have perished because of those so-called geniuses. Why must we be the ones to take care of their mess every single time?"

Deputy General Cao said, "This is an order. For the higher-ups, all of us combined are worth less than a few of these geniuses. Stop complaining. This is a military command. I only hope that those fellows won't create too big of a trouble this time. More importantly, I hope they will be the ones to kill the myriad race geniuses instead of becoming the prey of those geniuses."

"Pfft!" The woman sneered, "Whatever. They should just die beyond the Eastrift Valley. That way, their deaths won't be our responsibility."

Deputy Cao did not say anything about that. After giving the military officials a few other reminders, he dismissed everyone. He kept Hong Du in the room.

After thinking for a bit, he said, "Is Cui Lang preparing to cross the Eastrift Valley?"

"Yes."

"Remind him that it's getting very dangerous over there recently. Things have changed this year." Deputy General Cao said, "He repaired over a dozen high-grade weapons for us over the past two days. But he hadn't even received that much payment for his work. Just give him a reminder to show our gratitude. If he insists, give him a detailed map of the Plain of Desires. Give him a list of the myriad race geniuses that might be there as well."

"Alright." After thinking for a bit, Deputy General Cao added, "Give him the location of a few of our safe houses. Tell him to go there if he needs help. The Vanguard Regiment always repays our favor."

"Yes!" Hong Du said, "Deputy General, why don't we try to persuade Cui Lang to stay?"

"There's no point. All geniuses are incredibly arrogant. They will only realize that the Allheaven Battlefield is not the stage for them to gain fame after suffering some hardships. Instead, this is a mass graveyard of geniuses.

"He will leave after ending his repairs tomorrow. Try to get him to repair more before leaving. He loves blood essence, right? We still have the blood essence of some powerful races in our storage. Send them all over and have him work through the night."

"Yes!"

Hong Du left.

***

Before long, Su Yu received a batch of blood essence from Hong Du.

He didn't plan to work during the night, but he had to change his plan. That was too big of a payment. Some of the blood essence was completely new to him. Thus, he had no choice but to work.

And thus, he started burning the midnight oil. One weapon after another was repaired by him. While he was working, there was a minor battle at the Eastrift Valley. But he did not care as he was too busy. During his time here, he had also learned about the gathering of geniuses in the Plain of Desires and the human geniuses crossing the Eastrift Valley to meet them.

"Only when there are enough geniuses would things be fun."

Su Yu thought about all sorts of things as he worked on the weapons. As for Hong Du's reminder and the safe houses he was told about, he kept those words in mind without making any remark.

He might really need to look for help when encountering a powerful opponent he couldn't defeat, so that was something worth remembering.

***

By the end of the third day, Su Yu had repaired a majority of the weapons the Vanguard Regiment needed repairing.

Night of the third day.

Su Yu did not leave. Instead, he started forging something for himself. He wanted to forge himself a pair of shoes. It would be even better if he could form a speed-related character as well before leaving.

He was no longer helping anyone with their repairs. After several days of repairing all sorts of weapons, his comprehension of the dao of weaponsmithing had deepened considerably.

His vibrate character had grown. Even his Soul Expanding Hammer had grown.

He worked alone. That night, banging sounds rang out unceasingly. Nobody disturbed him. He had announced that he was no longer accepting commissions. Instead, he was forging something for himself. DIsturbing a weaponsmith when he was in the middle of work was not a wise thing to do.

When morning arrived, Su Yu had a look of exhaustion. Seventy-two golden stripes could be seen on the pair of shoes in front of him.

"Even if I succeed in making an earth weapon, it will probably be of garbage quality. And it is very tiring. Perhaps, I can try forging seventy-two and a half stripes. That will give me a pseudo earth weapon but it will be a lot less exhausting. The difference with an actual earth weapon won't even be that big."

Su Yu started contemplating. But at times, pseudo earth weapons could be harder to forge than actual earth weapons. But he had some experience working on something like that since this was what Zhao Li had forged in the past.

Su Yu had observed the entire process when Zhao Li worked on his weapon. If he succeeded, his weaponsmithing skills would reach the same level as Zhao Li's back when he made his first attempt at forging the earth weapon.

***

A long time passed.

Su Yu was finally done.

There were no seventy-three stripes on it. But since the seventy-third stripe was semi-formed, this pair of shoes was much stronger than regular peak profound weapons. He hurriedly refined the shoes before putting them on. His body flashed as he tested his new speed.

"My movement speed has increased by at least thirty percent."

He was overjoyed. As for the fact that he had not advanced into an earth weaponsmith, that wasn't too big of a deal. It would be too draining for him to use an actual earth weapon so early anyway.

A thirty percent increase!

Even without any characters and the Time technique, he was already as fast as some seventh-stage Cloudbreaches. With his Time technique, he was probably as fast as some Mountainseas. If he could form a speed or a spatial character as well, his speed would be further boosted. Alas, the only speed-related character he had thus far was the slow character.

"July seems to have arrived."

If he remembered correctly, it was the 1st of July. It was time for him to leave. He hadn't even crossed the Eastrift Valley after arriving in the Allheaven Battlefield for some time. That wouldn't do.

"Time to leave!"

He had met his father. He had also met his teacher. And he had forged himself a new pair of shoes. He had met all his goals excluding the goal of getting a new character. The time had arrived for him to cross the Eastrift Valley and experience the real Allheaven Battlefield.

Chapter 864: Petty (2)

Restore scroll position

"Master Cui, are you really going to the Plain of Desires?"

Outside the Vanguard Regiment base.

Hong Du had a regretful and worried look. He regretted his failure in getting this weaponsmith to stay. He worried that they would not have anyone else to repair their weapons in the future if this weaponsmith ended up dying.

"Yes." Su Yu smiled, "It's not a big deal. I'm only going there to gather some materials."

"Do you want me to send some other people to gather those materials for you? You can just stay here and relax."

"You guys?" Su Yu said, "Forget it. You guys are only good for killing. I checked. The materials I need can be found at the Plain of Desires."

"Master Cui, that place is really very dangerous right now." Hong Du warned yet again, "Just last night, we received words from our scouts that a few individuals in the Yellow Index have died during the past few days. And your name is now in the Yellow Index as well."

"I made it into the Yellow Index?"

Hong Du thought that this fellow was finally scared. He hurriedly said, "Yeah. Someone listed you in the Yellow Index. You are occupying the last place in the index."

"How dare they look down on me!"

Su Yu instantly turned furious, stunning Hong Du. Wait...was this guy happy to be on the list?

Su Yu smiled again, "Last place...got it. See you."

He turned and left without any hesitation. Ahead of him was the massive Eastrift Valley. Surrounding the valley was the Eastrift Mountain Range. After crossing the valley, he would officially leave the human territory.

"Master Cui..."

Hong Du could only watch helplessly. Why was a damn weaponsmith going to a place like that? Was he trying to court death? Did he think that he was very impressive as an early Cloudbreach? Those genius Skysoars could easily skip a level and kill early Cloudbreaches.

A short while later, Deputy General Cao appeared.

Hong Du hurriedly said, "Deputy General Cao, he refused to listen and left without hesitation. I couldn't persuade him against it." Google seaʀᴄh ⓝovelFire.net

Deputy General Cao nodded. He stared in the direction Su Yu had left. After a short while, he said, "Let him be. I didn't see any fear or worry on his face. In fact, he seemed eager. Perhaps there is a reason for that confidence."

He moved on from the topic and said, "Have the army stay combat-ready. Do not let any enemy past the Eastrift Valley."

With his order, one expert after another flew out of the base and moved toward their respective positions.

They would likely face a major battle soon. The Plain of Desires was slowly being engulfed in chaos. The young geniuses of the myriad races had been dying non-stop. Some of their dao protectors had been going crazy trying to avenge their young lords.

Things were getting more and more chaotic over there. Thus, it was imperative that the Vanguard Regiment stay on alert and prevent any of these enemies from entering the human territory.

***

At the moment, Su Yu looked completely relaxed and carefree.

He had finally left the human territory. He always felt suppressed in the human territory as he wouldn't dare to use all his strength there. And some of the people he wanted to kill still couldn't be killed.

But after crossing the Eastrift Valley, he was free to kill anyone he wanted. As long as it was someone he didn't know, everyone was free for the taking. And there might not even be any consequences for killing those people. This was the hunting ground of geniuses.

It wouldn't be surprising for anyone to die. A massive mountain range stood before him. After going across the mountain range, he would reach the Plain of Desires.

While he was flying, a figure streaked past not far ahead of him. He ignored that figure. But a moment later, the figure stopped and returned. A young man appeared and asked with an odd expression, "Great Ming's Cui Lang?"

Su Yu looked at the newcomer. That wasn't someone he knew. He nodded.

"You dare to come here even when you're only a weaponsmith? Are you courting death?"

The youth shook his head and said, "Just go back while you can. Take it easy. The Plain of Desires has been very chaotic for the past few days. Even Huang Teng of Great Xia has been running all over the place trying to escape his pursuers. Great Xia's Wu Qi was nearly killed not long ago. You're only a weaponsmith and a fresh Cloudbreach. What are you doing here?"

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat. He asked, "Huang Teng and Wu Qi? They're quite strong. They're here as well? And they're under pursuit?"

"Yeah. Back then, Wu Qi bit a devil genius to death for her advancement into the Skysoar Realm. That fellow's elder brother is here with some other people to take revenge on her. They already fought several battles in the Plain of Desires."

The youth said, "I'm going over to check things out as well. Cui Lang, leave while you still can. I'm in a rush so I'll be leaving first."

With a flicker, the youth vanished.

Su Yu shouted, "May I know your name?"

"Great Song's Song Yi."

Su Yu said nothing else. He knew this name. This was a genius from Great Song, also someone in the Heavenly Hunt Index. Evidently, he was heading to the Plain of Desires to join the fun as well.

"Wu Qi? Huang Teng?"

Su Yu was quite surprised to hear of those two right after arriving here. When he was in Great Xia, he had heard Huang Teng's name countless times. That fellow was also the first-ranked genius in the Earth Index.

But someone like that was actually forced to run for his life here. This place sure was dangerous. Even with his current strength, Su Yu still wasn't confident he could defeat Huang Teng. Of course, he didn't think that he would lose as well. Nothing was for certain before they actually fought.

He continued flying ahead. After dozens of kilometers, he finally crossed the mountain range. A new scenery unfolded before his eyes.

Beyond the Eastrift Mountain Range was a boundless plain. The silhouettes of some cities or towns could even be seen in the distance. Su Yu wondered what manner of people inhabited these cities.

He did have a map, but the map did not have a detailed introduction to these cities. Hong Du only gave him a short reminder that some of these cities were places where he could rest. He could enter these cities to hide when encountering danger, but these cities were also extremely dangerous. This, it was advisable to not enter unless necessary.

"Plain of Desires!"

Su Yu spread his senses around. The ambient source qi was very dense here. This place was a much better cultivation location than the Human Realm.

"Here, I'm no longer in the human territory."

While he was thinking, a massive flying beast approached him from afar. A person clad in red armor was seated atop the flying beast. That individual proceeded to scan Su Yu with his willpower openly.

Su Yu frowned. The armored person spoke using the common language, "A human? First time here? Little human brat, you've been drafted. From now onward, you are a captive of the Heavendoom City."

Su Yu blanked out. What was going on? Did he become a captive right after leaving? This fellow wasn't weak at all. He was a seventh-stage Cloudbreach. His mount was also a Cloudbreach.

Su Yu was more curious than worried. He said, "Heavendoom City? I read about it before. It is located on the west of the Plain of Desires near the central sector. You guys are here just to catch some people?"

The armored individual coldly said, "Kid, did the experts of your race never teach you that you need to respect those stronger than you here? Not even the human Eternals can get involved in the affairs here. You are now my captive. Get over here."

Su Yu had a lot of questions. He had heard of the Heavendoom City. But why was this fellow catching someone right at their first meeting?

"Why do you need captives?"

"Are you courting death?"

The armored individual had barely spoken those words when Su Yu vanished and a hammer descended from above. With a loud rumble, the armored individual vanished while his mount was stunned by the hammer strike.

The mount was sent crashing onto the ground.

Not far away, the armored individual shouted with alarm, "Audacious!"

But he had to admit that this human was very strong.

After sending the flying beast to the ground with one hit, Su Yu looked at the armored individual and asked doubtfully, "Which race are you from? You sure are fast when it comes to running."

"You're too arrogant." The armored individual vanished after that shout. Su Yu stepped back forcefully, leaving cracks in the ground beneath him.

After taking a few steps back, he felt a sense of crisis. He hurriedly moved his head to the side. Instantly, a sharp object moved past his ear. A formidable corrosive power could be felt from the object.

The armored individual vanished again. Immediately after, Su Yu started feeling light-headed. That attack was poisonous!

Holy shit!

Did he encounter an expert right after arriving? No, was it possible that everyone here was an expert? That armored fellow felt quite impressive. Was he a warrior? He sure had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

Su Yu lifted his large hammer and started swinging it wildly. With a rumble, the armored individual was smashed out of hiding.

With the Perception Jade, that armored individual wasn't able to fully hide from him. Su Yu was just about to follow up with a stronger attack when his vision swam. An illusion!

"A cultural researcher?"

Su Yu was alarmed. He met a cultural researcher right after arriving? His blood character activated and broke the illusion used on him.

"Huh?"

The armored individual was greatly shocked. His illusion was broken so easily? He made the choice to leave unhesitatingly. It wasn't that he thought he wouldn't win. But there was no need to waste his time fighting an expert lest someone else swept in and reap the harvest.

Initially, he thought that this human was pretty ordinary in terms of strength. But that human was surprisingly strong. The armored individual was not interested in fighting someone to the death for no reason.

As for Su Yu, he frowned. He was about to give chase when his Perception Jade started blinking. Sensing that, he cursed and left rapidly as well.

***

A short while later.

Su Yu reappeared somewhere else and cursed, "Am I so weak?"

He had just arrived but he was already met with a small setback. That opponent was only a seventh-stage Cloudbreach, but he was unable to gain an upper hand during their short confrontation. In fact, that armored individual was the one with the upper hand. Was he too weak?

Was everyone in the Allheaven Battlefield so powerful?

***

At the same time.

Not far from Su Yu, a group of people were resting beside a river. The armored individual appeared with a flicker. A few of the people there were also clad in armor of similar design. One of them noticed him and laughed, "Red Armor, where did you run off to? Did you enjoy yourself? Where's your mount?"

"I lost it." The armored individual grumbled, "I met a human expert. What rotten luck."

"A Mountainsea?" His companion said, "You should be happy to escape a Mountainsea unharmed."

"No." The armored individual shook his head, "Only a Cloudbreach. And it's not Huang Teng or the other popular humans. The human race sure has a lot of geniuses. I've never heard of that fellow. But he was able to stun me with a single hammer strike."

"Hammer?"

The others looked at each other doubtfully. They had never heard of a hammer-wielding genius. As for Cui Lang who was ranked last in the Yellow Index, he was only a weaponsmith. Thus, none of them suspected that Cui Lang was the so-called human expert.

Su Yu thought that he was weak and unlucky. But this individual called Red Armor also felt like he was too unlucky. He was a seventh-stage Cloudbreach. A genius in the Profound Index. Someone who had killed ninth-stage Cloudbreaches and fought Mountainseas before. He was capable of either killing or escaping safely from early Mountainseas. But a Cloudbreach was actually able to force him to retreat. He was feeling very gloomy.

"Red Armor, do you need our help?"

"No." Red Armor rejected the offer, "Ignore that fellow. He's not our current target. Instead, it's that young dragon. Dragons are the best mounts you can have. That young dragon is near the Mountainsea Realm. If we can catch him, we'll gain a Mountainsea dragon mount before long."

"We don't have enough people for that. The dragons are born powerful. And that fellow is a golden dragon, a race that is second only to the heavenly dragon race. That won't be an easy opponent."

Red Armor nodded. If that opponent was so easy to defeat, they wouldn't have been forced to do things in such a troublesome manner. He had been trying to get a few captives to use as bait against the young dragon.

"It's fine. We only need to catch some fellows to use as bait. That young dragon has only left the Dragon Realm for a short while. We can probably deal with him with poison."

As for Su Yu, that human was not weak at all. Thus, Red Armor decided to give up lest the damn human ended up ruining his plan. He wasn't too bothered about their previous encounter.

In the Plain of Desires, a battle was no big deal if one was able to escape without any losses. After the battle, everyone would simply return to minding their own business.

***

The encounter was no big deal to Red Armor. But it was a very big deal for Su Yu. He was feeling extremely gloomy.

Holy shit!

He had received a beating right after arriving. He had not suffered any losses, but that fellow had swaggered off after hitting him. This was not something he could swallow. He didn't even have the chance to use his real strength before the battle ended.

"Armored guy...you're dead!"

Su Yu gnashed his teeth. He was a very petty person. He would not forget that grievance anytime soon. Nobody would be able to save that person. His good mood had been ruined by that armored bastard.

"Furball, trace the scent of that fellow."

The little furball, who was enjoying his sleep, woke up. He yawned in confusion. He had been quite free recently so he had been sleeping a lot.

When he heard Su Yu's words, his tiny nose moved for a bit. He then said, "To the left. His scent is still in the air."

Su Yu wasted no time and transformed into the wind.

That fellow was dead!

His first encounter in the Plain of Desires was an unfavorable one. He wouldn't be able to restore his mood before dealing with that armored bastard.