Chapter 232: The Hammer Qi Method: Master and Disciple Taught Together!

"Hss, why did my back suddenly turn cold on a perfect sixth-day summer?"

Li Rui shivered.

A strange chill surged upward.

He was mid-breath circulation—this sudden disruption nearly sent him into qi deviation.

He muttered to himself.

He'd thought it was some legendary external evil intrusion, but in that instant, nothing else happened.

Li Rui still wasn't reassured.

He waited until deep night, a full hour passed, before finally relaxing.

He completed seventy-two celestial cycles.

Only then did he crawl into bed and enter the Dream Cloud Terrace.

Keep practicing!

The next morning.

As soon as Li Rui opened his door, he saw Liang He standing outside, eyes brimming with excitement.

"Little He, what's this?"

"Master, I've broken through."

Liang He was like a schoolboy who'd just memorized poetry, eager for approval from his old master.

"Good."

Li Rui raised his right hand and placed it on Liang He's shoulder; divine qi circled around both of them.

His blood and qi were robust.

Definitely a sign of breakthrough.

After his second disciple Liu Tiezhu broke through, now Liang He had too—disciples breaking through one after another—did that mean he was a good master?

Li Rui grinned.

Liang He was barely twenty, already at eighth rank—by any standard in Anning Prefecture, he was a notable talent.

Not to mention Liu Tiezhu, the natural diamond.

His third disciple Wang Zhao might be the slowest in martial progress, but he possessed the rare gift of horse-taming; his future wouldn't be poor.

Truly, his hall was filled with talent!

Li Rui thoroughly enjoyed being a master.

Soon.

Liu Tiezhu, Wang Zhao, and Yang Yong all learned of Liang He's breakthrough and were genuinely happy for their senior brother.

Throughout the courtyard.

No one trained harder than Liang He.

He trained at least six hours daily—everyone in the courtyard saw it.

No one envied his eighth-rank achievement.

Li Rui watched it all.

Liang He was growing more like a true senior brother.

A senior brother doesn't need the greatest talent—he must earn respect, or how else can he unite his junior brothers?

Liang He wasn't clever, but he was diligent, steady, even clumsy.

Yet that very clumsiness made him more trustworthy.

As everyone celebrated Liang He's breakthrough.

Liu Tiezhu opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Of course, Li Rui noticed his hesitation—he looked at Liu Tiezhu: "Speak up. What's wrong?"

Liu Tiezhu scratched his head:

"Master, the old ironworker at the forge said yesterday to tell you to come by."

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

The moment had finally come—to meet his master's master.

The "old ironworker" Liu Tiezhu mentioned was Tie Kuang of Divine Weapon Manor—a fourth-rank Primordial, the manor's top forge-master; any one of those titles alone was terrifying.

To meet him?

Li Rui paused, then nodded: "It's time we met."

My disciple has trained under him for months—Liu Tiezhu is nearly at Iron Bone stage. Out of courtesy, I must pay my respects.

Tie Kuang is from Divine Weapon Manor.

Divine Weapon Manor isn't some hidden cult or heretical sect—you can't run from the temple once you've entered it.

So it was certain they wouldn't dare act against Li Rui, an Anning Guard Captain—no need for caution.

Immediately.

Li Rui followed Liu Tiezhu out the door.

Moments later.

They arrived at a forge so ordinary it could've been anywhere.

Li Rui remembered.

This shop had stood for decades—he'd once gone to the old ironworker to have horseshoes forged, but after the old man died and his son took over, he'd never returned.

He glanced around.

Then followed Liu Tiezhu through the curtain into the back room.

Though his disciple Liu Tiezhu had trained here for months, this was Li Rui's first time entering.

After all, a fourth-rank Primordial could see through one's cultivation—better to avoid meeting unless necessary.

Soon.

Li Rui heard the clanging of hammers.

Liu Tiezhu walked straight to the furnace and pointed at the bare-chested, white-haired old man quenching a blade:

"Master, that's the old ironworker."

Li Rui gasped at his disciple pointing at a fourth-rank master and calling him "old man."

"Tiezhu, you shouldn't be called Tiezhu—you should be called Tiger."

"You really are a tiger."

Tie Kuang didn't even glance at them.

He kept hammering, focused.

His iron hammer swung like a storm, clang-clang-clang striking the red-hot blade blank, sparks bursting in the dim room—violent, beautiful.

Seeing Tie Kuang ignore them, Liu Tiezhu grew annoyed and shouted loudly:

"Hey, Old Iron!"

You can be arrogant on your own time—I'm your junior, I don't care—but today I brought my master!

You can disrespect me, but not my master!

You call yourself Tie Kuang, and you're really that arrogant???

Li Rui saw his reckless disciple about to confront Tie Kuang and broke into a cold sweat.

He quickly grabbed Liu Tiezhu.

"Master isn't in a hurry—wait a bit."

To confront a fourth-rank Primordial?

He truly feared Tie Kuang would turn them into blade blanks and hammer them flat.

Seeing this, Liu Tiezhu could only suppress his anger and scowl as he waited for Old Iron.

Tie Kuang's movements weren't disturbed by the two.

Sparks flew.

A full quarter-hour passed.

Li Rui began to notice something—he'd seen his disciple use a similar hammering technique; Liu Tiezhu's forging was skilled, but nothing compared to Tie Kuang's.

Divine skill!

Every swing of Tie Kuang's hammer subtly aligned with his true qi, striking precisely where the qi was weakest.

In other words, every strike wasn't just forging metal—it was also cultivating qi.

What he'd taught Liu Tiezhu wasn't forging—it was Qi Refining!

But Liu Tiezhu hadn't yet generated true qi, so the effect was hidden; on Tie Kuang, it was entirely different.

Li Rui was instantly entranced.

His own true qi flowed unconsciously, mimicking Tie Kuang's rhythm; his hands imitated the hammering motions.

Tie Kuang caught this out of the corner of his eye and slowed his hammering.

What should've taken two quarter-hours now took a full hour.

Finally.

A hiss—the blade was quenched.

Tie Kuang finally looked at Li Rui and his disciple.

Liu Tiezhu, impatient, grumbled: "Old Iron, you're slipping—spent an hour on a piece of Xuanjin Iron? Didn't you eat breakfast today?"

Tie Kuang decisively ignored Liu Tiezhu, that brainless fool.

Liu Tiezhu was about to speak.

Then he heard his master, Li Rui, say: "Thank you, Elder, for transmitting the art."

He turned around.

Liu Tiezhu saw his own master bowing deeply to Old Man Tie, his eyes widening like copper bells.

He was speechless. Old Man Tie glared at Liu Tiezhu: "Get lost, go to the back. I've got things to discuss with your master."

Liu Tiezhu grunted, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward to argue.

He'd worked in the forge for so long—he'd never coddled Old Man Tie. Respect, yes, but Old Man Tie's words were always too rude.

They'd argued plenty of times, but Old Man Tie held no grudges—he still taught him forging just the same.

Li Rui grabbed Liu Tiezhu:

"Tiezhu, go ahead. Your master and Elder Tie need to talk."

Truly, a calf unaware of the tiger's might.

Only Liu Tiezhu, ignorant of Tie Kuang's true stature, would dare act this way.

He himself would never dare.

Since Li Rui had spoken, Liu Tiezhu could only sulk off to the back courtyard.

He felt his master had lost face on his first visit—this left him ashamed.

=9+book_8

Little did he know.

Li Rui felt he'd received immense honor today.

A fourth-rank Primordial Martialist personally transmitting an art—this treatment, even the True Disciples of Divine Weapon Manor might not have received.

Liu Tiezhu left.

Tie Kuang finally turned to Li Rui, his expression intrigued: "Damn if this isn't strange—none of Divine Weapon Manor's disciples could ever learn my Hammer Qi Art, yet you two master and disciple picked it up in one go."

"Your talent is exceptional. Among all I've met, you rank among the top three—no one else could grasp the essence of my hammer technique after seeing it once."

Li Rui bowed again:

"It's due to your guidance, Elder. It proves our master-disciple pair are destined to meet you."

According to Jiang Lin's words.

This elder of Divine Weapon Manor had lived at least two hundred years.

Before him, Li Rui was as green as a raw youth—proper respect for an elder must not be lacking.

Though he hadn't done this in decades, now he performed it with perfect ease, not the slightest hesitation.

Tie Kuang glanced at Li Rui and sneered:

"You're a shrewd master, always climbing the pole when you see one. Don't bother testing me—I won't take on disciples."

"I taught the Hammer Qi Art to that idiot Liu Tiezhu only because I didn't want the art to vanish."

"Now that you're here, it doesn't matter—I'll give it to you. The art was found by chance; it doesn't belong to Divine Weapon Manor."

It was almost laughable.

The lord of Divine Weapon Manor had sought him many times, begging him to teach the Hammer Qi Art to his disciples.

Was it that he didn't want to teach?

No—it was those wooden-headed fools at Divine Weapon Manor who simply couldn't learn it. He'd sent over thirty or forty geniuses, yet not one succeeded.

Now, these two from Qinghe had learned it. Truly, fate plays cruel tricks.

Li Rui's eyes lit up.

He could feel this art's rank was extremely high.

And it was a supreme art capable of forging true qi—such arts were almost always the secret treasures of great sects.

And yet, he'd been given it outright.

He'd truly stumbled upon a massive windfall.

For a martialist like him, whose Qi Strengthening had reached peak completion and was about to condense his essence, this art was a pillow offered just as he fell asleep—perfectly suited.

With this Hammer Qi Art, Li Rui was confident he could complete Essence Condensation within three years.

Less than ten years.

He'd condense his essence and open his qi sea.

Such speed—even prodigies would be left far behind.

Li Rui: "Elder, if there's anything I can do, please command me."

In truth, when Liu Tiezhu had summoned him today, he'd already suspected Tie Kuang had some task for him.

Tie Kuang's white beard trembled.

Li Rui hadn't asked what needed doing—he'd asked what he could do.

He was subtly warning Tie Kuang: he couldn't handle anything too difficult.

"You're clever enough," Tie Kuang said.

"But I still prefer to be around fools."

He'd spent his life obsessed with forging iron, but that didn't mean he was naive—he saw through Li Rui's thoughts at a glance.

He always kept his distance from "clever" men like Li Rui.

In contrast, men like Liu Tiezhu suited him perfectly.

Otherwise, Liu Tiezhu's habit of calling him "Old Man Tie" would've earned him a beating long ago, let alone receiving an art.

Li Rui sighed:

"People's experiences shape their nature. If you're not clever, you won't survive."

Hearing this, Tie Kuang's gaze shifted.

"You kid, you still retain a sliver of your original heart."

Since he'd summoned Li Rui,

He'd already investigated Li Rui's background in advance.

He'd spent decades as a stable hand.

As Li Rui said—if you weren't clever, you wouldn't have lived this long.

Tie Kuang's tone softened: "Good. I did summon you today for a reason."

Tie Kuang's nature, like forging iron, was always blunt and direct.

Li Rui bowed deeper:

"I am at your command."

Today, Tie Kuang had transmitted the Hammer Qi Art to him. Even if Tie Kuang didn't care, Li Rui had received a genuine favor.

In truth, both master and disciple were now Tie Kuang's students.

Having received this favor, he must repay it.

When he first arrived, he'd been weighing how to maneuver—now, whatever he could do, he'd do.

Tie Kuang spoke: "I want to do business with you. I supply the weapons; you sell them. Profit split seven to three—I take seven, you take three. Any objections?"

Li Rui froze.

An image flashed unbidden in his mind:

Opening a shop. Doing business.

But Tie Kuang's deal wasn't an unfair contract—it was, in fact, remarkably fair.

Weapon trade.

He'd only need to handle sales—and earn thirty percent profit.

It was a business with zero capital.

No one else could do this weapon trade—but an officer of the Anning Guard could. Who would inspect an Anning Guard officer?

If caught, it wouldn't be because you sold weapons—it'd be because your patron had fallen.

Tie Kuang stared at Li Rui, frowning:

"You don't want to do it?"

"Or is the share too small?"

If he hadn't desperately needed gold to forge a divine weapon, and if he hadn't feared that annoying lord-nephew of Divine Weapon Manor would demand a cut, he'd never have sought a partner.

Selling weapons—especially to the Witch Kingdom.

Even someone detached from worldly affairs knew he needed a clever, cautious man to handle this.

He couldn't do it himself—he was a blacksmith, not a merchant.

And even if he tried, he'd likely fail.

That's why he'd thought of Li Rui, Liu Tiezhu's master.

A senior officer in the Anning Guard with a reputation for steadiness.

Today, he confirmed it—he was a shrewd one.

Old men do become cunning.

Li Rui was perfect for this task.

Li Rui paused: "May I ask, Elder, why you wish to do this business?"

A heavenly pie falling from the sky—especially one that could crush you—demanded caution.

Tie Kuang grinned, his eyes filled with longing, and he didn't hide his thoughts from Li Rui:

"I'm going to forge a sword."

"A third-rank immortal sword."

"A sword that can kill a Earth Immortal."

(End of Chapter)