Chapter 237: The Divine Weapon Mountain Villa Sends Someone

Whoosh!

A speck of golden light shot out in an instant, piercing through the endless sea of clouds.

"Done!"

Li Rui's eyes were filled with joy.

Condensing Qi into a bead, Finger-Strike Divine Art!

This technique couldn't even be called martial arts—merely a clever application of true qi.

It all stemmed from inspiration given by a certain Master Huang from his past life.

Li Rui's Immortal Mystery Qi was already superior to ordinary true qi; now, having condensed it into a core, its rank surged further. Merely projecting it as a bead granted immense power, and during combat, it was sufficiently concealed—sure to leave opponents defenseless.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

"Finger-Strike Art: Dragon Carrying the Pearl."

He shifted his intent.

The Ying Dragon within his dantian revived.

The Ying Dragon slowly opened its jaws, and a bead formed from Immortal Mystery Qi was held between them.

Li Rui curled his fingers slightly, pinching them together.

A purple glow flashed forth, faintly radiating divine aura.

Li Rui murmured softly: "Go!"

With strength from his right thumb and middle finger, the purple glow shot out, transforming into a golden streak of light.

Where the golden light passed, the sea of clouds was torn open into a chasm over a hundred zhang wide.

Li Rui was stunned by the magnificent sight before him.

A faint smile curled his lips.

"Very good."

It carried the might of a dragon, yet was far more concealed—making it even more effective for killing.

When fighting, just fight. No need to summon a giant dragon every time.

He used it once, and now the Anning Guard fellows drag him around daily to see the dragon.

Do they really think I'm a dragon-dancer?

He wasn't surnamed Qiao or Xiao; no need to max out the special effects every time he fights.

Showing the Dragon Carrying the Pearl is perfect now.

Li Rui shifted his intent.

He began his nightly settlement screen.

"Come along."

As soon as he spoke, three figures stepped out from the Cloud Terrace: Qi Ze, Gao Zhen, and Liu Jiaoniang.

Li Rui's fingers glowed with golden light.

"Use this technique."

Dawn.

Li Rui pushed open his door, satisfied, stretched lazily, and gazed at the pale streak of dawn on the horizon.

"Another day of slaughter."

Two techniques, three kills.

Gao Zhen and Qi Ze were skewered like candied haws by his first-level Finger-Strike Divine Art.

All three were sixth-rank experts, effortlessly slain by him.

After condensing his core, his strength surged dramatically—he could now instantly obliterate former formidable foes.

Li Rui understood clearly.

All clever stratagems crumbled before absolute power.

Necessary social graces must not be neglected—they reduce trouble and accelerate cultivation—but true importance lies in one's own strength.

Li Rui never dared to slack off on this.

After training, he ate breakfast and had nothing else to do.

Early in the morning, he strolled out of the Anning Guard. Since becoming the Trade Company Captain, he no longer needed to worry about guard battalion affairs, and the Trade Office was entirely under his command.

Li Rui naturally delegated all duties to his subordinates.

Focus on the big, let go of the small.

That's the art of leadership.

If you constantly fear being sidelined, fret over every detail, and worry something will go wrong somewhere, you'll eventually exhaust yourself.

Li Rui needed time to cultivate—how could he waste it on trivial matters?

So he handed everything over to his subordinates.

The Trade Office was almost entirely managed by Tan Hu; the Heaven and Earth Alliance was entrusted to Huang Chui and Fei Laosan, with Liang He and Liu Tong merely overseeing.

He passed through half the city.

Soon, the sound of hammering metal came from a workshop.

"Master, what brings you here?"

Liu Tiezhu, shirtless with a massive muscular frame, dropped his hammer and rushed over upon seeing Li Rui.

Li Rui glanced around:

"Where's Elder Tie?"

"Old Tie? He's inside smoking his pipe."

Li Rui nodded.

"Good."

He and Liu Tiezhu pulled back the curtain and entered the back room.

As expected.

There sat Tie Kuang, standing on tiptoe, crouched beside the furnace, puffing away, smoke curling around him.

Tie Kuang didn't look up, his eyes rolled upward, wrinkles deepening on his forehead:

"Want a puff?"

He pulled a brass pipe from behind his waist.

"Then I'll have one."

Li Rui took the pipe, tapped it against his shoe, expertly packed it with tobacco, lit it from the furnace, and crouched beside Tie Kuang, tiptoeing and puffing away, just like him.

Liu Tiezhu stared at the two old smokers, momentarily speechless—Li Rui and Tie Kuang looked exactly like the weary old men common at Qinghe Street's corner.

Tie Kuang glanced sideways at Li Rui, his bark-like old face breaking into a satisfied smile:

"Not bad. Young men like you are rare now."

Liu Tiezhu's lips twitched.

Li Rui wasn't the least bit offended.

Before Tie Kuang, a man of several hundred years, Li Rui, under eighty, was clearly a young upstart.

Through this period of association,

Tie Kuang grew fonder of Li Rui with each passing day.

Not to mention anything else—the seventy-year-olds in Divine Weapon Mountain Villa lacked Li Rui's charm; they were all like unripe children.

There's a saying, isn't there?

A person's maturity isn't measured by age, but by experience.

If one lacks experience, even living for centuries leaves them unchanged.

Those people in Divine Weapon Mountain Villa were just like that—besides cultivating and forging, they had nothing else; they were just children.

Of course, that was Tie Kuang's view.

To others, the scene would be vastly different—undoubtedly seen as profound, miraculous, beyond comprehension.

Tie Kuang smoked harder and harder.

He hadn't met a young man willing to smoke with him in a long time.

"Speak up. What do you want?"

Li Rui chuckled: "Can't I just come visit an elder?"

Tie Kuang sneered: "If you've got something to say, say it. If not, get lost."

Li Rui: "Elder, how's the Immortal Blade coming? If you need materials, I'll go buy them right away."

"Not needed for now."

As soon as the Immortal Blade was mentioned,

Tie Kuang's mood improved considerably.

Seeing this, Li Rui cautiously asked: "Elder, why insist on forging an Immortal Weapon?"

This had long puzzled him.

As he learned more about Immortal Weapons, he realized their difficulty was terrifying: even top-tier Immortal Realm experts were rare, yet Immortal Weapons were even fewer.

One reason was the scarcity of smiths capable of forging them; the other was simply how incredibly hard it was.

Even if the smith were Tie Kuang,

it was still mostly futile—ending in wasted money.

This doesn't seem worth it at all.

Better to wait until my skills improve further before trying.

Tie Kuang was in a good mood today; in the past, he'd have just told them to get lost, but today he added a few words: "To kill."

Li Rui's heart jolted:

"Kill?"

Tie Kuang nodded: "The former lord of Divine Weapon Manor was thought by outsiders to have died of illness, but he was actually killed by the Blood Shadow Ancestor. This grudge must be repaid!"

Saying this,

he took a few more puffs of his pipe: "The Blood Shadow Ancestor is a top-tier cultivator—I'm no match for him. But if I could get a divine weapon, I might stand a chance. At the very least, I could pass it down to my descendants."

"Came to Qinghe hoping to kill a few damn Blood Disciples as offerings, but didn't even spot one."

Whenever he mentioned the Blood Shadow Ancestor, Tie Kuang's anger flared.

Li Rui's expression turned strange.

It wasn't that they couldn't be found.

All twelve Blood Disciples in Qinghe died at my hands.

He hadn't realized Divine Weapon Manor had such a bitter feud with the Ghost Ming Sect's Blood Shadow Ancestor.

His heart stirred slightly.

'So that's why.'

No wonder Tie Kuang showed up in Qinghe.

He'd wondered before—why would Tie Kuang come so early just to buy forging materials through the trade fair?

When Tie Kuang first arrived, the trade fair hadn't even been established. If he'd only come for materials, he should've waited until it stabilized.

Now he understood—Tie Kuang had come intending to kill the twelve Blood Disciples.

After all, the twelve Blood Disciples had caused a huge stir in Qinghe; as an Elder of Divine Weapon Manor, Tie Kuang must've heard the rumors and arrived early. Tie Kuang fell silent, smoking relentlessly.

Smoke filled the room.

Two old men smoked in silence.

Liu Tiezhu, standing nearby, was anything but calm.

Divine Weapon Manor? Blood Shadow Ancestor? Divine weapon?

He knew each word individually, but hearing them together—coming from Tie Kuang's mouth—felt deeply wrong.

"Damn!"

"Old Man Tie, you're a master!"

Liu Tiezhu finally understood why Tie Kuang's forging method worked better than what he'd learned before—and why Master Li Rui treated Tie Kuang with such respect.

If he guessed right, Tie Kuang was probably someone like an Elder of Divine Weapon Manor.

A big shot!

The tobacco in the brass pipe burned out.

=9+book_bar

Tie Kuang didn't refill it. He stood up and glanced at Liu Tiezhu: "Blockhead. If you had half your master's wit, you wouldn't be this dumb. Stop glaring—get to work."

"Yes."

Liu Tiezhu obediently followed.

Now that he knew Tie Kuang's true identity, he dared not call him "Old Man Tie" anymore.

Li Rui watched the scene and found it amusing.

To be honest, he preferred his disciple's earlier defiant attitude.

He didn't understand forging and couldn't help.

So he simply practiced Tie Kuang's Hammer Qi Method inside the forge.

He'd trained daily for this period and increasingly felt the method's power—his true qi was rising far faster than before. Without it, even with spirit pills, he couldn't have condensed his core so quickly.

The Hammer Qi Method didn't require actually hammering iron every day like Tie Kuang did.

"Hammer" here meant refining, not literal pounding.

You could weave it into sword practice—it would simultaneously enhance the sword's killing intent. Two benefits in one. The creator of this method was truly a genius.

Though not a top-tier killing art, it harmonized with other martial techniques without conflict.

Just this alone made it exceptional.

"Train!"

In the blink of an eye, the Heaven and Earth Alliance had made seven trading runs.

At this point, the Heaven and Earth Alliance could be described as filthy rich.

Amid Huanghui and Fei Laosan's confused stares, Li Rui gave away most of the profits again to "those people."

Though puzzled, Li Rui's authority had grown deep.

Even as co-leaders, they dared not question his decisions.

Li Rui, of course, handed the money over to Jiang Lin.

Whether Jiang Lin kept it or sent it to the capital—

That was none of his concern.

Better not pry into your superior's affairs—it brings no benefit.

Though trading had gone on for months, Li Rui felt they were still barely past the starting phase. The Heaven and Earth Alliance only needed to break even and make small profits.

The key was maintaining good relations first.

Besides, sudden wealth wasn't necessarily good for the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

Slow and steady would give its members time to adjust to wealth.

This process was vital.

In Li Rui's residence:

"The rank required to open the Qi Sea is truly extreme."

Li Rui murmured, sensing the changes in his true qi.

These past days,

he trained relentlessly, using the Changchun Method and Hammer Qi Method to nourish his qi—progress was swift.

But he was still far from having enough qi to open the Qi Sea.

Li Rui wasn't in a hurry.

He was nearly eighty—he had no shortage of patience.

Because of Jiang Lin, outsiders assumed he'd cultivated for decades, but in truth, he'd only entered martial cultivation a mere ten years ago.

Ten years was barely the beginning in martial cultivation.

Many spent ten years and still couldn't even enter the ranks.

Compared to them, he should be grateful.

Li Rui was practicing in the Trade Office.

Suddenly, someone ran in.

It was Lianghe.

He gasped for breath, face filled with panic.

"What happened?"

Lianghe stammered: "Master—Master—Divine Weapon Manor has come to challenge the Heaven and Earth Alliance!"

"Yu Zhiqiu of Divine Weapon Manor, here to seek your guidance."

A bearded giant stood at the entrance of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, a massive hammer strapped to his back, arms crossed.

He claimed to seek guidance, but clearly came to block the gate.

Behind him stood many others—some Divine Weapon Manor disciples, others from local sects come to watch the spectacle.

Huanghui and Fei Laosan stared at the arrogant Yu Zhiqiu, their faces darkening.

They couldn't possibly win.

He was a sixth-rank expert; they were only seventh-rank.

A full realm gap—they were no match.

Liu Tong stood behind them:

"Leaders, I've already sent Lianghe to alert Master."

Hearing this,

Huanghui and Fei Laosan's expressions eased slightly.

Only Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian could possibly face this man.

Yu Zhiqiu's face was filled with mockery: "So the mighty Heaven and Earth Alliance has no one who can take even one of my hammer strikes?"

He sneered inwardly:

"What trash dares compete with Divine Weapon Manor for business?"

Paper can't wrap fire.

Tie Kuang's identity as an Elder of Divine Weapon Manor was eventually discovered by Shi Zhou, who flew into a rage.

In Shi Zhou's eyes, it was as if he'd handed his own money over to the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

How could he tolerate it?

Tie Kuang cannot be touched, and Anning Guard cannot be provoked.

But can he not touch a tiny Heaven and Earth Alliance?

Both Divine Weapon Manor and the Heaven and Earth Alliance are martial sects, so Shi Zhou chose to resolve this in a martial world manner.

The method was direct and clear.

Send Yu Zhiqiu straight to their door to challenge them, block their entrance, and see how they run their business.

The money of Divine Weapon Manor can only be earned by its own people!

Others aren't even worthy to lay a finger on it.

If not for the reminder from Huaqing Sect, they might still be in the dark.

Among the crowd.

A masked Huaqing Sect member sneered repeatedly.

Jiang Haitao reported the matter to Jiang Ding; upon hearing it was Jiang Lin's supported business, Jiang Ding realized that Jiang Lin was the one who killed Jiang Baichuan.

But even if he understood, he must vent his rage over his dead son!

This debt could only be charged to Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian—so of course they had to target the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

If they couldn't act openly, then let others act for them.

Yu Zhiqiu opened his mouth wide:

"What?"

"No one left?"

"Of course not—this lowly Heaven and Earth Alliance isn't even worth my attention. Kneel and kowtow to me, and I'll leave right now."

Huang Chui and Fei Laosan immediately had veins bulging.

They desperately suppressed their fury.

Divine Weapon Manor was a major sect of Yunzhou, the sole sect of an entire province.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance?

It couldn't even be called a prefecture-level sect—it wasn't even in the same league.

If they truly fought, they'd be the ones to suffer.

The situation was stronger than man.

If kneeling would truly settle today's matter, Huang Chui might even be willing—but he wasn't foolish; he knew that if he knelt to Yu Zhiqiu today, Divine Weapon Manor could send Wang Zhiqiu, Zhang Zhiqiu tomorrow.

Would he kneel through the entire Divine Weapon Manor?

Impossible.

Besides, Divine Weapon Manor wouldn't allow it.

Yu Zhiqiu narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly: "You've got some patience?"

"You won't strike? Then I'll force you to!"

Saying this,

he lunged his massive hand toward Huang Chui's chest, aiming to seize the Heaven and Earth Alliance's second leader first, to give Ning Zhongtian and Li Rui a warning.

At that critical moment,

a faint sound of wind being pierced rang out.

Yu Zhiqiu's hand throbbed in pain.

Then a voice came from behind:

"Enough."

(End of Chapter)