Chapter 93

Wu Tie woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, an unbearable thirst surged over him.

Wu Tie instinctively waved his hand, and a few sparkling droplets of water condensed in the air, forming a clear little stream that fell down. Wu Tie opened his mouth and gulped down the cool, pleasant water in big mouthfuls.

After gulping down an entire small bucket's worth, Wu Tie waved his hand, and the water droplets gathered above his head exploded, turning into a large sheet of mist that drifted away.

The dozen or so people standing in the room finally exhaled together, each looking at Wu Tie with blazing eyes.

Lao Bai came rushing over like a gust of wind, leapt straight onto Wu Tie's stone bed, crouched beside him and sized him up: "Ah, amazing, Little Iron Steward, truly amazing; if it weren't for you, we'd really be in trouble this time."

Wu Tie chuckled a few times, sat up, closed his eyes and began to sense his bodily condition.

Very good, his physical condition was better than ever before.

Within the golden light cluster at his brow, large patches of golden specks drifted down like a fine drizzle, gradually merging with his qi and blood throughout his body, continually blending with the primordial vigor filling his entire body.

With his eyes closed, he could clearly feel the condition of every tiniest part inside his body.

Even the state of each cell, he could clearly perceive.

Every cell was filled with power, brimming with energy.

To unleash that mighty ice storm, Wu Tie swallowed an entire basket of lava grass and dozens of stalks of elemental grass of higher grade than lava grass. Almost all the energy turned into a spiritual tide, condensing the ice storm that surged forth, but a small portion of the energy remained within his body.

At this moment, every cell of Wu Tie's body was filled with energy.

Each tiny, delicate cell was plump and sparkling, like an inflated ball.

Moreover, having survived the tremendous energy burst from a whole basket of elemental grass amidst the terrifying energy torrent, and having undergone the tempering of righteous qi, his every meridian became broad and tough; his muscles, nerves, blood vessels, organs, and even his most fragile brain all received excellent tempering.

His flesh and blood grew stronger and more supple.

Even his bones were effectively tempered, and his bodily strength increased by over fifty percent.

Clenching his fist tightly, he heard his joints crackle like muffled thunder inside his body; beneath his jade‑white skin, cords of muscle like steel rose, each muscle smooth‑lined, each fiber clearly visible.

In the room, Tie Bashi, who likewise followed the path of brute strength, had his eyes light up: "Goodness, my old mother, Little Iron Brother, when can we compare strength?"

Wu Tie leapt up, pulled off a hemp long shirt from the head of the bed and wrapped it around himself. He laughed loudly, then slapped Tie Bashi's arm hard: "All right, whenever, let's have a go…… Are the brothers all okay?"

Wu Tie glanced at the people in the room.

Tie Bashi, Heipi, Duyan'er, and Lao Bai were all close associates of his, external stewards of the Shi Family.

Besides them, there were a few heavily armored confidants of Shi Meng.

Two iron dwarves, three ox‑tribe warriors, and four members of the Shi Family.

A large crowd packed the room, just waiting for Wu Tie to wake up.

A burly Shi Family man scratched his singed, patchy short hair and gave a heh‑hee laugh: "Little Iron Steward, thanks to you, the brothers' losses aren't big. By the way, go deliver a message to Sixth Lord—just say Little Iron Steward has awakened."

No sooner had his words fallen than a earth‑shaking beast roar came from outside the room, the roar filled with pain and fear.

The ground shook violently, and then Shibao's howl came through the thick door.

"You beast, behave yourself, or I'll chop you up for a snack!"

"Ha, what a fine beast, hahaha…… oh dear……"

With a booming "dong", the ground jolted a bit, after which Shibao's curses continued, accompanied by dull thuds that kept coming.

Wu Tie and his group hurriedly pushed open the door and went out.

Outside the door was a straight, spacious corridor, directly facing the door was a large arched floor‑to‑ceiling window.

This was not Wu Tie's residence, but the main citadel at the heart of Da Shi City, a place where only the Shi Family's core high‑ranking officials and trusted subordinates were qualified to live.

Spanning the corridor, standing at the window and looking out, outside lay the great square at the center of the main citadel, a square nearly two hundred meters on each side.

Around the square stood four rows of six‑story buildings in a square shape; four thick steel pillars were set into the rocky ground of the square, and four iron chains as thick as a small bucket were threaded through the pillars, tightly binding the limbs of a triangular dragon.

The triangular dragon, nearly twenty meters long, hissed and roared angrily, wildly shaking its head, its thick tail swaying left and right, the bone hammer at its tail's end—big as a water tank—smashing wildly, sending earth and stone flying, making the four stone‑built towers nearby tremble faintly.

Around the beast's thick neck was fastened a wide, heavy leather strap that gleamed with blinding light, continually spraying sheets of electricity that struck the dragon's head and neck.

The triangular dragon occasionally opened its mouth to roar; a faint dark‑yellow glow flickered within its maw, as if it wanted to spew some attack.

But that leather strap locked its neck, so it could only roar and bellow, unable to spit out anything at all.

Shibao lay spread‑eagled dozens of meters away, just clumsily pushing himself up from the ground.

A dozen or so stone giants wielded iron clubs, frenziedly beating the triangular dragon; the bucket‑thick iron rods whistled through the air and came down heavily on the dragon's body.

The triangular dragon's body was covered in a thick layer of yellow‑brown skin; when the iron rods struck, they boomed, and beneath that skin lay everywhere bluish‑green bruises, showing the beast had been badly beaten.

"What is going on?" Wu Tie asked in alarm.

"When Da Shi City was attacked, Lord Shi Meng sent out a distress signal, but Elder Shibao couldn't arrive in time." A iron dwarf said in a muffled voice: "The damned Yan family actually sent Elder Shibao fine wine in advance……"

The iron dwarf wiped the drool from his mouth and snapped: "They desecrated the wine…… They actually put bewitching herb into the Yan family's specialty 'Drunk Dragon Brew'…… All those giant warriors beside Elder Shibao were dazed……"

The iron dwarf clenched his fist angrily and smashed it against the windowsill: "They, so vile as to slip bewitching herb into that top‑grade Drunk Dragon Brew…… They desecrated the wine, they all deserve to die……"

Wu Tie, Lao Bai and their companions stared hard at the iron dwarf, blinking rapidly.

"What exactly are you angry about?"

"Is it because Elder Shibao was drugged, or because you're angry they used wine as the method?"

Lao Bai chirped beside him: "But Elder Shibao is impressive—he stimulated his bloodline and forced out enough bewitching herb to dazed five triangular dragons, drove off that Yan family female elder, and even captured her mount and guard alive……"

Heipi gave a heh‑hee snicker: "This big guy seems unwilling to obey Elder Shibao's orders…… If we can't persuade him, we'll just roast him and eat him…… Triangular dragon, a big beast with a trace of legendary dragon blood…… hiss……"

Heipi also wiped the drool from his mouth.

Duyan'er murmured wistfully: "Just a bite could give you dozens of catties of strength; eat a few more pieces of roasted meat, tsk tsk—if we could activate a hint of dragon blood…… 'Dragon‑Blood Werewolf,' tsk tsk……"

Heipi wiped his mouth, Duyan'er wiped his mouth, Tie Bashi wiped his mouth, and Lao Bai's drool had already soaked the white fur on his chest……

Heavy footsteps sounded, and a Shi Family warrior in helmet and armor came running.

"Little Iron Steward, Sixth Master asks you to come over." The Shi Family warrior clenched his right fist, struck his chest hard, and gave a salute to Wu Tie. His gaze toward Wu Tie was full of fervor; obviously, Wu Tie had saved Great Stone City, and in the hearts of these Shi Family warriors he had gained a different status.

Wu Tie imitated the Shi Family warrior's gesture, clenched his right fist, and struck his chest.

Following the Shi Family warrior, he reached the end of the corridor, went up a spiral staircase to the upper floor, and arrived at the sixth floor, the top level of this building.

Outside the plaza, Shibao's angry roar sounded again. He rushed to the side of that triangular dragon, swinging his fists and wildly pounding its head, which was covered in thick armor plates.

The triangular dragon hissed and struggled, still showing no sign of submission.

If things go badly, this big guy could only end up as roasted meat… It's unknown whether anyone lucky might obtain that trace of thin, legendary dragon bloodline within its body.

Inside the main hall on the sixth floor, Shi Meng sat behind a spacious stone table, left hand gripping an iron rod smeared with blood, right hand holding a wine jug, laughing loudly as he gulped down alcohol.

Beside Shi Meng stood an aged, dark-green-scaled lizard person.

This lizard person was so old as to be indescribable; nearly all its scales had fallen off, its dark-green skin covered in mottled scars. Its face was twisted, its teeth all gone, a scarlet tongue limp and drooping at the corner of its mouth, its eyes cloudy and devoid of any shine.

The old lizard person held a medicine mortar made of beast bone, and the hall's air was filled with a strange medicinal odor.

More than a dozen Yan Family warriors lay twisted on the ground, their limbs oddly contorted; clearly, someone had smashed their inner bones with a heavy object.

Wu Tie looked at the iron rod in Shi Meng's hand, wondering if this guy had personally dealt the blow.

These Yan Family warriors had glazed eyes, their bodies twitching as they weakly moaned on the ground; not only were their limbs broken, their shoulders and chests showed strange dents and fractures everywhere—clearly they had been tortured.

A tall Yan Family warrior with a blood-red fire dragon tattoo on his back crawled on the ground, his hands and legs similarly twisted, lying prone, tears streaming as he wailed hoarsely.

"Kill me… kill me…"

Shi Meng gulped down alcohol, laughing heartily with a "ha-ha."

"Yan Feng, we're brothers—why would I kill you? Especially since you told me the location of the Yan Family's biggest elemental aperture for secretly cultivating elemental grass… I'm grateful you're still alive—why would I kill you?"

Shi Meng laughed loudly, his rows of white teeth gleaming coldly in the torchlight, his upper body drenched in blood and wine; his triumphant laughter made the hall reverberate with a "humming" sound.

Seeing Wu Tie enter, Shi Meng set the wine jug on the stone table, dropped his iron rod, rose, and strode forward to meet him.

He opened his arms, gave Wu Tie a firm hug, then slapped his shoulders vigorously, solemnly looking at Wu Tie: "Little Tie Brother, you are now the Deputy Director of the Shi Family's Great Stone City External Affairs Bureau, concurrently the Commander of a Thousand of the Great Stone City Defense Brigade… All right?"

Wu Tie looked at Shi Meng's smiling face and laughed.

"No problem." He readily replied to Shi Meng.

He came to the Shi Family for cultivation resources; as long as he got enough supplies, he didn't care what position he held.

Shi Meng nodded in satisfaction, pointing at the Yan Family warriors crying and moaning on the ground, and said in a low voice: "These guys are all the trusted confidants of the Yan Family's old-timers, so they also know many of the Yan Family's secrets."

"For example, we've long suspected the Yan Family has a secret elemental aperture for cultivating elemental grass; otherwise, their youths couldn't possibly advance in cultivation faster than us Shi Family members."

"The Yan Family has always denied it, but this time we've extracted the truth through torture."

Beside him, the old lizard person gave a few hissing laughs, proudly shaking its medicine mortar at Wu Tie.

Shi Meng grabbed Wu Tie's shoulders, pressed him onto a chair in front of the stone table, then went around to sit heavily in his own chair behind the table.

He solemnly looked at Wu Tie and said in a deep voice: "The Yan Family dares to attack Great Stone City… this means they've completely torn apart any pretense of friendship."

He snorted coldly, then Shi Meng said in a low voice: "I'm a straightforward person—I don't beat around the bush. If you stab me, I'll definitely stab you back, right? That's only fair and reasonable."

"They attacked Great Stone City, burning half of its external food supplies… If we don't retaliate, how could I, Shi Meng, ever face anyone again?"

Wu Tie quickly connected what Shi Meng had just said, then exclaimed in surprise: "Sixth Uncle, what are you thinking?"

Shi Meng slammed the stone table hard, looked at Wu Tie with eyes blazing, and said: "Since we already know where their elemental aperture is, Little Tie Brother, do you have the guts to lead people and hit them hard?"

"Seize all of their elemental grass… If possible, we might as well cause even more damage." Shi Meng grinned.

Yan Feng, lying on the ground, screamed ever more hysterically.

He writhed his body, inch by inch crawling toward Wu Tie, opening his mouth to bite Wu Tie's foot.

Wu Tie dodged Yan Feng's attack, pondered for a moment, then nodded: "The Yan Family is colluding with the Changsheng Sect, right? Then I'll take this mission."

The Changsheng Sect is the enemy.

So Wu Tie found himself an excuse to join the operation.