Chapter 90: The Giant

“This Yu family must be desperate for money—if they had a true inheritance, they could learn artifact forging, so why would artifact forgers be so rare? Even our Four Symbols Sect isn’t short of first-rank inheritances, yet we still have barely any artifact forgers.” Wang Yu, upon hearing the price of two thousand spirit stones, was speechless.

“You’re right, but the Yu family never intended to sell this inheritance to sect disciples—they’re aiming for wealthy families and lone cultivators who’ll pay exorbitant prices.”

“Tsk tsk, to even begin learning artifact forging, you need a master to guide you hand over hand; otherwise, any minor problem will leave outsiders completely helpless,” Wan Shan said with a scoff.

“Senior Brother Wan, tell me the last piece of news.” After a string of disappointments, Wang Yu had little faith left in this final tidbit, but still urged the man to speak.

“The last piece of news is just in: Master Sun from the Artifact Hall is about to forge a fire-attribute artifact and needs several disciples who cultivate fire-attribute cultivation techniques to assist.”

“But this assistance is only temporary—Master Sun will pay some spirit stones and may offer occasional pointers on artifact forging, though how much you learn depends entirely on your own talent, so disciples with some foundational knowledge of artifact forging are preferred,” Wan Shan said slowly.

“No spirit stones needed, and they’ll pay me? That’s perfect—I’ll take this one.” Wang Yu’s eyes lit up, and he spoke without hesitation.

“Junior Brother Wang, didn’t you hear? Master Sun is only looking for temporary helpers—he won’t systematically teach you artifact forging. He’ll only offer pointers when he’s in the mood and happens to like a disciple. You’ve never studied artifact forging—you’d just be wasting your time.”

“No problem. Since Master Sun is paying the spirit stones and there’s no tuition fee, I’ll spend the next few days exchanging for artifact forging texts from the Scripture Library and study them overnight.”

“Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll put your name forward.”

“Master Sun only specified that he needs disciples who cultivate fire-attribute techniques—he didn’t mention any other conditions, so you naturally qualify. Now, pay the remaining half of the fee,” Wan Shan said, no longer arguing, and extended his palm toward Wang Yu.

Wang Yu’s face twitched, but he reached into his robe and pulled out ten spirit stones, placing them in the man’s palm.

“Excellent, Junior Brother Wang, you’re clearly a man of action. If Master Sun confirms, you’ll receive a message talisman in a few days,” Wan Shan said, beaming as he tucked the spirit stones away.

“Then I’ll wait for word.”

After uttering those words calmly, Wang Yu’s figure blurred, and he left the stone hut.

Outside, once he reached an open patch of ground, he shook his sleeve and released his mechanical bird—but didn’t immediately mount it. Instead, he frowned and turned to speak behind him.

“The two of you—why have you been following me?”

A short distance behind him, two slender figures stood quietly—exactly the pair of young women who had bought spirit rice earlier, their faces strikingly similar.

“May I ask, are you a senior disciple from the Inner Sect? I’m Feng Xue, and this is my cousin Feng Rui—we both just joined as Outer Sect disciples this year,” the slightly older woman said, pulling her cousin along and bowing respectfully from afar.

“I’m an Inner Sect disciple. What do you want?” Wang Yu crossed his arms, his expression cold and dismissive.

“Senior Brother Wang, my sister and I come from ordinary lone cultivators. Since joining, we’ve realized how hard life is in the Outer Sect—we beg you to guide us. We’re willing to serve at your side,” Feng Xue said boldly. Beside her, Feng Rui shrank back, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“I don’t need followers. Find someone else,” Wang Yu replied flatly, then leapt onto the mechanical bird and soared into the sky.

“That bastard dares to look down on us? All he’s got is slightly better cultivation talent and got into the Inner Sect earlier!”

“If we had enough resources, our progress wouldn’t be slower than his—we could’ve entered the Inner Sect too,” Feng Xue’s face darkened with fury; once the mechanical bird was far away, she clenched her fists and shouted at the sky.

“Sister, it’s better he refused. We can slowly save up resources ourselves—we’ll make it into the Inner Sect eventually,” Feng Rui whispered softly.

“What do you know? With the sect’s meager benefits and the tiny tasks we’re assigned, how long will it take to gather enough resources to reach the later stages? If this Wang guy won’t help, we’ll find another Inner Sect disciple who needs assistants. Two beautiful girls like us—how could we fail to find a reliable patron?”

Feng Rui, seeing this, merely pouted and said nothing more.

Her cousin had always been dominant; since joining the sect, they’d naturally followed her lead.

Her cousin had always been dominant, and since their entry, they had always deferred to each other as the primary one.

Moments later, Wang Yu flew back to the cliffside. As he dismounted the mechanical bird and walked toward the stone hut, his expression darkened again.

In the pitch-black night, a giant of a man—taller than Wang Yu by a full head—sat motionless before the door. Upon seeing him approach, the giant rose instantly and rumbled:

“Shorty, I heard you’ve got Firecloud Pills. Hand them all over. If you don’t, I’ll smash your head.”

The giant had small eyes, a flattened nose, protruding nose hairs, and crooked yellow teeth—hideously ugly—but his voice was brutally domineering.

“Who are you? Who told you I have Firecloud Pills?” Wang Yu paused, then asked slowly.

“I’m the White Tiger Mountain’s Guard Force Captain. The Firecloud Pills? My good brother told me. So you really have them? Give them to me—my elder brother needs them for his cultivation,” the giant extended a hand the size of a fan and rumbled.

“Who’s your elder brother?” Wang Yu sensed something, his gaze flickering as he asked again.

“You shorty ask too many questions. Looks like you don’t want to hand them over.” The giant’s patience snapped. His small eyes flashed with malice. The hand he’d extended suddenly reversed, fingers curling like a mountain as they came crashing down toward Wang Yu’s skull.

“You little runt, so much talk—you don’t want to hand it over, I see.” The giant, hearing Wang Yu ask again, suddenly grew impatient; his small eyes flashed with malice, and the large hand he had extended suddenly reversed, gripping downward—five fingers like tiny mountains crushing toward Wang Yu’s skull.

But Wang Yu merely shifted his shoulder and slid backward like an eel, evading the giant’s grasp perfectly.

The giant froze for a moment, then his eyes blazed with even greater fury. He drew a deep breath, and his arm swelled visibly, thickening by a full circle. He stepped forward and punched straight at Wang Yu.

Before the fist even reached him, a terrifying wind pressure roared ahead of it.

Wang Yu, seeing this, inhaled sharply. His upper body swelled outward, growing larger by a full circle, and he punched back.

A thunderous *BOOM* echoed.

Wang Yu felt his arm burn as if striking steel, a dull ache throbbing in his fist. Simultaneously, a monstrous force slammed into him from the opposite side, hurling him backward through the air.

Wang Yu felt his arm grow hot, his fist striking as if against steel, a dull ache spreading through it, while a terrifying force erupted from the opposite side, jolting his body and sending him flying backward.