Chapter 145: The Hammer-Wielder Arrives

The search for the Profound Whale Hammer by the Divine Weapon Valley was not particularly secret; most long-established sects and powers had heard of it.

In fact, for over a thousand years, there were always those who used the guise of visiting as a guest to try their luck at Divine Weapon Mountain.

But this old man Wang...

From the words left by Wang Wang Wenyuan, Liang Liang Ashui vaguely sensed danger.

"What does that old fellow want to do?"

Liang Liang Ashui frowned tightly.

He had long sensed that someone was targeting the Divine Weapon Valley; otherwise, it would have been impossible for multiple rebellions to erupt within just a few short years.

He originally thought it was the Xieshen Sect, but now it seemed the Star-Picking Tower might be involved as well?

He recalled that the former Lord of the Dormant Dragon Prefecture seemed to have died by assassination...

"For the Profound Whale Hammer? But no one has found the Profound Whale Hammer in over a thousand years, or does someone know how to find it?"

Liang Liang Ashui speculated.

After a long while, he turned and left, walked out through the tunnel he had come by, and plunged straight into the cold pool water.

Splash~

Liang Liang Ashui broke the surface; the sky had cleared, turning white at the horizon, and dawn was near.

In the distance, the main gate of the Divine Weapon Valley could be seen.

"It's only thirty li from the Inner Island; does the Star-Picking Tower have that much audacity, or do they have people inside the valley as well?"

Liang Liang Ashui removed his ghost-face mask, his heart sinking slightly.

For a great power like the Divine Weapon Valley, thirty li was already right beside their bed.

To hollow out an entire mountain without alerting anyone was, simply put, impossible.

"Could it be Old Han?"

Liang Liang Ashui pondered in his heart.

Since arriving at the Dormant Dragon Prefecture, he had been searching for various intelligence; originally, he thought he understood the various powers of the Dormant Dragon Prefecture,

but now it seemed that, limited by his status and identity, neither he nor Wang Wang Peiyao could gather truly secret intelligence.

"Hah~"

On the way back to the island by boat, Liang Liang Ashui's mood was somewhat unsettled.

On the way, he encountered Liang Liang Ashui, who was sitting cross-legged on the sampan, fishing; from dozens of meters away, Liang Liang Ashui smelled a strange fragrance.

"That bait?"

Liang Liang Ashui narrowed his eyes slightly and did not approach.

Since discovering the existence of that Red Dragon Fish King, he had not dared to enter the water again; the only channel to obtain Red Dragon Fish for now was Liang Liang Ashui.

"I hope he catches a few more."

Carrying the huge sum of money from Ding Zhi, Liang Liang Ashui only hoped for more to be better; sensing Liang Liang Ashui's tension from afar, he merely offered a greeting and did not approach.

"Liang Liang Ashui."

On the sampan, Liang Liang Ashui breathed a sigh of relief; for this fellow townsman, he felt a certain wariness in his heart.

That day when Ding Zhi forcibly snatched the Red Dragon Fish, this fellow townsman's aura had been extremely similar to his own before spearing fish.

He even believed that even if Ding Zhi had not been assassinated, he would sooner or later die at this fellow townsman's hands.

When they returned to the Weapon-Refining Valley, the sky was already fully bright.

Amidst the fearful and admiring gazes of the blacksmiths, Liang Liang Ashui once again entered the Red Fusion Cave, which the blacksmiths regarded as a 'Hell of Fire'.

For decades, none of them had seen anyone enter and exit the Red Fusion Cave so frequently; this perseverance made all the blacksmiths feel awe.

"Why are you here so late today?"

Inside the Red Fusion Cave, Lei Lei Jingchuan seemed to have waited for a long time; he now put down his forging hammer, looking quite displeased:

"No matter how good one's talent, if one cannot endure hardship, the Weapon-Refining Art will be difficult to cultivate to perfection!"

Liang Liang Ashui did not argue, letting the old man Lei scold him.

"Have you mastered the Blood-Containing Spirit-Opening Technique?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan asked.

During this period, as Liang Liang Ashui displayed astonishing talent in the art of weapon-refining, his attitude had become increasingly cautious.

By now, no matter how busy he was, he would always set aside at least two double-hours to teach him the Weapon-Refining Art.

"I have mastered it completely!"

Liang Liang Ashui tilted his head back and swallowed a Viscera-Protecting Pill, simultaneously changing his control; five third-tier forging hammers were activated upon his body.

"Hah!"

Feeling the seventeen buffs related to hammer techniques, Liang Liang Ashui felt utterly refreshed; the forging hammer in his hand instantly became countless times more vivid.

The contrast was so obvious that even Lei Lei Jingchuan noticed it when Liang Liang Ashui brought the hammer down.

"Has this young fellow's Soldier Dao Battle-Killing Hammer reached minor perfection?!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan nearly pulled his beard off, his shock beyond words.

Talent comes in many forms; bone structure and comprehension are both talents, but often the two are difficult to possess simultaneously.

Before Liang Liang Ashui joined the Divine Weapon Valley, among the current true disciples, Qiu Qiu Changying had the best bone structure, while Shi Hong had the best comprehension.

And as far as he knew, Shi Hong back then had not progressed this quickly either...

"This is talent."

Liang Liang Ashui stretched his muscles and bones; every hammer strike brought a sense of release, and every strike simultaneously vibrated his muscles and bones, solidifying his foundation.

With the boost of talent, smithing was not a bitter chore at all, nor did it delay his progress in hammer techniques.

On the rainy night yesterday, his Soldier Dao Battle-Killing Hammer had already reached minor perfection.

"This kid…"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's heart grew even more delighted.

Comprehension versus innate talent—which is stronger, which is weaker—the jianghu had argued over it for many years, but in his view, the one who possessed both was the true genius.

Shi Hong's comprehension was extremely good; even with mismatched affinity, a lower-grade Wu Gong from entry to Grand Completion often took no more than three to five years.

But even though every Wu Gong he cultivated could alter his dual form, to gather enough dragon form still required at least fifteen years, and to gather enough great dragon form, over twenty years.

Fifteen years learning martial arts, gathering enough great dragon form—at the fastest, forty years old; compared to a natural great-dragon-form innate talent, nearly thirty years behind!

"This kid, not inferior to Han Han Chuijun!"

Inside the Chi Rong Cave, the air was scalding, yet Lei Lei Jingchuan felt thoroughly refreshed.

He tested Li Yuan's progress and found that he had indeed grasped the Blood-Nurturing Spirit-Communion Art.

Not only that, his weapon-forging method was already so skilled it didn't seem like he had just begun, and many subtle techniques pleased him even more.

"Mm, not like that tiger; this technique is practically identical to mine!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan stroked his long beard, very satisfied. Not disturbing Li Yuan, he quietly retreated from the Chi Rong Cave and strode toward the Cold Pool Cave.

"Senior Brother!"

In the Cold Pool Cave, Jing Jing Shuhu's hand trembled, his brow furrowing deeply: "At your age, why must you always startle people? You frightened this old man's…"

"Your Red Dragon Fish King?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan squinted at him, no longer hurried: "Everyone knows the flesh and blood of the Red Dragon Fish King can alter innate talent, achieving minor dragon form in one leap,

but even Han Han Chuijun couldn't catch one—do you really think you can fish one up?"

"He couldn't catch one, but this old man definitely can fish one up!"

Jing Jing Shuhu was so angry his beard flew about; riled up, he immediately wanted to roll up his sleeves and have a big quarrel with Lei Lei Jingchuan.

His heart burned with fury.

Being inferior to Han Han Chuijun in innate talent was the lifelong pain in his heart.

"Great Elder, Elder…"

At this moment, footsteps came from outside the cave, and a blacksmith panted heavily:

"A disciple reports that an old friend has come to visit, calling himself 'Wan Chuan'!"

"Wan Chuan!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's face darkened, but Jing Jing Shuhu calmed down instead:

"Coming this fast? Mm, bring them here!"

……

……

Four great suns hung high in the sky, and ripples of light danced on the Cold Pool.

"Cold Pool waters, Blazing Fire Valley. Famous for a long time; now seeing it in person, truly worthy of being one of the three great wonders of Huizhou.

For us weapon forgers, this must surely be one of the finest treasure lands?"

"In those years, the ancestor of the Divine Weapon Valley was able to occupy this place—clearly his strength was no small matter."

At the outer dock, an old man and a young man gazed into the distance at the mountains and the Cold Pool, full of admiration.

Both the old and the young wore black close-fitting garments; the old man's hair and beard were white, the young man looked barely past twenty, both exceedingly rough and rugged, with bronze-toned skin.

"What a fine place."

The youth

had a gleam in his eyes; he couldn't even imagine how comfortable forging iron in such a place would be.

"I still remember back in the day when this old man followed my master here, I was as awestruck as you. This place is truly a treasure land for forging, but alas, though the place is good, the people fall short."

The old man put on a show of lamenting, making the nearby Divine Weapon Valley disciples glare at him angrily.

"The descendants are useless, can't even forge a divine weapon, truly disgracing their ancestors."

Wan Chuan paid no heed at all to these disciples' angry glares.

Back in the day when he followed his master here and enraged the previous Great Elder of the Weapon-Forging Valley, the commotion was far greater than now.

"Board the boat."

Seeing the reporting disciple arrive by boat, Wan Chuan's feet shifted slightly; lifting the youth, he skimmed horizontally over a dozen zhang, tapping the water's surface lightly,

and in a few bounds, crossed a hundred zhang, drawing a chorus of exclamations.

"Lead the way!"

Wan Chuan stood with hands behind his back, moving with the boat, recalling and commenting:

"I still remember this pool produces a kind of spirit fish called the Red Dragon Fish; I ate one back in the day, and that flavor was truly wonderful…"

He was sighing in admiration, while the youth lay at the bow, testing the water temperature.

"This—using this Cold Pool water for quenching, wouldn't the effect be better than that of ordinary spirit beasts?"

The youth shook his hand, eyes gleaming.

If the old man hadn't grabbed his clothes, he would have almost wanted to jump in and try it.

"Tianhe, don't fool around."

Wan Chuan frowned and chided lightly: "Don't delay the real business."

"This disciple knows his fault."

Brother Qiao Tianhe shrank his neck, not daring to move recklessly, but his sidelong gaze kept darting about, very curious what the earth-vein fire looked like.

"Right, do you have any different feeling?"

Glancing at the Divine Weapon Valley disciple who was staring at him intently, Wan Chuan asked casually, feigning nonchalance.

Brother Qiao Tianhe paused slightly, scratching his head:

"I just, just wanted to go into the water, didn't have any other feeling…"

"Like this?"

Wan Chuan nodded.

"Brother Qiao Tianhe's talent for hammer techniques surpasses even mine; he's a born divine smith. If even he can't do it, where would I find a disciple more talented than him?"

A shadow flickered in Wan Chuan's eyes, and he began to doubt whether the intelligence his sect had obtained was true.

……

……

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering never ceased. Li Yuan's attention split; after confirming Old Thunder-Head had left, he took out the Red Dragon Fish hide he'd hunted that day.

He prepared to forge a second set of armor.

"This fish I caught weighs a hundred and twenty jin. With some other materials, forging two sets of armor is no problem. If I could forge a famous weapon, that would be even better."

Li Yuan had long since planned it out: not only would he split the entire hide in two, but the leftover scraps might even be fashioned into a pair of gloves.

"Mm, if I temper these two fish sinews, perhaps I can make a bowstring?"

Compared to his other Wu Gong, Li Yuan's progress in Yang Jian Fa wasn't slow either; the main issue was that he still didn't have a longbow that felt right in his hands.

After taking stock of all his materials, Li Yuan busied himself again.

He calculated that once he'd forged the leather armor and gloves, he'd try the Red Fusion Cave.

"By then, my root bones will have gathered thirteen great dragon forms too. Surely there should be some reaction, right?"

Gazing at the secret passage leading to the fire vein, Li Yuan murmured to himself.

Knowing so many people had their eyes on it, he only wanted to get this hammer into his hands quickly, lest anything go wrong overnight.