Chapter 25: The Treatment of a Genius

I'm set for life!

Head bowed, blue light blinding his eyes, Li Yuan almost cried out.

A second-tier hammer, four effects!

Li Yuan was nearly dazzled; after a while, he raised his head to look at Zhang Ben, whose face was complex and vacant:

"Old master, what is this?"

"Ah, no, nothing..."

Zhang Ben turned around, looking at Li Yuan who stood holding the hammer, his emotions still surging.

"How did you choose this hammer?"

The styles of the forging hammers showed no difference; picking out his own from over a hundred hammers at a glance was truly beyond his expectations.

"Intuition, I suppose. I just felt this one suited me, weighed it, found it handy, so I chose it?"

Li Yuan didn't even blink, feigning surprise:

"Could this hammer truly be yours, old master? What a coincidence!"

"Yes, that is too coincidental."

Zhang Ben shook his head and laughed: "Perhaps the two of us have a bond? Among so many hammers, you could pick the right one at a glance; our fate must be deep indeed!"

"Since the two of us are so well-matched, then..."

Li Yuan, struck by inspiration, put down the hammer and bowed:

"If you do not disdain me, this junior wishes to learn the art of forging from you."

Li Yuan climbed the pole higher, speaking in a joking tone; he hadn't expected the old master to agree, yet Zhang Ben truly accepted this bow.

Zhang Ben scolded with a laugh: "You are quite slippery, but to become a disciple, one must at least have a disciple-acceptance banquet; how can it be so hasty?"

"You agree?"

Li Yuan was also somewhat surprised.

Judging by this Great Master's Hammer, the old master before him likely possessed the highest attainment in forging within the entire Weapon Forging Shop.

Such a person, how many wished to become his disciple but could not; was he truly preparing to accept me?

The treatment of a genius is truly different.

"Since the two of us are so well-matched, what is teaching you a few moves?"

Old Zhang smiled; he was quite satisfied with this young man before him:

"An old man like me is at this age; would it not be a waste to take my craft to the grave?"

With good talent and a flexible mind, meeting such a promising seedling in his old age naturally brought him more joy.

"I am honored by your high regard!"

Li Yuan stopped smiling and bowed solemnly, respectfully: "This disciple will return home to prepare; tomorrow, please have my elder brother and sister-in-law come to deliver the disciple-acceptance invitation!"

Arts are not lightly transmitted; over these few months, Li Yuan had deeply understood this point.

Selling oneself as an apprentice, three years of menial work, two years of assisting labor; this is the minimum, and this is merely an apprentice.

Truly becoming a disciple is not just words spoken on the tongue; at the very least, parents must visit to present the disciple-acceptance invitation, the disciple-acceptance gift, and the disciple-acceptance banquet; none can be missing.

Zhang Ben did not care much, but without this procedure, the status of disciple would be lacking, and others would question whether he truly intended to accept a disciple.

Thinking for a moment, he nodded:

"Go."

"Yes!"

Li Yuan performed a bow, lifted the hammer, left the building, and hurried home.

He did not want to let go of this hammer.

"Wait, did Old Zhang say earlier he wanted to give me something?"

Stepping out of the Weapon Forging Shop's main gate, the wind blew, and Li Yuan finally calmed down; truly, he had been dazed by the impact of this Great Master's Hammer.

"Return home first, let the second brother prepare the disciple-acceptance invitation."

The hammer weighed over ten jin; Li Yuan felt no fatigue at all. If he were not walking on the street, he would have loved to test his command right now.

A second-tier Great Master's Hammer not only had four command effects, but each one was superior to those he had obtained before.

However, he did not meet the command conditions.

"Achieving 'Minor Success' in Forging Method is absolutely not something that can be accomplished in a single day or night, but as long as the Weapon Command Register advances, the problem will be solved effortlessly."

Li Yuan's mind was very flexible.

The Forging Method is not necessarily easier to learn than Wu Gong; achieving 'Minor Success' is absolutely not something that can be accomplished in a single day or night, but in the warehouse lies a hammer whose command effect is 'Minor Success-level Forging Method'.

As long as the Weapon Command Register advances, this seemingly harsh condition can be met instantly by him; naturally, he did not place much weight on it.

"Perfection. According to the book's records, so-called Perfection or Great Perfection refers to practicing a Wu Gong skill to an extremely profound degree, but essentially, it should still be 'Great Success'?"

It was past noon; there were few pedestrians on the street, and Li Yuan was immersed in thought.

He was not entirely certain.

He had encountered too little Wu Gong, but at least in the Cloak Hammer and the Blade-Sickle Technique, after 'Great Success', there was a breakthrough in blood qi.

Clenching blood to generate strength is called Internal Strength.

"But, Perfection must have some differences, right?"

Li Yuan's heart itched with anticipation.

Returning home, learning that Li Yuan had entered the inner courtyard and was favored by the old master of the forging room, Li Lin was even more excited than him and immediately ran to find someone to write the disciple-acceptance invitation.

Li Yuan then took out ten taels of silver and handed it to his second sister-in-law.

"You child, where did you get so much silver?"

Wang Juan was startled.

"Last time it was getting late, I didn't get a chance to pay back the silver to Qian Bao. Later I heard he'd lost the IOU, so I just kept it for myself."

Li Yuan had his explanation ready long ago:

"Elder Zhang is the most senior master craftsman in the Forge Hall. This apprenticeship banquet absolutely cannot be too shabby. Sister-in-law, please don't refuse."

Wang Juan wasn't the coy type, so she accepted the silver on the spot.

Casually, Li Yuan asked about Qin Xiong.

"Qin Xiong?"

Wang Juan thought for a moment, the impression wasn't strong:

"You mean that rascal from Old Qin's family, the former long-term hired hand at our place? He's not exactly upright—keep your distance from him…"

Li Yuan nodded repeatedly, secretly relieved.

……

……

Becoming an apprentice was a very tedious affair. Even though Zhang Ben didn't care much about it, the three members of the Li family still busied themselves for a full three days.

Zhang Ben was a veteran of the Weaponry Shop. His taking on a disciple was naturally no small matter. The managers of every courtyard in the Weaponry Shop all came, and Fatty Sun also came to deliver a gift.

Of the three Shopkeepers, Cao Yan didn't come, but he did send a gift. The other two Shopkeepers accompanied the whole way through.

At the banquet, Qin Xiong, who had worn a dark face the entire time, also came. He too sent a gift. Watching Li Yuan receive everyone's congratulations now, he looked as though he'd swallowed a fly.

Niu Gui was very envious.

"Everyone, it's getting late, time to head back!"

Zhang Ben yawned, and several burly men from the Forge Hall rose to see the guests out.

"Elder Zhang, get some rest early!"

"Congratulations…"

The crowd of guests were all a bit tipsy, swaying as they left.

"Wang Hu, help tidy up."

Zhang Ben yawned again, then beckoned:

"Li Yuan, help me back to my room."

"You should rest early, Elder!"

Wang Hu grinned.

Li Yuan, meanwhile, supported his own master back to his room. Old men tired easily, and having drunk, he was truly worn out.

"Close the door."

Once back in the room, Zhang Ben was wide awake again.

"What is it?"

Li Yuan closed the door.

"At the banquet I chatted a bit with the Second Shopkeeper and learned a few things."

Zhang Ben took a sip of tea:

"Starting this year, the quotas for taking on apprentices in every courtyard of the Weaponry Shop have multiplied several times over, including the Inner Courtyard. After this, they'll probably only increase further…"

"The Weaponry Shop is expanding?"

Li Yuan wasn't very interested—he was far more interested in martial training than in other trivial matters.

"Expansion is one part. The other part has to do with the Divine Weapon Valley."

Divine Weapon Valley?

Li Yuan's heart gave a jolt—he had, after all, learned that faction's foremost of the Five Great Secret Transmissions, the Soldier's Path Battle-Slaying Hammer.

"You've heard of the name Divine Weapon Valley, I suppose?"

Zhang Ben glanced at his own disciple.

"A great sect in Dragon Hibernation Prefecture, with a legacy of several hundred years, very powerful. I hear even the government has to give way to them a few degrees…"

Li Yuan had actually inquired about it.

"Too shallow."

Zhang Ben set down his teacup:

"Divine Weapon Valley has a legacy of over a thousand years. And it's not that they're very powerful—in Dragon Hibernation Prefecture, they are the heavens, the heavens in the truest sense!"

"Huh?"

Li Yuan hadn't caught up: "Then the imperial court?"

"In Dragon Hibernation Prefecture, even the imperial court can't match Divine Weapon Valley."

Zhang Ben was very calm, as if this were common knowledge:

"Dragon Hibernation Prefecture—including the commanders of all armies across the dozen-plus counties under its jurisdiction—all come from Divine Weapon Valley!"

What?!

Li Yuan's eyes went wide.

What kind of imperial court would allow a sect to hold command of all the armies in every city of an entire prefecture?

Is this still a sect?

Even Wang Hou wouldn't be this domineering!

"The moves the shop has been making these past few years are all connected to Divine Weapon Valley."

Zhang Ben thumped his waist, stood up and paced a few steps, then looked at Li Yuan:

"Next spring, Divine Weapon Valley will throw open its mountain gate wide. Regardless of background, anyone may enter!"

(End of this chapter)