Chapter 88: Top-Grade Heavy Hammer

Top-grade sharp blade!

In the night, Fenggang only felt his steps grow lighter, and as he moved, the corners of his mouth turned upward.

A top-grade Qiushui sword, worth over a thousand taels of silver, enough for an ordinary family of five to live without worry for a lifetime—such a high value naturally came from its extreme rarity.

At the very least, after wandering the jianghu for twenty years, he had never gotten his hands on one.

Hoo~

In the night, he darted and shifted, winding through several streets before dropping into a certain hidden little courtyard.

"Incense Master!"

Fenggang bowed slightly.

"What is it?"

Candlelight burned inside the room, where a burly man sat drinking. His features were quite coarse, a long, narrow saber scar cutting across his mouth and nose, wriggling like a centipede:

"Han Han Chuijun has shown himself?"

"N-no, Incense Master, this disciple has discovered an excellent blacksmith!"

Fenggang was extremely cautious, feeling from afar like a wild rabbit stared down by a fierce tiger, unable to stop his heart from trembling.

"Blacksmith?"

The big man inside slowly raised his head, his gaze cold.

Fenggang's heart gave a jolt, and he hurriedly said:

"That blacksmith is only seventeen, has been learning martial arts at the weapons forge for a year, his hammer technique is already perfected, and he can even forge top-grade sharp blades on his own…"

Whoosh!

As if a fierce wind had suddenly risen, Fenggang felt a tremendous force seize his neck, and after stumbling a few steps, he tumbled into the room.

"Every word your subordinate speaks is true!"

Fenggang's heart jolted, and his peripheral vision swept over a pile of naked women on the bed inside the room, their fates unknown, making him inwardly mutter that things were bad.

This was clearly a sign of the Bai Shen Fa going awry…

"One year, and he can already forge top-grade sharp blades on his own, his hammer technique perfected?"

Lei Lei Chaozong wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, seeming quite interested:

"Cao Yan has such a fine seedling under him yet keeps it hidden and unreported, heh, those who haven't 'worshipped the god' truly cannot be trusted!"

"The Incense Master speaks most wisely! That Cao Yan keeps refusing to worship the god—it's obvious he's not sincerely submitting…"

Bang!

Fenggang felt a heavy weight on his shoulder and could not help but drop to his knees.

"Cao Yan has at least four or five top-grade sharp blades in his hands, even a famed weapon—kill him, will you give them to me?"

Zhelong Prefecture abounded in a hundred minerals, and even within Mount Hengshan Dao it was a place of great importance, but even in Zhelong Prefecture, top-grade sharp blades were extremely rare; whenever one appeared, it was quickly bought up.

If not for those top-grade sharp blades and the famed weapons that might exist, where would Cao Yan have the room to bargain with him?

"Uh…"

As Lei Lei Chaozong spoke, he gave a muffled grunt, rapidly tapping the major acupoints all over his body. Red surged across his face, and after quite a while, he finally forced two streams of black blood from his nostrils:

"The Divine Nose Scripture is too incomplete—the slightest injury already brings backlash…"

"Incense Master, y-you're injured? Was it that Han Han Chuijun?!"

Fenggang's heart jolted.

"That treacherous and vicious old beast set an ambush and smashed me with a hammer, then vanished in a flash—catch him, and Laozi will eat him alive!"

Lei Lei Chaozong's facial skin twitched, his gaze dark and cold.

Fenggang didn't even dare raise his head.

"Hammer technique perfected—that kid's talent shouldn't be bad, should it?"

Lei Lei Chaozong seemed to recall something:

"These past few decades, that old undying Han Han Chuijun has been searching for this kind of person. What's that kid's name, and where is he?"

"He's at…"

Fenggang nearly blurted it out, but remembering the Qiushui sword that hadn't yet been forged, his words suddenly shifted:

"This subordinate only knows his name is Li Yuan, where he lives, I-I don't know…"

Bang!

Fenggang tumbled into the courtyard, coughing up blood in great gulps, terrified.

"Useless trash! Tomorrow bring that person back to me to worship the god!"

Pressing his stuffy chest, Lei Lei Chaozong said coldly: "Also, gather the men, go back and tell Cao Yan to be ready to move at any time!"

"Ah…"

Fenggang wished he could slap himself

to death, regretting so much his guts turned green: "…Yes!"

……

Outside the city, at the broken temple outside Fangjing Village, before dawn.

"Another overcast day—before winter, this is probably the last rain?"

By the bonfire, Han Han Chuijun sat cross-legged, turning a Xiong Zhang sizzling with oil on a wooden rack, occasionally sprinkling some spices on it.

"Bear paw has to be the plump one before winter—mm, this old man's craft has improved again."

After a sniff, Han Han Chuijun was quite satisfied.

"Elder Han, what about that Lu Lu Yunqing?"

Sha Sha Pingying carried the cut bear meat and set it on the wooden rack.

"The fish has taken the hook; naturally, the bait is gone. Does this need asking?"

Han Han Chuijun removed the bear paw, sliced it into small pieces with a flying knife, and slowly savoring it, he enjoyed it greatly:

"This old man thought there was some big fish, but it turns out to be just a few brats from the Xieshen Sect..."

"The Xieshen Sect again!"

Sha Sha Pingying's face filled with disgust: "These evil demons and heterodox paths, how can they not be killed off?"

Han Han Chuijun slowly savoring the bear paw: "As long as the Bai Shen Fa is not extinguished, the demons of the Xieshen Sect cannot be killed off. Tell me, can the Bai Shen Fa be extinguished?"

"This, I fear cannot..."

Sha Sha Pingying smiled bitterly.

The Bai Shen Fa was once called the method of immortality; for hundreds or even thousands of years, countless people pursued it. How could it possibly be cut off?

"Since there is no big fish, it is time to pull in the net. Next year the mountain gate will open wide; if this old man does not return, the Valley Master will likely lose his temper again."

Han Han Chuijun helplessly shook his head.

Sha Sha Pingying hurriedly replied: "Disciple has already sent the signal arrow. At the latest by tomorrow, the city guards searching the mountain should return."

"Not showing our power for so long, they have all forgotten whose territory the Zhe Long Mansion is!"

Han Han Chuijun rotated the wooden rack, his expression calm:

"Fang Yunxiu is good in every way, except she is too kind and soft-handed. You must not learn from her!"

"Disciple remembers!"

Sha Sha Pingying solemnly agreed, but thinking of the list sent from the city, he could not help but hesitate:

"Handling so many people at once, won't it be hard to explain to the imperial court?"

"If you don't act, don't act. If you act, do it cleanly and decisively. Sweep up and down, clean everything out, to avoid repeating things in the future."

Han Han Chuijun wiped his hands:

"As for the imperial court, without them secretly stirring up trouble, how could the Zhe Long Mansion have so many troubles?"

"Disciple understands."

Sha Sha Pingying bowed and agreed, only then seeming to remember something:

"By the way, Senior Sister Fang Yunxiu mentioned in the letter she submitted earlier that the person you asked her to find, she did not find. However..."

"Can't even find a person?!"

Han Han Chuijun immediately became displeased, but did not explode; he only frowned: "However what?"

"However, Senior Sister found an excellent candidate for the Hammer Technique. It is said that in less than a year, she refined the Bai Yuan Cloak to perfection..."

"One year to achieve mastery in the Hammer Technique? That does count as a candidate. Excellent... Hmm?"

Han Han Chuijun muttered half a sentence, suddenly turned his head, and under his long eyebrows, ghostly flames seemed to flash, making Sha Sha Pingying almost have a heart attack:

"Perfection?!"

The sky was overcast; the morning already held a certain chill.

Inside the forge, however, waves of heat rolled.

"Make the fire bigger, add thirteen pieces of Fire Wood! Make the wind stronger, stronger, pour spirit sheep blood into the Cold Pool water..."

Six apprentices pulled the bellows with all their might, sweating profusely. Zhang Ben's face was flushed red, his head covered in sweat, and his veins bulged:

"Quench!"

Li Yuan, who had been waiting nearby, raised a hand and pulled that heavy hammer weighing over two hundred jin out of the scorching heat, plunging it entirely into the ice water.

"Hiss hiss~~"

The red-hot giant hammer fell into the ice water; the bone-chilling Cold Pool water instantly boiled. Thick smoke and steam shot up several meters high, blowing the several helpers stumbling backward.

"A supreme-grade heavy hammer!"

Almost all the blacksmiths crowded over. Under the steam, the ice water boiled, and the fire was actually burning underwater.

"Did it succeed?!"

The blacksmiths were all excited. Supreme-grade sharp blades were too rare; only a few older blacksmiths here had seen Zhang Ben forge one many years ago.

"Of course it succeeded!"

Zhang Ben collapsed into a chair, panting heavily, yet with full confidence.

"It succeeded!"

More certain than him was naturally Li Yuan. Before his eyes, blue and green colors intertwined, very distinct.

【Supreme-Grade Pure Steel Hexagonal Hammer (Tier 3)】

【Forged in raging fire, the entire body is pure steel, a long-handled deadly weapon crafted by a Grand Master pouring all his heart and blood, tempered six times with spirit beast blood, slightly possessing spiritual qualities...】

【Mastery Conditions: Hammer Technique Perfection, Fierce Tiger Strength】

【Mastery Effects: Momentum like Wind and Thunder, Hammer Talent, Assault and Armor-Breaking, Courageous and Fearless, Heavy as a Hundred Jun】

Five Mastery Effects!

Li Yuan's palms itched; his heart surged greatly.

This heavy hammer was better than all the weapons he had ever seen, and moreover, he seemed able to meet the Mastery Conditions.

His own strength, plus the thousand-jin giant strength enhanced by the Bi Jing Copper Hammer, could already rival a fierce tiger!

The only bad thing was that this hammer was not his at all.

"Enough, everyone scatter. Go do what you need to do!"

Zhang Ben rested for a while, then stood up, picked up this heavy hammer, and continued forging.

The quenching succeeded, but the subsequent tempering and polishing could not be careless either; the appearance would affect the price. This might be the last supreme-grade sharp weapon he forged in his life; he could not take it lightly.

"Master, this hammer..."

Li Yuan found he couldn't look away.

"Why do you want so many hammers? Didn't I already give you those two heavy weapons before? Still not enough?"

Zhang Ben didn't even turn his head:

"Besides, every bit of iron for this hammer was sent over by the Yuan family — there's no second set. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I couldn't!"

"A top-grade long-handled heavy hammer!"

Li Yuan was quite reluctant to part with it. After staring for quite a while, he only returned to the forging bench under Zhang Ben's scolding and continued crafting the Autumn Water Sword.

This top-grade sharp sword was only four more quenchings away from completion.

"Even though I can't buy it, borrowing it for a few days shouldn't be a problem..."

Taking a deep breath to suppress the stray thoughts in his heart, Li Yuan threw himself into forging. By evening when work ended, he had quenched and tempered twice more — at most another day or two, and it would be finished.

"Cost one tael of red gold, and I still have one tael left in hand..."

Li Yuan calculated in his heart.

His purpose in forging this Autumn Water Sword was to try to get some more red gold from that mysterious person — this stuff was harder to come by than anything else.

"Everyone knock off early today!"

Seeing the sky looked bad, as if muffled thunder might explode, Zhang Ben spoke up.

He didn't even raise his head, doing the final polishing.

Li Yuan tidied things up, took out the wine he'd prepared long ago, along with some cooked meat, and after getting the unsuspecting Old Zhang drunk, turned around and went back to the forging room.

"What fine stuff!"

The weapons forge had taken on someone's order — if it was scrapped or lost, it had to be compensated for. Li Yuan didn't want to cheat Old Zhang, but...

"Using it for a bit should be fine, right?"

Reaching out to grip this long-handled eight-sided hammer, Li Yuan felt every pore on his body open up. The influence of his hammer-type talent was still deepening — he felt he was gradually coming to love the taste of swinging a hammer.

Crack!

In the night sky, a Lei She streaked past.

In the forging room, Li Yuan gently stroked the hammer's handle, his eyes gleaming faintly:

"Winter's almost here. This rain might just be the last one..."