Chương 48: Lu County’s Number One Talent — Rising to Fame!

By the time Sun Tiexin finally snapped out of his daze, Li Shanyun had already mounted her demonic warhorse and ridden off.

"I must return to my sect," she called over her shoulder.

"Brother Su, the road ahead is long. Take care of yourself—and don't forget our agreement." With a crack of the whip, she surged forward. More than a hundred black-armored riders followed behind her like a tide. Hooves thundered across Lu County, kicking up rolling clouds of dust. Soon, her graceful figure disappeared beyond the horizon.

"I won't forget." Su Zhe smiled as he watched her leave. Then he turned around and immediately heard Yang Dingtian roaring at Sun Tiexin.

"Tieniu, are you out of your mind?!"

"The guest was from the Sword-Forging Manor! Someone of that status! Four taels of pure gold would've been more than enough!"

"Forty taels? Have you lost your senses?!" Yang Dingtian looked as though he wanted to hammer some sense into the blacksmith. Who would've thought that straightforward, rough-spoken Sun Tiexin could be such a ruthless swindler when money was involved?

"Damn it all!" Sun Tiexin scratched his tangled hair and protested loudly.

"When I held up four fingers, I meant four taels of gold! How was I supposed to know that girl spends money without counting? She thought I meant forty!" After a long pause, he suddenly raised his head and shouted:"Besides, which disciple of Sword-Forging Manor isn't a dragon or phoenix among men?"

"Maybe the girl took a liking to my disciple!"

"The talent my disciple has? Forty taels of gold for a foot in the door? She's the one getting a bargain!" The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. His eyes practically sparkled.

"Don't even think about touching that gold!"

"That's a token of affection!"

"If the girl finds out it's gone, even you, Yang Dingtian, won't be able to handle the consequences!" Yang Dingtian's face twitched. Forty taels of pure gold was an enormous fortune. Ordinarily, the materials used to forge a peak-grade mortal weapon came from the Blacksmiths' Guild, which meant any profit should belong to the guild as well. But this situation was different. The buyer had been Li Shanyun. And everyone could tell she was no ordinary disciple of Sword-Forging Manor.

Her background was likely extraordinary. After pondering for a while, Yang Dingtian finally sighed and waved his sleeve.

"Do as you please."

"Su Zhe is the greatest genius our guild has ever produced. No matter what, the money stays within the guild family." With that, he left, unwilling to look at Sun Tiexin's smug expression any longer. Wang Shan wasn't interested in staying either. Before departing, he looked at Sun Tiexin and said coldly,"Tieniu, what you did today was far from honorable. I'll remember it." Then he cast one final, meaningful glance at Su Zhe before leaving with Yu Yi and the disciples of the Breaking Army Hall.

"Hah! As if I'm afraid of you!" Sun Tiexin glared after him, his stubborn temper flaring up. Unfortunately, Wang Shan couldn't be bothered arguing. The moment the outsiders left, the disciples of Artisan Hall could no longer hold back.

"Junior Brother, you're incredible!"

"Both martial arts and smithing—you dominate them all!"

"Number one genius of the Blacksmiths' Guild? That's underselling it!"

"In my opinion, Junior Brother is the number one genius in all of Lu County!" This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Exactly! Did you hear what Lady Li said before she left?""'Brother Su, don't forget our agreement!'""And our Junior Brother here was calling her Shanyun this, Shanyun that. So intimate!" The crowd immediately erupted into teasing laughter. Su Zhe hurriedly waved his hands.

"You've all misunderstood! Shanyun and I are completely innocent—""We know!" Someone yelled back.

"A perfectly innocent Daoist couple. We understand!" The courtyard exploded with laughter. Su Zhe was speechless. What kind of nonsense was an "innocent Daoist couple"? If they were already a couple, how innocent could that possibly be? For the first time, he realized that these blacksmiths had surprisingly sharp tongues.

"Senior Brother, aren't you going to stop them?" He looked helplessly at Guo Ju. Guo Ju wrapped an arm around his shoulder and laughed loudly.

"What's there to stop?"

"Can anyone control the heavens, the earth, or where people fart?"

"If a man likes a woman and a woman likes a man, that's normal."

"Back in my village, there were even guys sneaking into widows' homes in the middle of the night."

"Don't be shy, Junior Brother." Su Zhe rubbed his forehead. His master was unreliable. Naturally, the disciples had inherited the same problem.

"By the way, where's Second Senior Brother?" Su Zhe suddenly noticed Xiao Xunhuan was missing.

"Oh, him?" Guo Ju grinned.

"He found a corner to cry in."

"He keeps saying that Li Shanyun ignored the most handsome man in Artisan Hall and chose you instead."

"Poor fellow took quite a blow." Then Guo Ju's grin widened.

"Forget about him."

"Today your reputation exploded. Before long, all of Lu County will know your name."

"And you just made a fortune."

"You'd better treat us senior brothers to a proper feast!" Su Zhe laughed.

"Done." The disciples cheered immediately. Food was all it took to make them happy. Every face in Artisan Hall shone with pride. It almost felt as though the genius who had astonished the world today wasn't Su Zhe— but all of them. The next day, a grand banquet was held. Su Zhe spent five hundred taels of silver treating his fellow disciples to an extravagant feast rich in nourishing foods and blood-strengthening delicacies. Meanwhile, his name spread throughout Lu County.

The River Transport Guild had produced a genius named Yuan Ba—a seemingly sickly young man blessed with monstrous strength. After personally examining him, Li Shanyun had rated his talent as Upper-Upper Grade A. The Blacksmiths' Guild had produced Su Zhe. A sixteen-year-old peak mortal craftsman. A possessor of a Body-Reforging Constitution. Master of three cultivation arts to perfection. Gifted with heaven-defying comprehension. His talent rating was likewise Upper-Upper Grade A.

Soon, the names Su Zhe and Yuan Ba became known throughout every street and alley of Lu County. Many exceptional talents had emerged this year. There were quite a few Grade-A talents. Yet all of them were overshadowed by these two. And among the pair, Su Zhe shone brightest. His position as Lu County's number one genius became virtually undisputed. Everyone knew that entering Sword-Forging Manor meant a future filled with possibilities. For someone like Su Zhe, that future seemed limitless.

Even the local factions that had long resented the Blacksmiths' Guild and frequently provoked it suddenly became quiet. No one dared cause trouble. Even the River Transport Guild, which possessed another of Lu County's twin prodigies in Yuan Ba, had recently begun showing goodwill toward the Blacksmiths' Guild. Artisan Hall, Courtyard One. Su Zhe sat cross-legged in meditation. Blood and qi circulated through his body in great cycles. Tiny beads of liquid seeped from his skin.

The droplets carried a faint smell of alcohol. At the banquet, the disciples of Artisan Hall had taken turns challenging him to drinks. Even with Su Zhe's powerful physique, he had nearly been overwhelmed. Back in his room, he activated the Flood Dragon Breathing Technique, guiding his blood and qi through his body and forcing the alcohol out through his pores. Within his Purple Palace Dantian, blood and qi were refined by the White Deer Sword Qi before settling and condensing.

Gradually, a thread of Savage Ox Force began to take shape. The force resembled a miniature raging ox. Its form was vivid and lifelike, as though it could burst into a roar at any moment. Su Zhe slowly opened his eyes. His bones had already been thoroughly tempered by blood and qi. And the Savage Ox Force had finally taken root within him. He had officially stepped into the Third-Rank Inner Force Realm. Of course, this was only the beginning. His inner force still required considerable refinement.

"Li Shanyun really did me a favor."

"She left eight strands of White Deer Sword Qi hidden throughout my meridians."

"That saved me months of painstaking cultivation."

"Condensing my first strand of Savage Ox Force only consumed two of them." Su Zhe carefully examined his body over a dozen times. To be absolutely certain, he even used a drop of Precious Blood. Only after confirming that the White Deer Sword Qi contained no hidden danger and had caused no damage to his body did he fully absorb it. Thinking back on everything that had happened between himself and Li Shanyun, his mind gradually settled.

She was a Sixth-Rank martial cultivator whose methods were mysterious and unfathomable. Yet Su Zhe possessed both the Creation Immortal Cauldron and Precious Blood. Those treasures far exceeded the capabilities of an ordinary Sixth-Rank expert. The information displayed by the Creation Immortal Cauldron showed no abnormalities. The healing effects of the Precious Blood revealed no hidden injuries either. Only then did the naturally cautious Su Zhe finally relax.

Receiving kindness from another person was certainly a good thing. But kindness rarely came without reason.

"I've struck it rich!" After confirming the White Deer Sword Qi was harmless, Su Zhe's excitement could no longer be suppressed. He reviewed his current wealth. Gold: 93 taels Silver: 1, 500 taels Pure Gold: 44 taels Pure Silver: 10 taels Converted into silver, his total assets were approaching 7, 000 taels.

"Looks like it's finally time to ask Master to help me acquire the Five-Metal Treasure needed to open my Fifth Immortal Aperture."

"As for where the money came from…" A smile appeared on his face.

"I can simply blame everything on Li Shanyun." The advantages of having a wealthy and influential acquaintance were becoming increasingly apparent. After all, nobody knew what Li Shanyun had discussed with him during their private journey together. The Blacksmiths' Guild certainly didn't. And no one had dared follow her. If they had, she would have noticed immediately. As a result, Li Shanyun had given him far more than forty taels of pure gold. She had also become the perfect excuse.

Anything difficult to explain could simply be attributed to her. As for the forty taels of gold... Su Zhe couldn't help recalling a recent conversation with Sun Tiexin.

"Master, you're truly ruthless. A peak-grade mortal weapon is worth, at most, a little over ten taels of gold. I've learned another lesson from you today."

"Didn't I tell you already?"

"I held up four fingers because I wanted four taels!"

"How was I supposed to know the girl was that generous?"

"Forget it. What's there to complain about? If we lose a little, we lose a little. Suffering losses is a blessing!" If that was what a loss looked like, Su Zhe hoped to suffer many more. Then his expression turned thoughtful.

"So there are classifications even above Grade-A talent."

"Lu County is simply too small."

"Li Shanyun's explanation arrived at exactly the right time." His gaze drifted into the distance as he recalled what she had told him about the hierarchy of talents beyond Grade A...