Chương 64: A Cheat-Level Genius Shatters Master Iron Ox’s Confidence

The fire dragon roared. In an instant, the flames shifted into three colors: gold, crimson, and white. Almost at once, the Adamant-Gold Lock was burned red-hot, its surface rimmed with a faint, charred black. Ten breaths. Twenty breaths. Beside him, Sun Tiexin was too shocked to speak. He simply stood there, frozen.

"A monster… He really is a monster. You should never compare yourself to a monster." Sun Tiexin stared in disbelief. On only his second attempt, Su Zhe had surpassed what had taken him ten years of bitter training. Was there any justice left in the world? Any law of heaven? Suddenly, Sun Tiexin remembered an old saying passed down through Craftsman's Heart Hall.

Long ago, when faced with countless geniuses of the forge, Patriarch Craftheart had laughed softly and said:"If you possess heaven-bestowed talent, an extraordinary body, uncommon insight, and the will to fuse inspiration with sweat, then—and only then—will you be qualified to meet this old man." At this moment, as Sun Tiexin looked at the young Su Zhe, his mind grew hazy. It was as though the endless ages had peeled away, and he could glimpse the figure of the founding patriarch himself.

The Three Spirits had become one. Their power soared, flowing in an endless, self-sustaining cycle. Su Zhe felt much more at ease. Time passed, breath by breath. Only when he reached fifty breaths did Su Zhe slowly withdraw his palm. At the same time, an extremely pure stream of inner force flowed back into him. Compared to before, it had grown dozens of times stronger.

"Master, I did pretty well, right?" Su Zhe swallowed a pill as he spoke to Sun Tiexin. Sun Tiexin's face instantly darkened to the color of pig liver. Looking back now, every word he had said earlier felt like an invisible slap across his own face.

"Stop showing off! No matter how heaven-defying you are, I'm still the master who first guided you into the craft!" Sun Tiexin glared fiercely at Su Zhe and cursed under his breath. Su Zhe's skin was thick enough to stop a blade. He only grinned shamelessly.

"For the time being, stay in this secret chamber and focus on refining your inner force."

"Don't go out unless you have to. Wait until I return from wiping out the cult." Sun Tiexin's tone turned serious. Wang Shan was wary of Su Zhe. Now even Wang Hai had his eyes on him. Sun Tiexin was worried. If Su Zhe acted recklessly and exposed himself to those two, there might not even be a corpse left to find.

"Don't worry, Master."

"Other than collecting scrap weapons, I'll eat, sleep, and do everything else right here."

"I won't leave the Blacksmith Gang." Su Zhe answered earnestly. On that point, Sun Tiexin was not too worried. After all, he had great faith in his disciple's ability to stay alive. After giving a few more instructions, Sun Tiexin turned to leave.

"Master, wait." Su Zhe rose, reached into his robe, and took out several drops of precious blood-essence, along with handwritten copies of two supreme arts. Flood Dragon Enters the Sea Method. Sickle-Shadow Mantis Killing Art.

"Master, this is blood-essence. Li Shanyun gave it to me. Its healing effects are extraordinary. If you run into danger while suppressing the cult, this blood-essence can save your life."

"As for these two supreme arts, they were also given to me by Li Shanyun. With them, Master should be able to break through to the fourth rank." Su Zhe was as shameless as ever. He shoved every unreasonable explanation onto Li Shanyun. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Flood Dragon Enters the Sea Method had indeed come from the river bandit Mad Shark, but although Wang Shan knew that, Sun Tiexin did not.

The Sickle-Shadow Mantis Killing Art had come from the Blood Refining Cult, but Sun Tiexin did not know that either. Once heart's blood condensed into precious blood-essence, it turned into something like amber or jade, making it easy to carry. Sun Tiexin looked at the three full drops of blood-essence and the two supreme arts. His brow rose slightly in surprise.

"Good lad… You've got quite a few treasures hidden on you."

"I'm half-tempted to capture you and torture a confession out of you, just to see how many more secrets you're hiding." Su Zhe waved both hands at once.

"That's it. Really, that's all." He only had a tiny little bit more hidden away. Su Zhe was truly just an ordinary disciple. Sun Tiexin knew that a monster like Su Zhe must have his own fortune and opportunities, so he did not press further. Instead, he reminded him again:"Remember this. The more secrets you carry, the more people will covet them."

"Stay alive. Wait for me to come back." Sun Tiexin left the secret chamber. Supreme arts. Precious blood-essence. Sun Tiexin understood exactly what those things meant. Blood-essence was created when a fourth-rank expert or above consumed their own heart's blood to refine it. Even a fourth-rank martial expert might spend an entire year and still fail to condense a single drop. For any martial artist below the fourth rank, it was nothing less than a miracle medicine.

"Even if Li Shanyun values my disciple, she wouldn't be foolish enough to invest in him without limits."

"This child… He probably doesn't have many drops of blood-essence left himself. Ah, as his master, I've failed him."

"But as long as I remain in Lu County, I can protect that brat. I absolutely cannot let anything happen to me." Sun Tiexin clenched his jaw and repeated those words silently in his heart. He did not dare look back. He was afraid Su Zhe would see the tenderness hidden inside this iron ox. Li Shanyun of Swordforging Villa was a phoenix perched upon a parasol tree. How could someone like her truly take a fancy to Su Zhe, a boy from a poor backwater?

And so, Sun Tiexin was certain that by handing over these treasures, Su Zhe had emptied the very bottom of his chest. To have a disciple like this, he would have no regrets in this life. He had to live. He had to protect Su Zhe's path.

"I wonder when I'll finally get to enjoy the blessings of that brat's success."

"Soon. Soon enough. This old man only has to work hard for another half year or so." Sun Tiexin walked out of the secret chamber with a foolish, fond grin on his face. … In truth, this was all a misunderstanding. Su Zhe's blood-essence was practically endless. As his cultivation rose, Su Zhe could now drip twenty-five drops of blood-essence a day. Inside the Immortal Cauldron of Creation, the amount of blood-essence continued to increase with each passing day. At present, he already had over a hundred drops.

The three drops Sun Tiexin had taken were not even a hair from nine oxen. They were more like the split end of that hair. Still, three drops of blood-essence were enough to save Sun Tiexin three times. Su Zhe figured that should be sufficient.

"I need to hurry and restore my inner force." Su Zhe adjusted his breathing, sat cross-legged, and entered meditation. This world had many similarities to the ancient world of Su Zhe's previous life. A day was divided into twelve double-hours. Each double-hour was divided into eight quarters. One quarter was equal to fifteen minutes in his previous life. This time, Su Zhe only needed three quarters to fully recover his inner force.

"My recovery speed has increased as well. Even my body is faintly changing."

"This Fire-Refining Furnace truly is a supreme treasure." Su Zhe sighed inwardly. He was an extremely cautious person. Even with a master like Sun Tiexin, who treated him with complete sincerity, Su Zhe still kept something in reserve. He had plenty of blood-essence. Blood-essence could restore the body's vitality and blood. When vitality and blood gathered, inner force would naturally be born from them. In other words, he could game the system without taking any damage.

After all, the longer he lasted while refining the Adamant-Gold Lock, the better the result.

"Again!" Su Zhe began refining the Adamant-Gold Lock once more. This time, he lasted fifty-two breaths. Just as Su Zhe felt his strength run dry, he bit down on the drop of blood-essence hidden under his tongue and swallowed it. His vitality surged. His energy circulated on its own, completing a full heavenly cycle. Savage Bull. Baleful Tiger. Spirit Serpent. Flood Dragon. Dark Mantis. Numerous breathing methods began operating at once. His inner force, which had nearly dried up, revived again. Sixty breaths.

Seventy breaths.

"Hah!" Su Zhe withdrew his palm. This time, his result had improved by another twenty breaths. Although blood-essence could replenish depleted vitality, the birth of inner force still required some time. And the longer he refined the Adamant-Gold Lock, the more inner force he consumed. Even blood-essence had its limits.

"As expected, when it comes to cheating, I, Su Zhe, stand peerless!" Su Zhe's heart surged with excitement. With the Three Spirits as One and blood-essence at his side, what was a mere three hundred breaths? Kings above, ghosts at the gates—give Su Zhe a single spear, and he would take them all. … The next day, Craftsman's Heart Hall marched out. Su Zhe remained in the secret chamber. He did not even see his master off. Another three days passed. Su Zhe's wealth shrank at terrifying speed.

By now, he had only four taels of pure gold left on him. Through treasure-refining body tempering, he had fused large numbers of low-grade mortal weapons into his body. [Aptitude: Mid-tier "One in a Thousand" innate aptitude. Upper-tier "One in a Thousand" aptitude after equipment enhancement.] His own innate aptitude had reached mid-tier "One in a Thousand." With equipment enhancement, his aptitude was now approaching the level of "One in Ten Thousand." Enhanced aptitude had its limits in the end.

But innate aptitude was true power that belonged to his own body. Its potential was boundless. Its mysteries were endless.

"Cultivating the martial body really is a money-burning pit."

"The treasurer's wealth, embezzled over more than ten years, was completely used up by me in just a few days."

"And these past few days, I've been busy melting the Adamant-Gold Lock, so I haven't had time to forge."

"Forget it. I'll put treasure-refining body tempering on hold for now. The priority is breaking the lock."

"Once I succeed and equip the Fire-Refining Furnace, I should be able to reach the 'One in Ten Thousand' level!" Su Zhe made his plans in silence. It had been less than a month since Li Shanyun left the Blacksmith Gang. In that short time, Su Zhe had leapt from top-tier Grade-A aptitude all the way to the threshold of "One in Ten Thousand." If Li Shanyun found out, she would probably be stunned speechless.

Judging from Li Shanyun's cultivation, bearing, and manner of speech, her status in Swordforging Villa was definitely extraordinary. The more interested she was in Su Zhe, the more advantageous it would be for him. … And so, another half month passed. Although Su Zhe remained in the secret chamber most of the time, he would occasionally go out. He wanted to gather news about the battle at Wild Goose Mountain.

It was said that the cultists had fought while retreating, while the forces of Lu County advanced with unstoppable momentum. Even so, they were still unable to completely wipe out the cultists. Those cultists feared no death. One after another, they shouted the name of the "Blood-Refining Divine Venerable" before dragging Lu County's martial artists down with them.

"Little Junior Brother, you've barely shown your face these past few days. Oh, right—Yu Yi from Army-Breaker Hall has come looking for you several times." A disciple of Craftsman's Heart Hall happened to see Su Zhe and reminded him. Yu Yi? Why was he looking for me?