Eternal Sacred King 76 to 80

 Chapter 76: Test Commencement

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Quite incredible? That’s extremely incredible!”

Xue Yi lamented softly, “I’ve already been in Ethereal Sect for six years now and I’m only edging at the border of Level 2 Spirit Fire.”

“Heh, let’s not talk about these anymore.

Picking himself up, Xue Yi shrugged his shoulders. “But if Feng Haoyu really does become accomplished in both refining elixirs and weapons and end up making a name for himself in those rankings during the sect competition, that would be quite the honor for our sect too isn’t it.”

Smiling, Su Zimo nodded.

“Everyone, please be silent!”

Right then, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator appeared at the front of the Weapon Refinement Hall and pushed his hands down, causing the chatter in the hall to die down.

“Everyone, please head forth and select your materials before finding an empty spot within the hall on your own to refine your weapons. The test commences now!”

All of the disciples began dispersing after choosing their materials as Su Zimo and Xue Yi waited before choosing a spot at the back of the hall.

With his hands behind his back, Feng Haoyu stood right in front with a haughty expression; no one dared to stand shoulder to shoulder against him.

Before this, Feng Haoyu had already asked around and found out that none of the trial disciples within the five peaks had managed to create a Level 2 Spirit Fire; the best amongst them was nearly bordering on the edge of Level 2.

Thus, Feng Haoyu was extremely confident that he would definitely be able to top this month end test and obtain the rights to view projections of the weapon refinement process left behind by seniors of the sect.

Bam!

Retrieving a Weapon Tripod from his storage bag, Feng Haoyu slammed it heavily on the ground and the entire hall rattled.

Every single one of his actions attracted everyone’s attention.

None of the hundred odd disciples attending the test were in any hurry as they all looked at Feng Haoyu after placing down their Weapon Tripod.

Feng Haoyu’s lips curled.

Even though he did not turn around, he could feel the searing gazes that contained jealousy and envy.

That was the type of feeling he enjoyed.

The adoration of the masses.

Extending his palm out slowly, Feng Haoyu channeled spirit qi.

A ball of flames rose. It was merely a faint red color – Level 1 Spirit Fire.

The entire hall went silent as everyone watched the man right at the front with bated breaths.

Swoosh!

Feng Haoyu extended his other palm as a stream of spirit qi shot out from his fingertips, entering the initial ball of flames.

With a loud rumble, the flame burned brightly as its color deepened. Before long, it was a dark red color.

Level 2 Spirit Fire!

The crowd went into an uproar!

Even though many disciples of the sect had heard about it, they were still shocked seeing a Level 2 Spirit Fire personally.

A Level 2 Spirit Weapon would improve the success rate of creating inferior-grade spirit weapons greatly and was something that many cultivators would not be able to achieve in their lifetimes.

Sensing emotions running high in the crowd, a look of glee flickered through Feng Haoyu’s eyes as he pushed the ball of Level 2 Spirit Fire into his Weapon Tripod where it continued to burn.

He was warming his tripod.

First, the area around the Weapon Tripod had to be warmed evenly using spirit fire and after the temperature was balanced, the materials would be inserted.

Because weapon refinement was a long process, many of the cultivators behind Feng Haoyu began to gather their own spirit fires and work on the tripod warming phase as well.

Xue Yi looked at Su Zimo. “Let’s start too, Junior Brother Su.”

“Okay,” Su Zimo nodded.

Xue Yi extended his palm as a ball of flames rose. Even though it was a Level 1 Spirit Fire, its color was darker and showed vague signs of evolving to a Level 2 Spirit Fire.

One did not have to concentrate too much on the tripod warming process.

Xue Yi circled his spirit fire around the Weapon Tripod before letting it burn at the bottom and turning his head over to Su Zimo. He thought that he may be able to provide some advice given that this junior brother of his had just started on the craft of weapon refinement and might not be used to it.

However, that move of Xue Yi rooted him where he stood.

There was a ball of fervent flames burning on Su Zimo’s palm and the color of it was somewhat piercing!

Xue Yi was completely stumped as his mind went blank; he did not even notice that the flames beneath his Weapon Tripod had extinguished.

Su Zimo was learning from others around him as well by surrounding his spirit fire around the Weapon Tripod before letting it burn at the bottom.

The process of warming the tripod was something that was not mentioned when the inner sect disciples explained things previously.

Through the entire month, Su Zimo had not practiced warming the tripod in his seclusion.

“Seems like this test wasn’t a wasted trip. I got something out of it,” Su Zimo was delighted internally.

“J-Junior Brother Su! Y-Your Spirit Fire...!”

Right then, Xue Yi’s stammering voice sounded out in Su Zimo’s ears.

Turning around, Su Zimo smiled. “I got lucky and somehow managed to cultivate out a Level 3 Spirit Fire by accident.”

He was not saying it out of humility – it was cultivated through accident and he did not know the reason for it till this day.

Xue Yi’s eyes were widened as his jaws nearly dropped to the ground.

This was the first time that he had heard someone say they created a Level 3 Spirit Fire out of sheer luck by accident!

Even though their voices weren’t loud, the surrounding disciples heard everything loud and clear.

Level 3 Spirit Fire?

Dream on!

Some of the disciples in front turned around and were stumped as well.

An odd tension began to spread and permeate through the hall.

Standing right at the front, Feng Haoyu seemed to have felt something as he frowned. However, he did not turn around out of arrogance.

Within the hall, there was no one worth his attention to turn around!

Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek broke the odd tension in the hall.

“Level 3 Spirit Fire!”

After that shriek, the entire hall went bonkers.

“Scarlet! It’s truly a Level 3 Spirit Fire!”

“Who is this person? He doesn’t look familiar! How have we not seen him before?”

“I think he’s one of the new disciples who joined this year.”

“This is way too incredible. This man is only a Level 5 Qi Refinement Warrior and yet he’s able to cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire? What sort of talent is that?”

When he heard the discussion going on behind him, Feng Haoyu’s expression turned grim.

Standing silently, he composed himself and turned around slowly, looking back indifferently.

The scarlet flame was the first thing that entered his line of sight.

Right after, a face with sharp features and green robes that he had seen before.

“Him again!”

Feng Haoyu narrowed his eyes coldly.

“Mmm?”

Sensing enmity, Su Zimo who was initially still warming his tripod looked over instinctively.

“What keen senses!”

Feng Haoyu remarked internally.

He had already kept his enmity well hidden but he had not expected that Su Zimo would notice it still.

Their gazes met for a brief moment as Feng Haoyu turned back indifferently, haughty as ever.

On the surface, it seemed as though Feng Haoyu did not take it to heart.

However, the Level 2 Spirit Fire beneath his Weapon Tripod had already been extinguished – that was a clear sign of his shock!

Su Zimo smiled and thought nothing more of it. Noticing that his Weapon Tripod was already warm, he was about to insert his materials when a head suddenly popped out beside him.

He was so shocked that he pulled his Cold Moon Saber out of his storage bag and almost slashed forth...

“Greetings, master!”

“Greetings, peak master.”

When the disciples in the hall saw who it was, all of them greeted.

Su Zimo coughed gently, keeping his Cold Moon Saber without a trace.

Chapter 77: Found a Treasure

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Unknowingly, the disheveled old peak master of Weapon Peak had made his way to the Weapon Refinement Hall and appeared beside Su Zimo.

The disheveled old man eyed the Cold Moon Saber that Su Zimo kept and asked casually, “Lad, why are you always trying to stab others over every single disagreement?”

When he was joining the sect at the top of the front peak, Su Zimo slashed out at Array Peak’s master right after he came forth from the illusion.

Now, he nearly did the same to Weapon Peak’s master.

With an awkward expression, Su Zimo was ready to disperse his spirit fire and apologize to his master. However, the disheveled old man merely waved it off and shook his head. “It’s fine, continue with what you were doing. I’ll just be watching from the side, no pressure.”

“Alright,” Su Zimo nodded his head.

Pausing for a moment, the disheveled old man patted Su Zimo on the shoulders and commented sincerely, “Lad, you don’t have to be strung up all day all night in Ethereal Sect. Relax, no one is going to hurt you. Don’t brandish your saber for every small reason.”

In reality, Su Zimo’s reaction was trained during his time in Cang Lang Mountain Range and had already become a habit.

Outside the mountain range, every single beast was an enemy to Su Zimo.

Even back in his cave, he had to be alert against the Spirit Monkey’s mischievous attacks; that was why he was so neurotic.

However, it did not mean that Su Zimo would let his guard loose just because of what the disheveled old man said. He would merely pay more attention so that he would not brandish his saber casually.

The disheveled old man continued, “Besides, even if you want to brandish it, you’ve got to see your opponent first. One month into the sect and you’ve already pointed your saber at two peak masters. What’s going to happen the longer you stay?”

“Cough, cough. I’ll take note of it,” Su Zimo chuckled embarrassedly.

Usually, none of the peak masters would appear for a month end test as such, especially not the peak master of Weapon Peak who was known to be lazy by nature.

Yet, everyone present was clear why the disheveled old man was appearing now.

It was definitely not for Feng Haoyu, but Su Zimo.

Right then, Feng Haoyu who was standing right at the front had a burning sensation on his face. However, because he was back facing everyone else, no one could tell of the coldness in his eyes.

Composing his emotions, Feng Haoyu began to warm the tripod once more.

At the back of the hall, Su Zimo had already begun to insert the materials since his Level 3 Spirit Fire was not extinguished.

With all the materials inserted, he channeled a large amount of spirit qi and flames burnt furiously, enveloping the entire Weapon Tripod.

The temperature in the tripod continued to climb!

The process of smelting was to turn all the materials to liquid state using a high temperature before fusing them together once more, removing as much impurities from them as possible.

It was a step that had nothing to do with weapon refinement technique and was a clear indicator of the difference between different levels of spirit fire.

Even if it was an Advanced Weapon Refinement Master wielding a Level 2 Spirit Fire, he would not be able to match an amateur with a Level 3 Spirit Fire during the smelting process.

Before long, the materials in the tripod had begun to melt before turning into a metal liquid that emanated spirit qi.

The Level 3 Spirit Fire continued burning.

The golden liquid burnt within the tripod, bubbling endlessly as the spirit qi inside thickened.

At that, the disheveled old man’s eyes flickered with a hint of satisfaction as he nodded.

The metal liquid glowed bright red as the quantity was condensed through the repeated scorching – that was due to impurities being purged away.

15 minutes later, the metal liquid was no longer condensing.

That did not imply that it was free of impurities – it was merely the smelting limits of a Level 3 Spirit Fire.

The smelting process was over.

Right then, the materials of the other disciples had merely only started to melt. Of them, Feng Haoyu’s speed was faster as a metal liquid was formed within his tripod.

Not only was the Level 3 Spirit Fire better in purging impurities, it was faster as well as Su Zimo led the pack far ahead!

The next step, forging.

Su Zimo dispersed his spirit fire and waited for the temperature within the tripod to dip. At the same time, he cultivated and rested at the side, replenishing the spirit qi he had expended.

Forging required channeling of spirit qi to create a pair of spirit hands which would be inserted into the Weapon Tripod. One would then have to forge the shape of the spirit weapon they wanted before the metal liquid solidified.

If one entered too early when the temperature was too high, notwithstanding the fact that the spirit hands may disperse easily, it would be difficult to forge the weapon since the metal liquid would not be completely cooled.

However, if it was too late and the metal liquid was completely solidified, one would not be able to forge as well.

This step was a test of experience.

After five minutes, Su Zimo suddenly bolted up and channeled his spirit qi fervently. A pair of hands appeared in midair that reached into the Weapon Tripod, grabbing hold of the metal liquid.

That was the perfect moment when the metal liquid was malleable without solidifying just yet!

At the side, the disheveled old man was getting more pleased as he watched the focused Su Zimo.

“Bloody hell, I’ve really found a treasure this time round!”

If not for the fact that so many disciples were present, the disheveled old man could not wish for more than to hug Su Zimo tightly for a kiss right then.

For some reason, Su Zimo felt a gust of cold wind behind his ass and could not help but broke into a shudder.

Before long, a flying sword slowly took shape.

The blade was long without any edge yet – this was merely a rough shape.

By now, many of the disciples had given up on the test and were watching Su Zimo’s weapon refinement process instead.

When they noticed the shape of the sword being crafted, a shushing sound spread out from the crowd.

Feng Haoyu was done with his smelting at the moment and was waiting for the temperature in the Weapon Tripod to dip. As he sat where he was to rest, he could not help but turn around to check out the commotion.

The moment he saw the shape of the sword in Su Zimo’s Weapon Tripod, he scoffed with a look of mockery and turned back.

After the forging was complete, Su Zimo could naturally sense the strange tension around him.

“Master, have I made a mistake?” he could not help but ask.

The disheveled old man waved it off and replied nonchalantly, “It’s not really a huge mistake. You’ve grasped the forging timing really finely. It’s just that you’ve added an additional hilt to your sword.

“An additional hilt?” Su Zimo froze for a moment, confused.

The disheveled old man asked, “Do you know why most of the flying swords cultivators use do not have a hilt?”

Su Zimo shook his head.

“A flying sword is the most common Dharma treasure for swords in the cultivation world. Its advantage is that its fast, agile, versatile and both ends are bladed. Unlike a normal sword, a flying sword does not have a hilt because the presence of it leads to greater air resistance and in turn, a lower speed and agility.”

Suddenly, Su Zimo’s eyes lit up.

In the past, he did demonic cultivation and was always engaging in melee combat with others. Now, he was less than a month into immortality cultivation and did not have much practice with swords yet.

At the end of the day, immortal and demonic cultivation were different. Cultivators do not go against others by wielding flying swords with their hands. Instead, they channeled their spirit qi into a stream of energy so as to control flying swords from afar.

During a fight, if a flying sword that struck the enemy has a hilt, the sword would not pass through their bodies.

Without a hilt, the flying sword would pierce their bodies with ease, allowing the cultivators to continue controlling it without being affected.

If the opponent had a body tempering technique which gave them an extremely robust physical body, a flying sword with a hilt may end up in their hands instead.

Without a hilt, the sword would be edged at every point and the opponent would not be able to catch it barehanded.

For a flying sword, a hilt was nothing more than a burden.

Chapter 78: I Don’t Care

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The disheveled old man consoled him, “It’s just a small mistake. Just be more careful in the future. Don’t be discouraged.”

Su Zimo nodded.

No matter the end result, his trip today was not wasted.

Even though forging looked to be a simple step, there were many factors to consider when shaping a spirit weapon so as to unleash its full potential.

Fourth step, tempering.

The forged flying sword hovered within the Weapon Tripod as Su Zimo reignited a new ball of Level 3 Spirit Fire to heat it up.

Temperature control was crucial for this step.

Too high and the flying sword would melt.

Too low and the desired effect of tempering would not be achieved.

It was crucial to have the spirit weapon burn at a scarlet, transparent color.

Through the past month, Su Zimo had failed countless times at just the tempering step.

After a brief moment, the flying sword in the Weapon Tripod began to turn red. Under the continued burning of the flames, the sword’s body gleamed with a bright red.

Su Zimo maintained his control and placed the flying sword at the bottom of the tripod before conjuring a hammer using spirit qi to start the tempering process.

Cling! Clang!

Tempering can not only eliminate even more impurities, it can strengthen the sturdiness of the sword as well.

Out of all six steps, this step was where technique was most important and every Weapon Refinement Master had their own way of doing things.

Su Zimo went about it with pure brute strength as he knocked at the sword.

The disheveled old man who was watching him frowned – Su Zimo was way too rough in his technique and was no different from blacksmiths of the mortal world.

At the same time, Feng Haoyu had begun tempering his flying sword as well.

Unlike Su Zimo, Feng Haoyu was much cleaner in his tempering skills.

Feng Haoyu had a wind spirit root and because of that, the element of wind spirit qi was present in the hammer he conjured to strike at the flying sword. Because of that, the tempered sword would be more agile and swifter.

While hammering, the sharpness of the sword was gradually revealed too.

It was clear that Feng Haoyu was experienced through his technique and faster. Before long, he was almost caught up to Su Zimo.

After five minutes, Su Zimo heaved out a sigh of relief.

He was done with tempering!

For a pseudo spirit weapon, the final step would be to just throw the scarlet flying sword into cold water for the quenching step.

However, Su Zimo had an idea.

Since this flying sword had a hilt and was imperfect to begin with, he could attempt spirit gathering with it!

For the past month, Su Zimo had already destroyed tens of flying swords without a single success on spirit gathering.

Based on what the inner sect disciples mentioned, there was no technique required for spirit gathering and it was more of a luck thing – the luckier one was, the higher the chances of success.

But of course, that was on the pretext that there were no major issues with the four previous steps.

After tempering, Su Zimo did not shift the flying sword out of the Weapon Tripod and instead glared at the spirit qi within it keenly.

“Is he thinking of spirit gathering?”

“If he manages to succeed, that’ll be amazing!”

“Hmph, I think he’s thinking too highly of himself trying to attempt spirit gathering after a single month into weapon refinement!”

A series of discussions filled with shock and ridicule broke out around them.

Casting away all distractions, Su Zimo calmed his mind – this was a step that required absolute focus from the Weapon Refinement Master without any bit of distractions!

Taking in a deep breath of air, he controlled the spirit qi within the tripod and willed it towards the scarlet flying sword.

Through the pressure, a pattern appeared vaguely on the sword. It was faint and barely formed.

“Look, a spirit pattern!”

“It’s really a spirit pattern! But it has yet to take shape.”

“Could he really manage to create an inferior-grade flying sword?”

Right then, Feng Haoyu was just done with his tempering step as well. When he heard the discussions, his heart skipped a beat as he turned towards Su Zimo.

If Su Zimo had managed to create an inferior-grade spirit weapon, he would have to take the gambit and attempt spirit gathering too.

However, Feng Haoyu had no confidence about it. After all, spirit gathering was way too difficult and he had yet to succeed at it too.

The disheveled old man glared at the flying sword within the tripod fixedly, sweat forming on his palms – he was even more nervous than Su Zimo.

Piak!

Right then, a crisp sound rang out from Su Zimo’s Weapon Tripod.

It was over!

Su Zimo lamented internally.

What followed was a booming sound as the flying sword exploded with its shards striking at the interiors of the Weapon Tripod.

He had failed!

However, it was to be expected.

Su Zimo shook his head and chuckled in exasperation.

The disheveled old man sighed gently.

At the side, Xue Yi looked on with pity.

At that, Feng Haoyu was finally relieved.

Because Su Zimo’s flying sword had exploded, Feng Haoyu had no intention to attempt spirit gathering as well. Instead, he took out the pseudo spirit weapon from his tripod and dipped it in cold water.

Clack!

A thick, white smoke billowed out from the water basin.

The flying sword was successfully created with a sharp gleam and a suffocating aura!

Feng Haoyu placed the flying sword at the front desk and awaited the evaluation results.

Right as Su Zimo kept his Weapon Tripod, a loud voice boomed out in the hall.

“The level of one’s spirit fire isn’t listed as one of the six steps of weapon refinement. Don’t think that you’ll become a Weapon Refinement Master just because you can cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire.”

Su Zimo turned to the voice and met with Feng Haoyu’s cold, sneering gaze.

With a fake smile, Feng Haoyu continued, “Junior Brother Su, one has to be tread steadily. If one were to attempt flying before they can even walk, they might end up falling twice as heavily.”

Su Zimo furrowed his brows slightly.

The both of them had only met a couple of times before and had never spoken nor crossed one another’s paths. Yet, for some unknown reason, Feng Haoyu had a strong enmity towards him!

It was particularly so today.

“Well said, Junior Brother Feng!”

“Fufu, some people are way over their heads because they have a Level 3 Spirit Fire. Know your place!”

The disciples who spoke were not from Weapon Peak; they were Spirit Peak disciples who had come to take the test. There was naturally no way they would give up on a chance to take sides with Feng Haoyu by mocking Su Zimo at such a juncture.

“Stop with all that salty talk! How about talking again after any of you can get a Level 3 Spirit Fire!” Xue Yi could not help but stand up and scoff coldly.

Many of the Spirit Peak disciples found themselves speechless as they looked awful.

No matter what, even if Su Zimo had failed in spirit gathering, it was a fact that he had managed to cultivate a Level 3 Spirit Fire. No one from the five peaks could match that!

Feng Haoyu continued, “Junior Brother Su, don’t take this loss to heart. We’ve still got the five peaks face-off at the end of the year. I hope that you’ll be able to win me by then.”

Su Zimo looked at Feng Haoyu indifferently without replying.

The disheveled old man stood at the side watching without saying anything. At the end of the day, he was a senior and was naturally not bothered with the verbal squabbles between disciples.

After awhile, the disciple hosting the test declared, “Even though all of you crafted a pseudo spirit weapon, Feng Haoyu’s flying sword has a better quality and he was faster. As such, he is the first place for this test.”

Many Spirit Peak disciples began cheering.

Feng Haoyu grinned as he looked past Su Zimo to the disheveled old man. Bowing slightly, he spoke, “Peak master, please take me to observe the projections of weapon refinement left behind by seniors of the sect.”

“Mmm.”

The disheveled old man nodded nonchalantly. “You’re naturally qualified since you took first place.”

Thereafter, he yanked Su Zimo by the arm and commented casually, “Come on, lad. You’ll go have a look too.”

Su Zimo froze for a moment.

Feng Haoyu frowned and said gruffly, “Su Zimo doesn’t even have a ranking place in this test because he failed to create a weapon. So, he isn’t qualified to watch it. Are you sure what you’re doing is appropriate, peak master?”

“Indeed, it’s inappropriate.”

The disheveled old man nodded in agreement before grinning. “But, I don’t care.”

Chapter 79: The Spirit Perception of a Weapon Refinement Master

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

That rebuttal by the disheveled old man nearly choked Feng Haoyu to death.

He was clearly being unreasonable and dishonest about it!

However, with his status as the peak master of Weapon Peak, Feng Haoyu could not say anything about his indignance and could only swallow it.

While all the disciples watched enviously, the disheveled old man brought Su Zimo and Feng Haoyu into the inner hall.

The inner hall wasn’t large at merely dozens of square meters. The walls were lined densely with more than a thousand jade scrolls.

Most of them were dim in color except for a hundred or so that shone lusciously bright.

The disheveled old man pointed at the jade scrolls on the wall. “These are the projections left by Weapon Refinement Masters since the beginning of Ethereal Sect. Those bright ones are the projections of the successful spirit weapon refinements. Even though the remaining ones are projections of failures, they are of Weapon Refinement Masters as well. Each of you can choose 10 to observe.”

Even though it seemed as though there were many jade scrolls, one had to understand that Ethereal Sect was founded thousands of years ago. Yet, only these jade scrolls remained and majority of them were projections of failures.

Without thinking twice, Feng Haoyu went for 10 lusciously bright jade scrolls.

Those were projections of successful spirit weapon refinements.

Su Zimo mulled for a short period of time before choosing five bright and five dim ones.

He understood that while there were things to learn from successes, he could also learn how to prevent similar mistakes from happening by looking at the failures.

When the disheveled old man saw that, he nodded to himself.

For a Weapon Refinement Master, it was difficult to replicate the successes of others. However, they could prevent similar mistakes – that was a form of wisdom as well.

Su Zimo took the 10 jade scrolls and assumed a lotus position. Injecting spirit qi into the scrolls, the patterns on them shone brightly as a clear image appeared before him.

He was immersed into it, deepening his insights towards weapon refinement while clearing the many doubts he had accumulated.

In the blink of an eye, a day and night had passed.

Feng Haoyu stood up and returned the 10 jade scrolls. He took a casual glance at Su Zimo who was still immersed in learning and left the Weapon Refinement Hall.

Before long, Su Zimo stood up and returned the jade scrolls too.

“How was it? You’ve learnt a lot, right?” The disheveled old man asked, smiling.

Su Zimo nodded his head and asked after pondering, “Indeed, I’ve learnt something for the first four steps of weapon refinement. However, I’m still clueless towards spirit gathering.”

“The difficulty of spirit gathering lies in the fact that spirit qi existed in a stable state within the materials. However, after the smelting and combining process, there is a stark change to the structure of the flying sword. Because of that, it is astronomically difficult to infuse the spirit qi back into the flying sword. Coupled with the fact that the flying sword would be heated to a scarlet red state, any misalignment in synergy would result in an immediate explosion.”

The disheveled old man then sighed gently. “It’s not just you. Even Advanced Weapon Refinement Masters would not dare to proclaim a 100% spirit gathering success rate. Most of them develop a sense of spirit perception after many years of refining weapons.”

The mention of that had Su Zimo’s heart skipping a beat.

Spirit perception?

Through the experience of life and death as well as The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness, Su Zimo had already developed a sense of spirit perception.

However, could he apply that same spirit perception to spirit gathering?

His mind began to tinker, wondering if he could work in that direction.

“Head back first. If you’ve got any doubts, feel free to look for me here at any time,” As he said that, the disheveled old man pointed to the jade scrolls on the wall and winked to Su Zimo.

“Mmm?”

Suddenly, Su Zimo realized what the disheveled old man meant.

He was hinting to Su Zimo that by coming over to look for him, the latter could seize the opportunity to look through the jade scrolls on the wall.

“Thank you, master,” Su Zimo bowed with a warm sense of thankfulness seeping into his heart.

The moment he walked out of the Weapon Refinement Hall, he saw someone at the entrance.

Feng Haoyu.

He seemed to have waited for a long time.

Su Zimo frowned slightly. Right as he was about to summon a flying sword to return to his cave abode, Feng Haoyu turned around and with a slightly reared head, blocked Su Zimo’s path with his hand.

“Is there anything?” Su Zimo found himself irked by the haughty expression of this man.

Feng Haoyu replied indifferently, “At the end of this year, I want to make history in Ethereal Sect and be the top of three peaks with Weapon Peak being one of them. Junior Brother Su, you’re a smart man. I’m sure you know what to do.”

“I don’t,” Su Zimo shook his head expressionlessly.

“Are you challenging me?” Feng Haoyu narrowed his gaze and released his Level 7 Qi Condensation. Instantly, a cold gust of wind shrouded around him.

“You’re crazy!”

With a cold scoff, Su Zimo rode his flying sword and left the Weapon Refinement Hall in the blink of an eye, disappearing from Feng Haoyu’s sights.

...

Back in the cave abode, Su Zimo sat on his bed and thought about the contents of the 10 jade scrolls.

Before long, a hurried knock sounded on his door.

“Bro, it’s me!”

It was little fatty’s voice.

They had not seen one another in a month and little fatty was at Level 6 Qi Condensation as well.

The cultivation speed of those with a heaven spirit root was indeed frightening. There was a high chance that Feng Haoyu, Leng Rou and the little fatty could be at Level 9 or Perfected Qi Condensation before the end of the year!

“Bro, I heard that you made an enemy out of Feng Haoyu?” That was little fatty’s first question.

Su Zimo asked, “You even know about something like that?”

“It’s not just me! News of this has already spread through all five peaks and many disciples are talking about it!” Little fatty then sighed. “Bro, that’s a little irrational.”

“Each of us can cultivate on our own. What has that got to do with anything?” Su Zimo chuckled casually, totally indifferent about it.

“Things are not that simple.

Little fatty continued, “The sect prohibits disciples from killing one another internally and therefore you can reject even if he comes to challenge you. However, things are different out of the sect. Bro, you can’t stay in the sect forever, right? Most of the sect’s missions require you to head out. Feng Haoyu has gathered a lot of disciples on his side by now. The moment you step out of the sect, many of them are going to cause trouble for you.”

Su Zimo raised his brow without saying anything.

Little fatty went on, “Actually, given Feng Haoyu’s endowment, he will definitely be at Foundation Establishment realm after the five peaks face-off and promote to be an inner sect disciple. Bro, you can actually just avoid him this time round and take part in next year’s face-off. That way, he’ll owe you a favor too.”

“Let’s discuss this another time,” Su Zimo declined to comment further.

Little fatty nodded. “No matter what, I’ll always be on your side, bro! If you need me for anything, just say the word!”

“Alright,” Su Zimo smiled.

The both of them continued chatting casually before little fatty left.

Su Zimo pondered quietly within his cave abode, deciding to head out of the sect for a bit.

He was getting a little anxious now that there was no progress for the Marrow Cleansing section in an entire month.

When he had first cultivated the Bovine-tongued Saber, he only understood the essence of it by observing a cow eating grass.

This time round, Su Zimo decided to capture a tiger and leopard at a forest nearby the sect so that he could take a deeper look at things.

Chapter 80: Change of Appearance

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Since he had joined, Su Zimo had not left the sect nor taken on any missions.

Since he wanted to head out, Su Zimo decided to take on a mission along the way to earn some contribution points.

Arriving at the mission stele of Weapon Peak, he raised his head and looked.

The mission stele was divided into two sections. The upper section contained missions for the five peaks that any disciples could take on while the lower section only had missions of Weapon Peak reserved for their own disciples.

The further front the mission was, the more difficult it would be and the more contribution points earned.

Great Rock Forest.

It was located dozens of miles Northward of Ethereal Peak and was abound in pure gold, a crucial material for refining flying swords.

The mission to gather materials was not considered to be difficult. However, because it was in Great Rock Forest, the difficulty level became much more significant, even slightly treacherous in fact.

Every single mountain range and forest was bound to contain beasts.

Around the outer regions, most of the beasts were either wild ones or weak spirit ones. Yet, the deeper one ventured, the stronger the beasts were. In fact, spirit demons may even be found right in the core regions.

If targeted by a spirit demon, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator may not be able to escape unscathed.

The gold mine was located right in the core region of Great Rock Forest!

This was a mission for Weapon Peak and even though it was already listed for sometime, no one really dared to take it on.

Great Rock Forest was one of the nearest forests to Ethereal Sect.

Because Su Zimo had intended to head over to begin with, he took on the mission out of convenience.

A sleepy elderly man rested at the mission station.

From Xue Yi, Su Zimo learnt that this was one of Weapon Peak’s three elders, Elder Liu.

The disheveled old man, Elder Li who kept guard over the Weapon Peak and Elder Liu were the three elders of Weapon Peak.

In Ethereal Peak, anyone who could gain the title of elder had to be in the Golden Core realm at least.

Su Zimo came before Elder Liu and handed the latter his sect badge.

Raising his head, Elder Liu frowned before throwing the sect badge back to Su Zimo and barking coldly, “Not allowed to go!”

“Why?” Su Zimo asked.

Elder Liu rolled his eyes and replied, “Are you stupid, lad? You want to court death going to Great Rock Forest with Level 5 Qi Condensation? Even Perfected Qi Refinement Warriors would have to form a team to take on this mission!”

“I just want to go take a look. If it’s dangerous, I’ll leave for sure,” Su Zimo smiled.

In truth, even though Great Rock Forest was dangerous, the mission wasn’t too difficult for someone like Su Zimo who had spirit perception.

“You think you can escape if you really come across any danger?” Elder Liu pouted his lips. “Look how weak you are! Say, don’t blame me for not reminding you if you die out there!”

“Don’t worry, elder. I’m not going to die. I’m quite the lucky man,” Su Zimo chuckled.

Harrumphing coldly, Elder Liu made a record and the mission on the stele dimmed in color, indicating that someone had taken it on.

After a brief silent, Elder Liu pulled out an intricate paper crane from his storage bag and passed it to Su Zimo. “This spirit crane is used for communications in our sect. If you really encounter trouble, you just have to let this fly.”

“Thank you, elder,” Su Zimo kept the spirit crane in his storage bag and cupped his fists before leaving Weapon Peak on his flying sword.

Closing his eyes lazily, Elder Liu went back to sleep before grumbling, “Juniors these days really don’t know what’s good for them.”

...

This was Su Zimo’s first time out of the peak after joining it for a month.

He took out the spirit crane that Elder Liu gave him and observed it.

He had seen something like this before once.

Back in Yan Country’s capital when Su Zimo was chasing after the one-armed cultivator from Joyful Clan, the latter had sent a similar paper crane to inform his sect about it.

There were mysterious patterns drawn on the paper crane and it would be activated by injecting spirit qi.

Su Zimo had a hunch that this paper crane was in reality a type of talisman.

Keeping it, he suddenly frowned as something jolted through his heart.

Someone was following him!

Su Zimo scoffed internally.

For someone to follow him right after leaving the sect? There was no need to think further – the stalker was definitely from their sect.

“Could little fatty be right? Feng Haoyu is really trying to cause trouble for me outside?”

With an unchanged expression, Su Zimo sped towards the direction of Great Rock Forest without any reaction.

Before long, he arrived at the border of Great Rock Forest.

Along the way, Su Zimo had gathered vaguely that there were five people in total behind him. The strongest of them was already at Level 9 Qi Condensation!

“If these guys are truly sent by Feng Haoyu, he really thinks highly of me.”

Su Zimo laughed and without hesitation, dove right into the forest.

Entering the forest was akin to entering Su Zimo’s territory. Here, no one was his match.

Su Zimo cast away his flying sword and sprinted on his feet, zipping left and right. Before long, he lost the people trailing him and arrived at a secluded spot where he abandoned his green robes and bared his upper body.

A series of cracking sounds came forth from within Su Zimo as his tendons and bones screamed together while his body expanded. In the blink of an eye, he had grown to over two meters tall with his flesh swelled and muscles bound together. His body had inflated entirely!

Su Zimo’s facial muscles contorted and joined together bizarrely. After a split second, his features had changed as he transformed into a fierce, burly man with a naked upper body!

With the first three sections of The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness completed, Su Zimo could change his appearance from head to toe such that even those close to him would not be able to recognize him!

Lowering his head, Su Zimo laughed and with a swift dash, disappeared from where he was.

...

“Senior Brother Zhou, where did that Su Zimo run off to? How did we suddenly lose track of him?”

“That’s why I said we should have made a move earlier on! How are we going to find him now that he slipped into Great Rock Forest?”

“Shut up!” Zhou Wei’s face was grim as he hollered, “We were so close to the sect just now. What if a disciple heading out spots us making a move at him? We’ll be punished when we head back if that happens!”

Zhou Wei was a trial disciple of Spirit Peak. At Level 9 Qi Condensation, he was quite a somebody within it too.

Then came someone like Feng Haoyu with a variant spirit root and a heavenly defying endowment, defeating him with a mere Level 7 Qi Condensation.

Zhou Wei had submitted completely in the face of Feng Haoyu’s strength.

Even though he conducted this operation on his own accord, it was with Feng Haoyu’s silent consent.

Apart from Zhou Wei at Level 9 Qi Condensation, there were four others at Level 7 and 8 – these people were enough to teach Su Zimo a harsh lesson!

“Look again carefully. That Su Zimo is only at Level 5 Qi Condensation. How far can he run? He’s definitely at the perimeter of Great Rock Forest,” Zhou Wei analyzed calmly.

A Spirit Peak disciple asked, “What if he already ran inside Great Rock Forest?”

“That’s for the best. If that lad gets shredded apart by the spirit beasts, he only has himself to blame,” Zhou Wei replied with a cold snicker.

Another Spirit Peak disciple asked, “How should we deal with Su Zimo if we find him?”

A cold look flashed through Zhou Wei’s eyes as he spoke darkly, “We’re forbidden to murder or cripple any fellow disciples of their martial arts. However, we can injure him severely by breaking his bones and tendons! If he can’t get out of bed for the whole year, he naturally won’t be able to take part in the year end face-off for Weapon Peak!”