Chapter 25 Blacksmith Huo's Request

Ever since the Phoenix Tower was seized, the Stewards of the Sun family across every state and town vanished overnight. Sensing an impending crisis, the remaining Seven Great Clans hurriedly contacted the sects standing behind them. In an instant, the tribute pavilions of all the major clans saw an influx of numerous cultivators.

On the sixth floor of the Pavilion of Gathering Worthies, Lei Yan sat cross-legged on the floor of a bedroom.

"Thump." A knock sounded from outside.

"Huh? Why is he here?" Lei Yan frowned slightly. His perception told him that the person outside was none other than Wu Ta. Logically speaking, Wu Ta should be extremely busy after taking over the Phoenix Tower.

"Come in." With a wave of Lei Yan's hand, a gentle force pushed the door open.

"Young Master, this subordinate has an urgent matter to report," Wu Ta said as soon as he entered, cupping his fists.

Lei Yan rose, walked over to a chair, and sat down.

"Young Master, I wonder if you still remember Blacksmith Huo?" Wu Ta asked.

"You mean that blacksmith who came to the first floor of the Pavilion of Gathering Worthies for a free meal?" Lei Yan replied.

"Precisely him. At the time, this subordinate found him rather interesting, so I sent someone to investigate him. This investigation, however, uncovered a fascinating story. Here is some information regarding Blacksmith Huo; please review it, Young Master." Wu Ta handed over a folded document as he spoke.

Lei Yan unfolded the dossier and saw the records detailing Blacksmith Huo's background.

"Blacksmith Huo, originally named Huo Yuanshan, lived with an elderly mother and a young child. He came to Bafang Town seven years ago and made a living as a blacksmith. His craftsmanship was mediocre, barely enough to support his entire household. Five years ago, by chance, he acquired a piece of millennium-old cold iron and forged the Cold Cloud Saber. The moment this saber was completed, it caused a sensation throughout Bafang Town. The various great clans were moved by it and competed fiercely to purchase it. However, the saber was ultimately given away for free by Blacksmith Huo to Zhao Tianhun, the young master of the Zhao family. Ever since then, the weapons forged by Blacksmith Huo either lacked proper tempering or had blades that carried the wind..."

"Tell me your thoughts," Lei Yan said, closing the dossier.

"Young Master, the cold iron saber is not recorded in detail here, but even if it were, reading about it cannot compare to witnessing it with one's own eyes," Wu Ta smiled and said.

"You seem to hold this Blacksmith Huo in high regard." Lei Yan looked at Wu Ta with interest. "Since that is the case, there is no need to dwell on this Cold Cloud Saber. I will go and meet this Blacksmith Huo in person."

"Since the Young Master has already decided, this subordinate will not disturb you further. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave," Wu Ta said. Seeing Lei Yan nod, he immediately bowed and backed out.

"White Tiger, let's go." Lei Yan walked out with a chuckle.

"Lei Yan, let's go to the tavern! To the tavern..." Hearing that they were going out, White Tiger bolted down from the Pavilion of Gathering Worthies like a gust of wind. Leaping down from a six-story building was normally nothing; at least Xiantian martial artists could manage it easily. However, this fellow loved to stir up trouble; upon landing, he deliberately smashed several bluestone slabs to pieces before stopping. This commotion caused the surrounding people to retreat in panic, staring at White Tiger with looks of astonishment.

"What kind of monster dares to come here and act so wildly?" roared a young Taoist priest dressed in blue dao robes with a cyan longsword strapped to his back, charging forward.

"Scram... scram... go play somewhere else. This lord has no time to play with you." Just as the Taoist priest rushed out, White Tiger swung his fan-sized palm and slapped directly at him.

"Whoosh!" Before the young Taoist priest could even react, his head flew off his body.

In Bafang Town, conflicts happened every day, and people died every day. Having seen such scenes often, people had grown numb to them. The surrounding villagers, travelers, and merchants cared little about who was right and who was wrong, as long as the trouble did not reach them. Seeing this, the crowd scattered away from White Tiger like the wind. Of course, a few daring souls still lingered to watch the spectacle.

"What is going on?" Lei Yan walked leisurely out of the Pavilion of Gathering Worthies and immediately asked upon seeing the corpse of the Taoist priest lying before White Tiger.

"Hmph! Who knows where this guy popped out from? The moment he arrived, he started shouting and yelling at me. In a fit of anger, this lord gave him a slap. Who would have thought his head was fastened so loosely that it fell right off with a single pat?" White Tiger complained while casually picking the core golden elixir out of the Taoist priest's Dantian and tossing it into his mouth.

"Fastened so loosely? And he was a Jindan-stage cultivator..." Lei Yan was utterly speechless. With a wave of his hand, a flame shot from his palm and incinerated the Taoist priest's corpse.

Lei Yan grabbed White Tiger's arm and strode forward. His psychic perception had detected that four cultivators had already locked onto them. Furthermore, the strength of these four cultivators was not weak, and they were rapidly approaching. Lei Yan formed a hand incantation and muttered, "By the order of the Five Ghosts, kill the four cultivators approaching from behind."

Scarcely had his voice faded when five figures drifted out from the Five Elements Pagoda at Lei Yan's waist.

"What is going on? These people..." Lei Yan realized that he had never seen the individuals who had locked onto him before. In other words, these four were newcomers. No sooner said than done, Lei Yan's psychic ability instantly enveloped the entire Bafang Town. Upon this investigation, his expression shifted. More than twenty cultivators had actually sneaked into Bafang Town, and none of them were weak. The lowest among them was at the Jindan stage, and there were as many as three whose strengths he could not fathom.

"Why are there so many cultivators here?" Lei Yan frowned. Although he did not fear these cultivators, he had no desire to be swarmed by them either. He turned his head and told White Tiger, "White Tiger, be careful these past few days."

"Got it." White Tiger wore a knowing expression as he followed closely behind Lei Yan.

Lei Yan led White Tiger through several twists and turns until they arrived at a shop. On the sign before the door was written a single character: "Iron." However, the handwriting had long since faded, and unless one observed with intent, it was truly difficult to discern that it was the character for iron. The entire shop could be taken in with a single glance. A forge stood in front of the door; various scissors, shovels, and kitchen knives hung on the wall to the left of the forge. On the right was a desk, upon which were casually strewn various weapons: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, and hooks.

At that moment, Blacksmith Huo stood beside the forge, swinging a hammer to beat a glowing red piece of iron. Perhaps because he was in a bad mood, he did not even raise his head when Lei Yan and the others stopped before him. "If you want to buy weapons, go pick them out from the table inside yourself. If you aren't buying, don't stand here blocking my eyes."

White Tiger widened his eyes, strode into the shop, picked up a broadsword, and made a couple of slashing motions in front of him. With that motion, a loud "clang" rang out, and the blade snapped in two. He had assumed the blacksmith shop Lei Yan brought him to must be extraordinary, but this weapon was no better than one made of paper. White Tiger froze. "Lei Yan, is this the blacksmith you were looking for?"

Lei Yan ignored White Tiger's words. Judging by the information Wu Ta had provided, the weapons this fellow forged were indeed terrible. However, the kitchen knives and scissors hanging on the wall to the left of the forge were entirely different—every curve was smooth and flowing. Lei Yan casually reached out and picked one up, waving it twice without a sound of wind. A wisp of true essence seeped into the kitchen knife, and with a soft "hum," the blade instantly fractured with a crisp "crack" as multiple splits appeared across it.

Looking at the kitchen knife in his hand, Lei Yan was filled with extreme astonishment. How could mortal weapons withstand the infusion of true essence? Even the gauntlets he wore could withstand at most thirty percent of his true essence. Yet, although the kitchen knife before him had cracked, it had genuinely endured the force. A kitchen knife made of such materials actually held up against his true essence; Lei Yan could hardly believe his eyes. After standing in a daze for a moment, Lei Yan looked up at Blacksmith Huo and said, "Blacksmith Huo, I would like to ask you to help me forge a pair of gauntlets."

"What gauntlets or whatever! I only know how to forge kitchen knives and farm tools. The only weapons are the ones on the table beside you. Pick two at random if you want them. By the look of you two, you don't really want anything anyway. Go back, go back... I'm tired..." Blacksmith Huo said as he tried to wave Lei Yan and White Tiger away.

Having already discovered the suspicious nature of this Blacksmith Huo, how could Lei Yan simply give up? With a flicker of his figure, he bypassed Blacksmith Huo and walked leisurely over to the blacksmith's bed, saying with a chuckle, "I know a person like you cares nothing for wealth. Name your conditions."

Lei Yan's speed was far too fast; he vanished from right in front of Blacksmith Huo in the blink of an eye, and in another blink, he was sitting on his bed. Blacksmith Huo froze slightly, thinking inwardly, *This person doesn't look simple. Perhaps this really is a chance.* He turned around, looked at Lei Yan, then at White Tiger, took a deep breath, and sighed, "Very well. As long as you can rescue my mother and daughter, you can have me do whatever you want."

"Rescue people?" Lei Yan asked in confusion.

Thinking of his mother and daughter, Blacksmith Huo's expression darkened. He squatted down, covered his face with one hand, and choked out, "Five years ago, seeing the hardship of my elderly mother and young daughter at home, I used a piece of cold iron to forge the Cold Cloud Saber. When the various great clans got the news, they all wanted to get their hands on this saber. Among them, Zhao Tianhun, the young master of the Zhao family, actually abducted my mother and young daughter, using them to threaten me into giving him the Cold Cloud Saber for free, and forbidding me from ever forging weapons again. All these years, I could only gaze from afar at my mother and daughter. It's all my fault for being useless..." As he spoke, two lines of hot tears streamed down Blacksmith Huo's face.

"The Zhao family, is it?" Lei Yan frowned. So many cultivators had arrived in town these past few days for unknown reasons. If he went to the Zhao family to snatch people by force, conflicts would inevitably arise, and those cultivators would undoubtedly prove troublesome.

Seeing Lei Yan's expression, Blacksmith Huo's heart turned cold. He said in an icy tone, "That's right. The Zhao family is a great clan; how could people like us afford to provoke them?" With that, he stood up. "The two of you, please return. I wish to rest."

Before Lei Yan could speak, White Tiger sprang to his feet and angrily declared, "What great clan or small clan? This lord isn't afraid of them! Lei Yan, let's go. We'll flatten the Zhao family first."

"Good grief! Who on earth is he? Flatten the Zhao family—such a big tone! I'm afraid even the people from those great clans wouldn't dare speak like that." Blacksmith Huo paused in shock, then sighed, "Little brother, I'm afraid you don't yet understand the strength of the great clans. A great clan possesses a multitude of Xiantian martial artists, but what is most terrifying is not those Xiantian martial artists, but the tribute cultivators standing behind them."

"Tribute cultivators? What kind of nonsense is that? Lei Yan, are they really that strong?" White Tiger asked with a grin.

"So what if they are tribute cultivators?" Lei Yan chuckled coldly. It wasn't that he feared those cultivators, but rather that he wished to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, if he wanted this Blacksmith Huo to willingly and wholeheartedly help him, he had to take this matter on. He raised three—no, two fingers toward Blacksmith Huo. "I have two conditions. First, from now on, you will follow me, pack up all your belongings, and come back with me. Second, in the future, you will forge weapons exclusively for me. If you agree, you will be able to see your mother and daughter shortly thereafter. How about it?"

"Just like that?" Blacksmith Huo asked suspiciously.

"Just like that," Lei Yan nodded.

"Deal!" Blacksmith Huo agreed without the slightest hesitation. As long as he could rescue his mother and daughter, let alone forging weapons exclusively for Lei Yan, he would willingly trade his life for it.