Chapter 33

"Such a hard sword."

The old man in the hemp robe let out a light exclamation, holding the sword in his hand and examining it from all angles. His eyes were deep, and despite the sword's unimpressive appearance, the materials used to forge it were certainly extraordinary. After a careful inspection, his eyes showed surprise. He had truly been shortsighted; the sword was forged from meteoric iron, as evidenced by the patterns on its surface, indicating it was from beyond the heavens.

"It was a gift from my master."

Zhao Yun grinned, unable to go three sentences without mentioning his master.

"Hmm, quite good."

The old man in the hemp robe coughed dryly, thinking to himself how much that old senior must dote on his disciple, giving away meteoric iron so easily. What a generous gesture!

Zhao Yun said no more and focused on refining the weapon.

The old man in the hemp robe felt awkward. The weapon hadn't broken, which was embarrassing!

He truly liked the Longyuan sword.

He wasn't exaggerating; if it were any ordinary Condensation Realm cultivator, he would have snatched it without a second thought. As for Zhao Yun, well, it wasn't that he was afraid of Zhao Yun, but of his master. If he dared to bully a junior, that old senior would certainly teach him a lesson.

Silence fell in the room.

The old man in the hemp robe stood up and approached Zhao Yun, watching his skilled technique in refining the weapon. The more he watched, the deeper his gaze became. Zhao Yun wasn't just refining the weapon; he was multitasking, such as comprehending a secret technique and using true essence to refine his body.

"Prodigy."

This was his assessment of Zhao Yun.

Indeed, a prodigy.

After all, to be a disciple of that old senior, one couldn't be an ordinary person. One shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The so-called wastrel young master was more impressive than he had imagined.

For this, he sighed for the Liu family again.

To provoke such a little demon, it would be strange if their family could live in peace. With Zhao Yun's talent, it wouldn't take many years before he became a renowned powerhouse, with a high level of alchemy skills. Moreover, he had a master of unfathomable depth.

The night grew deeper.

Zhao Yun didn't stop, diligently refining the weapon.

The old man in the hemp robe didn't leave either.

He was particularly relaxed, hands behind his back, casually strolling around the room, occasionally tapping the weapons Zhao Yun had already refined.

This tapping caused significant damage to the weapons.

It wasn't that the weapons weren't hard enough; it was that the old man's fingers exerted too much force. A martial cultivator at the Earth Concealment Realm could shatter a weapon with a single tap.

"My master has a bad temper."

Zhao Yun suddenly spoke, his face a bit dark, and he felt like cursing. Staying up all night to tap on his weapons, was he deliberately causing trouble?

"Don't scare me, old man."

The old man in the hemp robe was unconcerned, tapping rhythmically.

"Still that sword is formidable."

His muttering was only audible to himself, referring to the Longyuan sword, forged from meteoric iron, which was far superior to these trash.

"If I stick an explosive talisman on him..."

Zhao Yun's thoughts were particularly unconventional, one wasn't enough, he needed two.

If the old man knew, he would surely sneer.

Explosive talismans weren't effective against everyone. At his level, even if Zhao Yun tried to cut him, he couldn't break his defenses. This was the absolute suppression of realms. Don't compare him to a half-baked Sun Yang Realm cultivator; they were all mere children in front of him.

"Blow you to pieces."

Zhao Yun was still thinking. Each time the old man tapped a weapon, his urge to do so grew stronger. He had worked hard to refine these, and the old man had the nerve to tap on them?

"Where did you get this lightning?"

The old man in the hemp robe finally stopped tapping and focused on Zhao Yun, studying his lightning. It seemed like heavenly lightning, how could it be channeled into the body? If it were him, he wouldn't dare to do it, as he would surely be struck to ashes.

"Passed down by my master."

Zhao Yun's answer confirmed the old man's guess; it was that old senior again.

"Having a master is truly great."

The old man in the hemp robe sighed, recalling his own master, who often dragged him away for harsh training.

Comparing Zhao Yun to himself, it was truly frustrating!

He continued to observe, sensing that Zhao Yun had more secrets.

However, he couldn't see through them.

Vision was a good thing, and even a Condensation Realm cultivator had his strengths.

Clang!

With a sword cry, Zhao Yun drew his sword again, the cold light flashing. But to someone, it was no different from trash; only the Longyuan sword could catch his eye.

"You should focus on cultivation, not on refining weapons."

The old man in the hemp robe said leisurely. With such talent, if he focused on martial arts, his achievements would surpass alchemy. In this world, strength was the ultimate truth.

"My master said refining weapons is also a form of cultivation."

Zhao Yun took a sip of wine. Refining weapons also trained the mind.

This cultivated the inner self.

The old man in the hemp robe, upon hearing this, found no fault with it.

Looking at Zhao Yun, his energy was far more vigorous than others of the same realm, not just because of the Essence Pill, but more importantly, because he was training his mind while refining weapons. Each time he pushed his limits, his mental endurance would improve, and the pills were just an aid.

"Senior, how about becoming our family's guest elder?"

Zhao Yun chuckled, it was rare to meet a Sun Yang Realm cultivator, so he had to try to recruit him.

"What's in it for me?"

The old man in the hemp robe said indifferently. Without sufficient benefits, no one would be willing.

"Many benefits, like cultivation techniques."

Zhao Yun blinked, emphasizing the word "techniques."

The old man was waiting for this.

No amount of gold or treasure could compare to cultivation techniques. He was waiting to relearn techniques and re-enter the Earth Concealment Realm. Everything else was secondary.

"That depends on your sincerity."

The old man spoke casually, seemingly indifferent but secretly eager.

"Fair enough."

Zhao Yun smiled, then picked up a brush and wrote in a flowing style.

As before, it was only a part.

The old man in the hemp robe finally smiled, having waited all night, he deserved some benefits. With cultivation techniques, being a guest elder was no big deal, just a title. He could show up when needed, and he was good at that.

"The rest, in exchange for pills."

Zhao Yun grabbed a handful of Essence Pills, crunching them like candy.

"You have an extraordinary beast fire, you could be an alchemist."

The old man, while reading the techniques, said leisurely, why focus on pills? If you wanted money, he could bring a cartload.

Pills were hard to find, giving him a tough task.

If he were still in the Heavenly Sect, it wouldn't be difficult, but he wasn't in the Heavenly Sect anymore.

"My master said he would teach me."

Zhao Yun was in persuasion mode. He had been thinking about this since he obtained the beast fire. Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess was in a soul-resting state, and he needed more mind-enhancing pills before she could teach him. The Moon Goddess, being a deity, surely knew alchemy.

"Your master is truly a jack-of-all-trades."

The old man in the hemp robe stood up, his evaluation of the old senior was unusually high.

This was evident from the disciple he had taught.

He left, using a wall-penetrating technique, disappearing in a blink. He would return to study the techniques and find some pills, hoping to obtain the complete set soon to avoid any future complications.

In the morning, the Zhao family weapon shop opened early.

Before any customers arrived, buyers came to purchase the weapons, spending generously.

Meanwhile, Liu Cangkong was waiting in a tavern.

He had reserved a private room, prepared good wine, and a gift, waiting for the old man in the hemp robe, just as he had invited Sima in the past.

Unfortunately, people were different.

Not everyone gave the Liu family face, like the old man in the hemp robe.

The old man had no time for him.

After waiting for three hours, the old man still hadn't shown up.

"Very well, very well."

Liu Cangkong let out a cold snort, his eyes cold and sharp.

"Good things take time."

The butler whispered, implying that the old man was unfathomable and shouldn't be offended even if he couldn't be invited.

"There are many alchemists, we don't need him."

Liu Cangkong snorted, leaving with a very unhappy expression.

The Zhao family weapon shop was out of stock again.

How many times had this happened? Every time they opened, the weapons were bought out.

"Money is really plentiful."

Zhao Yun whistled, remaining calm. After all, he was getting paid, so he wasn't losing out.

Compared to him, the other side was less calm.

In the tavern, several innkeepers gathered, their faces pale.

They couldn't keep up.

Pooling their resources hadn't been enough to bring down the Zhao family weapon shop. Spending money wasn't the solution; they needed their clans to act. The Zhao family had an alchemist, making it hard to crush them. Embarrassingly, they still didn't know who the alchemist was.

The others didn't know, but Liu Canghai did.

The butler had informed him that the alchemist had been found, a Sun Yang Realm cultivator, and even the family head couldn't invite him.

His monopoly strategy wasn't wrong.

Recruiting the alchemist and buying out the Zhao family's weapons could be done in any order. Although it cost money, the weapons were indeed bought, and they could be sold later, gradually recovering the costs.

However, he had underestimated the alchemist.

Even though his clan had found the alchemist, the alchemist didn't give him face.

This was very awkward.

Adding to this, Sima was still missing, putting him in a difficult position. Without the alchemist, all his efforts were in vain.

That night, Zhao Yun locked his door again.

Tonight, he wasn't refining weapons but using lightning and fire to temper the Longyuan sword.

This was true alchemy.

However, the meteoric iron was extremely hard, and his cultivation was too low to use the full power of the heavenly lightning, making the process extremely slow.

Whoosh!

A gentle breeze, and the old man in the hemp robe appeared, walking through the wall.

Seeing him, Zhao Yun felt a bit anxious.

He thought about replacing the walls with steel plates.

"Let's make a bet, shall we?"

The old man in the hemp robe approached, tapping Zhao Yun on the shoulder, smiling.

"What kind of bet?" Zhao Yun asked, glancing sideways.

"I'll stand here, not using any true essence. You can attack me however you like. If you can move me, I'll teach you a secret technique. If you can't, you give me the remaining techniques."

"What secret technique?"

"If this one suits you."

The old man in the hemp robe was prepared, holding an ancient scroll.

"Heavenly Lightning Sword Technique."

Zhao Yun read it aloud, a sword technique, coincidentally named with "Heavenly Lightning."

"How about it?" the old man in the hemp robe smiled.

"What if you cheat?"

"May I be struck by lightning!"

"Deal!"

Zhao Yun put away his technique, stuck the Longyuan sword in the ground, and reached into his pocket.

He then pulled out explosive talismans.

Yes, explosive talismans, not one, but a thick stack.

Tui...

Zhao Yun spat, counting them like bills, making a rustling sound.