Chapter 52

One

Inside a small room set up in the back of the forge.

The old man, who had been hammering, was now kneeling.

He was showing utmost respect to someone seated on the upper seat.

"......What should we do?"

The old man broke the silence that had settled in the room with a single sentence.

In response, a wisp of gray cigarette smoke drifted through the air.

"Hmm, what do you mean by 'what should we do'?"

A youthful voice echoed.

Seated on the upper seat with one leg slanted, fiddling with a pipe, was none other than the blacksmith's granddaughter.

The lively appearance of the 20-year-old granddaughter was nowhere to be seen.

Moreover, the two people in the room were in a clear hierarchical relationship.

The old man subtly raised his head to meet her eyes.

"That man definitely knew something. About this place, and about the Great Aunt as well."

When the old man mentioned 'Great Aunt,' she frowned.

Instantly, an ominous aura began to surge from her entire body.

"......Huang Gongwang, I clearly told you not to call me that."

"......I apologize."

Realizing his mistake, Huang Gongwang bowed his head deeply again.

His sudden appearance and the complexity of the situation led to this mistake, which would never have been tolerated under normal circumstances given the Great Aunt's temperament.

However, she soon composed herself.

"Tsk!"

With a click of her tongue, the room fell silent again.

Given the significant age difference, if an outsider saw this scene, they would have considered it a violation of filial piety.

However, the surprising fact was that she had already been a renowned martial arts expert when Huang Gongwang was in his youth.

Her name was Bai Liliang (白梨琅).

She was the founder of the Hao Tie Party (豪铁党), an alliance of all the iron merchants and craftsmen in Central China, and the greatest living blacksmith who had created two of the Ten Great Martial Treasures (十大武林奇宝).

She was known in the martial arts world as the Iron Demon (铁怪) among the Five Demons of Central China (中原五怪).

And this forge was actually one of the secret branches of the Hao Tie Party hidden throughout Central China.

After a long while, she calmed herself and continued to puff on her pipe.

'Sigh, I must be getting old. I shouldn't be getting so worked up over a young kid.'

Her gaze fell on Huang Gongwang, who was still bowing his head.

Huang Gongwang was her most intimate subordinate, who knew all of her past and secrets, having served her all his life.

Moreover, he was currently leading the Hao Tie Party as its chief in her place.

"......It's fine now, you may raise your head."

"Yes."

"From what I remember, Bai Yun Biaoju has nothing to do with me. Did I miss something?"

After pondering for a moment, Huang Gongwang shook his head.

"Even after reconsidering, I find nothing."

"Then it means he didn't come here out of past grievances......"

Youshenyun.

What is his true identity?

She was lost in deep thought, but no conclusion came easily.

Her head began to throb with pain.

In fact, there was a reason she had to act so sensitively.

'......Do I have to move again? Sigh, when will this life of constant escape end......'

It was because all the martial artists of the Zhengsa Sect were chasing her.

One of the two great treasures she created became the sword of the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, and the other became the sword of the leader of the Devil Sect.

Without the immense financial power of the Hao Tie Party and her own martial arts skills, she would have been captured and forced to live as a slave, hammering away for the rest of her life.

She had spent countless years evading her enemies, who were relentlessly pursuing her.

It was only in her later years that she finally found a chance to break free, thanks to a miraculous stroke of luck and a series of coincidences that allowed her to reverse her aging process.

Returning to a child's body, she was now living here, hiding her true identity.

Huang Gongwang was the only one who knew her true identity.

All others who knew this 'form' of hers were either dead or killed by her.

Just then, a bizarre and incomprehensible figure, Youshenyun, appeared out of nowhere.

At first, she thought he was just another heir from a wealthy family.

However, this thought shattered the moment she saw the items Youshenyun had chosen.

'Is he incredibly perceptive? Or......'

Surprisingly, the ten items Youshenwang had picked were the only ones among the many farming tools scattered in the forge that she had made.

She was bewildered by the fact that he had picked all the items she had made, even those she had created out of boredom and as a joke.

At that moment, Huang Gongwang spoke cautiously.

"......But why don't you take action?"

In fact, he had suggested several times to eliminate Youshenyun.

However, she never gave her permission.

Bai Liliang spoke in a low voice.

"......Just recognizing the items doesn't mean he knows my true identity, and there are too many eyes around."

"Ah!"

"If we eliminate him, the news will surely reach the ears of the Martial Arts Alliance or the Devil Sect."

As she said, Youshenyun had bought up all the barren lands around, making everyone in Fuyang aware of his existence.

In this situation, if he suddenly went missing from the forge, the two factions, which were still collecting any clues about her, would smell something fishy.

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing."

"......Then what?"

"Hmph, since he's drawing so much attention to himself, we should play along."

Understanding her intentions, Huang Gongwang immediately responded.

"Yes, I will immediately assign the party's spies to keep a close eye on his every move."

Bai Liliang nodded in agreement.

Huang Gongwang then bowed slightly and hurriedly left the room.

Alone, Bai Liliang slowly stood up.

She walked to the half-open window.

The night sky was dark, with stars twinkling.

'Youshenyun. What is your true identity?'

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed out.

Two

The carriage jolted forward, moving through the night.

Despite the constant shaking, Youshenyun was sitting comfortably.

'Impressive.'

In his hand was one of the farming tools he had purchased from the forge.

It looked like a simple sickle, but the system window that appeared before his eyes told a different story.

[One-Handed Sickle]

Type: Weapon

Grade: C+

A one-handed sickle deliberately made unbalanced by a master blacksmith who had reached the pinnacle of his craft.

Despite being made of simple iron, it possesses excellent performance due to the master's skill, making it suitable for use as a weapon by martial artists.

Youshenyun was indeed surprised.

A C+ grade was a level that only highly skilled artifact craftsmen could achieve in his previous life.

Yet, despite being deliberately made unbalanced, it still achieved this grade.

'The Iron Demon is truly the greatest blacksmith of all time.'

Youshenyun knew the woman he met at the forge was Bai Liliang.

However, meeting her was not part of his plan.

After purchasing the land, he intended to return to Bai Yun Biaoju immediately.

But when he saw the forge, he remembered a report from the Blood Sect mentioning that Bai Liliang was hiding in a dilapidated forge in Fuyang around this time.

So, he entered the forge out of curiosity.

At first, seeing only an ordinary old man inside, he thought he had made a mistake. He subtly probed the old man but found nothing.

Just as he was about to leave, Bai Liliang revealed herself.

Unbelievable!

That was his honest reaction when he first saw her.

Bai Liliang was hiding her true nature, but the natural aura emanating from her body could not be concealed.

Though she seemed unaware, an overwhelming natural aura, dozens of times stronger than Youshenyun's, was flowing around her.

Seeing this, Youshenyun immediately recognized her.

However, he did not make the mistake of showing that he had recognized her.

At this point, she was hiding from the pursuit of the Martial Arts Alliance and the Devil Sect.

If he revealed that he knew her true identity, he would be forced into a life-or-death battle with her.

Therefore, Youshenyun decided to leave a few clues and depart, hoping to meet her again in the future.

The clues were the farming tools she had made.

While examining the tools in the forge, Youshenyun checked if any of them activated the system window.

He soon found the ones that did.

'Having planted the seeds, now I just need to wait for them to bear fruit.'

Youshenyun smiled slightly and placed the sickle in the box beside him.

"Hmm, hehe, Miss."

At that moment, Wang San's sleep-talking voice was heard. He was lying sprawled out next to Youshenyun, his face relaxed in sleep.

He seemed to be having a good dream.

'Wang San... his lack of discernment in women is a flaw.'

Youshenyun looked at him with a sympathetic expression.

Could he be so infatuated with a woman he had just met?

Youshenyun decided to keep quiet for Wang San's sake.

Seeing Wang San's peaceful face, Youshenyun could hardly believe that just a day ago, he had been in a fierce battle with the Blood Sect in the prison.

However, he soon composed himself.

'I've only taken the first step in my plan to destroy the Blood Sect. There's still a long way to go.'

There was no time to bask in small achievements.

By now, Tai Lingzhou and Jiu Long Fang would have started their cleanup operations.

They were meticulous and ruthless.

Knowing the future would not give him an advantage if he let his guard down.

Seeing the miserable state of the women in the prison, he realized he needed to become stronger as soon as possible to prevent more innocent victims.

To do this, he needed to:

- Collect more supreme martial arts techniques and create his own unique martial arts.

- Enhance his natural aura to unlock the true power of the treasure.

- Achieve greater mastery of the soul-summoning technique, surpassing his previous life.

Moreover, he needed to strengthen not only himself but also his subordinates and the power of his faction.

'...It's time to head to Tianmu Mountain.'

Just as he thought of the only way to achieve all these goals simultaneously, the silhouette of Bai Yun Biaoju appeared in the distance.

Martial World, Reborn Ranker