Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 11 - Forget About It

The slap stupefied Dong Changliang as he crawled back to his feet. This was the first time someone assaulted him in the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop.

“How dare you guys make trouble in the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop?” The servants stepped forth in confrontation. The Xu Clan had an excellent reputation over the years, but the mercenary group’s insults dragged their name through the mud.

“Cripple them! Let me see if the Xu Clan’s patriarch still doesn’t come out after crippling them.” Renowned for his ruthless nature, the leader of the mercenary group, distinguished by a long scar across his face, had earned the moniker of Scarred Tiger.

No one knew who gave him the guts to challenge the Xu Clan. After all, Xu Yilin was in the Spirit Cleansing Realm, and the Xu Clan had several deacons in the Xiantian Realm. Anyone could smell that there was something fishy about this matter.

The mercenaries all stepped forth, throwing the workshop into chaos with punches and kicks. The weapons on display fell and scattered all over the ground.

The commotion attracted the pedestrians, and discussions broke out. “Did Scarred Tiger forget to take his medicine? He must be tired of living to smash the Xu Clan’s workshop.”

They were shocked by the mercenary group’s guts. Complete mayhem broke out in the workshop, with the servants and the shopkeeper lying on the ground, covered in bruises.

“The Xu Clan is really unlucky. Just recently, the master blacksmiths they nurtured over the years were poached by the Tian Clan, causing their business to plummet.” Exclamations sounded from the surroundings, reflecting Azure Billow City's brutal ecosystem. If someone rose to power, someone naturally would fall.

“They can’t blame anyone for it. I heard the Tian Clan offered to form an alliance with the Xu Clan through marriage, but Xu Yilin rejected it. Instead, he abided by his promise to the Liu Clan and married his beautiful daughter to a trash like Liu Wuxie.”

They were talking about none other than Xu Lingxue. Her charm attracted admirers not only within Azure Billow City but across the entire Great Yan Dynasty. Numerous young suitors were heartbroken and lamented the world's injustice when she was married off to a wastrel like Liu Wuxie.

After the mercenary group beat up Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop’s staff, Scarred Tiger sat in the workshop, awaiting someone from the Xu Clan to pay him a visit. A Xu Clan’s informant had already run to notify them.

In the forging chamber, Liu Wuxie and Hu Shi had reached a critical moment in their forging process. Hu Shi had exhausted all his strength before the blade took form, and he sat on the ground. A crisp clanging sound echoed in the entire forging chamber when the last strike fell on the blade.

“My first forging isn’t perfect, but having a few flaws won’t affect the quality of the blade.” Liu Wuxie was pretty satisfied with the blade. The length of the blade was sixty centimeters, with a width of three fingers, and it weighed forty kilograms. Such a small blade was heavy because of Thousand Refinement, which increased the density of refined iron by more than tenfold.

The blade wasn’t very long and had a curved body, making it easy to carry. It gave off a razor-sharp aura. When a strand of hair fell on its edge, the hair was easily severed into two.

“What a sharp blade! Young Master, is this your first time forging a weapon?” Hu Shi’s eyes were filled with admiration for Liu Wuxie as he got back to his feet. He benefited greatly from his experience of forging this blade with Liu Wuxie. If the news of a Thousand Refinement weapon were to spread, it would set off an earthquake in Azure Billow City.

“Hu Shi, do you remember I asked you earlier if you wanted to become a master blacksmith?” Liu Wuxie said in a grave tone as he took out a red cloth and wrapped the blade with it.

“Young Master.... No, I mean Master...will you take me as your disciple?” Hu Shi fell on his knees in hopes of becoming Liu Wuxie’s disciple. Surprisingly, Liu Wuxie did not refuse him.

“Very well, I will take you in as my disciple. Keep this between us, and don’t tell anyone what happened today. The Xu Clan needs a talent like you. When there are outsiders in the future, address me as ‘young master.’”

As an Immortal Emperor, there was no doubt that Liu Wuxie had lowered his status to take a mortal as his disciple. But this was something he had to do for the Xu Clan. The Xu Clan urgently needed a master blacksmith, and Hu Shi’s loyalty made him an ideal candidate.

“Yes, I will keep it to myself.” Hu Shi was excited as he stood up. He had already guessed that Liu Wuxie pretended to be a wastrel on purpose to deceive the eyes of others. In reality, Liu Wuxie was outstanding and wasn’t what he appeared to be. Not to mention that his blacksmithing technique was second to none in the Great Yan Dynasty. Liu Wuxie most likely disguised himself to maintain a low profile.

“Squeeze out a droplet of your blood.”

Hu Shi drew out a droplet of his blood, allowing it to float in the air. Liu Wuxie formed seals with both hands and injected them into the blood, causing it to give off a faint radiance. But Hu Shi was numb to all the shock he felt, as today’s happenings had already blown his mind.

“Go!” The droplet of blood sank into Hu Shi’s forehead and mysteriously disappeared.

“I’ve sealed some blacksmithing techniques in that blood essence. Aim to forge your first weapon containing a wisp of spirituality within three days,” Liu Wuxie instructed Hu Shi. Lu Wuxie still had to cultivate and had no spare time to forge weapons. So he handed this task to Hu Shi, entrusting him to find a few trustworthy people to nurture. This way, the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop could recover rapidly.

He had seen weapons forged by the Tian Clan. None contained any spirituality, and they were forged with Xu Clan’s blacksmithing techniques. The moment the Xu Clan’s weapons incorporated with spirituality appeared on the market, they would be a hot sale, swiftly seizing back the lost market share.

After all, even if the weapons weren’t spiritual artifacts, the fact that these weapons contained a hint of spirituality was enough to improve the weapons' grades significantly. The materials to forge the weapons weren’t expensive, and one just had to engrave a few spiritual runes. Azure Billow City didn’t even have a single spiritualist.

“Yes, Master. I’ll comprehend it immediately.” Hu Shi sat down excitedly with the knowledge of various blacksmithing techniques appearing in his mind.

“You stay here and comprehend then. Make me a scabbard when you have time, and you should know the size.” Liu Wuxie turned around and left after speaking. The seals injected in the blood contained another secret. Liu Wuxie had placed a contractual seal he could use to take Hu Shi’s life if he dared to betray the Xu Clan.

That was a prevention measure, and Liu Wuxie said nothing about it. He still believed in Hu Shi.

The commotion in the main hall became louder because a deacon from the Xu Clan had arrived. When Deacon Lan saw the scattered weapons on the ground and the injured staff, his face became dark. He was nearby when he heard the news. An alluring beauty with an exquisite figure accompanied him, but no one could see her face as a blue veil covered it. She was none other than Liu Wuxie’s wife, Xu Lingxue.

“Scarred Tiger, how dare you make trouble in the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop and injure our staff?” Deacon Lan roared. After all, what the mercenary group did was no different from slapping the Xu Clan’s face.

“The weapons your Xu Clan sold us are defective with a serious quality issue. Two of our brothers died in the Sunset Mountain Range because of it. So how do you think we should resolve this matter? Or will you tell me the Xu Clan isn’t going to admit it?”

Scarred Tiger took out the broken blade and tossed it before Deacon Lan.

The news of a severe issue with the weapons produced by the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop had long spread throughout Azure Billow City. Customers had been coming to return the goods, and the Xu Clan refunded them entirely. Thus, no one came to cause any trouble.

Deacon Lan furrowed his brows because things would become troublesome if what Scarred Tiger said was true. If lives were lost because of the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop, it would strike a fatal blow at their reputation.

“The Xu Clan will investigate this matter thoroughly. If lives were lost because of our weapons, we will give you a satisfactory explanation. But it’s too much for you guys to hurt our staff.”

The Xu Clan didn’t want to blow up this matter and hoped that Scarred Tiger could give the Xu Clan an explanation for his actions. After all, the matter of the Xu Clan’s weapons hadn’t been investigated yet, and Scarred Tiger’s actions were still a problem whether the Xu Clan’s weapons were at fault or not.

“My brothers died, but you guys are saying I’m going overboard by injuring your staff?!” Scarred Tiger stood up with a sharp gaze. His gaze swept over Xu Lingxue. He heard that Xu Lingxue was the greatest beauty in the Great Yan Dynasty, but few had seen her face. Whenever she left the Xu Clan, she would wear a veil covering her face.

“How am I being unreasonable? The Xu Clan must give me an explanation today, no matter what.” Many passersby followed suit. After all, weapons were equivalent to the second life of a martial cultivator, and the quality of a weapon directly impacted their lives. So they couldn’t afford any mistakes in their weapons.

Scarred Tiger’s attitude made Deacon Lan livid with anger, and his body trembled. Scarred Tiger had incited the crowd and stood on high moral ground, putting the Xu Clan in a difficult position.

“Don’t say I didn’t give your Xu Clan any chance. As long as the young missy of the Xu Clan is willing to take off her veil and show her face to everyone, we can forget about the matter with the weapons,” Scarred Tiger said sinisterly, hankering Xu Lingxue to remove her veil. His words immediately caused an uproar because many wanted to see Xu Lingxue’s true face. Numerous people stepped forth and echoed along with Scarred Tiger.

Liu Wuxie came out of the forging chamber and heard Scarred Tiger’s demands. A hint of murderous intent flashed across his pupils. Xu Lingxue was his wife in name, even if they didn’t consummate their marriage. How could he allow someone to commit blasphemy against his wife?

“Well said!” Liu Wuxie strode out and swept his gaze across the workshop. When he exchanged a glance with Xu Lingxue, they made brief eye contact as Xu Lingxue was curious about what he was doing in the workshop. But when Liu Wuxie’s gaze fell on Scarred Tiger, murderous intent permeated out of him, filling the entire workshop.

Deacon Lan was stunned by Liu Wuxie’s unexpected visit to the workshop.

“What’s the Xu Clan’s son-in-law doing here?” An exclamation sounded from the crowd because there were too many names associated with Liu Wuxie, such as a wastrel, a prodigal person, and a piece of garbage....

“Deacon Lan, what’s going on here?” Since Liu Wuxie was engrossed in forging his blade, he was oblivious to the previous altercations at the workshop.