Chapter 354 - 215: Weapon Forging

Chapter 354: Chapter 215: Weapon Forging

"What are they doing? Have they gone mad?"

Niu Zhong watched Su Mu and his men bustling about, his face a mask of confusion. He couldn’t help but ask.

The Da Xuan Envoy had split into two groups.

One group consisted of the Civil Servants who didn’t practice the Martial Dao and the weaker soldiers.

They had retreated dozens of yards away.

The other group, led by Su Mu, was comprised of the Taiping Captains, along with Zhang Zhongmei and Shi Ziran.

Zhang Zhongmei, accompanied by Shi Ziran, was marking positions on the Lapis Lazuli Mountain.

And all the Taiping Captains, following Zhang Zhongmei’s instructions, moved to their designated positions.

This scene left Niu Zhong, Tushan Hanyu, and Lv Lake completely bewildered. They couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

"From the sound of it, it seems they’re planning to use this Refined Gold Stone Mountain to forge a weapon..."

Lv Lake whispered.

"How is that possible?"

Tushan Hanyu’s foxy features furrowed. "Forget how difficult it would be to smelt an entire mountain—I’ve never heard of weapon forging being done like this."

"You know about weapon forging?"

The Eighteenth Prince, Niu Zhong, couldn’t help but glance at Tushan Hanyu.

"I don’t, but I’ve heard my master talk about it,"

Tushan Hanyu said.

Just those few words—"I’ve heard my master talk about it"—left Niu Zhong speechless.

The Lord National Preceptor was indeed omniscient.

"Tushan Hanyu, are you sure? What if they really are forging a weapon? What if they can actually smelt this Lapis Lazuli Mountain..."

Niu Zhong said gravely.

"I’m not sure,"

Tushan Hanyu stated decisively. "Eighteenth Prince, guarding this pass is your duty. The two of us were only responsible for escorting the Da Xuan Envoy to the Demon Court. I’m merely offering a suggestion. The final decision has nothing to do with me."

’He was too clever for that. Why would he take the blame for Niu Zhong?’

’In fact, he was hoping Niu Zhong would fail.’

’He, Tushan Hanyu, had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Da Xuan Envoy. If Niu Zhong succeeded now, wouldn’t that just prove that he was truly inferior to the Eighteenth Prince?’

’If we’re going to lose, we should all lose together. That way, my own incompetence won’t be so obvious.’

’I, Tushan Hanyu, am no worse than the Eighteenth Prince. On what grounds can’t I become the Nineteenth Prince?’

’Or even replace him?’

Niu Zhong’s expression flickered.

He had been very confident that the Da Xuan Envoy could not move this Lapis Lazuli Mountain.

But now, he was a little uncertain.

Seeing how busy the Da Xuan Envoy was, it didn’t look like they were joking around.

’What if they can actually smelt this Lapis Lazuli Mountain? Wouldn’t that mean they’ve passed the second trial?’

’If they pass two trials in a row, wouldn’t that prove the National Preceptor was right about me?’

’That I, Niu Zhong, can really only defend a single pass?’

’No! I absolutely cannot let that happen!’

Niu Zhong’s eyes glinted as he plotted how to disrupt the Da Xuan Envoy’s actions.

’I absolutely, positively, cannot let them succeed.’

Just then, Niu Zhong suddenly felt as if he was being watched, and a sense of crisis washed over him.

Turning his head to look, he met a pair of eyes.

The owner of those eyes was a palm-sized lizard.

Niu Zhong sensed clear disdain in the lizard’s eyes. Then he saw the lizard slowly crawl to a spot not far behind Su Mu, stopping right between Su Mu and himself.

......

Su Mu wasn’t afraid of any tricks Niu Zhong might pull.

Since the Demon Court had proposed three trials, he would just counter whatever they threw at him.

If the Demon Court wanted to play dirty, then he wouldn’t hold back either.

So far, he still had trump cards he hadn’t played.

When crossing the Celestial River, Su Mu didn’t have Ao Qing make a move.

For moving the mountain, he also didn’t let Ao Qing get involved.

But just because he didn’t let Ao Qing get involved didn’t mean Ao Qing couldn’t.

If Niu Zhong tried to sabotage them, Ao Qing would let him know the meaning of a Tier Six Demon’s fury.

"Lord Su, I’ve done the calculations. You must shoot thirty-six arrows within the time it takes for one incense stick to burn."

A full eight hours passed before Shi Ziran helped Zhang Zhongmei jump down from the Lapis Lazuli Mountain.

On the Lapis Lazuli Mountain, he had already used a brush to draw dozens of circles of varying sizes.

"Follow the sequence of the marks I made on the mountain. Not a single arrow can be off target,"

Zhang Zhongmei continued, "This is an Array I designed myself. It can maximize the power of the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow."

"Thirty-six arrows in the time it takes an incense stick to burn—"

Su Mu pondered for a moment, then nodded. "No problem."

With his current cultivation, he could draw the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow thirty-six times within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The only consequence was that his stamina would be completely depleted.

Being in the Demon Court, running out of stamina was not a good thing.

For Su Mu, it would leave him in a weakened state.

If it weren’t for Ao Qing, Su Mu would never take such a risk.

"This is just the beginning,"

Zhang Zhongmei continued, "After you shoot the thirty-six arrows, you can rest for two hours. Then you will continue..."

After instructing Su Mu, Zhang Zhongmei then began to instruct Xu Chongyuan and the other Taiping Captains.

When a typical Weapon Master forges a weapon, they at most have a few apprentices to help out. The Weapon Masters themselves are Martial Artists. They can control flames and forge materials.

But Zhang Zhongmei was born without any talent for the Martial Dao; he couldn’t even begin to practice any form of Martial Arts.

Therefore, he couldn’t follow the path of an ordinary Weapon Master; he couldn’t do the work himself.

To become a Weapon Master, he had spent all these years pondering.

He devised a method where he would command, and Martial Artists would operate.

In simple terms, he would direct Martial Artists to complete the forging process for him.

Normally, this would of course be impossible.

Weapon forging is a delicate process, especially the control of heat. A tiny error can lead to a huge mistake.