Chapter 1809 - 929: Northern Realm Specialties

Tour, meetings, exchanges, afternoon tea, tech swap, dinner, booze, sleep, breakfast…

Ji Jue spins, jumps, never takes a break.

Yellow Beard keeps his eyes open, expressionless, staring straight at everything in front of him, while his ears are bombarded by a nonstop chorus of dog barks.

"Ouch—thank you, my dears, thank you, thank you! Yep, love you too!"

"Oh Northern Realm, my lovely hometown!"

"Hey, our Northern Realm, now that's the real deal!"

"You outlanders know jack shit, we're Northern kids!"

He blinks once, and suddenly he's wearing a fur coat and a bear hat, turns into a Northern Realm local and starts dancing and singing, spitting out this half-baked Northern lingo as he welcomes and sees people off, slick as hell.

Sadly, good times fly fast, and once again it's time to say bye-bye.

By noon the next day, Yellow Beard directly drops Ji Jue off at the gate of North Wind Workshop, jabs a hand outward, telling him to scram, not even bothering with a "come again" or "stay a few more days" invite or polite attempt to keep him.

"Aiya, Master Huang Xu is just too passionate, really makes a guy feel bad…"

Ji Jue's little hand just snakes over, like he doesn't notice the other guy's face going dark as iron, grabs his hand and won't let go, 'reluctant to part': "Don't see me off, really, don't keep seeing me off—if you keep this up I'll miss my flight… Man, look at you, now I don't even wanna leave."

Just as Yellow Beard is panting hard, his eyes turning blood-red, about to lose control, Ji Jue suddenly shifts tone, sighing in regret: "Man, not getting to witness the essence of North Wind Workshop is just too much of a pity.

So, really, really, really…"

He pauses for a second, smile full of anticipation:

"—you seriously don't wanna spar one more round?"

In that instant of dead silence, Yellow Beard stares at him, then suddenly starts laughing. The tattoo-covered face breaks into such a bright grin that his golden beard seems to glow.

He slowly shakes his head.

"No."

He draws the Flame-shaped Sword from his back, raises it high, then aims right at this mangy mutt's skull and brings it down with everything he's got!

Spar, my ass—that's way too polite.

Screw it, I'll just straight-up kill this dog-ass bastard!

BOOM!!!

A world-shaking explosion erupts out of nowhere, the entire workshop jolts violently, and in that dizzy swirl of heaven and earth, the awakened workshop bares its fangs under Yellow Beard's control.

The once-grand and luxurious hall shatters and collapses, shrinking out of sight, replaced by blood-stained yellow sand and fragments of countless blades, spears, swords, and halberds scattered all over the ground.

To the sound of horns, torches flare to life out of thin air, and a vast Duel Arena manifests from nothing. In the deepest darkness, countless ravenous beasts thrash and stir inside their cages, eyes snapping open to stare fixedly at the center of the Arena.

And that mighty, rolling horn blast has already echoed through all of North Wind Workshop, waking every craftsman who was sleeping, working, or lost in thought.

The changes in the workshop reach everyone's ears.

"What the hell? The Duel Arena's been activated?"

"Holy shit, a Blood Oath Duel?"

"This hardcore? Who started it? Damn, the overseer? Is he challenging for Master Craftsman rank?"

"Who's on the other side?"

"Ji Jue!"

"Qua, whatever, I just wanna see rivers of Blood!!!"

As the horn calls, figures appear one after another around the stands, torchlight reflecting in their eyes like they've been dipped in Blood, excitement barely contained.

And more and more people pour in; even apprentices can't resist climbing the walls to sneak a look.

A duel?

How can you not come check the flavor!

This bunch of craftsman who most resemble a Legion, the moment they hear there's a fight, their eyes light up. Especially when the duel is between the workshop's overseeing Great Craftsman and that famously bizarre, unfathomable swordsmith of the age.

How could you not watch that? If you can hold back, you're not human.

Watching it is just skipping work for half a day; missing it means regretting it for years!

Even in the tallest building at the very heart of Frozen Rock City, the white-haired Great Commander can't help pausing in surprise, turning to look at the scar-riddled Armored Craftsman Master beside him, a scrawny old man.

"How'd they end up fighting?" he asks. "You're not going to stop them?"

"Isn't this pretty good?" The Master Craftsman chuckles softly, glancing at the workshop logs, understanding how it started: "Fine wine and sharp blades are exactly how North Wind Workshop treats its guests.

Since Master Ji is interested, why be stingy?"

The Great Commander rubs his chin and asks curiously, "Who do you think will win?"

"Haha, I'm curious too."

The old man's smile suddenly turns sly; he doesn't answer directly, only says, "These past years, Little Huang's temper's gotten more and more rigid. Bumping into a hard nail once in a while might just make him try a little flexibility…"

In the blink of an eye, frozen ice rises from the ground, and through the swirling frost the interior of the workshop appears, the figures within the Duel Arena revealed.

One is ferocious and savage; the other is calm as drifting clouds.

"What enthusiasm, Great Craftsman." Ji Jue looks around. "Kinda scary, actually."

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?" Yellow Beard sneers. "Ji Jue, this is what you deserve."

"Is it really okay to be this blunt?"

Ji Jue shrugs in mock regret: "If word gets out, won't people say North Wind Workshop crushes newcomers, that you, the overseeing Great Craftsman, are leading the bullying of one little newbie like me?"

"Like that doesn't happen all the time?"

Yellow Beard's tone is flat, utterly unconcerned: "No need to worry about crap that doesn't matter, Ji Jue. The Northern Realm is a place where the strong are revered.

Forget mere suppression and insults—if the strong say the sun is green, then the weak ought to understand they must be red-green colorblind. That's the Northern Realm.

The strong decide everything. Only by becoming stronger can you survive, can you keep more people alive… Whatever you want to do, whatever you're trying to do—if you want respect, then show your real skill!