Chapter 217 (I): Craft Bordering on the Divine

God, these boots are heavy, Zhang Yuanqing cursed inwardly as cold sweat broke across his forehead.

He'd guessed from the faint tremor in Fu Qingyang's arms that they weren't exactly light, but he hadn't realized they were heavy enough to snap his arm bones clean.

Wait. If they weigh this much, why didn't Fu Qingyang warn me...? He looked up and caught the expression on Fu Qingyang's face: cool on the surface, with something sly hiding underneath. Petty bastard. He’s still sore about the whole ruined reputation thing.

"Ah, in your hands these boots are as light as air, Centurion, but in mine, they weigh a thousand tons. Truly, the Centurion and I are worlds apart," Zhang Yuanqing declared, loud and clear.

Fu Qingyang gave a small nod. "Put them in your inventory. Once they recognize you as their owner, they'll still be heavy, but of a more expected weight. Before that, you simply can't lift them."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, but he didn't stow the boots right away, because the item's description had appeared in front of him.

【Name: Houtu Boots】

【Type: Footwear】

【Function: Mountain God (Incomplete); Killer Kick】

【Description: Woven from the silk of holy mountain silkworms, thin and light as feathers, yet no blade can cut them. They were buried beneath the holy mountain for thirty-three years, drinking in the dragon vein's earth qi and refining the essence of the eight-fold path, until at last they took form. These are the Houtu Boots.】

【Note 1: They are one piece of the Celestial Ritual Set[1]. The remaining three pieces are: crown, robe, and belt. It's said that gathering all four grants insight into the secret of immortality.】

【Note 2: Wear these, and from then on you'll be an honest man, with your feet planted firmly on the ground.】

【Note 3: As everyone knows, honest men have excellent stamina.】

Mountain God? Right, that's the class the Earth Wraith becomes after advancing. "Incomplete" means I only get part of the Mountain God's kit. Note 2 and Note 3 obviously lay out the cost of the item. "Honest man..." Those three words have me a little worried...

With a directed thought, the Houtu Boots pinning his arms to the ground went into his Inventory. His ownership over them was confirmed. A second later, they popped back out and hit the carpet with a thud.

Arms hanging limp, Zhang Yuanqing lifted his left foot and, without bothering to take his own shoe off, slid it into the mouth of the left boot. The opening widened on its own and swallowed his foot without the slightest trouble.

They're not as easy to put on as the red dancing shoes, but it'll do. He worked his way into the right one in the same way. The instant he got them both on, he understood the boots' functions and uses, and he understood the cost of using them as well.

Killer Kick was an active skill. He could gather the power of the earth into his leg and deliver a strike equal in power to that of a Walker at the Saint tier. He could use it three times in a day and no more.

He couldn't stop grinning. With that alone I can one-shot an ordinary Transcendent-tier Walker. Well, in a straight melee anyway.

The Mountain God passive gave him two abilities.

The first was siphoning the essence of the earth's veins. The boots drew up that essence and turned it into an endless supply of stamina. This was why Earth Wraiths never seemed to tire. Keep your feet on the ground, and you could fight three days and three nights without flagging.

The mules back at the sweatshops would kill for a skill like this, Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.

The second skill allowed him to refine a stretch of territory and become its deity. This was exactly where the name Mountain God came from.

Deep mountain terrain was the ideal choice, because there the Mountain God could leverage the terrain and stand against enemies ranked above him. Flat land was next best. Cities were the worst.

This sounds just like the mountain gods from the old myths. So is there a Water God too? Moreover, refining a stretch of territory could feed right into the water and fire formation of the Yin Yang Spell Robe.

As for the cost, there were two parts to it. Being an "honest man," and keeping his "feet on the ground."

The honest man part meant he would end up becoming incredibly truthful, unable to lie, a dull and dutiful companion.

To put it in the clearest way possible, if one day Guan Ya asked him whether he'd been sneaking looks at some pretty girl's chest that day, ordinary Zhang Yuanqing would answer, "I only look at yours." With the Houtu Boots on, though, his answer would instead become, "I, I... I looked at a whole bunch of pretty girls' chests" while his face burned with shame.

The other cost, feet on the ground, was exactly what it said. While wearing the boots, the distance he could leap was significantly compromised. He would basically be pinned to the earth.

This was both a price and a power. The stamina it provided wasn't only physical. It was mental endurance as well—patience, tolerance for pain, the capacity to shrug off provocation, that sort of thing.

Beside him, Fu Qingyang offered his verdict on the item. "The Houtu Boots are a fine item. If you can make good use of the Mountain God skills, you'll be able to go toe to toe with Zhao Chenghuang."

At his current strength, Yuanshi was in truth still a notch below Zhao Chenghuang. Without that war armor, Yuanshi's yin corpse would have been destroyed in short order, and once it was, Zhao Chenghuang would be able to team up on him with his own yin corpse. Yuanshi would lose without question.

Let me try on the Yin Yang Spell Robe too and see if a set skill appears. Zhang Yuanqing acted as if he hadn't heard a word Fu Qingyang said and pulled the robe out of his Inventory.

If it was a set, the pieces had to buff one another, otherwise it wouldn't be called a set. However, he wasn't sure if he needed the full set for any buff to activate, or if just two pieces would be enough to provide one already.

The robe unfurled and draped itself across his shoulders. He reached out carefully with his senses for a moment, and delight spread over his face.

There was a set effect after all. Once the Yin Yang formation was up, the water and fire avatars would no longer be elemental bodies of water and fire. The Houtu Boots would give both avatars real, solid bodies of clay. The clay men's frames were indestructible, with boundless strength.

What thrilled him was that this finally patched over the water and fire avatars' weakest point, their sorry lack of damage.

If I'd had the Houtu Boots during the Tournament, once I put up the Yin Yang formation, I'd have beaten Zhao Chenghuang so badly he wouldn't recognize his own great-grandpa.

Fu Qingyang went still, a startled expression coloring his eyes. "That robe of yours..."

He was a Scout. From the way Yuanshi had taken out the robe and his current microexpressions, he pieced the truth together.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't bother hiding it. "This robe is a hidden item I got out of Yin Yang Town. It's one piece of the Celestial Ritual Set. The Houtu Boots are another."

Fu Qingyang reined in his surprise and nodded slightly. "No wonder you had me check the Houtu Boots' stats back then. Sets are extremely rare. All the item sets that we've collected or that we know about number less than ten altogether. Each one is worth a fortune. Even the Elders have a hard time putting a full set together. Yuanshi, your luck is very good."

A grin spread involuntarily across Zhang Yuanqing's face. "I plan to collect the whole Celestial Ritual Set. That way, I can keep using it all the way to the Sovereign tier."

"That won't be easy," Fu Qingyang warned him. "The number of people within the Five Elements Alliance with a full item set can be numbered on your fingers, and every one of them is a chosen son of heaven."

"Who within the official organizations has a complete set?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"Me."

I should've kept my mouth shut. So that's what he was waiting for...

Zhang Yuanqing immediately folded himself into a bow. "You are truly magnificent, Centurion! Beneath the Sovereigns, who else can compare? Come midyear, you shall ascend to Sovereign, tread the highest heavens, and rule the Five Elements Alliance."

Fu Qingyang gave him a look. "Rest up. Set those broken bones. Stay for lunch."

***

It was two in the afternoon. Figures dropped down into the stands around the arena one after another. Within two or three seconds, the stands were packed full, a solid black sea of heads.

Zhang Yuanqing landed at random somewhere in the stands, not recognizing a single official Walker around him.

But they recognized him.

"Ahh~ Yuanshi Tianzun!!"

The scream came from a pretty girl, hand clapped over her mouth and her whole face lit up with delight. Her friends beside her wore the same excited look.

So I'm an idol now too, Zhang Yuanqing realized with start, feeling awfully pleased. He was about to switch on the charm and chat the girls up when he spotted Guan Ya off in the distance, looking on with a smile.

His life coach's teachings flashed through his mind.

Zhang Yuanqing mimicked Fu Qingyang's posture, offered his female colleagues a slight nod, then swept past them with a cold and aloof air, walking unhurriedly towards the open-minded lady.

"Huh, he's so cold. He's not the same lively self he was during his matches."

"Cold is better. That means he won't go flirting around. I like a man with restraint."

His life coach's words surfaced in his mind again. Women love a restrained heartthrob for the same reason men love an ice-cold beauty. "I can't have him, but at least he's still pure." Loose men and women never build a good name, because the admirers drooling over their looks know in their hearts that their idol is rolling around in someone else's bed every single day...

"Sis Guan Ya!" He greeted her as he sat down next to the open-minded lady.

Zhang Yuanqing knew that seeking her out the moment he walked in was bound to win him points, and the cold shoulder he'd just given his "fans" would bump the meter up one more time.

Guan Ya gave a happy grunt of acknowledgement and nodded, her brilliant smile accentuated by the satisfaction tucked in behind her eyes.

The scramble of people trading seats quickly wrapped up. The Female Marshal wasn't watching the matches today. Guan Ya said she'd drawn duty and had to stay behind in the real world, weeping her heart out. As for the little green tea princess and Jiang Jingwei, Zhang Yuanqing didn't see them anywhere.

The clanging of plate armor announced the arrival of the armored swordsman elder. After a short opening address, the match sequence popped up in front of every Walker present.

【Fengdu Ghost King vs Crossing the River on a Reed】

【Ling Jun vs Creamy Pink Head】

【Fu Qingyang vs Blazing Holy Fire】

【...】

1. For earlier readers, this was previously translated as the 'Heavenly Worship Ceremonial Set.' ☜