Chương 82: Laba Festival, Wearing Brocade at Night

Han Yue was only an apprentice. Master Chen was nothing more than an outer sect blacksmith master. The status of the two of them could not even compare to inner sect disciples. Let alone the hall master who oversaw Neiwu Hall (Internal Affairs Hall)! The two of them stood there in a daze for quite a while before slowly coming back to their senses. The Neiwu Hall Master, who had always stood so high above them, was now bowing and scraping in front of them, humble to the point of eating dust.

"No, no, this won't do… Hall Master Zheng, you're going to embarrass this Chen to death!" Master Chen hurriedly waved his hands, bowed, and tried to return the courtesy. While he was at it, he pressed the still-dazed Han Yue's head down too.

"Brother Chen, you jest."

"Gang Leader Su is the qilin born from a thousand years of fortune in Lu County. Since the two of you have an old connection with him, that is a heaven-sent blessing. In the future… please put in a few good words for this Zheng in front of Gang Leader Su!" Hall Master Zheng of Neiwu Hall replied with a smile. Neiwu Hall managed the internal affairs of Tiejiang Gang (Blacksmith Gang). What mattered there was being smooth in all directions, and what they played with was human relations and worldly favors.

Hall Master Zheng understood Su Zhe's potential very well. He could not climb up to Su Zhe directly, so if he treated those with old ties to Su Zhe a little better, perhaps someday he would receive good karma in return.

"No, no… you're too kind…" Master Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead. Back when Su Zhe entered the inner sect and joined Jiangxin Hall (Craftsmanship Hall), Master Chen had already received quite a few rewards. This time, he had soared even higher, rising from an outer sect master to an elder of Neiwu Hall. Master Chen glanced at Han Yue again. This foolish kid had gone from an apprentice straight to an inner sect disciple.

"When one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!" Master Chen narrowed his eyes and thought for a long while before finally squeezing out that line. An immortal in the heavens casually knocked over a basin of water. When it fell to the mortal world, it became a torrential downpour. … Su Zhe arrived at Jiangxin Hall. To Su Zhe, if Master Chen had not gifted him an eight-jin hammer back then, there would be no Su Zhe of today.

Likewise, if Han Yue had not given Su Zhe ten wen, and Su Zhe had not bought the Great Cave Fruit, Master Chen would never have looked at him differently. Now that Su Zhe had gained power, he casually repaid that thread of karma. His heart felt much lighter. Inside the warehouse of Jiangxin Hall. Su Zhe looked at the boxes of exquisite treasures while flipping through a ledger.

"One chest of gold from Cao Gang (Canal Gang), one Third-Rank mundane weapon… Chai Gang (Firewood Gang)… Jiaohang (Porters' Guild)… Lie Gang (Hunter Gang)…" Su Zhe took inventory. These were all offerings of gold given to Su Zhe by the gangs of Lu County. There were ten chests of gold in total. The chests were not large. When opened, they revealed row after row of gold bars. Each gold bar weighed two jin, and each chest could hold one hundred bars, for a total of two hundred jin.

Ten chests of gold meant two thousand jin in all. After smelting it into pure gold, he could obtain two hundred jin. Besides that, these gangs had learned from within Tiejiang Gang that Su Zhe liked collecting mundane weapons and had once bought up large quantities of discarded mundane weapons from the gang. For that reason, aside from gold, the gangs of Lu County had also sent over some mundane weapons.

"These fellows are pretty slippery."

"They're afraid that with my current strength, I might find an excuse to swallow them up." Su Zhe closed the ledger and said with a wry smile. Zhu Jian Mountain Villa (Swordsmithing Mountain Villa) managed the counties under it rather loosely. On top of that, Su Zhe was the disciple of Villa Master Jade Body. If Su Zhe really had such intentions, no one would be able to stop him. However, Su Zhe had seen a much wider sky. How could he possibly waste his time on these small fry pecking at each other?

On the first day. Su Zhe used the gold offered by the various gangs to begin Refine Treasures to Shape the Body. On the second day. Sun Tiexin finished organizing the wealth and many mundane weapons of Tiejiang Gang and delivered them to Su Zhe. Su Zhe fused the four Star Forging Hammers into a Third-Rank peak mundane weapon, the Star Forging Hammer. Then he took several more Third-Rank peak mundane forging hammers and fused them again.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The Star Forging Hammer advanced to Fourth-Rank. Following the same method, the Demon-Scale Inner Armor also stepped into Fourth-Rank and became a treasure weapon. As for the Jiao Dragon Silk, aside from containing the trait "One Jiao's Strength," it was not very useful to Su Zhe. Besides the Jiao Dragon Silk, there was also the Mystic Water Steel Fork.

Su Zhe spent Tiejiang Gang's wealth and over a hundred taels of gold to "Refine Treasures to Shape the Body," incorporating them into his flesh. He solidified the two major traits: One Jiao's Strength and Mystic Water Power. After finishing all this, Su Zhe took out the spoils from Mount Yandang— Wang Hai's Tiger-Head Saber, Third-Rank peak.

Yang Dingtian's Ghost-Face Mask, Fourth-Rank treasure weapon; Viper Nether Blade, a soft sword worn at the waist, Fourth-Rank treasure weapon; and Mantis Blade Sickle Edge, Fourth-Rank treasure weapon.

"Gang Leader Yang was both the leader of Tiejiang Gang and in control of the Blood Refining Cult… Three treasure weapons on him. That gear really is extravagant!"

"Secretly taking from both sides. Who knows how much money he embezzled?" The more Su Zhe looked, the angrier he became. A few days ago, because Shifu Jade Body had been by his side guiding him in martial arts, Su Zhe naturally had no chance to cultivate using the Immortal Cauldron of Creation. Now that he saw all this, Su Zhe's hatred of the rich reached its peak.

"This Su and corruption are irreconcilable!" Su Zhe cursed in a low voice. He fused the Phantom Shark Mask and Ghost-Face Mask into a Fourth-Rank treasure weapon, the Ghost Shark Mask. He fused the Mantis Blade Sickle Edge with the Dark Sickle, turning it into a Fourth-Rank treasure weapon, still called the Mantis Blade Sickle Edge. Then he fused several Third-Rank Spirit Snake Swords into the Viper Nether Blade. He fused Wang Hai's Tiger-Head Saber with the Tiger-Roar Baleful Soul Saber.

After finishing all this, Su Zhe began feeding his many treasure weapons with precious blood. On the third day. A team of black riders from Zhu Jian Mountain Villa arrived, delivering a large amount of martial resources to Tiejiang Gang. This caused many powerful figures in Lu County to tremble in fear. They were terrified that these black riders had come to help Su Zhe trample the martial world of Lu County beneath horse hooves.

"Twenty taels of fine gold, two thousand jin of meteoric iron, two hundred taels of treasure silver, three thousand jin of treasure copper, four thousand jin of treasure tin, and the body of one Fourth-Rank demon beast!" Su Zhe finished taking inventory. The black riders saluted Su Zhe, mounted their demon beast warhorses, and departed. These were precisely the martial resources Su Zhe needed to open his sixth immortal aperture. They were all Fourth-Rank treasure materials. They could not be gathered in Lu County.

Fortunately, when Su Zhe had first acknowledged his shifu, he had shamelessly begged his cheap shifu, Jade Body, for help. Now, at long last, everything had been collected.

"They really are… cold and aloof!" Su Zhe watched the black riders leave and could not help praising them. The black riders wore black masks, so their faces could not be seen. They spoke little and seemed like sculptures. But any random black rider among them possessed Fourth-Rank cultivation. In Lu County, aside from Su Zhe himself, who could possibly match them? Yet such powerful martial artists had become mere "tool people" in Zhu Jian Mountain Villa. Lu County… Tang Prefecture… Zhu Jian Mountain Villa…

"The true disciple sequence!"

"Dragon-like bearing and heavenly bones!" Su Zhe clenched his fists. The previous Su Zhe's goal had been to survive. But now, Su Zhe's goal had changed. To live better. Several more days passed. The wealth offered by the dozen or so gangs was completely consumed. At the same time, Tiejiang Gang's wealth had also been emptied. His own innate aptitude advanced greatly. Boom! Five streams of internal force erupted within his body. Brute Bull, Baleful Tiger, Spirit Snake, Jiao Dragon, Dark Mantis.

Su Zhe moved like lightning, practicing the Tiger Form and Snake Form of Xingyi. When he moved, he was like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey, his aura vigorous and unstoppable. When he was still, he was like a spirit snake coiled in place, supple, agile, strange, and unpredictable. His hands and feet matched each other, his elbows and knees responded to each other, and his shoulders and hips coordinated, reaching the realm of the Three External Harmonies.

Internal force surged and roiled, as if carrying tiger might and snake spirit, enough to make anyone who saw him feel fear. With every move and every stance, five-colored internal force coiled around him, faintly carrying the burn of martial fire. He exhaled and ended his practice. His spirit became bright yet restrained. Third-Rank peak!

"The Blacksmith Ancestor truly deserves to be called someone who suppressed a wild god a thousand years ago. After the Three Spirits Martial Fire was formed, it could actually absorb the internal force of other martial arts and incorporate them into itself."

"With the Jiao Dragon Method and Dark Sickle Method reaching perfection, the Three Spirits Martial Fire directly transformed into the Five Spirits Martial Fire!"

"As expected, anyone capable of battling a wild god to the death can't be judged like an ordinary human." Su Zhe sighed inwardly, his heart full of admiration for his ancestor. Although… Su Zhe had destroyed the ancestor's spirit niche, along with the secret chamber beneath it. Even so, it still could not stop Su Zhe's sincere admiration for his ancestor.

"I'm only one step away from the Fourth-Rank realm. When the time comes, I'll be able to open the sixth immortal aperture!" Su Zhe was brimming with ambition. To open the sixth immortal aperture, besides the resources, there was also a requirement for Su Zhe's own cultivation. That was the only condition he had not yet met.

[Name: Su Zhe] [Cultivation: Third-Rank Peak Internal Force Realm] [Techniques: Five Spirits Perfection — Five Spirits Martial Fire, Brute Bull, Baleful Tiger, Spirit Snake, Jiao Dragon, Dark Mantis; Tiger Form and Snake Form — Three External Harmonies Realm] [Equipped — Five Immortal Apertures: Fire Refining Furnace, Metallurgical Hammer, Spirit Turtle Treasure Bone Shell, Ghost-Face Phantom Shark, Tiger-Roar Baleful Soul Saber] [Not Equipped: Mantis Blade Sickle Edge, Viper Nether Blade, Demon-Scale Inner Armor] [Innate Aptitude: Lower "One in Ten Thousand" — personal aptitude; Upper "One in Ten Thousand" — aptitude after equipment]"The Spirit Turtle Shell is Seventh-Rank, and the rest are all Fourth-Rank peak.

I guess all that precious blood of mine wasn't wasted."

"My own innate aptitude has also reached lower 'One in Ten Thousand.' After equipping everything, it's reached upper grade."

"My cultivation is also close to the Fourth-Rank realm… Even this Su is scared of his own cultivation speed!" Su Zhe glanced at the information about himself on the Immortal Cauldron of Creation and could not help feeling invigorated. One had to know that last time, after Su Zhe completed Fire-Stoking Metal-Severing, his own innate aptitude had only been lower "One in a Thousand." Even fully equipped, it was only lower "One in Ten Thousand."

Yet in just one short week, Su Zhe's innate aptitude had leaped directly across an entire level. His personal aptitude, in particular, had soared.

"All of this was earned through this Su's hard work, rising from humble beginnings, one step at a time!"

"Today is Laba. There's a family banquet at home. If I don't go back, Uncle and Aunt will probably skin me alive!" Su Zhe patted his backside and left Jiangxin Hall. Tiejiang Gang had been destroyed when the Blood Refining Godly Sovereign emerged. The few rooms that remained intact had been occupied by Su Zhe, who used one of them for training. On one side, Su Zhe was sighing over how diligently he practiced martial arts. On the other side, Sun Tiexin's Laba Festival was far from pleasant.

When he received the completely red account statement from Neiwu Hall, he was so angry he nearly coughed up blood.

"What the hell is that brat doing? My Tiejiang Gang controls the craftsman trade of Lu County and has always been wealthy."

"That brat… actually spent every last bit of Jiangxin Hall's savings!" Sun Tiexin truly wanted to go beat Su Zhe up. But first, he could not beat him. Second, Su Zhe was using Villa Master Jade Body as his shield, so Sun Tiexin did not dare ask. He could only swallow this bitter pill whole. Then he pushed the disciples of Jiangxin Hall to hurry up and forge iron, helping Su Zhe fill the deficit. … The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Su Manor. Family banquet.

Su Zhe happily drank Laba porridge, with eighteen empty bowls placed beside him. Heh! So sweet! Lin Xia, sitting nearby, touched her stomach, then exchanged a glance with Su Yuan before saying to Su Zhe,"Xiao Zhe, in a few days it'll be Little New Year. The fishing village has always had a tradition of offering sacrifice to the River God. A few days ago, the village chief came by and wanted you to… preside over the river sacrifice… What do you think? Will you have time?"

As soon as Lin Xia finished speaking, Su Yuan immediately cut in.

"I told you not to mention it. Didn't you hear me? Xiao Zhe is the gang leader now. He might not have time. Aren't you making things difficult for him?" Lin Xia fell into a rare silence. Su Zhe looked at the two people in front of him and could not help laughing.

"Fine, the river sacrifice, right? To gain riches and honor but not return home is like wearing embroidered clothes at night. I get the idea."

"I'm not a kid anymore, so there's no need for one of you to play the bad cop and the other to play the good cop… It's Laba Festival, yet the two of you are putting on a better show than an opera."