Chương 95: The Trial of the Weapon-Tempering Lake

The people who had attached themselves to Qin Tian earlier, bowing and scraping before him, all cursed their rotten luck in secret. One after another, they distanced themselves from Qin Tian. If not for Qin Tian, clearing the trial would not have been this difficult. Having learned their lesson, none of them dared follow Qin Tian again.

"Fifty people have passed the first round."

"First Manor Lord, the second round may begin!" The elder in charge of records noted down the trial times of the many martial artists, then bowed to First Manor Lord Xuanyuan Yizheng and reported.

"Good!"

"Everyone, please follow us!" Xuanyuan Yizheng rose to his feet, and the other four manor lords also stood up. After a brief period of rest and healing, the martial artists who had passed the first round were led by the elders toward the next trial site.

"Fifty people… That's actually not few…" Su Zhe thought to himself. Among the eighteen counties of Tang Prefecture, Lu County had only produced Yuan Ba, Su Zhe, Yu Yi, and Xiao Xunhuan. Counting four people per county, the martial artists from the eighteen counties who came to join Zhujian Shanzhuang (Sword-Forging Manor) this time would number seventy-two. Of course, Lu County was rather remote, so naturally, there were fewer Grade-A bone-root talents there.

In the more prosperous and powerful counties, producing a dozen or so from a single county was nothing difficult. All together, the eighteen counties had over two hundred geniuses. Meanwhile, the Five Gates and Seven Noble Houses of Sword-Forging Mountain City, along with the Thirteen Great Clans, had three to four hundred people as well. Out of seven or eight hundred people, only fifty remained after the first round.

"Brutal. This isn't any easier than taking the civil service exam in my previous life!" Su Zhe sighed inwardly. Yuan Ba's talent seemed to be even stronger than Yu Yi's. Among the martial artists entering the second round, Su Zhe spotted him as well. Zhujian Shanzhuang governed the five peaks of the mountain city. Each was overseen by one of the five manor lords. They were Main Peak, Jishi Peak, Yushen Peak, Zhuxin Peak, and Bingxuan Peak.

Under the lead of the five manor lords, everyone headed toward Zhuxin Peak, where Zhuxin Manor was located. The mountains were majestic, rising and falling in an endless chain like a giant dragon lying across heaven and earth. This giant dragon was none other than the vast, unbroken Sword-Forging Mountain Range. Among the peaks, one towered into the clouds, wreathed in mist like the dwelling place of immortals. This peak was home to Zhuxin Manor.

The manor was hidden within the forests, like a bright pearl tucked inside green jade. The peak was shaded by lush trees, with strange flowers and rare grasses shining brilliantly against one another. From time to time, spirit birds flew past, their cries clear and pleasant, like drifting immortal music. However, the group did not enter Zhuxin Manor. Instead, they arrived at a cold lake within the peak. The cold lake was dozens of zhang wide.

Its water was clear as a mirror, and icy qi spilled out from it in all directions. Jagged rocks of all shapes lined the lakeside. The lake reflected the surrounding peaks like a breathtaking painting. When a breeze swept across it, ripples spread over the surface, scattering glittering waves of light. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The water of the cold lake seemed to contain spiritual energy, radiating a mysterious glow.

Standing beside it made one feel as though they had stepped into an immortal realm, and even the heart became calm. As everyone approached, a wave of cold rushed toward them, and the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted. Many of the trial disciples with shallow martial cultivation began trembling all over just from getting close, their blood and qi clearly insufficient. First Manor Lord Xuanyuan Yizheng looked toward Ou Zizhen of Zhuxin Manor. Ou Zizhen nodded, then spoke.

"This is the second round."

"I imagine all of you have some understanding of Zhujian Shanzhuang. Zhujian Shanzhuang is famed for both the artisan path and the martial path."

"In the artisan path, if one wishes to forge a divine martial weapon, then 'material, technique, fire, and water' are all indispensable.""' Material' refers to the raw materials and the tools used for forging.""' Technique' refers to forging methods and one's attainment in the artisan path.""' Fire' refers to the flames used for smelting and removing impurities.""' Water' refers to tempering the weapon embryo in water after it has taken shape, thereby improving its quality."

Ou Zizhen spoke at length, his words carrying his own understanding of the artisan path. Su Zhe nodded inwardly. The great Dao was simplest at its core. Ou Zizhen had summarized the artisan path in four words. It truly struck at the essence of the artisan path.

"This Weapon-Tempering Lake is one of the wondrous places of Zhujian Shanzhuang. Its waters are extremely cold, and the deeper one goes, the colder it becomes."

"Those with insufficient blood and qi or weak physical bodies cannot go deep at all."

"Every several dozen meters, Weapon-Tempering Water Essences of different strengths will appear."

"According to the depth of Weapon-Tempering Lake, it is divided into the Frost Realm, Ice Soul Realm, Snow Condensation Realm, Profound Ice Realm, Extreme Cold Realm…"

"According to legend, this cold lake is ninety-nine meters deep in total. Even the manor lords of past generations could, at most, descend to eighty-nine meters."

"Everyone… the second round's trial…"

"Is to enter Weapon-Tempering Lake and obtain the corresponding Weapon-Tempering Water Essence!" Ou Zizhen of Zhuxin Manor declared loudly. Weapon-Tempering Water Essence! Su Zhe could not help recalling Sun Tiexin's teachings.

"The martial weapon artisans of Zhujian Shanzhuang can retrieve Weapon-Tempering Water Essence to temper weapon embryos."

"This item not only benefits the artisan path, but if absorbed into the body, it can also repair injuries and nourish blood and qi." Su Zhe narrowed his eyes. At the same time, he felt his sea of consciousness churning nonstop.

"Stop making a racket!" Su Zhe shouted inside his sea of consciousness. The moment Su Zhe approached Weapon-Tempering Lake, the Fortune Immortal Cauldron, which had originally been behaving itself, started acting up again. It gave Su Zhe quite the headache. [Name: Heaven's End Within Inches] [Quality: Profound Fate Immortal Weapon] The Fortune Immortal Cauldron continuously transmitted information to Su Zhe.

"Profound Fate Immortal Weapon… Now that I'm closer… the reaction seems even stronger… Could it be…" Su Zhe's eyes lit up.

"Could this so-called Profound Fate Immortal Weapon be hidden beneath Weapon-Tempering Lake?"

"Heaven's End Within Inches… is in the Sword-Forging Mountain Range… In that case, my guess should be right!" Su Zhe's heart settled. After making a fuss for a while, the Fortune Immortal Cauldron gradually fell silent again. When the martial artists heard the contents of the trial, quite a few became hesitant. Weapon-Tempering Lake was a cold lake. Even beside the surface, its temperature was enough to make a first-rank martial artist unable to endure.

From that, one could imagine just how low the temperature was in the depths of the cold lake.

"Su Zhe… You ranked first in the first round. Are you willing to strive for the top again?" Ou Zizhen smiled. He did not seem surprised by everyone's reaction and looked toward Su Zhe.

"When an elder commands, this junior dares not disobey."

"Though my martial path is shallow, I am willing to cast a brick to draw out jade!" Su Zhe accepted without hesitation. The manor lords nodded slightly. Their opinion of Su Zhe rose even higher. After all, no elder disliked a polite junior.

"Then I'll be going!" Su Zhe drew in a breath. Then he leapt forward and jumped into the cold lake. Splash! Su Zhe sealed his mouth and nose, and at once, he felt a wave of cold penetrate straight into his bones. He dove several meters down.

"This Weapon-Tempering Lake… really has a whole other world inside!" Once Su Zhe entered the cold lake, he immediately sensed that the space underground was incredibly vast, far larger than the hundred-zhang diameter visible from the lake's surface. Around him was a thin, transparent martial barrier that sealed off the surrounding ten zhang. It seemed… To have marked out a safe zone.

"There's a martial barrier isolating the surroundings."

"This Weapon-Tempering Lake has the auras of many powerful demonic beasts!" With the artifact spirit by his side, Su Zhe immediately sensed terrifying waves of pressure coming from the lakebed. He thought to himself,"No wonder Li Shanyun once told me that Weapon-Tempering Lake was the greatest heaven-and-earth fortune of Zhujian Shanzhuang."

"There are countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures within this lake." Su Zhe was delighted. After all, he had once caught many precious fish in the Su River and gained fortune from them alone. Now, Zhujian Shanzhuang had Weapon-Tempering Lake, which contained even greater fortune than the Su River. That meant Su Zhe could use this opportunity to increase the speed of his martial cultivation. Splash! A flash of white light streaked past. Su Zhe's eyes brightened.

He saw a strange object leap right in front of him. The strange object seemed to be formed from ice all over. Its most peculiar feature was that it resembled a ginseng fruit, with a head and feet, and a round belly like a chubby baby. Weapon-Tempering Water Essence! Su Zhe immediately knew that this was a Frost Realm Weapon-Tempering Water Essence. Su Zhe reached out. The little Weapon-Tempering Water Essence baby showed a frightened expression. With a sudden burst of speed, it slipped away from Su Zhe's hand.

"My swimming skills are decent!" Su Zhe chuckled inwardly. Jiaolong Method—like a flood dragon entering the deep sea. Spirit Ao Fist added yet another trace of agility. Gurgle, gurgle! The Weapon-Tempering Water Essence struggled nonstop in Su Zhe's hand, but it simply could not escape. Su Zhe placed it into the Essence-Collecting Bag. This item had been issued by Ou Zizhen. It was specifically used to capture Weapon-Tempering Water Essences.

After obtaining a ten-meter Weapon-Tempering Water Essence, Su Zhe still had strength to spare and continued diving downward…