Chương 98: This Su’s Acting Is On Point

Although the giant softshell turtle was an artifact spirit, the Creation Immortal Cauldron was extraordinarily mystical. This artifact spirit could shift between an incorporeal and a physical form. That was why it had been able to bite Qin Tian to death in one snap. On top of that, the giant turtle was terrifyingly powerful in the water. Ordinary fifth-grade martial artists were no match for it. Aquatic creatures were naturally good in water, and as an artifact spirit, it was even more resistant to the bitter cold.

Sixty meters down, in the Black Ice Realm. The giant turtle locked onto a strand of Black Ice Water Essence. Its massive body moved with surprising agility. Its long neck suddenly shot out, like a flash of lightning splitting the dark night. In an instant, it swallowed that strand of Black Ice Water Essence. Then it quickly swam back to Su Zhe. As if presenting a treasure, it spat it out.

"Good boy!" Su Zhe continued providing the giant turtle with emotional value, without offering anything of actual substance. One had to admit, if Su Zhe ever became a boss, he would absolutely be the kind of legendary capitalist who painted grand dreams for his workers. He put the Black Ice Water Essence into his essence pouch. Then Su Zhe glanced down at the dim depths of the lake. The closer he got to the bottom, the stronger his sense of the Mystic Fortune Immortal Weapon became.

"My strength isn't enough yet. I'll plan for it another day!" Su Zhe steadied his mind, kicked his legs, and swam toward the surface. … Above the surface of Tempering Weapons Lake. Most of the martial artists could no longer endure the cold and had surfaced. A small number had yet to come up. But unless something unexpected happened, those few would most likely be staying in Tempering Weapons Lake for the rest of their lives. They had overestimated their own strength.

Greedy for merit, they had pushed ahead recklessly and ended up losing their lives. The martial path was difficult. To climb to the peak meant surviving through almost certain death.

"Qin Tian and Su Zhe… still haven't come up?" First Manor Lord Xuanyuan Yizheng frowned and muttered.

"Could it be… their ambition was higher than the heavens, but their lives thinner than paper… Those two were young and hot-blooded. Did they die in Tempering Weapons Lake?" Ou Zizhen of Zhuxin Manor (Heart-Forging Manor) paled, sensing that something was wrong. The Lord of Yushen Manor (Jade Body Manor), however, chuckled and shook her head.

"I don't know about the others… but that disciple of mine…"

"He's terrified of dying. Even if everyone else died, that brat would still make it out perfectly fine!" The Yushen Manor Lord had great confidence in Su Zhe. After all, back in Lu County, when she had taken Su Zhe flying through the air, he had been scared stiff of dying. And during the battle at Yandang Mountain, Su Zhe had only acted after seeing Sun Tiexin and the others fall into danger, weighing things again and again, and deciding that his strength was enough to handle everything.

One sentence was enough to summarize Su Zhe's personality— He was the type who feared even a falling leaf might smash his head open.

"Wait a little longer!" Xuanyuan Yizheng pondered for a moment, then spoke. Splash! As soon as he finished speaking, the lake surface erupted. Su Zhe shot out of Tempering Weapons Lake like a flood dragon.

"So terrifying… so terrifying…" The moment Su Zhe reached the shore, his face was purplish, his lips pale, and his eyes filled with terror. He looked completely shaken.

"Hm?" The Yushen Manor Lord flashed to Su Zhe's side and tapped a finger against his heart palace. A thick stream of qi flowed into Su Zhe's body, driving away the cold for him. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"So terrifying…" Su Zhe still looked badly shaken, continuing to mutter to himself. The Yushen Manor Lord frowned, thinking to herself:"Su Zhe may be afraid of dying, but he is definitely not cowardly. Diving into Tempering Weapons Lake was only a test. If he couldn't handle it, he could simply withdraw in time… Su Zhe… why does he look like he just survived a calamity?" Xuanyuan Yizheng and the other manor lords also felt something was off.

Linghu Ruifeng, Lord of Bingxuan Manor (Weapon Pavilion Manor), felt his heart sink. Then he asked,"Su Zhe, where is Qin Tian?"

"Did the two of you see something terrifying at the bottom of the lake?" With Linghu Ruifeng's words pointing him in that direction, the five manor lords all turned solemn and looked at Su Zhe nervously. The greatest secret of Zhujian Villa (Sword-Forging Villa) was Tempering Weapons Lake. Could it be… Could it have something to do with the Mystic Fortune Immortal Weapon? When Su Zhe heard Linghu Ruifeng's words, his unfocused eyes slowly regained clarity.

Then, with a face full of grief and tragic resolve, he cried out to the Yushen Manor Lord,"Master… Master… there's a great terror at the bottom of the lake."

"Brother Qin Tian and I kept diving down until we reached the fifty-nine-meter Snow Condensation Realm… Then… then…"

"A giant softshell turtle suddenly rushed up from the depths. It was enormous, and its aura… I don't know what realm it was in… but it was not at all weaker than you, Master…"

"With just one bite, it killed Brother Qin Tian. Only his head was left…" As Su Zhe spoke, his body trembled slightly, as if the fear still lingered in him. What?!

"A giant turtle! It's a demon beast in the lake!" Ou Zizhen of Zhuxin Manor paled dramatically.

"That doesn't make sense. Manor Lord Ou, didn't you already set down the spirit net? There are indeed demon beasts in the lake, and quite a few of them, but… how could a demon beast break through the spirit net?" Xuanyuan Yizheng's expression also changed. After a long while, he steadied himself, exhaled, and looked toward Ou Zizhen. Ou Zizhen pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"The spirit net only reaches, at most, sixty meters down… If a demon beast entered from the lower edge at sixty meters, slipped into the spirit net, reached the fifty-nine-meter area… and swallowed Qin Tian in one bite… the chances are low, but it is possible…" Once he said that, everyone understood. Some secretly thought Qin Tian had been unlucky. Some sighed in regret. Some gloated over his misfortune.

Of course, those gloating were the martial artists from Lu County, as well as those who had been tricked by Qin Tian earlier in the black iron passage. Su Zhe secretly laughed to himself. He had dived down to the sixty-meter Black Ice Realm. Naturally, he had seen the limit of where the spirit net covered. That was why Su Zhe had rehearsed this story countless times in his head. Only after ensuring there were no flaws at all did he dare say it aloud.

A lie that could truly fool the world was one that was ninety percent true and ten percent false. The only false part of Su Zhe's statement was— That giant turtle was not a demon beast from Tempering Weapons Lake. It was something Su Zhe had released himself.

"Go take a look!" Xuanyuan Yizheng gave a signal to a sixth-grade elder.

"As the Manor Lord commands!" The sixth-grade elder leapt into Tempering Weapons Lake. Half an hour later. One corpse after another broke through the surface. There were ten in total. These ten corpses belonged to martial artists who had been greedy for achievement during the Tempering Weapons Lake trial and died in the lake. The water of Tempering Weapons Lake was unique. Anything that fell into it sank slowly, but almost never floated back up.

In Zhujian Villa, there had always been a saying about Tempering Weapons Lake— Eight hundred li within the tempering realm, ninety-nine depths of frigid pools. Goose feathers cannot float; reed flowers must sink.

"Eight hundred" referred to the waters within Tempering Weapons Lake, which spanned a full eight hundred li. Its currents also flowed east into the sea and downward into the moat of Sword-Forging Mountain City.

"Ninety-nine" referred to the depth of Tempering Weapons Lake. Legend said it was ninety-nine meters deep, but no one had ever reached the bottom. As for "goose feathers cannot float; reed flowers must sink," it referred to Tempering Weapons Lake's nature of devouring all things. Clearly, this sixth-grade elder was someone highly skilled in water. His qi and blood were powerful, and his physical body was terrifyingly strong. He swept all the way down to the sixty-meter area and retrieved every corpse there.

As for Qin Tian, though only his head remained, it had only sunk to around sixty meters in such a short time. The sixth-grade elder held Qin Tian's head in both hands and presented it to the five manor lords.

"Sigh!"

"Looking at the wound, Su Zhe's words are correct. He was bitten by a turtle-type creature, and only this head remains…" Linghu Ruifeng, the Lord of Bingxuan Manor, glanced at it and sighed. He presided over Bingxuan Manor of Zhujian Villa. Together with the Yushen Manor Lord, he divided responsibility over the black qi and commanded military force. Aside from clashing with martial sects, he also dealt with demon beasts from time to time.

After all, Zhujian Villa also had Jishi Manor (World-Aiding Manor) and Zhuxin Manor, both of which consumed a great deal of resources. Demon beasts were terrifying, but their entire bodies were treasures. They could be used for medicine or forged into weapons. As an expert in this field, once he spoke, it was equivalent to confirming Su Zhe's account. No one doubted it anymore. However, Linghu Ruifeng had more on his mind.

Through Li Shanyun, Su Zhe had already passed news to the five manor lords that the Qin family had schemed against true disciple candidate Mo Ye. They had yet to make a move only because they feared alerting the enemy. The Qin family was doomed. And one of the true disciple candidates Linghu Ruifeng had accepted was from the Qin family. He had originally wanted to preserve the Qin family's talented bloodline. But Qin Tian's death meant that wish would be difficult to fulfill.

Linghu Ruifeng took a deep breath and pushed his qi-nurturing method to its limit. How could there be a perfect solution in this world? The Qin family had colluded with enemies and betrayed the sect. Their crime could not be pardoned. On one side was his relationship with the Qin family. On the other was the survival of the sect. Linghu Ruifeng was still clear on which mattered more. …

"Brother Qin! Brother Qin!" Su Zhe's mournful cry interrupted everyone's thoughts. Su Zhe's eyes were red, as if fury was about to burst from them. He forced down his grief, his voice choked. His body trembled like a leaf in autumn, and his lips pressed tightly together, as if trying to keep his sorrow from spilling out. Seeing Su Zhe look so devastated, even those with hearts of stone were moved.

"Brother Qin, though you and I had our disagreements, we still admired each other… When that giant turtle attacked, this Su panicked. With my life on the line, I fled as fast as I could. The giant turtle swallowed you and forgot about me. Brother Qin…"

"You died for this Su! This Su has wronged you!" Su Zhe beat his chest and stomped his feet, his brows drawn tight as if buried under endless layers of sorrow. The pain in his eyes was like deep pool water, cold enough to pierce the heart. Pain! Too much pain!

"This child… is truly sincere. His words are not false. If not for Qin Tian, when that giant turtle attacked, how could Su Zhe have escaped with his life? No matter how one puts it, whether Qin Tian was willing or not, he did save Su Zhe's life in the end!" Seeing Su Zhe reveal such genuine emotion, First Manor Lord Xuanyuan Yizheng could not help but nod inwardly. He carried the bearing of a Confucian, humble and kind by nature.

Seeing Su Zhe like this, he immediately felt that this child not only possessed exceptional talent, but also a character worth nurturing. He would not become selfish and fall onto the demonic path. When a sect nurtured a genius, it did not fear that the genius would be proud and unruly. What it feared was raising someone who turned against them. To spend enormous effort and resources, only to raise an ungrateful wolf—that was a true disaster for any sect.

With that thought, Xuanyuan Yizheng's gaze toward Su Zhe softened somewhat…