Tempted

　　Sunlight illuminated the earth; and as did before, solid ice covered Crescent Moon Lake. Snow was everywhere, and a chilling cold pervaded the area.

　　“Hiya, hah!” Occasionally lunging and swooping, Yang Dong, dressed in a fur coat, seemed to have entirely transformed into a wild beast. What he was currently practicing was precisely the 《Twelve Forms of Xing Yi》which Teng Qingshan had passed onto him. As the foundation for Xing Yi Internal Martial Arts, this《Twelve Forms of Xing Yi》naturally had to be assiduously practiced.

　　“Hiya, hah!”

　　Yang Dong, dressed in a fur coat, seemed to have transformed entirely into a wild beast as he lunged and swooped around. He was currently practicing precisely that which Teng Qingshan had passed onto him, the 《Twelve Forms of Xing Yi》. As the foundation for Xing Yi Internal Martial Arts, the 《Twelve Forms of Xing Yi》naturally had to be arduously practiced.

　　His senior martial brother Teng Shou, who had grown up among a herd of wild beasts, successfully mastered the《Twelve Forms of Xing Yi》within a few days.

　　Clop! Clop! Clop!

　　Yang Dong was cultivating when he heard the sound of trotting beast hooves. He stopped and raised his head to look over. He was met with the sight of a herd of Blazing Silver-String Hous coming to a halt, and more than ten riders jumping down from them.

　　“All these War Hous…” Yang Dong’s pupils constricted of their own accord, and he felt alarmed.

　　“Excuse me, young brother.” The leader of the riders took off his helmet and cupped his hands before he continued with a smile, “Might I ask where Mister Teng is?” Under normal circumstances, how could the lofty Tantai Huayan be this courteous to a common youth? However, this was Crescent Moon Lake of the Godly Axe Mountain; it was not a place where they could be impudent.

　　“Are you guys looking for my Instructor?” The astonished Yang Dong asked.

　　“So it’s Mister Teng’s disciple.” Tantai Huayan laughed. “As expected, a heroic youth indeed. We hurried over from the Eastern Flower Region with the idea of paying our respect to Mister Teng. If you could, please pass on a word for us.”

　　The tall, slender woman beside Tantai Huayan removed her helmet as well, revealing a beautiful countenance that could mesmerize anyone. She had long, flowing hair that fell around loosely. Her skin was tender and supple. Of particular note were her eyes; a pair of eyes that moved the heart and soul, as if they held a pool of limpid autumn water.

　　(TL note: autumn water, used as descriptor for beautiful eyes. Imagine clear and bright eyes.)

　　Yang Dong was a teenager who had experienced the cold, chaotic world and suffered through many difficulties from a young age. He assumed that he could never be moved by a woman’s beauty. At this moment, however, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

　　“So beautiful…” A buzzing filled Yang Dong’s brain, and he felt light-headed.

　　Noticing his reaction, a smile blossomed on Tantai Qing’s face and she softly said, “Younger Brother, we’re here to meet Mister Teng. We will have to trouble you to notify him.” This soft voice of her’s assimilated itself into a person’s very heart, and Yang Dong’s entire body felt light as a feather as she spoke. It was at this moment that a young girl walked out from inside the house.

　　“Y’all are here to see Mister Teng?”

　　“Little Ping.” Yang Dong immediately came to his senses, and he couldn’t help chastising himself internally for actually becoming befuddled by a woman’s charm.

　　Little Ping was nine years old when she started accompanying Teng Qingshan, and a year had passed since then. This girl was originally malnourished, and looked thin and frail. During this year, she had eaten well and blossomed into a pretty young girl full of vitality. She was now only a head shorter than Li Jun. A girl’s development always occurred earlier than a boy’s, and this period of time was precisely when Little Ping’s body was growing.

　　“Everyone.” Little Ping smiled as she looked at the Tantai Clan before her and said, “My Lord is currently cultivating in seclusion. He has already left prior instruction that no one is to disturb him during a period of cultivation. Ladies and gentlemen, it would be best if you returned.”

　　“Little girl, please help us notify him.” Tantai Huayan smiled and handed her a gold fragment.

　　(金瓜子 TL note: It’s broken pieces of gold people in ancient times used instead of large ingots of gold, direct translation is like pumpkin seeds lol)

　　Little Ping did not take the offered gold. She gave a slight smile instead and said, “Ladies and gentlemen… I already told you very clearly. No one is allowed to disturb when Mister Teng is cultivating; we can’t meet with him either. If y’all really want to meet Mister Teng, you’re allowed to wait here patiently. Mister Teng will occasionally come out during his secluded cultivation. As for any other methods… there are none.” With this, Little Ping turned and walked towards the stone house.

　　“What she said is true. If you want to meet Master, then you will have to wait patiently,” Yang Dong said his piece and walked off in the direction of the house.

　　Teng Qingshan had indeed left prior instructions—

　　If it was someone familiar, like the Great Elder from the Rising Sun Trading Company and other such people, they could interrupt his cultivation. As for strangers, they could all be ignored. Cultivating wholeheartedly and reaching the Emptiness Realm as soon as possible was the most important thing to the current Teng Qingshan. What did matters of Duanmu Continent have to do with him?

　　After all, he would return to the Nine Prefectures in the future.

　　“Third Uncle.” Tantai Qing looked at Tantai Huayan, who was beside her.

　　Tantai Huayan’s face also had a look of impatience on it. “What a nuisance! Even though the many large clans of the Eastern Flower Region probably sent people hurrying over to Nanshan City’s Godly Axe Mountain at the greatest possible speed, our Tantai Clan was able to make it here first because of our geographical advantage. However… the other clans will most definitely be utilizing the superior Single-Horned War Hous that can dash across several thousands of Li in a single day. Therefore, they’re only two to four hours behind us at most.”

　　Since all of the clans were based in the Eastern Flower Region, including the Tantai Clan, they weren’t too far apart from each other.

　　“It is unexpected that this Teng Qingshan would be cultivating in seclusion.” Tantai Qing furrowed her eyebrows, taking on the appearance of a delicate flower that anyone would feel sympathy for. She indeed did have a charm to her that made the hearts of people quiver.

　　Unfortunately…

　　Teng Qingshan was cultivating wholeheartedly in seclusion and couldn’t see her at all.

　　Inside the stone house, Li Jun was wearing a thick fur coat and sitting on a chair draped in animal skin, knitting some clothing with a tranquil smile on her face. The clothes that she was knitting were for Teng Qingshan.

　　“Little Ping, are those people still outside?” Li Jun stopped her knitting and stretched, revealing the lithe and graceful curves of her body hidden beneath the fur coat.

　　Little Ping took a glance outside through the window and nodded, “Elder Sister Jun, those people are still there. Eh…”

　　“What’s the matter?” Li Jun asked, alarmed.

　　“The Thunder Blade Martial Saint, Mister Fu, is here,” the astonished Little Ping replied while she continued looking outside through the window.

　　“Mister Fu Dao?” Li Jun put down the clothes that she was knitting, “Come, let’s go out and have a look.”

　　Regardless of how or why, Fu Dao and Teng Qingshan were, after all, old acquaintances and friends.

　　……

　　The group of people from the Tantai Clan had waited by the lakeside of Crescent Moon Lake for a brief moment before Fu Dao appeared alone, riding on a War Hou.

　　“Haha, Tantai Huayan, well you got here rather quick.” Fu Dao laughed out loud.

　　“Well Mister Fu Dao, you aren’t late either.” Tantai Huayan gave him a glance and an insincere, hypocritical laugh that merely followed the motions.

　　It was at this moment that Li Jun walked out, leading Little Ping. Even with the presence of Tantai Qing, whose beauty moved all those around her, they still stood out. Li Jun, with her unique temperament, and Little Ping, whose body had just developed and was already showing traces of a young lady’s elegance, captured the eyes of people as they walked together.

　　“Mister Fu.” Li Jun smiled as she came over.

　　“Miss Li,” Fu Dao said smilingly.

　　Off on the side, the expressions of Tantai Huayan and Qing from the Tantai Clan changed minutely. They knew that… the person that had the closest relationship with Teng Qingshan was a girl named ‘Li Jun’.

　　“Greetings, Miss Li,” Tantai Huayan and Qing said simultaneously. Like all other beautiful women, Tantai Qing naturally measured the other woman against herself. The confidence in Tantai Qing’s heart grew with this comparison—she determined that this woman before her, the one who was the closest to Teng Qingshan, could not compete with her.

　　“Mister Fu is also here to see Big Brother Teng?” Li Jun smiled as she asked.

　　“Yes, there are some important affairs.” Fu Dao solemnly nodded his head. “Extremely important affairs.”

　　“Oh?” When she noticed that Fu Dao was very serious, Li Jun nodded her head and said, “Then Mister Fu, wait here a moment and I’ll go and call Big Brother Teng.” With this, Li Jun walked off toward the forest in the south. This scene made the people of the Tantai Clan understand that… Teng Qingshan was not staying in the stone house, and instead cultivating in seclusion somewhere else.

　　In merely a moment—

　　A young man with a slight stubble on his face, dressed in a cyan leather coat, and long, loose hair that fell freely over his shoulder walked out side by side with Li Jun.

　　The legendary Most Powerful Martial Saint…

　　The extremely mysterious and powerful expert…

　　His name was… Teng Qingshan!

　　“Haha, Fu Dao, long time no see.” Teng Qingshan’s hearty laugh could be heard far into the distance.

　　“Indeed, it has been a long while since I’ve come to meet Mister Teng. It is shameful though that I have come at this time to request Mister Teng’s help.” Fu Dao appeared very modest and courteous.

　　Tantai Huayan, still off to the side, secretly gasped as this scene unfolded. The rumors were not unfounded! If Fu Dao, the Golden Dan Innate Martial Saint, had such a deferential and courteous attitude, one could guess at the astonishing strength that Teng Qingshan possessed.

　　“These people are?” Teng Qingshan’s gaze flitted across Tantai Qing, then he smiled. “This is Miss Tantai Qing, isn’t it. We met before during the auction of the Blunt Vanadium Stone.”

　　“That time, I wanted to chat with Mister Teng a bit more but you were busy getting the gold to buy the Blunt Vanadium Stone and I didn’t get the chance to continue our conversation.” Tantai Qing smiled, and it seemed like the surrounding scenery brightened from that smile. “This time, I can finally talk with Mister Teng for a bit. I’m also quite pleased to be able to chat with the legendary Most Powerful Martial Saint.”

　　Teng Qingshan smiled faintly.

　　It was undeniable that talking to beautiful girls was pleasant and exhilarating, and this particular beautiful girl was also quite tactful.

　　“Fu Dao, have you and the Tantai Clan come for the same matter?” Teng Qingshan asked after he had reckoned that the visits were connected.

　　“Mister Teng is truly clever.” Fu Dao nodded. “I’m not sure if Mister Teng has heard, but currently, a deposit of Fiery Gilt Steel ore has been discovered within the borders of the Eastern Flower Region.

　　“A deposit of Fiery Gilt Steel ore?” Teng Qingshan was a bit skeptical. He had never heard of this material before. Within the Land of the Nine Prefectures, at least, there was no such thing as a deposit of ‘Fiery Gilt Steel’ ore.

　　“Well, let’s go inside the house and talk about it.” Teng Qingshan was not the least bit impatient or in any rush. He gave the Tantai Clan a cursory glance and said, “The two of you should come in together as well.”

　　Tantai Huayan and Fu Dao shared a glance, smiled, and then followed Teng Qingshan into the house.

　　……

　　This was a special house used for receiving guests, and the interior was open and spacious. There were a great many carvings placed on the walls, and some of the stone pillars even had relief sculptures of spiraling divine dragons. A wide and glossy table was placed in the center of the hall, and the four people: Teng Qingshan, Fu Dao, Tantai Huayan and Tantai Qing sat down around it.

　　“Fu Dao, what’s this Fiery Gilt Steel you spoke of? I still really don’t know anything about it,” Teng Qingshan opened with this question.

　　When Tantai Qing heard this, she couldn’t help but cast as glance at Teng Qingshan and ruminating, “Just as expected for someone who became the strongest among the Innate Martial Saints, as well as the expert with the most promise of becoming a Martial Immortal, at such a young age. I believe that he normally immerses himself in cultivation and that he can’t be bothered to take notice of these kinds of trifling matters.”

　　Teng Qingshan’s ignorance had instead garnered Tantai Qing’s secret praise.

　　People were like that.

　　A nobody would be scoffed at, even if what they spoke was the truth.

　　On the other hand, even if a great figure said something wrong, other people would take the black and proclaim it to be white.

　　“Fiery Gilt Steel is an extremely precious material for forging battle armor and weapons,” Fu Dao explained, “Talking about hardness, it is much more powerful than Darksteel. It is difficult for even a Hollow Dan Innate Expert to pierce through a very thin layer of Fiery Gilt Steel battle armor. Furthermore, it is extremely light; far, far lighter than Darksteel. One suit of Fiery Gilt Steel armor only weighs 30 to 40 Jin.”

　　When Teng Qingshan heard this, he was shocked!.

　　“An armor that only weighed 30 to 40 Jin? Even Innate Hollow Dan Experts couldn’t pierce it?” Enormous waves rose up in Teng Qingshan’s heart. “If my Gui Yuan Sect used the ‘Elixir of the North Sea’ to train more than 10,000 peak Postliminary Warriors, and then let them wear armor that was light but couldn’t be pierced even by Innate Hollow Dan Experts… In that case—who could stand in the way of this army?

　　“Leveling Qing Hu Island would not be a difficult matter.”

　　Teng Qingshan could immediately perceive the special significance of the Fiery Gilt Steel battle armor, as well as the terrifying role it could play in the battle for supremacy.