Fang Xing was unconcerned as he stood in front of the cave with his arms calmly folded. He knew that as long as Bai Qianzhang was still alive, no one in the entire Qing-Yun Sect would dare to do anything to him. This was also what had caused him to be so unrestrained in his earlier actions.

　　When the stone door finally opened, an ashen-faced Ye Tianlong walked forward as well to kneel in front of Tie Rukuang, crying, “Please, dear Shifu, I was only feeling distressed and upset about my broken weapon. I didn’t have any thoughts of having a fight….”

　　“Stop bullsh*tting!” Fang Xing angrily yelled and turned, wanting to grab his saber once more. Frightened, Ye Tianlong reflexively jumped up and tried to run and hide behind Tie Rukuang.

　　“Behave yourself, little bastard!” Tie Rukuang collected the [Saber of Azure Dragon] into his sleeve with a flourish before kicking Fang Xing’s rear. Although Fang Xing was unwilling, he was only able to give Ye Tianlong an indignant stare; although he was able to win against Ye Tianlong, he wasn’t able to move so freely with Tie Rukuang here.

　　At this moment, two disciples carried over a stretcher with Murong Ying—whose bones had all been broken—carried atop it. His cultivation level might have already reached the sixth tier, but his physique was not so great as to be extraordinary. When Fang Xing had hammered him into the ground like a nail, all of his bones and internal organs had been left severely damaged.

　　Such a sight left Tie Rukuang astonished. “What happened?”

　　Ye Tianlong quickly answered and narrated the entire event where Fang Xing had pounded Murong Ying into the ground bit by bit. The more Tie Rukuang heard, the more amazed he became, and he took a few glances towards Fang Xing while in thought, ‘This kid is a lot stronger than I imagined….’

　　Fang Xing was ordered to stay away and to stop scaring Ye Tianlong, while Tie Rukuang himself grabbed a few of his pupils and asked for details on exactly what had happened. In front of him, none of these disciples dared to lie, and even though all of their words painted themselves as innocently as possible, the entire course of this event was repeated without any mistakes.

　　Of course, the more Tie Rukuang heard, the more astonished he became. He took a long gaze at the [Saber of Azure Dragon], and he even appeared to be moved. ‘He was able to use the saber to its maximum potential at just Spirit Stage tier four?’

　　When it came to weaponry, Tie Rukuang was a master smith and understood the saber’s make and potential with a single glance. For an ordinary cultivator to use it to its maximum potential would require Spirit Stage tier seven at minimum, yet Fang Xing—at just tier four—had managed to do so. Did this mean that Fang Xing not only had superhuman strength, but Qi with a purity well above an ordinary cultivator as well?

　　Tie Rukuang had been watching all along when Fang Xing had first fought against Murong Ying. He had felt Fang Xing had some extraordinary superhuman strength and some clever tactics, but the depth of his amazement was immeasurable now. The overall strength of a cultivator was based on their cultivation level, after all; no matter how great their raw strength might be or how clever they are with tactics, these things were not very helpful when it came to cultivation. Now that he’d found out that Fang Xing had used a spirit weapon to its maximum potential at just tier four despite the weapon requiring tier seven, not even Tie Rukuang could help but feel an overwhelming sense of wonder.

　　Tie Rukuang directly called Fang Xing over and simply asked Ye Tianlong and Murong Ying to have some rest and take care of their wounds. Once he was back at the cave, Tie Rukuang shook his palm and a straw rope appeared, which he handed to Fang Xing with a serious expression. “Try to activate this spirit weapon for me.”

　　“Immortal’s Snare?” As Fang Xing took the rope, he swallowed a large chunk of saliva; although the rope might not look very impressive, it was still a good treasure. Fang Xing poured Qi into the straw rope, and it didn’t take long before he could sense a connection between it and himself. It felt as though he was able to control the rope precisely as he desired, as though the rope had gained a life of its own with the tip curled up like a snake using Spirit Sense.

　　Seeing this left Tie Rukuang surprised. “Such a pure and dense form of Qi… how did you do it?”

　　“Qi purification. It’s in the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing, you didn’t know that?”

　　Such words left Tie Rukuang a bit dumbfounded and embarrassed before he suddenly remembered that Elder Bai Qianzhang had passed on an improved version of the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing before going into seclusion. It did indeed have additional techniques in building the physique and cleansing Qi, it was just that for someone who was already in the Foundation Stage like himself, it wasn’t very useful and he hadn’t truly delved inside the manual. He decided that when there was a chance, he would have some of his pupils try it out for him in order to test it; he hadn’t thought that this improved version could yield such impressive results!

　　Although Fang Xing was currently only in tier four, the density and purity of his Qi was closer to that of someone in tier seven. If each tier was akin to a bottle of wine, it was as though Fang Xing simply looked like he was four bottles of wine, but the difference lay in the actual contents. Others might just have rice wine in their bottles, but Fang Xing’s bottles had strong vodka[1] instead.

　　Once Tie Rukuang was able to compile his thoughts, he let out a long sigh and bitterly smiled. ‘So this is the reason…. Shishu Bai wasn’t just leading us on, but had instead left us with such a treasure. Although we narrow-minded people hoped he would leave us with methods to break through into the Golden Core Stage, he instead helped us nurture a new generation of stronger disciples!’

　　Once a long time had passed after the sigh, Tie Rukuang widened his eyes. “Since the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing has become so great, why did you not speak up at the Qing-Yun Peak?”

　　“None of you asked,” Fang Xing replied, as though such a thing was only to be expected.

　　This left Tie Rukuang speechless, and he released another lengthy sigh. He could only blame himself for this. The newly improved version had been in his hands for almost half a month now, yet he still hadn’t realized how extraordinary the change had been. And to think that he’d initially started his cultivation with the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing….

　　Tie Rukuang blamed himself, but he didn’t know that even if he had truly learned all there was to know about this newly improved version of the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing, it would not reach the same level as Fang Xing. Although there were ways to purify Qi and strengthen physique, the flames Fang Xing had used were not of the “Blue Flame”, but rather a part of the True Samadhi Fire. The True Samadhi Fire itself was also not something found in the lower realm of humans; it was only natural there would be no comparison.

　　Of course, it would take Tie Rukuang at least another good three to five years to find out something was amiss. Fang Xing was not at all worried about his little secret being discovered.

　　Tie Rukuang considered the situation for quite some time and realized there was no way he would be able to keep this boy with him forever. If the sect master were to know of Fang Xing’s excellent foundation, it was likely that the boy would be immediately welcomed into the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute, something that Tie Rukuang would not be able to refuse. Fang Xing had built his foundation using improved Blue-Flame Grand Smithing techniques, and his physique and strength made him suitable to be a Battle Cultivator; for Tie Rukuang to forcibly keep Fang Xing behind would actually hold the child back from a bright future.

　　Tie Rukuang thought on it even more. The requirements to enter the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute had been lowered and the treatment of its disciples had been improved to rival that of the core disciples. If Tie Rukuang sent Fang Xing, it would bring credit to the Duanzhen Valley and it was likely this little devil would be grateful to him. It could even be seen as returning a favor to Elder Bai. No matter which way one looked at it, there was no reason for Tie Rukuang to feel regret over this. ‘But above all, I need to somehow make sure that the bond between the boy and our Duanzhen Valley becomes a bit tighter so he accepts our valley deep in his heart….’

　　After a few moments had passed, he opened his mouth once more. “No matter what, you made a lot of trouble for me, you little bastard, so there has to be some form of punishment. I’ve decided to send you to at least a year of confinement first.”

　　Such a decision surprised Fang Xing and he cried out, “They forced me—”

　　“Bullsh*t. Even if they forced you, couldn’t you have used a more clever method?”

　　“Who was the one that gave me so little time? I had originally wanted to hand out plenty of Spirit Stones to have them cooperate, yet this bunch of bastards not only took the Spirit Stones, they also wanted to scam me! I was left with no choice but to show them who the real boss is!”

　　Tie Rukuang sighed. “What would it matter if they handed in their Refined Iron like that? You didn’t earn yourself any respect!”

　　“It doesn’t matter if they don’t respect me, as long as they’re scared of me!” Fang Xing responded with disdain.

　　Tie Rukuang was left speechless. “You may be able to terrify them for a short period, but are they going to be afraid of you forever?”

　　After pausing for a quick thought, Fang Xing responded with a serious tone, “After they’ve been scared for a long time, then they’ll start to respect me!”

　　Tie Rukuang was left speechless once again, unable to reason with Fang Xing and such absurd arguments. With a belly full of annoyance, he spoke with great purpose, “If you don’t want confinement, it’s possible to get out of it. But you’ll have to make up for it by providing me with a meritorious deed!”

　　Fang Xing’s eyes glistened. “What sort of meritorious deed?”

　　Tie Rukuang laughed. “There’s a big event happening within the sect, and all four valleys will have to send disciples out on a mission….”

　　Once Tie Rukuang recounted the plan from the chief elders and sect master at the Qing-Yun Peak, Fang Xing began to grow excited. “So, you mean you really want me to be the leader for Duanzhen Valley?”

　　This was indeed what Tie Rukuang had in mind, as it now seemed that there was no better choice by now. The sect master had made clear that the true purpose behind this mission was to pick out suitable saplings to be nurtured as the sect’s Battle Cultivators, after all; the choice of who to send wasn’t based on their achievements in smithing or their chosen discipline, but rather on actual strength in combat. Although the boy had a low cultivation level, his battle power was extremely high and there was no one more suitable within the entire Duanzhen Valley.

　　When Tie Rukuang saw Fang Xing become so excited, however, he began to consider otherwise. After moments of hesitation and deep thought, Tie Rukuang continued, “This is what I had in mind, yes. But even though you have enough battle power for this, I’m afraid you lack the experience. I will prepare someone to help you.”

　　Fang Xing suddenly grew annoyed. “In that case, do I listen to him, or does he listen to me?”

　　Tie Rukuang replied without even a second of hesitation, “If he speaks, you will listen.”

　　It was now Fang Xing’s turn to be speechless. ‘Then what was the point of me being the leader?’ What Fang Xing didn’t know was that Tie Rukuang had come to this decision after quite a great deal of thought. Tie Rukuang was certain that Fang Xing’s battle power and strength would ensure that the Duanzhen Valley disciples would be much safer, but Fang Xing’s temperament was unreliable; if he had truly allowed Fang Xing to be in charge of everything during the mission, it would have been irresponsible towards his pupils. As such, he had the idea of assigning a more mature disciple to aid and control Fang Xing.

　　To be frank, Fang Xing would be the leader, but only on the surface and would only be needed when there was a problem. If things were going well, all he’d have to do is be present.

　　“Now go back, and don’t go harassing Ye Tianlong and the rest of them, or else I’ll really throw you into confinement! No exceptions!” Tie Rukuang bid Fang Xing to return for now while he pondered upon who would be a suitable candidate to control the boy.

　　“Not a problem. As long as they don’t come annoying me again, I promise not to beat them!” Fang Xing solemnly vowed before grabbing his [Saber of Azure Dragon] and leaving the cave with excitement.

　　‘Hrm? Why is this kid so surprisingly obedient all of a sudden?’ Tie Rukuang felt somewhat perplexed when he saw Fang Xing off. It wasn’t until the silhouette disappeared that Tie Rukuang recalled something.

　　“That little bastard, he took my Immortal’s Snare….”

　　—

　　[1] vodka: The original was a very strong Chinese wine named 烧刀子 (shao1 dao1 zi), literally “burning knife”. The wine originated from the Northeastern province of Liaoning (辽宁) with a very high alcohol content (usually between 65-75%), and its taste is like being burned by fire with a “rough” texture, akin to being cut by knives (hence its name).