Chapter 268: Emperor of Great Zhou

　　Before long, shadows appeared in the night and the sound of wings flapping could be heard.

　　A large group of Azure Falcon guards arrived, covering the skies densely and almost surrounding the entire Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop.

　　“Greetings, commander.”

　　Many Azure Falcon guards that were riding on Azure Falcons cupped their fists in unison and shouted.

　　Everyone’s gaze swept across the courtyard and could not help but feel secretly shocked when they saw the tragic battlefield.

　　The bearded man nodded and waved his hand. “Take this corpse away. You guys can leave first. I’ll continue guarding here for the night lest anymore ruffians try to assassinate Mr. Mo.”

　　“Understood!”

　　On the surface, the many Azure Falcon guards obeyed readily.

　　However, everyone’s hearts stirred.

　　Even though Mo Ling was very famous in the capital in recent years, the bearded man was the commander of the Azure Falcon guards and there was no need for him to stand guard personally.

　　With the actions displayed by the bearded man, Mo Ling’s status in everyone’s hearts rose again.

　　Before long, the Azure Falcon guards retreated.

　　Only the bearded man, Nian Qi and Night Spirit who was sprawled in a corner with half-opened eyes, seemingly napping, were left in the courtyard.

　　The wait was arduous.

　　The bearded man’s gaze was fixed on Su Zimo’s secret chamber for weapon refinement – he had never felt that a night could be so long.

　　Six hours passed by that silent night.

　　At the first break of dawn, the door of the secret chamber opened with a creak.

　　Su Zimo strode out with a gigantic hammer in his hands.

　　Instantly, the bearded man bounced up from his seat and hurried towards Su Zimo excitedly.

　　When he approached, he received the hammer in Su Zimo’s hands and felt his arm sink – he would fall if he did not use all his strength!

　　The weight was sufficient!

　　The bearded man nodded to himself.

　　Focusing his attention, he looked at the four spirit patterns on the surface of the hammer that were beautiful like a work of the heavens.

　　“Could it be…”

　　The bearded man’s eyes lit up as he channeled his Golden Core and injected spirit energy.

　　Swoosh!

　　The hammer shone brightly and an aura that was as strong as the Earth spread out with four dazzling spirit patterns!

　　A supreme-grade spirit weapon!

　　The bearded man was overjoyed and could not hide the excitement in his eyes. Bowing deeply to Su Zimo, he said sincerely, “Thank you, Mr. Mo!”

　　For Su Zimo, refining a supreme-grade spirit weapon required no effort at all. However, the favor was too much for the bearded man.

　　The bearded man said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Mr. Mo. From today on, as long as it’s time for the Azure Falcon guards to patrol, I’ll definitely move around more in the vicinity. If anything strange happens, I can arrive on the scene at the first moment!”

　　Su Zimo smiled. “I’ll have to trouble you then, sir.”

　　…

　　The next afternoon.

　　News of the assassination attempt in Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop had already spread through the capital and created a huge stir.

　　There was no secret that could be hidden forever in the world.

　　Furthermore, the event happened within the capital.

　　The blinding formation light that shone from Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop the previous night illuminated the surroundings like daylight and woke countless people up.

　　“Have you heard? It’s said that Golden Cores were sent to assassinate Mr. Mo last night. Not only did they fail, they even died at the shores of Jishui River!”

　　“That’s right! I heard that even the commander of the Azure Falcon guards was activated!”

　　“I witnessed it personally! Some of the Azure Falcon guards carried an unrecognizable corpse out. That person clearly died tragically,” A cultivator said in a serious tone.

　　“Some cultivators who claim to have met Mr. Mo said that he’s a Foundation Establishment Cultivator! Fufu, I’m now quite clear that Mr. Mo is definitely a Golden Core or he wouldn’t have been able to survive last night.”

　　“I told you long ago that Mr. Mo is a Golden Core. How else could he refine superior-grade and even supreme-grade spirit weapons?”

　　Through the streets and alleys, restaurants and inns, markets and shops, everyone was discussing this matter.

　　Within the palace.

　　A yellow-robed middle-aged man sat leaned against a throne with an account memorial that was placed on the table before him not long ago. His gaze was deep and his wide forehead symbolized his profound wisdom.

　　Behind the middle-aged man was a scholarly man who bore a calm expression and restrained eyes – his cultivation was unfathomable.

　　The yellow-robed man was none other than the Emperor of Great Zhou!

　　Nearby the Emperor of Great Zhou, a Golden Core in azure armor knelt on one knee. He had a dark face with a beard and was none other than the commander of the Azure Falcon guards who had saved Su Zimo the previous night.

　　Earlier on, the bearded man was summoned by the emperor to the imperial court where he recounted the events of the previous night in detail.

　　“Does that mean that this Mo Ling is truly able to refine supreme-grade spirit weapons?” After pondering a while with his eyes closed, the emperor opened his eyes and asked with a burning look. His tone revealed the doubts that he had.

　　“Yes!”

　　The bearded man replied, “Not only can he refine supreme-grade spirit weapons, he only took six hours! Furthermore, be it Mr. Mo or his maidservant, they gave me the feeling that he’s able to conduct spirit gathering with 100% certainty.”

　　“100% confidence in spirit gathering?”

　　The emperor murmured and narrowed his gaze.

　　If that was truly the case, this news could shake the entire cultivation world!

　　“Perfected Lord Ming Ze, what do you think?” The emperor glanced askance.

　　The title of Perfected Lord meant that this person was a Nascent Soul!

　　The scholarly man standing behind him said, “In Tianhuang Mainland, Hundred Refinement Sect possesses the most brilliant techniques for weapon refinement. It’s said that Hundred Refinement Sect has techniques that can increase the success rate of spirit gathering, but it’s definitely impossible to claim a 100% success rate.”

　　The emperor nodded. “This person must have some sort of a unique spirit gathering technique. Even though it’s not 100%, the success rate must be extremely high!”

　　“Fufu… not bad, this Mo Ling is quite a character.”

　　The emperor smiled as he nodded his head with a hint of admiration.

　　“Your Majesty, you’re keen on this talented person?” Perfected Lord Ming Ze asked with a chuckle.

　　“That’s right.”

　　The emperor replied, “Wait for a while. When I’m free, we’ll go to Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop and meet this person.”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze frowned and advised against it, “Your Majesty, you are the emperor. Even if this person is quite a character, he’s not worthy of you making a personal visit. You can just summon him into the palace.”

　　“Furthermore, even if he can refine supreme-grade spirit weapons, he’s nothing but a Weapon Refinement Master. As long as his cultivation realm is not at Nascent Soul, he will not be able to refine Dharmic weapons and he will never become a Weapon Refinement Grandmaster.”

　　Attaining Nascent Soul realm meant that the cultivator had made yet another critical step on the path of cultivation!

　　At perfected Golden Core, it meant that one was at the end of the path for core formation.

　　Born in one’s dantian, the Golden Core was round and golden like a fetus.

　　One could only attain a breakthrough in their cultivation realm and achieve a new life after breaking the Golden Core and allowing the fetus to be born successfully!

　　That fetus was what was known as the Nascent Soul in the cultivation world.

　　Therefore, there were many rumors about how to break the core and attain a nascent soul in the cultivation world.

　　Nascent Soul Perfected Lords were completely detached from the realm of spirit energy and have control over a completely different form of energy – Dharmic powers!

　　This was an energy that was stronger and more terrifying than spirit energy.

　　That was also why only Nascent Souls could release Dharma arts.

　　Dharmic weapons were used by Nascent Souls.

　　In the world of weapon refinement, only cultivators that can refine Dharmic weapons could earn the title of Weapon Refinement Grandmasters!

　　That was why Perfected Lord Ming Ze was direct to point out that Su Zimo was unable to refine Dharmic weapons due to his limited cultivation realm. As such, he was not worthy of the Emperor of Great Zhou’s high regard for a personal visit.