Everyone watched Lu Ren depart with envious eyes. They had already sensed that he would receive special attention from Li Fire Peak, but they never imagined it would happen so fast, with Elder Tie Fu summoning him directly.
By evening, news had spread: Elder Tie Fu had accepted Lu Ren as his Inner Disciple and would personally teach him the Weapon Forging Skill from now on.
’This guy’s practically a protagonist!’ Xu Yang thought with a sigh.
In just five or six short years, Lu Ren had truly experienced his share of ups and downs. He had been on the verge of being written off as a failure, but who would have thought he’d suddenly reveal such immense talent for weapon forging, earning the attention of a Li Fire Peak Elder and being accepted as an Inner Disciple.
An Inner Disciple was nothing like a Named Disciple such as himself. The master would not only keep them close for personal instruction but also provide them with resources. The Sect would also allocate additional resources their way.
After that day, Lu Ren was never seen in the Forging Pavilion again.
Xu Yang paid it no mind. He continued taking Gathering Essence Pills to raise his cultivation and practicing the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture, while making time during the day to go to the Forging Pavilion and keep up appearances.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed since he arrived at Li Fire Peak.
CLANG! CLANG!...
As the final hammer blow fell, a piece of Profound Iron giving off a dark luster appeared on the anvil.
[Thousand Forging Technique: Minor Achievement (1/300)]
His Thousand Forging Technique had finally reached the Minor Achievement Realm. Although he had used the panel to speed up his progress considerably, two months of practice had still burned through more than a thousand taels of silver.
’I can’t keep spending more than I earn,’ Xu Yang mused.
Unlike Outer Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples didn’t have a monthly requirement for contribution points, so their activities were much more flexible.
But if you didn’t do any missions, the Sect wasn’t going to support you for free.
Besides, items like the Leopard Embryo Muscle-Toning Pill and the Dragon Tiger Great Golden Pill could only be exchanged for with contribution points.
He had been in the Inner Sect for two months now, but without any contribution points, he was still relying on Gathering Essence Pills for his cultivation. The efficiency was undoubtedly much lower.
If he didn’t start doing some missions soon, Jiang Fan and the others might catch up to his cultivation level.
’Now that my Thousand Forging Technique has reached Minor Achievement, I’ll go learn the Gold Melting Skill, the Shaping Technique, and the Soldier Nurturing Skill. Then I have to take on some missions to earn contribution points.’
Once the Thousand Forging Technique reached the Minor Achievement Realm, one could begin learning other weapon forging methods.
There were only three years until the Secondary Dragon Ascension, and just breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm was no guarantee of success.
According to Jiang Fan, the intensity of the Secondary Dragon Ascension was a hundred times greater than the first. It was a true clash against all the prodigies of Yun Province’s younger generation.
The Purple Sun Sect was too small a pond. To go far on the Martial Dao, one had to move beyond the Purple Sun Sect.
The Purple Sun Sect’s legacy only extended to the Celestial Essence Realm. The greater heights of the Martial Dao were on a much broader stage: a place called the Celestial Strategy Academy, the number one Martial Arts Holy Land in all of Yun Province.
"You... Your Thousand Forging Technique reached the Minor Achievement Realm?"
Luo Xin’s face was a mask of utter shock!
Hadn’t Elder Huoyun judged that Xu Yang had no talent for weapon forging? How could he have possibly cultivated the Thousand Forging Technique to the Minor Achievement Realm?
He was certain he wasn’t mistaken about this piece of Profound Iron. Its properties and quality were greatly enhanced—this was definitely the quality one could only achieve after reaching the Minor Achievement Realm in the Thousand Forging Technique.
"Senior Brother Luo has a good eye!" Xu Yang said with a smile.
"Luo Xin, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Didn’t Elder Huoyun say Xu Yang has no talent for weapon forging? How could he possibly have reached Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique?"
Hearing this, a nearby disciple strode over, picked up the Profound Iron from the anvil in front of Xu Yang, and examined it repeatedly. His expression soon turned to shock as well. "It really is high-quality Profound Iron, forged to the standard of the Thousand Forging Technique’s Minor Achievement Realm."
"It really is!"
"Impossible! How could Elder Huoyun’s judgment be wrong?"
Others nearby were also drawn over, their faces filled with disbelief.
Xu Yang chuckled. "Senior Brothers, I believe you’ve misunderstood. Elder Huoyun only said my talent for weapon forging was poor; he never said I had no talent for it whatsoever."
Upon hearing this, the disciples had a sudden realization.
"Taking more than two months just to reach Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique... he really doesn’t have much talent. At best, he’ll only ever be able to forge Half-Spirit Weapons."
Luo Xin chuckled, the shock on his face vanishing.
Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. He took the piece of Profound Iron and immediately went to find Elder Huoyun.
"You still haven’t given up on learning the Weapon Forging Skill?"
Seeing the Profound Iron that Xu Yang brought, Elder Huoyun showed little surprise. Xu Yang did have some talent for weapon forging, just not much.
He believed that compared to the path of weapon forging, Xu Yang would go much further on the Martial Dao if he just focused on his cultivation. Seeing Xu Yang neglecting his primary duties like this, he immediately felt a pang of displeasure.
"This disciple greatly enjoys the Weapon Forging Skill and intends to study it in his spare time. I implore you, Master, to pass on the subsequent legacy techniques," Xu Yang said, clasping his hands respectfully.
’Study it in his spare time? With his level of talent, how could he have reached Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique in just two months? He must have poured all of his energy into it.’
Elder Huoyun grew even more displeased.
However, what a disciple chose to practice was their own freedom. Even as their master, it wasn’t his place to interfere.
"This is the path you have chosen. Just be sure you don’t regret it in the future."
He couldn’t be bothered to say more. He rose, pulled several books from the shelf behind him, and tossed them to Xu Yang, immediately waving him away.
Xu Yang returned to his courtyard and eagerly began to look through the books Elder Huoyun had given him: Gold Melting Skill, Shaping Technique, Soldier Nurturing Skill, Weapon Forging Skill... There were seven or eight books in total.
They covered everything from theory to practical application, from how to forge ordinary weapons to how to forge Half-Spirit Weapons, and even Spiritual Soldiers.
He had finally obtained the complete legacy of weapon forging.
Closing the door to his meditation chamber, Xu Yang began to read in earnest. The path of weapon forging, while perhaps not more profound than alchemy, was certainly more complex.
Material selection, hammering, shaping, quenching, weapon nurturing... Weapons forged from different materials each had their own unique requirements. To fully master all of this was by no means something that could be accomplished in a few months.
In the days that followed, Xu Yang became a complete shut-in, never leaving his residence except to eat.