Within the forge, fires raged and cast dark shadows across the gray, sterilized walls of Tang Qi Hong's workshop.

As always, Tang Qi Hong was busy. Today, she had seven furnaces burning at once, each of a different size and possessing different contents. Underneath the furnaces, thick yang qi burned, manifesting in incredibly power flames that turned the bottom of the furnaces red-hot. A short distance away from the furnaces were shelves that were stacked from top to bottom with rare spirit materials and qi ores.

Having been to Tang Qi Hong's workshop before, I wasn't too surprised by what I saw. However, Zi Xiao Ji, Zhao Shi and Da Ge found themselves gaping in awe at the forge belonging to the top inner sect disciple of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to marvel or express their amazement. They were only allowed in on the condition that they wouldn't make any noise and disturb Tang Qi Hong's blacksmithing process.

Tang Qi Hong herself was fluttering from furnace to furnace, throwing spirit materials into each of them and refining them or doing whatever she needed to turn them into weapons. And I was slightly behind, trying to grab stuff off the shelves.

"Eight Mystical Earthly Branches! Throw them into furnace four!"

"Roger that!"

"One kilogram of Divine Iron Ore, throw them into furnace three!"

"Understood!"

"Two pieces of Stellar Steel bars, furnace number seven!"

"Got it!"

Even as Tang Qi Hong moved, she was issuing instructions at a rapid rate. It was all I could do to holler back and follow her orders to the letter. Grabbing the specific spirit materials that Tang Qi Hong requested, I tossed them into the corresponding furnaces at whatever time she wanted me to put them in, then hopping back to the shelves.

While Tang Qi Hong danced at the center of the circle of furnaces, I was circling outside the fiery ring, collecting spirit materials and throwing them into whatever furnace as ordered. Perspiration dripped down my face as I struggled to catch my breath, but before I could even inhale, Tang Qi Hong had already moved on to the next cauldron, with a new request.

I was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one struggling. Tang Qi Hong was perspiring profusely as well, her face red from the exertion. Even so, she looked overjoyed, completely in her element as she stirred, melded or refined the contents of her furnaces.

Whoosh!

"Cough!"

I almost gagged as I caught a whiff of smoke that fumed from the seven furnaces. Tremendous heat permeated the interior of the workshop, almost suffocating me. Unfortunately, I had an elemental affinity with ice, not fire, so I found myself completely smothered by my current surroundings. Like a fish out of water, or to be more precise, like a fish in a frying pan.

Ugh..

I had no choice but to expend significant amounts of frosty yin qi to form a protective aura around me to protect me from the tremendous heat, otherwise I would have shriveled up and died from dehydration and burns.

Finally, Tang Qi Hong stopped and she flopped down in the middle of the circle of furnaces in a cross-legged position.

"Now I've to begin the Spirit Engraving process. I need you to help me by adding the relevant spirit materials whenever necessary."

"Okay."

I nodded and observed her. Tang Qi Hong wiped the perspiration from her forehead, her face just as red as mine, and she smiled.

"Make sure you keep up! I'm counting on you!"

"I'll do my best."

"I know you will." Tang Qi Hong then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I watched, awestruck, as the bracelets on her wrists glowed and unleashed blasts of fire.

Whoa!

Resisting the impulse to take a step back, I watched as Tang Qi Hong's normally pale arms redden under the furious glow. Unaffected by the divine flames that now wreathed her, Tang Qi Hong launched into her Spirit Engraving process, her hands flickering through the air and drawing fiery symbols in the air.

Those are..!

High grade Spirit Engravings. There was no mistake. I watched in awe as the fiery symbols, circles and diagrams hovered ferociously in the air for a few seconds, their numbers and complexity increasing as Tang Qi Hong continued to weave more intricate patterns into them, adding to the volume and potency of such Engravings.

And with a flick of her hands, she sent all the flaming symbols into the seven furnaces. The fiery Spirit Engravings all disappeared into the furnaces and merged with the stewing spirit materials within, amplifying their power and enchanting the artifacts.

Boom!

However, several of these mergers turned out to be incredibly volatile. A single furnace trembled and shook violently as explosions rocked its interior when the spirit materials ignited under the blazing domination of its new Spirit Engraving.

"Soothing Ice Jade! Hurry!" Tang Qi Hong shouted even without opening her eyes. "Furnace five, three pieces of Soothing Ice Jade!"

I wasn't even given any time to think. Acting on reflex, I grabbed the Soothing Ice Jade from the shelf beside me and immediately threw them into furnace five.

Sizzle..

Thankfully, the moment the Soothing Ice Jade sank into the contents of furnace five, the violent explosions ceased and the reactions began to calm down. I could finally let out an exhalation of relief as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Phew."

"It's not over yet," Tang Qi Hong told me, amused. Her eyes were still closed, but she was aware of everything that happened inside her workshop. I didn't find that surprising. After all, this was her territory, her domain.

Gulping, I waited for the next set of instructions.

Tang Qi Hong didn't disappoint. Her orders came out fast and furious, and I struggled to keep up, running up and down the shelves to grab whatever spirit materials she asked for and tossing them into the appropriate furnace. I wasn't a measuring machine, so I had to estimate the quantity. Fortunately, I had my glasses, which had a built in measuring device in my lenses, so I could grab a fairly accurate amount or weight of whatever material Tang Qi Hong asked for, and threw them in accordingly. Banzai for advanced technology!

On the other hand, Tang Qi Hong's movements only seemed to grow faster and more animated. Her hands danced across the air, tracing and weaving more intricate Spirit Engravings and inscribing them into the contents within the seven different furnaces. As she did so, her instructions accelerated, almost catching me off guard.

You've got to be kidding me!

Panting, I dashed to the shelves, occasionally relying on my footwork techniques just to keep up with the increased rate of orders that Tang Qi Hong was issuing. I was disappearing into a black blur within the cave (come to think of it, wearing black in a sweltering workshop full of fires is not a good idea), blitzing from one end to the other just to grab whatever spirit materials Tang Qi Hong wanted.

Finally..mercifully, the orders ceased. Tang Qi Hong gradually stopped the inscription of her Spirit Engravings and fell silent. She just sat on the meditation mat quietly, almost as if she was resting. Exhausted to the point of collapse, I used this opportunity to sit down and regain my strength as well. While leaning against the wall, I glanced at the seven furnaces in the enormous workshop and tried to recall the movements and Engravings that Tang Qi Hong demonstrated. There was a lot I could learn from her.

"Yao Tai..really was a low-ranking blacksmith," Zi Xiao Ji whispered from the entrance of the workshop.

"WHO THE HELL IS YAO TAI!?" I yelled before I could stop myself.

"Someone at Nebula Pavilion," Zi Xiao Ji replied.

"What the hell is Nebula Pavilion?!"

"Miss, this isn't Spirit Realm," Zhao Shi reminded Zi Xiao Ji, who frowned and shrugged. Before the little lady could say anything else, she also quickly added, "And this isn't Sword Dynasty either."

"Aw.."

"Didn't I tell you guys that you can only watch if you keep quiet?" Tang Qi Hong growled from where she was sitting. The two girls immediately shut up after that.

As for me, I turned back to study Tang Qi Hong's figure, trying to burn into my memory her movements and Spirit Engravings. I needed to try them out when I returned to my workshop. Since I still had the Ice Soul Python armored scales that I was planning to use to forge a couple of weapons, after all..

A long time passed before Tang Qi Hong finally spoke up again.

"Put out the fires!"

Before I could obey, Tang Qi Hong was already moving her hands and executing some fire technique. Dense yang qi flowed out of her hands and streaked toward the seven furnaces. Upon contact, the divine flames that blazed under them immediately retreated into promethium pipes that led all the way back toward the heart of the volcano.

The interior of the workshop instantly dimmed, the only illumination afforded by the fluorescent light hanging above in the ceiling. I breathed a sigh of relief as the temperature also fell, the heat receding along with the volcanic flames.

"Wu, can you use your ice techniques to cool down the furnaces and speed up the formation of the spirit artifacts within?"

"Roger that."

At Tang Qi Hong's behest, I stood up and approached the furnaces. Taking a deep breath, I channeled my frosty yin qi toward the furnaces and cooled them down. The moment my frosty yin qi touched the furnaces, thick, white fog billowed across the workshop. Ghostly tendrils obscured the sight of everyone inside the workshop, settling down in a dense cloud that enfolded everything within its snowy embrace.

I moved from one furnace to another, freezing them with my icy qi and cooling both the furnace and the spirit artifact contained within. When I finally finished the last one, I slowly withdrew.

Normally, because vision was obscured, if this was an anime, it would lead to a "lucky" accident where I crashed into the heroine and end up in an embarrassing position. Fortunately this was reality, so no such lucky accidents occurred. Furthermore, with my Heaven and Earth sense, I could detect not only Tang Qi Hong but also the positions of Zi Xiao Ji, Da Ge and Zhao Shi.

"Speaking of which, don't you have your own spirit armaments to forge, Xiao Ji?" Tang Qi Hong asked, irritated.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I do!" Zi Xiao Ji replied cheerfully.

"Then why are you wasting your time here?"

"Protecting Brother Wu takes priority!"

"We're the ones protecting him, though," Zhao Shi muttered darkly under her breath. I was too tired to shape a retort.

"I'm here with Wu, I can protect him!" Tang Qi Hong snapped. "I don't need you to protect him when I'm around!"

"That won't do," Zi Xiao Ji argued. "What if Sister Qi Hong and Brother Wu get attacked while you're in the middle of forging? Your guard is down, and you'll be too distracted to sense any attack until it's too late!"

"The Miss has a point," Da Ge chuckled.

"Aren't you underestimating us too much?" Tang Qi Hong grumbled.

"If the other party is Liang Shao Yang, then we can't afford to underestimate him!" Zi Xiao Ji reminded her. "His Divine Shadow Sect specializes in assassination, you know!"

"To be fair, that probably means our presence wouldn't be much of a help," Zhao Shi pointed out in a low voice.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"Nobody's," Da Ge replied with another laugh.

"Anyway, just get out of my workshop and keep a look outside. I want to talk to Wu about something." Tang Qi Hong didn't sound very pleased.

"Ah!" Zi Xiao Ji suddenly sounded as if she had realized something. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize! Let's go, Shi and Ge! We're getting in the way of Sister Qi Hong and Brother Wu's private time together."

"What private time together?!" Tang Qi Hong snapped. "This..this isn't what you think it is! I just want to talk to him regarding sect business!"

"Have fun, you two!" Zi Xiao Ji was ignoring her as she stood up and waved. At least that was what I sensed, because visibility was still obscured. "Don't mind us!"

"Ugh..that brat!"

I sighed and shook my head. "Anyway, Tang Qi Hong..you said you have something to talk to me about?"

"Ah, that's right!" Tang Qi Hong nodded. "Wu, don't you..want to be an inner sect disciple?"

I shrugged. "Not really. If I become one, I become one. Otherwise, I'll just stay as your assistant."

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"You need more ambition than that." Tang Qi Hong sounded exasperated. "You're a very diligent and earnest person. Even though I'm not sure if you're really that talented in forging or Spirit Engraving, as long as you maintain your current attitude, I'm sure that you'll eventually be recognized by the inner sect elders as an inner sect disciple."

"Assuming that they're not biased against me," I muttered as I remembered the result of the trial a day ago.

"They might be biased, but they're not blind," Tang Qi Hong assured me. "There's no reason for them to deny someone from being an inner sect disciple if he or she can contribute greatly to the sect. they're more interested in results than favoring people they like."

"I hope so."

"What do you mean you hope so?" Tang Qi Hong sighed, annoyed. "Anyway, outer sect disciples ultimately exist to run errands and carry out chores like grinding or refining spirit materials. Yes, they can practice blacksmithing and use the furnaces throughout the sect to forge weapons and armaments, but the difference between them and an inner sect disciple is that only the latter are taught actual Spirit Engraving. The Spirit Engravings of the sect are highly guarded secrets, and only inner sect disciples are granted access to them. If you want to learn Spirit Engraving, you must become an inner sect disciple."

Assuming I actually want to learn Spirit Engraving, of course..

Not to mention, I already learned at least one Spirit Engraving, which was the Heaven and Earth Spirit Engraving that Master imparted to me. I doubted I needed any other Spirit Engravings. The path of a blacksmith was not for me.

"As you already know, Spirit Engravings are the souls and cores of weapons. Without them, you will not be able to create a true spirit armament."

Well, as I said, I already knew one Spirit Engraving, and that was good enough for me. Besides, why would I want to learn how to create a true spirit armament? I would rather invest all that time and effort into mastering Heaven and Earth Formula and becoming a powerful martial artist. My eventual goal was to restore and resurrect the Heaven and Earth Sect. the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was, in the end, just a stepping stone toward that goal.

The fog finally cleared and I could see Tang Qi Hong's beautiful face once again. She looked at me cheerfully and affectionately.

"That's it for today."

"Okay."

Tang Qi Hong stretched herself and stifled a yawn. "Sect Leader and Sect Mistress are returning today, so I have to get ready to receive them. I'll need to take a shower and dress up."

"I see."

Tang Qi Hong was regarded as the adoptive daughter of the sect leader and sect mistress of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, so she was naturally required to be present when they returned, for some sort of formal ceremony. Even if she wasn't, I knew her well enough to be certain that she would still want to go see them. They had been away for a very long time, and she had gotten a little lonely without them, to the extent where she had to come to my family to celebrate the New Year.

To be honest, I was quite happy for her.

"I'll send you a new assignment in a few days. I'll have you forge artifacts for me."

"Eh? But I.."

I wasn't confident of being able to actually forge spirit artifacts from scratch, but Tang Qi Hong merely smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll have you start small, and forge minor artifacts from the beginning. If you don't start, you'll never learn." She turned to stare outside her workshop and spoke louder. "Xiao Ji, make sure you take care of Wu for me."

"Yes~"

Zi Xiao Ji responded happily. I bowed my head politely, and then departed.

"Heh.."

"What is it?"

I stared at Zi Xiao Ji when I emerged from Tang Qi Hong's workshop. She had a mischievous expression.

"I'm surprised that Sister Qi Hong allowed you into her workshop. Over the last four years, except Sect Leader and Elder Hai Mo, no man has been allowed to step into her workshop. You're not bad at all, aren't you?"

"..this isn't my first time there, though.."

"And that's what is surprising!"

"Ha ha, you're thinking too much." Lian Rou chose that moment to show up. "Qi Hong and Fei Wu have been classmates and friends for years now. We're all in the same middle school and now, we're in the same class in high school. It's only natural that she would trust him. Not to mention, Fei Wu saved her life once. Or was it twice?"

"I don't remember," I muttered.

"Heh.." Zi Xiao Ji looked impressed. Lian Rou nodded.

"That's why Qi Hong likes.."

"Rou, what are you doing here?" Tang Qi Hong interrupted her before she could create some juicy gossip. Zi Xiao Ji looked a little disappointed, and even Zhao Shi seemed to be listening intently before the interruption.

"Oh, right. I just came back from Elder Zhao's office. I have some news for you." she looked around and lowered her voice. "The Blood Blades have some new information. Apparently, they suspect that Senior Hao Ying was the one who killed Long He. Senior Shen Cha and the investigative team managed to dig out some Intel and they found out that Hao Ying had been communicating with Long He very recently."

"Senior Hao Ying?" Tang Qi Hong's eyes widened in shock. "He killed Long He? But that's impossible! What reason would he have to kill Long He?"

"Hao Ying is very close to Liang Shao Yang," Lian Rou reminded her.

"..the person who tried to kill Wu." Tang Qi Hong narrowed her eyes. "But even so, what does Senior Hao Ying have anything to do with this? He's an inner sect disciple, and Liang Shao Yang is his assistant. Liang Shao Yang should be the one obeying him because Hao Ying is of a higher rank and status."

"Hao Ying is also from the Divine Shadow Sect."

This time, it was Zhao Shi who spoke up. Everyone turned to stare at her and she shrugged. Da Ge nodded.

"I heard about that too. He came in the same time as I did, and I'm positive he was from the Divine Shadow Sect."

"That's.."

Tang Qi Hong trailed off.

The next thing we knew, there was a commotion from below. Someone was screaming from the pavilion under Tang Qi Hong's.

Then it turned into a coherent babble.

"Senior Hao Ying! Senior Hao Ying is..dead!"

"That's.."

"Pang Yun's voice!"

Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou exchanged glances and immediately rushed below. I gulped and glanced at Da Ge, who nodded gravely.

"We should go check it out," he affirmed.