A group of two youngsters, a young man, and a fox were walking along a shabby road in an otherwise resplendent city. In the merchant district, the philosophy of fashion over function had prevailed. Here, only function existed.

On the right, they observed a billowing forge out in the open air. A spiritual blacksmith pounded a piece of heated metal continuously, not stopping for a single breath. His apprentices were both channeling flames into the furnace, struggling to keep the metal at a consistently high temperature. Everyone was sweating profusely.

The smith used a spiritual hammer to forge the piece of metal. It was clear and fragile-looking yet harder than any metal Cha Ming had ever heard of. It shone with a bright white glow. Hong Lai had instructed Cha Ming on the subject previously. The clear hammer was condensed with pure spiritual force, which meant that it was also free from any material imperfections. It was the perfect instrument for forging an enchanted weapon.

Soon their group had passed the forge and stumbled upon an open-doored shop. Hong Lai motioned for the group to follow him inside, where they were greeted with a dazzling spectacle. To one side, a pile of roughly cut colored stones was stuffed in a corner. The odd loose stone had found its way to the path that ran through the middle of the store.

On the other side, there was a clear display case. Bright and colorful gems and intricate carvings had been mounted inside. One of the carvings, a life-sized statue of a fierce rabbit, had been carved out of pure emerald and covered in glittering runes. Its eyes were made of rubies, which appeared to be naturally embedded in the giant emerald gemstone. But could such a coincidence really occur in nature? The rubies glittered fiercely, and somehow Cha Ming could sense a baleful aura emanating from the carving.

In another corner of the workshop, a cluttered work desk was covered in glittering piles of dust. These were evidently precious gem shavings, which had been chipped off with specialized carving tools. Hong Lai explained that these tools were all composed of soul alloy and were inscribed with runes that increased hardness and sharpness. A middle-aged man was using one such carving tool to carve a small dragon out of a piece of purple jade. His motions were fluid and well practiced, a testament to the many years he had spent perfecting his craft.

Hong Lai was here for a few specific pieces. He paid an unknown amount of spirit stones to obtain eighteen uncut and unpolished red stones. They were covered in a familiar metallic sheen. Clearly Hong Lai was planning on crafting them each into a protective lotus brooch to fulfill his prior promise.

"Brother Hong," Cha Ming said, "with everything that you've done for us so far, there's really no need to compensate us for the brooch any longer." The recommendation he was about to receive was worth much more than these minor trinkets.

"Nonsense!" the man replied with full gusto. "It's not only to compensate you. Rather, I want to see the result of the final product after modifications. I also want you to evaluate the final product. It's something you owe me, after all."

Cha Ming was unable to deny the man's request. After the purchase was completed, they continued onward down the same ill-maintained street. As they walked, the buildings became more and more decrepit. There were even several abandoned buildings with for-sale signs attached to them.

Finally, at the end of the road, they saw a small wooden shack. It was covered in holes and seemed like it could barely stand up to the light morning breeze. Hong Lai didn't stand on ceremony and directly entered the building. Cha Ming and the others followed suit. The inside of the building was completely different than what they had imagined.

They were now standing in a warmly lit brick house draped in luxurious velvet carpets. Several pillars supported the ceiling on this single-floored abode. They were decorated with simple yet beautiful carvings, which infused the mansion with a lively and playful atmosphere.

A few loud footsteps were heard as a wiry old man of average height walked out of a room off to the side. A pair of goggles was hanging around his neck, and his toned body was covered in a layer of sweat. He had clearly been busy in his workshop until just a few moments ago. Retirement was obviously a relative term in the weaponsmithing world.

"Welcome to my humble abode," said the white-haired old man. "I hear one of you wants me to craft them an obscenely large weapon out of pure soul alloy." Not waiting for them to speak, the man grabbed a towel from a nearby shelf and wiped the grime from his face and arms. The blue towel was covered in a thin white powder.

Cha Ming stepped forward and greeted the elder. "Master Bei, Brother Hong has informed me you are the best spiritual blacksmith for forging soul-alloy weapons in the city. I'll be heading out on the rescue mission in one week, and I was hoping to have you craft me a new battle staff by the time I set out."

"All right," the man said. "Exactly how much soul alloy do you have on you? You might not know this, but looks can be very deceiving with this material. It's also surprisingly heavy. People just don't know about this little detail because they are used to dealing with small, thin objects like carving knives or herb-gathering knives."

Rather than explaining in words, Cha Ming dumped out a small pile of refined soul alloy onto the floor. There were 240 chunks in total. Without standing on ceremony, Master Bei walked up to the pile and brought up one of the soul chunks to his eye. He then took out a vicious-looking knife from his tool belt and chopped the ball in half. He observed the insides carefully and even licked the freshly cut surface.

"Not bad," Master Bei said, nodding. "This will be enough. How much do you weigh? And how long do you want the staff?"

"I weigh about 190 jin. Ideally, the staff would be seventy-two inches long and two inches thick," Cha Ming replied.

"Fair enough. The primary consideration for building the staff is its unmodified weight relative to yours and its length. The thickness can be adjusted accordingly. Let's step outside for a bit," the old man said. He led them to a brightly lit courtyard. His "humble abode" was obviously a spatial treasure, as the shack they had seen previously most certainly could not accommodate such a large mansion. The man brought them to a small dueling pad, which the man stepped onto.

"Show me what you got, boy! Don't hold anything back!" the man yelled as a clear sledgehammer materialized in his hands. Though he was a foundation-establishment expert, he had restricted his cultivation to the sixth level of qi condensation. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to restrict his fleshly body strength; the pressure of a dual body and qi refiner flooded out from him like a breached dam.

Cha Ming didn't hesitate and took out his staff. Simultaneously, a group of seventy-two white soul pearls spread out to restrict the man's movements. They moved into a complex formation whose basic shape was akin to the simplest snowflake. As a result, the cold-based suppression on the man's movement reached an all-time high. As Cha Ming moved, the snowflake formation followed with Cha Ming as its center.

Since this was a demonstration and not an all-out battle to the death, Cha Ming displayed every movement he could. He zipped around with his Shearing Staff Art and Seven Cloud Steps, utilizing his advantage in movement speed. Despite his best attempts, Bei Ling's physical body was much too strong, and the slight cuts he managed to inflict on the older man's fierce body healed almost instantly.

Cha Ming attempted a different approach. If physical strikes didn't work, he would try energy attacks. Instantly, the snowflake formation surrounding him formed a vivid forest. The forest quickly burst into flames, surrounding the man in a blazing inferno.

"Hah!" the older man yelled, holding out his arms arrogantly. "You dare to use fire against me, a person who plays with fire during his every waking hour?"

The smug look was replaced with a look of shock as the flaming power was quickly converted into a formation that looked like several overlapping circles. The wood-and-fire-fueled quaking formation concentrated all its powers of vibration on a single point, greatly weakening the man's defense and stability. Cha Ming took advantage of his surprise to increase his weight using Mountain Stance, and he smashed downward with a vicious Quake Staff.

For the first time, the older man was forced to block. Unsurprisingly, Cha Ming was forced backward due to the recoil of his technique. Yet he pressed forward quickly with Burst Steps and used Sword Staff to leave a few nicks on the man's torso.

"My turn!" the man exclaimed. He grabbed his war hammer with both hands, lunging forward with incredible speed. Cha Ming was forced to cancel his quake formation and rematerialize the frost formation. With Bei Ling's speed decreased, he managed to deflect a few fierce blows with his Wading Through the Reeds Staff Art, complementing it with his White Willow Shade movement technique. His deceptive movements were used to walk around the fierce man's relentless assault.

After a few breaths, the man's attack pattern changed. He was now anticipating Cha Ming's movements. He was clearly an experienced fighter. Accordingly, Cha Ming decided to prevent the man's assault with his Trapping Staff Art. Sometimes he interrupted the man's footwork for fractions of a second, buying himself time to outmaneuver him. Other times he proactively struck the man's hammer at the beginning of its movement arc, nullifying the attack entirely and disrupting his rhythm.

Frustrated, the man flung himself backward. "Let's see how you receive this technique!" Suddenly, the clear hammer he was holding started glowing with a metallic sheen. He then blew out a burst of roaring flames, which were also infused into the hammer. He raised the hammer up above his head and unleashed a fast and powerful strike. Seeing that he couldn't dodge this blow, Cha Ming could only block.

Cha Ming's heart palpitated as he reacted quickly. His pearls underwent three transformations. An inferno was infused into the quaking formation, which then infused itself into a peerless blade. The blade struck out, splitting apart the oncoming wave of power with pure sharpness.

The response was very effective, greatly diminishing the man's attack power. To confront the remaining power of the attack, Cha Ming held out his staff and executed the rarely used Flaming Wheel Defense Technique, which specialized in absorbing energy and projectile attacks. This managed to cancel out most of it, but the remaining power struck Cha Ming straight in the chest. Instead of taking it directly, however, he used the force to propel himself backward and skated into the direction of the force. The remainder was dissipated over a short amount of time, and Cha Ming finally came to a halt at the edge of the dueling platform.

A trickle of blood ran down Cha Ming's mouth, an indication of internal wounds. The original blow to his chest had still hit him, despite his best efforts at negating it. In response, he quickly formed a healing formation, completely restoring the damage he had just sustained.

"Now that was the best fight I've had in ages! I barely ever get to fight anyone nowadays, and my old bones can't stand traveling like they used to." Bei Ling's hammer dissipated, revealing his joyful expression. He wasn't even breathing hard.

With a wave of his hand, the man brought out a copper mirror. "Have you ever taken a qi imprint before?" Seeing Cha Ming nod, the man repeated the process that Cha Ming had undergone previously with Zhang Yifeng.

After retrieving the plate, the man walked off toward his workshop. "I've gotten some inspiration for your weapon, so I'm starting right now. I won't be seeing you off. Come back in six days to collect your staff, and I'll keep the rest of the soul alloy as my fee." With those words, he shut the door to his workshop. A click indicated that he locked the door from the inside.

"How was my teacher, Cha Ming?" Hong Lai asked when Cha Ming emerged. He had an expectant look laced with a slight bit of concern.

"Your teacher seems to be in excellent health, Hong Lai. If I were to describe his fighting style in any way, it would be: tyrannical, vigorous, and domineering!" Hearing Cha Ming's words, Hong Lai let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good," Hong Lai said. "Master is pushing one hundred and seventy years. You should know that foundation-establishment experts have a maximum lifespan of 200 years. However, that's in an ideal case. Every injury sustained can reduce this substantially, and my teacher is no stranger to battle and hardship."

Cha Ming, Gong Lan, and Huxian left Hong Lai at his master's abode. They left the shabby shack and the rundown street and made their way to the middle of town, where Zhang Yifeng resided. They were greeted at the door of an opulent house by a neatly dressed butler. He escorted them to a well-furnished lounging area, where they didn't wait long before the aged alchemist walked in.

Zhang Yifeng didn't betray Cha Ming's expectations. "You're in luck, young man. I succeeded in concocting two out of three stoves for these Barrier Breaker pills. The ingredients that I chose to complement your cultivation method also interacted beneficially with each other, creating pills of a higher quality than usual. Please use these pills to further strengthen yourself before we leave."

After Cha Ming bowed in thanks, the man quickly left to continue his pill concoction. Cha Ming imagined that preparing thirty stoves of high-quality pills was very taxing. Zhang Yifeng would likely get very little sleep in the upcoming week. And Cha Ming as well, as he immediately secluded himself to break through, with Huxian standing guard. Gong Lan went to the local arena to spar with the various mercenaries and nobles that were participating in the upcoming mission. It had been many days since she'd drawn blood.

***

Feng Ming urged his horse forward through a wide stream. He was careful not to guide it through any rocky areas for fear of the spraining the beast's ankle. The horse had accompanied him on their desperate week-long journey. The first few days had been uneventful, but the remaining days had brought rider after rider in hot pursuit.

He thanked the army's survival and anti-tracking training, which had enabled him to survive so long. Three quarters of the journey to Fairweather City was complete, but this last quarter would be the most challenging.

He had found it increasingly difficult to proceed. Not only had his wounds worsened, but they refused to heal despite the copious amounts of medicinal ointments he had applied or the pills he had taken. If that wasn't enough, he continued to stumble upon one misfortune after another.

For example, on the third day of his journey, the small lean-to he had erected for shelter from the rain was struck by lightning. The next day, he realized that the "grass" his horse was nibbling was actually an irritating weed that looked similar to grass. This caused the horse a significant amount of discomfort and diarrhea, which slowed their progress. Finally, they accidentally stumbled upon a small field of poisonous nettles, which covered them in a fierce rash from head to toe.

Despite these inconveniences, he and the horse carried on. If he didn't deliver the news, the whole army could suffer. He didn't want his carelessness to lead to the death of any more good men or innocent civilians.

Then yesterday, the riders had come. There were three in total, and their dogged pursuit left him no room to breathe and no room to sleep. They each had an extra horse, which meant that—at the very least—their horses were getting rest while his could not. The men were lightly armored but carried deadly weapons. Feng Ming didn't feel that he was a match for any of them, even if they weren't monsters. He still hadn't confirmed this fact.

Run around in circles to confuse your enemy, he recited his instructor's teachings mentally. Use rivers as natural covers to mask your movements. Cover your tracks while exiting the river to ensure you maximize your enemy's lost time. Counter tracking isn't necessarily about completely evading your enemy's tracking method; rather, it's about rendering it cost-ineffective. In this way, even an injured man can buy himself time to escape multiple pursuers.

He didn't dare slack off as they exited the stream several hundred feet away from where he had entered. He had covered their tracks as they entered, and now he hopped off his horse to cover their tracks while exiting. Once again, his bad luck resurfaced as he tripped in a well-concealed hole and twisted his ankle. Thankfully, it wasn't broken.

Ignoring the pain, he continued his meticulous work. The tracks were soon well covered, and he urged his exhausted horse to continue moving forward.

***

The brigand leader, Zi Shen, was carefully following concealed tracks in the woods. It was his third time going over this specific set, as he had been led in circles by deceptive movements two consecutive times. Thankfully only three circles overlapped this time, and he was eventually able to continue following the correct path.

Soon the tracks became increasingly obvious. He thanked his luck only for a short while—the tracks he had been following had split into three once more. He observed the three different paths for a long while before picking a path to follow at random. Just as he was about to head down that path, he noticed a trace of red a small distance down another path.

Oh? His wounds happened to reopen again? The last time this had happened, Zi Shen had gotten lucky and found the correct path on the first try.

One hour later, he stumbled again upon his most hated obstacle—a stream. Shit. Finding tracks after an enemy crossed a stream was a daunting task. Sometimes his quarry had moved upstream for a thousand feet before finally heading out again. At other times, the victim darted back in the opposite direction. Therefore, it was vital to first check upstream and downstream on this side of the river before proceeding to the next. It turned out to be a phenomenal waste of time.

The river cost him several hours before he finally found the correct path. This time, the hidden tracks had been revealed by an overturned stone next to a small concealed hole. He hoped that his prey had twisted his ankle or something. While he enjoyed the hunt, this prey was too tricky for his liking.

He preferred easy prey, the type that he could toy around with for a while, like fish in a barrel.