Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Shu quickly ran and disappeared like a wisp of black smoke in the darkness.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot toward him.
Zhou Shu frowned slightly. He disappeared behind a tree in a flash and instantly retracted his aura.
Just as he completed these actions, a figure descended from the sky.
It was the man named Yin Changhao who had fought with Xiao Shunzhi earlier.
Yin Changhao looked around in confusion. The person he was looking for had actually disappeared. No wonder he dared to infiltrate Great Weiâs diplomatic mission.
He smiled and muttered in a low voice, âBrother, I know you havenât gone far. Please come out and meet me.
âJust now, if I didnât fight Xiao Shunzhi, you probably wouldnât have succeeded so easily, right? This could be considered a collaboration. Brother, youâre not planning on taking all the benefits for yourself, right?
âYouâre not being considerate.â
Zhou Shu frowned slightly.?Yin Changhao already spotted me at the post house?
He challenged Xiao Shunzhi for the sake of protecting me?
When did he follow me? Did he discover my true identity?
A few doubts flashed across Zhou Shuâs mind.
He was stunned. If Yin Changhao had found him outside the post house, he probably wouldnât know his identity.
But if he had followed him from the baronâs mansionâ¦
Zhou Shuâs gaze turned cold.
But this was unlikely. If he knew his true identity, he would have called out his name.
Even so, Zhou Shuâs heart still felt a little cold. He had already taken extra care against these first-rank martial artists, but he didnât expect that he had still underestimated them.
Yin Changhao had discovered him, but he hadnât detected Yin Changhao!
Fortunately, Yin Changhao didnât seem to have any ill intentions. Otherwise, if he had launched a sneak attack, he might have been injured.
In the future, he would have to be more careful when facing these first-rank martial artists.
If it wasnât for Yin Changhao today, he might have suffered under Xiao Shunzhiâs hands again!
He now thought that he might have underestimated earlier.
If Yin Changhao had spotted him, perhaps Xiao Shunzhi would have some special method to make him suffer?
âAre you planning to keep everything for yourself?â Yin Changhao continued loudly. âIf so, donât blame me for being unreasonable.
âDo you believe that if I shout now, tens of experts will surround this area?â
Zhou Shuâs expression darkened. He believed it!
From his name, Yin Changhao was definitely a member of the imperial family!
He was a first-rank martial arts expert of the Great Xia imperial family near Changâan. Let alone tens of experts, if he wanted to, he could even mobilize the entire Demon Executing Army and Fiend Eradication Army!
Zhou Shu had no choice but to speak up.
If Yin Changhao really called people over, his safety aside, his identity would definitely be exposed.
âHow can you be sure that I took something from the Great Wei diplomatic mission?â Zhou Shu sighed and walked out from behind the tree.
âEh? Youâre actually here?â A bewildered expression appeared on Yin Changhaoâs face. When he was staring at Xiao Shunzhi outside the post house, he had accidentally discovered a figure. At the time, he hadnât paid much attention to it and had only played along and helped Zhou Shu.
Only now did he realize that Zhou Shu had completely restrained his aura. Even though he was standing in front of him, he couldnât sense Zhou Shuâs spiritual essence at all.
No wonder he could hide in the capital without being discovered.
Yin Changhao had already guessed Zhou Shuâs identity. This man in black, who only revealed his eyes, was most likely the mysterious expert who had left behind the saber intent in the Saber Cave, sent Great Weiâs assassination list over, and killed Zhu Chuanfeng.
âYou have such an amazing qi restraining technique!â Yin Changhao praised.
âYou flatter me. You havenât answered my question.â Zhou Shu used his true qi to change his vocal cords, speaking in an old and hoarse voice.
âYou didnât kill anyone when you went to Great Weiâs diplomatic mission. You couldnât have just gone there for a walk, right?â Yin Changhao smiled. âItâs the middle of the night. Who would come out and wander around without any benefits?â
âArenât you outside too?â Zhou Shu said calmly.
âIâm being treated like a laborer!â Yin Changhao said angrily. âLetâs not talk about this. What did you take from Old Xiao? Take it out and let me see!â
Yin Changhao smiled excitedly like a fish.
Xiao Shunzhi was the official envoy of the Great Wei diplomatic mission. Due to his status, he could occasionally find trouble with Xiao Shunzhi. But he wouldnât be able to truly attack Xiao Shunzhi.
However, it wasnât a problem for this mysterious expert to make a move against Xiao Shunzhi. He wasnât a member of the Great Xia Imperial Court. He might not even be a member of Great Xia.
âYou stole something from Xiao Shunzhi. That can only mean that you donât have a good character. At most, my Great Xia will help him investigate. As for whether or not heâs able to recover the stolen item, thereâs no guarantee.â
âThereâs nothing.â Zhou Shu spread out his hands. He felt that an expert like Yin Changhao shouldnât be interested in gold and silver, so he didnât say anything.
Yin Changhao had asked him what he stole from Xiao Shunzhi.
There was indeed nothing valuable in Xiao Shunzhiâs room.
Yin Changhao frowned. âReally?â
âOf course itâs true. Think about it. Would Xiao Shunzhi carry valuable items with him in an enemy country?â
âThatâs true.â Yin Changhao rubbed his chin.
âNo, you already knew about this. Why did you still go to the Great Wei diplomatic mission? You must have discovered some secret, right?â Yin Changhao suddenly said.
He recalled how this mysterious expert had helped Great Xia greatly a few times in the past.
He now suspected that this mysterious expert had discovered another secret!
âTell me. Iâll help you!â Yin Changhao said excitedly.
Zhou Shu was speechless.?Yin Changhaoâs cultivation base is quite high, but why does it feel like heâs a bit unreliable?
âThere are no secrets! Nothing!â Zhou Shu shook his head. âIf you insist on saying that there is, then Xiao Shunzhiâs room has a map of the You and Bing prefectures. Does this count?â
âA map of the You and Bing prefectures? What kind of secret is this?â Yin Changhao blurted out. He suddenly thought of something and frowned.
Although he was a little spontaneous, he wasnât a fool.
Zhou Shuâs words reminded him of the bet between Great Xia and Great Wei.
âThereâs something wrong with the You and Bing prefectures!â Yin Changhao exclaimed.
âAre you asking me? How would I know?â Zhou Shu shook his head.
âAlright, Iâve said what I needed to say. Iâm leaving now.â Zhou Shu turned around and walked away.
âStop following me. Otherwise, Iâll treat you as an enemy.â
Yin Changhao was still pondering when Zhou Shu had already walked several feet away.
Suddenly, Yin Changhao said loudly, âNo, youâre hiding something from me! When I left, Xiao Shunzhi shouted. It seems he lost something!â
Zhou Shu stopped in his tracks.?This guy is quite smart!
âAlright, I took something from Xiao Shunzhiâs room. Itâs just some lousy stone,â Zhou Shu said casually. He even took Xiao Shunzhiâs money bag. But how could he tell Yin Changhao about this?
âLousy stone?â Yin Changhao said in disbelief, âBrother, the rules of the martial arts world are that we should split the good stuff equally. Donât hide it!â
âFine, weâll split half!â Zhou Shu said unhappily. âThis is the stupid stone. If you want it, Iâll give you half.â
Zhou Shu flipped his wrist and retrieved a silver-white stone.
The stone was about the size of an adultâs fist. It was silvery-white and seemed to be made of silver, but it gave off a crystal clear feeling.
Upon closer inspection, one could even sense that the stone contained a starry sky.
It felt really strange. So although Zhou Shu didnât know what this stone was, he still took it away.
Putting everything else aside, the stone was pretty, and he felt it would be nice to use as a paperweight in his study.
âHeaven Refining Stone?â Yin Changhaoâs eyes suddenly widened. âYou actually took Xiao Shunzhiâs Heaven Refining Stone!â
âThis stone is called a Heaven Refining Stone?â Zhou Shu said. He really didnât know.
However, it seemed like Heaven Refining Stones were very precious.
âYou donât know?â
âI donât know. I think it looks pretty, so Iâm going to take it home and use it as a paperweight,â Zhou Shu said casually.
Yin Changhao was shocked. In the end, he gave him a thumbs up. âUsing a Heaven Refining Stone as a paperweight, how bold!â
âIs this thing very valuable?â Zhou Shu asked casually.
He really didnât know what this Heaven Refining Stone was. Since there was someone who knew about it in front of him, he naturally had to take the opportunity to ask.
Yin Changhao didnât mind. Although he was a little curious about the other partyâs cultivation level and why he didnât know about the Heaven Refining Stone, it wasnât something he couldnât accept.
After all, it was possible that some people were obsessed with the Martial Dao and didnât pay attention to other things.
âItâs more than precious! Heaven Refining Stones are an indispensable material for forging ranked weapons. There are a lot of them in this world. Let me tell you. For such a large Heaven Refining Stone, if you donât have a hundred thousand taels of gold, then donât even think about it!â
âA hundred thousand taels of gold?â Zhou Shuâs jaw dropped.
Did this mean he had made a killing?
He originally only wanted to collect some interest for the 10,000 of gold he lost. But in the end, he accidentally took 100,000 taels of gold from Xiao Shunzhi?
âThis is going to be a big deal.â Yin Changhao laughed out loud. âSuch a huge Heaven Refining Stone is more than enough to forge a heaven-grade weapon!â
Even with his status, such a large Heaven Refining Stone was extremely precious.
After all, gold was easy to find, but Heaven Refining Stones were hard to find.
The mineral reserves of Heaven Refining Stones were scarce to begin with. Coupled with the many years of wear and tear, the production of Heaven Refining Stones was decreasing day by day.
Even with Yin Changhaoâs status, obtaining Heaven Refining Stones was not an easy task.
âYou said that Heaven Refining Stones are an essential material for forging ranked weapons?â Zhou Shu asked.
Only now did he realize his lack of knowledge.
Although he was a Forging Apprentice, his forging techniques all came from the Legendary Armament Canon. To be honest, his knowledge of forging was almost nonexistent.
He lacked common sense when it came to ranked weapons.
It was mainly because Zhou Shu felt that he would become a Forging Master through the Legendary Armament Canon sooner or later, so he didnât consciously try to understand it.
As a result, as a genius Forging Apprentice, he didnât even recognize a Heaven Refining Stone. If others found out, he would be a laughing stock!
âYes.â Yin Changhao didnât provide Zhou Shu with any further general knowledge about forging. In his opinion, it had nothing to do with what had happened today.
âBrother, we stole the Heaven Refining Stone together. According to the rules, half of it should be mine, right?â Yin Changhao stared at the Heaven Refining Stone in Zhou Shuâs hand earnestly.
âIâll give you half.â Zhou Shu didnât dawdle and spoke decisively. After all, his harvest tonight wasnât just this Heaven Refining Stone.
Then again, without Yin Changhao, he might not have succeeded.
âHeaven Refining Stones can only be split by Forging Masters, but neither of us are Forging Masters. How about this? Brother, how about you sell me your half of the Heaven Refining Stone?â Yin Changhao said.
Zhou Shu raised his eyebrows slightly.?Only Forging Masters can divide them?
He exerted some force on the Heaven Refining Stone, but it didnât budge.
His current strength was more than 500 kilograms. He could easily leave a fingerprint on a piece of metal. But the Heaven Refining Stone didnât change at all. It was indeed abnormally sturdy.
âWhat price do you plan to pay?â Zhou Shu asked.
âLike I said, the market price for such a large piece of Heaven Refining Stone is a hundred thousand taels of gold,â Yin Changhao said. âIâll give you fifty thousand, and this Heaven Refining Stone will be mine. How about it?â
Zhou Shu was somewhat surprised. He had previously obtained a heaven-grade weapon from Xiao Shunzhi and Shen Yue, which was only worth 10,000 taels of gold.
Such a Heaven Refining Stone was equivalent to ten heaven-grade weapons?
It was a bit funny. Zhou Shu was clearly an expert in forging, but he really didnât understand the actual situation.
There were also differences between heaven-grade weapons.
Ordinary heaven-grade weapons were only worth ten thousand taels of gold. But top heaven-grade weapons were worth several hundred thousand taels of gold.
The difference was even greater than that between heaven-grade weapons and yellow-grade weapons.
Such a big piece of Heaven Refining Stone was enough to create a top heaven-grade weapon. It was worth 100,000 taels of gold, so it wasnât too much.
Of course, even with such a large piece of Heaven Refining Stone, whether or not it could create a top heaven-grade weapon depended on the forgerâs skills.
But no matter what, spending 100,000 taels of gold to buy such a large piece of Heaven Refining Stone, although it couldnât be said to be a profit, definitely wasnât a loss.
Zhou Shu was hesitant. Fifty thousand taels of gold had already exceeded his expectations, but this Heaven Refining Stone was a necessary material for forging ranked weapons. If he sold it to Yin Changhao, he might not have the chance to obtain Heaven Refining Stones in the future.
But keeping it didnât seem to be of much use now.
He didnât know when he would advance to Forging Master.
As for gold, he really needed it now. The baronâs mansion hadnât even been renovated yet.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Shu made his decision. âIf you can give me fifty thousand taels of gold now, then weâll do as you say. If you canât, then forget it.â
Zhou Shu wouldnât go with Yin Changhao to get the money. One couldnât judge a book by its cover. Who knew if Yin Changhao would backstab him?
âReally, what a coincidence! I really have banknotes worth fifty thousand taels of gold with me!â Yin Changhao was delighted.. As he spoke, he took out a stack of banknotes. âThe Heaven Refining Stone is mine!â