As the words fell, a surge of excitement filled the classroom.
Looking at the students below the podium, their spirits high, Diao Yadong sneered inwardly.
"Mu Yun, what do you have to fight me with? Your bunch of trash? This time, I'll let everyone know that Class 3 of Advanced Level is the class I, Diao Yadong, led, the class of my honor!"
With a cold smile, Diao Yadong said calmly, "I've already decided on this match."
"First match, a contest of martial arts, Mo Hai will compete; second match, a contest of alchemy, Wang Yunqi will compete; third match, a contest of weapon crafting, Qi Yun will compete!"
Diao Yadong's words caused an uproar in the class.
Mo Hai, the second strongest genius in Class 3 of Advanced Level after Diao Yadong, had already reached the fifth level of the Qi Condensation Realm at the age of seventeen.
Qi Yun, a member of the Qi family, although the Qi family was only a second-rate family in Beiyun City, Qi Yun's reputation had long been established there.
At only seventeen years old, he was a genuine mortal artifact craftsman, having successfully forged a mid-grade mortal artifact a month prior.
Wang Yunqi, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, sixteen years old, was considered one of the two alchemy geniuses of Beiyun City, alongside Miao Xianyu.
These three represented the strongest fighting force in the entire Elementary Class 3!
"Instructor Diao, I disagree!"
At that moment, a dissenting voice rang out in the class.
A student stood up and said, "Instructor Diao, using our strongest fighting force against just Elementary Class 5, the weakest class in the academy, is a waste of talent. People will say we're bullying the weak!"
"That's right!"
"Yes, how can we use our strongest fighting force against Mu's useless class?"
"It's giving them far too much credit!"
The entire class erupted in enthusiasm, with several students even volunteering.
"Quiet!"
A shout suddenly rang out. Diao Yadong, his face calm, quietly looked at the entire class.
"The battle a month from now, no matter who the opponent is, will be an opportunity for our Senior Class 3 to shine!" Diao Yadong shouted. "Whether the opponent is strong or weak, our Senior Class 3 will deliver a fatal blow. In the entire academy, who can compete with us? Since the opponent is weak, we will finish them off in one strike and show them the unparalleled strength of Senior Class 3!"
"Senior Class 3 will win!"
"Senior Class 3 will win!"
...
In an instant, cheers erupted throughout the entire academy.
Looking at the cheering crowd and the academy's high morale, Diao Yadong was very satisfied.
"Mu Yun... Wang Qingfeng... you will all be stepping stones for my rise
. Beiyun Academy is my domain, and in the future, I will definitely go to Nanyun City, the capital of the Nanyun Empire, and let my name, Diao Yadong, spread throughout the entire Nanyun Empire, and even the Tianyun Continent!"
With his hands clenched tightly, Diao Yadong's belief became even stronger!
Beiyun City had a population of millions, was a prosperous city, and had numerous markets in all directions.
These markets are mostly controlled by the four major families: Qin, Mu, Wang, and Diao.
In the western part of Beiyun City, there are dozens of markets, most of which belong to the Qin family.
At this moment, Mu Yun, dressed in a long black robe, wandered aimlessly through the western market, his hands behind his back.
"Qi Ming, a collateral descendant of the Qi family, works part-time at a blacksmith shop owned by the Qi family to support his father, Qi Yufeng, whose legs were broken!"
"Qi Yufeng was a genius of the Qi family twenty years ago. Although born to a servant, he distinguished himself in the Qi family with his talent for weapon crafting. However, five years later, he married the eldest daughter of the Qi family, and then overnight, his legs became crippled, rendering him unable to craft weapons. He has been confined to a wheelchair for fifteen years!"
Mu Yun muttered to himself, lost in thought.
"Interesting, very interesting. A servant who became the son-in-law of the Qi family, his legs inexplicably crippled, expelled from the Qi family, forced to make a living as a blacksmith in the Qin family's market!"
Mu Yun chuckled. "It seems this Qi Ming isn't so simple after all!"
Having made up his mind, Mu Yun sped up…
Among the dozens of markets belonging to the Qin family, one was bustling with activity, lined with cloth vendors, taverns, and tea stalls.
In a corner of the market, in a ten-meter-square blacksmith shop, a young man swung his hammer, striking a newly forged iron chisel in front of him.
The oddly shaped chisel gradually became sharp and angular in his hands, with wisps of iron filings falling.
"Forging iron requires the unity of mind and strength. The higher the strength, the better; the faster the speed, the better. Be fast when you need to be fast, and slow when you need to be slow!"
Behind the boy, a middle-aged man in a wheelchair, with a stubble beard and a hoarse voice, said, "The most important thing is mind. Mind and spirit must be united. You must see the iron rod in your hand as a living thing, and it will become what you want it to become!"
"Understood, Father!"
Hearing the middle-aged man behind him speak, the boy slowed down the speed at which he swung the hammer.
"In fact, blacksmithing and weapon forging are inherently connected. For ordinary people, it's blacksmithing; for martial artists, it's weapon forging. 'Ordinary weapons' are called 'ordinary'
because they are made by using the martial artist's true essence as veins, condensing it into runes, and infusing it into the weapon to increase its power, making it stronger than ordinary weapons, but it is still ultimately an ordinary weapon!"
"Mysterious weapons, on the other hand, can only be forged by martial artists at the tenth level of the Spirit Aperture Realm. This is because mysterious weapons already possess various profound and mysterious abilities. Only martial artists at the Spirit Aperture Realm have powerful true essence within their bodies, endowing mysterious weapons with more advanced runes, so that they can unleash their powerful might!"
Clap clap...
As the middle-aged man finished speaking, the sound of clapping rang out. A young man in a black robe was standing at the door, leaning against the blacksmith's door, clapping his hands repeatedly.
"Well said, very well. Mortal weapons are, in the end, just mortal weapons, nothing special. Mystic weapons, however, are truly divine weapons."
The man smiled slightly, adding, "Furthermore, senior, you said something inappropriate. Mystic weapons aren't only forged by Spirit Aperture Realm martial artists; physical martial artists can forge them too!"
"Instructor Mu!"
Upon seeing the young man, the shirtless boy was slightly taken aback, appearing somewhat flustered.
"Haha, Qi Ming, I didn't expect you to have a blacksmith shop at home. It seems my decision to have you compete with Qi Yun in weapon forging was quite wise!"
Mu Yun laughed heartily, entering the blacksmith shop, approaching Qi Ming, and taking the hammer.
"Any metal, once forged, can be transformed into various shapes!" Mu Yun said, gripping the hammer tightly and slowly striking it.
"This iron chisel can be transformed into a spear or a longsword; the choice is entirely up to the forger!"
As Mu Yun spoke, the shape of the iron chisel in his hand constantly changed.
One moment it resembled a spear, and the next it was even changing towards a longsword.
Amazing!
Seeing this, Qi Ming was secretly astonished.
He had been forging iron for his father since childhood, for a full ten years.
During those ten years, he was extremely familiar with these iron blocks.
Once an iron block was shaped, it was very difficult to change its form again; it required immense force, and excessive force could even damage the essence of the iron!
But Instructor Mu seemed to be using no force at all!
"Uh..."
Finally, Mu Yun held a model resembling a large sword in his hand, scratching his head and saying, "Excuse me, Qi Ming, you're trying to forge an iron chisel, right?"
"Huh?"
Qi Ming was stunned for a moment before realizing what he meant.
"Ming'er, this is your mentor, right? Please sit down!"
Qi Yufeng sat upright in his wheelchair, an old sheet draped over his legs, and said
apologetically , "I have been crippled for over ten years and cannot rise to greet guests. Mentor Mu, please don't take offense!"
"Not at all, of course not. Facing a Xuanqi Master, I, Mu Yun, should have treated him with courtesy!"
"Hehe... a mortal weapon master..." Qi Yufeng said self-deprecatingly, "That was in the past!"
"Who said it was in the past?"
Mu Yun asked in surprise, "What I see before me is merely a weapon refiner sitting dejectedly in a wheelchair because his will has been worn down, not crippled at all!"
Upon hearing Mu Yun's words, Qi Ming's eyes lit up.
"Mentor Mu, do you have a way to cure my father's legs?"
Qi Ming's eyes were filled with hope.
He had heard rumors about Qin Mengyao from some people in the market.
A strange disease that no one in the entire Beiyun City could cure, not even Master Mo, a high-ranking sixth-grade alchemist.
Yet Mu Yun had cured him.
Compared to Qin Mengyao's icy demeanor, her father's leg ailment was utterly insignificant!
"Your father became crippled overnight, likely from taking two kinds of pills—the Azure Spirit Pill and the Hundred Fruit Pill. The Azure Spirit Pill is a good pill for clearing the mind and lungs, while the Hundred Fruit Pill is a second-grade pill greatly beneficial to martial arts cultivation, capable of clearing impurities from a martial artist's meridians. Both pills are extraordinary!"
"Then why did my father's legs..."
"Two extraordinary pills, taken separately, a hundred or eighty a day is fine. But if taken simultaneously, even with less than half an hour's interval, they become deadly poison!"
Mu Yun's tone gradually turned cold.
Meanwhile, Qi Yufeng's face also gradually darkened...
"How could this be?" Qi Ming was bewildered, after all, he was still young and ignorant when his father became crippled.
"Is that so hard to understand?" Mu Yun spoke again. "Your father's talent in weapon crafting was unparalleled, which either aroused jealousy or hatred, ultimately leading to this tragic end!"
"Father..."
"Senior Qi, I'm not here today to inquire about past events, but to discuss something with you!"
Mu Yun changed the subject, saying, "Because I want to advance to the intermediate instructor level, I need to take an assessment. Qi Ming is my student, and I'd like to recruit him for a month to give him special training and have him help me in a competition!"
"Of course, it won't be for nothing. If he helps me win the competition, I can refine a pill for you to help you get back on your feet!"
Hmm?
Hearing Mu Yun's words, Qi Yufeng and his son Qi Ming almost simultaneously raised their heads, staring intently at Mu Yun.