The afternoon sun beat down upon the Jia Nan Outer Academy, casting sharp, golden shadows across the sprawling commercial district. After consuming a heavily protein-rich, meticulously balanced lunch to replenish the caloric energy burned during his recent sparring and cultivation sessions, Yoriichi began his search.
He wandered away from the bustling student markets and the pristine lecture halls, navigating toward the eastern perimeter of the academy. He didn't need a map; he simply closed his eyes and let his heightened senses guide him. He listened for the distinct, rhythmic clink-clank of heavy hammers, and he felt for the dry, suffocating thermal currents drifting through the air.
Eventually, the manicured stone paths gave way to a massive, descending set of basalt stairs carved directly into the side of a rocky hill. A large, soot-stained archway loomed over the entrance, bearing three boldly engraved characters: Earthfire Forging Pavilion.
Unlike the refined, airy architecture of the Library or the Healing Pavilion, this place felt rugged and deeply industrial. A thick, metallic tang hung in the air, mixed with the unmistakable scent of burning coal and melting ore.
Yoriichi descended the steps, the ambient temperature rising noticeably with every yard he traveled underground.
At the bottom of the long stairwell stood a massive pair of reinforced iron doors. Flanking the entrance were two burly, heavily armored academy guards. Their auras were dense and steady, resting firmly at the Peak Dou Shi level.
As Yoriichi approached, his footsteps completely silent against the stone, the two guards immediately crossed their polearms, blocking the entrance.
"Halt," the guard on the left commanded, his voice gruff and authoritative. "State your business, student. Are you here to commission a weapon, or are you here for forging?"
"I am a blacksmith," Yoriichi replied smoothly, his crimson eyes perfectly calm. "I wish to utilize one of your hearths to create a weapon. I have already procured my own raw materials."
The guard on the right raised an eyebrow, looking the slender, handsome youth up and down. Yoriichi didn't look like a blacksmith. He lacked the typical soot-stained clothes, the burn marks, and the bulky musculature common among the forging faculty.
"A blacksmith, eh?" the first guard grunted skeptically. "Alright, then show me your academy token."
Yoriichi casually retrieved his jade token from his spatial ring and handed it over.
The guard injected a trace of Dou Qi into the jade, reading the embedded information. His eyes suddenly widened. He looked up, staring at Yoriichi's distinctive red-streaked hair.
"Xiao Ning?" the guard blurted out, a flash of genuine recognition crossing his face. The whispers of the youth who had caught Bai Shan's lightning spear bare-handed had spread like wildfire even to the underground security posts.
The guard's strict demeanor softened slightly, replaced by a begrudging respect. He handed the token back.
"I know who you are, Xiao Ning," the guard said, crossing his arms. "Your combat strength is highly respected. But the Earthfire Pavilion has strict operational protocols. Your token is a standard 'C' Rank combat faculty badge. Do you have a specialized Blacksmith Guild registration pass? Or perhaps a direct recommendation token from one of the Forging Elders?"
"I have neither," Yoriichi answered honestly. In Wu Tan City, he had simply used his clan's private forge.
The guard sighed, shaking his head. "Then I am sorry, but I cannot let you in. The geothermal hearths inside are highly volatile. If an unregistered student accidentally mishandles the earth-flames, it could cause an explosion that brings the entire ceiling down. Please go to the administrative desk upstairs and register as a blacksmith apprentice first."
Yoriichi remained silent, his mind calculating how long the bureaucratic registration process would take. He needed a blade now, not in three weeks.
Before Yoriichi could formulate a polite counter-argument, a new presence entered his Transparent World radius.
"What seems to be the hold-up at my front door?" a raspy, gravelly voice echoed from the stairwell behind Yoriichi.
The two guards stiffened immediately. The moment they saw the man descending the stairs, they violently snapped to attention, bowing so deeply their armored torsos were perfectly parallel to the floor.
"Elder!" they chorused loudly in absolute reverence.
Yoriichi turned around.
Walking down the steps was an old man who, at first glance, looked entirely ordinary. He wore a simple, heavily scorched leather apron over a plain grey tunic. His hair was a messy, soot-dusted bird's nest, and his hands were stained pitch-black with ingrained iron dust.
However, Yoriichi's Transparent World vision did not see an ordinary old man.
'Heavens,' Yoriichi thought, his stoic expression hiding a flare of profound shock.
Beneath the old man's unassuming flesh, his skeletal structure was terrifyingly dense, glowing with a deep, metallic luster. His meridians were expanded to an absurd degree, pumping a thick, viscous Dou Qi that radiated a heat rivaling a localized volcano. The sheer vitality and physical compression of his body were monstrous. He had literally forged his own mortal vessel as if it were a high-tier weapon.
'He is at least a Peak Dou Wang... perhaps even a Dou Huang,' Yoriichi analyzed. 'His physical durability far exceeds Zhan Yue's.'
The old man paused, his sharp, dark eyes shifting between the bowing guards and the stoic, red-haired youth.
"I asked a question," the elder grunted, wiping a smudge of soot from his cheek. "What's the matter here?"
"Elder," the first guard spoke up hastily, his voice trembling slightly. "This student wishes to use the inner hearths for forging. However, he does not possess a registration pass or a recommendation token. We were just informing him of the protocols."
The old man finally locked eyes with Yoriichi. He squinted, his gaze piercing through Yoriichi as if trying to measure the exact weight of his soul.
"What is your name, boy?" the elder asked.
"Xiao Ning, Senior," Yoriichi replied, offering a polite, minimal bow of respect for the man's immense power.
Hearing the name, the old man's eyebrows shot up into his messy hairline. A sudden, highly amused spark ignited in his dark eyes. He looked Yoriichi up and down, then nodded in profound understanding.
"Xiao Ning. I see," the elder muttered to himself, stroking his scruffy chin. He casually waved a soot-stained hand at the guards. "Let him enter."
The guards blinked in utter shock.