No one was willing to remain as a subordinate.
No one would reject a promotion and huge stipends.
Uncle Li Lin was the same as well even though he was just a mere section leader of the North Gate.
Of the entire Wang Clan, Uncle Li Lin was the least valued member. In terms of leading an army and uniting his subordinates, he was unable to match up to Wang Chong’s father; regarding martial arts, he lost to little uncle; concerning those political games in the royal court, he couldn’t defeat big uncle.
Thus, ever since he became a section leader of the palace gates, grandfather never tried to push him up the ranks.
Grandfather believed that uncle was incapable of achieving great things, and as a section leader of the North Gate, he was able to stay out of the vortex of trouble and live a peaceful life with big aunt.
However, Wang Chong’s thoughts differed from his grandfather.
Wang Chong has always felt grateful to big aunt and uncle. In his previous life, when the Wang Chong’s family was facing a huge calamity, it was big aunt and uncle who stretched out their hands to help them.
Even though uncle’s abilities didn’t stand out, he was an upstanding person and a qualified military man. Back then, in that catastrophe, innumerable Imperial Army members had escaped. Yet, Uncle Li Lin, as a mere section leader of the North Gate, didn’t cower from the battlefield. He gathered the army and formed a defensive line, fighting to the bitter end!
Wang Chong would always remember that wide and reliable back figure he saw before escaping.
A person’s abilities could be groomed afterward. Grandfather had only seen one side and didn’t know that there was another side hidden deep within Uncle Li Lin.
If Uncle Li Lin was given an opportunity, with sufficient grooming, he could become a formidable figure.
And Zhao Fengchen had just presented this opportunity into Wang Chong’s hands.
What better chance could there be aside from following the future Imperial Army Marshal?
“Uncle, do you believe me?”
Staring at Uncle Li Lin, Wang Chong suddenly asked.
Li Lin was taken aback. If it was before, given Wang Chong’s age, he would definitely laugh off those words. But after the previous incident, Li Lin didn’t dare to underestimate this nephew of his.
In fact, no one of the entire Wang Clan dared to look down on Wang Chong anymore. If not for him, the Wang Clan would have already fallen into a calamity.
Besides, the reason why Zhao Fengchen and Shen Huai visited him was due to Wang Chong.
“Chong-er, what do you mean to say?”
Li Lin asked.
“Uncle, if possible, don’t go to the West Gate. Following Zhao Fengchen would be much more useful than going to the West Gate!”
Wang Chong said seriously.
“But Zhao Fengchen might not necessarily agree to it.”
Regardless whether it was going to the west gate or following behind Zhao Fengchen, Li Lin still found the entire affair too good to be true. He didn’t feel as though he was qualified to choose between them.
“Rest assured, he will agree to it!”
Wang Chong smiled as he drew his sword. The instant his sword was drawn, cold air immediately gushed into the room. A sharp aura flashed across the air, and it felt as though it would cut the room into perfect halves.
“Sssss!”
Upon seeing the icy gleam from the sword, Li Lin gasped in shock. All along, he wasn’t able to understand why Zhao Fengchen was willing to spend 42000 gold taels to buy a single sword, and why Wang Chong was so certain that Zhao Fengchen would accede to his request.
However, upon seeing the Wootz steel sword in Wang Chong’s hands, Li Lin suddenly understood everything. Even though he wasn’t skilled in swordsmanship, he could tell the difference between this sword and the others in the market.
Just by drawing this sword, Li Lin felt threatened.
“Chong-er, why would you have such a sharp sword?”
Li Lin couldn’t help but ask.
“Hehe, uncle, you don’t have to bother about this. Tell Zhao Fengchen that I don’t need his 42000 gold taels. I will sell this sword to him for the price he had offered previously, 35000 gold taels. Since Zhao Fengchen knows how to make use of you to approach me, given his intelligence, he should understand the meaning behind my actions!”
Wang Chong chuckled.
It would be troublesome for Wang Chong to explain the matter regarding the Hyderabad ore. Rather, they would understand the situation naturally when the time comes.
“Chong-er, thank you.”
Li Lin no longer pursued the matter.
This nephew had given him too many surprises. Hearing his words, Li Lin wasn’t surprised in the least. Carrying the Wang Chong’s Wootz steel sword with him, Li Lin left the Wang Family Residence.
…
Hualala!
Right when Uncle Li Lin left the Wang Family Residence with the Wootz steel sword, under the cloak of the night sky, countless pigeons flew from all directions into different inns and taverns.
“What? Nothing at all?”
“Unable to find anything?”
“There’s no news whatsoever about that sword?”
“You can’t find the origin of the sword? There isn’t a single swordsmith who has seen such a sword?”
“How could such a sword be forged without any news?”
…
Just when Wang Chong was practicing his martial arts with a relaxed mood, no one knew that countless swordsmithing clans and prestigious families were devoting all of their efforts and resources to finding information on the Wootz steel sword.
Initially, everyone thought that since the Four Great Swordsmithing Clans didn’t know anything about the Wootz steel sword, it was likely that the sword had come from beyond the capital.
Given the long distance and troublesome sequence required in forging a sword, there had to be an information leak somewhere.
Yet, the efforts of over a thousand of swordsmithing clans were unable to find a sliver of information regarding Wang Chong’s Wootz steel sword.
It seemed as though that sword was one of a kind, and it was in Wang Chong’s hands!
“That’s impossible!”
Many people were astonished by this fact, and they found it completely unacceptable!
As the news spread, in a single night, the Wang Chong’s Wootz steel sword became a priceless treasure!
…
“Have you found anything yet?”
At the same time, on the top of a hill in the suburbs, a man stood beneath the radiant glow of the moon. A white mask concealed his facial features, and surrounding him was many other figures.
“Reporting to my lord, we’ve managed to find him! That Wang Chong is the grandson of Great Tang Empire’s Duke Jiu, and we’ve found his residence. However, there are guards in the residence, and the Imperial Army also patrols around the capital. I’m afraid that it won’t be easy to sneak in.”
A voice sounded in the air. However, he spoke not in the words of the Central Plains, but the words of the Western Regions.
Under the moonlight, one could clearly see the high nose bridge and deep eyes on the masked figures. Each had a machete on his waist and they were clearly all from the Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu.
“You fools, do you think that we’re going to murder the entire Wang Clan? It’s impossible for the sword to come from nowhere. Since he was able to forge the sword, he must have more than one of it. There should also be plenty of ores and materials for the forging left behind with him. Our purpose is to steal those swords and materials. If we operate fast, the guards and Imperial Army won’t be a trouble at all!”
“That sword is extremely important to the Charax Spasinu. Regardless of the price, you all must bring at least one to me!”
The white-masked leader bellowed furiously. His final words revealed his identity. Other than the Charax Spasinu merchant whom Wang Chong had met with, Mosaide, no one else would dare to do such a thing.
“Yes, my lord!”
Under the moonlight, everyone lowered their head in assent. Then, they turned around and disappeared into the veil of the night.
…
In a blink of an eye, the sun replaced the moon and it was a new day.
Pah pah!
In the Wang Family Residence, Wang Chong’s hands shot out as though two swift pythons thrashing in the air. Every single blow was extremely heavy, and wherever of the man-made mountain Wang Chong’s elbow and arm struck, the spot would shatter, causing rock fragments to fly about.
Now that Wang Chong was focusing his attention on his martial arts training and his training hours has become longer, his strength was increasing swiftly.
Complementing the Herculean Punch along with the Dragon Bone Art, Wang Chong felt that he was progressing greatly every day. It wasn’t a dream for him to reach Origin Energy Tier 6 soon. Once one’s cultivation reached Origin Energy Tier 6, everything would change once more. One would be able to cultivate those techniques which raised one’s strength, speed, or dexterity directly.
It would be a completely different world from the one Wang Chong was experiencing now.
“Young master, bad news!”
In the midst of Wang Chong’s training, flurried footsteps suddenly sounded and Shen Hai and Meng Long rushed in.
“What’s wrong?”
Wang Chong exhaled a mouthful of turbid gas and slowly calmed his cultivation before asking with a frown. He recalled telling Shen Hai and Meng Long not to interrupt him in his training.
“Young master, there’s someone outside.”
Shen Hai said.
“Is that worth making such a big fuss over?”
Wang Chong frowned.
“Young master, you will understand when you take a look.”
Shen Hai and Meng Long hesitated for a moment before saying.
Finally, at the entrance of the Wang Family Residence, Wang Chong saw the ‘person’ the duo was speaking about. Before the Wang Family Residence’s gate, a man of around 7 chi tall was kneeling on the floor with a lowered head.
(7 chi -> 2.33m)
“Young master, this fellow has been here since long ago. He kicked up a fuss about meeting you, and afraid that he would wake madam and the others up, we have no choice but to call you over.”
Shen Hai and Meng Long said helplessly.
At first glance, Wang Chong didn’t notice anything. However, when he looked at the man’s features once more, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
“It’s you?”
Wang Chong was astonished. He recognized the man; he was the full-bearded brawny man who had leapt from the third floor in the Bluebottle Pavilion and sent his sword straight toward Wei Hao, only to have his sword split into two. On the other hand, he had spurted blood and fell to the ground.
He was one of the participants of the sword duel gamble on that day.
Wang Chong couldn’t understand why he would be suddenly kneeling in front of the entrance of the residence.
“Gongzi, please take me in as your disciple! I will kneel here for an eternity until you are willing to take me in.”
The full-bearded brawny man lowered his head and he spoke with great determination.
Hua!
Hearing the other party’s ‘request’, Wang Chong suddenly felt a storm being raised in his mind. An inexplicable emotion overwhelmed him. He finally understood why Shen Hai and Meng Long barged in to look for him.
Accept him as his disciple?
What a joke! He was only fifteen this year. He was at an age where he should be becoming the student of others. Yet, someone was trying to come under him as his disciple!
“Gongzi, I’m not asking you to teach me martial arts. I only hope that you can teach me your swordsmithing skills! As long as gongzi accepts my request, I am willing to serve gongzi wholeheartedly from now onward!”
The full-bearded brawny man’s voice was deep. As he spoke, he respectfully held up a broken sword over his head before going still once more.
“It is the shattered 4 chi greatsword!”
(4 chi -> 1.33m)
Wang Chong glanced at the sword before realizing what was going on. The greatsword that the full-bearded brawny man was holding was the one he had used to challenge the Wootz steel sword, only to be split into two.
For some reason, the sword looked extremely heavy in the hands of the man. He could sense sorrow from the 7 chi tall body.
Wang Chong had sensed this kind of sorrow from many other people. In his previous life, when the Central Plains fell and the earth shattered, Wang Chong also experienced this kind of sorrow.
In an instant, Wang Chong understood.
Just like how his mission was like to him, to the 7 chi tall man who was kneeling on the floor pleading with him, swordsmithing was his dream!
What that had shattered at the Bluebottle Pavilion that day wasn’t just his sword, but his belief and his dream as well!