Watching East King Duke get beaten senseless by Di Jun and Di Jiang, who were tag-teaming him, Zhao Gongming had no intention of letting him off that easily.
"Senior East King Duke."
Zhao Gongming rubbed his fingers together with a smile.
"Although you apologized, my little sister was frightened. Shouldn't you compensate her for the emotional distress?"
East King Duke's mouth twitched. With Di Jun and Di Jiang glaring at him nearby, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.
"Fine, I'll pay!"
With a pained expression, he took out a Mid-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure glowing with an ethereal light and tossed it to Bixiao.
Bixiao caught the treasure and happily turned it over in her hands before giving Zhao Gongming a thumbs-up.
"Big Brother, you're awesome! This was totally worth it!"
Seeing that the matter was settled, Di Jun and Di Jiang both snorted.
"Hmph, you're lucky today!"
East King Duke snorted as well, trying to salvage the last shred of his dignity.
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned into a streak of light and left, looking graceful in theory but rather pathetic in practice.
Di Jun patted Zhao Gongming on the shoulder and declared grandly, "Young Friend Zhao, if you ever run into trouble, come to me. The Demon Court will always have your back!"
After that, Di Jun took Lu Ya and the others back to the Demon Court.
Meanwhile, Di Jiang weighed the storage pouch he'd just extorted from East King Duke, grinning from ear to ear as he muttered to himself.
"Heh heh heh, made a killing again!"
"This is great! Absolutely great!"
"This treasure is practically a money-making machine!"
"Should I make a habit of picking fights with other Great Experts and extorting them?"
"Like that old rascal Minghe. He's loaded..."
Muttering to himself, Di Jiang ripped open space and disappeared.
Zhao Gongming happened to hear him and froze in place.
"What the hell?!"
"Di Jiang's going to take this too far!"
"If he really goes around picking fights, and the other Great Experts find out I made this treasure..."
Zhao Gongming imagined himself being mobbed by Ancestor Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Kunpeng, and the others. He couldn't help shivering.
"No, I'd better keep a low profile from now on!"
"Ahem. All right, break it up. Get back to whatever you were doing!"
Zhao Gongming waved away the onlookers who were still watching the spectacle.
In the blink of an eye, the human plaza was back to its usual chaotic state.
Xuandu kept shouting, "Hulatang Guai Guai!" Cihang kept transforming into a magical fairy, Medicine Master kept singing nursery rhymes, and Lu Ya kept meowing.
When Bixiao returned and saw the scene, she froze in disbelief and couldn't help remarking, "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"As expected of Big Brother. Only he could pull off a scene like this!"
"So surreal. So artistic!"
Zhao Gongming shot her an exasperated look.
"Quit talking nonsense. Go cultivate, and don't come out until you've finished refining that sword!"
"Sure thing, Big Brother!" Bixiao stuck out her tongue, then bounced off to find a place to go into seclusion.
After dealing with the minor matters, Zhao Gongming returned to his temporary cave dwelling. He lay back comfortably in a lounge chair, ready to enjoy a moment of peace.
But he had barely closed his eyes when—
"Martial Nephew Zhao..."
A warm, hurried voice, tinged with a hint of shyness, suddenly sounded beside him.
"There were too many people outside just now. I didn't feel comfortable bringing this up in front of them..."
"Do you think... you could forge some treasures for me too?"
"What the hell!"
Zhao Gongming sprang upright in fright and instantly summoned the Thirty-Six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls to protect himself. He warily looked toward the voice.
A figure slowly materialized in the corner of the cave.
It was East King Duke, who had stormed off in a huff earlier!
"You?!"
Zhao Gongming was so angry his nose nearly twisted out of shape.
"Senior East King Duke, you nearly scared me to death!"
"Hadn't you left? Why are you back, sneaking around like that?"
East King Duke hurriedly put on an ingratiating smile. He was acting nothing like the arrogant bully he'd been earlier.
"Now, now, don't be upset, Martial Nephew!"
"You know I'm the Head of Male Immortals and the Emperor Lord of the Immortal Court. I have to save face!"
"How could I ask you in front of all those people?"
As he spoke, East King Duke edged closer, rubbing his hands together with an expectant look.
"Martial Nephew, I heard everything just now."
"Those two outrageous—no, those two divine treasures Di Jun and Di Jiang have... you made them?"
"We can call it a case of fighting first and becoming friends afterward!"
"From now on, let Martial Nephew Bixiao and the others come visit Penglai Island whenever they like. They can take whatever they want!"
"So... could you make one for me too?"
"I want one of those treasures that... leaves people begging for more!"
Looking at East King Duke's shamelessly enthusiastic expression, Zhao Gongming chuckled to himself.
As expected, no one could resist the allure of a Conceptual Grade treasure.
If someone's offering me a benefit, I might as well take it.
Zhao Gongming put away the Sea Calming Pearls and settled back into his lounge chair, once again looking every bit the master craftsman.
"Since Martial Uncle has put it that way, I can hardly refuse."
"But you know the rules. To forge a treasure this defiant of the heavens, I'll need the finest heavenly materials."
"No problem. I came prepared!"
Overjoyed, East King Duke hurriedly took two pieces of metal from his robes. They radiated an incredibly sharp aura, and faint currents of the Space Law flowed through them.
"This is Essence of Supreme Geng Metal. I found it at the edge of the Primordial Chaos. It's indestructible and contains the power to pierce through space!"
[ Ding! High-grade forging material detected: Essence of Supreme Geng Metal. ] [ Rating: Excellent. ] [ Matching recipe: Can be forged into a Conceptual Grade magic treasure specializing in karmic attacks or guaranteed strikes against weak points. ]
"Excellent material!"
Zhao Gongming took the metal and got straight to work, summoning the Nine Dragon Cauldron.
Samadhi True Fire, Six Ding Divine Fire, and Lunar Sacred Fire burst forth together. The three divine flames intertwined, instantly enveloping the two pieces of metal.
East King Duke watched, dumbfounded, and couldn't help exclaiming.
"Three divine flames, and a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure cauldron?"
"Martial Nephew's forging skill... must be second to none in the Primordial Era!"
"Daoist Brother Tongtian really did take in an excellent disciple!"
A moment later—
"It's done!"
Zhao Gongming gave a quiet shout. Two golden streaks shot out of the cauldron and landed in his hand.
They were two gleaming golden, sharply tapered, elongated... finger guards.
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! Forging successful! ] [ Treasure Name: Thousand Kills - Inevitable Finger Guard ] [ Grade: Houtian Spirit Treasure (Conceptual Grade) ] [ Conceptual Attribute: Weak-Point Critical Hit · Chrysanthemum Shatter. ] [ Effect: Ignores spatial distance, protective auras, and physical defenses. ] [ Once activated, the user will inevitably teleport behind the enemy and unleash a devastating strike on an indescribable part of their body! ] [ A single strike will break through any indestructible body, causing massive physical damage and a mental critical hit! ] [ Side Effect: Perverted Gentleman. ] [ Restriction: Before activation, the user must form the Thousand Kills hand sign with both hands! ] [ The user must wear a lecherous, perverted grin and loudly narrate their move: "I shall send the Mud Dragon into the Sea!" ]
At the same time, the system's critical-hit reward arrived once more.
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully forging a karmic-law superweapon! ] [ Supreme Critical-Hit Reward triggered! ] [ Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: Great Accomplishment Sacred Body! ]
Rumble!
A thunderous boom rang out from within Zhao Gongming once again.
His body had already rivaled that of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Now, it underwent a qualitative transformation!
His golden blood and qi surged like a vast ocean. His Sea of Bitterness opened, a divine bridge rose, and flowers bloomed on the far shore!
An invincible conviction welled up in him: impervious to all techniques, sanctified in the flesh, able to catch an Emperor Weapon with his bare hands.
"Great Accomplishment Sacred Body?!"
"Good grief. Now my body... can probably go toe-to-toe with a Quasi-Saint!"
Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Gongming handed the two finger guards to East King Duke.
"Martial Uncle, I've delivered as promised."
"This treasure is called Thousand Kills. It targets the lower body, ignores defenses, and kills in one strike!"
He then carefully explained how to use it, along with its side effects.
After hearing him out, East King Duke stared at the two sharp finger guards.
His legs instinctively clamped together, and his backside clenched.
"Th-this is way too mean!"
"I have to wear a lecherous grin? And shout the Secret Technique?"
"But I'm the Head of Male Immortals..."
Zhao Gongming shrugged.
"If Martial Uncle doesn't want it, I can take it back."
"No, I want it!"
East King Duke snatched the finger guards from him, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
"Mean is good. The meaner, the better!"
"If I run into that shameless Di Jiang again... heh heh!"
"I'll show him what it means to have his chrysanthemum shattered and his dignity scattered!"
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