Awakening

Nine months after entering the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp.

Two Metal Spiders crouched atop two huge boulders, one on the left and one on the right. The ground trembled violently as an enraged beast's roar rolled in from afar.

Wu Tie, who had grown over a foot taller and packed on broad, bulging muscles beneath his fitted armor, ran at full speed. Every so often, he scooped up a stone from the ground, turned, and hurled it hard behind him.

The stones always struck the savage beast's nose with unerring accuracy. The creature was enormous, eight or nine meters long and over five meters tall, weighing perhaps tens of thousands of jin. It roared furiously as blood continually sprayed from its huge nostrils.

The beast resembled a hippopotamus and came from the great river more than ten miles away.

Normally, it lived deep beneath the river, only occasionally coming ashore with its herd to gnaw on fern leaves.

After discovering this herd of colossal aquatic beasts, Wu Tie had spent a full two months preparing before finally mustering the courage to provoke the smallest of the lot.

The ground shook as the beast charged wildly. Wu Tie kept flinging stones backward, smashing the beast's nose until its skin split and bled, leaving a trail of blood all along the way.

"Big fellow, come on, come to Daddy! Ha, Daddy loves you!" Wu Tie laughed loudly. There was not a trace of fear in his bright eyes, only excitement and fervor he could not conceal.

Nine months of risking life and limb in mad hunts, nine months of Old Tie's day-and-night scolding, had seeped into him by ear and eye.

Master Hui's childhood teachings had painstakingly given Wu Tie a trace of refined scholarly grace, but it had long vanished without a trace. Old Tie had instead given him an extra air of sharpness and slickness—a flavor unique to a seasoned old soldier.

"Come on, big fellow! Hahaha, Daddy has something tasty here! Oh yeah, right here!"

With a roar, Wu Tie leaped up and vaulted between the two boulders where the Metal Spiders crouched.

The aquatic beast roared and charged after Wu Tie. One heavy foot came crashing down, and the ground suddenly caved in. One of its feet sank deep into a pit.

The crisp crack of breaking bone carried far away. The beast's left foreleg twisted and snapped, its massive body wedged immovably in the gap between the two boulders. Driven mad by agony, it struggled and roared, white saliva constantly spraying from its mouth.

Wu Tie spun around and charged toward the aquatic beast at full speed. His spear carved a fierce, straight streak through the air and brutally pierced the creature's skull.

The spear produced by the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp was incomparably sharp. It punched through the beast's half-foot-thick skull. Wu Tie twisted his wrist, and the enormous body convulsed violently a few times before soon falling still.

"Time to get to work, brothers!" Wu Tie greeted the two Metal Spiders excitedly. They swiftly hopped to his side and bounced about a few times in smug delight.

A seam opened in one Metal Spider's back armor, and a mass of silver-gray liquid flowed out. It swayed in the wind and became a slender, razor-sharp blade about a meter long.

"I still can't figure out why a lump of melted metal can turn into a blade by itself. That's downright divine." Wu Tie picked up the blade, walked over to the aquatic beast, and quickly butchered it into chunks.

More than twenty Metal Spiders darted out from the fern forest behind him. They grabbed chunks of meat much larger than themselves and nimbly scurried back toward the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp.

Each Metal Spider could easily drag several hundred jin of meat while running. More than twenty of them could haul over ten thousand jin of prey in one trip. It took Wu Tie a full two hours to finish butchering the aquatic beast, and the flesh brought back weighed at least fifty or sixty thousand jin.

Flesh and blood were Foundation Establishment Potion.

Humming a little tune he had learned from Old Tie, Wu Tie happily returned to the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp with a group of Metal Spiders, carrying several enormous bone clubs over his shoulder.

The aquatic beast's flesh had already been stuffed into the medicine-making apparatus. Fifty-six bottles of Foundation Establishment Potion stood neatly in a row on the ground, gleaming with a dazzling emerald light. The air was thick with the potion's distinctive rich, fragrant, yet slightly pungent scent.

Four Metal Spiders carried Old Tie and circled Wu Tie twice.

"Not bad harvest. Got some nerve now, have you? You dared provoke that herd of Giant Hippopotamuses?" Old Tie snorted. "Next time, be more careful. Aside from their massive size, these Giant Hippopotamuses have no other abilities. And they're herbivores, not skilled at hunting as a group... that was your luck, brat."

Wu Tie grinned.

It was precisely because those big fellows were herbivores that he had dared to make a move on them.

Otherwise, just imagine it: a whole herd of Giant Hippopotamuses charging at once... what a magnificent sight that would be!

Setting down his spear, Wu Tie rubbed his palms hard. Looking at the Foundation Establishment Potions lined up before him, he trembled from head to toe with excitement.

"Old Tie, and... Big Iron!" Wu Tie shot a sidelong glance at the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp hovering behind Old Tie. After repeatedly demanding a name of his own, that unlucky fellow had finally been given the name "Big Iron" by an impatient Old Tie.

No matter how he thought about it, the name felt like a brush-off.

Old Tie, Big Iron, Little Tie... well, as long as Big Iron was happy. According to Old Tie, Big Iron's overall intelligence was about that of a four- or five-year-old child—sometimes smarter, sometimes stupider.

"This time, I can break through the three hundred and sixtieth move of the first stage of the Foundation Establishment Form, condense vital blood essence, and form Origin Power, right?"

Wu Tie looked at Old Tie hopefully.

The Foundation Establishment realm was divided into three major levels. The first tempered the body and condensed the essence of blood and qi into Origin Power; the second cultivated Origin Power and condensed it into Origin Force; the third used highly condensed Origin Force to flow back into the flesh, tempering the entire body.

Wu Tie had cultivated bitterly for nine months, at an average rate of three Foundation Establishment Potions a month.

In nine months, out of a total of twelve hundred moves in the Foundation Establishment Form, he had only cultivated to the three hundred and twentieth move. Only by breaking through the three hundred and sixtieth move could one be considered to have perfectly tempered the body and be able to extract Origin Power.

According to Old Tie, the three hundred and sixtieth move was a control valve within the body. Once one could perform that move, the valve would naturally open, allowing the vast essence of blood to condense Origin Power on its own.

Now Wu Tie had reached the three hundred and twentieth move, and fifty-six Foundation Establishment Potions still stood before him.

"Of course. If they were used only to cultivate the Foundation Establishment Form, you might even break through to the four hundredth move." Old Tie looked at Wu Tie and spoke very seriously. "But Big Iron and I both have a suggestion... compared to a breakthrough in the Foundation Establishment Form, perhaps this matter is more important."

Wu Tie stared wide-eyed at Old Tie. "What matter?"

Old Tie's eyeballs rolled a few times before he asked Wu Tie solemnly, "May I ask your mother's family name?"

Wu Tie stared at Old Tie in astonishment, then spread his hands and shook his head hard. "My mother? I've never seen her... Only my father, my eldest brother, and second brother know where she is."

"Oh, then that question isn't important... What a strange custom—husband and wife living apart, the husband raising the male children alone..." Old Tie muttered to himself. "A very interesting custom. It reminds me of... hmm, that isn't important. What matters is that your mother may have left you something extremely precious..."

Old Tie and Big Iron's eyes suddenly lit up. Big Iron especially—his skull was several meters across, and his eyes were like two enormous searchlights. Dazzling crimson light stared directly at Wu Tie, forcing him to close his eyes.

"Big Iron... your eyes are too bright!" Wu Tie complained loudly.

Big Iron's eyes dimmed. He turned around aggrievedly and pointed the back of his skull at Wu Tie.

"Come with me. With so many Foundation Establishment Potions, my calculations put the chance of success at ninety-nine percent." Old Tie gave the order, and four Metal Spiders carried him toward the great hall packed with Crystal Balls, where Wu Tie normally treated his injuries.

"This is a good thing, an excellent thing for you. Your mother's bloodline power is very strong, which means you... can gain a unique divine ability far earlier than usual." Old Tie muttered to himself as they traveled. "But it is very difficult to awaken this innate divine ability formed by bloodline power on your own."

"These days, you've been severely wounded several more times and lost consciousness many times." Old Tie's tone was strange. "I originally thought you would be like the protagonists in legend, awakening your talent through your own strength while teetering on the brink of death... Looks like I gave you too much credit."

"You're just an ordinary child who happened to be lucky enough to meet me... To awaken, you still need external power as a spark." Old Tie's tone became especially heavy. "Fortunately, there is something here that can serve as that spark, though... I'm not very willing..."

Wu Tie's group arrived in the great hall.

Yang Jian floated quietly inside a Crystal Ball. The vertical eye between his brows radiated faint golden light. Like one of the Gods and Devils, he was mighty and overbearing, his powerful aura filling the entire hall.

Although Wu Tie had become Yang Jian's neighbor inside Crystal Balls many times already, every time he saw Yang Jian, he still felt as though his soul were being violently shaken nearly to pieces. His entire body went limp, and he instinctively turned his gaze away, utterly unable to look directly at Yang Jian.

This was absolute suppression at the level of life itself.

Even though Yang Jian had been dead for who knew how many years, he still exerted absolute suppression over Wu Tie.

Old Tie gazed quietly at Yang Jian for a long, long time.

Big Iron shifted uneasily, his enormous skull lightly bumping Old Tie.

"Do it!" Old Tie said coldly. "Though I am unwilling, resources are limited... for the sake of..."

Old Tie closed his mouth. After a long while, he softly said, "For the sake of..."

Big Iron let out a low hum.

The Crystal Ball containing Yang Jian silently rippled with blue lightning. The Crystal Ball slid open, and Yang Jian's body slipped out.

A fist-sized Metal Spider dropped from the ceiling and landed right on Yang Jian's face. Several sharp limbs rose high, then gently pierced the vertical eye between Yang Jian's brows.

With a "hiss," a seam split open on the little Metal Spider's belly, and an extremely thin needle emerged, accurately piercing the pupil of the vertical eye. Through the transparent needle, threads of golden liquid could be seen continuously being drawn out.

Old Tie watched in silence. The crimson light in his eyes flickered rapidly, giving off an extraordinarily chaotic feeling.

Wu Tie did not dare make a sound.

The intense grief and despair emanating from Old Tie inexplicably weighed down his heart, infecting him with the same deep sorrow.

He looked at Old Tie, then at Yang Jian. He did not know what had happened between them, but he could see that they shared profound feelings...

The vertical eye between Yang Jian's brows dimmed, until even the last trace of golden light vanished.

A bolt of lightning shot from the Crystal Ball, and Yang Jian's body was sucked back inside, floating in dark-red liquid.

The fist-sized Metal Spider turned completely golden. Intense golden light erupted from its body, dazzlingly bright and painful to the eyes.

"Begin!" Old Tie shouted.

The golden Metal Spider suddenly sprang up and pounced onto the back of Wu Tie's neck. An extremely thin needle plunged deep into his neck, and a scorching current carrying boundless might crashed into him.

The hot current whirled fiercely through his body several times before swiftly rushing toward Wu Tie's head.

Wu Tie gave a muffled grunt. His entire body suddenly felt hollow, as though all his essence and qi had been drained away. His eyes rolled white, and he convulsed as he spewed great clouds of hot vapor, then collapsed heavily to the ground and fainted.

"The residual power in Yang Jian's divine eye is ten thousand times stronger than any awakening potion." Old Tie looked at the unconscious, convulsing Wu Tie and muttered softly. "Pour the Foundation Establishment Potions down him. Fifty-six bottles will be enough."

Several Metal Spiders returned carrying a large pile of potions. They forced open Wu Tie's mouth and continuously poured bottle after bottle of thick Foundation Establishment Potion into it.

The Foundation Establishment Potion was absorbed the instant it entered his mouth. Wu Tie's muscles writhed violently, and the heat pouring from his body had already formed milky-white mist.

His entire body felt as though it were being seared in a furnace.

Not only his body—his soul, too, was wrapped in blazing flames.

Wu Tie felt himself standing in boundless darkness, black flames raging from every direction, burning his spirit and flesh as though they would turn him to ash at any moment.

Yet in the boundless darkness, at an extremely distant place, two slender rays of light existed.

The two rays entwined around each other, forming a strange double helix as they flew rapidly through the darkness.

Wu Tie instinctively sprinted toward those two rays. He wanted to catch them, to see their true forms.

The next instant, the two rays shot toward Wu Tie, their intense light tearing apart the darkness.

Wu Tie vaguely saw that within the two spiraling, intertwined rays were two human figures.

Before he could make out their faces, unprecedented agony struck. The darkness around him suddenly erupted with an enormous cracking sound, and the entire world of darkness shattered. A fountain-like force surged wildly from the depths of his soul.

Inside the great hall, Old Tie and Big Iron waited quietly.

The air around Wu Tie vibrated strangely. Gradually, the air surrounding his body spun rapidly, transforming into a wind pillar over ten meters high that howled as it turned.

"It worked?" Old Tie cried out in delight.

Boom!

An invisible wave swept in all directions. Old Tie, Big Iron, and several Metal Spiders were all blasted away by the invisible force field.

Wu Tie rose upright, floating in midair. The space around him rippled violently like water, while faint golden light flickered in his eyes.

The innate power granted by the bloodline of his mother's family had awakened!