[Li Yaotie (Second Generation)] [Profession: Ninth Grade Artifact Refiner] [Realm: Fifth Level of Qi Refining] [Spiritual Root: Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root] [Techniques: Naqi Technique, Great Strength Hammer Technique] [Traits: Bone Strengthening, Destined for Iron] [Destined for Iron: When forging metal weapons, speed +100%, weapon proficiency +100%!]
"Third Young Master, you... you forged a magical artifact?!"
At the blacksmith shop in Zhien Village, four old village blacksmiths cheered and congratulated Li Yaotie over the heat of the furnace.
"What the hell kind of magical artifact is this?"
If Li Yaoqing becoming an apothecary had been the result of cultivating according to her own wishes, then this kid Li Yaotie had done it entirely by luck. He even tossed the newly forged iron sword aside with some disdain. "You've never seen a real treasure. I have!"
"That thing's made entirely of metal, and it's as tall as several houses. Forget Qi Refining cultivators—even Foundation Establishment experts can't break the iron on its body. Blue light can flare from it and send it flying through the sky. It's covered in weapons, and its shoulders can unleash true qi. It can even conjure divine swords out of thin air!"
As he described it to the blacksmiths, Li Yaotie's eyes brimmed with longing. He was thinking of the War Puppet their ancestor had used that day, that towering figure that had slain the Wang Family's Third Elder with a single sword strike!
It was also that day
that he realized this was the romance of a real man!
"My goal isn't to forge these kinds of magical artifacts. At most, they'll help me gain experience in artifact refining. Only a mighty puppet like that is my true goal!"
Clang!
The heavy hammer came down, and sparks flew.
Li Yaotie held a piece of steel with his tongs and slowly moved it behind him.
Behind him stood a wooden puppet model!
He carefully placed a steel plate forged from black iron onto the wooden figure's shoulder and fastened it with chains.
"Dreaming of forging a War Puppet?"
Watching the conversation between Li Yaotie and the craftsmen in the game, Li Xiang wasn't sure what to make of it. He could only hope Li Yaotie would manage to make his dream come true one day.
Li Xiang also understood.
Everyone in this game had their own thoughts, and as they grew, they chose their own paths. Of the four children in the Li Family's second generation, Li Yaozu was most like Li Dalong—a worthy heir to the position of clan head.
The solitary Li Yaoqing had chosen to become an apothecary and continued down the path of cultivating spiritual plants. By now, she had become the famous miracle healer of Zhien Village.
Li Yaowen, that frail young woman, had embarked on an arduous path. As she grew older, her intelligence steadily improved. Just like when she investigated that case last time, she could easily pinpoint the crux of a problem.
As for Li Yaotie, he had opened an artifact-forging shop in Zhien Village and was leading four blacksmiths in making iron goods for the whole clan.
[Year 28 of the Li Family.] [Li Dalong led the people of Zhien Village and members of the Li Family to the Silver Iron Forest. When they reached its central region, they heard a beast roar from within. A terrifying presence in the depths of the Silver Iron Forest warned the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python that if it ventured any farther, it would have no qualms about slaughtering every human under its Protection!]
"We can't go any farther. The Temple Guardian Beast says the Demon King inside is angry!"
After Xu Cuihua solemnly translated the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python's words, everyone had no choice but to stop exploring deeper into the Silver Iron Forest.
A Demon King's strength was already no different from that of a human in the Golden Core Realm!
"So we can't go in any farther?"
Li Xiang let out a long breath. The Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python had already told the Li Family about the Silver Iron Forest's situation.
It seemed the Demon King of the Silver Iron Forest had given the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python some face, and so it had never attacked the Li Family. But now the Li Family had ventured too deep, and their frequent explorations had begun to threaten the Demon King's habitat.
"But this is more or less enough. We can explore the outskirts slowly from now on."
Li Xiang didn't mind.
All the development over these years had raised the Li Family's overall strength by another level!
Zhien Village now had a population of three thousand.
Even Tailin Town had only had a population of forty thousand—and that was before the famine. By now, it probably had little more than half that number.
Just look at the Li Family's current grounds.
The Li Family's estate now covered ten thousand square meters. It had pavilions and towers with sweeping eaves and blue tiles, elegant and refined yet grand and imposing. The ground was paved with gray bricks, and green trees and flowers lined the surroundings. Even the four-meter-high walls were carved with dragons and phoenixes at play.
Beyond that lay the Spirit Beast Garden, where demonic beasts were raised. By now, it had become the Li Family's rear mountain. Farther off, the lush branches of the Beast Blood Fruit Tree stood like giants around the estate. Now and then, spirit beasts leapt through the branches as birds cried overhead.
Beyond the Spirit Beast Garden lay the Spirit Herb Garden and a few simple houses.
The Spirit Herb Garden had once been inside the Spirit Beast Garden, but as another Beast Blood Fruit Tree grew, there was gradually no room left for the spiritual herbs to grow. Li Yaoqing had moved the garden elsewhere.
A dozen or so boys and girls lived in those houses. They had been recruited from Zhien Village to help grow medicinal herbs, giving Li Yaoqing more time to cultivate spiritual herbs—and perhaps train a few apothecaries for the village.
Zhien Village lay just beyond the Li Family's estate.
Its people lived all around the estate, as if guarding the Li Family on every side.
The houses in Zhien Village stood in orderly rows, and bricks had been laid along the streets. The village had even developed its own trading system, with vendors hawking their wares along the street. But most of the people were farmers carrying water toward the fields outside the village. Nearly every household worked the land. Having suffered through the great drought, the villagers of Zhien knew better than anyone how important food was.
"Ha! Hah!"
At the center of Zhien Village, a group of young people practiced martial arts, while others nearby trained with bows.
The instructor called to them, "Back when we were in Tailin Town, those great Aristocratic Clans kept their cultivation methods locked away. But now we're in Zhien Village, and Master Li has shown you great kindness by teaching you the Naqi Technique."
"Now the opportunity is right in front of you. As long as you cultivate hard and manage to lift a three-hundred-pound stone, draw a three-picul bow, and hit a target a hundred paces away before the year is out, you'll have a chance to join the Eldest Young Master's guard!"
"After that, you'll be able to get spiritual herbs from the Second Young Miss—and even sacred fruit!"
At those words, the youths trained even harder.
At that moment, on top of a tall tower in the Li Family's estate,
Li Yaozu, who was now twenty-three, gazed with satisfaction at the young people training in the distance. "My guard will have thirty more people this year."
"Big Brother, we can't add any more."
Beside Li Yaozu, a maid pushed a wheelchair carrying a stunningly beautiful woman. With a book in her hands, she gazed at its pages as she spoke. "The clan guard needs to be paid every season."
"Each person receives ten portions of Second Sister's Body Forging Powder, along with a tax reduction. The rest is held together entirely by personal favors."
"You already have a guard of a hundred and fifty people, which is enough to maintain order in Zhien Village. If you keep expanding it, we'll run short of resources."
"Besides, there are still fifty maids in the household, and they need to be paid too..."
Li Yaozu scratched his head in frustration. "Ah, I get it! Then tell me, what should we do now? We can't go into the Silver Iron Forest, and Father went into seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. I never realized managing a clan was this hard! I've been managing the family for half a year, and apart from training the guards, I haven't done a single useful thing!"
"Does Big Brother want to accomplish something? Perhaps... we should go ask the ancestor."
Li Yaowen gave him a lovely smile.
Li Xiang was still watching the Li Family's development, feeling immensely proud. The clan had already begun to take shape.
Even though they couldn't continue exploring the Silver Iron Forest, they were still developing in an orderly fashion.
The Li Family's guards now included more than a dozen cultivators.
Li Yaotie, in particular, was always dreaming of forging a War Puppet, but he had never once slowed down in making weapons for the Li Family!
He led the blacksmiths of Zhien Village in forging equipment day and night. Even the tailors were working overtime.
By now, the Li Family's guards were all clad in chainmail made from black iron. The sunlight glinted off their armor, making them look impressively fierce. They also carried long blades forged from black iron, and each man had a three-picul bow made from black iron and beast sinew on his back.
If more than a hundred guards loosed their three-picul bows at once, even someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm would have to think twice about whether they could block every arrow.
Just as he was watching the family's progress,
a box appeared in front of the screen—
[Your descendants have a matter they wish to consult you about.]
The Family Cultivation Simulator was becoming more and more lifelike. Whenever members of the Li Family sought him out in the Ancestral Hall, time would automatically slow down, and the game would notify him.
He quickly switched views.
"Yaozu and Yaowen?"
By now, Li Dalong had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and entered closed-door cultivation, vowing not to emerge until he broke through to Foundation Establishment. Li Yaoqing and Li Yaotie were both workaholics, devoting nearly all their time to refining medicine and forging artifacts. They only showed up at the Li Family's estate if something truly stumped them.
As for Xu Cuihua, she was currently in the Spirit Beast Garden, taming a spirit beast.
"Hiss... sss..."
The Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python, sleeping in the Ancestral Hall, opened its eyes and hissed.
The siblings hurriedly knelt before the ancestral tablets. "We pay our respects to the ancestor!"
Li Yaowen said, "I have a bold idea, Ancestor, and I'd like to ask for your approval."
"Oh? You have an idea?" Li Xiang raised his eyebrows. For so long, he had been the one telling the Li Family what to do. This was the first time someone had come to him with a proposal.
He typed the word Speak into the computer.
As the Temple Guardian Beast hissed, Li Yaowen said,
"Since we can't continue developing the Silver Iron Forest, perhaps we should try a different direction. Doing business with Tailin Town could work. After all, we've accumulated a great deal of beast hide over the years, and the useless spiritual herbs we gathered from the Silver Iron Forest are piled high in our warehouses."
"Huh?"
Li Yaozu's eyes widened as he stared at his younger sister in disbelief. "Sis, we've already been fooled once. There's no way Tailin Town will fall for it again, is there?"
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