Mission Complete

The night was deep. On Qingping Mountain, Zhou Yang, as usual, lit a lamp and read the artifact-forging notes the Old Clan Leader had written when he was a Second-Rank Artifact Forger, preparing himself for his future advancement to Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

According to the records in Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's artifact-forging notes, once a First-Rank Artifact Forger's success rate in forging high-grade First-Rank Artifacts exceeded thirty percent, they could attempt to forge Second-tier Artifacts.

Only after an Artifact Forger reached the second rank could they rely on Artifact Forging Art to earn spirit stones. Otherwise, if they kept forging First-Rank Artifacts, even with a one-hundred-percent success rate, they could at most break even.

Therefore, aside from those Rogue Cultivators who had taken up the craft halfway through and knew nothing of its workings, normal lineages and sects would have their Artifact Forgers attempt the second rank once their success rate in forging First-Rank Artifacts exceeded thirty percent.

However, the spiritual materials needed to forge Second-tier Artifacts were already quite valuable. Even a Foundation Establishment Family like the Zhou Clan would generally provide only thirty sets of materials free of charge when nurturing a Second-Rank Artifact Forger. If all thirty sets were used up without success, the Artifact Forger would have to pay out of his own pocket to improve his Artifact Forging Art.

Zhou Yang's success rate in forging high-grade First-Rank Artifacts was still under twenty percent, so it would be some time before he could challenge the second rank. Yet when Elder Zhou Quan had last delivered materials to him, he had already brought along the thirty sets intended for Zhou Yang's attempt at becoming a Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

Perhaps because he had failed relatively few times when becoming a First-Rank Artifact Forger, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan believed he possessed considerable talent for artifact forging. Thus, there had been no special treatment in the number of materials given to him this time; everything had been handled strictly according to lineage rules.

He read by lamplight until the early hours of dawn. Then Zhou Yang's expression suddenly shifted, as if he had heard a buzzing hum.

His heart stirred. He hurried out of the room and looked toward the source of the buzzing, and his face changed instantly.

The object giving off the hum was none other than the main formation flag of the Cloud Sea Light Splitting Array planted outside the door. At this moment, the flag seemed to have been seized and shaken by an invisible giant hand, trembling violently.

"This is the spiritual mountain of the Jade Spring Zhou Clan! What petty rat dares trespass here!"

With a loud shout, he rushed forward, gripped the formation flag, and poured spiritual power into it to stabilize the formation. Borrowing the formation's might, he began searching for the intruder.

Yet before he could locate the trespasser, a sharp whoosh sounded. A palm had silently landed on his back.

"Don't get worked up, Little Nine. This is merely a small test from this old man."

Hearing that familiar voice, Zhou Yang's body, taut to the breaking point, relaxed. He turned around to look at the newcomer and could not help saying with a bitter smile, "Great-Grandfather, do you have some grievance against your grandson? Your grandson is timid; I cannot withstand you frightening me like this!"

The person who had suddenly broken into the formation in the middle of the night was none other than the Zhou Clan's Old Clan Leader, Zhou Minghan, who had originally been stationed at the Jade Spring Lake Oasis.

"Hehehe, Little Nine, are you blaming this old man? Then do you know how alarmed this old man was when Quan told me that you nearly barged into the Poison Fire Scorpions' nest?"

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan looked at Zhou Yang with a chuckle, but his words made Zhou Yang's heart pound in terror.

"Do you know how great this old man's expectations of you are? Do you know how great the expectations of the dozens of Zhou Clan cultivators are? You carry the hopes of so many people on your shoulders. It would be one thing if you had simply failed to cultivate properly on the mountain, but you actually hid it from this old man and the lineage, then ventured deep into the sea of sand to pursue demonic beasts. Do you know how severe a blow it would be to my Zhou Clan if anything happened to you?"

"What does our Zhou Clan lack now? An ore vein? A spiritual mountain?"

"No! What our Zhou Clan lacks is a qualified successor—a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who can take this old man's place after I pass away and guard this family estate of the Zhou Clan!"

"You say you are timid, but in this old man's eyes, not only are you not timid—you do not know the immensity of heaven and earth, and you do not fear death!"

The stern, thunderous words spoken by Zhou Minghan, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, were like the time Zhou Yang had used the First-Rank spell Clear Sound Art to address those mortal miners. Each word pierced straight into his heart, shaking him back again and again until his face turned ashen. He could not utter a single word in defense.

"This old man knows that you were precocious from childhood and have always had your own ideas. But you must understand that the dangers and cruelty of the Cultivation World are far from as simple as what you have learned from books and elders!"

"You wish to see the world outside. This old man does not oppose that. But ask yourself—have you prepared yourself to die at any moment?"

"Like today: if the one who came had not been this old man, but a Third-Rank Demonic Beast or a hostile Foundation Establishment Cultivator, then even with a formation here, do you think you could hold out until the lineage came to your aid?"

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's questions struck straight into the depths of Zhou Yang's heart, one after another. Usually eloquent and quick-witted, Zhou Yang was now drenched in cold sweat, unable to answer a single word.

"Great-Grandfather, please calm your anger. Your grandson knows he was wrong. Your grandson truly knows he was wrong!"

His face pale, he lowered his head and did not dare meet the Old Clan Leader's stern and imposing gaze, pleading for mercy again and again.

After all, Zhou Yang was the junior he valued most, and it would not do to be overly harsh. Seeing him like this, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's anger gradually subsided.

His expression softened, and he said evenly, "Get up. If this old man had truly wanted to punish you, I would have sent someone to replace you and bring you back to the lineage long ago. This time, I merely wished to teach you a lesson. You must understand that as a child of the lineage, when you act, you must not think only of yourself. You must also think more of the lineage and your family. Your parents labor every day in the market town—who do you think they are doing it all for? Do you truly not know?"

"Your grandson understands. From now on, your grandson will remember Great-Grandfather's teachings and will never make the same mistake again!" Zhou Yang raised his head. Tears shimmered faintly in his eyes, but his expression was exceptionally resolute. He had clearly taken the Old Clan Leader's words to heart.

A trace of gratification flashed through Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's eyes. Yet he merely waved his hand without showing it and said, "Enough. Less idle chatter. This old man cannot remain away from the lineage for too long. While there is still time, forge an artifact before me. Let this old man see your methods and skill. If you have any problems in cultivation, you may tell this old man about them as well."

Great-Grandfather still cared about me!

Delighted, Zhou Yang knew he had passed this trial. Without saying anything more, he promptly took out his artifact-forging furnace and materials and began forging on the spot.

This time, he was utterly focused, bringing out the same attitude he had once used when facing an inspection from his superiors in his previous life. In one breath, he completed the entire forging process and successfully forged a high-grade First-Rank Artifact, the Mysterious Steel Shield.

"Please offer your guidance, Great-Grandfather."

Once the artifact emerged from the furnace, Zhou Yang did not even stop to wipe the sweat from his brow before hurriedly handing it to Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who sat cross-legged nearby.

To his surprise, after taking the artifact, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan did not even look at it. He directly flicked out a strand of Sword Qi that cleaved it into several pieces, then moved the fragments before Zhou Yang's eyes and pointed out, piece by piece, the oversights and mistakes he had made while forging.

"Look here. These fracture lines are disorderly and chaotic, which shows that you did not fully refine the impurities from the metal. This tiny trace of impurity may seem not to affect the artifact's use, but it actually reduces its load-bearing capacity, making this spot a weakness in the artifact!"

"And the technique you used just now while forging..."

In technical crafts such as artifact forging and pill refining, having a master's instruction and lacking one were truly as different as heaven and earth.

Before receiving hands-on guidance from Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, a Tier 3 Artifact Forger, Zhou Yang had read countless artifact-forging texts and gone over the Old Clan Leader's notes for him time and again. Yet while forging, he still made many errors and omissions without realizing it.

This meant that after he failed, he often did not even know where he had failed. If he wanted to identify the cause on his own, he could only slowly search for it through one failure after another.

But in the eyes of Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, a Tier 3 Artifact Forger, the errors Zhou Yang neither knew of nor could discover were like lice on a monk's bald head—every last one laid bare, with nowhere to hide.

Thus, the errors he might have needed countless failures to uncover were effortlessly pointed out by the Old Clan Leader one by one, who even directly explained how to resolve them.

After this face-to-face instruction, Zhou Yang's artifact-forging skill underwent a sudden leap. He had a feeling that once he digested the knowledge Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan had taught him today, he could launch an attempt at becoming a Second-Rank Artifact Forger.

After guiding Zhou Yang in Artifact Forging Art, Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan answered several questions he had encountered in cultivation. Then, just as he had come quietly, he quietly departed again.

Though the Old Clan Leader had not said where he was going, Zhou Yang knew that he must be heading to the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein that Elder Zhou Quan and he had discovered.

Sure enough, on the day after the Old Clan Leader departed, Zhou Yang received a Sound Transmission Talisman from him.

In the Sound Transmission Talisman, the Old Clan Leader informed him that the Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein indeed contained a Tier 3 Low-grade spiritual vein and a Third-Rank Poison Fire Scorpion King. He told Zhou Yang not to approach that region again, but did not explain how the matter would be handled.

Since Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan had not said anything, Zhou Yang did not ask further. After all, the matter involved a Third-Rank Demonic Beast and was no longer something Qi Refining Cultivators like them could handle or decide. The Old Clan Leader surely understood far better than he did how it should be dealt with.

He only felt some regret for Elder Zhou Quan. After all, until the ore vein was officially put into operation, they could not receive their share for discovering it. Given the elder's age, he might well not live to see the day the ore vein was formally mined.

Another two years passed, and Zhou Yang's assignment guarding Qingping Mountain finally came to an end.

Having guarded Qingping Mountain for five years, he now missed the Jade Spring Lake Oasis immensely. He missed every sight upon Jade Spring Peak, the sweetness of Jade Spring Lake's waters, and the parents he had not seen in seven or eight years.

Therefore, after the lineage elder who had come to replace him, Seventeenth Uncle Zhou Xuanzhao, arrived, Zhou Yang did not wish to linger for even a moment. He hastily completed the handover, then, amid the complaints of this youngest elder, set out for home with his heart flying ahead of him.

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