The Barbarian Hammer King

Bafen smiled at Barbarian Hammer King and said, "Barbarian Hammer King! Congratulations on clearing the twentieth floor of the Giant Axe Sky Bridge. From now on, our Human Race has gained another peak King-level expert!"

Barbarian Hammer King grinned, looking quite pleased, and said, "After nearly a hundred million years of cultivation, I've finally broken through. By the way, Bafen, I recall that every time I challenged the Sky Bridge before, you'd notify all my old friends. Why didn't I see any of them come to watch this time?"

Bafen gave an awkward smile and replied, "I just forgot, but after you cleared it, I sent them messages. They should know by now, I think."

Meanwhile, he silently grumbled to himself: "Who knew you'd actually succeed this time? You've been trying every few days, using the Sky Bridge guardians as sparring partners. You failed the twentieth floor dozens of times in a row—how could I keep sending emails to those King-level Immortals?"

Thinking this, Bafen decided to change the subject. He turned to Gulanxiu and said, "Little one! The Giant Axe Sky Bridge is empty now. You can go and challenge it!"

Barbarian Hammer King then noticed Gulanxiu standing nearby and asked Bafen, "And who is this?"

Gulanxiu quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Gulanxiu, member of the Fourth Secret Realm of the Axe Fighting Arena, pays respects to Lord Barbarian Hammer King!"

Barbarian Hammer King nodded and said, "So you're a little one from my Axe Fighting Arena! How many floors of the Sky Bridge have you cleared?"

Gulanxiu replied with some shame, "I just cleared the first floor ten years ago."

Bafen added, "This little one joined the Axe Fighting Arena only ten years ago. He's been cultivating in Chaos City for a decade, and this is his second time challenging the Sky Bridge."

Barbarian Hammer King nodded and said, "Little one, I'm in a good mood today. Meeting you here in the Sky Bridge realm is fate. If you can clear the third floor today, how about becoming my disciple? You should know, I've never taken on a disciple before! If you join my lineage, you'll be my first and senior disciple!"

Gulanxiu's eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded, saying excitedly, "Thank you, Lord Barbarian Hammer King! I will give it my all."

It was no wonder Gulanxiu was thrilled. While clearing the third floor of the Sky Bridge qualified one to seek a master among the grandmasters in Chaos City, the master still had to accept you—it was a two-way choice.

Gulanxiu didn't know many people in Chaos City and was unfamiliar with the temperaments of the various grandmasters. Unlike Luo Feng in the original story, Gulanxiu hadn't shown any outstanding traits, so no grandmaster had extended an olive branch to him.

Thus, he wasn't confident about successfully finding a master after clearing the third floor. Normally, after passing the third floor, if you wanted to apprentice under someone, you'd first attend their lectures. If your first attempt at apprenticeship failed, it became much harder afterward—after all, if you weren't their first choice, why would they prioritize you?

Now that a peak King-level expert had proactively reached out to him, Gulanxiu had to seize this opportunity. After all, anyone who cleared the eighteenth floor of the Sky Bridge was considered a grandmaster of their faction, and Barbarian Hammer King, as a peak King-level expert, was among the stronger grandmasters.

Moreover, Barbarian Hammer King had said he'd never taken a disciple. If Gulanxiu became his first, he'd be treated differently—both emotionally and in terms of resources—compared to any future disciples.

With this thought, a flicker of determination crossed Gulanxiu's eyes. He transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the Sky Bridge. This time, he had to clear the third floor of the Giant Axe Sky Bridge.

Just as Gulanxiu entered the Sky Bridge, several others arrived.

These were clearly King-level experts familiar with Barbarian Hammer King. A middle-aged man carrying a golden longsword smiled and said, "Haha! Barbarian Hammer! You really pulled it off—clearing the twentieth floor without a word!"

Barbarian Hammer King chuckled and replied, "I just took the first step! Golden Sword, you'll reach this point sooner or later too."

Golden Sword King shook his head and said, "That step isn't so easy to cross. I've been stuck here for eons. Without a breakthrough, I think my potential is exhausted."

A dragon-man covered in black scales beside Golden Sword King said, "Golden Sword! Don't lose heart! That Flame Dragon Venerable from our Universe Mercenary Alliance who recently broke through spent over ten thousand trillion epochs to become a Venerable. Our cultivation time isn't even a fraction of his. If we persevere, we'll advance sooner or later!"

Barbarian Hammer King nodded and said, "Yes! Black Dragon is right. Take me, for example—I challenged the twentieth floor dozens of times. This time, during the challenge, I finally gained insight and comprehended the Space Seal, which let me clear it!"

Just then, Bafen spoke up, "Look! That little one is starting his challenge!"

With that, he projected Gulanxiu's challenge video into the air.

A handsome man with wings on his back, bathed in holy light, said in surprise, "It's that little one!" This was Light Sword King, who had originally sent Gulanxiu to cultivate in Chaos City.

Barbarian Hammer King turned to Light Sword King and asked, "Light Sword! You know this little one?"

Light Sword King nodded and said, "I was the one who brought him to Chaos City! I wonder how far he's progressed in these ten years."

In the projection, Gulanxiu had already chosen his opponent. This time, he had selected a warrior again.

Gulanxiu struck first. As the battle began, he charged forward and swung his axe at the guardian!

The guardian met him with his own axe.

But clearly, Gulanxiu had the upper hand. The guardian was sent flying by Gulanxiu's single axe strike.

Gulanxiu pressed his advantage, following up with two more axe strikes. The guardian barely blocked the first but was cut in half by the second.

Seeing this, Golden Sword King said, "This little one cleared the second floor so easily. The third floor should be no problem."

Bafen nodded and said, "Judging by his current strength, that seems to be the case. Congratulations, Barbarian Hammer!"

Barbarian Hammer King nodded and said, "I just said it casually earlier. I didn't expect the little one to actually pull it off."

Bafen smiled and asked, "What? Are you going to back out?"

Barbarian Hammer King shook his head and said, "Meeting me is his fortune. Clearing it means he seized that fortune. I won't go back on my word."

Black Dragon King quickly asked, "What? Is there a story here we don't know about?"

Barbarian Hammer King replied, "Nothing much. I just promised the little one that if he cleared the third floor, I'd take him as my disciple."

Light Sword King interjected, "Then that little one is truly lucky. If I recall correctly, this is your first time taking a disciple!"