The second floor of the teahouse, in a private room.
Su Yun set down his teacup and watched through the window as the tale of Grandmaster's misfortune finally came to an end. He felt as refreshed as if he'd just finished a full-body massage.
"Refreshing."
He stretched, feeling every pore on his body open up.
Now this was how a transmigrator was supposed to live.
No miserable cultivation, no worrying about being outsmarted by that cheat, Tang San. All he had to do was move his pen, and he could toy with those self-important big shots as if they were puppets in his palm.
"Brother Su Yun, what are you looking at?"
Xiao Wu leaned on the windowsill and followed Su Yun's gaze. All she saw was the man who'd been thrown out struggling to his feet, with Tang San standing beside him, wearing a constipated expression.
"Huh? Isn't that the scary Grandmaster?"
Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes, curiosity written all over her face.
"Why is he crawling around on the ground? Is he practicing some new Soul Skill?"
"Pfft—"
Su Yun nearly spat out the tea he'd just taken into his mouth.
Practicing a Soul Skill?
That little Rabbit certainly had a peculiar way of thinking.
"Ahem. That's right."
Su Yun forced down his laughter and said with a straight face, "It's called the Prostration Divine Skill. It's Grandmaster's secret technique. They say that once you reach the highest level, you can make your face thicker than the city walls."
Xiao Wu nodded as if she understood. A hint of awe crept into her gaze as she looked at Yu Xiaogang. (Not really.)
"The human world... is so strange."
Su Yun patted her head, his eyes full of fondness.
"Stay away from those two in the future. You might catch their stupidity."
"Mm-hmm!"
Xiao Wu obediently rubbed her cheek against Su Yun's palm, looking just like a kitten begging to be petted.
Su Yun was thoroughly satisfied.
Raising a cute little girl really was the best.
After leaving the teahouse, Su Yun didn't hurry back to the other courtyard. Instead, he took Xiao Wu to the biggest blacksmith shop in Notting City.
Don't get the wrong idea. He wasn't there to forge anything.
He was there to snatch another one of Tang San's opportunities.
Although that madman Tang Hao had run off, he was bound to have more than one hidden hand left behind in Notting City.
Besides, since Tang San was going to practice Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he'd definitely come to the blacksmith shop looking for a part-time job.
All Su Yun had to do was block that path.
"Boss, I'll take this shop."
Standing at the entrance to the blacksmith shop, Su Yun slapped down a Gold Soul Coin Card with all the confidence in the world.
The boss, who'd been hammering away at the forge, was stunned by this sudden windfall. Even the hammer fell from his hand.
"B-buy the shop?"
The boss took the card with trembling hands. Seeing all those zeroes, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
There was enough money on it to buy ten blacksmith shops!
"What? Not enough?"
Su Yun raised an eyebrow.
"Enough, enough! More than enough!"
Afraid Su Yun might change his mind, the boss immediately signed the contract, grabbed the money, and ran off—lest the fool with money wake up a second too late.
Su Yun looked around the now-empty blacksmith shop, a mischievous grin curling his lips.
"All right. From today on, this is Su's Blacksmith Shop."
"From now on, if anyone named Tang San comes looking for work, we won't take him. Not only that, we'll put up a sign at the entrance: 'No entry for Tang San or dogs.'"
Xiao Wu didn't know why Su Yun was picking on Tang San, but as long as Brother Su Yun was happy, she was happy.
"Brother Su Yun, why did we buy a blacksmith shop? Are you going to forge things?"
"I'm not going to forge things."
Su Yun shook his head and took a blueprint out of the System Space.
"I'm going to make something fun."
The blueprint showed a strangely shaped weapon.
It was a legendary weapon from Su Yun's favorite game before he'd transmigrated: Frostmourne—the model, anyway.
Of course, he couldn't make the real Frostmourne, but that didn't stop him from using Soul Tool Technology to make a cheap knockoff.
"System, exchange for 'Beginner Soul Tool Crafting Mastery.'"
[ Ding! 500 Villain Value consumed. Exchange successful. ]
The next moment, a flood of knowledge about Soul Tool crafting poured into his mind.
Inscription engraving, material smelting, Core Arrays.
Su Yun closed his eyes and absorbed it for a while. When he opened them again, his entire bearing had changed.
The spoiled young master from moments ago had instantly become a tech nerd.
He picked up a hammer. He had none of the flashy techniques of Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, but every blow landed with pinpoint precision, its force just right.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The crisp sound of hammering echoed through the shop.
Xiao Wu watched with great interest from the side.
She didn't understand what he was doing, but she thought Brother Su Yun looked so handsome when he was seriously forging something.
Half an hour later.
A long sword, snow-white from hilt to tip and radiating cold air, had begun to take shape.
It was still only a half-finished piece, with even its Core Array yet to be engraved, but its sharp, chilling edge was already too fierce to look at directly.
"Whew..."
Su Yun wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at his handiwork, nodding with satisfaction.
"Not bad. It's no match for the original, but it'll be more than enough to fool that 'theoretical master.'"
He was making this sword to dig an even bigger pit for Yu Xiaogang.
Wasn't Yu Xiaogang supposedly Theory Invincible? Didn't he claim to have read everything under the sun?
Then Su Yun would make a weapon that went beyond his understanding and show him what a dimensionality-strike looked like.
Just as Su Yun was admiring his masterpiece, a commotion suddenly came from the entrance.
"Boss! Is the boss here? I'm looking for work!"
That voice...
It sounded familiar.
Su Yun turned around. Tang San stood at the entrance with his shabby bundle on his back, peering inside with an expectant expression.
And behind him stood Yu Xiaogang, who'd just been kicked out of Spirit Hall and looked like a stray dog.
What a small world.
The smile at the corners of Su Yun's mouth deepened.
He set down the sword in his hand and strolled outside.
"Well, if it isn't my classmate Tang San. What's the matter? Shouldn't you be studying hard at the academy? What are you doing in a place like this?"
Tang San's expression changed the instant he saw Su Yun.
Why is it him again?!
Does this guy haunt me or something?!
"You?"
Tang San warily took half a step back, standing in front of Yu Xiaogang. (Though Yu Xiaogang looked even weaker than he did at the moment.)
"You own this shop?"
"Just bought it."
Su Yun shrugged.
"What, do you have a problem with that?"
Tang San gritted his teeth, struggling to hold back his anger.
He'd come to the blacksmith shop looking for a job to earn some money for living expenses. He'd also hoped to buy some good food for his teacher to help him regain his strength.
Who would've thought he'd run into Su Yun again!
"Since you own it, I won't bother you."
Tang San turned to leave.
He might be poor, but he had his pride!
"Wait."
Su Yun called him back.
"Since you're here, you're a guest. Grandmaster doesn't look too good. Is he hungry?"
Su Yun pointed to the slop bucket beside him. (It had been left behind by the previous owner.)
"There's some leftover food in there. Should we get Grandmaster a bite to eat?"
"You!"
Tang San trembled with rage. The light of his Purple Demon Eye nearly slipped out of his control.
"Su Yun! Don't push people too far!"
"Push you around?"
Su Yun let out a cold laugh, picked up the freshly forged "Frostmourne" knockoff beside him, and casually twirled it in his hand.
"You think you're worth the trouble?"
"But Grandmaster seems to know quite a bit about Soul Tools, doesn't he? Why not take a look at my sword and give me your opinion?"
Before you continue