Life-Taking Throat-Locking Spear

Crackle!

Hong Yuan strode through the raging wind and rain. Raindrops as large as beans fell thick as arrows, pelting him without cease.

Sprays of water burst across him and streamed from his clothes. His long hair hung loose, whipped across his eyes again and again by the storm.

He looked like a drowned rat!

Hong Yuan did not care. He felt exhilarated. Alone beneath a sky where wind and rain tangled, he threw back his head and laughed wildly.

His boots had already split during the fierce fight. After sloshing through muddy water, they had fallen apart completely. He had no idea where he had kicked them off.

Now barefoot, he gave in to a sudden fit of playfulness and deliberately stomped through the puddles in the road. Mud splashed all over him, only to be washed away by the pouring rain before he dirtied himself again.

Hong Yuan was happy. His only slight regret was that he had no wine in hand.

At the bottom of his vision, his personal information refreshed!

[Blessed Land Dao Lord (Gray)—Ascending the Platform, First Rank: Hong Yuan (18)]

[Root Bone: 6/100]

[Comprehension: 7/100]

[Talents: Qi Through All Bones, Clear Eyes Through the Nether]

Rumble!

A torrent surged through the depths of the mountain ravine, and a gray rock the size of a human head came hurtling down with the flood.

With a crash, it struck the ground directly in front of Hong Yuan, gouging out a puddle and splattering mud across his face.

Hong Yuan took several quick steps, then leaped and drove his foot into it as though shooting a ball.

Whoosh!

The rock shot away in a spray of mud and water. After flying five or six zhang, it slammed into a tree trunk and exploded into hundreds of fragments.

Hong Yuan looked down at his foot. A dull ache lingered there, but as his qi and blood circulated, it quickly faded. Only a broad red mark remained across the top of his foot.

Hong Yuan smiled with satisfaction.

Just as he had expected, after his Root Bone increased by six increments, every aspect of his physique had risen a small step.

That was without even mentioning the gains in strength and speed.

What he could feel for himself was that his muscles and bones had grown sturdier, while his skin had become remarkably supple and tough.

Perhaps it could already be called stone skin or oxhide. The flesh beneath was no less resilient.

Hong Yuan reckoned that even with a sharp blade in hand, an ordinary person would have trouble cutting through his skin and flesh.

As for his Comprehension rising from six to seven, Hong Yuan closed his eyes and settled his mind. He used his meditation method to reflect everything around him, and a mysterious spiritual awareness spread outward.

In an instant, the tumultuous roar of rain and wind fell away.

A new world, quiet and clear, suddenly opened within Hong Yuan's mind.

One zhang, two zhang, three zhang!

Within a range of roughly three zhang, it was as if Hong Yuan could see through everything. He "saw" an earthworm slowly writhing beneath the wet soil and burrowing through it. Beside it, a gray-black beetle hid among dead leaves, only to be swept away by muddy water!

He could even "see" several midges a few steps away, their wings battered off by the downpour, huddling together as they struggled.

Every tiny detail stood out.

He had never felt anything like it. It was wondrous, as though he were a god high above the heavens, looking down on all living things as if they were ants and insects.

But Hong Yuan knew this was only an illusion brought on by the sudden sharpening of his senses, so he soon pulled himself free of that intoxicating state.

Feeling the rain strike him like arrows once more, Hong Yuan rubbed his brow. He was a little tired.

It was only mental fatigue, of course. Boundless strength still surged through his body. He stamped his foot, sending sheets of muddy water flying, and shot forward like a cannonball.

In the blink of an eye, he left the woods and reached the official road. Without stopping, Hong Yuan ran more than twenty li in one breath, leaving the storm far behind.

There were gradually more travelers along the road.

Hong Yuan asked someone to confirm the route, in case he had run in the wrong direction.

Fortunately, he had not strayed from his destination. Linjiang Prefectural City was now only a little over forty li away.

That earlier run had cost Hong Yuan next to nothing. He could cover the remaining distance in two quarters of an hour at most.

But he had come to Lanyue Garden to kill someone—to kill Wei Zhenzhu—so naturally, he needed to prepare.

Along the way, he had passed through county towns and fought many renowned martial artists, absorbing the best of their fist techniques, footwork, and weapon arts until he had made them his own!

His Root Bone and Comprehension had improved as well.

Even if a so-called martial arts grandmaster, an expert whose control of force had reached Subtlety, stood before him now, they would have to fight before anyone could say who was stronger.

The only thing he lacked was a weapon that suited him.

To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools!

Hong Yuan had chosen this route because he had heard that a large town called Black Iron Town lay several li ahead.

The town stood against Black Ridge Mountain, which was rich in iron ore. Its most celebrated variety was Cloud Pattern Iron.

That ore had few impurities and great toughness, making it a superior material for forging fine weapons of all kinds. A century ago, the Imperial Court had therefore relocated a group of smithing households there and established the town.

Later, the central government lost its grip and local powers carved out territories for themselves. But the smithing households had already settled and raised families there, so they stayed. As the town's reputation grew, it drew ever more skilled smiths, and its size expanded again and again.

The closer Hong Yuan came to Black Iron Town, the more travelers and merchants he encountered.

Over just a few li, he saw more than a dozen groups of martial artists with sabers and swords, dressed for swift movement. All had come because of the town's reputation.

Perhaps some had the same idea as Hong Yuan.

Soon a sprawling town came into view. Mountains enclosed it on three sides, leaving only an eastern exit onto the official road. A stream plunged down from the mountain, ran through the town, and joined the Yudai River.

The town even had walls, built directly from great stones quarried in the mountains. They stood over two zhang high. Though perhaps less solidly built than the walls of some county seats, they made up for it in sheer height and thickness.

At the gate and atop the walls, some twenty or thirty guards in fine armor kept watch!

Entering required an inspection. The gate officer had seemed inclined to make trouble, but the moment Hong Yuan handed him a silver ingot, he let him through.

With his hair loose and his feet bare, Hong Yuan walked down the main street. People pressed shoulder to shoulder amid a lively clamor!

He looked around. Houses stood in neat rows, packed close as scales. There were restaurants, shops, teahouses, and stages for plays!

And, of course, there was no shortage of clanging smithies. Every few steps, he passed another shop selling weapons.

Black Iron Town was said to have more than ten thousand permanent residents, making it nearly the size of a small county seat. Its defenses were probably stronger than those of any county in Linjiang Prefecture.

As Hong Yuan wandered, he saw armed patrols moving along street after street. Each squad had ten guards. Whenever people argued or fought, a patrol stepped in at once, either scolding them or hauling them away!

Beyond those town guards, several watchtowers stood on the heights of Black Ridge Mountain on three sides of the town.

Hong Yuan had only spotted them after entering.

With those towers in place, each needing only three to five people on rotation, the guards could look down on everything for dozens of li around. If bandits or the like attacked, they could swiftly light signal fires to sound the alarm.

Together with the town guards and their fine armor and weapons, the walls could hold against thousands, even tens of thousands of attackers. They certainly could not be taken quickly.

And if the town held out for an hour or two, word would reach the Prefectural City, whereupon the three great prefectural guard forces would mobilize.

With that to rely on, it was no wonder the gate guards looked strict but were lax in practice.

After all, if Hong Yuan could pay to get in, a determined thief could do the same.

Hong Yuan did not wander for long. He was still soaked and caked with drying mud. After casually buying a short blade from a smithy, he went straight to the largest restaurant in town.

The restaurant was full, but after Hong Yuan began scattering silver, a private room quickly became available.

He sent one attendant to buy new clothes and boots, and another to prepare a bath and heat the water. He told the manager to send food and wine straight to his room after he had bathed.

With silver paving the way, the attendants moved briskly. Before long, Hong Yuan was reclining comfortably in a steaming bathtub.

After soaking for a while, he took out the short blade he had bought and casually swung it, slicing a corner off the table in the room.

Having confirmed how sharp the edge was,

Hong Yuan held the blade in his right hand and drew it swiftly across his left upper arm.

Hiss!

It was like cutting into some kind of leather. The edge slid away, leaving a white line on Hong Yuan's arm. He tensed his muscles slightly, and the line vanished at once.

Hong Yuan's face lit up.

He had not used much force, but the result showed that he truly was evolving toward something beyond human.

After he crossed over, his body had been strengthened once already. Even then, his Root Bone could have ranked among the very best of ordinary people.

From that foundation, every small increase in Root Bone had made him stronger. Now, after passing five increments and reaching six, his body had finally undergone a minor transformation.

Hong Yuan had a curious feeling that five increments of Root Bone or Comprehension marked a small threshold, while ten would be a major one!

Perhaps when he reached ten, he would undergo a true transformation, an elevation of both body and spirit.

Hong Yuan looked forward to it.

He pressed the blade against his arm again and increased the force in his right hand. Only when he used a tenth of his strength did it break the skin, and even then, his resilient flesh immediately stopped it from going deeper.

At his current level, a tenth of Hong Yuan's strength already exceeded that of most ordinary people!

He did not test it further. He circulated his qi and blood, and his left arm stopped bleeding at once.

He called an attendant to change the water, washed himself clean, and only then leisurely put on a fresh white robe.

As though they had timed it perfectly, he had barely finished changing when the manager arrived, smiling broadly and leading two attendants who carried trays laden with dishes and wine.

When he had the means, Hong Yuan would never treat himself poorly. He had ordered every specialty the restaurant offered, along with two pots of fine wine.

Once everything was on the table, the manager eagerly asked whether he wanted someone to stay and serve him.

Hong Yuan waved him away and opened the window.

A cool breeze drifted in, lifting the strands of hair that had not yet fully dried.

It was late afternoon. The setting sun shone at an angle, sending warm rays through the window.

Hong Yuan watched the bustling crowd below and listened to the clanging of iron throughout the town. At his leisure, he filled a cup with wine and took a contented sip.

The meal lasted nearly half an hour. By the time evening came, he finally made his leisurely way downstairs.

The attendants could take care of the leftovers in his room.

Whether he was buying a fine weapon or commissioning a new one, Hong Yuan had no intention of going to a tiny workshop with three or five workers.

Black Iron Town had master smiths aplenty, but two families stood above the rest: the Ou Family and the Xu Family.

Between them, those families all but controlled Black Iron Town. The commanders of the town patrols and the gate guards came from one family each.

Nor were they rivals, as most people might imagine. On the contrary, they were on excellent terms. Together they had founded the Hundred Refinement Workshop and invited more than a dozen master craftsmen to join them. They also did business with many great families in the Prefectural City.

An iron-forging workshop would not be built in the shopping district, of course. Hong Yuan turned down two streets and reached what the townspeople called Smiths' Street. At its far end, a broad workshop compound came into view.

Above the main entrance hung a gilded sign bearing the words "Hundred Refinement Workshop."

Hong Yuan walked straight in. At the sound, a middle-aged manager working an abacus looked up. The visitor wore plain clothes and had let his hair fall loose, yet his bearing was more striking than any the manager had ever seen. Not daring to slight him, the manager hurriedly asked, "How may I help you, young master?"

"My surname is Hong. I'd like to have a weapon made."

"Well... Young Master Hong, you may not know this, but the Hundred Refinement Workshop doesn't take commissions from individuals. If you wish to have a weapon forged, I'd be happy to recommend the Cast Iron Workshop or the Silver Hook Workshop. Both have excellent craftsmen."

By then, the middle-aged manager suspected Hong Yuan was a young master from some wealthy family who had taken a sudden fancy to playing the wandering hero.

Hong Yuan smiled. "There are always exceptions."

He glanced around, spotted a weapon rack along one side of the hall, and walked over to take a long saber of refined iron. He flicked it with a finger, drawing a clear ring!

Several attendants were also in the shop. They and the middle-aged manager all looked over, wondering what Hong Yuan meant to do.

Hong Yuan reached out with the five fingers of his right hand and gripped the spine of the blade. There was a sharp crack. Before the baffled manager could make sense of it, Hong Yuan handed him the saber.

"Please take this saber to your head manager and tell him what I have in mind."

The middle-aged manager accepted it in confusion, then drew in a sharp breath. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly raised the blade for a closer look.

Five deep finger marks now stood out on the gleaming steel saber, pressed into it as though the blade were made of clay.

The middle-aged manager looked again and again. When he raised his eyes to Hong Yuan, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

The saber in his hand was not forged from Cloud Pattern Iron, but it was still a master craftsman's work. A sword from an ordinary workshop would break against it in a single blow. Yet this graceful, extraordinarily handsome young man had left marks in it with five flesh-and-blood fingers. What kind of strength was that?

Working in this trade, the manager had long dealt with wandering heroes and martial artists of every sort. He even knew many gang leaders and masters from martial sects.

But in more than half a lifetime, he had never seen anyone grip iron with five fingers and leave an imprint.

Shaken, the middle-aged manager was glad he had shown proper respect. He hurriedly bowed. "Please wait a moment, young master. I'll fetch the workshop master at once."

With that, he told the attendants to serve good tea and look after the guest, then hurried away carrying the saber.

Hong Yuan waited about half a quarter of an hour.

Steady, forceful footsteps sounded.

Then a man of about fifty strode swiftly out from the rear hall. He had a thick, bristling beard and a ruddy face. Even his brocade robe could not conceal his bulging muscles, and an iron crown sat on his head.

His booming laugh reached Hong Yuan before he did.

"Ha ha! I heard magpies calling from the branches first thing this morning, and now I see why—a distinguished guest has arrived! I am Ou Zhenyun, head manager of the Hundred Refinement Workshop. A pleasure to meet you, Young Master Hong!"

In a few strides, the powerfully built man, brimming with vigor, reached him and bowed. He studied Hong Yuan, surprise flashing through his eyes.

If the middle-aged manager had not been a younger member of his family, and so utterly certain of what he had seen, Ou Zhenyun would never have believed this young man possessed such terrifying finger strength!

"A pleasure, Mr. Ou!" Ou Zhenyun had greeted him courteously, and Hong Yuan returned the courtesy with a smile.

"Ha ha! No need for 'mister.' I'm only a blacksmith. Even now, I'm not used to wearing clothes like these!"

Ou Zhenyun laughed heartily and stroked his beard. "Forgive me for asking, but which great sect do you hail from, Young Master Hong? Such astonishing skill! To tell the truth, when I saw that blade, I leaped up so fast I nearly cracked my head against the ceiling beam."

He spoke as though joking.

Hong Yuan smiled. "Then the fault was mine. I'm afraid I must disappoint you, though, sir. I'm only a wanderer of the martial world."

Ou Zhenyun did not believe him, assuming he had his reasons for keeping his origins hidden. He changed the subject. "What kind of weapon would you like forged, Young Master Hong?"

"I want a spear forged—the Life-Taking Throat-Locking Spear!"

Hong Yuan smiled. A scene from The Five Shaolin Masters, with Hong Xiguan fighting with a spear, rose in his mind.

They both had the surname Hong. Surely borrowing the idea would be fine!

"It's hard to explain in words. Please bring me paper and a brush, Mr. Ou."