Never Scorn an Old Man for Being Poor

"Old Li, it's been sixty years. Why are you still so stubborn?"

In the western region of the Profound Realm, at the menial workers' quarters of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect's outer sect.

Waves of heat rolled through the air, accompanied by the ceaseless clang-clang-clang of hammering!

White-haired Li Ping'an, lean and wiry all over, swung his iron hammer.

Seeing that Li Ping'an ignored him, Zhou Wen, the head steward of the menial workers beside him, let out a sigh.

"Old Li! My old brother, just listen to me for once. Let go of everything, go down the mountain, and live out your last few years in peace!"

"That person is already someone we can only look up to. Stop clinging to fantasies."

"Even if you truly follow the rules laid down by the founding patriarch and forge one hundred thousand iron tools to enter the inner sect, so what? How many years do you have left to live?"

Li Ping'an did not reply. Only the arm gripping his iron hammer tightened with greater force.

Sixty years—an obsession spanning a full sixty years. How could he possibly give up?

Even if I die, I have to fulfill that promise!

Li Ping'an was unwilling to accept this. Countless scenes from the past began surfacing in his mind.

From when he had transmigrated to the little village at the foot of the mountain and met Lu Xue, his childhood sweetheart who had set his heart racing.

To when they had run and played carefree through the fields, and then when, at eighteen, full of youthful spirit, they had stood at the foot of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect and made their vow.

They would enter the inner sect together!

"Brother Ping'an, once you enter the inner sect, I'll marry you!"

Clang, clang, clang. The crisp strikes still echoed, yet Li Ping'an's ears were now filled with those gentle words from long ago.

So immersed was Li Ping'an that he had no idea a dense crowd had already gathered outside the room.

More than a thousand menial disciples, along with several thousand outer sect disciples, stared eagerly at Li Ping'an inside the room. The sight was truly spectacular!

They had gathered here to witness a miracle!

A miracle that had never appeared in the history of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect.

A menial worker with the most worthless talent was about to retrace the path of the founding patriarch and enter the inner sect through sword forging!

It was not only menial workers and outer sect disciples. Quite a few inner sect elders and disciples hovered in midair as well.

Outside the room was bustling; inside, it was tranquil.

Other than the clang-clang-clang of forging, only heavy breathing could be heard.

Sizzle...

The instant the final longsword emerged from quenching.

At the summit of Heaven-Piercing Peak, the Heaven-Ringing Bell, sealed away for sixty years, let out a thunderous chime.

The bell's toll was vast and distant, instantly spreading across the entire immortal mountain.

The Heaven-Ringing Bell did not ring unless something momentous had occurred!

Yet now, it rang for a mere menial disciple!

Hearing the bell, countless menial workers wore complicated expressions, their hearts filled with envy.

"The Heaven-Ringing Bell! He really stirred the Heaven-Ringing Bell! My heavens!"

"The last time the Heaven-Ringing Bell rang was sixty years ago, when Senior Sister Lu Xue was found to possess a supreme immortal bone, right?"

"What Senior Sister Lu? She should be called Saintess Lu now. I remember they seemed to have been childhood sweethearts back then!"

Hearing that familiar bell, tears welled in Li Ping'an's eyes.

Lu Xue!

I did it!

After a full sixty years, I've finally done what I promised you.

Clutching the battered iron hammer that had accompanied him for sixty years, Li Ping'an stepped out of the room.

He was not at all surprised by the sea of people filling the square.

Stirring the bell's chime had always drawn everyone's attention. It had been the same sixty years ago.

Lu Xue, did you see it? I stirred the bell too, just like you did.

Now I'm going to join the inner sect too!

His heart surging with excitement, Li Ping'an swept his gaze around, but did not find the figure that had haunted his dreams.

Disappointment rose in his heart, but when he saw the elders standing on flying swords in midair, he consoled himself.

Once I enter the inner sect, we'll be able to meet!

"Menial disciple Li Ping'an pays respects to the elders!"

Seeing Li Ping'an cup his hands in salute, the elders wore complicated expressions and sighed inwardly.

What a pity! What a terrible pity!

A person of such great perseverance should have achieved something, no matter how poor his talent was.

The sect's founding patriarch had also possessed a low-grade spiritual root, relying on the forging of one hundred thousand swords to attain enlightenment.

But Li Ping'an before them was simply too old.

His blood and qi were nearly exhausted, the life force within him feeble. His entire body was like a dying tree.

Even if he entered the inner sect to cultivate, he had only a few years left!

"Which one of you will take him?"

"Old Lu, you take him. I'm already full!"

"Bullshit. If anyone's taking him, it's you. I won't!"

As several elders passed the buck among themselves, the purple-robed elder standing at the front put away his flying sword, landed several paces before Li Ping'an, and sighed.

"Li Ping'an, according to sect rules, today you may be exceptionally promoted to an inner sect disciple and take an elder as your master."

"Now that the elders of all seven peaks are here, whose disciple do you wish to become?"

At the elder's words, everyone looked at him in unison.

Becoming the disciple of an inner sect elder was the dream of countless menial workers and outer sect disciples!

It was an opportunity to rise to the heavens in a single step.

Li Ping'an looked at the lofty inner sect elders around him, but shook his head.

"Elders, Ping'an does not dare hope to become an elder's disciple. I only ask to enter the inner sect and see someone."

The purple-robed elder was somewhat surprised.

"Who?"

"I only wish to see Lu... Lu Xue once."

At the mention of that name, the surroundings instantly fell silent, every face filled with gossiping curiosity.

The rumors were true after all. This fellow really did have some connection to the Saintess!

The elders exchanged glances, a trace of regret flickering through their eyes.

Behind them, however, the expressions of the young male disciples riding swords suddenly darkened. A number of them even gained a hint of coldness in their eyes.

The female disciples, meanwhile, wore varied expressions and began whispering among themselves, their tones carrying an indescribable jealousy.

"Li Ping'an, Saintess Lu Xue is already as far above you as heaven and earth. Do not entertain any more delusions."

An inner sect disciple snorted coldly, and the entire outer sect immediately erupted into boos.

The purple-robed elder sighed and gently waved his sleeve.

A bottle of pills in white jade and an old wooden stick slowly floated before Li Ping'an.

"These were entrusted to you by Lu Xue. She has passed the trial of the Soaring Heaven Mystic Realm, reached the Heaven-Piercing Realm, and officially become the Saintess of the Soaring Heaven Sacred Land."

"This morning, the Sacred Land's flying vessel had already taken her away. Before leaving, she asked me to pass these on to you. She also left you a message: the immortal path is vast, and mortal ties have come to an end!"

"If you still wish to remain in the inner sect, take this longevity-extending pill to the Inner Affairs Pavilion and register. Someone will arrange an easy position for you."

With that, the elders turned into streams of light and flew toward the main peak without looking back.

The disciples in the air also dispersed one after another. No one spared the old man another glance.

Li Ping'an stood frozen in place.

Saintess... you actually became a Saintess.

Body Tempering, Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, Spirit Condensation, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Heaven-Piercing, Spirit Transformation, Earth Immortal, Ascension.

We're separated by five whole major realms. Even if I exhaust my entire life, will I still be unable to reach you—unable even to look up at you?

Standing alone on the empty ground, Li Ping'an slowly stretched out his hands and caught that short, thick wooden stick.

The stick was old, yet the writing carved into it remained clear.

"Ping'an."

Lu Xue had carved it with her own hands!

Li Ping'an's eyes reddened. On the night before they had gone up the mountain, he had split his family heirloom, an old iron hammer, into two.

He had kept the iron hammerhead for himself, while giving the wooden handle to Lu Xue as a token of their love.

"The immortal path is vast, and mortal ties have come to an end!"

Li Ping'an only felt a tightness in his chest. With a puff, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The blood landed upon the worn wooden handle.

Buzz.

The decayed wooden stick suddenly trembled, emitting a faint red glow.

The next moment, it smashed straight through the hammer's handle and embedded itself into the old iron hammer in Li Ping'an's right hand.

The instant the two became one, pure power surged through his arm and into every limb and bone in his body.

Boom!

A vast, distant voice rang out in his mind.

Golden light bloomed within his sea of consciousness, forming three ancient, simple characters.

"Heaven-Tempering Hammer!"

A deep, heavy voice echoed ceaselessly beside his ears.

"The ancient divine weapon, the Heaven-Tempering Hammer, can temper all things between heaven and earth."

"First: Heaven Tempering. It can refine all things and remove their dross."

"Second: Earth Forging. It can turn the ordinary into the divine and reshape weapons and armor."

"Third: Immortal Smelting. It can absorb the spiritual essence of heaven and earth and make it one's own."

"Fourth: Divine Casting. It can reverse heaven and earth and recast the world."

Li Ping'an was so shaken that his scalp went numb, his mind reeling!

He stared blankly at the dark-gold iron hammer in his hand, unable to believe it.

The Heaven-Tempering Hammer?

The ordinary iron hammer passed down through my family was actually a peerless divine weapon?

And I actually split this divine weapon in two and buried its brilliance for sixty years!

A bitter expression crossed Li Ping'an's face as he raised his head and looked at the heavens.

"Heavens, you really know how to toy with me."