Acknowledging a Boss, Armor Forging Hall

"Hmm? You're not kneeling?"

Chu He raised a brow. Seeing no reaction from the other party, he suddenly pressed his palm downward.

Whoosh—

The young man dropped to his knees at incredible speed. His knees shattered the bluestone bricks, smashing two small pits into the ground. His legs could not withstand such immense force, and flesh and blood split apart.

"Ah... ughhh..."

"Shh..." Chu He covered the mouth that was letting out a miserable scream, his gaze icy as he said, "You should be grateful this is inside town. If this had been outside, after following me for so long, you'd already have been crushed into a lump of meat."

The other young man behind him had originally marched over menacingly. Seeing his good brother kneel after a single exchange, he turned and ran.

He even shouted in panic:

"Little Four, hold on! I'm going to get the boss!"

Damn it, how was he supposed to hold on?

The young man named Little Four looked up and met Chu He's cold eyes. On the verge of tears, he endured the pain and watched his fleeing brother, saying with extreme indignation, "Y-you... why aren't you chasing him?"

"Brother, I've only just arrived and don't have much silver on me. Your brother's going to find someone to bring me money. Why would I stop him?"

Hearing the arrogance in Chu He's words, Little Four's eyes widened. Though fierce in appearance and weak at heart, he said, "My boss is a well-known local tyrant around here, an expert in the Blood Condensation Realm. Do you still think he's coming to bring you money?"

"The Blood Condensation Realm?" The curve of Chu He's lips deepened into an even broader smile. "I happen to be looking for a place to settle here. Since your boss is so capable, perhaps he can help me take care of that too."

"Y-you..."

Little Four was no fool. He heard the mockery in Chu He's words, and cold sweat immediately streamed down his face as all sorts of speculations surfaced in his mind.

The more he thought, the more frightened he became. The way he looked at Chu He changed completely. What they had set their sights on this time might not have been a fat sheep, but a man-eating tiger!

"Tell me about Black River Town's current situation. What forces are there, how are they distributed, what experts are around, whether anything major has happened recently—tell me everything in detail."

Chu He could not be bothered to slowly adapt to his surroundings and secretly investigate this information himself. He simply caught a local and subjected him to a brutal interrogation.

"If you don't want to talk, that's fine too, but I'm about to put some strength into it..."

"No, no, no, I'll talk, I'll talk! None of this is a secret in Black River Town. It's this little brother's honor to answer Big Brother's questions."

Perhaps Chu He's complete confidence had led Little Four to the wrong conclusion. Enduring the pain in both knees, he spilled everything out in one breath.

As he spoke, he continued flattering Chu He and buttering him up.

Chu He grew impatient and ordered him to stop talking nonsense.

By the time the sun had risen high, it was already slanting westward.

"Is your boss coming or not?"

Chu He squatted by a roadside wall, asking with an unfriendly expression.

"I... I don't know either."

Little Four's legs had been simply bandaged. Leaning on a wooden stick from who knew where, he gave a bitter smile. "Either my boss isn't around, or Chen Ze never intended to tell him at all..."

"No! Liu Yiyang is not my boss. From now on, I'm making a clean break with them! I'll never follow them in doing those sneaky, thieving things again. I'll draw a clear line between us and turn over a new leaf!"

At the mention of this, Little Four became impassioned. He jabbed the bluestone bricks hard with the stick tucked beneath his arm, as though using it to remind himself and steel his resolve.

Chu He gave the fellow a strange look.

What was this guy trying to do?

"Forget it. Waiting around is boring." Chu He stood up and twisted his waist. "Since the fat sheep won't take the bait, I'll look elsewhere."

With that, he turned and strode away with ease.

"Big Brother... Big Brother!"

Little Four did not know Chu He's name, so he could only lean on his crutch and hop after him, shouting loudly:

"Big Brother, can I follow you?"

Just as he was about to leave the street, Chu He stopped. He turned and swept Little Four with a cold glance. "Are you mistaken? I'm a good man. I'm not like those gang leaders. What would I want a lackey for?"

No, I think you look even more like a bandit...

Naturally, Little Four did not dare say that aloud.

"There are lots of benefits to having a lackey! I can serve you tea and water, gather information, run errands, flatter you..."

Seizing the opportunity, Little Four did his utmost to promote himself.

He talked until even Chu He, who had been ready to ignore him and leave, felt a faint stirring of interest. Chu He considered it for a moment before finally saying one thing.

"Tomorrow, come find me at Phoenix Gathering Inn..."

After saying that, Chu He took several swift leaps and vanished at the end of the street.

"Alright, alright, alright! Take care, Big Brother! Your little brother will definitely be there!"

Little Four waved enthusiastically. Only after a long while, once Chu He had completely disappeared, did excitement appear on his face. He muttered, "The Furnace Realm—he's definitely an expert of the Furnace Realm! I've latched onto a powerful thigh this time!"

Just that unruffled bearing alone, along with his calm willingness to squat there and wait, ready to extort an old-established Blood Condensation Realm expert like Liu Yiyang—

All of it showed that Chu He was a Furnace Realm expert!

In Black River Town, Furnace Realm experts were not commonly seen. Every one of them was either the first or second-in-command of some renowned major force.

That showed just how valuable they were.

Chu He walked along the main road, passing through the bustling crowd.

He knew exactly what Little Four was plotting, but he had no intention of explaining. He happened to be short-handed anyway, so why not?

Putting the matter aside, Chu He turned and entered that inn.

Phoenix Gathering Inn.

The inn was cold and quiet, with few travelers.

The short, fat old shopkeeper listlessly worked his abacus. The thin waiter wiped down tables, his ears slightly perked and his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Only several tables of patrons were quietly eating and drinking on the first floor. When they saw Chu He enter, they merely glanced up at him without much interest.

"Esteemed guest, are you staying the night or dining?" The waiter took a wooden menu board from the counter and walked over, a damp towel draped over his shoulder.

"Both staying and dining."

Chu He took the menu and looked it over. Every dish was unfamiliar. He touched the few gold ingots in his robes, still not yet warm from his body heat.

"Bring me one of every dish, and a jar of good wine."

"Huh?"

"I mean, cook one serving of every dish on the menu. As for payment, see whether this is enough..."

After thinking for a moment, Chu He took out a gold ingot and waved it around, displaying his wealth before stuffing it back into his robes. Before the waiter could even see what it was, the nimble fat shopkeeper had already squeezed him aside.

The fat shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, his face full of eagerness. "Hehe, honored guest, this way. This old man will personally serve your dishes. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

As he spoke, he shot the dumbfounded waiter a glare. "What are you standing around for? Move it! Why aren't you telling the kitchen to start cooking?"

"Ah, oh, okay."

The waiter nodded in a fluster and turned to leave the hall.

When he passed those tables of diners, however, he could not help stopping again, pricking up his ears to secretly listen to their conversation.

"In two days, the Armor Forging Hall will be recruiting newcomers again. I heard there are hundreds signing up this time, all of them good materials for martial arts."

"What's the use of having so many applicants? They only take two in the end. Besides, knowing martial arts doesn't mean you can forge good weapons and armor."

"You're mistaken. I heard top-quality weapons and armor require strange entities to temper the soul. If your martial arts aren't strong enough, how can you suppress strange entities and forge armor?"

Chu He's ears twitched as every word of the conversation entered them.

He had already heard about this from Little Four. He had no interest in blacksmithing or forging armor, but one martial art of the Armor Forging Hall had caught his attention.

That was...

The Armor Forging Hall's exclusive martial art—Iron Shirt!