Old Man with a Pipe, Stone Hammer in the Courtyard

Black River Town, southeastern corner, the main avenue before the Armor Forging Hall.

The third day of the seventh month. Early autumn had deepened, and the locust trees on both sides had begun shedding their leaves, laying a thin layer over the bluestone pavement.

Whoosh—

A figure flashed past. Even with his force restrained, he stirred the fallen leaves from the ground, carving out a straight line through the air like one treading the waves.

Less than a quarter-hour later, as he neared the Armor Forging Hall compound, Chu He abruptly stopped and frowned at the scene ahead.

The several-zhang-wide Blackstone Avenue was already jammed with carriages and people, a dense sea of heads. The clamorous chatter and debate crashed over him like the scorching breath of a volcano.

"This year's competition is really fierce. There are even quite a few Blood Condensation Realm cultivators."

"When has the competition ever not been fierce? A force like the Armor Forging Hall, with roots even in Tai Prefecture—if it weren't for the age limit, not only us, but even those people from the Martial Tower would be trying to squeeze their way in until their heads split."

"Hey, hey, hey, who do you think has the best chance of getting in?"

"That's hard to say. I heard that the son of one of the Martial Tower's deputy masters is participating too. That young master from the Martial Tower probably has better odds."

The crowd's discussions swelled as people craned their necks and pointed. Most were merely here to watch the excitement; only a small portion had come to take the Armor Forging Hall's test.

Chu He had no intention of shoving through the crowd. With a tap of his toes, he spread like a great goose taking flight, swept over everyone's heads, and landed lightly before the spectators.

Carved beams and painted rafters, vermilion gates and green walls.

Two pitch-black, ferocious stone lions forged from special stone radiated astonishing Sha Qi. Their bowl-sized black eyes glimmered with an uncanny liveliness.

Perhaps intimidated by the stone lions, or perhaps in awe of the Armor Forging Hall, no idlers dared step within several meters of the vermilion double doors.

Several young men had already formed a long line. There were not an extraordinary number of them, but there were at least several dozen, every one brimming with vigorous blood and qi.

Before the threshold, a muscular old man in coarse hemp clothes, around forty years old, puffed on his old dry tobacco pipe as he leaned beside the gate.

He placed his other hand on a young man's wrist, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Nineteen. Your blood and qi are passable. Go in."

The young man was overjoyed. After bowing repeatedly, he entered the Armor Forging Hall.

The old man with the pipe placed his hand on the next youth's wrist, using his unique qi sense to examine the other's bone age and blood and qi.

"Eighteen. Your blood and qi don't meet the standard. Go back."

"Mm... twenty. Insufficient blood and qi. Next."

"Twenty... Your blood and qi are quite strong, far better than those youngsters before you... Hm?" Suddenly, the old man let out a soft sound of surprise. He jerked his head up and stared at the youth before him, his gaze piercing like sword light.

Cold sweat streamed down the youth's face. Pale-faced, he forced a smile. "Is there a problem, Senior?"

"Hmph!"

The old man moved the pipe from his lips and snorted coldly. "Using a special medicinal bath to temporarily alter your bone age—such a petty trick. Boy, do you know where this is? You dare try to fool the Armor Forging Hall like this?"

The youth's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "Senior, everything requires evidence. What evidence do you have that what you said is true?"

"Evidence?"

The old man's pipe swept out an afterimage and lightly pressed against the youth's neck. "The Armor Forging Hall has never cared for such things as evidence."

Sensing the other party's killing intent, the youth immediately cried out in panic, "I... I won't participate anymore! At worst, I won't take the test..."

Crack!

His voice caught in his throat. The youth discovered in horror that his head had been knocked out of alignment, and he suddenly could no longer feel where his body was.

The old man withdrew his still-smoking pipe and gave the youth a bland glance. His head lolled to one side, and the bones of his neck and spine had been shattered in a single blow.

"Once you step onto the path leading through the Armor Forging Hall's gates, you have no right to regret. Either you qualify, or you are eliminated, or... heh heh, you end up like him. Do you all understand?"

"Alright. Next."

The youth's death and the old man's ruthlessness instantly silenced the surrounding clamor. One or two guilty figures in the line quietly backed away, little by little vanishing into the crowd.

Seeing how cleanly and decisively the old man acted, Chu He's heart stirred slightly. He had not expected the Armor Forging Hall to be so domineering—showing no mercy whatsoever to cheaters, killing them on the spot, and doing so openly.

There were not many forces in Black River Town that dared act this way.

It dispelled Chu He's long-held impression that the Armor Forging Hall was merely a force of blacksmiths.

This Armor Forging Hall definitely had an official background...

With this execution of the chicken to warn the monkeys, everyone became much more subdued, deliberately lowering their voices several notches.

After about the time it took to burn half an incense stick, nearly everyone ahead of Chu He had finished their test.

"Alright, next."

The old man yawned. Such tedious testing had clearly grown tiresome to him.

Chu He consciously extended his wrist. As he watched the old man place two fingers on his pulse point, an almost imperceptible qi sense slowly traveled up through the meridians of his arm.

"Eighteen. Blood and qi... hm?"

The old man's drowsy eyes snapped wide open. The two fingers resting on Chu He's arm suddenly clamped down, and the sensing qi abruptly intensified severalfold.

Chu He frowned slightly, suppressing the urge to kick away the old man, who kept edging closer.

Naturally, the old man's strange behavior drew the attention of everyone around them once more.

The crowd whispered among themselves, and discussion rippled through the line.

"Tch, he doesn't know what's good for him. Someone else is about to suffer."

"There are really a lot of people trying to exploit loopholes this year. Could it have something to do with the news that the Military Hall is preparing to recruit soldiers?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're simply clinging to a lucky hope."

In their eyes, the old man's reaction was exactly the same as before.

It was nothing more than Chu He's methods being a little more sophisticated this time, requiring a longer examination.

After a long while, the old man took a deep breath and suddenly looked up at Chu He.

"Are you really eighteen?"

Chu He answered calmly, "Didn't you already find out?"

"Heh heh..."

The old man suddenly laughed, his smile remarkably hearty. He released Chu He's hand, patted him on the shoulder, and leaned close to whisper in his ear, "Kid, are you here to cause trouble? Your blood and qi are only a hair below this old man's. If you hadn't failed to condense your body into a furnace, I'd suspect you were already in the Furnace Realm."

"Gifted beyond measure. That's all."

Chu He spread his hands, revealing nothing else.

"Alright, go in."

Seeing Chu He's punchable expression, the old man's eye twitched. He shoved him through the gate.

The crowd was instantly dumbfounded, unable to believe it.

Uh... you... I... this...

The few youths behind him who had guessed that Chu He was finished looked as if several steamed buns had been stuffed into their mouths, their throats seemingly clogged shut.

The old man glanced at Chu He's departing back, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

A variable had appeared.

Heh heh, those old fellows trying to take the back door would have headaches now.

Chu He stepped through the Armor Forging Hall's gate, followed the green-glazed courtyard wall, and rounded the carved windbreak screen.

With a sweep of his eyes, he saw several men in different attire quietly waiting in the courtyard square. They had all passed the first test of bone age and blood and qi, and were silently awaiting the start of the second test.

The courtyard was spacious. Apart from the greenery lining both sides of the path, the only conspicuous object was a stone hammer sculpture two zhang long, placed upon the bluestone bricks in the center. Its entire body was grayish-white, and its hammerhead was ferocious, unlike a tool for forging iron.

"There are even women..."

Before the stone hammer sculpture stood a woman in an elegant pale-blue dress. Her face was like a peach blossom, her figure graceful and supple, and her temperament gentle. Since she stood facing the crowd, she was clearly the chief examiner for the second test.

.