Blacksmithing Swordsmanship

"Today, I'll make sure Master and Mistress see your true colors."

Lu Dayou was delighted when Tian Hao came out to accept his challenge.

He had known that provocation would work. Sure enough, the fellow was nothing but a Rugged Man who knew nothing of restraint.

Once he subdued Tian Hao and forced him to reveal his intentions in coming to Mount Hua, he could surely get Master and Mistress to drive him out.

"Watch my sword!"

Wasting no more words, he drew his sword and thrust.

He had every confidence in his strength. His cultivation had already reached the inner breath realm, and with the exquisite Mount Hua Swordsmanship at his disposal, wouldn't defeating a barbarian who knew only how to forge iron be child's play?

Yet Tian Hao paid no heed to the sword speeding toward him. Gripping his staff with both hands, he unleashed the embracing the origin inner force he had already condensed and swung the thirty-six-jin Steel Staff down hard.

"Eighty!"

He exhaled with a shout just as he did when forging iron, his blow fierce and powerful.

The Steel Staff in his hands was a full four feet long, while Lu Dayou's sword measured only two and a half feet. It could smash into Lu Dayou's head before the sword reached him.

At a disadvantage in weapon reach, and unable to dodge lest Tian Hao come to his senses and retreat into the cave, Lu Dayou could only turn his thrust into a block to intercept the descending Steel Staff.

He wasn't particularly concerned. As an inner breath realm martial artist, his explosive strength was far from weak when reinforced by his inner breath.

Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to meet the blow head-on. He struck out with his sword, intending to deflect the iron staff and seize the chance to close in.

"Screee!"

After a piercing scrape, the Steel Staff slid down the blade and slammed into the sword guard, unleashing the full force of the blow.

The tremendous impact and the domineering power of the embracing the origin inner force sent numbness through Lu Dayou's arm and half his body. He nearly lost his grip on his sword as it was almost knocked flying.

He staggered backward, his back slamming heavily into the wall behind him.

It wasn't over yet. Tian Hao used the recoil to swing the Steel Staff back up while taking a great stride forward. A breath later, he condensed his embracing the origin inner force again and brought the staff crashing down, exhaling with the same shout.

"Eighty!"

With half his body still aching and numb, Lu Dayou had no way to fend him off. The wall behind him left no room to retreat, so he could only place his left hand on the hilt and continue blocking with both hands.

"Clang!"

Another heavy blow left Lu Dayou's arms even more numb. However fine the Mount Hua Swordsmanship he had learned, he could scarcely use it now.

Before he could regulate his breathing and recover, the third blow came crashing down.

"Eighty!"

"Clang!"

"Crack!"

His sword was smashed clean in two, and the Steel Staff struck his shoulder. A series of fine cracks rang out as the staff sank into it.

The pain of broken bones instantly turned Lu Dayou's face as pale as paper, but he endured it, his eyes fixed fiercely on the towering figure before him.

"That's not Mount Hua Swordsmanship!"

This was definitely not Mount Hua Swordsmanship. That fellow's origins were dubious after all.

"Blacksmithing Sword Technique. Created it myself!"

Tian Hao answered with a sneer. He truly wasn't fond of elaborate moves. He preferred the crisp, decisive fighting style of the Gu System, where life and death, victory and defeat could be settled in a few exchanges.

Of course, his main reason for not learning Mount Hua Swordsmanship was that it required internal cultivation to support it, and he didn't have that yet!

He planted the iron staff in the ground, stepped forward, seized Lu Dayou by the collar, and delivered a vicious flurry of slaps.

The barrage left Lu Dayou dazed. With both arms aching and numb and his left shoulder broken, he had no way to resist.

The slaps kept coming. Before long, Lu Dayou followed in Yue Lingshan's footsteps, replacing Lao Denuo as the new Pigsy.

Quite a few broken teeth even flew out amid bloody spittle during the beating. He was a truly miserable sight.

Tian Hao wasn't about to show mercy to someone with such a foul mouth.

Perhaps in his previous life he would have believed in sparing others when he could, but over a decade of slavery after his transmigration had long since stripped him of those old ideals.

To live well in this world, he had to be ruthless enough.

He had no desire to let Lu Dayou trouble him again. Were it not for the sect rules, he would have killed him on the spot to cut off any future trouble.

Still, though he could be spared death, he couldn't escape punishment. Tian Hao had to beat pain and fear into him.

Under the barrage of heavy slaps, Lu Dayou lost consciousness despite using his inner breath to resist.

"Can't take any more already?"

Tian Hao curled his lip and dragged him toward his master's residence.

He wasn't going to let things end with a beating. As an upstanding youth with the four virtues who had completed nine years of compulsory education, he had long since learned the supreme technique of telling on someone to their parents from his teachers!

"Master, that's what happened."

Dragging the unconscious Lu Dayou before Old Yue, Tian Hao honestly recounted everything that had happened, including what Lu Dayou had said.

He knew Lu Dayou had deliberately tried to provoke him, but since he had said the wrong things, he had to bear the consequences.

After hearing Tian Hao's account, Old Yue's expression grew dark as storm clouds.

Even Ning Zhongze, who had initially felt sorry for Lu Dayou's wretched condition, turned cold-faced. When Tian Hao had become their disciple, he had explained his past in detail. They had investigated afterward, and everything checked out.

Besides, the countless hideous scars on Tian Hao's back couldn't be faked. Every one had been left by a stiff whip. It was fortunate enough that such experiences hadn't driven him mad.

Lu Dayou had used that history to goad Tian Hao. Even killing him for it wouldn't have been excessive.

They also knew that Tian Hao didn't fit in with the other disciples, and that Chong'er and the others somewhat shunned him. They simply hadn't expected things to reach this point.

"Hao, go back to your training. I'll handle this matter properly."

With a grim face, Old Yue motioned for Tian Hao to leave first. He was furious now, furious enough to want to hit someone.

Tian Hao was tied to the Mount Hua Sect's future rise or fall. If he could successfully forge black iron, he would surely become a great asset in reviving Mount Hua.

Yet those disciples failed to understand their master's painstaking efforts. If the sect hadn't had so few disciples, he would have expelled Lu Dayou to cleanse its ranks.

Moreover, jealousy and fighting among fellow disciples were serious violations of sect rules. Lu Dayou had been wrong to seek trouble with Tian Hao in the first place-gravely wrong!

"Master, Mistress, please don't be angry. I understand that forging black iron must remain a secret, so it's only natural that my senior brothers and sisters misunderstand me. Once I successfully forge black iron and they wield the divine black iron weapons I make, they'll surely understand Master's painstaking efforts."

Tian Hao sincerely expressed that he hadn't taken Lu Dayou's words to heart. He wasn't about to ruin his own plans over one Lu Dayou.

"If only they were half as sensible as you."

Yue Buqun sighed. He was quite pleased with this disciple. He had a good disposition and worked hard enough; his aptitude was merely a little lacking.

But diligence could make up for shortcomings. His future accomplishments certainly wouldn't be insignificant.

Besides, he had never intended to train him as a fighter. His role was that of a blacksmith-a master craftsman who could forge divine black iron weapons, like the legendary Ou Yezi, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

"I'll take my leave!"

Tian Hao didn't linger. He excused himself and left.

After Tian Hao departed, Old Yue's expression once again grew dark as storm clouds.

"Senior Brother, Chong'er and the others were only concerned for our Mount Hua Sect."

Guessing what her husband was thinking, Ning Zhongze spoke gently.

"You're still making excuses for him? Perhaps others can think that way, but as Mount Hua's foremost disciple and its future sect leader, he absolutely cannot entertain such thoughts.

"Don't forget how the Sword-Qi Conflict began all those years ago. And Hao is tied to our Mount Hua Sect's future revival. He's vitally important.

"Yet Chong'er, our future sect leader, is at odds with him. Don't you understand how serious this is?"

His expression remained grim. Yue Buqun was deeply displeased with his eldest disciple.

Lu Dayou might misunderstand Tian Hao and harbor prejudices against him, but you, Linghu Chong, are the chief disciple. For you to think the same way is utterly wrong.

Even if I haven't told you how important Tian Hao is, do you, Linghu Chong, think I've grown so old and dim-eyed that someone could deceive me?

He didn't even know what to say about such judgment and temperament. Once Chong'er became sect leader, could he truly hold the Mount Hua Sect together?

Seeing that her husband was genuinely furious, Ning Zhongze no longer dared speak up for their disciple.

"Give him three days to recover. After that, have him go to Reflection Cliff himself and face the wall in repentance. He can come down once he breaks through to the inner qi realm."

Glancing at the still-unconscious Lu Dayou, Yue Buqun felt his anger surge, mixed with the frustration of seeing iron fail to become steel.

Tian Hao had joined Mount Hua and practiced martial arts for only three years, while Lu Dayou had already trained for thirteen.

Yet he had still lost, failing to last even three moves.

What a disgrace!