Blazing Fire Divine Iron

Before them, a pitch-black stone lay quietly inside the mahogany box, looking no different from any ordinary stone.

Yet when Zhang Lata saw it, his expression changed in a rare display.

"What, is there something different about this stone?"

Qin Enuo asked in puzzlement. She had already examined the stone earlier and found nothing special about it.

"Qin Enuo, your cultivation may be a little higher than mine, but when it comes to knowledge, you fall far short of this old man."

Regaining his composure, Zhang Lata looked at the woman before him and grinned. "Do you know what this is?"

"No." Qin Enuo shook her head.

"This is blazing fire divine iron."

As he spoke, Zhang Lata channeled a wisp of True Qi into the stone. At once, the entire stone began to change. Fine cracks appeared, and waves of heat surged out.

Beside him, Qin Enuo's expression grew slightly grave at the sight.

"This divine iron is a supreme yang treasure. They say it forms when a star falls from the heavens into the mortal world and gestates in earthfire for ten thousand years. In a certain sense, it's even more precious than the thousand-year cold iron used for your Azure Frost Sword," Zhang Lata said.

"In a certain sense?"

Qin Enuo narrowed her eyes at his words. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it looks impressive but isn't much use."

Zhang Lata gave a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Are you thinking of forging that boy a sword of his own with this divine iron? I suggest you give up on the idea. This stuff formed in earthfire. There's probably hardly any flame in the world that can melt it. Forging a sword with it is essentially impossible. So it only looks precious. In reality, it's completely useless."

"Is there no way at all?" Qin Enuo asked with a frown.

"There is, but it's extremely difficult."

Zhang Lata thought for a moment before answering. "I once read in an ancient text that lone yin cannot grow, and solitary yang cannot give birth. When the great artifact refiners of old refined artifacts, they would add something of the opposite nature to their divine materials. That kept the divine materials from becoming so rigid they broke easily, while also helping them take shape."

"Something of the opposite nature?"

Qin Enuo murmured softly, then said, "Then we would need an extreme yin object."

"Exactly. But finding an extreme yin object on the same level as this blazing fire divine iron is no easy matter," Zhang Lata said gravely.

"Yes, it certainly won't be easy."

Qin Enuo nodded. "Sword Maniac, don't you think there's something unusual about this?"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Lata asked, puzzled.

"How did those insignificant bandits in the Qilian Mountains come to possess such a divine treasure? Even I didn't recognize this divine iron, yet their leader knew how precious it was and hid it away securely. Isn't that rather strange?" Qin Enuo said.

"Now that you mention it, there is indeed something suspicious."

Zhang Lata frowned. "It would make sense if he stumbled upon this treasure by chance. But an ordinary person would only take it for a worthless stone, even if they saw it. They couldn't possibly recognize it. If that bandit chief could tell it was a treasure, then unless someone guided him, the only explanation is that he already knew what this stone was."

"An innocent man becomes guilty by possessing a jade. If someone else had guided him, that bandit leader wouldn't have been able to hold on to this divine treasure."

Qin Enuo said calmly, "Most likely, he knew the stone's value all along. In that case, this bandit leader is no ordinary man."

Zhang Lata nodded. "Who would have thought this little Yuzhou City would be full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons? Never mind the Li Residence-even the bandits in the mountains outside the city are no ordinary people."

"Perhaps we should start with that bandit leader if we want to find an extreme yin object with properties opposite to blazing fire divine iron," Qin Enuo said.

"That makes sense."

Zhang Lata nodded and smiled. "What, are you going to act personally?"

"I'm not about to bully someone weaker than me. Since Li Ziye brought this divine iron back, we might as well let him handle what comes next."

Qin Enuo said calmly, "That bandit leader isn't too powerful an opponent. With some effort, Li Ziye can still catch up to him."

While the two spoke, Li Ziye slowly opened his eyes in the medicine room, waking from his unconsciousness. He had only just tried to struggle upright when a heart-piercing pain shot through his chest, making his whole body tremble.

After taking quite some time to recover, Li Ziye drew a deep breath and carefully climbed out of the medicinal tub.

"Hiss."

As he climbed out, Li Ziye accidentally bumped his breastbone, which had yet to heal completely, and grimaced in pain.

After struggling for nearly an hour, Li Ziye finally emerged from the medicine room. Seeing the two by the lake, he gritted his teeth and shuffled toward them one step at a time.

"Oh, still alive? Not bad, not bad."

Zhang Lata glanced at him. "If you hadn't come out soon, I would've thought you were dead."

"Pah, pah! Don't jinx me. I'm alive and well. I'm not dying."

Li Ziye retorted irritably. After finally managing to shuffle to the lakeside, he sat down with a grimace. "But I really did come that close to dying."

"Well? A real martial artist wasn't as simple as you imagined, was he?" Zhang Lata said.

"He was very strong."

Li Ziye nodded. "If he hadn't let his guard down and taken a sword strike from me, I might really not have made it back."

"Tell us. What happened?" Zhang Lata asked curiously.

"All right." Li Ziye nodded and recounted everything that had happened the previous night in detail.

Zhang Lata and Qin Enuo listened quietly. When he finished, they exchanged a surprised look.

The boy reacted quite well.

"Boy, you did the right thing."

Zhang Lata praised him. "Even after you stabbed that bandit chief, you would still have been the one to die if you'd lingered to fight. Not bad. You didn't let a momentary victory go to your head. This child can be taught."

"Keep it modest, keep it modest."

Li Ziye grinned. "I just felt that bandit chief was very strong. I wasn't confident I could beat him."

"You soon will be."

Beside him, Qin Enuo spoke calmly. "For the next few days, focus on cultivating the Flying Immortal Art's mental method. Once your injuries have healed somewhat, I'll devote myself fully to teaching you its sword techniques."

"Really? Thank you, Fairy Master! Hiss."

Li Ziye immediately grew excited at her words. But just as he was about to get carried away, he accidentally pulled at his wound again and sucked in sharp breaths of pain.

Just as Li Ziye formally embarked on the path of martial cultivation, carriages rumbled west of the Great Shang capital. After days on the road, Li Youwei, the Third Prince, and their party finally arrived before the capital.

The flourishing capital had endured for a thousand years. In the thousand years since the Great Shang Dynasty's founding, the capital had weathered countless storms, yet still stood unshaken. No one could move it.

Even Sword Immortals, invincible in the mortal world, had to rein in their edge upon reaching the Great Shang capital. Such was the depth of the foremost city of the past thousand years.

Outside the capital, Li Youwei lifted her carriage curtain and looked at the thousand-year-old city ahead, a trace of solemnity appearing on her beautiful face.

At last, she had come.

For years, the Li Family had done everything possible to avoid any entanglement with the powers of this imperial city. But the current situation no longer allowed the Li Residence to keep yielding.

A clash between the Li Family and the capital's powers had become inevitable.

Ahead of Li Youwei's carriage, the Third Prince, Mu Yao, looked at the imperial city before him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

This journey had not been in vain.

He could count his task as completed.

He had only feared that the Li Family would refuse to come. In that case, he would not have had any particularly good options. After all, in Yuzhou City, the Li Family was the local hegemon.

Now that Li Youwei had come, Li Ziye's arrival could not be far off.

"Let's go! Enter the city."

At that thought, Mu Yao lowered the carriage curtain and gave the order.

"Yes!"

Behind him, the carriages rumbled slowly into the Great Shang capital.

At that moment, secret reports reached mansion after mansion throughout the Great Shang capital. Before long, news spread that someone from the Li Family had arrived.

In the imperial palace, a young woman of extraordinary beauty, lovelier than flowers in bloom, heard the news delivered by a young eunuch, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

The Li Family had finally come.

Over the past few years, she had heard her imperial brothers mention the Li Family more than once.

Even her imperial father had mentioned the Li Family of Yuzhou City several times.

Clearly, the Li Family had gradually gained a position of considerable influence within the Great Shang Dynasty.

Yet all these years, the Li Family had never set foot in the capital, leaving her no chance to meet any of them.

"Ninth Princess, the Fourth Prince has arrived."

Just then, a young eunuch hurried over and spoke.

"Brother? Show him in at once," the young woman said.

"Yes!" The young eunuch accepted the order, then turned and left.

Before long, a man dressed in white strode over. His face was stern, without the slightest hint of a smile. His pace was not particularly fast, yet every step covered precisely the same distance, without the slightest discrepancy.

The Fourth Prince, Mubai, was one of the world's four great heavenly geniuses, famed alongside the Divine Son of the Divine Oracle Hall, the Buddha Child of the Buddhist Order, and Huo Liner of the Vermilion Bird Sect. Merely standing there, he exerted an indescribable sense of pressure.

"Brother." The young woman stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Mu Rong, your third imperial brother has returned."

Mubai spoke calmly. "Aren't you going to see him?"

"Haven't you stayed away too, Brother?"

Mu Rong straightened and smiled sweetly. "Talking to Third Imperial Brother is too tiring. I'd rather stay in the palace."

"I heard someone from the Li Family came too. Is it their legitimate son?"

Mubai asked, "They say Li Ziye took the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal as his master. If there's a chance, I'd like to spar with him."

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Brother."

Mu Rong smiled. "According to my information, the one who came this time is the Li Family's eldest daughter, Li Youwei. Their legitimate son didn't come."

Mubai frowned slightly at her words. "That really is a pity."

"It isn't."

The corners of Mu Rong's mouth curved slightly. "Now that the Li Family's eldest daughter is here, Li Ziye will come soon too."

"What do you mean?" Mubai asked.

"Brother, you don't like scheming and intrigue, so don't ask too much."

Mu Rong smiled. "In any case, if I say Li Ziye will come, then he certainly will. Just wait at ease."

"All right. I'm leaving." Mubai nodded, then turned and left.

Behind him, Mu Rong watched her brother's departing figure, a trace of helplessness appearing on her beautiful face.

Her brother's temperament truly was too peculiar. Apart from practicing the sword, he had no interest in anything.

That made him a true oddity in an imperial family where everyone fought for power.

But her brother's refusal to contend did not mean he could remain uninvolved.

If her guess was right, once the Li Family's legitimate son reached the capital, the struggle between the imperial family and the Li Family, along with the open and hidden strife among the imperial princes, would formally begin.