Castle of Black Iron

When he came to the front of the counter, Zhang Tie handed in his clan plate and the 360 gold coins that he had long prepared.

”If you have enough money, you’d better hand in 1 year’s worth of expenses in advance.”

This was what Zhang Tie’s cousin suggested to him when he handed Zhang Tie’s principal of 300 gold coins and the 900 gold coins from Zhang Haige to him.

It was said that Zhang Haige and his cousin really suffered a great loss this time. They lost both face and money. After paying the wager, the two people went out to do tasks for money on the same day. What poor brothers.

Because of this, Zhang Tie carried over 1200 gold coins at this moment. Plus with the debts from the girls in Zhixing Department, Zhang Tie was definitely the richest newbie in Breaking-Heavens Department now.

”I’m new here, today I want to make 1 year’s worth of payment in advance...”

”Are you Zhang Tie?” That old scholar behind the counter took Zhang Tie’s item as he lowered his head down, lowered his glasses and took a serious look at Zhang Tie.

After what happened yesterday, Zhang Tie knew that he was not a trivial person in Hidden Dragon Palace any more. Many people should have heard about Zhang Tie. Therefore, Zhang Tie was not startled by that old scholar’s response. Instead, he just calmly nodded.

”Wait a moment, I have to check the source of this money since you entered the Hidden Dragon Palace!”

Zhang Tie nodded as that old scholar stood up from behind the counter and moved into another room that Zhang Tie could not see. After 1 minute, he returned.

Zhang Tie thought that the managers of Hidden Dragon Palace could easily find the source of a large amount of money from certain students based on their acknowledgement about the intelligence of clan apprentices. If they could not even figure out whether their students were carrying illegal money in, the Hidden Dragon Palace would lose face.

”The source of your money is legal. 1 year’s payment in advance, are you sure...”

”I’m sure!”

”Fine!” After counting the gold coins, the man inserted the clan plate into the slot of that machine and made some operations.

”Zhang Tie, submit a year’s payment, 360 gold coins...” The old scholar returned the status plate and 2 keys to Zhang Tie, ”Your room is No. 7, the room headed by Xuan in Songtao Pavilion. Here are the keys for Songtao Pavilion and your room!”

”Thanks!” Zhang Tie took these items and glanced at that machine out of curiosity, ”I wonder if I could ask, since you don’t give me a receipt after I’ve paid 360 gold coins, what do I do if you dispute me later on?”

The moment he heard Zhang Tie’s words, the old scholar widened his eyes and glared at Zhang Tie, ”Dispute you? Unless Hidden Dragon Palace was broken into by force and the difference machine system in the Middle Castle was completely destroyed, your information in the database of the difference machine in Hidden Dragon Palace would never be mistaken, don’t you know?” Saying this, the old scholar turned his head and loudly shouted to the other staff members in the room behind the counter, ”Listen, the brat is doubting our machine saying it could make a mistake, what the f*ck...”

In a split second, all the other old guys wearing oversleeves in the room started to glare at Zhang Tie just like some pious believers whose religion had just been insulted.

Noticing that he’d stirred up big trouble, Zhang Tie hurriedly apologized and escaped.

After leaving the Middle Castle from the back door, Zhang Tie had officially entered the Lingtian Department. Not until he entered did Zhang Tie realize the magnificence of this place which was set off by the mountain scenery. Compared to the Breaking-Heavens Department, that courtyard of Zhixing Department was more like a preschool and kindergarten.

The Breaking-Heavens Department occupied a wide area of valley and woods in the hillside. The architectural style combined both Chinese and western features. Zhang Tie could see pavilions, terraces and open halls everywhere. It was like a palace here. Twisting corridors and raised eaves spread over the terrain. There was a waterfall among the mountains, forming a silver, heavenly waterfall in the Breaking-Heavens Department. Gurgling water could be seen everywhere in the courtyard while fish were swimming leisurely in the water. Exotic flowers and grasses were evergreen all year round. It was really Zhang Tie’s first time seeing such beautiful scenery.

After looking around, Zhang Tie realized that the scale of Breaking-Heavens Department was only a bit smaller than those towns on the Hidden Dragon Island.

Being different from Zhixing Department where it was quiet in the daytime, the Breaking-Heavens Department was full of people and pretty vigorous. Under the heavenly waterfall, a large number of people were practicing swordsmanship. On the top of a cliff, many people were sitting there with legs crossed and were practicing breathing skills. In contrast, a lot of people were reading books and talking by the sides of the stream and in the pavilions.

Everyone here was busy doing something, except for someone who was walking fast on their way.

Because the residential area of Breaking-Heavens Department was centralized, Zhang Tie could easily find the Songtao Pavilion. It was a huge traditional Chinese building of five floors being close to a pinewood forest.

After entering the Songtao Pavilion using the key, Zhang Tie found that each floor of Songtao Pavilion had 8 rooms, each of which occupied a corner of the pavilion. The No. 7 room headed by Xuan was on the 4th floor of Songtao Pavilion, which faced southwest. On that early morning, Zhang Tie didn’t meet anybody in the Songtao Pavilion before he arrived in front of his room. He thought they all must have gone out.

After opening the door, Zhang Tie put down his luggage as he finally let out a sigh. 1 gold coin a day, with the exception of the hard, wooden board bed, which remained the toughest feature of Hidden Dragon Palace, the other things were much better than that in Zhixing Department.

Besides the bedroom, there was also a toilet, a study room, a metal processing workshop and a cultivation room that faced directly towards the balcony. There were some thick crystal pillars at the corners of the room, each of which weighed heavier than 10 kg. Once he entered the room, being influenced by the powerful qi field of the ”crystal generator”, Zhang Tie had already felt his battle qi becoming a bit flexible and energetic.

Only after spending several minutes roughly arranging his luggage, did Zhang Tie leave the Songtao Pavilion.

Over 10 minutes later, Zhang Tie finally found the right place after asking many people along the way here.

This was a small building, which was located in the pinewood forest. It looked pretty trivial among the numerous tall and magnificent buildings in the Breaking-Heavens Department. In front of the small building, there was a horizontal board, on which was written——”Juveniles should have breaking-heaven ambitions!”

When Zhang Tie arrived here, there was a juvenile who had just walked out of the small building full of ambitions. Outside the small building, that juvenile made a big bow towards it before he left.

It was a great person who lived in the Breaking-Heavens Department. Zhang Su’s cousin called this man the Bamboo Woods Man. Each person who was new here in the Breaking-Heavens Department should visit the Bamboo Woods Man before officially starting their lives in the Breaking-Heavens Department.

There was a strange rule for visiting the Bamboo Woods Man. It was free for all the newbies who came to visit him the first time. However, they had to pay him 100 gold coins and 100 clan donation points for the second time, then 1000 gold coins and 1000 clan donation points for the 3rd time. Everybody could only visit him 3 times in total.

As Zhang Tie was new here today, it was free.

Zhang Su told Zhang Tie that each person who came to visit the Bamboo Woods Man would have a great achievement. Therefore, he emphasized that Zhang Tie had to respect him.

Zhang Su also let Zhang Tie carefully consider his ambitions and suggested that Zhang Tie don’t go to visit the Bamboo Woods Man before figuring out what he wanted to do and what person he wanted to be, in case he wasted the first chance.

Of course, Zhang Tie wouldn’t waste this chance. His cousin’s suggestion was acceptable, but Zhang Tie had long found the orientation of his soul and the target he dreamed of for in the rest of his life.

With a very dubious attitude, Zhang Tie arranged his clothes outside the small building and cleaned the mud on his shoes before he entered the small building.

An old man with an infant-like red and smooth face and white-snow hair was inclining his body against a soft bed on one side of a desk. The moment he saw Zhang Tie, he mumbled, which really stunned Zhang Tie.

”Another nuisance surnamed Zhang, alas...”

”Sorry to trouble you!” According to his cousin’s directions, Zhang Tie smiled as he bowed towards the Bamboo Woods Man before standing in front of the desk with hands crossed modestly.

After glancing at Zhang Tie, the Bamboo Woods Man closed his eyes for quite a while. When he opened his eyes, he let out another sigh, ”The path for you is too difficult. I’m afraid that nobody in Hidden Dragon Palace and Zhang clan can help you, even though they are powerful in this region!”

Zhang Tie’s heart raced, thinking, ’I’ve not even opened my mouth, how could he know that? That’s impossible! I’ve not mentioned my ambition to anyone else. Nobody could know.’

”The 2 most exclusive top ancestral blood lines had been awakened in the Zhang clan of Huaiyuan Palace. Any of the two blood lines could lead to rune manufacturing, which was also the top profession among human beings. Most of the Zhang apprentices who come to Hidden Dragon Palace desire to be rune manufactures. The professional rune manufacturers from Zhang clan of Huaiyuan Palace could rank first in the entire Waii Sub-Continent. Do you know how many people in the entire Waii Sub-Continent want to learn how to manufacture rune products? However, you...” tilting against the soft bed, the Bamboo Woods Man glanced at Zhang Tie with a bitter smile, ”As a direct descendant of the Zhang clan of Huaiyuan Palace, you obviously meet the top requirements needed to be a rune manufacturer, which the others could never dream of, how could you dream of becoming an alchemist? I don’t know whether to swear at you for your stupidity or praise you for being ambitious?”

Zhang Tie was instantly shocked, ’F*ck, he really knows that...’