Death… And Me

Chapter 4309: Brutal Reshaping

Rean continued, ”Don’t worry. I won’t make you do anything illegal or anything that goes against your morals. This will be purely blacksmithing-related work. What you’ll help me build won’t bring trouble to anyone either. If you want, you can even include that in a contract.”

”Six months...” Farriko pondered for a moment before finally nodding. ”Very well. If you truly bring me real results, we can do that. What do you need me to do now?”

Rean smiled. ”Stay still. I’m going to hit you.”

”Wh—”

Before Farriko could even finish speaking, Rean moved like a bullet. His fingers rapidly struck several points across Farriko’s body in succession. The pain was immediate and intense, causing Farriko to instinctively try to step back.

”Bear with it!” Rean stopped him immediately. ”I’m reshaping your meridians while they are still saturated. If we stop now, your condition will actually worsen for the next several months, so don’t move.”

*Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...*

Each strike left behind dark red, purple, or even black bruises. Rean could have done a much cleaner job if he were capable of releasing his own energy outside his body, but unfortunately he lacked the cultivation necessary for that. Because of it, he had no choice but to use a far more ’brutal’ method.

*Bang!*

Finally, Rean ended the sequence with a powerful strike directly into Farriko’s navel.

*Cough! Cough! Cough!*

Farriko could no longer remain standing and immediately collapsed to his knees while coughing up black blood. There was nothing unusual about the blood color itself since his Devil Beast Race indeed possessed black blood. However, mixed within it were tiny fragments of flesh and tissue. His body was now filled with internal injuries, though fortunately none of them were fatal.

”Swallow this,” Rean said while tossing a pill toward Farriko.

Farriko caught it and immediately consumed it. It was obviously a healing pill. Honestly, it was a pity Roan also couldn’t release his energy outside his body. Although he could still create incredible pills, they lacked the special properties tied to the Light and Dark Elements he had invented.

Rean didn’t waste any time afterward.

”Now get up and let the pill handle the healing on its own. I need you to restart your forging immediately. We’ll spend the rest of the day here. Also, be aware that I’m going to hit you many more times.”

Farriko gave a weak nod before standing back up with obvious difficulty.

Naturally, the entire commotion had already attracted the attention of the nearby blacksmiths in the public forging area. One of them had even called for guild personnel after witnessing Rean continuously beating Farriko.

”Who’s causing trouble inside the Blacksmith Guild?!”

A spirit quickly arrived at Rean and Farriko’s Smithing Workstation.

However, before the situation escalated, Farriko immediately raised his hand.

”Nothing is wrong. We aren’t fighting. This is just training.”

”Are you trying to fool me?” the spirit asked suspiciously.

Rean quickly joined the explanation. ”He isn’t wrong. Look at me. I’m just a puny Middle Stage Anchor God. Do you really think someone like me could beat a Late Stage Aura God like friend Farriko here? Come on...”

*Bang!*

*Arghhh!*

Rean suddenly moved again, striking Farriko from behind directly on the upper-left shoulder.

”Your meridians are truly suffering from the effects accumulated over all these years of misuse,” Rean commented calmly. ”Circulate a little more Celestial Energy through the meridians connected to the spot I just hit. It will hurt just like the others, but endure it. If you have Godly Energy available, use it instead. The effects will be much better. ”

”U-Understood...” Farriko forced the energy through that area, and immediately his legs nearly gave out beneath him. ”Fuck! This hurts like hell!”

The spirit stared at the scene while seriously wondering whether he should intervene or not. He had never seen such a bizarre blacksmith training method before. The problem was that Farriko genuinely seemed willing to cooperate.

”Are you truly alright?” the spirit asked once more. ”You should stop and get proper treatment first. If he knows something about you and is blackmailing you somehow, the guild can intervene.”

Farriko shook his head again. ”I already said I’m fine. You just don’t understand what kind of training this is, that’s all. Now leave me alon— Ouch!”

Rean struck him again before he could finish.

”Less talking, more working. Let’s start with the Tuki Iron and Rek Lime. We’re going to make a simple alloy first. Focus on circulating the energy through the meridians I’ll point out from now on.”

”Bu-But those two can’t be used in this tool you kn-”

*Bang!*

*Ugh!*

”I didn’t ask your opinion. If I say we are doing it, we are doing it. Now focus and follow my instructions to the letter.” Rean complained.

Eventually, the spirit gave up and left. If Farriko himself refused to claim he was being mistreated, there really wasn’t much the guild personnel could do. Besides, they weren’t damaging any equipment. If anything, they were using everything properly.

Before long, Rean and Farriko’s workstation became the center of attention and practically turned into a tourist attraction. Blacksmiths frequently stopped by just to observe this so-called ’revolutionary’ training method. Well... most of them were simply there for entertainment. None truly believed it would actually work.

Farriko, however, was a completely different story. In the midst of the pain, he could feel the difference, something he never thought was a problem before. Obviously, it was.

*Thud...*

Suddenly, Farriko collapsed face-first onto the floor and completely lost consciousness. His body had finally reached its limit.

”Ah!” One of the observing blacksmiths jumped slightly in surprise. ”I-Is he dead?”

”Of course not!” Rean calmly approached Farriko before stuffing another one of Roan’s Healing Pills into his mouth. ”Having your meridians reshaped through brute force is both extremely painful and incredibly exhausting. He’s merely unconscious from overexertion.”

”Meridians reshaped?” the blacksmith repeated in confusion. ”Why would anyone even do that? Isn’t it dangerous?”

”Of course it is!” Rean openly admitted. ”Fortunately for him, I’m the one doing it. He’ll be fine. In fact, it won’t be long before he starts surpassing all the blacksmiths in this branch.”

The surrounding blacksmiths immediately burst into laughter upon hearing that.

Surpass everyone?

They had already seen Farriko’s work countless times before. How could someone like him surpass anybody? Honestly, it would already be a miracle if he eventually became an average Level One blacksmith. Just the idea that Rean could genuinely reshape someone’s meridians already sounded ridiculous enough on its own.

Rean ignored all of them completely. He simply grabbed Farriko, threw him over his shoulder, and began walking away.

”Well, I’m done here. Farewell, everyone.”

And just like that, Rean left the Blacksmith Guild carrying Farriko over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It wouldn’t take long before Farriko woke up again.