Tribulation of Myriad Races

Before long, news about the attack against Great Ming spread everywhere.

Five Sunmoons were killed in a single day. Great Ming, the unambitious slacker, had suddenly changed, shocking everyone. When was Great Ming so ferocious? The upper echelons of the various prefectures were more curious about how Great Ming had discovered all those hidden experts.

Just how did Great Ming detect all those people at once? Everyone was also envious of Zhu Tiandao’s ability to throw tantrums at the Knowledge Seeking Realm. It sure was nice having a powerful father. He didn’t need to become an Invincible to enjoy the sweet taste of power.

At the same time, Great Ming was also a rich prefecture. Without sufficient wealth, Great Ming would not dare to offend too many people either. After all, they only needed to attack Great Ming financially to give them a hard time if they weren’t rich enough.

Additionally, everyone was curious about Su Yu. Was that phenomenon real? Would a grand cycle body forging really produce a heavenly phenomenon? Or was that a heavenly punishment? Was Su Yu’s Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art really as incredible as it was depicted in the rumors? Supposedly, this art would allow everyone to cultivate heaven-grade techniques.

Everyone had many questions. Because of that, numerous eyes were on Great Ming. Naturally, even the cult had their eyes on Great Ming.

At the moment, Great Ming felt even more dangerous to the cult than Great Xia. Sure, Great Xia would frequently suppress them, but no matter what, there were still cultists who had successfully stayed in Great Xia for many years. Meanwhile, all the cultists in Great Ming had been suddenly exposed.

Not a single Mountainsea and Sunmoon were left alive. A large number of Cloudbreaches and Skysoars had been killed as well. As for their remaining spies, contact was lost. Nobody knew if it was due to a seal placed on the communication channel or if their spies were simply hiding in fear.

In short, Great Ming had suddenly turned into an unfathomable existence in the eyes of everyone.

The appearance of some ancient Sunmoons further reinforced that perception, reminding everyone that some of the older cultivators of Great Ming were still around. Great Ming wasn’t as weak as everyone thought, after all.

For example, Hu Qi, the old woman in Great Ming’s retirement home, was already a Sunmoon more than three hundred years ago. Due to her old age, a lot of people believed that she had died long ago. But she was actually still around. During the attack against Great Ming, she had even refined a Sunmoon to death.

The world was shocked. The people couldn’t help but wonder just how many of these old Sunmoons Great Ming still had. Hu Qi was strong, but honestly, her strength also wasn’t anything special. More importantly, she was a weaponsmith. Who knew just how many powerful weapons she had forged over these years? Despite their curiosity, everyone was also terrified of entering Great Ming to gather more information.

Su Yu spent the entire night resting. He met Zhu Tiandao the following day. The prefect had not kicked up a ruckus after returning. In fact, he had been maintaining a low profile after his return.

When Su Yu opened the door of his research center, he was faced with a gloomy Zhu Tiandao.

The moment they met, Zhu Tiandao said, “Kid, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. Lend me a hand. Teacher Hu… seems to have reached the end of her lifespan…”

Gone were the usual slick Zhu Tiandao. Instead, his eyes were slightly red as he tried his best to suppress his sorrow.

Su Yu blanked out slightly, “S-Senior Hu Qi?”

“Yeah.” Zhu Tiandao grimaced in sorrow as he said, “I thought she would be fine. She had exhausted herself too much previously, but I thought she would still be fine for a while. But now…”

He was in great grief. That was his teacher. Back then, he had studied under her for a long time. In truth, Zhu Tiandao had learned a lot of things during his studies. He had learned from character masters, weaponsmiths, pillmasters, talisman masters, formation masters, and so on.

He had reached the limits of what he could do to extend the lifespan of his Teacher Hu. He wanted to see if there was something Su Yu could do. Perhaps there was something among the kid’s inheritance that could help with that.

Su Yu’s expression changed. Nearing the end of her lifespan? This was a problem he had never encountered before. After all, most of the experts he knew were quite young. The oldest of them was Niu Baidao. In Great Xia, the only person he knew who was at the end of their lifespan was Liu Hong’s teacher. And that wasn’t even someone he knew personally.

He still remembered how high-spirited Senior Hu was the day before when she refined a Sunmoon alive. But a day later, she was at the end of her lifespan. This was too sudden.

“Prefect…I-I don’t know what I can do.”

“Sigh.”

Zhu Tiandao sighed, “Come. Let’s take a look at my teacher. She is going to pass away in meditation soon…”

He gazed at Su Yu silently. Perhaps…she could pass on some of her characters to Su Yu before her death. The multiple character faction had done the same back then. He wondered if it would work this time.

In fact, this was Hu Qi’s idea. If she were to pass away and they couldn’t turn her characters into grottos, she wished to try passing on some of them to others.

***

Clearheart Island.

Clearheart Hall.

The hall was enveloped in a sorrowful mood. At the center of the hall was a pale old woman. A faint death aura was starting to leak from her body, but she still maintained a genial smile on her face. Standing before her was a stove.

All around her, several senior cultivators were seated silently. Hu Xiansheng, Niu Baidao, Vice Principal Wang, and a few others were there. They didn’t know what to say. Hu Qi was someone from the same generation as them.

Theoretically, a Sunmoon should be able to live for over a thousand years. Hu Qi was only around five hundred in age. But these people from the earlier generation had cultivated during a time when there was no systematic approach to cultivation.

They had all experienced straying from the correct path while experimenting on themselves to seek the path forward. Thus, a lot of hidden injuries were left in the bodies of these senior cultivators. Very few of them could actually live until the end of their theoretical lifespan.

As a weaponsmith, Hu Qi had forged numerous cultural weapons. Due to prolonged exposure to fire, her body had been invaded by flame venom, resulting in a reduction of her lifespan.

Furthermore, she had also spent a lot of effort forging the Super Sensory Jade for the past few decades.

“What’s with the sour faces?”

Hu Qi smiled, “I called you guys here to work, not mourn me. This weapon will take a long time to complete. After completion, it won’t be weaker than the earth grade. Old Niu, let’s get started.”

But Niu Baidao started throwing a tantrum. While sipping on wine, he grumbled, “I shouldn’t have recruited you guys back then. All of you have the habit of dying early. I’m in top condition. I feel like I can live for a few more centuries. Why are all of you dying one after another?”

“Look at Old Wang. That bastard is still alive and well. I have waited many years for him to die. That character of his can definitely be made into a high-tier grotto…”

Nearby, Vice Principal Wang smiled and said, “Old Goat, I reckon you have enough characters to form multiple grottos if you die. Why don’t you die, then?”

“There are too many food and liquor for me to try. I’m not done living…”

Hu Xiansheng also chimed in, “I’m only a Mountainsea yet I still have a long lifespan left. Why are Sunmoons dying before me? Looks like strength is no longer useful these days.”

He was also one of the seniors that had been alive since the founding of the prefecture.

Hearing his words, the others laughed. Hu Qi also laughed as she said, “You’re greedy for life and terrified of death. You specialize in fleeing. Your body has not sustained a single injury all these years. Sure, your willpower is at the Mountainsea Realm, but your body is probably at the Sunmoon Realm…”

“Bullshit!”

Hu Xiansheng denied vehemently. When he saw that everyone was looking at him with suspicion, he helplessly said, “I’m really not a Sunmoon. My body is at the ninth-stage Mountainsea Realm. I have yet to fuse all my acupoints. It’s too difficult. I’m telling the truth!”

The others merely laughed. At this time, Zhu Tiandao arrived with Su Yu. The grief in his eyes was gone. With the usual smile on his face, he asked, “Teacher Hu, how is it? Are you done?”

“Yes.”

Hu Qi looked at Su Yu and asked with a genial smile, “I heard you’re a weaponsmith as well. Is that true?”

Su Yu had an awkward expression as he replied, “No. I only have some basic knowledge about weaponsmithing. I once learned the basics from Teacher Zhao Li of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. I know the process, but I’ve never forged anything before.”

“You should give it a try.” Hu Qi said, “Zhao Li is a pretty good weaponsmith. He’s quite talented. It is a pity that he was too confident back then, insisting on forging the strongest earth-grade weapon. He even fused his main character with the weapon. Because of this, he harmed his own foundation after failing the forging. Otherwise, he would have entered the Mountainsea Realm and advanced into an earth-grade weaponsmith long ago.”

“His father is much better, but what a pity that he didn’t manage to reach the heaven grade before passing away.”

She focused on Su Yu again and said, “I am going to forge an earth-grade cultural weapon today. You may observe the process. You should know a little bit about earth-grade cultural weapons…”

Su Yu nodded, “With seventy-three and more golden stripes, a cultural weapon can reach the earth grade. Back then, Teacher Zhao had the ability to forge such a weapon. But he was too ambitious and wanted to forge a heaven-grade cultural weapon instead. Because of that, he failed.”

Hu Qi nodded, “Yes. Back then, we were quite confident in his chances as well. We were quite surprised to learn about his failure. He was too ambitious. Su Yu, do you know the difference between cultural weapons of different grades?”

Su Yu nodded, “The higher the grade, the more durable the weapon is, and the more compatible a weapon is with the user, making it easier for the user to display the strength of their characters.”

“You’re right, but that’s not the full answer.” Hu Qi said, “You know the Hundred Dao Pagoda, right? And you saw its power, right? With a single attack, it was able to exterminate Sunmoons. At a high enough level, a cultural weapon would still be incomparably powerful even without a master. That is the true peak of a cultural weapon.”

“I dream to forge such a weapon as well. Alas, I don’t have the ability…”

“Cough, cough…”

After a coughing fit, Hu Qi said, “Currently, the best weaponsmith in existence is Heavenly Cast King, an Invincible weaponsmith. And below him, Zhao Tianbing is the best weaponsmith. He is still somewhat lacking in experience, but there is no denying that he is a great weaponsmith. You had an excellent opportunity to progress as a weaponsmith under Zhao Li. What a pity…

“You are actually very suited to be a weaponsmith. I’m not lying. It’s not that I want to make you a weaponsmith. But this profession is simply too suitable for you. Your willpower is thick, pure, and powerful. You have probably learned Zhao Li’s Soul Expanding Art as well. The Soul Expanding Hammer is actually a treasure when it comes to weaponsmithing.”