Chapter Thirty-Eight: Old Friends

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In the early morning, at a trial arena.

Xu Chen paid five spirit coins and entered a puppet arena.

A towering iron puppet, eight feet tall, stood waiting in the center of the arena, poised for Xu Chen’s challenge.

“Do you wish to begin the challenge?” asked the puppet in its mechanical voice.

“Begin,” Xu Chen replied.

The iron puppet rushed towards Xu Chen with the force of a heavy truck. Xu Chen charged forward as well. Steel clashed, the sound of metal striking metal echoing without pause. Blood and energy surged to their limits as Xu Chen struck the iron puppet again and again, each blow landing with a dull thud.

“Great Waves Surge!”

With all his strength, Xu Chen slammed his palm against the puppet’s chest, and nine muffled bangs erupted from within its iron body.

At that moment, the puppet’s allotted battle time ended. It immediately withdrew, standing in the center of the arena.

“Four tigers and half an ox of strength. You can exert four tigers and half an ox of power, increasing your combat effectiveness by forty percent.”

“Not bad. Training in that small world for a month is equivalent to a year of hard practice,” Xu Chen said with a smile. He felt himself one step closer to his goal and set aside thoughts of advancing to the second stage of the Six Forms of the Saint Ape, satisfied as he returned home to begin another day of cultivation.

At dusk, Xu Chen entered the forge at home.

He picked up a steel billet, then thought better of it and grabbed another. Fusing the two billets, he heated them until they glowed red, then began to hammer them.

An hour later, a hundred-pound refined blade rested in his hands.

This time, Xu Chen was most satisfied with his blade.

“Heavy, yet keen; holding it, its strength becomes one with mine.”

“This would be considered a fine weapon among blades.”

“If the Sacred White Space still doesn’t recognize it, I’ll have to forge a blade a thousand times refined.”

Xu Chen carried the battle blade to the training ground and practiced the Eight Styles of Wilderness Cleaving, recalling his father teaching him swordsmanship as a child.

“Unfortunately, this is a set of divine arts; with the blade, I can only practice its form.”

He placed the forged blade in the armory and returned to his room, entering the Sacred White Space.

His consciousness gathered, and Xu Chen immediately saw the fourth wooden door.

“Forging Arts~”

Xu Chen pushed open the door and entered.

“Please forge a refined blade with quality above ninety.”

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Xu Chen saw a smithing platform similar to his own and picked up two steel billets to begin forging.

Hammering, folding, shaping, quenching—he worked in one continuous flow. Yet a score of seventy-one emerged from the refined blade.

“That’s not right. The quality should be at least eighty.”

Xu Chen looked up as a giant thunderbolt struck down.

After three bolts, Xu Chen eagerly grabbed the forged blade and Seven Wounds Balm, kicking open the wooden door of the Six Forms of the Saint Ape.

“Grandson, your grandfather’s unconventional methods are here!”

Xu Chen immediately stuffed three pieces of Seven Wounds Balm into his mouth, wielding the forged blade as he charged at his doppelganger.

The doppelganger, initially disdainful, grew solemn, his gaze wary.

“Come, grandson, show me all your strength. Let your grandfather see what you’re capable of!”

Xu Chen swung his blade with incredible speed while the doppelganger dodged and observed. The space behind the wooden door was boundless, allowing the doppelganger to retreat endlessly.

“Take this! Take this!” Xu Chen roared.

Just then, the doppelganger punched the blade’s flat.

Bang!

The forged blade snapped in two, leaving Xu Chen stunned.

“Arrogant, are you?”

The doppelganger counterattacked immediately.

Seeing the blade broken, Xu Chen threw it aside and fought the doppelganger hand to hand.

After forty moves, Xu Chen lay on the ground like a pile of mud.

The doppelganger stepped on Xu Chen’s head.

“Go on. Let me see how far your unconventional ways can carry you,” the doppelganger sneered.

His consciousness gathered in the Sacred White Space, and Xu Chen sat in the center of the four wooden doors, reviewing his battle.

“Setting aside my own strength, the forged blade’s quality was insufficient. No matter how well I make it, the doppelganger will find a chance to break it.”

“I need a weapon at the thousand-fold level, and it must be made of special materials.”

“And as for alchemy, I not only need medicines that rapidly boost strength, but also need to find some poisons to coat the weapon.”

As Xu Chen reviewed his plan, new ideas began to emerge.

“Continue!”

He entered the wooden door for alchemy, still unable to conquer the Seven Wounds Balm.

Cultivation, forging, alchemy—day after day, Xu Chen felt as though his whole body was driven by determination.

One morning, as Xu Chen was cultivating, two streaks of light descended above his training ground, revealing themselves.

“Sir, this is the Xu Chen you’re looking for,” said White Steward of the Three-Colored Fox Clan, his demeanor humble. He recognized the boy, who had entered by pulling strings with Elder Wandering Leisure. He hadn’t expected there was more to it.

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Xu Chen looked up and first saw White Steward of the Three-Colored Fox Clan, then noticed Jiang Bei Ci standing beside him.

“Xu Chen!”

“Bei Ci!”

Jiang Bei Ci descended from the sky.

“Thank you for guiding us, White Steward.”

“No trouble at all, not a bit,” White Steward replied politely, then took his leave.

Jiang Bei Ci wore white Daoist robes, his aura ethereal and handsome, like an immortal from a painting.

Xu Chen, aside from being slightly refined, looked much like any ordinary youth.

“You’ve arrived a little earlier than we agreed,” Xu Chen said, happily inviting Jiang Bei Ci into his home.

Jiang Bei Ci looked around as he walked, his brows slightly furrowed.

In the cool pavilion, Xu Chen brewed tea.

“Well, coming in through the back door, having a place to live is already pretty good,” Xu Chen said.

“What surprised me is that you’d come straight to Grand Creek Sect and give me face.” Looking at his old friend, Xu Chen felt cheerful.

“My fellow senior brothers and I all came to visit Grand Creek Sect. After meeting your elders, I came to find you alone,” Jiang Bei Ci replied.

“On the way here, I noticed your area is the lowest in spiritual energy.” He sipped his tea, then handed Xu Chen a jar of spirit tea.

Xu Chen accepted it without ceremony, stowing it in his storage pouch.

“It’s enough for cultivation,” Xu Chen said, unconcerned.

“I entered the Void Return Realm after an epiphany in a sacred land, and gained a great divine ability.”

“Now I’m in the Imperial Dao Palace, ranked upper middle.”

“In less than a hundred years, I may step into the path of immortality.”

“When that time comes, how about you cultivate with me in Imperial Dao Palace?” Jiang Bei Ci said sincerely.

He could hardly bear seeing his brother train in such conditions.

“To be your treasure keeper?” Xu Chen smiled.

“If you’re unwilling, forget it.”

“But, the Star Body-Building Method I gave you, why haven’t you practiced it?”

“It’s not time yet.”

“We were born the same year, only a few months apart. If you don’t start now, you’ll miss your chance,” Jiang Bei Ci said, unable to hold back.

“Talk about something cheerful, don’t start by poking at my lungs,” Xu Chen retorted. “Can you tell me what mission brought you to Thunder Province?”

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