Chapter 112: Great Wei’s Diplomatic Mission
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Shu went around the capital. After making sure that no one was following him, he climbed over the city wall and returned to his residence.
Originally, he was very sure that he wouldn’t be followed. But now, he wasn’t so confident anymore.
It seemed that the Martial Dao experts in this world underwent a qualitative change when they reached the second or first rank.
!!
Just like the imperial preceptor he met today.
Later, when he was escaping, he seemed to have seen a bolt of lightning heading toward the imperial preceptor from the capital.
Perhaps the experts of Great Xia had made their move.
Zhou Shu now felt that if there was really an expert from Great Xia deliberately investigating, they might have already discovered his hidden strength.
But after thinking about it carefully, it didn’t seem to be the case.
Previously, Yin Wuyou was still testing him. If the Great Xia Imperial Court really discovered his hidden strength, it was impossible for Yin Wuyou not to know.
After all, she was the princess of Great Xia.
I haven’t made many moves, so I probably haven’t attracted the attention of experts at that level. However, I have to be more cautious in the future.
After thinking for a while, Zhou Shu gradually calmed down. According to the current situation, the possibility of him being exposed was not high.
In any case, even if he was really exposed, it was fine.
The few times he had made a move, he had helped Great Xia. Great Xia shouldn’t go so far as to repay kindness with enmity, right?
Actually, Zhou Shu had hidden his cultivation only because it was hard to explain.
If he was really exposed, how could he explain that he had suddenly become so powerful?
People with ulterior motives would definitely keep an eye on him.
He didn’t want any more trouble.
If not for this, with his current strength, even if he was exposed, he might not be in any danger. After all, he wasn’t weak. Even a first-rank expert might not be enough to deal with him.
I lost three heaven-grade weapons just to witness the strength of an expert. What a loss!
Zhou Shu counted his harvest and felt his heart ache.
Just now, in order to stop the imperial preceptor from pursuing him, he had thrown down three heaven-grade sabers.
He didn’t have time to think about it. Now that he thought about it, his heart ached.
They were heaven-grade weapons!
Any one of them was priceless!
It was not an exaggeration to say that even the house that Mi Ziwen gave him might not be able to be exchanged for a heaven-grade weapon!
A house was easy to buy, but a heaven-grade weapon was not.
Even money may not be able to buy it!
Zhu Chuanfeng had the habit of keeping a diary. The Imperial Court already knows about the existence of these heaven-grade weapons. It’s impossible to sell them through legitimate means.
Zhou Shu began to think about how to deal with the remaining four heaven-grade weapons.
There was no need to keep them. If he wanted to use a heaven-grade weapon, he could forge one himself in the future.
To him, selling them for money was more worthwhile. Right now, he was perhaps the poorest superintendent of the Forging Division.
I’ll think of a way to ask Steward Mi, but how do I ask? It’s a problem…
…
Chang’an, inside the palace…
In the imperial study, Yin Changhao sat on a chair casually.
In front of him was the seated Emperor Yuan Feng.
“He killed an expert from Great Wei’s diplomatic mission team in front of the Great Wei imperial preceptor?” Emperor Yuan Feng asked with a solemn expression.
“That’s right. He cut him in two cleanly,” Yin Changhao said. “Brother, you didn’t see it, but Xiao Shunzhi was so angry that his face turned black. But he couldn’t do anything about it. Anyway, we didn’t kill his people. If he’s capable, he can find the murderer.”
Yin Changhao was gloating.
“You can’t say that. After all, he died within the borders of Great Xia…”
“Brother, you think too much,” Yin Changhao said impolitely. “The fellow who died was dressed in black. One look and you could tell that he didn’t do anything good. Since he’s dead, so be it. If Xiao Shunzhi dares to cause trouble, I’ll smash his head!”
Emperor Yuan Feng shook his head with a bitter smile. How could matters be so simple between countries?
“Have you seen that mysterious expert?” Emperor Yuan Feng changed the topic. It was pointless to ask this brother about matters between countries. “Who exactly is he?”
“I didn’t see him. When I arrived, he had already left. I was only focused on s.n.a.t.c.hing the sabers from Xiao Shunzhi. Afterward, I could no longer catch up,” Yin Changhao said.
“But even if I didn’t go for the sabers, I still might not have been able to catch up. He isn’t willing to reveal his ident.i.ty, so what if I catch up?
“No matter what. He has helped Great Xia. Should I attack him?”
“I didn’t say anything.” Emperor Yuan was speechless.
“You people are always scheming and calculating all day long. It doesn’t take a lot to know what you are up to,” Yin Changhao said disdainfully.
Emperor Yuan Feng was very helpless toward this younger brother of his. He smiled bitterly and said, “I’ve never thought of scheming against him. I’m just curious about who he is. Aren’t you curious why Great Xia has such an expert?”
“I’m curious. I want to spar with him,” Yin Changhao said. “The problem is that you can’t find him.
“Tsk tsk, this person is a ruthless person. He threw away three heaven-grade weapons just like that! How generous!”
Yin Changhao clicked his tongue in wonder. “Brother, you’re not even that generous.”
Emperor Yuan Feng wanted to roll his eyes. Why did you drag me into this?
“The other party must have left them behind on purpose,” Emperor Yuan Feng said. “These two sabers are two of the heaven-grade weapons recorded in Zhu Chuanfeng’s secret book.
“The one Xiao Shunzhi s.n.a.t.c.hed away looks like it should also be one of Zhu Chuanfeng’s heaven-grade weapons.
“According to Zhu Chuanfeng’s records, he should have hidden seven heaven-grade weapons. Could the other four be in that expert’s hands?”
Emperor Yuan Feng fell into deep thought.
“So what?” Yin Changhao said. “He killed Zhu Chuanfeng. According to the rules of the martial world, these weapons are his spoils of war.
“I know what you want to say, Brother. Don’t even think about it,” Yin Changhao said directly. “Xiao Shunzhi didn’t even gain any advantage when fighting with him. I think he’s tough too. You’re not being very nice if you send someone to s.n.a.t.c.h weapons from such an expert.”
Emperor Yuan Feng shook his head. “You think too much. No matter what, I am still the ruler of a country. Is there a need for me to steal a few heaven-grade weapons?”
“Forget it. There might not even be four heaven-grade weapons in the inner vault. It would be strange if you’re not envious,” Yin Changhao said disdainfully. “I’ll give you these two sabers. I’m a good brother, right? But brothers should settle accounts openly. You have to pay for them!”
Emperor Yuan Feng’s face darkened.
…
At the same time, in a post house in the suburbs of the capital, Great Wei’s Imperial Preceptor Xiao Shunzhi and a young man were sitting opposite each other. Between them was the heaven-grade saber that Xiao Shunzhi had s.n.a.t.c.hed away.
“The divine weapons of Great Xia are truly worthy of their reputation,” the youth said emotionally. “Although they are declining, their foundation is so deep that it is beyond one’s imagination. A heaven-grade weapon actually appeared just like that.”
Xiao Shunzhi nodded. Just to stop his pursuit, he had left behind three heaven-grade weapons. Even Xiao Shunzhi couldn’t believe it.
This was just a random expert from Great Xia.
“Master, this time—” The young man hesitated.
“Don’t worry. Even if Great Xia has a deep foundation, they have already expended most of it over the years. They have kept to themselves and are no longer outstanding in the path of forging.
“This time, not only are we going to take first place in the Standard Armament Manual, but you are also going to defeat all of Great Xia’s Forging Masters!”
Xiao Shunzhi looked at the youth and said confidently, “I have confidence in you on this point.”
“I’m afraid that they will send a Grand Craftsman. With my current attainments, I’m still a bit inferior to Grand Craftsmen.”
Although the youth said this, he appeared extremely prideful.
Xiao Shunzhi sneered. “If they’re really that shameless, that would be great.”
“Then, will we proceed as planned?” the young man asked.
“Let’s proceed as usual. Although I don’t know who that mysterious expert is, if he dares to appear again, I will definitely not let him off!” Xiao Shunzhi’s eyes flickered with a cold light.
“Alright! I’ll listen to you, Master. After paying my respects to the Great Xia emperor tomorrow, I’ll publicly challenge Great Xia’s Forging Division until the rankings for the Standard Armament Manual are announced!
“Unfortunately, Zhu Chuanfeng was unable to escape,” the youth said regretfully. “Otherwise, we would have been able to grasp more information about Great Xia’s Forging Division.”
“It’s not that easy for a Grand Craftsman to defect.” Xiao Shunzhi shook his head. “It’s not convenient for me to make a move near Chang’an. It’s also because he’s too useless. Otherwise, as long as he could have escaped to the post house, I would have been able to protect him.
“Forget it. He’s already dead. There’s no use talking about this matter anymore. You should focus on your forging. Don’t let there be any accidents!”
“Don’t worry, Master. There are a few worthy opponents among Great Xia’s Forging Masters, and their Forging Apprentices are not capable. Great Xia treats their Forging Apprentices too badly!”
The two of them smiled at one another.
…
Great Xia’s Forging Division, the 0th Workshop…
Forging Apprentice Zhou Shu was naked from the waist up, and his muscles were clearly defined. As he moved, his muscles constantly moved along, exuding a special kind of beauty.
The clanking sounds echoed in the workshop.
With Zhou Shu’s current strength, it was no longer difficult for him to forge a standard weapon. If he used his full strength, he would be able to forge a standard weapon in less than two hours.
Although there was no difficulty in forging standard weapons, Zhou Shu had never given up on forging.
This was because he hadn’t filled up the slots of the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber yet…
After exchanging blows with a true expert last night, Zhou Shu now realized that there was still a gap between him and a true expert.
If he wanted to close or even eliminate this gap, it was practically impossible for him to rely on cultivating on his own. Therefore, this matter still had to fall on the Legendary Armament Canon.
The benefit from the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber was the Breakthrough Pill. To Zhou Shu, it didn’t mean much. But he still needed to max out the number of Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers.
If he didn’t forge enough Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers, the next weapon on the Legendary Armament Canon wouldn’t appear.
He was still wondering what surprise the next weapon would bring him.
Therefore, he was full of energy. He wished he could forge a hundred Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers in a day.
Just as he was getting excited, Grand Minister Yin Wuyou came to the 0th Workshop again.
“What’s with that expression? You don’t welcome me?” Yin Wuyou frowned when she saw Zhou Shu’s unwilling expression.
“Not at all. Grand Minister, you are in charge of the Forging Division. It’s very normal for you to come and inspect the work,” Zhou Shu said.
“You think I don’t know what you’re thinking?” Yin Wuyou said exasperatedly. “Are you upset that I interrupted your forging?”
Zhou Shu laughed awkwardly.
Yin Wuyou didn’t harp on it and continued, “I’ve already told the Divine Constable Bureau about the traitors. Don’t be so rash next time. Even if you discover traitors, you can’t catch them yourself!”
“Got it.” Zhou Shu nodded. Strictly speaking, killing five traitors within the workshop was a problem. Workshop superintendents of the Forging Division didn’t have any law enforcement authority.
But since there was Yin Wuyou personally vouching for him, it naturally became a small matter.
“I have something to tell you,” Yin Wuyou continued, not wasting any time. “Didn’t I tell you last time that the Division has a mission for you?”
“What mission?” Zhou Shu asked.
“Great Wei’s diplomatic mission team is here in the capital today,” Yin Wuyou suddenly said.
Zhou Shu was puzzled. “What does this have to do with me?”
He knew about the diplomatic mission of Great Wei. He had even fought with the imperial preceptor last night.
But he didn’t know what the diplomatic mission team’s visit had to do with the Forging Division.
“Originally, it didn’t have anything to do with you,” Yin Wuyou said. “But this time, the main envoy of the diplomatic mission is Great Wei’s Imperial Preceptor Xiao Shunzhi, and the deputy envoy is his disciple, Shen Yue!” Yin Wuyou said.
It would have been better if she hadn’t explained. This explanation confused Zhou Shu even more.
“Xiao Shunzhi is a Grand Craftsman, and Shen Yue is said to be a rare forging talent.”
Zhou Shu finally understood how it was related to the Forging Division. After all, they were in the same profession.
But he still didn’t understand why Yin Wuyou was telling him this.
“Shen Yue is famous, but he has yet to advance to Forging Master. He is still a Forging Apprentice, just like you.” Yin Wuyou looked at Zhou Shu.
“Grand Minister, are you trying to say that we are both Forging Apprentices, but he is already the deputy envoy of a diplomatic mission, while I am just a small workshop superintendent?” Zhou Shu said.
Yin Wuyou was speechless. What are you thinking? Are you hinting that I should promote you?
Rolling her eyes, Yin Wuyou ignored him and continued speaking.
“At today’s imperial a.s.sembly, Shen Jue proposed competing with the Forging Division’s Forging Apprentices!
“He used You Prefecture and Bing Prefecture as the gambling stake to bet with Great Xia’s Forging Division. The winner will depend on the ranking in the Standard Armament Manual!”
Yin Wuyou’s expression was grave. “If Great Xia gets first place in the Standard Armament Manual, then Great Wei will give up the two prefectures to Great Xia!”
“Are they going all out?” Zhou Shu said in surprise. “His Majesty agreed to such a ridiculous bet?”
A ranking determined the ownership of two prefectures?
One had to know that there were only around thirty prefectures in all of Great Xia.
“There was no way for Father to turn it down!” Yin Wuyou said in a deep voice.
“The two prefectures were originally the territory of Great Xia. However, they were taken over by Great Wei a hundred years ago. All these years, Great Xia has always wanted to take them back, but we weren’t strong enough.
“Now that a chance has appeared, even if Father knows that there was a problem, Great Xia still has to accept this bet!”