Chapter 37: A Martial Dao Genius Stifled by Forging
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Shu suspected that his predecessor had been to the Saber Cave, but after thinking about it, it seemed unlikely.
His predecessor was just a small Forging Apprentice of the Forging Division. The Saber Cave was a restricted area of Great Xia. Based on what this eunuch had said, those who weren’t elites wouldn’t even have a chance to enter.
No matter how Zhou Shu thought about it, it was impossible for his predecessor to have the chance to go.
My predecessor has never been there, so where does this d.a.m.n sense of familiarity come from?
!!
In less than fifteen minutes, the carriage stopped.
“So close?” Zhou Shu was surprised. He contemplated for a moment. We’ve been on the carriage for fifteen minutes, so we should have just entered the city. Is the Saber Cave here?
“Superintendent Zhou, please.” The eunuch got off the carriage first.
Zhou Shu didn’t hesitate and jumped off the carriage.
“Here?” Zhou Shu’s eyes widened.
“The Saber Cave is in this underground secret chamber.” The eunuch didn’t notice Zhou Shu’s reaction and introduced, “Don’t look at how ordinary this place is. I can tell you that there is an entire one-hundred-man team of Huben Troops stationed here.
“No one is allowed to approach this place without permission. Otherwise, they will face the fierce attack of the Huben Troops! Furthermore, there is a squad from the Fiend Eradication Army on standby. Even if someone is a ranked martial artist, it won’t be that easy for them to enter the Saber Cave.”
Zhou Shu was in a daze and didn’t hear what the eunuch said.
Like a block of wood, he was led into the underground secret chamber by the eunuch.
The secret chamber wasn’t big. It was several square meters, and a few people were already here.
When they heard Zhou Shu and the eunuch enter, these people only raised their heads and then turned their heads back. They stared at the messy marks on the wall, their faces filled with deep thought.
Zhou Shu was a little confused. He scratched his head, not daring to believe what had happened.
The eunuch looked at him strangely. “Superintendent Zhou, you should stay here and comprehend. His Majesty decrees that you can stay here indefinitely. You can leave whenever you comprehend something.
“Don’t worry about food. Someone will deliver it to you.”
With that, the eunuch turned and left.
Zhou Shu felt a few fiery gazes land on him. When he turned around, he saw the few people who came here before him looking at him enviously.
“h.e.l.lo, everyone.” Zhou Shu was puzzled, but he still waved his hand and greeted.
These people rolled their eyes at him and then turned their heads away. No one bothered with him!
They had painstakingly defeated countless people before obtaining the opportunity to enter the Saber Cave to comprehend for a day, yet this pretty boy had no time limit!
If not for how precious their time was here, they would definitely give him a good beating! Their thoughts were almost all the same.
Zhou Shu didn’t know what they were thinking. He scratched his head again, making his hair a mess.
Right now, he wanted to rush in front of Meng Bai and loudly tell him that the saber marks on the wall were left by him!
Are you serious about wanting me to comprehend the saber marks I slashed? Zhou Shu felt that he had dug a hole and jumped into it. He had even buried himself!
But he had nowhere to complain!
Meng Bai had good intentions!
A Forging Apprentice who didn’t understand the Martial Dao couldn’t become a Forging Master.
If Zhou Shu was an ordinary Forging Apprentice, this would definitely be a great opportunity.
But he wasn’t an ordinary Forging Apprentice. He was a genius, okay?
Even if you beat Zhou Shu to death, he would never have imagined that the saber marks he had casually carved would actually be protected by Great Xia’s Imperial Court like a treasure.
This shouldn’t be the case. My cultivation base is only slightly stronger than Sun Gongping’s. Great Xia even has first-rank experts. With my current strength, why would Great Xia’s Imperial Court care so much?
The Heavenly Saber Arts was indeed an extremely impressive technique, but Zhou Shu knew very well that his attainments in it were only at the elementary level.
What Zhou Shu didn’t know was that Great Xia’s Imperial Court didn’t value the saber marks he had left behind because of how powerful the saber intent contained within them was.
On the contrary, it was because the saber intent was only at the elementary level!
If the saber intent was too powerful, ordinary martial artists wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.
It was precisely because this saber intent, which looked like it had been left behind by a martial artist who had just crossed the threshold, could be comprehended by even unranked martial artists.
It wasn’t easy to leave such marks.
If an expert came to leave saber marks, the saber intent might very well be too strong. It was impossible for someone who had just crossed the threshold and grasped saber intent to leave these marks.
This was why Meng Bai and the others thought that these saber marks were deliberately left behind by a Saber Dao grandmaster to help the young martial artists of Great Xia cultivate.
Zhou Shu hadn’t thought of these twists and turns. He was thinking… What should I do now?
Go out now and tell them that I comprehended saber intent?
Wouldn’t that be too shocking?
What if they treat me like a Martial Dao genius stifled by forging?
Meng Bai wouldn’t forcefully cultivate me as a Martial Dao genius, right?
I don’t want to give up on forging. This is my foundation.
Why don’t I stay here for a few days before leaving?
Ahh, being too outstanding is also troublesome.
Zhou Shu sighed to himself. He watched the people in the secret chamber sitting cross-legged in front of the wall, their fingers constantly pointing and imitating the saber marks on the wall.
Zhou Shu imitated them and walked over to an empty wall. He sat down and prepared to put on an act.
Just as he sat down, he suddenly froze.
Immediately, a sharp aura emanated from his body. In an instant, his entire person seemed to have become a saber, revealing his power.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to him.
“What’s going on? He has comprehended saber intent!”
Everyone was going crazy. This pretty boy just came in not long ago, right?
How did he comprehend it?
The crowd exchanged glances with one another. They had been here for almost an entire day. Even though they had learned something, they had yet to comprehend saber intent!
“Seven and a half minutes…” one of them whispered. “It’s only been seven and a half minutes since he came in…”
“Before this, the one who comprehended saber intent the fastest was Sun Gongping from the Divine Constable Bureau. He spent half an hour… Furthermore, the saber intent he comprehended doesn’t seem to be as strong as that of this person before us.”
Everyone gasped.
The Divine Constable Bureau’s Sun Gongping was a famous genius among the younger generation!
Who was this young man?
He was stronger than Sun Gongping?
Zhou Shu was a little dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected this.
He wanted to keep a low profile!
What the heck is going on! Zhou Shu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Just as he sat down, he suddenly saw a line.
[The profoundness of the Heavenly Saber Arts has improved by two years because the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber you forged effectively completed a kill!]
The sudden increase in the profoundness of the Heavenly Saber Arts caused Zhou Shu to lose control momentarily, and his saber intent leaked out.
It might have been better if they were outdoors.
But in this small secret chamber, everyone was focused on comprehending saber intent. They could sense even the slightest saber intent!
There was no way to hide it now.
Zhou Shu sighed in his heart. He was glad that the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique focused on cultivating the body. Even an ordinary martial artist much stronger than him wouldn’t be able to see through him easily.
Otherwise, he would have no trump cards left.
Being in a world full of dangers, Zhou Shu always believed that if he wanted to live for a long time, he had to keep some trump cards that others didn’t know about.
This was the only way. If someone wanted to deal with him, his chances of survival would be much greater if this person didn’t know his trump cards.
Now that his saber intent had been exposed, unless he was willing to silence everyone in the secret chamber, he couldn’t hide it anymore.
The problem was that even if he wanted to silence them, he couldn’t do it.
It was easy to kill these people, but there was still the 100-man team of Huben Troops outside, as well as the squad from the Fiend Eradication Army. They were not people he could deal with at the moment.
“Brothers, please continue. I’ll take my leave first.” Zhou Shu cupped his hands at these people who had yet to recover from their shock.
Before they could react, Zhou Shu had already left the secret chamber.
“I—”
“Who in the world is he! Why did he come in? Did he come in just to sit for a while and then leave? Did he come here for a tour?”
“He has comprehended saber intent!”
“…”
The secret chamber immediately became deathly silent.
Zhou Shu pushed open the tunnel door and climbed up. Just as he revealed his head, he felt several gazes land on him.
Although the Huben Troops were hiding in unknown places, it was obvious that they were paying attention to this place.
“Why did you come back up?”
He Qingdian had just stepped onto the carriage and was about to return to the palace to report when he turned around and saw Zhou Shu emerge from the underground secret chamber.
I haven’t even left, yet this kid wants to sneak away?
Does he really want me to stay here and keep an eye on him?
Head Eunuch He Qingdian was already somewhat unhappy. It was no wonder that Great General Meng had specially instructed him to send Zhou Shu to the Saber Cave.
This Superintendent Zhou… This is a dream opportunity for others, but he doesn’t take it seriously. Does he hate the Martial Dao that much?
“Superintendent Zhou, this is His Majesty’s decree. If you haven’t comprehended saber intent, you are not allowed to leave the Saber Cave,” He Qingdian said unhappily. “To disobey the decree is a severe crime!”
“I didn’t disobey.” Zhou Shu jumped out of the tunnel.
“You’re still denying it!” He Qingdian originally had a good impression of Zhou Shu. But now, he felt that Zhou Shu might just appear good on the surface!
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhou Shu take a step forward. The aura around him changed, as if he had become a saber revealing his power!
“You…” He Qingdian’s pupils suddenly contracted.
“I’ve already comprehended saber intent, and I’ve also comprehended a saber art…”
Before Zhou Shu could finish speaking, he felt a gust of wind blow past his eyes.
Head Eunuch He Qingdian had already turned into a blur and disappeared into the distance.
Zhou Shu was dumbfounded. This is an expert. This speed should have reached two hundred kilometers per hour.
Eunuchs have been experts since ancient times. This is indeed not a lie. Zhou Shu praised in his heart.
He looked around, and his gaze landed on He Qingdian’s carriage. “Erm, Big Brother Coachman, please send me back to the Forging Division…”