Cultivation Online

”?!?!”

The entire place suddenly became dead silent, and for the first time, the blacksmiths turned their attention away from the Nameless Stairway to look behind them, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

”D-Do you have any idea what you have just done?!”

The cultivator who had warned Yuan not to offend them muttered, a bewildered look on his face.

The very next moment, an angry shout echoed through the area as the man Yuan had yanked away from the stairway flew back into the air, his face twisted with rage.

”How dare you, you little bastard! Do you have any idea who I am and what you’ve just done?!”

Yuan’s expression remained nonchalant as he replied, ”Who are you? If I had to remember every insignificant little ant like you, my life would be miserable.”

The man trembled some more before shouting loudly, ”In that case, allow me to introduce myself!”

He suddenly made a few hand gestures before poking Yuan in the chest with his index and middle fingers. Although Yuan could’ve easily avoided the man’s attack, he was intrigued, so he allowed himself to be struck.

However, the man did not attack Yuan, doing something else entirely instead.

”Oh?” Yuan muttered in a slightly surprised voice when he realized what the man had just done to him.

”I have just barred you from ever receiving support from the Indestructible Steel Association and every single blacksmith under its wing! Do you finally realize how fucked you are right now and who you’ve offended?!”

Yuan raised an eyebrow and calmly replied, ”I understand the first part, but that doesn’t tell me anything about your identity. In fact, I still have no clue who you are.”

”Bastard! Only a Divine Blacksmith can block people from the association without needing a formal approval, and I am one of only a hundred Divine Blacksmiths in existence!”

”Oh, you were a Divine Blacksmith? I would’ve never been able to guess with how lowly you were acting,” Yuan said, still remaining nonchalant about the whole situation.

”Y-You ignorant bastard! You must have no idea what kind of mess you’ve gotten yourself into! The Indestructible Steel Association is the largest association for blacksmiths in the Nine Heavens, with the majority of blacksmiths in the world under our name! Now that you’ve been barred from receiving our assistance, good luck buying treasures or getting them repaired by us! Not only that, but everyone associated with us will also avoid you like the plague!”

”I am aware, and I still don’t think it’s a big deal. Hell, I wouldn’t let you repair my treasures even if you paid me,” Yuan remarked.

”Hmph!” The Divine Blacksmith coldly sneered. ”You can keep acting tough, but as long as that brand is attached to your soul, you can forget about receiving our help!”

A calm smile appeared on Yuan’s face, and he replied, ”Is that all you have to say? Because I have places to be and have already wasted enough time dealing with an idiot like you.”

The Divine Blacksmith trembled at Yuan’s words before erupting in even greater fury. ”It seems you are not satisfied with your punishment and require further discipline!”

His fists ignited with flames as he launched a punch straight at Yuan’s chest.

However, instead of letting the Divine Blacksmith strike him, Yuan actually blocked it this time, casually catching his fist.

”?!”

The Divine Blacksmith wore a shocked face when Yuan casually blocked his fist. Although he didn’t intend to kill Yuan, his attack had enough force to break a few ribs.

”Since you didn’t strike with the intend to kill, I won’t punish you too harshly—” Yuan muttered before clenching tightly, crushing the Divine Blacksmith’s hand into a bloody mess.

”Aahh!” The Divine Blacksmith screamed in pain as he pulled back, staring at his mutilated hand with a terrified expression on his face.

”Don’t worry, you can fix that with a few good pills. I’m sure you’re more than capable of buying them with your resources as a Divine Blacksmith. Though it might affect your abilities for a little.”

”S-Senior Huang!”

The other blacksmiths finally snapped out of their daze when they saw the Divine Blacksmith injured. The next moment, they surrounded Yuan, their hammers raised.

”Save your energy,” Yuan said as he revealed a fraction of his hidden aura.

A terrifying pressure instantly engulfed the area, making everyone feel as though mountains had suddenly been placed upon their backs.

”W-Who the hell are you?!” The Divine Blacksmith muttered with a pale complexion.

”I’m Yuan,” he revealed his true identity without a care.

Then, without another word, he walked to the door and tapped on it.

The door immediately opened for him.

Before stepping inside, Yuan said, ”Oh, right. Starting today, every blacksmith from the Indestructible Steel Association is prohibited from using the stairway. If you have any problems, come find me.”

”What...?”

Without elaborating, Yuan entered the stairway, disappearing into the darkness. Mu Xuelian silently followed, the door closing behind her.

Once Yuan and his pressure had disappeared, the blacksmiths quickly rushed to the Divine Blacksmith’s side and began offering him recovery pills for his injured hand.

”Here, Senior Huang! Quickly consume this before your injury gets any worse!”

However, the Divine Blacksmith ignored them and silently stared at the Nameless Stairway, Yuan’s final words echoing inside his head like some kind of curse.

”Move!”

The Divine Blacksmith shouted as he pushed them aside and rushed to the door.

”Open up!”

He pounded on the door with his other hand.

Yet, the stairway remained unresponsive.

Seeing this, the Divine Blacksmith’s complexion paled even further.

”Impossible...” he muttered in a dazed voice, looking as though he’d just realized something.

”What’s going on, Senior Huang?”

The other blacksmiths asked him with puzzled faces.

The Divine Blacksmith swallowed nervously before responding in a shaky voice, ”That man... was the mysterious owner of the stairway!”

”HE’S WHAT?!” Not just the blacksmiths, but everyone present exclaimed in shock, their eyes wide with bewilderment.