Castle of Black Iron

Zhang Tie came back a bit late tonight. In the past few days, once he was free at daytime, he would take a round in the neighboring villages and the wild for two purposes: first, to look for the animals raised in the neighboring farming households that could be set free and lead to the corresponding Fruit of Redemption; second, to cultivate by himself.

On a huge, bald rock on top of a hill several kilometers away from Chevli village, Zhang Tie found a good place that was suitable for him to cultivate the ”Bear Back Iron Body Skill”. Over there, no matter how he would hit that rock using his back, that huge rock weighing several thousands tons would remain unchanged. This brought Zhang Tie another chance to strengthen his body and promote the growth of Iron-Body Fruit.

Based on his current strength, if he practiced ”Bear Back Iron Body Skill” against the wall of Hanna’s house, once he exerted his full strength, he might collapse the wall. However, if he used less strength, he might not be able to achieve the ideal effect. That’s why he had to find a proper place to practice this skill. If he could not find a stout tree, he had to find a huge rock or a cliff that could stand his thousands of kgs’ force.

Zhang Tie guessed that one of the reasons why he wasn’t killed during that bloody fight with the undying army of the Sun Dynasty might also lie in the Iron-Body Fruit. Although he had not eaten too many Iron-Body Fruits, the effect of those he had eaten must have been utilised at the most critical moment and saved his life. Because of this, Zhang Tie started to pay more attention to the Iron-Body Fruits after his body fully recovered.

Especially now that his body had mutated to a preliminary recovery body, Zhang Tie had super great wound recovery and healing capability which suggested much more special ideas about his future cultivation road. The effect of the Iron-Body Fruit reinforced his physical defense and anti-striking capability. If he could further exert this effect together with the effect of his preliminary recovery body, he would definitely have a greater chance to survive and be as robust as a cockroach which had a super strong vitality.

Zhang Tie was actually very afraid of death, so after gaining the preliminary recovery body, he immediately became extremely concerned about the Iron-Body Fruit. That’s why these days, he definitely spent more time practicing ”Bear Back Iron-Body Skill” than ever before.

At daytime, he would ram his back against that huge rock. When he had to stop due to pain, he would forcefully pat his lower abdomen, chests, neck, thighs, and shins. After that, the pain on his back would have relieve somewhat and he would start to ram his back against the huge rock again.

He kept doing that all day long. Even though it were lunch or supper time, he would hurriedly eat some dried rations before returning to his practice.

Zhang Tie really regarded himself as a red iron plate that needed to be hammered. Each time he was hammered and rammed, he would enjoy great happiness. Sometimes, as long as one’s mentality changed, arduous and boring cultivation could also be filled with pleasure. For Zhang Tie, this cultivation process was actually a special individual game.

Since he constantly practiced like this, four days ago, the first Iron-Body Fruit after his complete recovery became mature. After eating it, Zhang Tie finally felt its sweet juices. It didn’t make him suffer from diarrhea, just turned into a wisp of icy energy that penetrated into his skin and muscles from inside to the outside.

In the following two days, when Zhang Tie constantly patted and rammed himself, he had a different feeling as he felt a wisp of comfortable, warm qi and energy that started to fuse with his skin and muscles. In the process of alternatively warm cultivation and eating icy fruits, Zhang Tie really felt like a hot, red iron plate being quenched after being hammered.

After recovery, the second Iron-Body Fruit was 82% ripe yesterday. After today’s practice, Zhang Tie estimated that it would have become completely ripe. Besides this Iron-Body Fruit, the first Leakless Fruit after recovery should also have ripened today. The moment he thought that he could engulf two fruits tonight, Zhang Tie became highly spirited.

After igniting two more burning points, he would be able to be promoted to a LV 5 warrior. As Blapei was peaceful now, and he had gained a preliminary recovery body, Zhang Tie was thinking about completing this promotion in the next month or two. Although this promotion was twice as difficult as the one before, it was of great significance to Zhang Tie at this moment.

If there was no emergency, he felt that his Iron-Blood hidden strength could be promoted to Iron-Blood invisible strength when he reached level 5. Controlled by the invisible strength, his Iron-Blood Fist and red-snake sword would be even more powerful. Additionally, when he reached level 5, his physical strength and potential would be further tapped, which meant that his javelin attacks would be more horrifying.

Actually, on that night when he fought with the undying army of the Sun Dynasty, the speed of the javelin that Zhang Tie had freely thrown had already reached the speed of sound. However, Zhang Tie clearly knew that the sonic boom skill that he could grasp had just passed the sound barrier. He could not fully play the role of the sonic boom yet as the effect of his sonic boom was not stable yet. But when he reached level 5, none of the above problems would exist. Perhaps by then, the javelins could fully exert their power in Zhang Tie’s hand.

...

When Zhang Tie came back to Chevli, it was already night. However, the village was ten times more boisterous than usual. As the beer carnival was tomorrow, many people in Chevli village had started to make torches and festival lanterns. Additionally, many kids couldn’t wait to ignite the torches and the festival lanterns and played with them. Looking from afar, the Chevli village was brightly lit and filled with people’s laughter and joyful words.

People here enjoyed eating roasted gooses in festivals. Tonight, from many houses in Chevli village drifted the aroma of roasted gooses.

Speaking of them, Zhang Tie had made a new discovery these days—in Blapei, actually, he could set free some more animals, namely those chickens, ducks, and gooses that were raised in many houses in the villages neighboring Blapei. It wouldn’t even cost him too much money to set free those animals. To tell the truth, Zhang Tie was really curious what would the Fruit of Redemption look like after he set free those average livestocks.

Although this idea was very good, Zhang Tie couldn’t find any proper reason to do this. He was afraid that the moment he set those livestocks in the wild, they would be caught back by others. It wouldn’t work at all.

Although he could set them free in the Castle of Black Iron, where he didn’t need to worry about them being caught back by others, it wasn’t exactly the beset solution. He had brought some earthworms inside the Castle of Black Iron several days ago and made earthworms the second animal that settled ithere after the bees, but the livestock were much bigger than earthworms.

It would work if he brought a couple of into the Castle of Black Iron, but it would be too eye-catching if he brought too many of them inside. Additionally, since he was living in Hanna’s home, if he often brought chickens and ducks back in to his room which would then disappear the next day, leaving nothing at all, how could he explain that to them. Even an idiot would notice something wrong. Of course, Zhang Tie didn’t want to be the target of the public.

...

When he returned to Hanna’s home, Hanna instantly pulled him back into the dining room. What made him surprised was that all of Hanna’s family members were staring at a glass of beer on the table in the middle of the dining room. Old Harley, Hanna’s dad, and Hanna’s elder brother were piously gazing at that glass of beer on the table without even blinking. Hanna’s mom and elder sister-in-law also were pretty nervous.

’Why are they staring at that glass of beer? What’s happening? Is it a traditional ceremony that is going to be held before the beer festival?’

But before Zhang Tie could open his mouth, he saw Hanna silently glance at him, and so he swallowed his words back.

After a long while, old Harley who was staring at that glass of beer let out a sigh.

”Already six minutes!”

”The bubbles are still there!” Hanna’s elder brother said, his eyes shining bright.

”The bubbles in the beginning definitely reached over three centimeters!” Hanna’s dad added in an obviously trembling voice.

After that, the three men exchanged glances with evident uncontrollable excitement and ecstasy.

Zhang Tie saw nothing special. After silently asking Hanna what was happening, she told him that for men who treated beer as their lives in Blapei, during the past hundreds of years, they had already concluded a series of methods to appraise the quality of beer. Besides tasting it, they could also judge it with their eyes. Take the bubbles of the beer for an instance, many people could judge the quality only by the bubbles and luster—the standard of top-class beer was that the bubbles could rise three centimeters above the mouth of the glass and remain unchanged for at least four-five minutes.

After smelling its odor, checking its luster and tasting it, its lasting time was the final procedure to appraise its quality. The result was super excellent like the other aspects, so all Hanna’s family members became really excited by that.

...

”It looks perfect too. I drunk too fast just now and failed to appraise it’s real taste. I will try it again...”

Licking his lips, Hanna’s elder brother stretched out his hand to take that glass of beer on the table.

”Bastard, you’ve drunk one glass before!”

Hanna’s dad pushed away the reaching hand of Hanna’s elder brother with a cold expression while stretching his own hand towards that glass of beer.

”Cough...cough...” Old Harley coughed twice.

Hearing that, Hanna’s dad’s hand froze in the air.

When old Harley was about to take that glass with a big smile, Hanna took the initiative and picked that glass of beer from the table. She then brought it in front of Zhang Tie. Old Harley gave an embarrassed smile as he drew back his hand.

”Try it!”

Hanna stared at Zhang Tie, full of expectations.

Zhang Tie held the glass and took a careful look. Given its luster, the glass of beer seemed to be more translucent and pure than those he had drunk before. Although it was under the lamp light in the evening, holding the glass, Zhang Tie felt like holding a big piece of excellent yellow crystal which had a very strong texture visually.

When he moved the beer close to his mouth, a unique fragrance brought a sense of liveliness. To tell the truth, Zhang Tie had not smelt such a good odor from beer ever since he was born.

The moment the golden liquid entered his mouth, it tasted both fine, smooth, and refreshing, seeming not to have that bitterness and astringency of other beer. Instead, it was fully energetic. It seemed like every wisp of sunlight’s essence had been absorbed by the raw materials that then were turned into alcohol.

With just a sip, Zhang Tie had become addicted to it.

Although he was not an expert in tasting beer, he clearly knew that the beer in his hand was definitely the most excellent one.

While the other three men in the room were forcefully swallowing their saliva, Zhang Tie bottomed that glass of beer.

After that, he glanced at Hanna with an expression of inquiry. Hanna slightly nodded. Zhang Tie then understood it at once.

This beer was brewed by Hanna using the mutated yeast that he had given to her!

At this moment Zhang Tie was so shocked that he became speechless.

This beer was brewed with the yeast that only contained one third of the properties of the original basic aura yeast. What if the original basic aura yeast was used?

Zhang Tie’s heart pounded as he suddenly remembered that what he had brewed in the Castle of Black Iron with those mutated yeast could be drinkable too.

His heart raced fiercely.

...

”Does the God bless our Hanna to be be this year’s Beer Queen?”

Hanna’s mom was so excited that she even dropped tears.

”It cannot be that. The beer that Hanna brewed before had not been this tasty. Since she brewed it like always, how could she make such special beer?” Hanna’s elder brother became dubious. ”No way, I will try another glass to check whether it was an illusion just now!”

”Nobody is allowed to taste Hanna’s beer any more!” Old Harley solemnly glanced at Hanna’s elder brother as he had immediately seen through his plot. ”Tomorrow, the beer will conquer every man in Blapei; Hanna will definitely be the Beer Queen of Blapei!” Saying this, old Harley glanced at Zhang Tie and forced a smile. ”Can you temporarily keep the secret of what happened tonight for Hanna?”

Zhang Tie nodded.

”You know, we’ve got one more thing to negotiate at home...”

Zhang Tie felt embarrassed at once. The moment he was going to leave, his arm was grabbed by Hanna. Being straightforward, she directly revealed the secret to the other family members.

”Grandpa, you don’t need to feel strange about that anymore. The reason that my beer is different from before is that Zhang Tie gifted me a packet of very special powder of beer yeast before...”

After being slightly stunned, Hanna’ dad instantly sprung up from beside the table. He didn’t let Zhang Tie leave, instead, he rushed outside and looked around. After finding no people there, he hurriedly closed the door.

Besides Hanna, everybody in the room focused their gleaming eyes on Zhang Tie, causing him to feel like he was surrounded by a pack of wolves...