Castle of Black Iron

The airship parked on the ground was like a giant building dozens of stories high. Thick steel wires were pulled taut from the body of the airship and were firmly nailed onto the wood piles on the ground like those ropes nailed to the ground to hold the tents. If not fixed to the ground, such a colossal thing would cause a very dangerous accident when facing heavy winds.

To park a huge airship on the ground was as technical as parking a huge ship in the harbor. Zhang Tie learned how to park a huge airship recently. Looking at that airship which brought him a great sense of oppression, Zhang Tie was thinking about something in his mind—

’I’ve not entered Castle of Black Iron to eat fruits for many days. I wonder whether new fruits have grown on the small tree after killing so many demonized puppets over the past few days. Hopefully I can get another Trouble-Reappearance Fruit; then, I’d be able to try driving a fury-wind airship in the trouble-reappearance space.’

The huge airship was parked on a wide, sandy area; many people were accessing the hatch door at the end of the airship. It had observably become a temporary headquarters of Huaiyuan Palace in Heavens Cold City. Personnel only! Two rows of fully armored soldiers from Huaiyuan Palace were standing outside the hatch door. Without permission, no students from Hidden Dragon Palace were allowed to access the airship.

Under the guidance of the two officers, Zhang Tie smoothly entered this huge airship and came to the outside of a room on the second floor of the airship.

After lightly knocking at the door, the two officers said respectfully outside the door, ”Senior, Zhang Tie has arrived!”

”Let him in!” a tender voice said from inside the door.

An officer pushed open the door and made a gesture to let Zhang Tie in. Zhang Tie then entered the room with various questions filling his mind.

The room was arranged in an elegant and simple way. An old man in plain robes was sitting on his knees and making a kettle of fragrant tea water. He looked both attentive and pious, all of his movement made Zhang Tie very comfortable.

Zhang Tie looked at his bloody clothes, then looked around the surrounding environment in the room. He instantly felt like a plate of dog meat served in a top-class cocktail party, which formed a sharp contrast.

Zhang Tie scratched his head, not knowing whether to walk forward to destroy the nice ambience or just stand still. To be honest, it was Zhang Tie’s first time seeing a senior of Huaiyuan Palace. These seniors not only had a terrifyingly great amount of power, but also had a say in Huaiyuan Palace. What was more, this man should be Zhang Tie’s great-grandfather.

Of course, Zhang Tie became nervous in front of him.

”Come here, take a seat!” The senior was very kind. He seemed to understand what Zhang Tie was thinking about now. Raising his hand, he beckoned Zhang Tie. ”Be at home; people are the noblest creature in the universe; items might not match a man, yet a man is qualified to match all the items!”

’Items might not match a man, yet a man is qualified to match all the items?’ Zhang Tie was shocked by this meaningful line. Therefore, Zhang Tie didn’t hesitate anymore; instead, he walked straight into the room and sat on his knees like that senior before the teapot.

”Have a try!” The senior pushed a cup of tea in front of Zhang Tie.

The moment the cup of tea was pushed in front of Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie smelt a special odor, which was extremely delicate with a refreshing and rigorous moisture. He then thought about the scene in the mountain after the early spring rain.

Zhang Tie downed the whole cup of tea, but was shocked; he tasted nothing at all. The tea only tasted a bit sweet, nothing else.

”How do you feel?” the senior asked Zhang Tie full of expectation.

”It would be better with a bit of sugar in it!” Zhang Tie answered honestly.

Hearing this reply, the senior’s eyelids quivered; he then watched his cup with the same kind of tea water for a short while before sighed, ”Didn’t you taste such tea before? It’s ’Wild Spring’, the top-class tea in Eastern Continent. How come you want some sugar with it?”

”I have not tasted any tea like this before; I only tasted tea leaves before!” Zhang Tie said with an embarrassed look.

Thinking about Zhang Tie’s life in Blackhot City, the senior shook his head as he took his teacup and smelt the fragrance of the tea inside. After that, he took a sip carefully and asked Zhang Tie straightforwardly, ”You took outsiders into Heavens Cold City today, correct?”

Hearing this, Zhang Tie’s heart raced instantly. The old man continued sipping his tea; however, Zhang Tie felt that this old man immediately became taller and unshackable like a mountain, which caused him difficulty breathing.

This was purely a spiritual feeling. It was an all-round overwhelming state from qi field, spirit, ability, will and other aspects.

At this moment, Zhang Tie felt like a trivial ant. No matter how high he jumped, he would always be an ant. In contrast, this old man was a mountain which was hard to pass or compete with. Zhang Tie even felt that on a whim the old man on the opposite could destroy him both spiritually and physically.

After only a few seconds, Zhang Tie had realized that he was losing control of his body under such a terrifying suppression. He was now in an extremely powerful force field both physically and spiritually. The force field was like mercury spilling over the ground. It penetrated into his body without any obstacle and could even impede his nerve center and brain from sending orders to his body.

Under such suppression, Zhang Tie’s straight back started to bend towards the ground slowly. At this moment, each of his cells seemed to be forcing him to lower his head with the instinct to kneel down and give up completely.

The senior was still sipping his tea leisurely with his attention on the teacup. He didn’t glance at Zhang Tie at all.

’Is this a knight’s force? Is this the 3-in-1 force mentioned by Master?’ Zhang Tie was shocked too much inside. Although he was clear-minded, he felt helpless as he could only see his body slowly bending towards the floor. His head was closer to the beige floor which he was kneeling on; at the same time, the wooden grains on the floor became larger and clearer.

’No, I will not surrender to this... even if I die...’ Zhang Tie screamed inside out of fury. Meanwhile, the veins on his forehead started to bulge. With full of his spirit and strength, he wanted to take back control of his own body...

Zhang Tie then saw some images in his mind: that teenager who was abducted by Huck and Snade and stomped onto the ground... Glaze throwing a contemptuous sneer towards him... the seven wild wolves who almost killed him... the hidden bolt covered with blue frost which was shot towards him after he walked down from the duel platform... those undead of Black-Feathers Army of the Sun Dynasty who wanted to tear him to pieces... Major Franca’s wolf-like eyes...and the assassination attempt executed by that Zhen douchebag in Dragon Cave...

’No... no, I won’t...’ Zhang Tie’s eyes turned red at once.

The spiritual energy in his mind was boiling up...

Zhang Tie’s blood started to boil...

Every one of his muscles started to tense as hard as steel and iron...

When Zhang Tie’s forehead was only one egg’s distance away from the ground, Zhang Tie’s hands which were put on his knees finally became fists.

The sweat over his forehead started to drip onto the floor one blob after another. Because of the narrow distance, Zhang Tie could almost hear the sound of his sweat dripping onto the ground.

Zhang Tie finally controlled his head; after that, he started to raise his head and straighten up his back gradually. Although it was a simple movement, it caused a sound of ”Kakakaka” over Zhang Tie’s muscles and skeletons like forcefully opening those fixtures on the metal processing platform which had been rusted for a long time

It took Zhang Tie two minutes to completely raise his head and straighten his back.

However, after such a short while, Zhang Tie was fully covered in sweat like he’d just climbed out of water. His combat uniform had become completely drenched. He felt even more tired than after fighting a whole day in Heavens Cold City.

Not until Zhang Tie raised his head and straightened up his body did the senior raise his head and peer at him with a shrewd light.

Zhang Tie panted. Even after drinking a cup of tea, he still felt his throat becoming hoarse. He then stared at that person opposite him, ”Yes, I took four people into Heavens Cold City today!”

”Don’t you know about the order?” The senior gazed at Zhang Tie as he put down his tea cup. At the same time, his kind gaze turned into sharp-bolts and shot directly into Zhang Tie’s mind, ”Why do you think you are an exception?”