Castle of Black Iron

Zhang Tie promoted to 9 change realm of earth knight after consuming the energy of the three demon earth knights that he captured when he escorted the squad of airships from Xiangshan Prefecture. Because the 3 earth demon knights didn’t have great battle strength, it took Zhang Tie 800 more water-element crystals to light 324 scales of his water chakra.

Zhang Tie accomplished this promotion in his serviced apartment silently.

After sitting on his bed overnight and completing his promotion, Zhang Tie got off the bed to warm up; after that, he washed up in the washroom quietly.

After opening the water faucet in the washroom and washing his face, Zhang Tie looked up as he saw a 40-year old gentle face of a Hua man who had keen eyesight. Over the past 2 months, Zhang Tie had been showing up in Heavenly Craftsmanship City with this face. His current name was Tie Changgong.

As Zhang Tie had not performed his expertise in rune instruments development, nobody across Heavenly Craftsmanship City would connect this strange face and name with that of Zhang Tie.

There were so many rune instruments masters in Heavenly Craftsmanship City. Besides those from Taixia Country, a lot of rune instruments masters from other subcontinents also gathered here. Strange faces would arrive here almost every day; similarly, familiar faces would leave out of here every day too. Therefore, it was fine for Zhang Tie to use that face.

“I’ve already reached 9 change realm of earth knight, do I need to continue staying here?” Zhang Tie muttered towards himself in the mirror before shaking his head.

Zhang Tie didn’t feel surprised after promoting to the 9 change realm of earth knight smoothly. Not until he stayed in Heavenly Craftsmanship City for 2 months did Zhang Tie realize how difficult it was by making that dream come true.

Over the past hundreds of years, Zhang Tie was not the first rune instruments master who wanted to make weapons that were lethal to knights. However, nobody had ever succeeded. Compared to the process of forming chakras, this road seemed to be a more difficult, steeper and harder to ascend.

In the trouble-reappearance situation of Xuanyuan Hill, Zhang Tie had looked for the confidential materials of the headquarters of all the human trade unions over the past 2 months. He found that all the influential forces even the top 7 sects across Taixia Country were making the similar study. This topic had been one of the most classified topics among Humans Rune Instruments Master Trade Union, Alchemists Trade Union, Pharmacists Trade Union and Animals Controllers Trade Union over the past hundreds of years. Rune instruments masters would like to invent mechanical equipment which could be used to kill knights; alchemists would like to invent more destructive alchemist bombs which could kill knights in a normal environment; pharmacists were studying terrifying drugs to kill knights; animal controllers were training odd things that could devour knights. All these were proceeding in the name of resisting demons; despite some top professionals who were thinking about pulling human knights off their thrones.

The reason that alchemist masters were in a high social station lay in that only alchemist bombs could kill black iron knights in specific environments by far; however, earth knights could barely be killed by alchemist bombs. Neither could the other trade unions’ research findings could make it.

If some professional could invent something that could kill knights, undoubtedly, that person would become the king in that profession; however, such a king had not appeared until now.

Facing such a tough challenge, even Edward in Castle of Black Iron couldn’t provide too much help to Zhang Tie; he had to depend on himself. Although Edward could accomplish something according to Zhang Tie’s requirement as a rune instrument master which was one level higher than Zhang Tie, who was a major craftsman, Edward couldn’t make innovative studies and inventions.

Zhang Tie maintained his confidence. However, during the period in this city, Zhang Tie had been clearer about that tough challenge facing him——a high mountain, the top of which could not be reached by one step.

After cleaning up himself in the room, Zhang Tie groomed his hair and clothes before leaving the apartment. Before leaving, he flashed in and out Castle of Black Iron with the fruit of redemption from the gratitude of golden uangs in mouth.

This serviced apartment was called Steam World. There were many serviced apartments especially for rune instruments masters in this city. Zhang Tie selected a medium-grade one which fit his current status and frame pretty well, making him not that eye-catching at all.

Heavenly Craftsmanship City was rooted in one of the largest mining areas in Military Province. Therefore, metals were usually seen in this city. Only by digging the earth for a few meters by a shovel could people see high-end ferromanganese ores.

When Zhang Tie walked out of the gate of the hotel, it was already afternoon when the entire city was boisterous.

Zhang Tie barely saw clusters of chimneys in other Class A cities of Taixia country. However, chimneys could be seen almost everywhere in Heavenly Craftsmanship City. As a result, the black smoke that emitted from the chimneys made the azure in the sky blurry. The moment Zhang Tie walked out of the apartment, he had sniffed the faint smell of coal tar.

Environmentally, Heavenly Craftsmanship City was severely polluted. Whenever it was, the booms of steel and machines couldn’t be compatible with green mountains and crystal water. However, the popular wisdom didn’t fit this city as nobody in this city cared about it. Actually, in this city, that blurry azure in the sky won a special appellation in Military Province——Heavenly Craftsmanship Azure.

Among the cities that Zhang Tie had ever seen, only Kalur the city of machines in Waii Subcontinent could have such a feature after being 10 times more in its prosperity and 100 times larger in its area.

With the arrival of the holy war; especially after demons started to invade Taixia Country, all the battle fortress manufacturers and steam weapons plants had been facing an explosive growth in order. Numerous large airships were rising and falling in this city so as to carry products from here to the other places.

Zhang Tie threw a glance at the sky, then the passers-by on the road; closely after that, he pulled down the respirator to cover a small part of his face. After leaving the hotel for 50m, he jumped onto a free trolley that passed by him and headed for the eastern urban district of Heavenly Craftsmanship City…

Over 10 minutes later, after shifting another 2 trolleys, Zhang Tie got off the vehicle. After over 10 minutes’ walk in the familiar streets and lanes of the city, he came to the gate of a building which was covered with bizarre, complex geometric patterns and made of full steel components.

There was no label on this building, neither was there any post outside the gate. It was just a naked thick iron gate with a special device near the lock catch.

Zhang Tie took out a gold coin and inserted it into the slot on the device. Closely after that, he ran his spiritual energy and jostled down an ordinary rune of consolidating skill on a mithril rune writing board beside the slot. With the effect of the gold coin and that rune, the thick iron gate slowly opened. Zhang Tie then flashed inside.

This was a place where rune instruments master in this city gathered. The entry fee was 1 gold coin. Additionally, the visitor should at least be a runemaster. If not leave a rune on the mithril rune writing board, the gate would not open automatically itself. Actually, the iron gate was a high-end rune instrument.

There was an aisle behind the gate, guarded by two tough guys who would guarantee that only one person was allowed in each time. After passing that aisle, Zhang Tie entered a bar.

Even though it was daytime, there were also many groups of people in this bar who were talking with each other.

The moment Zhang Tie entered, two people at one table had waved their hands towards him.

Zhang Tie unveiled his aspirator as he walked towards them. When he reached there, he sat beside them.

The two Hua rune instrument masters at the table looked elder than 50 years old. One of them was tall, sturdy and unkempt while his beard and hair could almost touch each other. The other man in glasses looked more delicate.

“Old Tie, you’re late. We thought you would not come.” The rune instrument master who looked strong and unkempt said loudly.

“I lit one more surging point today. Therefore, it’s a bit late!” Zhang Tie said calmly as he made a cup of lemon wine by the bottle on the table. Most of rune instrument masters didn’t like alcohol; because alcohol would make them less responsive and cause their spiritual energy wave. If they always drank, they would even be afflicted by shaking hands, which was considered taboo for rune instrument masters. As lemon wine’s proof was as low as that of soda drinks and champagne, it was the favorite drink of rune instrument masters here.

“Hahaha, Old Tie, you still dream about promoting to a knight. If you could really do it, I promise to send you a big gift on your rotating chakra ceremony…” The straightforward rune instrument master burst out into laughter as he beat Zhang Tie’s shoulder for a couple of times forcefully.

Of course, Zhang Tie was just telling a lie. Because Zhang Tie’s current status was just a LV 10 strong fighter who had just grasped the ability to release his battle qi as of far like most of rune instrument masters. Few people who had the talent and made a great achievement in this line could make a great breakthrough on their cultivation base. Over 99% of rune instrument masters above the level of rune craftsman could barely promote to a knight in their whole lives. This was the objective law for the development and growth of things just like how a great athlete couldn’t be a successful pianist. It was already something for a qualified person to make a great achievement in a line in his whole life. Few people could make great achievements in more than 2 areas.

Alchemist monster Zhao Yuan was both a superb alchemist master and a powerful heavenly knight. Very few people could match Zhao Yuan across Taixia Country.

Zhang Tie was also something as he was both a knight, a rune alchemist master and a powerful animal controller. However, Zhang Tie had to rely on Castle of Black Iron and the fruits of plunder. Without fruits of plunder, he could never become a major craftsman in rune instruments manufacturing.

The two rune instruments masters who shared the same table with Zhang Tie were Zhang Tie’s new friends. They were both major craftsmen. The strong and unkempt one was called Lin Xiuxian, one of the local tyrants in this city who had stayed in this city for over 5 decades. According to him, he could do everything in the city.

The other guy who looked delicate and gentle was called Zhu Daqian, who was born in a major clan. According to him, he was sent here from his family with great hope. He couldn’t go back home to be a leading role unless he promoted to a “craftsman master”. In the beginning, Zhang Tie believed in his words until when Zhu Daqian revealed the truth after being drunk——he was exiled to this city by his clan head due to a woman.

He could become drunk by drinking lemon wine; the key was that he got a heroic name. What a weirdo! Each time Zhang Tie saw Lin Xiuxian who didn’t take a bath for a couple of weeks and Zhu Daqian who changed a set of clothes per day and cleaned his aspirator with dust-free runes, Zhang Tie would feel that they should exchange their names with each other.

“Have you brought my thing?” Zhang Tie asked as he moved his eyes onto a 0.5 m long lead barrel beside Lin Xiuxian…