Tribulation of Myriad Races

Zhao Li immediately acted on his plan. He left the research center and went straight to the Grotto District.

Source Qi Secret Grotto.

Old Nie was watching over the grotto. The moment Zhao Li arrived, Old Nie asked, “Old Zhao, why are you here?”

“Hand over the grotto. I’m moving it somewhere else. Also, kick everyone inside out.”

Old Nie was stunned. He said, “Old Zhao, this…don’t you want to think about this? If you’re unhappy about something, you can always tell us about it. The students can’t afford to lose this grotto…”

“I’m going to forge a weapon.”

“Weapon forging?”

Old Nie’s eyes flickered as he asked, “Your earth weapon?”

“Yes.”

Old Nie frowned, “Who will be the helper? Principal Zhao?”

“No. A guest. He’s a genius weaponsmith. He will serve as my assistant. Others are unsuitable. Those who are too strong will take over my position as the main smith. I need someone weaker than me.”

He frowned and said, “Hurry up. I need it. I’ll bring it back after I’m done.”

“Old Zhao…this is too risky. Why look for an outsider who is weaker than you? The probability of failing is too high.”

“If I fail, I fail. Why do you care?”

Old Nie could only helplessly hand the Source Qi Mirror over. That was the key to controlling the grotto.

Zhao Li wasted no time and formed a hand-seal at the mirror. Before long, the air warped as the entire building around the portal collapsed. Instantly, a translucent chunk of space appeared before everyone’s eyes. It only lasted for a split second before vanishing into the mirror.

Yuan Qingdong and a few other elders arrived moments after that happened.

When they saw what was happening, an elder asked, “Old Zhao, what are you doing? We can talk it out if there is something you’re unhappy about. Yes, this grotto belongs to you. But the academy is currently undergoing a difficult phase. Old Zhao, isn’t this a tad bit too excessive?”

Zhao Li rolled his eyes and said, “Why do you care? This is mine. What can you do if I insist on taking it away?”

“…”

The elder was left completely speechless.

Yuan Qingdong frowned and said, “Teacher Zhao, must you take this grotto away?”

If that happened, the students would start protesting again. Nothing had gone smoothly for him ever since he took over the academy’s administration.

The books depository had been taken over by Hong Tan and entry was forbidden for everyone. That was driving the students and teachers mad. If even the Source Qi Secret Grotto was removed, wouldn’t the students go even crazier?

Zhao Li completely ignored Yuan Qingdong. Anger flashed in Yuan Qingdong’s eyes. He was a Sunmoon, but nobody in this damn place respected him. Even a Cloudbreach was disregarding him.

“Teacher Zhao Li, even if you want to take the grotto away, you need to first call for a meeting of elders, right?” Yuan Qingdong said, “Yes, the Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by the fourth principal. But over the years, the academy and the Knowledge Seeking Realm have invested a lot in it to push the source qi density inside to such a high level…”

Zhao Li glanced at Yuan Qingdong. He could have explained that he was only taking it away temporarily, but after hearing those words, he changed his mind. He said, “I’m going to take it away. What are you going to do? Are you going to snatch it from me? Try it. If you do that, I’ll kill myself right in front of Great Yuan’s capital city. I want to see how Great Yuan King would react to that. How is something my old man left behind not mine? Did anyone die helping him back then? Did I owe you guys anything?

“Go fuck yourself. Do you think you can bully me like this? Do you think the Yuan Family can do whatever they want? That damn Zhao Tianbing is useless. His teacher’s property is being stolen. Why is he still acting all lofty as the second greatest weaponsmith of humanity? What a piece of trash. He should kill himself in front of Great Yuan capital alongside me!”

“…”

Yuan Qingdong instantly shut his mouth. Fine. This was not related to him. This old man was free to take the grotto away. He wasn’t afraid of Zhao Li, but this was not a trouble he was interested in getting involved in.

Second greatest weaponsmith of humanity. That was no exagerration. That was the truth. If Zhao Tianbing were to kill himself in front of Great Yuan capital, Great Yuan King would probably need to kill Yuan Qingdong to placate the masses. After all, he had caused the death of the second greatest weaponsmith by stealing their grotto. Not even an Invincible could cover for him.

Thus, Yuan Qingdong decided to stay out of this. It wasn’t like he needed the grotto himself. He only tried to stop it because he was afraid that the students would start protesting again. But what else could he say if Zhao Li was acting like this?

The other elders shut their mouths as well.

Fine, fine.

Just take it away.

Even though they were unwilling to let this happen, Zhao Li was too much of an eccentric. If he really did something like killing himself in front of Great Yuan capital, Zhao Tianbing would go crazy. All of them would suffer greatly for that. Sure, as Mountainsea elders, they were impressive. But a Sunmoon weaponsmith could easily make life miserable for them.

Seeing that they had finally shut their mouths, Zhao Li snorted and said, “A bunch of thankless wretches. How dare you talk about their investments in the grotto. If you want to talk money, you should give me all the money they have earned through the grotto over the years. This grotto has supported the academy financially for decades. How dare you talk about money with me. Do you want me to make a detailed list of who is owed more here? If you’re really so great, why don’t you die and leave behind a source qi grotto as well?”

“…”

Zhao Li snorted again and said, “The fuck are you looking at? I’m using this grotto for weapon forging. I’ll take it back when I’m done. But from now on, your students and families will be banned from this grotto. This applies to every single one of you bastards who have spoken earlier. Don’t even dream of using the grotto anymore. Little Nie, note this down. If you let even one of their people into the grotto, I’ll take the grotto away for good.”

The elder who had spoken earlier felt incomparably helpless. He hadn’t even said much.

Old Nie could only nod and say, “Sure. I understand.”

Elder Qi curiously asked, “You’re forging a weapon?”

“What a dumb question. What else am I going to do?”

Elder Qi did not take offense to that. he smiled and said, “Why do you need the grotto for weapon forging? If you need source qi, the academy can supply you with what you need.”

“I’m forging an earth weapon. Send me a hundred thousand drops of source qi liquid.”

“…”

They were rendered speechless.

Earth weapon.

Elder Qi’s face turned solemn as he said, “Old Zhao, what are you thinking? Why are you suddenly making this attempt?”

“I’m in the mood to do it, so I’m doing it. Can’t I?”

Zhao Li continued throwing out harsh words. That was how he had always been. Even if one was unhappy with him, one could only stay patient. Sure, he wasn’t backed by any specific Invincible, but his senior brother was enough of a backer even if he had cursed countless times at that senior brother.

Finally, Zhao Li left with the grotto. The grotto couldn’t be moved too far away, but it would be fine as he was only moving it within the academy. Everyone watched silently as he left. Before long, a translucent clump of space appeared above Zhao Li’s research center.

And after a short moment, the entire research center vanished. Only a translucent dome could be seen where the research center used to be. One could only see the other side of the dome instead of seeing inside the dome. It was as though there was nothing inside, but those with sufficient strength could sense the intense energy undulations inside.

As everyone was staring speechlessly, a powerful aura erupted from the dome. Slowly, a gigantic hammer appeared above the dome. The hammer was also slightly translucent.

Someone sighed and said, “Old Zhao is really going to start working on this weapon.”

Yuan Qingdong was blanking out. Even as a Sunmoon, he couldn’t avoid being surprised. He blankly muttered, “I-Is this an earth weapon?”

He had an earth weapon as well. But why was it so different? Could an earth weapon be so powerful?

Elder Qi explained, “Old Zhao’s weapon is different. He has grand ambitions. Back then, he forged this weapon with the heaven grade in his mind. At completion, it would be an evolving weapon with the foundations of a heaven weapon.”

“Evolving weapon?”

“Yes.” Elder Qi sighed, “Because his main character has been merged with the weapon. He will become one with the weapon. He even wanted to forge the weapon with his body as the material. If we hadn’t stopped him back then, he would have done so. He would rather die and leave the work of his life behind.”

Yuan Qingdong was completely speechless. This was too crazy. He felt like his horizons had been broadened considerably after arriving at Great Xia. He even started rejoicing that he had taken a step back during his argument with that madman earlier. Someone like that would most definitely have the courage to kill himself in front of Great Yuan capital.

He was not a nobody. Sure, the weaponsmithing faction wasn’t known for their combat strength, but all cultural researchers were reliant on them. They were a lot more important than pillmakers. One could survive without pills, but very few people would choose to remain unarmed.

The massive ruckus attracted a lot of attention. Source qi started gathering around the area as the gigantic hammer swayed gently in the sky.

At the same time.

Several experts who were in the middle of a discussion in the prefect’s residence suddenly looked in the direction of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.

Great Han King said, “This is…”

When Marquis Xia sensed what was happening, he smiled, “Zhao Li is forging his weapon.”

“Zhao Sanchui’s son?” One name appeared in Great Han King’s mind.

Silk Destroying King said, “Interesting. What is he forging? It looks like a heaven weapon. This doesn’t feel like an earth weapon. Don’t tell me it’s really a heaven weapon.”

A refined youth with a folding fan in hand smiled and said, “Is this the unique forging method, the fusion of weapon and character? This Zhao Li is quite a courageous person. I heard about him in the past. He failed in his previous attempt. If he succeeds this time, he won’t have any issue reaching the Mountainsea Realm. At that point, as long as he maintained his cultural weapon, he will grow from the power of his weapon. Even the Sunmoon Realm will be within reach. He is walking the path of cultural weapon fusion…”

Marquis Xia nodded, “I guess so. Martial Uncles, why don’t I stop him? That fellow is used to doing whatever he pleases. We can’t let this distract us from the coming trial…”

“It’s fine.”

Great Han King said, “There is no rush. Feng Ji is injured so we can give him some time to recuperate. We can take this time to witness this unique forging method. If Zhao Sanchui had not died back then, he would have grown into the second heaven weaponsmith of humanity. Great Xia is indeed a land of talent.”

Marquis Xia said, “Of course. Of the six principals of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, apart from the weak Wan Tiansheng, none of the others isn’t a person of extraordinary talent.”

“…”

The three Invincibles said nothing about that. Wan Tiansheng? They all looked in the same direction. Wan Tiansheng…what was that kid planning? Even after their arrival, he still remained in seclusion.

Also, was the timing of Zhao Li a coincidence or something else? Was Great Xia deliberately dragging the trial out? That was pointless, right?

In any case, it seemed pointless for these Invincibles. If it wasn’t for their curiosity, they could have proceeded with the trial at any time. They could even start it immediately. But they were in no rush. Feng Ji wasn’t the key here. Chen Yong and the silent Hong Tan were the main individuals of interest.

Great Xia’s multiple character faction was truly very troublesome. These Invincibles wouldn’t have personally traveled here otherwise. This was supposed to be a matter Great Xia could resolve internally.

But it involved Chen Yong and Hong Tan. Ye Batian might be dead, but some of his influence still remained. Any carelessness might result in a massive disaster. Ye Batian had left a big mark in the field of cultural research. That had not changed even so many years after his death.