Chapter 19 Invitation

"Young Brother Su, please come in!"

Not only Li Daoran, but all three had sparred with Su Zhou using various methods, but the more they tested, the more astonished they became.

Li Daoran was the strongest in inner qi cultivation among the three grandmasters, and also appeared to be the youngest. His pure inner force was more profound than Su Zhou's. His Daoist techniques could even conjure gusts of wind out of thin air, forming 'flying sword'-like air blades that could cut through rock, let alone the human body.

But the divine geometric spiritual energy was too pure, no less than, and even faintly surpassed, his decades of honed inner force. Especially Su Zhou's whole body of spiritual energy condensed into a tetrahedron, which was so solid that it was difficult to shake.

What's more, Su Zhou's spiritual energy was inexhaustible, seemingly without end. Deep inner force was useless; if they were to contend, he would surely lose.

As for pure physical strength, that was the forte of the bald grandmaster Weilie from the Military School. But even so, when faced with Su Zhou, who could unleash thousands of pounds of force with a single arm, he was almost flung into the sky with a handshake—'A formidable youth' and 'This old frame almost fell apart' were his comments.

As for Grandmaster Han, a medical martial artist, after a mere ordinary handshake, he shook his head and admitted defeat: "I am old and weak, not as good as young people."

The 'Heaven-Human Cycle' spiritual energy recovery speed was too fast, and the physical strength of 'Dragon Serpent Might' was even more inhuman. With the two supporting each other, without ganging up or fighting a life-and-death battle, the grandmasters really couldn't fathom the extent of Su Zhou's abilities, and could only express their deep admiration.

This was the difference between ordinary superhumans and those with several innate divine powers. Even if their spiritual energy cultivation was the same, their combat power was extremely difficult to calculate.

No one was foolish enough to raise a silly question like 'He might be a spy from the Demon Dynasty'.

Thinking carefully, if Su Zhou was really an enemy, then even if the three of them joined forces, a surprise attack would probably leave one of them seriously injured, and the other would easily escape... This was just pure strength, not counting Su Zhou's rapid regeneration and other abilities he had not yet shown.

If the An Dynasty had a general of this caliber, they would have used him on the front lines long ago, or even started attacking their fortresses from now on, and they wouldn't be able to continue forging divine weapons.

Or after a few years, when a genius like Su Zhou became a Xiantian (Innate Realm), he would directly "sweep through eight hundred without a rival, Xuan Yuan would reappear as a Martial Saint", single-handedly wielding a spear, echoing the heavenly phenomena, and wipe them all out. Would the Demon Dynasty still be fighting a defensive war along the Nanjiang River with the rebel army like now?

They weren't stupid.

Since there was indeed no trace of Undying Root erosion on Su Zhou, and his statement that he wanted to help them resist the unrighteous and destroy the An Dynasty's demon emperor was the truth, then he was undoubtedly an ally. The name 'Hundred Schools Rebel Army' showed how many messy factions and local forces there were in this power. One more 'Western Divine Wood inheritor' wasn't a big deal.

"The vigorous vitality in his body comes from flesh and blood, not the Undying Root."

Even the long-haired, wise-eyed old grandmaster, who called himself 'Han Xiaoqian', explained it this way. He was a senior member of the Medical School, so his words naturally carried weight.

Having confirmed this, the result was that Su Zhou was very politely invited into the fortress by everyone, and treated with great courtesy.

Although it was impossible to directly involve Su Zhou in confidential matters, he was quickly accepted, and a contract was signed in the presence of the three grandmasters.

【——The Hundred Schools will provide spiritual objects as a reward, hiring Su Zhou to help them resist any possible sudden attacks by the An Dynasty's demon soldiers during the period of forging the 'Extinction Blade'.】

This was not requested by Su Zhou, but was proposed by the Hundred Schools Rebel Army. After all, any act of righteousness might be feasible for a while, but only stable rewards could make a partnership last.

What's more, the number of grandmasters in the world was barely half a hundred. It was the time to employ talents. Here, they could win over a young grandmaster, spending not their own money but public funds, so they naturally had to be as generous as possible.

"This is great!"

Su Zhou naturally had no objections to this. Someone was sending rewards to assist in cultivation, and he could also conveniently kill a few An Dynasty demon soldiers... Where could he find such a good thing? Other than the fact that the place to live was a bit unsettling next to the volcano crater, everything else was fine.

"Unfortunately, the life essence of those three demon soldiers before was too weak to condense any evil souls... I'm afraid it has to be at the Houtian (Acquired) level, that is, an Awakening-level demon general, to condense an evil soul!"

Thinking this way, standing on the city wall, Su Zhou looked out at the distant thousands of miles of snowy mountains, and he could be described as high-spirited and full of fighting spirit—he was originally worried about not finding spiritual objects, but the Hundred Schools Rebel Army gave him rewards. He was originally worried about not finding bad people, but the An Dynasty's demon army came to deliver heads themselves. He actually enjoyed the feeling of being served by a transport team?

Taibai Fortress, or rather, the fortress, was not large. It mainly relied on the natural dangers of the two mountains to block a pass on the saddle of the mountain, which was the only way to reach the volcanic Tianchi (Heavenly Pool).

There were not many people stationed in the pass, only fifty-seven in total. Including the escort team that had just arrived and Su Zhou, there were only seventy-two people in total—but all seventy-two of these people were inner force martial artists. In addition to the three third-stage grandmasters, there were also fifteen first and second-stage experts. If this force were投入to the battlefield, it would be enough to disperse an army formation of thousands of people.

Not to mention, it was absolutely more than enough to defend the pass by relying on the terrain.

"Our main force of the rebel army is still around the Nanhe Tian Pass, entangled with the Demon Dynasty's army."

Mo Ganxiu was going to deliver the relics of the divine monk to the volcanic Tianchi where the divine weapon was to be forged, while the Buddhist monk Fang Hui and the swordsman Liu Xizhao were both injured by Su Zhou, and were now being taken away by several disciples of the Medical School for treatment. Only Zhou Buyi's injuries were lighter, and he was acting as a guide in the camp, introducing the current situation to Su Zhou.

"Our branch of forces was originally deeply hidden, and we deliberately sneaked into the Liaozhou, where the Demon Dynasty's forces are relatively weak, and the mountainous area is almost uninhabited. We were preparing to use the power of the Taibai Volcano to forge a divine weapon. This matter should be kept absolutely secret, and it could have been done secretly without attracting anyone's attention."

——But there are traitors, right?

Hearing this, Su Zhou, who had read countless novels and played countless games, understood in his heart, and Zhou Buyi's next words were not unexpected. The premature swordsman pressed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and sighed: "But I don't know where a traitor leaked the news... Alas, Young Hero Su, you also know that regenerating limbs, healing hidden wounds, plus longevity, this kind of temptation that can make people go further, how can ordinary martial artists resist?"

"Over the past few decades, the older generation, who had a deep-seated hatred with the Demon Dynasty, has gradually withered, and although the new generation has been receiving education, there are always people who can't resist the temptation and betray, joining the Demonic path for various reasons."

Su Zhou could see that when Zhou Buyi mentioned 'Demon Dynasty', no matter how suppressed his tone was, it was full of unforgettable hatred. And seeming to notice Su Zhou's curiosity, the white-clothed swordsman smiled bitterly, and then ridiculed himself: "Of course, I am the kind of person in the new generation who has great hatred with the Demon Dynasty."

Afterwards, he briefly explained his background.

"Your encounter... is not ordinary!"

After listening, Su Zhou strangely realized that this guy, who had been defeated and captured by him for questioning before, seemed to be the real protagonist of this world!

Zhou Buyi's father was originally a palace guard of the An Dynasty, and was a core member who had been granted the Undying Root, but Zhou Buyi's father was unwilling to devour the flesh and blood of the people to turn it into his own resources. In pain, he planned for decades, and one day he seized the 'Nameless Saber' forged by the An Dynasty's grand national teacher in the palace, and fled Nantianjing (Southern Sky Capital).

This nameless ritual saber was cast from the Earth Vein Flame Iron. It was the magical artifact used by the former An Dynasty emperor to cut off the primordial Divine Wood's aerial roots, transplant the Undying Bloodline. It could also suppress the Divine Wood's self-healing power to a certain extent, and was used to quickly kill Divine Wood-derived strange beasts such as 'Pure Water Centipede' and 'Yang Flame Light Cicada'.

This nameless ritual saber was the prototype of the 'Extinction Blade'. By decomposing this saber, the high-level members of the Hundred Schools deduced the weakness of the Divine Wood's Undying Power, and then designed the 'Extinction Blade', a divine weapon that, in a sense, completely countered the Undying Power.

'Extinction', the 'Nirvana' of neither birth nor death. The Extinction Blade used Earth Vein Flame Iron and extraterrestrial Meteorite Crystal as the main materials for the blade, Thunderstruck Wood and the relics of high monks as auxiliary materials, and more than a dozen kinds of rare spiritual materials were modulated into Black Jade Diamond Sand, used to engrave the divine power imprints sufficient to 'annihilate immortality'. It was a divine weapon that the Hundred Schools Rebel Army, which now occupies half of the world, also needed to do their best to forge.

"This is already a superhuman weapon."

Yala popularized science to Su Zhou in spirit: "According to the local saying, that is, they want to use the power of the world in the Taibai Volcano Tianchi to forge a Houtian (Acquired)-level weapon that specializes in exterminating immortality, and is of the Fire and Thunder attributes - if an Awakening Realm peak holder possesses this weapon, it would probably be enough to kill an early-stage Xiantian (Innate)."

Although Su Zhou had no concept of the superhuman level, he also knew how strong it would be to be one major level higher than himself, so he nodded quite understandingly, which made Zhou Buyi nod in agreement.

But the next thing was not so smooth.

Although the ritual saber and various palace secrets were sent out by Zhou Buyi's parents, both of them died in the An Dynasty's pursuit. It was said that they were stripped of the Undying Root little by little with small knives, drained of their flesh and blood, and then thrown into an acid pool to be dissolved alive... Not only that, but countless friends of Zhou Buyi had also died tragically at the hands of demon soldiers over the past ten years or so, so it was no wonder that he was so deeply hateful.

Zhou Buyi himself was under the protection of the rebel army, and had been educated in hundreds of schools since he was a child. Although his master was a Daoist grandmaster, he was not limited to one school. At the young age of only twenty-four, he was proficient in more than a dozen secret sword techniques, and his inner qi cultivation was also approaching the grandmaster realm.

The lifespan of humans in this world was relatively long due to the spiritual energy. The peak period started from the age of twenty, lasting for three or four decades, and Zhou Buyi was expected to become a grandmaster before the age of thirty, so it was natural that he could advance to Xiantian (Innate) before his peak period. He was regarded as a contemporary hero. His master, Li Daoran, named him 'Buyi', which meant 'not changing his Dao (path) ', hoping that he could concentrate on cultivation and enter Xiantian (Innate) as soon as possible.

"Of course, compared to Young Hero Su, my achievements are far inferior." Saying this, Zhou Buyi sincerely bowed to Su Zhou—He had no choice but to be convinced. A grandmaster before the age of twenty would probably become a great grandmaster before the age of twenty. If this kind of person didn't become a Xiantian (Innate), then the heavens would be blind.

The reason why the Hundred Schools Rebel Army was so eager to forge a divine weapon, even though they had a slight advantage in the balance of power on the front lines, was because they were afraid that as time dragged on, the Demon Dynasty, with its longer lifespan and peak period, would force out a Xiantian (Innate) expert.

And according to the martial power of the Xiantian (Innate) experts recorded in the inheritance of each school, if there was really such an existence, it would really be invincible for thousands of miles in this world, and one person could be worth a million soldiers.

"Where, where, you flatter me." After listening to Zhou Buyi's protagonist-like background, Su Zhou laughed and said to the other party with the same sincerity: "I feel that Brother Zhou will definitely be able to achieve Xiantian (Innate) in the future, sweep through the Demon Dynasty, and cut off the head of that dog emperor with one sword."

"Hahaha, thank you for your kind words."

At this time, the two had arrived at the local camp's canteen. Taibai Fortress had enough food stored for a hundred people to eat for half a year, which was more than enough for the time it would take to forge a divine weapon. Zhou Buyi said with a smile that he would treat Su Zhou to a good meal. Su Zhou was not one to be polite, so he naturally nodded repeatedly, and Zhou Buyi's reputation increased by five hundred.

At first, Zhou Buyi's face still had a smile on it. Although he was beaten up by Su Zhou, wasn't the person still alive? If bringing back a grandmaster only required being beaten once, he could unhesitatingly say "I don't care!" even if he was beaten ten times!

But soon, after seeing Su Zhou eat five servings of food, Zhou Buyi vaguely realized that something was wrong. It was obviously freezing cold, but a little sweat appeared on his forehead.

When Su Zhou put the tenth plate aside and easily said 'I want more, one more serving!' The white-clothed swordsman lightly gasped—He had forgotten that the guy in front of him might not be human. No, with this appetite, he was definitely not human!

"No, it's just food, there are many grandmasters with quirks, some like to slack off, and can never be found when the time comes, some like to eat beef, eating a whole cow a day, and some even like belts inlaid with various gold and jade... If Brother Su just likes to eat, then let him eat his fill!"

Slightly calming his mind, Zhou Buyi continued to maintain his smile, even smiling more happily than the gluttonous Su Zhou.

But the two didn't have long to be happy, because the cook secretly ran out of the kitchen and made several gestures at Zhou Buyi.

The meaning of the gestures was very simple.

——There really isn't any more!

——The pot is empty!

Fortunately, Su Zhou didn't ask for more after finishing this serving—He patted his dimensional space-like belly, turned to Zhou Buyi and smiled: "Thanks, friend, you're quite honest, you're a good person."

Then he asked with great curiosity: "By the way, since you plan to forge a divine weapon at Taibai Volcano, that means there are many very powerful blacksmiths here?"

"That's right, indeed."

Being called a friend by Su Zhou for the first time, Zhou Buyi seemed to have vaguely found a way to increase Su Zhou's favorability... And hearing the other party's question, he nodded slightly: "One of the three great artisan masters in the world is here, as well as his disciples... Do you want to forge a weapon?"

"Yes." Su Zhou nodded without concealment, causing the great spear on his back to shake: "This Wooden Centipede spear of mine was forcibly attached with my inner force—If possible, I hope it can be reforged, and I have prepared strengthening materials myself."

"That's simple." Zhou Buyi smiled, then got up, preparing to lead the way: "The Great Artisan shouldn't mind forging a weapon for a young grandmaster."

"Follow me, the master's camp is near the volcano crater."