Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 31: Sudden Outburst

“Thanks to the Second Young Master’s concern, I’m still holding up,” Tian Long said, stepping forward. He then signaled for Zhao Kou and Wei Tian to haul Li Qing before them.

Li Qing was trussed up in layer after layer of thick hemp rope, bound so tightly that not a single gap remained. He looked less like a man and more like a tightly wrapped bundle.

Yan Gui’an’s smile widened. He swept his gaze over Li Qing before speaking. “Well, hurry up and untie him. This Brother Li is my guest now. Gang Leader Tian Long, that’s hardly sporting of you. How could you beat a man into this state?”

At his words, the martial artist retainer standing behind him, a man known as Jing Tai, fixed his eyes on the prisoner.

This was the most critical part of the plan. A martial artist who had cultivated Outer Force possessed perception far sharper than an ordinary man’s. Tian Long had to monopolize Jing Tai’s attention while the ropes were being undone, preventing him from scrutinizing Li Qing too closely. If he sensed the coiled power simmering beneath Li Qing’s placid exterior, the entire operation would be compromised.

Beads of cold sweat formed on the brows of Zhao Kou and Wei Tian as their fingers flew, deftly working at the knots.

At that moment, Tian Long let out a sarcastic sneer. “Heh, Brother Jing Tai. It’s been a long time. I never thought I’d see you again, still stuck at the Outer Force realm, just like me.”

Jing Tai responded coldly, “Hmph. If the world hadn’t changed, I would have broken through to the Inner Force realm long ago.”

Hearing his target take the bait, Tian Long’s eyes narrowed into a smile. “Hahaha, true enough,” he continued. “Back before the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School closed its doors, the old master thought the world of you. A real pity, that.”

The mention of the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School brought a flicker to Jing Tai’s eyes, as if he were lost in a distant memory. That was only a few years after the sun had vanished. Obsidian City still had a decent stockpile of grain, and life, while difficult, was manageable. He had joined the school then. But without the sun, the fields yielded nothing. No stockpile, no matter how large, could last forever. If not for the discovery of the Black Wheat Mushroom, the world would likely be a graveyard.

As the two men reminisced, the hemp ropes fell away from Li Qing one coil at a time, revealing the thick cotton clothes he wore beneath.

Yan Gui’an had already begun his recruitment pitch. “Brother Li Qing, my Yan family has had quite a bit of business with you lately. I never imagined you’d fall out with Gang Leader Tian Long. A true shame, like a flood washing over the Dragon King’s temple. But it doesn’t matt—”

He trailed off, his brow furrowing in confusion.

As the last of the ropes were removed, he saw something tucked against Li Qing’s side: a thick iron rod, held fast in Li Qing’s grip.

“Something’s wrong—”

*SWISH!*

Li Qing, who had been simmering with restrained power, finally erupted. A terrifying surge of strength burst from his frame, snapping the last few coils of rope as if they were thread.

The iron rod in his hand was revealed in its entirety. This was no rod. It was a hammer—a massive one. The layers of rope had been nothing but a clever disguise for his Peerless Hammer.

“Kill!”

With a single word, Li Qing launched himself forward like a pouncing tiger. After being dormant for so long, his aura exploded with an unstoppable, suffocating force.

“How dare you!” Jing Tai roared, a mixture of shock and fury twisting his face. He realized with dawning horror that Li Qing was charging directly at him.

Before he could react, a savage grin split Tian Long’s face. Without a word, he drew the massive, ringed broadsword from his waist.

*WHOOSH!*

A flash of cold steel cut through the air, aimed straight for Jing Tai.

At the same instant, Wei Tian and Zhao Kou, now free from their task, sprang into action. Wei Tian shot like an arrow toward the mansion’s main gate. He pulled a small tube packed with coal dust from his robes and hurled it high into the air.

*SWISH!*

The tube burst open, and its contents ignited upon contact with the air. A brilliant flare of light blossomed against the pitch-black sky, a stark and unmissable signal.

From every dark corner of the street, Tian Long’s most trusted men exploded into motion. They saw the light and charged, a human wave crashing toward the imposing Yan family mansion.

“KILL! SLAUGHTER THE YAN FAMILY!”

“The Yan family is a plague! Today, the Righteousness Gang delivers heaven’s judgment! We’ll wash this house in their blood!”

“KILL! BROTHERS, CHARGE!”

Behind the main force, thirteen ghost-like figures vaulted over the high courtyard walls, melting into the shadows of the estate.

It all happened in the space of ten breaths.

The once-quiet street erupted into a cacophony of war cries and pounding feet. A tide of Killing Intent, wielded by the Righteousness Gang, surged toward the Yan family’s front door.

Inside the courtyard, the wide main gates were thrown open from within by the lightning-fast Wei Tian.

The scene inside was one of brutal carnage.

Blindsided by two Outer Force experts, Jing Tai had barely managed to raise an arm to block Li Qing’s hammer. The desperate move left his flank exposed. Tian Long’s broadsword struck home, carving a massive gash from his right ribs down to his waist.

Blood arced through the air, painting the courtyard in a thick, coppery spray that filled the air with its stench.

“How… how dare… Tian Long, you dare—” Jing Tai clutched the wound, his words choked with blood. Tian Long’s strike had been utterly ruthless, aimed to kill.

He staggered backward, leaving a trail of crimson on the flagstones as his strength rapidly bled out.

But Li Qing had no intention of dragging this out. Expressionless, he swung the Peerless Hammer again.

*BANG!*

Jing Tai was too slow, too wounded to dodge. He could only throw up his other arm in a desperate, futile block.

This time, the hammer connected perfectly.

Channelling the surging power of the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique, the Black Gold hammerhead met his forearm with a sickening crunch, shattering bone and flesh as if they were rotten wood.

Jing Tai was sent flying sideways, another spray of blood decorating the air. He was a miserable wreck, his life clearly forfeit.

*BOOM! BOOM!*

From deeper within the mansion, two other Outer Force experts finally reacted. They charged into the courtyard from different directions, their footsteps like thunder.

“The sheer audacity! To cause trouble here!”

“You truly have no regard for me, Yan Xu! Neither of you is leaving here alive today!”

Both were retainers of the Yan family. The one named Yan Xu was a trusted aide who was always by the old master’s side, so loyal he had even taken the family name as his own.

But it was all happening too fast. To the side, the pampered Yan Gui’an stood frozen, his body trembling uncontrollably. He was utterly terrified.

It wasn’t just that Jing Tai had been mortally wounded in an instant. It was the cold steel pressed against his own throat. Behind him, a boy no older than twelve or thirteen held a short knife to his neck. His eyes burned with the ferocity of a cornered wolf, leaving no doubt he would open the Second Young Master’s throat without a second thought.

“How could this be… how could this be…” Yan Gui’an stammered, his voice trembling as he repeated the phrase, his world collapsing around him.