Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 33: The Fall of House Yan

The hazy, golden shimmer drew every eye in the courtyard. It was an unnatural light, something that didn’t belong in a world of steel and sinew. Even the two Yan family retainers, men of the martial world, stared in disbelief.

“Hmph. This Golden Light Shield will last a long time,” the Yan Patriarch sneered. “You two, kill our enemies. You need not worry about my safety!”

Yan Xu was the first to recover. He threw his head back and laughed. “Hahaha, excellent! If you have such a defense, Master, then I have nothing to fear. You bastard, come and die!”

He immediately pressed his attack, hoping to overwhelm Li Qing before the supporting Seven Kills Squad could arrive.

The pressure on Li Qing intensified tenfold.

Each of Yan Xu’s palm strikes landed with bone-jarring force. The impacts vibrated up the shaft of the Peerless Hammer, making the web of Li Qing’s thumb ache and go numb. His focus had been momentarily shattered by the impossible appearance of the Golden Light Shield, and now he found himself on the defensive, being driven back step by step.

Just as Yan Xu’s palm was about to strike his chest, the other five death squad members finally crashed into the fray.

They were a tide of fearless, single-minded killers, launching themselves at Yan Xu with no regard for their own lives.

“Courting death!” Yan Xu roared. He shoved Li Qing back with a palm strike and spun to meet the suicidal charge of the five assassins.

“Wind-Piercing Hand!”

His strike was a blur. In the blink of an eye, his fingers plunged through a death squad member’s throat in a display of brutal, vicious efficiency.

But even as the man died, the punch he had thrown continued on its path, smashing squarely into the side of Yan Xu’s head.

The other four assassins didn’t even flinch. A man they had lived and trained with for years died at their side, yet not a flicker of emotion crossed their faces. They made no attempt to defend themselves. Their only purpose was to attack, to trade wound for wound, life for life.

*Bang!*

The punch to his head barely fazed Yan Xu, but now he was swarmed by four men who didn’t care if they lived or died. He was completely entangled, unable to break free to deal with Li Qing.

It all happened in an instant, but Li Qing’s reaction was faster.

He surged forward, bringing his hammer down in a cleaving strike from the Gu Xuan Hammer Technique.

The Peerless Hammer, weighing over 200 pounds, descended with the force of a landslide. It tore through the air with a vicious gust before smashing squarely onto Yan Xu’s shoulder.

*Crack!*

The sharp, sickening sound of splintering bone cut through the chaos.

The Yan family retainer’s eyes went bloodshot. Agony seared through his mind, driving him to the brink of madness.

“Ahhh! I’ll kill you!” Yan Xu shrieked, his hair flying wildly, his face a mask of terrifying rage.

But with a shattered shoulder, he was no longer a threat. Li Qing simply watched him with cold detachment as the other four death squad members swarmed him again.

The five men became a vortex of violence, and the scene turned horrifically bloody.

Yan Xu’s fist exploded another man’s skull, but in that same instant, the others plunged their weapons into him. Short blades, daggers, and slender swords opened deep gashes across his body, and blood sprayed from the wounds.

Just as the dying Yan Xu tried to take one more with him, Li Qing stepped in and brought his hammer down one last time, ending his life.

Across the courtyard, however, Tian Long was not faring as well.

Even with the support of several Seven Kills Squad members, the old man named Mo Nan was a terrifyingly powerful martial artist. Besieged by six opponents, he still held the upper hand. The sheer might of an Inner Force master was on full display.

“So that’s it, Old Mo,” Tian Long grunted, finally getting a moment to breathe as the pressure lessened. “No wonder you never broke through to the Inner Force realm. You split your focus, mastering an external art as well. And a damn good one at that.”

Mo Nan’s expression remained placid. His every move was precise and methodical, effortlessly parrying Tian Long’s attacks while simultaneously dealing with the relentless, suicidal charges of the five death squad members.

“My aptitude was lacking,” Mo Nan replied calmly. “I saw no path to Inner Force, so I turned to the Iron Cloth Technique. You flatter me, Gang Leader Tian.”

“Heh, try this on for size!”

Seeing that their battle was a stalemate, Li Qing decided not to intervene. With the Seven Kills Squad’s aid, neither side could gain a decisive advantage.

Instead, his gaze fell upon the Yan Patriarch, who was still shrouded in that eerie golden light. He had never seen anything so miraculous. That yellow paper talisman stuck to the old man’s chest looked exactly like the enchanted seals from the Cultivation storybooks he’d read as a child.

“Old Mo, what are you waiting for? Kill that traitor Tian Long!” the Yan Patriarch shouted, his voice laced with anxiety. Seeing Li Qing and the assassins cut down Yan Xu had finally rattled him.

The three death squad members surrounding him were now red-eyed, hacking and slashing at the Golden Light Shield with everything they had.

“How is this possible?!”

“Why won’t it break? What is this damn thing?!”

“Damn you! Break!”

Their mortal enemy stood right before them, untouchable behind a bizarre barrier of light. They were going mad with frustration, their hatred so potent they looked ready to tear the detestable old man apart with their bare hands.

Li Qing watched from a distance, making no move to approach.

This Golden Light Shield was clearly not of the mundane world. It felt like something from a legend, a technique of the fabled immortals. To be honest, if not for the growing panic in the patriarch’s voice—a sign that this was his last resort—Li Qing would have already been planning his retreat. For all he knew, the old man could pull out another slip of paper that summoned lightning from a clear sky or a pillar of fire. That was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

Just as the thought of retreat entered his mind, a sharp, clear sound echoed through the courtyard.

*Crack!*

The golden light flickered, and a spiderweb of fractures spread across its surface, like a pane of glass struck by a stone.

Finally, under the relentless, desperate onslaught of the three men, the shield didn’t just break—it *shattered*. It exploded into a shower of golden motes that glittered for a moment before vanishing into the air.

The yellow talisman on the Yan Patriarch’s chest crumbled into dust.

“No! Impossible! How did it break so quickly? They said it would last a day and a night! That the weapons of mortals could never pierce it!”

The Yan Patriarch was dumbfounded. As he stared at the space where the shield had been, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

“No!”

Seeing the shield gone, the three death squad members became unhinged. They fell upon the white-haired patriarch like a pack of starving wolves. There was no mercy, only the savage tearing of flesh and the snapping of bone as they ripped Yan Qitian apart.

Li Qing’s mouth opened. He had intended to stop them, to interrogate the patriarch about the origin of that shield, but he was too late.

Revenge against the Yan family was the Seven Kills Squad’s sole reason for living. They would have gladly drunk his blood and eaten his flesh. They would never have given Li Qing the time to ask a single question.

The Yan Patriarch was dead beyond any doubt, but fighting still raged elsewhere in the mansion.

To end it quickly and get the medicinal wine recipe he wanted, Li Qing channeled his Outer Force, his voice booming across the estate like a clap of thunder: “The Yan Patriarch has been executed! Lay down your weapons now!”

The shout echoed through every hall and courtyard, and every person heard it clearly.

“Father!” the Yan family’s second young master shrieked in despair. Zhao Kou gave him no chance to say more, viciously slitting his throat.

*Swish!*

The young master who had terrorized Obsidian City for years collapsed, dead on the spot.

Everyone else turned their eyes toward the center of the mansion. When they saw the patriarch’s mangled corpse, their will to fight evaporated. They dropped their weapons and fled for their lives.

“The Master is dead! The Yan family is finished!”

“They’ve all been wiped out!”

The guards and thugs on the Yan family payroll scattered like rats from a sinking ship.

Within the mansion, Tian Long, still locked in combat with Mo Nan, let out a triumphant laugh. “Hahahaha! It’s over, Old Mo! I won’t make this hard on you. Stand down. Whatever the Yan family paid you, I’ll double it!”

Mo Nan knew the situation was hopeless. One retainer had been crippled, and Yan Xu was dead at Li Qing’s hands. There was no point in fighting anymore.

“Ah, so be it,” he sighed. With a few deft leaps, he disengaged from the fight, putting distance between himself and Tian Long’s men.

And just like that, the great family that had dominated Obsidian City for years had utterly collapsed.