Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 54: Seizing Territory

*BANG!*

The gates of the Qingshan Martial Arts Hall splintered inward, kicked open with a force they hadn’t felt in years. Inside, the disciples froze mid-practice, their faces masks of stunned disbelief. They watched as the so-called Heroes of Liangzhou filed in, one after another, and for a moment, no one knew what to do.

This wasn’t a challenge. This was a hostile takeover.

Ever since they had come under the protection of the Feiyun Martial Arts Hall, such blatant aggression had become a thing of the past.

“Hahaha! We’re the Heroes of Liangzhou,” a brutish man at the front boomed, hefting a solid iron rod. “Get your hall master out here.”

“Who the hell are you thugs?” a disciple retorted defiantly. “Our master doesn’t meet with just anyone who comes knocking.”

The leader, Fang Long, just grinned, unconcerned. “Listen, kid. We’re here to kick in your door. Who else would we be looking for but your master?”

“You want to challenge our master? You’ll have to get through us first!”

Several disciples in training uniforms stepped forward as one, fearlessly meeting the cold gazes of the Liangzhou invaders.

“Hahahaha! You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” Fang Long laughed. “But blades don’t have eyes. You little brothers better be careful.” He gestured behind him. “Zhang Pei’an, these few are yours.”

As he spoke, a man wielding a heavy broadsword stepped out from the crowd. He faced the disciples alone, yet his imposing aura didn’t waver in the slightest. The man, Zhang Pei’an, was a mountain of muscle and thick, dark hair. A black beard covered his cheeks, and his hulking frame was pure intimidation.

“The name’s Zhang Pei’an,” he sneered. “You coming one by one, or all at once?”

His arrogance was too much for the hot-blooded young disciples. “Insolent bastard!”

“I’ll go first!” an apprentice, who looked like he’d only been training for a few months, shouted as he stepped into the courtyard.

Neither man wasted time on words. They locked eyes for a brief second, and then the fight was on.

“Hah!” the disciple roared, trying to bolster his own courage. He settled into his stance and charged.

But Zhang Pei’an was a hardened veteran of the Jianghu. He looked at this fledgling, this chirping chick, and could barely muster any interest.

“Hmph. Courting death.”

A predatory glint flashed in Zhang Pei’an’s eyes. Without another word, he ripped his blade free and slashed downward in a single, brutal motion.

*Swish!*

The disciple had no time to even think of dodging. The blade carved a vertical line from his shoulder straight down to his abdomen. A spray of crimson arced through the air.

The young disciples, most of whom had never seen real blood spilled, felt their legs begin to tremble. The faint, coppery smell of it filled their nostrils, and a horrifying realization dawned: this wasn’t a sparring match that would end with a handshake. This was a real battle, fought with sharpened steel.

*Gulp.*

The sound of someone swallowing nervously echoed through the now-silent martial arts hall.

“Carry him away now and he might live,” Zhang Pei’an said with a dismissive sneer. “Wait any longer, and I make no guarantees.”

His words broke the spell. Several disciples scrambled forward, hauling their bleeding and fallen brother away.

With that one bloody example, the courage that had fueled the others moments before evaporated into cold fear. They exchanged wide-eyed glances, but no one dared to speak, let alone step forward.

Fang Long, the seasoned gangster, couldn’t be bothered with these greenhorns. He channeled his Inner Force into his voice and bellowed, “They say Hall Master Qingshan is a true hero! Is he too scared to even show his face?”

“What a disappointment! If you don’t have the guts to fight, then get the hell out of Chiming Street! From now on, this territory belongs to the Liangzhou brothers!”

His voice, amplified by Outer Force, boomed across the courtyard and into the street, easily reaching half a block away.

A moment later, the old hall master, Xu Qingshan, finally emerged from the rear of the building. His face was a thundercloud, his gaze locked onto the invaders from Liangzhou.

“This old man is unaware of how he might have offended you heroes. Could you please speak plainly?” Xu Qingshan said, cupping his fists. He had no desire to fight these men who moved like a pack of wolves, hoping diplomacy might still prevail.

Fang Long scoffed. “Getting senile, are you, Hall Master Qingshan? You haven’t offended us. My brothers and I have just taken a liking to this street you’re protecting. So starting today, you can take your people and get out.”

Hearing that, Xu Qingshan knew there was no hope for a peaceful resolution. These weren’t thugs who could be bought off with a bit of silver.

“This old man established this hall with the tacit approval of the Feiyun Martial Arts Hall…”

Before he could finish, Fang Long stepped forward, cutting him off. “Then let me tell *you* something, old man. When we Liangzhou brothers set our sights on something, we don’t need anyone’s approval!”

*THUD!*

He slammed his iron rod onto the stone ground, the impact echoing with a dull finality. At the same time, the energy within him surged, making him the undeniable center of the storm.

“Then let us settle this,” Xu Qingshan sighed, knowing a fight was unavoidable. He steeled himself, sinking into the stance of his ancestral Qingshan Technique, and prepared for battle.

Without another word, Fang Long lunged. His entire body erupted with power as he swung the iron rod in a vicious arc aimed at Xu Qingshan’s head.

Xu Qingshan was an Outer Force expert, after all. His response was leagues beyond that of his inexperienced disciples. He sidestepped the blow and lashed out with a palm strike, wreathed in his own energy, aimed directly at Fang Long’s temple.

But to the old master’s horror, Fang Long didn’t even try to dodge. He simply raised an arm to block the palm, while his other hand reversed the rod’s momentum for another devastating swing.

Xu Qingshan’s heart went cold. This wasn’t some stray dog fighting for scraps—this was a starving wolf, ready to trade flesh for flesh, life for life! The sheer ruthlessness of the tactic threw his mind into chaos.

His palm strike landed.

*CRACK!*

Fang Long’s blocking arm twisted at an unnatural angle, the bone clearly broken. But in that same instant, his heavy iron rod smashed into Xu Qingshan’s side.

*BANG!*

How could the old and frail Xu Qingshan possibly withstand such a blow? His eyes rolled back into his head as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body went airborne, limp as a kite with a severed string, before crashing to the ground.

In just a few short exchanges, the victor was decided.

Xu Qingshan lay unconscious. Fang Long stood in the center of the hall, still gripping his iron rod.

“From today, this street is ours,” he snarled, his voice laced with menace. “Now get as far away from here as you can. Don’t let me see any of you again!”

Though his arm was mangled, his face was an unmoving mask of aggression. The fierce aura radiating from him was so potent that the remaining disciples didn’t dare utter a word. They simply lifted their fallen master and scurried out of the martial arts hall in disgrace.

Today, Chiming Street had officially changed hands.

The men from Liangzhou wasted no time. They tore the Qingshan Martial Arts Hall’s sign from its post, dragged it into the street, and, in front of all the local merchants, snapped the heavy plaque in two.

Then, they made a grand announcement. “Starting next month, the Liangzhou brothers will only collect a fee of two silver taels from our neighbors! And if any of you run into trouble the authorities won’t handle, you come to us!”

Hearing that the protection fee was dropping back to two taels, the merchants were ecstatic. The Qingshan Martial Arts Hall had recently raised it to three, a crippling expense that felt like they were having their blood sucked dry. For these small business owners, a single tael of silver was no small sum.

Scenes like this were playing out all across Shengtian City. Streets once protected by the three major martial arts halls were being challenged by warriors from every corner of the land. For a time, the capital’s martial fervor reached a fever pitch.

But as the spirit of martial arts intensified, so too did the chaos. The nights in the imperial capital were no longer peaceful. Brawls over territory had become a common, bloody occurrence.