Longevity Martial Arts: Starting from Inner Core Skill

Chapter 201 - 154 Strategy

"The ’Mechanical Technique: Azure Dragon Chapter’ simply states the use of Silver Essence Iron," the text began. "Besides being used as a weapon, like other metals, its most important role is as a ’Neutralizing Agent’ for various metals."

Of course, the use of ’Neutralizing Agent’, according to the ’Mechanical Technique,’ was fundamentally an original creation of Mechanical City.

Even the process of Mechanical Melting Iron required Silver Essence Iron.

However, Wang Sheng was not in the position to concern himself with these details now.

After he returned to the stronghold, he had melted all the Silver Essence Iron he possessed, and then refined his Flying Sword with it.

The Flying Sword was the thing he valued most at this moment.

Therefore, his top priority was to make his Flying Sword as powerful as possible.

As for the other components within the ’Mechanical Technique,’ Wang Sheng did not pay them much heed.

Besides the reluctance to look for various ores, more crucial was the fact that the ’Mechanical Technique’ seemed mostly a legacy of weapons, with very few items for everyday use, like its core content ’Mechanical Beast. Azure Dragon’.

Indeed, according to the description, the Azure Dragon could face a Great Grandmaster, but the required materials were so incredibly numerous that it was simply impossible for one person to gather them all.

Even though Wang Sheng had basically learned how to create the ’Azure Dragon,’ he had not yet considered attempting to craft it.

His interest in the ’Mechanical Technique’ was more about fulfilling his own living needs.

Thus, from the beginning, he had never intended to use Silver Essence Iron for anything else.

The three tons of Silver Essence Iron, despite its quantity, would take some time for the Flying Sword to absorb.

By the afternoon of the following day, the Flying Sword had fully absorbed all the Silver Essence Iron.

Having absorbed three tons of Silver Essence Iron, the appearance of the Flying Sword had changed again slightly, its faint blood hue from the Blood-forged Steel was now gone.

Now it was a pure silver Flying Sword, gleaming brilliantly.

"Good sword!" Wang Sheng could not help but exclaim.

One can recognize real quality, even without specific knowledge, and this sword could allow its razor-sharp edge to be clearly felt by his keen senses.

Da Bai and Yun Xiao, seeing this sword, had their fur stand slightly on end.

The sword had not killed any being, yet it gave them a feeling of danger.

It was certainly not that simple.

"Don’t be nervous; no matter how powerful a weapon is, it is controlled by people," he assured.

Weapons are essentially tools.

As long as the person wielding the weapon does not have the intent, the weapon itself isn’t necessarily dangerous.

Wang Sheng did not like his weapons to have an Artifact Spirit.

You see, none of the well-known weapons of the likes of the Three Pure Ones possessed an Artifact Spirit.

Therefore, he would not allow his weapon to develop an Artifact Spirit.

As long as he did not harbor the intention, a weapon, no matter how strong, would not attack on its own.

Of course, despite what he said, Da Bai and Yun Xiao still kept their distance from the Flying Sword, not daring to come close.

Wang Sheng shook his head and did not say much more.

Having absorbed three tons of Silver Essence Iron, he wanted to see just how strong the Flying Sword now was.

The test would be conducted with Qi Blood Power, as before.

It could be confirmed that the Flying Sword could no longer be damaged by mere Qi Blood Power.

Only with the added Fist Force could it be sufficient.

This way, the Flying Sword had met his fundamental requirements.

"It can be considered a qualified Flying Sword now!"

For a Flying Sword, the first thing required is a standard level of toughness; otherwise, everything else is pointless.

Next, it was necessary to gradually enhance the Flying Sword, a long-term process, and Wang Sheng could only take it slowly.

When more iron ore was mined, he planned to mass-produce Blood-forged Steel for the Flying Sword to absorb.

It was unknown whether the Flying Sword had an absorption limit or not; this needed to be slowly explored.

Apart from that, he had to research the techniques for the Flying Sword.

For close combat, there was already the Six Harmonies Spear technique, so the Flying Sword was to be used specially for his Divine Thought.

But he knew none of the Divine Skills for the Flying Sword, and surely, this world did not have any.

Thus, he could only rely on his research.

...

While Wang Sheng was engrossed in studying his newly acquired Flying Sword.

The powers nearby were anything but peaceful.

Rumors had spread that a battle of Grandmaster Level magnitude had taken place in the mountains nearby.

No one knew where these two Grandmaster Level figures had come from.

It was as if two hidden Great Grandmasters had suddenly emerged without any reason.

No one had a clue about the capabilities of these two Great Grandmasters or whether they might pose a threat to their own forces.

Mo Yang was in the same situation.

After a period of development,

Anshui County had grown quite significantly, and Mo Yang himself had also broken through and become a Grandmaster Level Martial Artist.

The people following him also included several Ninth-Grade Martial Artists.

The initial group of thirty-some individuals had all finished assimilating the things they acquired during their travels with Mo Yang; now, the least among them was a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist.

The overall strength had seen a significant increase; the next step was steady and firm consolidation.

With such strength, unless a Great Grandmaster appeared, Mo Yang was one of the top forces, indeed capable of protecting Anshui County and some nearby areas.

Then, a number of forces and individuals came to pledge allegiance to him.

During this time, under the guidance of Xing, although Mo Yang hadn’t expanded fiercely, he had formed his own army.

Although it was a modest one of five thousand men, this was already a great advancement. Moreover, equipped with the Military Formation given by Xing, faced with an army inexperienced in Military Formations, these five thousand could be wielded like fifty thousand.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

It was then that their men sent to the forest to search for Spiritual Medicine brought back news of a Great Grandmaster’s battle.

The identity of the Great Grandmaster was unconfirmed, yet it was very likely they were in the vicinity.

"Mr. Xing, what do you think?"

Against Martial Artists of the Great Grandmaster’s level, facing them with their current strength meant sure destruction, with no other outcome.

Thus, they had to be exceedingly cautious.

"At present, nothing is known about the outcome of the battle between those two Great Grandmasters or their final whereabouts. The best course of action is inaction."

Although Xing believed Mo Yang would eventually reach the highest position, facing a Great Grandmaster now was still out of his league.

So, instead of trying to confront that Great Grandmaster, it was better to maintain the status quo.

Of course—

Xing eventually added a piece of advice.

"If you really come face to face with a Great Grandmaster, don’t hesitate at all, just leave."

Mo Yang nodded on hearing this.

With insufficient strength, it seemed there was no other way.

But he didn’t want to give up on Anshui County; the common people had only just begun to live comfortable lives.

For the first time, ambition stirred in his heart...

At the same time, he began to speculate about the identity of that Great Grandmaster.

"Xing, do you think one of those Great Grandmasters could be that young fellow I met?"

Others might not know, but he was privy to some details about the Guardian Gods of the three counties.

He had even collaborated with one.

After pondering for a moment, Xing replied, "We cannot dismiss that possibility. According to the reports sent back, it seems one of the Great Grandmasters was in the midst of a breakthrough before the fight erupted.

It’s entirely plausible that the commotion from the breakthrough attracted the other Great Grandmaster, and it’s unknown what provoked them into conflict afterward.

Since it was a recent breakthrough, and the location is nearby, it’s possible that it was the Grandmaster you encountered. Based on our analysis, that Grandmaster’s strength was already at the pinnacle of Grandmasters, so a breakthrough given the right opportunity is not impossible."

He had chosen Anshui County as a base for its ideal proximity to the three counties.

Not too far or too close, free from significant influence from the three counties, yet capable of trading resources with the stable region. He hadn’t anticipated that someone from the three counties might actually have made a breakthrough to become a peak Great Grandmaster.

Whether that was good or bad, he couldn’t say.

"For now, let’s hold our forces. Even if it truly is that person, our manner of conduct should prevent us from being targeted for retribution."

Mo Yang nodded; this was a point on which he agreed.

And it seemed this was the only option they had at the moment.

Within the territory of Shuzhou, the first to learn of this were Mo Yang’s forces, and then King Yong Nian.

He had no one present to witness the battle.

But the people of Spirit Sword Valley, after discussions, eventually spread the news far and wide.

Those two Great Grandmasters were most likely not King Yong Nian’s men. Disseminating the news could tie up a significant portion of King Yong Nian’s resources.

As a result, both those who had entered Shuzhou and those outside wanting to come in would find their pressures greatly diminished.

After all, with a Great Grandmaster within one’s own territory, how could one rest comfortably in one’s bed?

Without uncovering the identity of these two, King Yong Nian would always have a thorn in his side.

Even if one of them was his person, spreading the news would benefit outsiders, allowing them to become vigilant in advance.

In short, releasing the information was entirely advantageous for those biding their time in the shadows.

Their plan was, without a doubt, successful.

King Yong Nian indeed became quite perturbed by this news.

He had already dispatched people to confirm it; that place had indeed witnessed a battle at the Great Grandmaster level.

This meant that the rumors were true.

The pressure on Spirit Sword Valley and Heavenly Saber City was immense. And now a covert Great Grandmaster had emerged in his own domain. How could he remain calm?

"Your Majesty, your council of advisors has analyzed some information from the news. Would you care to take a look?"

Even as a Great Grandmaster, King Yong Nian felt a headache brewing, then said, "Bring it to me!"

Soon enough, he saw the analysis performed by his council of advisors, boiling down to a few key points.

[One, based on the information circulated, one of the Great Grandmasters is likely to have just reached a breakthrough. This can be a clue to their identity.

Two, judging by the remnants at the scene, one of the parties may not be human but a Demon Beast, likely a plant-type beast, given the wooden objects found.

Three, the human Great Grandmaster was probably the victor and possesses tremendous strength, it is not advisable to provoke them; rather, attempts should be made to recruit them.]

It must be said, King Yong Nian’s council of advisors was indeed impressive.

From the descriptions of the scene and evidence at the site, they could deduce most of the information, showing they weren’t incompetent.

However, this intelligence put King Yong Nian in a difficult position…