Chapter 384 - 237: Talent 2

Chapter 384: Chapter 237: Talent 2

With a lifespan of over a thousand years, he still showed no signs of his life coming to an end. This burly man’s Martial Arts Realm had to be at least the eighth rank. As for what level he was within the eighth rank, Su Xing couldn’t tell.

As for the ninth rank...

The thought had crossed Su Xing’s mind.

But considering Dragon Gate’s attitude toward those ancient races, there probably wasn’t a ninth-rank master among them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have reacted the way they did—unless Dragon Gate itself was unaware of possessing a ninth-rank master, but the chances of that were far too low.

"What have you been doing living here all this time?"

Su Xing asked, puzzled. He had originally thought the Treasure Pavilion would be like the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, with just a simple gatekeeper. But this burly man seemed to be far more than an ordinary guard.

"Smithing."

The man replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I am a Martial Artist, but I’m not quite the same as you martial practitioners. I achieved the Dao through forging, so I’ve spent almost my entire life constantly smithing."

"Oh, the guys outside probably told you this place is called the Treasure Pavilion, haha. Almost everyone who comes in has the same reaction. But this is actually my home."

"I forged all the Magical Artifacts here. They just piled up over the years. I have no use for them, so I let Dragon Gate send its juniors here to take what they can use. Over time, this place became the so-called Treasure Pavilion."

The burly man said with a wide smile.

"..."

To be honest, Su Xing had never imagined a character like this existed here. This raised a question in his mind: why hadn’t the special organizations sent someone to find him? Having a person who specialized in this path would surely be of immense help to their research on Magical Artifacts.

"Don’t even think about it."

"I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s probably along those lines. My master taught me this craft, and I’ve added my own lifetime of experience to it. I can’t possibly teach it to others, unless I meet a disciple I’m willing to personally instruct."

"What a shame... During all those years of Spiritual Qi depletion, I was here forging day and night. I rarely saw anyone, let alone had a chance to choose a disciple."

"Now that Spiritual Qi is recovering, people do come by occasionally, but most of them have mediocre talent. I’m just not interested."

The man said, shaking his head.

Su Xing grew curious about this man. His attitude, his demeanor, and his claim of achieving the Dao through crafting—none of it seemed like something an ordinary person could do. His strength was likely extraordinary.

"How interesting," Su Xing said with a smile.

"What’s so interesting about it?" The man looked at Su Xing, confused. Su Xing simply clenched his right fist and said softly, "You said you achieved the Dao through crafting. What kind of method is that?"

"I don’t know either." The man looked at Su Xing and said with a helpless expression, "Perhaps it’s just my unique talent." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"As long as I successfully forge a weapon, I gain a little bit of energy, similar to blood qi. The more powerful the Magical Artifact, the stronger the feedback of energy. Over time, I became what I am today."

"That’s truly incredible."

Su Xing said with feeling.

This wasn’t a compliment; the man’s talent was just that ridiculously overpowered. He just had to keep forging to ignore all bottlenecks and climb the Extraordinary Path. It was as if his destiny to reach the end of the Extraordinary Path was already set.

The more powerful Su Xing became, the more of these incredible individuals he encountered, from this burly man whose forging gave him power to the person Su Xing had met before who dreamed up martial arts.

After meeting so many geniuses in a row, Su Xing felt he wouldn’t even be surprised if he met another system wielder in the future.

This world had never been short on geniuses. In ancient times, Dragon Gate and the Cyan Cloud Sect were not top-tier factions. Above them were the ancient families and a whole series of other people.

What kind of talents did they possess? Were there truly heaven-defying existences far beyond his own imagination?

At this thought, Su Xing just smiled. He already held the golden key that led directly to the end of the Great Dao. Why should he envy the opportunities of others? As long as he took one steady step at a time, he would eventually be stronger than anyone else.

"Haha, back then, my fellow disciples all found it incredible. They envied me. Many of them wanted to learn this talent from me, but not a single one could."

’That makes sense.’ Any Extraordinary Being who specialized in forging must have spent a huge amount of time smithing. Whether they were a Martial Artist or a Qi Cultivator, their progress would surely be affected. It would be completely normal for their realm to be lower than their peers’.

If they could be like this man, cultivating while smithing, that would be perfect. But alas, everyone has their own destiny. If you don’t have the talent, you don’t have the talent.

"That’s true."

Su Xing smiled and prepared to leave. After all, his purpose for coming here was clear: to choose a good Magical Artifact.

But as the burly man saw Su Xing turn to leave, he seemed to have a sudden idea and said to him:

"How about a spar?"

"We’ll stop before anyone gets hurt."

"A spar?"

"Why do you want to spar with me?"

Su Xing said, somewhat surprised.

"You look young, but for the people outside to value you so much, you must be someone special. I’ve been here for a very, very long time. Though my strength has been increasing, I don’t actually know how strong I’ve become. So, I want to test the waters with you."

"..."

"What was your realm before you came here?"

Su Xing asked.

"Around the third rank, I think."

The burly man said after a moment of recollection.

He had come here at the third rank and had been forging ever since. After his fellow disciples and master passed away, the burly man completely lost any sense of his own strength, with no idea what level he was at.

Now that he’d met Su Xing, someone willing to chat with him for a bit, he naturally wanted to have a friendly match. Of course, he wasn’t a stingy person. He whispered:

"I recently developed something interesting. If you’re willing to fight me, I’ll tell you where it is, regardless of whether you win or lose. It’s much more interesting than the other Magical Artifacts I have here."

"Interesting?"

Su Xing couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the word. The man had said "interesting," not "powerful." But Su Xing wasn’t one to nitpick over words. After a moment of thought, he nodded directly and said:

"Alright."

"Where do we fight?"

"Hehe, not here. What if we break one of my treasures? How about this, I’ll find a place for you, somewhere no one else can watch."

After speaking, the burly man added, "Follow me closely." As the words fell, his figure instantly vanished. Yes, even with Su Xing’s sharp senses, it was instantaneous.

But Su Xing sensed that the man hadn’t torn through space at all. It seemed he didn’t even know how. It was just that as his body moved, the space around him naturally crumbled inch by inch, which created the effect of spatial teleportation.

"..."

’What a monstrous physique.’

Su Xing couldn’t help but marvel. With such an absurd body, he wondered just how many Magical Artifacts the man had forged in the last seven hundred years. It was probably an unspeakable number.

Fortunately, although he moved quickly, he still left some traces in space, which allowed Su Xing to track his position.

「Outside Dragon Gate.」

「On a high mountain in the Dragon Gate Secret Realm.」