The plans of the several Internal Strength Commanders from Fengwei Gate were destined to come to naught, for the Master Li they intended to visit had already set off in a horse-drawn carriage, taking the little tiger along for his business trip.
After watching the martial arts competition within Fengwei Gate, Qian Hong impatiently urged Zhao Yuan to lead the way, preparing to visit Master Li. Zhao Yuan did not refuse; the courtesy displayed by the three Commanders was quite considerate. Instead of directly going to the blacksmith shop, they first asked him to inform Master Li of their arrival. If Master Li did not wish to meet the three Commanders, he could convey Li Qing's intentions in a timely manner, thus avoiding any bad impressions.
Thus, the four of them disguised themselves and hurried towards Chiming Street. However, no matter how Zhao Yuan dressed up, his tall figure still appeared very conspicuous. This scene fell into Yang Xing's eyes, and his Internal Family Martial Arts clearly sensed that the three individuals beside Zhao Yuan were undoubtedly the three Commanders.
"This is the direction to Chiming Street. It seems that the knife on Zhao Yuan's body is even more precious than imagined. Could it be that they are going to find the blacksmith who forged this knife?" Yang Xing stroked his chin, thinking to himself.
There was only one blacksmith shop on Chiming Street, and that was where Li Qing had forged the sword he carried, the hidden master of External Strength. Could it be that this blacksmith, who had cultivated External Strength, actually had the ability to forge divine weapons?
Thump, thump, thump!
Thinking of this, Yang Xing's heart began to race. Of course, he did not dare to confirm whether Zhao Yuan and his group were indeed heading to Chiming Street to find Li Qing; it was merely a possibility, and a significant one at that.
"If that's the case, then I must inform my brother and the others in advance. We absolutely cannot offend this Master Li!" Yang Xing murmured to himself, immediately making up his mind to change direction and hasten towards Chiming Street.
Rumble, rumble!
With the thunderstorm raging, the rain showed no signs of letting up, and the entire imperial capital seemed to be shrouded in a curtain of water.
On Chiming Street, Zhao Yuan led the three Commanders to find nothing. Qian Hong looked at the tightly closed blacksmith shop, her hand gripping the oiled paper umbrella until it turned pale.
He is not here!
Beside her, the old drunkard Guo Zhentong commented, "Hmm, it seems he is indeed a master who has chosen to live in seclusion, not tempted by worldly fame and fortune. One can glean a thing or two from this humble blacksmith shop."
The man in white, Zheng Shu, also revealed a refined smile. One hand held the umbrella while the other was clasped behind his back as he praised, "Such demeanor truly indicates an extraordinary person. If it weren't for the emergence of the Silent Blade, no one would imagine that such a shop could hide a blacksmith with such exceptional skills."
Qian Hong had no heart to lament anything; at this moment, she only wanted a divine weapon that belonged to her. Thus, she walked to the wonton shop next to the blacksmith shop and asked, "Boss, do you know where the blacksmith next door has gone?"
At that moment, Old Zhang, who was working with wonton dough, raised his head to glance at Qian Hong and then spoke thoughtfully, "You mean Master Li? It seems he has gone out for some business. I’m not sure when he will return."
Receiving the answer, Qian Hong fell silent. She quickly suppressed her inner disappointment. At least the blacksmith shop was still there, and this Master Li would eventually return.
No matter what, the hope of reforging the Qinghong Sword into a divine weapon had increased significantly, as long as she waited for Master Li to come back.
It didn’t matter; waiting was all right. After all this time, what was a little more time?
With this thought, Qian Hong turned and left Chiming Street.
Meanwhile, Zheng Shu and Guo Zhentong exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly before also leaving.
After the several Commanders from Fengwei Gate departed, at the other end of Chiming Street, the territory that originally belonged to Qingshan Martial Hall had now become a stronghold for the heroes of Liangzhou.
"What? You mean that Li Qing actually has such abilities?" Big Boss Fang exclaimed, his eyes wide.
The ability to forge divine weapons was no trivial matter!
A suitable divine weapon could significantly enhance a martial artist's strength. With a divine weapon, it would be difficult to find an opponent of the same level!
Take Jiulian Sect for example; why has this sect been able to thrive for so long? Isn’t it because they have produced master-level experts generation after generation, along with the continuous inheritance of divine weapons? Just imagine, a peerless master wielding a divine weapon—while not invincible, it would at least be hard to kill them!
"It’s very likely so, so we must keep this secret tightly guarded and ensure we befriend that Master Li," Yang Xing said solemnly.
Big Boss Fang's expression also turned serious. He nodded and replied, "Rest assured, Brother Yang. That Master Li entrusted me to look after his blacksmith shop before he left, and our relationship has always been quite good."
At this point, Big Boss Fang couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.
If one day that Master Li took a fancy to him and forged a divine weapon for him, how wonderful would that be!
Who hasn’t grown up listening to the legends of the martial world? Tales of the Demon Blade Red Lotus, the Xuanwu Spear—each one was enough to make one’s heart race.
With this thought, Fang Long made up his mind to curry favor with Master Li at all costs.
Meanwhile, Li Qing, riding in a horse-drawn carriage heading north, was completely unaware that he had already caught the attention of many people just after leaving Shengtian.
The destination of his journey was Qingzhou, which, compared to other states in Feng Country, could be considered a remote and harsh land.
As the saying goes, "In impoverished mountains and evil waters, cunning people emerge." Although Qingzhou was a bit harsh, it had a strong martial culture, and many legends of heroes and bandits originated from this place.
Qingzhou lay to the north of Shengtian, and the journey was not short; it would take him through several cities along the way.
Before setting off, Li Qing had gathered some information about Qingzhou.
"To actually claim to be the number one swordsman in Qingzhou, this Sun Qijian dares to be so arrogant?"
Sitting in the carriage, Li Qing held some intelligence regarding the martial world of Qingzhou in his hands.
For example, which experts were present, and what powerful forces were worth noting.
However, upon seeing the remarks at the end of the information, Li Qing couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.
It read: "Qingzhou's martial world is filled with talent, and the ranks of martial experts are subject to change. Please refer to the latest intelligence!"
Li Qing keenly grasped the hidden meaning within this statement.
Qingzhou was chaotic, with many martial practitioners; it was possible that today you defeated the number one swordsman in Qingzhou, but before you could settle into that position, someone else might take it from you tomorrow.
Of course, generally speaking, anyone who could claim the title of number one in a certain field would have some strength, and it wouldn’t be so unfortunate as to be toppled the very next day after taking the position.
As for why Qingzhou was like this, it could be attributed to the fact that this place was indeed too chaotic and impoverished.
It was exceedingly difficult to start a business and make a name for oneself; anyone who had just saved up a bit of wealth could easily attract the attention of bandits.
Thus, in Qingzhou, venturing into the martial world was the quickest way to make money, which is why everyone yearned to compete for titles like the number one swordsman or the number one knife in Qingzhou.
These were not mere empty titles; they were directly related to tangible benefits.
Fame and fortune—fame comes before fortune.
Once you made a name for yourself in Qingzhou, you wouldn’t have to worry about finding ways to make money.
"This Qingzhou martial world is even more interesting than I imagined."
Li Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. This martial world of Qingzhou seemed to align quite well with his imagination of the Jianghu.
There was no such thing as human feelings or worldly affairs; it was all about fighting and killing!
(End of Chapter)