Chapter 96: Good Acting, Bad Luck

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Who are you? Are you from Great Wei?” Zhou Shu took a step back and drew his saber, his arm trembling slightly. He pretended to be calm, but a hint of fear flashed across his eyes.

He’s indeed an apprentice who hasn’t seen much of the world, Zhu Chuanzhi thought.

In his eyes, Zhou Shu’s performance looked completely like a frightened brat pretending not to be afraid.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. But I advise you to be obedient. Otherwise…” Zhu Chuanzhi snorted coldly and raised his hand. A beam of light flashed, and a large tree a few feet away snapped with a crack. Then it fell to the ground with a rumble, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Zhou Shu seemed to be startled, his face filled with fear. He gripped the hilt of his saber with both hands and pointed it at Zhu Chuanzhi as he shouted in a trembling voice, “What are you trying to do!

“I’m the superintendent of a Forging Division workshop. If you dare to mess around, the Forging Division won’t let you off!”

In Zhu Chuanzhi’s eyes, Zhou Shu was just putting up a brave front.

Trying to scare me with the Forging Division? Too naive.

“If you dare to shout again, do you believe that I will cut you into pieces before anyone comes?”

Zhu Chuanzhi snorted coldly as wind blades seemed to appear around him. With a series of crackling sounds, gashes several inches deep appeared on the ground between him and Zhou Shu, as if they were cut by blades.

Zhou Shu opened his mouth, but no sound came out, as if he was frightened by Zhu Chuanzhi.

“I’ll give you all my money. Let me go,” Zhou Shu said quietly, seemingly afraid that his voice would anger the other party.

“Do you think I’m doing this for money?” Zhu Chuanzhi sneered. “Follow me!”

He extended his arm and placed his hand on Zhou Shu’s shoulder.

Zhou Shu’s shoulders trembled slightly. Zhu Chuanfeng thought that Zhou Shu was frightened.

What he didn’t know was that he had nearly walked through the gates of hell. Just now, Zhou Shu had used a lot of strength to control his instinctive reaction.

Otherwise, with his instinctive reaction, he would have killed Zhu Chuanzhi when he came so close to him.

Zhu Chuanzhi grabbed Zhou Shu and quickly shuttled through the forest as fast as lightning.

Although a fourth-rank martial artist couldn’t fly, Zhu Chuanzhi’s full strength was not far from flying. With a single step, he could cover several meters.

With a little leverage on trees, he could glide tens of meters away.

In terms of lightness skills, Zhou Shu might not be able to compare to Zhu Chuanzhi.

Holding Zhou Shu, Zhu Chuanzhi traveled for an hour before arriving at a mountain village on the outskirts of the capital.

During this time, Zhu Chuanzhi did not restrain Zhou Shu.

Based on the information he had, although Zhou Shu cultivated the Martial Dao, he had only just begun. Zhu Chuanzhi didn’t care about his cultivation at all.

Bang!

Zhu Chuanzhi threw Zhou Shu to the ground. Zhou Shu staggered and almost fell to the ground.

He steadied himself and looked around frantically.

“Where are we? Who are you? What do you want?” Zhou Shu shouted. “I’m telling you. I’m not an ordinary person. If you dare hurt me, the Imperial Court won’t let you off!”

“Stop screaming. Here, no one will hear you no matter how loud you scream,” Zhu Chuanzhi said coldly.

“If you listen to me, I won’t hurt you. But if you dare to go against me, then today next year will be your death anniversary.

“Oh, I almost forgot. You don’t have a descendant yet. Even if you die, no one will mourn for you.” Zhu Chuanzhi sneered.

“Anything can be discussed.” Zhou Shu seemed to be frightened. “Don’t do anything rash. I’m timid. Don’t scare me.”

“You’re timid?” Zhu Chuanzhi was expressionless. “If you’re so timid, how did you dare to refuse the solicitation of a Grand Craftsman to his face?”

“What?” Zhou Shu appeared completely confused. His acting was at its peak.

“I’m not going to waste my breath on you,” Zhu Chuanzhi said impatiently. “I’ll give you two choices. One, obediently acknowledge Grandmaster Zhu as your master. Two, become the fertilizer for the plants in the backyard!”

“Huh?” Zhou Shu said in surprise. “You brought me here just so I would agree to become Grand Craftsman Zhu’s disciple?

“Why are you doing this?”

Zhou Shu forced a smile. “Why didn’t you just tell me directly? Grand Craftsman Zhu Chuanfeng is the idol of countless forgers. To be able to become his disciple is something many people can only wish for!”

“Then, why did you reject Grand Craftsman Zhu?” Zhu Chuanzhi frowned.

“That’s because I feel that I’m not capable enough. If I take Grand Craftsman Zhu as my master, I will embarrass him.” Zhou Shu smiled bitterly.

“Otherwise, why would I, a mere Forging Apprentice, reject Grand Craftsman Zhu?

“Wouldn’t it be great for me if a Grand Craftsman becomes my master?”

“Big Brother, this is really like a flood crashing into the Dragon King Temple1. We are on the same side,” Zhou Shu sincerely said.

“Big Brother, did you receive a favor from Grand Craftsman Zhu? Is that why you can’t bear to see Grand Craftsman Zhu being humiliated? I never thought that I would cause him to be humiliated by rejecting his offer due to my inferiority.

“It’s all my fault.”

Zhou Shu slapped his right cheek lightly.

Zhu Chuanzhi had a strange expression on his face. He coughed and said, “I have indeed received Grand Craftsman Zhu’s favor. So when I heard that you dared to reject him, I decided to teach you a lesson.

“Since it’s a misunderstanding, I’m sorry.” Zhu Chuanzhi returned the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber to Zhou Shu and cupped his hands.

Although the development of the situation was different from what he had expected, the result was the same.

Originally, he had wanted to use some methods to make Zhou Shu agree. Now, although he had misunderstood, as long as he agreed, nothing else mattered.

“It’s okay.” Zhou Shu put the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber back into the scabbard at his waist and shook his head repeatedly. “Big Brother, are you close to Grand Craftsman Zhu. Can I ask you something? What does Grand Craftsman Zhu see in me? I feel like I’m not worthy of being his disciple.”

“Grand Craftsman Zhu has his reasons for taking a fancy to you. As long as you become his disciple, who would dare say that you are not worthy?” Zhu Chuanzhi said coldly.

“But I am not confident. Many Forging Masters are unable to become Grand Craftsman Zhu’s disciple. But I, a mere Forging Apprentice, managed to do it?” Zhou Shu smiled bitterly. “Big Brother, why don’t you tell me why so that I can feel more at ease?”

“Cut the crap!” Zhu Chuanzhi said impatiently. He was never good at dealing with people, so he wasn’t willing to waste his breath on Zhou Shu.

Moreover, Zhu Chuanfeng wasn’t really planning on taking him in as a disciple. Was there a need to be so polite with him?

“Take this pill, then follow me to Grandmaster Craftsman Zhu’s residence to become his disciple.” Zhu Chuanzhi took out a porcelain bottle from his chest and poured out a red pill. He said coldly, “From now on, Grandmaster Craftsman Zhu is your master. You must obey every word he says unconditionally!”

Zhou Shu looked at the red pill and asked curiously, “This is?”

“Tonic,” Zhu Chuanzhi said.

“Tonic?” Zhou Shu sized up the red pill. Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly froze.

Immediately after, a powerful aura erupted from his body.

Boom!

Zhu Chuanzhi only felt an incomparably fierce aura rush at him. Even with his cultivation level, he couldn’t help continuously retreating until he was outside the door before stopping.

He looked at Zhou Shu in the room with a bewildered expression.

A visible cyclone formed by the spiritual qi of heaven and earth appeared around Zhou Shu.

This spiritual qi surged into Zhou Shu’s body, and the aura erupting from Zhou Shu’s body gave Zhu Chuanzhi a shock.

Zhou Shu forced a smile. He really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Earlier, his acting skills had been award-winning, and he had wanted to see if he could trick Zhu Chuanfeng’s younger brother into revealing some secrets. He had even wanted to pretend to become Zhu Chuanfeng’s disciple and see what tricks he had up his sleeve.

In the end, there was nothing wrong with his acting. But the Legendary Armament Canon gave him a wave of benefits, causing him to let the cat out of the bag.

Speaking of which, this wasn’t the first time Zhou Shu had encountered something like this.

Previously, Meng Bai had recommended him to Emperor Yuan Feng and gave him a chance to comprehend in the Saber Cave. Originally, Zhou Shu had only been casually strolling around. But in the Saber Cave, he had suddenly received a wave of benefits. As a result, his saber intent had erupted, and he didn’t even get the chance to hide it.

It was the same this time. Originally, Zhu Chuanzhi had believed him. But now that his Martial Dao aura erupted, even a fool like Zhu Chuanzhi knew that he was no ordinary person.

Strength surged forth, and Zhou Shu felt his strength continue to rise.

In front of him, a barrage of messages flashed past.

[You receive a reward of two years of cultivation because the Huben Saber you forged effectively completed a kill!]

[You receive a reward of five years of cultivation because the Huben Saber you forged effectively completed a kill!]

…

[You receive a reward of ten years of cultivation because the Huben Saber you forged effectively completed a kill!]

[The Spring Embroidered Saber you forged effectively completed a kill. The Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form Technique has improved by 30%!]

…

Crack!

There was a sound like chains breaking within Zhou Shu’s body. The powerful aura even caused a storm vortex to erupt around him.

Boom!

His violent aura smashed the tables and chairs in the room into pieces.

Zhu Chuanzhi’s eyelids twitched. What kind of strength is this?

Is Zhou Shu really just a Forging Apprentice?

Even he wouldn’t be able to unleash such aura.

He stared at Zhou Shu, somewhat bewildered. Suddenly, Zhou Shu raised his head and looked directly into his eyes. A seemingly tangible light flashed in his pupils.

Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, tenth level!

Zhou Shu felt an endless stream of energy flowing from his body. He was helpless, but at the same time, he was pleasantly surprised.

He didn’t expect this wave of benefits to be so powerful. It actually allowed his Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique to break through to the tenth level!

He looked at Zhu Chuanzhi, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. “I wanted to put on a show with you guys, but I didn’t expect this to happen. I’ve been exposed.

“Since I can’t continue acting, I won’t act anymore. It’s better to be straightforward.”

Zhou Shu said, “Tell me, why is Zhu Chuanfeng trying so hard to make me his disciple?”