Longevity by Grinding Skills-Chapter 59: Gilded Mace

Xu Yunfan’s expression stirred at his words.

Before Xu Yunfan could speak, Lv Yi spoke first.

"Lately, more and more Mortal Martial People have been showing up in Beiye City. Have you noticed?"

"I’ve been training at home these past few days. Changfeng Tavern even delivers my meals, so I rarely go out."

Xu Yunfan replied casually, then asked with some curiosity, "Are there really that many Mortal Martial People in Beiye City recently?"

"They’re practically swarming the place. Go out on the street and you’ll see two or three out of every ten people carrying swords and sabers. The city’s taverns are packed, and those Mortal Martial People will draw their blades and start hacking at the slightest disagreement.

The shopkeepers of the thirteen taverns in the West Market now keep Iron Birch Shields behind their counters.

The day before yesterday at Changfeng Tavern, two men with Horse-Cutting Sabers got into a fight. A support beam as thick as a bowl was chopped in half, and now the entire second floor has collapsed!

It was causing such a disturbance that the Governor of the city, Jiang Huaiseng, had to have the Captain lead soldiers to keep order."

"No wonder someone climbed my wall to peek while I was training a few days ago. I thought it was just a neighbor, so I didn’t pay it any mind."

Xu Yunfan stroked his chin thoughtfully and continued to ask.

"Did something happen? It can’t be anything good. These so-called heroes of the Mortal World wouldn’t show up otherwise, right?"

Lv Yi chuckled. "Of course. These vagrants of the Mortal World, every last one of them has a nose like a dog’s. They smell blood in the water and come running."

After a pause, Lv Yi picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and said leisurely, "The Hu Family was the first to spread the news. A master underwent Soldier Resolution on Jiyun Mountain, leaving behind a Divine Weapon. Due to an Earth Dragon Flipping Over, the entrance to the cave where it happened was exposed.

They say it’s the Relic Shell from the Soldier Resolution of a General of the North from a previous dynasty. It’s clutching a Gilded Mace, and the tattered armor hanging from the mace’s tip is still dripping Blood Beads.

When the Divine Weapon saw the light of day, a brilliant radiance shot toward the heavens and scattered through the mountain ravines. A few families in the city witnessed it, and word spread quickly. Now that the snow has melted and the cavern has reappeared, the entire Martial Arts world of Qingzhou has been stirred into action."

At this point, a mocking smile appeared on Lv Yi’s face.

"Most of those people are just cannon fodder. A Divine Weapon... you think it’s that easy to obtain? You think it’s like in the stories, where someone gets a Divine Weapon and soars to the heavens? I’m afraid they wouldn’t even survive the backlash from the weapon’s Spiritual nature. They wouldn’t be able to hold onto their own Vitality as it’s completely drained from them."

"It’s that sinister?" This was the first time Xu Yunfan had heard of such a thing. Even Li Haomiao had never mentioned it.

"It’s a Divine Weapon, after all. How could it be compared to an ordinary object?"

Lv Yi sighed and looked up at the somewhat gloomy, overcast sky. "Times have changed. Only a place with a long history like Divine Weapon Ridge would know the truth. Today, the only sliver of hope lies with the Divine Weapons, but these Divine Weapons..."

He shook his head. "They have a very Evil Nature. The forging of a Divine Weapon requires a human sacrifice to imbue it with a spirit. Only a weapon with a spirit can be called a Divine Weapon.

Ordinary people can’t even get near one. Once it’s unsheathed, anyone who gets even a little too close will be harmed."

Xu Yunfan was astonished. He had never imagined a weapon could possess such power.

He asked a few more questions about the characteristics of Divine Weapons, and Lv Yi answered each one.

Xu Yunfan drank to his heart’s content with Lv Yi and, for once, felt a little drunk.

The meal was well underway and several rounds of drinks had been poured. Xu Yunfan looked at the flushed, rosy tip of Lv Yi’s nose.

Xu Yunfan fell silent for a moment, then said, "Once the winter snow melts and clears, I plan to leave Beiye City to find a Sect and become a disciple."

Lv Yi’s expression flickered. He glanced at Xu Yunfan and nodded slightly.

"That makes sense. You’re still young, you should get out there and see the world, make a name for yourself... However, joining a sect with skills you’ve already learned might make them wary of you. You’re a First-Level Martial Artist now, aren’t you?"

"I have already reached Great Mastery of Tendons and Skin and the Introduction stage of Bone Training. I suppose you could call me a Second-Level Martial Artist." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Lv Yi was in the middle of speaking, picking up a piece of braised beef, when he heard Xu Yunfan’s words. His hand trembled, and with a look of utter disbelief, he blurted out, "You’ve reached Second Level Great Mastery?!"

Xu Yunfan nodded slightly, his expression calm. But seeing the old man’s look of disbelief, as if he thought Xu Yunfan was spouting crazy nonsense, he couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

"I don’t believe you!"

Hearing Lv Yi’s firm declaration, Xu Yunfan paused for a moment. He raised his arm, and the once-calm qi and blood in his body suddenly surged, flooding the limb.

Instantly, blue veins popped out all over his arm like green pythons coiling around it. The already sturdy limb swelled at an alarming rate, its knotted muscle fibers twisting together like massive serpents.

The blood vessels beneath his skin bulged into indigo vines, carving deep grooves into the surface of his swollen muscles.

The circumference of the muscles swelled several times larger than his normal arm, making it look misshapen.

"HUMMM!"

A Great Tendon twanged like a fully drawn bow, rapidly accumulating an unparalleled and astonishing sense of power.

Then, his palm, engorged with blood and red as a cattail fan, descended upon the stone stool beside him.

The movement was completely silent. But when Xu Yunfan lifted his hand, a clear palm print was left embedded three inches deep into the stone, its edges smooth and round.

The sight nearly made Lv Yi jump out of his skin. The drunkenness was shocked right out of him. The veins on his neck throbbed, and his cloudy eyes looked as if they would pop out from their wrinkled lids.

Half a piece of beef fell "PLOP" into his wine cup, sending a spray of droplets into the air.

"A tendon-twang like a snapping bowstring, skin as resilient as a vibrating drum... Muscle and Skin Training! You’ve reached Great Mastery in both aspects!!"

Lv Yi’s withered fingers dug deep into the edge of the table, his grip so tight it made the stone screech and scrape.

He stared at the young man’s arm of knotted muscle, his throat working three times before he could force out a sound.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one this year."

Lv Yi sat back down, gathering his thoughts, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.

"With your talent, this place is indeed too small for you. A shallow pond cannot raise a True Dragon."

He slowly rose and paced back and forth for a long time with his hands behind his back. Finally, having made up his mind, he took a palm-sized Profound Iron Token from his robes.

Lv Yi stroked the token with a nostalgic look and sighed, "If I were still at Divine Weapon Ridge, I would at least be a Master of Weapon Forging by now."

With that, he tossed the token, forged from Profound Iron, to Xu Yunfan.

"Catch."

Xu Yunfan caught it and looked. The Profound Iron Token was engraved with Cloud Patterns and intertwining swords and sabers. In the center were carved the two words ’Divine Weapon’.

"This is a token for Divine Weapon Ridge. If... if..."

Lv Yi looked hesitant, but finally said, "If no other Sect will take you, you can use this token to go to Divine Weapon Ridge. But I must remind you, ever since half its mountain was smashed to rubble, Divine Weapon Ridge is not what it used to be. With your aptitude, think it over carefully."

Xu Yunfan nodded seriously. "Thank you, Elder Lv."

Lv Yi seemed to be lost in memories of the past. He waved a hand dismissively, turned, and slowly walked toward the door.

"Alright, alright. I just hate to see talent go to waste. Over these past few days, I’ve gotten a good measure of you. Although you’re cold by nature, you honor your promises and keep your word. You have what it takes to make it in the Mortal World.

Don’t get involved in the commotion over that Divine Weapon’s appearance. If it’s real, anyone below the Flesh Refining Realm is just cannon fodder, throwing their lives away for nothing. Besides, who knows if it’s real or fake? It could just be a trap to lure people in."

"I understand."

For the next several days, Xu Yunfan basically didn’t leave his house, silently cultivating the Iron Bridge Town Bone Training Chapter.