Chapter 143

"... How is that possible?" A middle aged man with long disheveled red hair and thick beard, making him look like a lion, stated with an incredulous look.

"Seriously, how the fuck is a simple wooden training sword not getting cut by a steel sword, that can easily slice through a thousand refined metal, covered with flames that amplifies the sword to cut through spirit refined metal? This doesn't make any sense!" He felt like tearing his glorious mane apart in exasperation.

"And that attack that young lady did, I can feel it even from this distance that it's as strong as a full powered punch of a Soul Sage! Amazing. I can count only a number of people who, when they were once a Soul King, could do that. And the boy actually manage to block it with that strange self-created technique of his, despite being an entire realm beneath her. No wonder he's a candidate for that position..." A peculiar expression appeared on his face as he talked to himself.

His name is Feng Wuyu. A teacher of Shrek Academy, a member of Sea God Pavilion, but he was mostly known as the sole saint(8th) rank blacksmith of the academy and was also the president of the academy's Blacksmith Association.

He was infamous for his fiery temper but well known to take care of his people like they were family.

He had become a witness of a spar between the two young soul masters in front of him, which for some reason looked as if they were flirting, because he had come to them for the sole reason of getting to know one of them.

It was the boy, Xiu Ye.

'He looks just like big brother, though with some similarities with sister-in-law...' Feng Wuyu finally calmed down observed the boy with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

It was like he was back in his teens. Back when he and his best friend that he thought of as an older brother was sent by their respective blackhearted clans to enroll into the number one academy in the world. Before they went separate ways in life.

While he remained as a teacher and renowned blacksmith in the academy, severing his connection with his clan, his best friend went to pursue his dreams and took over his clan as the new head.

'I just can't understand why they didn't raise the boy and just left him to that lass, Yu Fei. And then left him to a foster home when he awakened his martial soul! With how hidden big brother's clan is, hiding from both the Federation and Spirit Pagoda should be easy.' He rubbed his wild beard with a thoughtful expression.

Feng Wuyu couldn't think of any reasonable reason. Those two were among the top ten of the strongest soul masters of the world after all. There wasn't a lot of things they would be afraid of.

'Unless...?' His eyes widened, a certain speculation entered his mind. 'No. No, it couldn't be. If it was true then surely, I would at least been notified of it! Even if I had cut off the ties with my clan, this matter is something more important than just bad blood!'

His eyes sharpened as a he thought of the most likely reason as to why his big brother and sister-in-law left their sole child to his devices. And if it was true, then...

Forget about the threat of the Holy Spirit Cult, or the dangerous ambitions of certain people in both Spirit Pagoda and the Federation that would throw the entire continent into disarray, this matter is big.

For it was something at the divine level.

Feng Wuyu can understand why they became shitty parents, not voluntarily, but out of necessity. He'd do the same in their situation.

'Its why they didn't say anything to me, or to anyone else. Why they fooled everyone else, and even the entire world. Spirit Pagoda, the Federation, the Holy Spirit Cult? They could only be ants compared to what's to happen.'

Feng Wuyu looked towards the sky with a deep, worry filled gaze.

'The Great Heavenly Calamity...'

It was a catastrophe where new gods rise and the old ones fall, where hidden immortals exit their seclusion and the demons escape from the netherworld. Where ten thousand bodies lay on the earth, their blood spilling out and turning into a sea of blood.

This world, would be ravaged until only a barren wasteland would be left.

This was a battle through the heavens.

"The path to hell, is paved with good intentions huh..."

"Hello Elder Feng. You said that you wanted to talk to me?" Xiu Ye said as he came up towards the blacksmith. He'd came across and got to know almost every teacher in Shrek Academy, as he'd been either their personal chefs or part-time assistant.

With Feng Wuyu, he was of the latter. The middle aged man had needed someone to help him make a weapon as part of a Three-word Battle Armor set that his colleague had commissioned for him.

Xiu Ye was coincidentally just at the vicinity when he heard the man lament of finding no one talented enough to help him with creating a weapon.

Building a weapon, a halberd to be exact, because the colleague that commissioned it had a martial soul that needed a halberd weapon so he release his full power.

As part of a Three-word Battle Armor set, now which blacksmith wouldn't want that? Xiu Ye certainly wanted to try to do so.

Feng Wuyu snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "Yes. I heard that you're a blacksmith? Specialized in creating special weapons and armor than just refining the metal?"

"Mm. Why? Do you want me make a weapon or armor for you?" Xiu Ye said, tilting his head, already assuming what the elder wanted from him.

Feng Wuyu blinked his eyes for a brief moment, staring at Xiu Ye. Before his head tilted back and he burst out laughing, like he heard the most funniest joke in his life.

Xiu Ye's left eye twitched.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA–oh wait, you're serious?" Feng Wuyu stopped when he noticed the annoyed look on the boy's face. Xiu Ye turned around and began to walk away.

"If that's all Elder Feng, then I'm leaving."

Feng Wuyu's lips twitched, letting out a sigh, he outstretched his left hand and grabbed Xiu Ye's right shoulder, stopping him.

"Well, wait a minute there boy. I didn't call for you, just to mock you of your blacksmithing skills or anything." Feng Wuyu chuckled at the look Xiu Ye was giving him. "Though I admit that your skills in creating such extraordinary weapons is beyond even me, which frustrates the ever living hell out of me, but your blacksmithing is still leagues beneath my own that I couldn't help but laugh."

Xiu Ye let out a sigh, although dissatisfied at the truth that his blacksmithing was still a bit behind Feng Wuyu, well in this world's way of blacksmithing skills that is. In terms of his overall blacksmithing skills?

Under the heavens, he was unmatched.

The corner of his lips rose into a smirk.

There was only two things that he took pride on in his life. It was his cooking and blacksmithing skills.

Emiya might know how to use thousands of weapons, walking the path of a hero, but he didn't walk the path of a blacksmith.

In this life of his, Xiu Ye took pride and joy in blacksmithing.

"So, what did you want Elder Feng?" Xiu Ye asked.

"I want to ask if you want to be my disciple."

"..."

Xiu Ye wanted to refuse at first but then he thought about how his blacksmithing skills wasn't advancing anymore, he was still a rank 6 blacksmith, and if he wanted to advanced to rank 7 blacksmith he need to be at least a Soul King and Soul Emperor at best.

But he guessed that he was advancing too fast, and slow at the same time since he's been focusing too much of his time in the library, that he didn't accumulate every knowledge and tricks there was as a rank 6 blacksmith and below. His foundation had turned shaky.

'Well, I guess I can take a break from the library and focus a bit on both my cultivation and refining my blacksmithing skills.'

"Mm. Alright, I'll be your disciple." Xiu Ye accepted the offer.

Feng Wuyu smiled and threw his head back, letting out another loud laughter.

"Hahaha! Good! But be warned boy! Being my disciple doesn't mean I'll coddle you or let you learn in easy mode. No! You're going to hell boy! I'm going to teach you to the point of making you bleed, vomit and shit yourself until you dry up like a fucking mummy! So now hearing that, are you prepared?"

'Hell? Hmph. Teacher, I've lived and walked through hell through many lifetimes. Whatever you throw at me wouldn't be as hard as you may think but, it's going to be interesting and fun at least.' Xiu Ye smirked cockily at his new teacher and proclaimed, "Yes!"