Grand Annihilator

Despite his misgivings about the current situation, Zhao Yunxiao understood that he could not simply leave Nie Hanchang hanging.

That would only make things worse.

"I understand..." Zhao Yunxiao said in a resigned manner before standing up.

"...I will pack up your remaining food and send it over to you later," Gu Qiansi said.

"It's all right, I'm done," Zhao Yunxiao shook his head.

Nie Hanchang turned to leave, and Zhao Yunxiao reluctantly followed along under the watchful gaze of everyone present.

"Is the news reliable?" someone commented after the two of them left.

Everyone turned their attention back to the person who brought the news earlier.

"One hundred percent," the man nodded. "Earlier today, Senior Tian already brought Junior Martial Brother Nie to the Outer Disciples Hall to record this feat in the annals of the sect history. I witnessed it myself!"

"Annals of the sect history!"

Just the thought of having their names recorded in there caused everyone to take a deep breath.

To do so was an unbelievable honour, out of reach even for most inner disciples!

"But why are all the stars of the day looking for him?" someone asked.

With that, everyone thought back to what happened earlier.

Indeed, not only did Lu Zhiying go to Zhao Yunxiao the moment she arrived, Nie Hanchang did the exact same thing as well.

Why was that?

Only Bei Pinzi felt the corner of his lips twitch.

I am a star of the day too, and I did not look for him!

"Hey, Junior Martial Sister Gu. Why was Junior Martial Brother Nie looking for Junior Martial Brother Zhao?" someone who knew Gu Qiansi immediately went over to ask. "Is it regarding the mythical tier weapon?"

"I... have no idea?" Gu Qiansi answered truthfully.

Zhao Yunxiao knew quite a lot of people in the sect, but according to her understanding, he did not have much interactions with Nie Hanchang.

She had heard Zhao Yunxiao pass a few positive comments on Nie Hanchang before, but that was about it.

Hearing Gu Qiansi's reply, everyone could not help but feel disappointed.

Everyone knew that Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi were always together.

If even she did not know something about Zhao Yunxiao, there was probably no one else who would know.

It was unfortunate, but it seems like they would not be able to satiate their curiosity tonight!

***

After leaving the canteen, Nie Hanchang wanted to speak at a quiet place, so Zhao Yunxiao brought him to the small courtyard in front of his residence.

"Everyone is out tonight, so nobody will disturb us here," Zhao Yunxiao said. "I suppose this is about what happened at the Forge earlier?"

Nie Hanchang did not respond immediately, choosing to pull out a small pouch from his sleeves instead.

This small pouch did not appear to be anything impressive at first glance, but Zhao Yunxiao's eyes widened in shock upon seeing it.

"Is this a spatial bag?!" Zhao Yunxiao asked in amazement.

Spatial items were treasures that contained a separate space within, allowing their users to store far more items than what normal physical bags could offer.

Zhao Yunxiao had always wanted to have one.

Possessing one would not only result in greater convenience as he would no longer need to carry his backpack around, but it would also increase the number of cards in his hands since he could then hide and retrieve bulky items anytime he wanted.

If not because of how expensive these items were, Zhao Yunxiao would have long succumbed to the desire of buying one!

"That's right, Senior Tian gave it to me just now," Nie Hanchang nodded solemnly.

"Senior Tian gave it to you? For free?" Zhao Yunxiao asked in disbelief.

"...Yes, but that's not what I am here to tell you," Nie Hanchang reminded after realising that Zhao Yunxiao was too focused on the spatial pouch.

Nie Hanchang opened up the spatial pouch and, with a wave of his hand, retrieved a huge item from within.

It was an item that Zhao Yunxiao was familiar with as well.

Under the moonlight, the sleek limbs of the silver long bow were especially eye-catching. From end to end, the long bow was even taller than either of the two young men here.

"The grimiron bow..." Zhao Yunxiao muttered under his breath as he examined the bow in Nie Hanchang's hands.

He had not been in the best of conditions earlier at the Forge, and thus was unable to take a close look at the completed grimiron bow.

Now that he had the chance to take a second look, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but nod in satisfaction.

It might be a little shameless of him to say this, but this bow was indeed a work of art.

He had to make sure to elevate his smithing skills from now on, so that he would be able to replicate such a level of work in the future as well!

Not only did the grimiron bow perfectly fit what was depicted in the blueprint, but the moment Nie Hanchang pulled out the grimiron bow, Zhao Yunxiao once again felt the same cold feeling emanating from the bow.

As he had thought, the cold and menacing aura he felt earlier was not an illusion.

At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao also understood why Tian Guiren had given Nie Hanchang something as expensive as a spatial pouch.

If Nie Hanchang were to carry the long bow around, he would definitely draw too much attention to himself!

And possessing a treasure might not necessarily be a good thing at times.

"Grand Annihilator," Nie Hanchang said.

"Hmm?" Zhao Yunxiao looked up at him. "What did you say?"

"Grand Annihilator," Nie Hanchang repeated. "That's its name."

"Were you the one who named it?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.

He was sure that Tian Guiren would have come up with a better name than this.

"That's right," Nie Hanchang nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. "And I am here to return it to its rightful owner."

"Rightful owner? Do you mean me?" Zhao Yunxiao looked at Nie Hanchang in surprise. "Why do you say so?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nie Hanchang frowned. "You are the one who forged it!"

"Isn't this bow what you have been aiming for from the start? The very reason why you chose to work at the Yellowshell Mine?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.

"I know what you are trying to say. It's not that I don't feel any reluctance doing so either," Nie Hanchang admitted. "However, I know better than to deprive others of what they deserve simply because of my own selfishness. Since you did all the work, this bow should naturally belong to you instead. I can just work harder, and study harder, so that I will be able to create one myself in the future."

"Didn't you say that you are not the studious type, so studying more will not help you much anyway?"

"Do I have a choice?" Nie Hanchang answered with a bitter smile. "In any case, Grand Annihilator possesses a treasure spirit, and it would probably despise me too if I shamelessly took it from the person who actually forged the bow."

"Do you really think so, Senior Martial Brother Nie?" Zhao Yunxiao looked at the bow in Nie Hanchang's hands and laughed. "I might have helped out at the end, but you are the one who performed the first part of the smithing process. The materials are all provided by you too. In addition, if Grand Annihilator really despised you as you say, it surely would not be sitting so calmly in your hands right now."

"Is what I did really considered the first part of the smithing process though?" Nie Hanchang sighed. "All I did is screwing up the first part of the smithing process. If not for you, I wouldn't even have realised it until I completely ruined it!"

"You did plenty, Senior Martial Brother Nie," Zhao Yunxiao saw the guilty expression on Nie Hanchang's face and shook his head with a smile. "In any case, I am not a bow user, and Grand Annihilator will only be wasting away in my hands. It's best that you keep it."

"But still..." 

"No buts," Zhao Yunxiao cut him off. "If you really want to thank me for my efforts, the best way to do so will be to use Grand Annihilator to its fullest potential and climb up to the pinnacle. That way, you can at least help me pull some strings when needed!"

Nie Hanchang bit his lower lip and tightened his grip around Grand Annihilator.

"I understand..."

Despite knowing that Zhao Yunxiao was just trying to make him feel better, Nie Hanchang could not help but agree.

Despite knowing that doing so was shameless, Nie Hanchang could not help but agree.

Despite knowing that he did not deserve to own the mythical tier bow, much less be named as its creator, Nie Hanchang could not help but agree.

That was because he still had a promise to fulfil – a promise with the ones who had been his first and most loyal supporters.

His late parents.

A mythical tier bow was on a completely different level as compared to ordinary bows.

With the help of Grand Annihilator, achieving his goal of reaching the pinnacle through the path of the bow and arrow would no longer be just a far-fetched dream!

Yet even then, that did not mean he was willing to deprive Zhao Yunxiao of what he deserved.

And for that reason, Nie Hanchang would make a new promise today.

"Wait for me," Nie Hanchang said with a determined light shining in his eyes. "I will definitely climb my way to the top. And when that day comes, I will definitely repay you with everything that I have. No matter what you ask of me, I will surely do my best to accomplish it!"

He might not have the ability to give Zhao Yunxiao what he deserved today, but there was still a long road ahead of them.

One day, he would definitely pay Zhao Yunxiao back for all the goodwill that he was receiving today, interest included!

Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch. "Senior Martial Brother Nie, you really don't have to go that far..."

He just wanted to have the option to pull some strings in the future, but the other party was making it sound like he was intending to be Zhao Yunxiao's slave or something.

How could he not feel uncomfortable about that?

"In any case, please don't let others know that I had a part to play in the smithing process today. If you really have to, please just say that I helped with starting the fire and nothing else," Zhao Yunxiao said. "You know how troublesome things can get if it was found out that I flouted the rules. In any case, I'm sure you know that what happened was pure luck anyway. As a smith, I don't want to set unrealistic expectations."

Not just that, but if people started bugging him with random smithing requests, he would no longer have the time to cultivate in peace!

"I understand," Nie Hanchang nodded.

He had guessed as much earlier when Zhao Yunxiao pushed the glory of forging the bow to him, so Nie Hanchang was not surprised by the request.

"Is there anything else, Senior Martial Brother Nie?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.

"No, I've said everything that I wanted to say," Nie Hanchang shook his head. "I will take my leave now then."

"Wait, where are you going now?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.

"Practice," Nie Hanchang said matter-of-factly. "Now that I have received this wonderful gift, how can I waste even a single moment that can be used to improve my skills?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly said. "Working hard is important, but you had a long day too. Please head to the canteen to have your dinner first. Getting the right amount of rest and nutrients is just as important on the path to the pinnacle."

"...Junior Martial Brother Zhao is truly kind," Nie Hanchang said. "You're right, I guess I got a little ahead of myself there. I will heed your advice and go have a good meal first then. Farewell."

"Farewell, Senior Martial Brother Nie," Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile.

After Nie Hanchang left, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

The way that he and Nie Hanchang left the canteen earlier was far too abrupt and conspicuous.

If he left things as it was, all those confused outer disciples present at the canteen today would surely end up coming up to him next time to ask about today's matter.

But now that Nie Hanchang was going to return to the canteen, he would be able to give everyone a random excuse, quelling their curiosity once and for all.

This would save Zhao Yunxiao the trouble of having to explain the situation to everyone one by one in the future!

With that settled, Zhao Yunxiao could finally meditate with a peace of mind as he prepared to turn in for the day.