Chapter 537 - The Only Tier-Eight Artifact Blacksmith

It was impossible for Meng Jiangchu not to be angry.

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike, but Meng Wanshu said, “Father...”

Meng Jiangchu snapped, “Shut your mouth! Nothing is even set yet, and you’re already protecting him?”

Li Guanqi realized the situation was bad. A beating was probably unavoidable. Meng Wanshu stepped in front of him, glaring at her father with determination.

This only made Meng Jiangchu angrier. “Move!”

Meng Wanshu lifted her chin stubbornly. “No.”

“Alright, alright.”

Just as Meng Jiangchu was about to strike, Li Guanqi pulled Meng Wanshu behind him and stepped forward calmly. “Uncle Meng, since you really want to, you can just hit me. I understand why you’re angry.”

Li Guanqi did not even elaborate because he knew why Meng Jiangchu was furious. Years ago in Prosperity Village, Meng Jiangchu hadn’t seemed like an ordinary, rough village man. He spoke at a measured pace, and he always ate slowly and elegantly. Li Guanqi had thought back then that a man like Meng Jiangchu should have been a noble.

The man glared at Li Guanqi and raised his hand. Just as it was about to come down, Meng Wanshu cried out, “Father!”

His hand froze. Looking at Li Guanqi, who showed no intention of dodging, he grew even more furious.

This little shit sullied my daughter’s innocence.

But to be fair... there was no other solution at the time. In a way, he saved Wanshu’s life. Still, if I don’t hit him now, I won’t have a better chance later.

Meng Jiangchu couldn’t let this matter go. He kicked Li Guanqi’s bottom hard, sending him flying hundreds of zhang back.

Bam!!

“Fuck... I’d tried so hard to guard against you, you little shit, and I still lost.”

Xiao Chen felt immense schadenfreude at this scene. Ye Feng shrugged, not daring to say a word. A father beating up his son-in-law was a family matter he couldn’t intervene in.

The twenty-odd cultivators in purple-gold robes who had come with Meng Jiangchu watched in confusion. The blind kid who’d come with Meng Wanshu had quite a high cultivation level. And Meng Wanshu’s aura was as strong as ever, even making them feel slightly intimidated.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi rubbed his bottom and ran back to Meng Jiangchu with an ingratiating expression. He grabbed the man’s arm happily and grinned. “

Ah

, Uncle Meng, I knew you had a soft spot for me. You didn’t even use much strength in that kick.”

Meng Wanshu looked at Li Guanqi’s large, swollen bottom and stifled a laugh. Watching him try to cozy up to her father, she felt loved.

Even from a young age, Li Guanqi was notoriously stubborn. Despite his often nonchalant demeanor, he harbored a significant ego, as evidenced by the incident with He Yuanting. If he had simply spoken to He Yuanting privately and been upfront about the truth, he could have spared himself considerable suffering and mistreatment.

However, He Yuanting had imprisoned Li Guanqi without giving him a chance to explain, all because of his own ego as a more powerful cultivator. So Li Guanqi, with his own ego, couldn’t be bothered to explain and remained imprisoned.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

In contrast, Li Guanqi’s patience with Meng Jiangchu revealed his maturity. He was taking a step back for the sake of Meng Wanshu.

“Uncle Meng, you’re looking as energetic and handsome as ever. Have you gotten used to life in the Divine Treasure Territory since your return? How is Auntie Li? What cultivation level is she at? I’ve got plenty of goodies with me—I’ll send them over to her later. I’ve missed you all these years, Uncle Meng. Don’t be mad, I had no choice at the time.”

As he spoke, he rolled his sleeve up to his shoulder and held out his arm, showing a gruesome wound with remnants of ice poison inside.

Tearing up, he continued, “Uncle Meng, you weren’t there at the time, so you don’t know just how terrifying it was when the ice poison flared up...

Tsk tsk...

If I hadn’t rushed in there, risking my own life...”

Meng Jiangchu’s face twitched. Xiao Chen remarked, “Has he always been this good at talking?”

Ye Feng shrugged. “Honestly, this is my first time seeing him like this. Boss has always been cool and aloof with me. Now he’s like a lapdog. What a rare sight,

hahahaha!”

Meng Jiangchu shot Li Guanqi a furious look and slapped his arm away. “You little rascal. You didn’t have to keep that wound festering just to show me.”

Li Guanqi let his sleeve down awkwardly. “Well, I was afraid you’d think it was easy for me.”

Meng Jiangchu sighed and turned away. “We’ll talk when we get back.”

Along the way, Meng Jiangchu rested his hands on his back, his face still stony green. He didn’t utter a single word to Meng Wanshu.

Meng Wanshu reached out to hold Li Guanqi’s hand and sent him a voice transmission. “If my father continues to talk to you like that when we get back, I’m going to get my mother!”

Li Guanqi froze, then transmitted back, saying, “Even now that he’s regained his status as Territory Lord, Auntie Li still scolds him?!”

Looking at the smirk on Meng Wanshu’s face, he inwardly gave Auntie Li a thumbs up. Meng Jiangchu naturally heard them, and his mouth twitched. There was a resigned look in his eyes.

They boarded the cloud boat that Meng Jiangchu had brought to return to the center of the Divine Treasure Territory. Along the way, Li Guanqi took in the surroundings and noticed the air was very dry. The fire spirit force was far more active than in other territories.

He made a grasping motion, and a fiery line appeared. Fire spirit qi danced on his fingertips. He was stunned.

Wanshu was able to cultivate her ice powers to this level in a place like this... How much effort and resources did Old Meng put into her?

Looking down, he saw fire-red patterns carved on the golden, hundred-zhang-long boat. It was opulent enough that it even emitted a faint glow.

Almost all the cultivators in his entourage had Fire Spirit Roots. They were all muscular and looked like powerful fighters. Almost all the cultivators in Meng Jiangchu’s entourage had Fire Spirit Roots.

Meng Wanshu noticed his confusion and chuckled. She sat next to him. “You think they’re a little odd, don’t you?”

Li Guanqi nodded.

She continued, “They’re all tier-six artifact blacksmiths.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes widened. “Tier-six? All of them?”

She covered her mouth and giggled. “Why do you think the Divine Treasure Territory is known as the holy place of artifact forging?”