Chapter 801: Among Giants (1)

It was late at night on the 1st of June. The wind suddenly blew violently in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Up in the sky, the 107th golden stripe appeared on the hanging hammer. At this point, everyone could see that Zhao Li was on the verge of leaving his seclusion.

Everything had gone surprisingly smoothly. At the very least, that was how it seemed for all these people. Great Xia would soon welcome a top-tier weaponsmith.

The academy would probably welcome a new elder or even a new faculty head soon. Of course, Zhao Li might not accept these appointments. While everyone was waiting in anticipation, the wind rose.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled.

Boom!

The 108th golden stripe took form.

Everyone looked up expectantly. The Source Qi Secret Grotto faded away, revealing Zhao Li who was floating in the sky with a large hammer in his hand. At almost the exact moment, the aura of a different cultural weapon surged below Zhao Li.

A smaller hammer shot through the roof of the research center and soared into the sky. Holding onto the hammer was the hand of a second individual. Sixty-six golden stripes could be seen on the hammer.

All the onlookers blanked out. Sixty-six golden stripes? Peak profound cultural weapon! Was that...Cui Lang's work? While Zhao Li was working on his weapon, Cui Lang was working on a different weapon?

But now was not the time for everyone to think too much about that. Before long, several individuals greeted joyfully, "Congratulations, Teacher!"

These were the students of Zhao Li. They all looked overjoyed. It was a success! The nonchalant Zhao Li glanced at Su Yu before smiling and saying, "Young Friend Cui has finished your weapon as well. That was faster than expected. What a pity that you were interrupted when I withdrew the Source Qi Secret Grotto."

"It doesn't matter. I have learned a lot from you, Teacher Zhao. This is merely a peak profound cultural weapon. I can easily forge dozens of these for fun at a later time."

Instantly, silence enveloped the area.

With the hammer in hand, Su Yu soared into the sky and floated beside Zhao Li. But for some reason, something felt wrong.

Remembering something, Su Yu expressionlessly formed a white robe around his body with his source qi. He emanated a carefree and unruly aura, causing some of the surprised individuals in the crowd to regain their calm. What an elegant young man.

As for Old Zhao, well, the word elegant was not something one could use on him. He might have a robust and healthy body, but his white hair and his overall presence still gave off the image of an old man. He would never be an eye candy like the youngster beside him.

Zhao Li also stiffened slightly as he recalled something. With an indifferent smile, a shining armor appeared on his body. This was clearly a peak profound defensive armor. The eyes of some people in the crowd lit up with amazement. That was a piece of treasure!

"Congratulations, Master Zhao!"

"This is worthy of celebration, Master Zhao!"

"Great Xia has gained yet another grandmaster weaponsmith!"

The people in the crowd spoke one after another, including some of the earth weaponsmiths. As for Hu Qi, she looked at Su Yu and smiled, "Cui Lang, not bad at all. In my opinion, you will be able to enter the earth grade after taking some time to digest what you learned today. Truly a youth with a bright future ahead of you."

The crowd continued surrounding them. None of them was bothered by the fact that they were unclothed when they first appeared. After so many days of forging, it was normal for their previous clothing to be destroyed. What was the big deal about wearing nothing? It wasn't like they were maidens or something.

Su Yu and Zhao Li remained completely calm and composed. They had merely forgotten about that before leaving the grotto. Furthermore, they were still wearing their underpants so it didn't really matter that much.

While everyone was busy congratulating the two, the air warped as Zhao Tianbing appeared out of nowhere. Marquis Xia had also arrived with him.

Both of them were smiling ear to ear. Zhao Tianbing cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Junior Brother. You finally succeeded. I also need to congratulate you for entering the Mountainsea Realm and becoming an earth weaponsmith."

"It's nothing special." Zhao Li calmly replied, "But Young Friend Cui gave me a big surprise. He will definitely reach the earth grade within one year. I hope he can reach the heaven grade in ten years and further develop the path of weaponsmithing!"

The people around them were astonished. Was Zhao Li so impressed by Cui Lang?

Su Yu flashed a flippant smile and said, "You praise me too much, Teacher Zhao. I am only a peak profound weaponsmith right now. But you have taught me the Soul Expanding Art and your weaponsmithing skills. I will not forget this favor. When I become a heaven weaponsmith, I will definitely forge a heaven weapon for you!"

"Hahaha!" Zhao Li laughed, "I'll be looking forward to your advancement."

Zhao Tianbing had an odd expression as he witnessed that exchange. Since when was his junior brother so amiable? Sure, this fellow was quite impressive. But his junior brother had always been a proud person. He would never admit his inferiority to anyone.

Or perhaps the two were able to resonate very well with each other because they were the same type of people?

Su Yu looked at Hu Qi and said, "Senior Hu, you're here as well?"

Hu Qi smiled, "I'm here to witness the forging of a heaven weapon. What a pity that it's only a pseudo heaven weapon. But you did surprise me. I had thought that you would take around five years to reach the earth grade. But I doubt you will actually take that long."

"I'll need to thank Teacher Zhao and Senior Hu for their teachings."

Zhao Li smiled and said, "Young Friend, feel free to visit me when you have the time. We can talk about weaponsmithing. There are only a few weaponsmiths standing at the very top of the field. And you will be among them in the future."

"You praise me too much, Teacher Zhao." Su Yu said, "After receiving your teachings, I am confident I can reach the earth grade. As for the heaven grade, I can only leave that to fate."

"It's only a matter of time."

"..."

The others stared in stupefaction. Wasn't Zhao Li the main character today? Wasn't he the one who had broken through? Why was Cui Lang hogging the spotlight instead? Some were even starting to suspect that Zhao Li would start claiming that Cui Lang was the number one weaponsmith before long. Was he really that amazing?

Nevertheless, nobody questioned his talent. A thirty-five-year-old peak profound weaponsmith on the verge of becoming an earth weaponsmith was still incomparably rare in the Human Realm. Perhaps only the students of Heavenly Forge King had this level of talent.

But considering the fact that Cui Lang wasn't the student of a heaven weaponsmith, nobody could doubt his talent.

Zhao Li stopped before he went too far with the praises and gave Zhao Tianbing a smile. When Zhao Tianbing noticed that, he was greatly surprised. Was his junior brother actually smiling at him?

What happened to his junior brother? It was clear his junior brother was in an excellent mood.

But soon, he realized that his junior brother was still the same person. Zhao Li had been rather polite toward everyone there. But when Marquis Xia stepped forth, Zhao Li's face immediately sank. He didn't even spare the Marquis Xia a look as he turned and returned to his research center.

Before leaving, he tossed the Source Qi Mirror to Old Nie and snorted coldly before saying, "Great Xia seems to have enjoyed using my grotto too much. Just because you have been using it for a while does not mean that it belongs to you. I only wanted to use the grotto for a short while yet some people dared to stop me. In that case, won't the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber be mine after I use it for a couple of days?"

Marquis Xia blanked out. How had he provoked this old man? But when he heard of what happened, he glanced at Yuan Qingdong, who had just arrived and frowned with a gloomy expression. After entering his research center, Zhao Li shut the door.

Zhao Tianbing seemed to have understood what Zhao Li was saying. He snorted coldly and said, "Junior Brother, if you can't stay in Great Xia anymore, you can come to Great Zhou with me. No matter what, I still have some status and power in Great Zhou. The Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by my teacher and your father. Who dares to take it from you?"

Yuan Qingdong stayed completely silent, acting like they weren't talking about him. He had merely said a few simple words to Zhao Li. And he greatly regretted doing that. Offending two earth weaponsmiths was not something anyone could celebrate.

Cui Lang laughed and said, "Senior Hu, do you think Great Ming can invite Teacher Zhao over for a bit?"

Hu Qi smiled, "If Zhao Li is willing, Great Ming's door will be forever open for him. Brother Zhao..."

At this moment, Zhao Tianbing interrupted with an awkward voice, "Senior Hu, you used to address my teacher as Brother Zhao as well. Can you change the way you address us? Just call us by our names. Don't be shy about it."

This was too awkward. Had this old lady forgotten about that? Back when his teacher visited Great Ming, this old lady had called him Brother Zhao. Why was she addressing Zhao Li the same way? This was so awkward.

Hu Qi blanked out slightly. She was only using that form of address out of courtesy without thinking too much. She glanced at Zhao Tianbing. Was this fellow reminding her of her age? She snorted at him.

With a flat tone, she said, "As cultivators, we only take one's merit into consideration, not age. What do you think about that, Principal Zhao?"

Zhao Tianbing gave a hollow laugh. Sure, sure. He definitely wasn't interested in getting into an argument with her. No matter how she spun it, nobody could deny that it was awkward for father and son to share the same form of address.

This was an assembly of Sunmoons and earth weaponsmiths. Su Yu might not be as high in rank, but he was still able to stay calm in their midst. No matter, what, he was a peak profound weaponsmith. He naturally had to maintain a certain level of confidence.