After he completed crafting the lower level talismans, Xiang Yu finally decided to tackle the more challenging task, crafting a few soul shock talismans. Fifth grade, of course. With how much the soul infant had improved since the last time he had attempted this, he was confident it wouldn’t let him down this time.
He settled into position and began the intricate process of crafting the soul shock talisman. The first attempt: light work, no reaction. The second: light work, no reaction. Third: light work, no reaction. Fifth: Ohhh, okay, it’s got a little kick.
The soul infant finally began to show signs of strain.
Xiang Yu decided to leave it at that for the day. He was confident he could push through and create a couple more talismans without causing serious harm, but he held himself back. He didn’t want to strain the infant too much, after all, he still needed it to cultivate his mind level for the entire day ahead. Overworking it now would only hurt his long-term progress.
During the intense crafting process, he had also broken through to fourth-grade talisman making. Still, since he hadn’t used the system to achieve this breakthrough, he didn’t gain the usual burst of insights and knowledge that normally accompanied system advancements. He didn’t even bother trying to explore his new capabilities, he would wait patiently for those revelations to come after the next reset.
Satisfied with this, Xiang Yu rose from his position and left the spirit vein. It was time to check on his blacksmithing candidates and see how they had fared in his absence.
When he returned to the School of Blacksmithing, the sight that greeted him was nothing short of chaotic disaster. Everything was a complete mess. Molten metal had splattered across the stone floor in wild patterns, creating treacherous puddles that glowed with residual heat. Some of the students were nursing obvious injuries—singed eyebrows, bandaged hands, and clothes marked with burn holes. The deafening noise of hammering filled every corner of the room, creating a cacophony that would have been impressive if it weren’t so clearly uncontrolled.
Well, it was kind of his fault for leaving them completely unsupervised, but still, how had things escalated to this level of chaos? These were cultivators, not complete novices to handling dangerous situations.
Xiang Yu channeled his qi to enhance his voice, ensuring it would cut through the overwhelming din. "Time is up, everyone stop!" he commanded.
His amplified voice sliced through all the noise like a blade, causing every single student to freeze mid-motion. Hammers stopped in mid-swing, and the sudden silence felt almost as overwhelming as the previous chaos.
Xiang Yu then began moving methodically around the scattered students, carefully observing their attempted productions and grading them on the spot without beating around the bush. "Fail, fail, fail, fail, pass," he announced as he moved from station to station.
In the end, the results were rather disappointing. Out of nearly a hundred eager candidates, only twelve had managed to pass his standards. The successful students were mostly male, their generally stronger physical builds allowing them to better handle both the intense heat from the forges and the demanding repetitive hammering required for proper metalwork.
He thought to himself that he would definitely need to create a body refining scripture for these students, or perhaps for the entire sect. It seemed that not many people in their sect actually practiced body refining cultivation, which explained the poor physical performance he had just witnessed.
His attention was drawn to one particularly impressive figure among the successful candidates. "Your name is?" he asked, looking up at a disciple whose massive frame cast a shadow over him despite Xiang Yu’s own respectable height.
"Grand Elder, my name is Zhu Rong," the giant spoke, his voice deep and respectful.
Xiang Yu was a little surprised by the familiar name, but he smiled in approval. "Good, you performed the best out of everyone here. From now on, you will be president of the School of Blacksmithing. Find Chairman Liu Qing and she will brief you on your duties."
The massive disciple straightened even further with pride. "I’ll listen to the Grand Elder’s instructions," he said, bowing his enormous frame before turning around and departing with the other successful candidates.
…
"Martial aunt, congratulations on your breakthrough," Xiang Yu said warmly as he carefully served her plate.
Elder Huang looked down at her meal, then glanced curiously at the others’ portions. Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Why is mine different from that old guy’s?" she asked, gesturing toward Elder Guo’s plate. She understood perfectly well that Li Yao ate second-grade food that would be too potent for them to handle, but why was she being given something different today?
"Since you’ve broken through, you should now be able to handle higher-level spirit foods," Xiang Yu explained. "I wanted to also give you second-grade, but you’ve just broken through and your foundation isn’t yet stable. This third-grade food will help stabilize your foundation properly."
When she heard this explanation, a smile spread across her face. "Oh, so that’s why. Thank you, martial nephew," she spoke with sincere gratitude.
"Why are you always acting so formal?" Xiang Yu asked with mild exasperation, though his tone carried obvious affection.
"Hahaha, it’s a habit," she said with a light laugh as she reached for her chopsticks.
At the same time, Elder Guo sat frozen with his eyes wide open in horror. Wait, if she was eating high-level food now, wouldn’t she grow even stronger at an accelerated pace? When would he ever catch up to her? Dammit, was he really going to be a bottom forever! The thought made him scowl as he angrily stabbed at his food, chewing with perhaps more force than necessary.
"Martial aunt, are you ready?" Li Yao asked, glancing at her with anticipation.
Elder Huang wore a bright, radiant smile as she glanced meaningfully at Elder Guo. "Of course I am," she spoke with confidence.
"I just remembered something," Xiang Yu said suddenly, his expression growing more serious. "Who will you give the second bow to? You guys aren’t planning to bow to me and junior sister, right? I won’t agree to it, even as the Grand Elder."
Everyone suddenly paused their meal, chopsticks freezing halfway to mouths. Elder Guo and Elder Huang looked at each other with growing uncertainty, while Li Yao continued eating in silence.
"I don’t know about my parents," Elder Guo spoke. "The Sect Master told me that he knew my father, but I didn’t care to learn more. I only acknowledge Master as my father."
Elder Huang seemed to be wrestling with deep thoughts for a long moment before she spoke haltingly. "I—my parents are—no! I don’t have parents," she declared with sudden firmness.
The three of them continued looking at each other in uncomfortable silence, the wedding planning suddenly hitting an unexpected obstacle.
Li Yao finally spoke up, her voice cutting through the tension. "Why not have Grand Elder Feng Wuying do it?" she suggested casually between bites, as if the solution was obvious. "He’s of the same generation as the Grandmaster and is even sworn brothers with him."
The three others looked at each other as understanding dawned.
"Oh yeah, I guess we could do that," Elder Huang spoke with a nervous laugh, relief evident in her voice. "But he’s in seclusion right now. Should I go talk to him..." she began uncertainly.
"No need, I’ll go talk to him," Elder Guo spoke decisively as he stood up, his chair scraping against the floor.
…
Claire’s Corner
In traditional Chinese weddings there is this thing called the "three bows" (I think they’re part of the Confucian ideals of respecting heaven, honoring parents and ancestors and maintaining harmony in marriage)
First Bow is to Heaven and Earth, the couple bows together to honor the universe, nature, and the cosmic forces that brought them together.
Second Bow is to the Parents/Ancestors, the couple bows to both sets of parents (and ancestral tablets if present) to show gratitude for raising them and to seek blessings for their marriage.
Third Bow, is to each other, the bride and groom bow to each other as equals, symbolizing mutual respect and their commitment to the marriage partnership.
In this case, they should bow to the sect master and grand elder. But those two would never allow their master to bow to them so…
Under normal circumstances, they would bow to the ’ancestral tablet’ of the previous sect master but koni had to make it a big deal…
Sorry for the rant…