Chapter 169 Ask the Sword

Ranked weapons were completely different from standard weapons.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, a Forging Master to be able to forge one or two ranked weapons in a year was already considered a high yield.

s.h.i.+ Songtao didnt believe Zhou Shus nonsense about getting his weapons to take up the top ten spots of the Yellow-grade Armament Manual!

He had been a Forging Master for many years, but he had only forged a few yellow-grade weapons.

Although this had something to do with his desire for perfection and only forging top-quality yellow-grade weapons, it was mainly because forging a decent yellow-grade weapon was not that easy. Zhou Shu had just forged the Three Swords of Yin Tianzi, so s.h.i.+ Songtao didnt believe that he would be able to forge top-quality yellow-grade weapons that could rank in the top few spots of the Yellow-grade Armament Manual in a short period of time.

He lamented for a long time. Now that he had met such an irresponsible official envoy, he was very worried. Would he be able to make a contribution on this diplomatic mission?

No, I cant rely on this unreliable official envoy. Everything depends on me!

I, s.h.i.+ Songtao, am the Great Xias number one forging genius. If the official envoy isnt reliable, as the deputy envoy, I have to be responsible for carrying the burden!

The steward looked at s.h.i.+ Songtaos back in puzzlement. Master s.h.i.+ is really interesting. One moment, hes dejected; the next moment, he is full of fighting spirit.

Is this a genius? Its really incomprehensible. My marquis is also a genius. Why does he feel so normal?

The steward shook his head and went about his work.

In a courtyard in Qingzhou

The courtyard was very large, but the layout of the courtyard was very simple. It was almost empty.

At this moment, there were many people standing in the courtyard.

In front of the crowd was a slender woman in green.

The woman in green was as beautiful as a painting, but she was expressionless, as if nothing in this world could stir her emotions.

Her bright eyes swept across the people in front of her without any emotion.

These people were all young women. These women were of all shapes and sizes. Some were beautiful, some were ordinary looking, and some were ugly.

Their expressions were very solemn. They looked at the woman in green with eyes full of admiration.

Ive already taught you the basics. Now, its up to your own cultivation, the woman in green said slowly. Her voice was very pleasant to the ear, like a stream of spring water flowing down from a snowy mountain. I will be away for a period of time, at least a few months, at most a year. Next, you can cultivate freely. All the supplies will be provided as usual.

When I return, those who are ranked will enter the Demon Executing Army. Those who are not will have to leave. With that, the woman in green turned and left the courtyard. In the courtyard, a beautiful woman with a red scarf tied around her wrist tightly gripped the hilt of her sword. I must succeed! Liang Hongxiu.

Another few days pa.s.sed. Zhou Shu was still locking himself in the forging room. No matter who came to visit, he refused to see them.

No one knew what weapons he was forging.

s.h.i.+ Songtao hadnt been idle these days. He locked himself in his study and spent all his time reading the books on forging. Occasionally, when he was free, he would take a look at the Heavenly Mirror.

Although he cursed silently, he kept thinking about what Zhou Shus words meant.

Seeing that the top ten weapons in the Yellow-grade Armament Manual remained unchanged, he rolled his eyes at Zhou Shu in his heart. He was indeed boasting. How could top-quality yellow-grade weapons be so easy to forge?

The envoys of the Great Xia diplomatic mission had already been officially announced. The official envoy was Zhou Shu, and two deputy envoys were Lu Wenshuang and s.h.i.+ Songtao, as well as the bodyguards and generals of the entourage.

In addition, there were also some other Forging Masters and officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Meng Bais name didnt appear on the diplomatic missions personnel list.

In name, he was going to Great Qin to seek medical treatment and only traveling with the diplomatic mission.

Yin Chengshan and his team were also recruited into the guards. They didnt reject going on this mission.

Although the Demon Executing Army was relatively free, they were still soldiers and naturally had to obey orders.

Apart from Yin Chengshan, Yang Hong and a few other divine constables were recruited as scouts.

Meng Bai was responsible for forming the team, so Zhou Shu naturally didnt need to worry about it.

Speaking of which, Zhou Shu, the official envoy of the diplomatic mission, the nominal leader, had never shown his face since the day the appointment was issued.

There was another person who had yet to show herself-deputy envoy Lu Wenshuang.

s.h.i.+ Songtao felt a headache coming on.

These two colleagues didnt seem to be easy to get along with

Fortunately, other than these two troublemakers, the other members of the diplomatic mission were easy to deal with.

s.h.i.+ Songtao had already met with the other Forging Masters and officials of the Ministry of Rites several times. They had discussed the matters of the diplomatic mission together.

s.h.i.+ Songtao had already made up his mind. No matter what the others thought, he would definitely complete this task!

While s.h.i.+ Songtao was busy dealing with the diplomatic mission, another unexpected guest arrived at the You Marquiss mansion.

The steward was stunned by the beauty of the lady before him. He bowed slightly and said, Miss, Im sorry, but the marquis is currently in seclusion forging. Its not convenient for him to meet guests.

Although this lady is beautiful, she is too cold. Her Highness is still the best. Shes also very beautiful, but she doesnt have such a distant feeling.

Not convenient for him to meet guests? Lu Wenshuangs expression didnt change. She took a step forward, and her entire aura suddenly changed. An extremely fierce aura soared into the sky. In the stewards eyes, this beautiful lady seemed to have become a sword in an instant.

a.s.sa.s.sin! the steward shouted subconsciously. The next instant, his voice came to an abrupt halt, and the words he was about to utter were forced back by a burst of sword qi.

This sword qi was at its peak and forced the stewards voice back, but it didnt hurt him at all.

Swoosh

A few whoos.h.i.+ng sounds came. The experts ordered to protect Zhou Shu all appeared. Which b.a.s.t.a.r.d came looking for trouble? Almost at the same time, an exasperated voice sounded from the backyard.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but a smile seemed to flash across the lips of the ice-cold woman in green.

Marquis, be careful! The experts responsible for Zhou Shus safety stood in front of him with grave expressions. Shes an expert!

Lu Wenshuang looked at Zhou Shu, who had stormed into the front hall, and said expressionlessly, Are you Zhou Shu? I am Lu Wenshuang.

Her tone was indifferent, and her words were concise to the extreme.

I am Lu Wenshuang. She spoke with confidence. It was as if everyone should know who she was.

This was indeed the truth. Everyone present, including Zhou Shu, knew who she was when they heard this.

The expert ordered to protect Zhou Shu heaved a sigh of relief. Qingzhous Lu Wenshuang, shes one of us.

Zhou Shu sized up Lu Wenshuang from head to toe. His anger from being disturbed had completely vanished. No matter when, beautiful women would always be given preferential treatment. Lu Wenshuang was very beautiful. In terms of looks, she was not inferior to Yin Wuyou. But she was slightly flat-chested

This was the legendary number one Martial Dao genius of Great Xia. She had become a grandmaster in her teens.

Her sword intent was indeed astonis.h.i.+ng.

While Zhou Shu was sizing up Lu Wenshuang, Lu Wenshuang was also sizing up Zhou Shu.

Zhou Shus current attire was truly unsightly. He was wearing a set of short clothes made for forging. It had been many days since he washed up, and he appeared somewhat dusty and dirty.

But there wasnt the slightest bit of embarra.s.sment on his face. His carefree att.i.tude made Lu Wenshuang nod slightly in her heart.

So, its Miss Lu, Zhou Shu said. May I know why you are here? If its about the diplomatic mission, we can talk about it when everyone is

here.

I dont care about the diplomatic mission. Lu Wenshuang said coldly. It was another person who refused to work

Im here to see if youre qualified to be the official envoy. Im not qualified. If youre willing, you can be the official envoy, Zhou Shu said happily.

Lu Wenshuang frowned. As a man, you should take responsibility. If you do this, how can you accomplish anything?

Its none of your business! What does this have to do with accomplis.h.i.+ng anything? Zhou Shu rolled his eyes in his heart. You dont have to worry. Ill talk to His Majesty. Its not a problem to let you be the official envoy. We can definitely make it work.

He didnt care about being the official envoy at all.

I am not interested in whether or not you are the official envoy. But since you are the official envoy and I am a deputy envoy, I will have to listen to your orders. Naturally, you will have to prove that you are superior, Lu Wenshuang said coldly. I came to ask you for your sword. Where is your sword?

Attack!

Lu Wenshuang took another step forward. Her body exuded a sharpness, and her sword intent sliced the surrounding air, emitting a soft hissing sound.

Her right hand was already gripping the sword hilt revealed on her right shoulder.

Ask for my sword? You want to fight? Zhou Shus expression froze.

Is there a mistake?

You, Lu Wenshuang, are a third-rank Martial Dao grandmaster. On the surface, my Martial Dao cultivation is only seventh rank! Is there a need to fight?

A third-rank martial artist had the ability to cut a seventh-rank martial artist into pieces with a single strike.

I heard that you have a sword technique called the Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords, Lu Wenshuang said. Let me see what kind of sword technique dares to be called the Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords! Dont worry. Ill suppress my spiritual essence to the level of an eighth-rank martial artist!

Suppressing spiritual essence is enough?

How can a third-rank martial artists understanding of the Martial Dao compare to a seventh-rank martial artists? Is this a joke?

Miss Lu, I think youre mistaken. Im a Forging Master. Im only cultivating the Martial Dao for fun. Im definitely not your match, Zhou Shu said casually.

He glanced at Lu Wenshuang. If I didnt care about anything else, do you believe that I could pin you on my knee and spank you?

He was not interested in fighting or killing

Lu Wenshuang was indeed very powerful among the younger generation. She was a second-rank martial artist who was not even 20 years old. In the entire land, there were not many people stronger than her at this age.

But in Zhou Shus eyes, she was still too weak.

To Zhou Shu, not hiding his cultivation and attacking was like an adult bullying a child. It was meaningless.

If he concealed his cultivation and made a move, wouldnt he be asking for trouble with his seventh-rank cultivation of the Martial Dao?

Before Zhou Shu could finish speaking, there was a soft swoosh as a white light pierced toward his chest.

The white light was very fast and very decisive.

Zhou Shu could sense that if he didnt dodge, this white light could really pierce through his heart!

Is she serious? Zhou Shus expression changed slightly. Lu Wenshuang doesnt care about ethics. I havent even agreed to it, and shes already attacked!

And shes serious right from the start!

If I dont fight back, is she really going to kill me?

Zhou Shu had the Golden Bell s.h.i.+eld to protect him. He wasnt afraid of Lu Wenshuang killing him, but he didnt want to expose his Golden Bell s.h.i.+eld Technique in public.

He took a step forward, and cloud qi seemed to ripple from the tip of his foot.

He was already floating backward.

Lu Wenshuang thrust her sword. Her sword qi was contained, and the tip of her sword stopped only an inch away from Zhou Shus chest.

Marquis! someone suddenly shouted. Receive my sword!

The sound of rus.h.i.+ng wind rang out as Zhou Shu reached out his hand without even turning his head.

A familiar feeling came from his hand. It was the Great Destroyer Sword!

While he was busy, Zhou Shu had the mood to turn around and take a look.

No one knew when Yin Chengshan had arrived.

He smiled at Yin Chengshan.

Lu Wenshuang frowned. He still dares to be distracted when competing with me. Hes really courting death! With a cold harrumph, Lu Wenshuang thrust the sword in her hand forward, as if it was going to pierce Zhou Shus heart.

Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords!

With the Great Destroyer Sword in hand, Zhou Shu let out a loud shout, and a sword light suddenly appeared.

Clank!

Like the sound of metal colliding, everyones vision was full of dazzling sword shadows.

Even Zhou Shu and Lu Wenshuang were nowhere to be seen.

Everyone took two steps back involuntarily.

The experts ordered to protect Zhou Shu all nervously gripped their weapons.

They were hesitating whether they should attack. Its true that Miss Lu is one of us, but she attacked Marquis Zhou. Should we help?

While they were still hesitating, the sword light had already retracted.

Zhou Shu and Lu Wenshuang were five steps apart.

The sword in Lu Wenshuangs hand had already returned to its sheath, while Zhou Shus Great Destroyer Sword was resting on the ground with both of his hands on the hilt.

The two of them looked at each other as if they had never moved. Who lost?

Who won?

Everyone looked at each other. Someone with sharp eyes saw that there was a small cut on Zhou Shus clothes.

Marquis Zhou lost?

Everyone was puzzled, but no one asked. You have the Great Destroyer Sword? Lu Wenshuang suddenly said. The Great Destroyer Sword is not compatible with your Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords Technique.

Zhou Shu nodded. The Great Destroyer Sword was a heavy sword, and it could only be used with enough strength. It was more suitable for sword techniques used in large-scale battles.

As for the Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords Technique, although it had the reputation of being astounding, it was actually a sword technique that emphasized technique. It was more suitable for an agile and ethereal a.s.sa.s.sin.

Using the Great Destroyer Sword to unleash the Astounding Heavenly Eighteen Swords Technique was actually a bit strange.

Zhou Shu naturally understood this principle. Lu Wenshuang was an expert in the use of swords, so she naturally could tell.

Good sword, good swordplay. Lu Wenshuang continued, The person using the sword, average.

After saying this, she turned around and left, leaving behind only a back view and the faint fragrance of a young girl in the air.