The Divine Sword Sect followed a strict hierarchy. It was unlikely for a lowly servant like Yan Liqiang to meet the Hall Master of Tianqiao Hall as he pleased. For the past few months on Tianqiao Peak, Yan Liqiang normally had no chance of meeting Hall Master Su unless he summoned Yan Liqiang.

Above Yan Liqiang was Attendant Huang, and above Attendant Huang was another manager by the surname Qiu. Attendants and managers were allowed to directly meet the Hall Master. Despite having the status of a servant, external disciples like Yan Liqiang were still at the bottom and were inferior to the many official disciples on Tianqiao Peak. They were only a level higher than those external disciples that worked as menial laborers.

In the Divine Sword Sect, an external disciple would be ent.i.tled to select a secret technique or a battle technique in the Hall of Scriptures after progressing into a Martial Warrior with enough contributions to the sect.

Yan Liqiang had been in the Divine Sword Sect for almost half a year. If they were going to talk about contributions to the sect, then the hards.h.i.+p of cleaning the toilets for the past hundred days coupled with these two months of hard work would be sufficient enough to meet the requirement of the Divine Sword Sect's Hall of Scriptures.

This was the great benefit of the Divine Sword Sect and the Heavenly Realm. Yan Liqiang certainly did not want to give up and he wanted to go even further in the Divine Sword Sect. If he wanted 'Liu Guiyuan' to eventually 'notice' him, then he'd have to show something a little different to him.

Attendant Huang was truly a benign and uncontentious man. Upon knowing Yan Liqiang had progressed into a Martial Warrior, he didn't pull any tricks on him. He just asked Yan Liqiang to wait in his courtyard while he went off to find Hall Master Su. After he returned a few minutes later, he informed Yan Liqiang that Hall Master Su would be available before lunch time and that he could meet him at the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

Yan Liqiang expressed his grat.i.tude and then left.

Before lunch time, Yan Liqiang waited for Hall Master Su at the Hundred Soldiers Tower of Tianqiao Hall half an hour in advance.

The Hundred Soldiers Tower was the building where Hall Master Su carried out his duties in Tianqiao Hall. Yan Liqiang normally didn't have the rights to enter the tower. However, he had permission to enter today because Hall Master Su wished to see him. So he was currently waiting for him to appear in the main lounge on the first floor of the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

Various weapons tempered by Tianqiao Peak were displayed in the main lounge of the Hundred Soldiers Tower. They were dazzling sights to behold and each of them had distinctive features. Yan Liqiang wasn't bored while waiting because he was studying these weapons. Compared to the weapons tempered by the Yan Clan, the qualities of these weapons displayed in the main lounge were far superior. The weapon with the highest standard from the Yan Clan was Yan Dechang's Cloud Steel Sword which was made out of well-tempered steel. However, Cloud Steel Swords were regarded as the most common goods on Tianqiao Peak. Starting with the materials used to make them, the weapons tempered here were vastly different from those tempered by the Yan Clan.

After those half-finished materials were delivered and tempered with an unusual flame in the inner part of Tianqiao Peak, they became Tianqiao Peak's exclusively-owned Pear Blossom Steel. The Pear Blossom Steel was far superior than the Hundred Tempered Steel in all aspects. In the subsequent processes, specific methods were used in steel casting, normalizing, annealing, quenching, and blade processing. The most impressive thing about Tianqiao Peak was that one or two amazing individuals there had mastered the unique art of integrating the core crystals of rare beasts into weapons during casting. This technique was known as Spirit Binding. This was the ultimate secret technique which blacksmiths could master in forging weapons. If Yan Liqiang were to describe this language from his previous world, any blacksmiths who could master this secret technique were considered national treasures.

Yan Liqiang had never seen any weapons that had spirits attached to them. Coincidentally, a sword with a spirit attached to it happened to be on display in the crystal cabinet of this main lounge. The sword was about five feet long and four fingers wide. It was far more domineering than any ordinary longsword. The entire blade glowed with a radiant purple. Yan Liqiang leaned closer to examine it more carefully. If he stared hard enough, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of a moving purple serpent in the glowing blade.

When Yan Liqiang was staring at it carefully, the purple serpent in the glowing blade seemed to have sensed him. In his daze, the blade's glow intensified for a moment and Yan Liqiang saw the purple serpent snarl at him with its mouth wide open, revealing its sharp fangs before it plunged toward him.

Yan Liqiang was so shocked that he took a few steps back...

At the same moment, a loud angry voice thundered outside.

"Tell those people in the Four Seas Courtyard that this is our daily production of Pear Blossom Steel on Tianqiao Peak! This is the number of weapons we can forge and there are no surpluses! The remaining stock from before has been completely removed by Elder Lu! Every time they open their mouths, they will ask for twenty thousand Pear Blossom Steel weapons! How dare they ask for that G.o.dd.a.m.n much! Do they really think these Pear Blossom Steel weapons are bok choys that grow out from the soil or the eggs their chickens lay at home for them to be asking that for that many? I'm not a magician!"

"The Four Seas Courtyard said that the tension between the north and the Chaman people has intensified and that we have an unusual relations.h.i.+p with the Long Clan from the north. The Long Clan's Storm Army is currently under great pressure. Han Jing is being ridiculous and the support given to the Storm Army in the past two years has been diminis.h.i.+ng. The Four Seas Courtyard still has quite a number of businesses under the Long Clan's care so they can't possibly let them down. This time, the Long Clan has requested to equip a few elite camps to deal with the Chaman people's Agitated Crow Army, so they have no choice but to ask the Divine Sword Sect for a favor…" Compared to the previous voice, this voice was much softer.

"Don't find me for this kind of thing, ask the Four Seas Courtyard to find the Baogong Courtyard." The angry voice from just now softened a little, but it was still loud. "We at Tianqiao Hall will follow the Baogong Courtyard's instructions. If Elder Tu from the Baogong Courtyard gives his approval and also readjusts our other production a.s.signments to prioritize this batch of goods, then the disciples of Tianqiao Hall will deliver the Pear Blossom Steel weapons to the Storm Army even if we have to work overtime without sleep. However, in this case, we can't do anything even if G.o.d appeared…"

At this point in the conversation, both people had already arrived outside the main lounge.

Among the two people who had walked in, one of them was Hall Master Su who smelled like smoke. He was a bald, bearded man whose his chest was exposed, and that made him seem like he had just come out from the tempering grounds deep in Tianqiao Peak. The other one was a tall and slender man in his forties. He had a pair of sharp and narrow eyes and was dressed in purple robes. He was Manager Qiu Yi of Tianqiao Hall, the superior of Yan Liqiang's superior.

"Greetings, Hall Master Su, Manager Qiu!" Upon their arrival, Yan Liqiang respectfully stood there and bowed to both of them.

Manager Qiu's gaze fell on Yan Liqiang before frowning slightly. "What are you doing here?"

Yan Liqiang could hear something else in Manager Qiu's tone, but he didn't bat an eyelid. "Reporting to Manager Qiu, I have requested for an audience with Hall Master Su…"

"Alright." Hall Master Su came in and then turned to Manager Qiu. "Just reply to the Four Seas Courtyard like this."

"Understood!" Manager Qiu threw a glance at Yan Liqiang again before he turned around to leave without saying anything else.

"I heard from Old Huang that you have already progressed into a Martial Warrior?" Hall Master Su looked at Yan Liqiang.

"Yes!"

"Not bad, not bad. It's indeed not easy to progress into Martial Warrior at your age!" Hall Master Su looked extremely happy. For Yan Liqiang to be able to progress into a Martial Warrior so soon meant that he had an eye for selecting people.

"I'm just fortunate, that's all!" Yan Liqiang replied humbly.

"Hm, it's nearly been half a year since you served at Tianqiao Peak. I heard from Attendant Huang that you're responsible for overseeing the materials coming in and out from the warehouse over these few months and you didn't make any careless mistakes. Not only that, you even sorted out the account books from before to follow a standard. These contributions are enough for you to learn an introductory secret technique. I shall issue you a slip. You may visit the Hall of Scriptures in the afternoon to pick a cultivation technique."

It seemed like the big boss was a lot easier to deal with than the lackeys. Hall Master Su had given Yan Liqiang the greenlight after saying only two or three words, and he didn't even deliberately make things difficult or unpleasant for him.

"Thank you, Hall Master Su!"

"Haha. We have quite a lot of skilled blacksmiths at Tianqiao Hall, but not many have the apt.i.tude for cultivation. As a result, our Tianqiao Hall has never managed to receive any rankings in the Sect Tournament of Divine Sword Sect which is held at the end of every year, and we often end up at the bottom. Train well and strive for it this year. If not, then next year! Help Tianqiao Hall redeem our reputation back during the martial arts compet.i.tion between the external disciples of Martial Warrior rank. I have faith in you!"

"Understood. I, Yan Liqiang, will definitely try my best!"

"Good. Take this!" While speaking, Hall Master Su had already finished writing a slip on the table and put a seal on it before he handed it to Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang accepted it and carefully stashed it away. After expressing his grat.i.tude again, he bid his farewell and left.

As soon as he exited the Hundred Soldiers Tower, Yan Liqiang once again saw Manager Qiu's gloomy face.

Manager Qiu seemed to be waiting for him outside the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

"Greetings, Manager Qiu!"

"You are still quite new at Tianqiao Hall, so perhaps you still aren't clear about some of the rules. Hall Master Su has many daily affairs to deal with, so he doesn't have much time for trivial matters. Therefore, you can just look for me should you need anything. Do not bother Hall Master Su unnecessarily!" Manager Qiu lectured Yan Liqiang with a straight face before he finally asked, "What business did you have with Hall Master Su just now?"

"I have just progressed into a Martial Warrior, so I wished to get Hall Master Su to issue me a slip to allow me to visit the Hidden Manual Hall…" Yan Liqiang replied calmly.

Manager Qiu's expression changed slightly when he heard Yan Liqiang claim that he had already progressed into a Martial Warrior. "Did the Hall Master issue it to you?"

"Yes, he did!"

"Alright, go then. Train well from now on, and do not let the Hall Master down." Manager Qiu gave him a few words out of formality and then waved his hand emotionlessly.

"Understood!" Yan Liqiang bowed to Manager Qiu before he left.

Even when Yan Liqiang had walked far enough, he could still feel Manager Qiu's eyes on his back.

Attendant Huang was very old in age and he had progressed into a Supreme Martial Warrior through the use of medicinal pill in the end. Thus, his prospect in the Divine Sword Sect came to a halt right there. On contrary, Manager Qiu's position was a lot higher than Attendant Huang's when he was still in the prime of his youth. For someone insignificant like Yan Liqiang to suddenly get promoted by Hall Master Su, he understood that both of them would perceive him differently in their eyes.

Attendant Huang was a good man who was conscientious and didn't want to offend him. From the looks of things, the probability of Yan Liqiang progressing into a Supreme Martial Warrior in the future was guaranteed. Hence, his prospects were greater than Attendant Huang's. However, that didn't necessarily mean that Manager Qiu would want to see him fare too well…

The situation before his eyes was no different than what many people would encounter in their careers back in his previous world.

Yan Liqiang thought to himself in his heart, but didn't turn his head around. He was still set on descending the mountain and making his way to the Hidden Manual Hall of the Divine Sword Sect.

This was an opportunity for him to claim his first reward in the Heavenly Realm. Yan Liqiang would still go even if there were a hundred Manager Qius trying to stop him.

To Yan Liqiang, Manager Qiu was nothing more than an NPC [1]...