Chapter 343: The Forging Maniac

Chapter 343: The Forging Maniac

The Demon Sect's aggressive approach left the Jian Pavilion Marquis House in a passive position, unable to strike first and forced to wait for their attack.

Ning Xiaochuan then informed the Old Marquis about Yu Ningsheng.

The Old Marquis fixed Ning Xiaochuan with a deep gaze and said, "You've grown up. I trust you have your own judgment now and don’t need me to teach you how to act."

The Old Marquis knew Ning Xiaochuan was steady and wouldn’t truly engage in reckless behavior with a brothel woman, so he refrained from further questioning.

"Your grandson understands," Ning Xiaochuan replied.

After discussing countermeasures against the Demon Sect with the Old Marquis, Ning Xiaochuan left the Jian Pavilion Marquis House, intending to visit the Divine Sword Palace.

The Divine Sword Palace was now the Marquis House’s most significant asset, and Ning Xiaochuan naturally paid it great attention.

Shortly after Ning Xiaochuan departed, Yu Qianqian arrived for a visit. The Jian Pavilion Marquis personally welcomed her into the residence.

The Divine Sword Palace’s rise had far exceeded Ning Xiaochuan’s expectations.

Thanks to the Jian Pavilion Marquis House’s unwavering financial support and the influx of numerous forging masters, the Divine Sword Palace quickly became the premier hub for Mystic Artifact trade in the Imperial City, monopolizing 70% of the market share and dominating the weapon industry.

Beyond the Imperial City, the Divine Sword Palace had expanded into major provinces, already establishing a preliminary presence.

Located in the Imperial City’s bustling district, the Divine Sword Palace was surrounded by lush greenery, with 99 steps paved in jade. Its grand halls, built with vast quantities of jade, nanmu wood, and golden pillars, flaunted the palace’s opulence and magnificence.

Yet, the most striking structure wasn’t the palaces but the 87-meter-long greatsword planted outside.

Rumored to weigh 185,000 kg and forged by a Forging Grandmaster, this colossal sword had reached the level of a Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifact.

Why was the Divine Sword Palace famous?

This Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifact alone was enough to make the Divine Sword Palace renowned across the land. No other faction could match such extravagance.

Placing a Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifact in plain sight naturally attracted covetous Martial Artists. Initially, almost every night, warriors attempted to steal the sword. However, without exception, all were slain by the guards stationed by the Jian Pavilion Marquis House, their corpses piled beneath the blade.

A massive mound of corpses had formed at the sword’s base, numbering over seventy.

Gradually, no one dared to attempt theft anymore.

Liu Wenyu, the Divine Sword Palace’s deputy master, guided Ning Xiaochuan through the various Mystic Artifact halls, explaining the palace’s developments over the past year. "The Divine Sword Palace’s influence now spans the empire’s major provinces, with branches in nearly every city."

Ning Xiaochuan remarked, "This fast?"

Liu Wenyu smiled. "Not at all! Minor Marquis, you must understand—to build the Divine Sword Palace, the Old Marquis ordered the abandonment of all other Shops under the Marquis House. These were repurposed and rebranded as Divine Sword Palace branches. Now, the empire boasts over 18,000 branches and 32 Forging Bases, with countless forging masters and Martial Artists under our banner."

"If it were someone starting from scratch, even given two hundred years, they could never achieve the current scale of the Divine Sword Palace."

Joking aside, with the Jian Pavilion Marquis House's thousand-year accumulation, its wealth already spans every corner of the empire. As long as the Marquis House is willing, it could establish an ultra-large-scale industry in an extremely short time.

Of course, there’s another prerequisite—brand effect is crucial.

Without the reputation of the "Divine Sword Palace" in the Imperial City, Martial Artists wouldn’t flock to purchase its weapons, and forging masters wouldn’t swarm to join it.

How was the Divine Sword Palace’s reputation built?

Yue Mingsong deserves the greatest credit!

The Divine Sword Palace heavily promoted Yue Mingsong as a Forging Grandmaster.

This caused a sensation in the Imperial City a year ago.

A Forging Grandmaster personally presiding over the "Divine Sword Palace"? At first, few believed it. After all, the status of a Forging Grandmaster is far too lofty—they are reclusive figures. How could one casually assist a newly established Divine Sword Palace in forging?

But what happened later left the Martial Artists of the entire Imperial City dumbfounded and speechless.

This Forging Grandmaster turned out to be a Forging Maniac. Every month, the Divine Sword Palace would auction at least three Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifacts, and in one particularly prolific month, they even offered seven.

What does a Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifact signify?

Before this, even a Martial Venerable might not possess a One-Star Mystic Artifact.

Afterward, the Divine Sword Palace mass-produced Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifacts, practically selling them in bulk.

Thus, this Forging Grandmaster of the Divine Sword Palace came to be known as the "Forging Maniac."

The Divine Sword Palace’s reputation skyrocketed for this very reason, becoming thunderously renowned throughout the Imperial City.

Then came the butterfly effect—forging masters flocked to join the Divine Sword Palace, all hoping to receive guidance from the Forging Grandmaster. This led to the Divine Sword Palace’s development exceeding expectations, allowing it to dominate the Imperial City in an astonishingly short time.

The world assumed this Forging Grandmaster must be forging day and night without rest.

But only Liu Wenyu knew the truth—this Grandmaster lived a life of utter indulgence, spending his days frolicking with maidservants, drowning in wine and luxury, as carefree as an immortal.

Liu Wenyu admired him even more for it, because forging was as effortless as drinking water for the Grandmaster. He could casually pick up a scrap of iron, give it a squeeze, and produce a Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifact.

Every time, Liu Wenyu only needed to search the grass outside the Grandmaster’s residence to find one or two Seventh-Grade Mystic Artifacts, which he would then treasure and deliver to the auction stage.

When Ning Xiaochuan heard of this, his shock surpassed even Liu Wenyu’s.

"This Grandmaster is truly a divine being! I doubt all the other Forging Grandmasters in the Yulan Empire combined could match even one of his fingers," Liu Wenyu marveled.

Ning Xiaochuan smiled faintly. "Take me to see him."

Yue Mingsong resided in the most opulent palace deep within the Divine Sword Palace, adorned with golden pillars, jade walls, and floors paved in silver—more extravagant than even the Imperial City itself. Before even stepping inside, the sounds of women’s laughter and musical instruments could be heard.

The moment Ning Xiaochuan pushed open the door, the scent of wine wafted out.

By the wine pool, beneath the palace walls, and beside the Osmanthus Tree, there were dozens of beautiful women dressed in colorful garments. Some sat in the distance playing the zither or blowing the sheng; others danced gracefully, frolicked in the wine pool, or reclined against Yue Mingsong, holding wine cups to feed him drinks.

"Brother Ning, you’ve finally returned. I’ve missed you dearly," Yue Mingsong said, his arms wrapped around two petite maidservants, his hands wandering shamelessly over their fair thighs.

Ning Xiaochuan remarked, "Surprisingly, they’re all still clothed. That’s much better than I imagined."

Yue Mingsong frowned slightly before laughing. "What kind of man do you take me for? We’re merely discussing life and enjoying spiritual pleasures—nothing as vulgar as you think. Though surrounded by these enchanting beauties, I only look and nothing more."

Ning Xiaochuan responded with a faint smile.

Yue Mingsong continued, "Don’t doubt me! For us forging masters, the most important thing isn’t Martial Path cultivation but 'willpower.' Those with weak willpower forge brittle weapons, while those with unyielding willpower forge unbreakable ones."

Ning Xiaochuan showed a hint of interest. "That does sound somewhat reasonable. Don’t tell me you’re embracing all these beauties and indulging in revelry just to train your 'willpower'?"

"Exactly," Yue Mingsong declared with exaggerated seriousness.

"Then your willpower must be truly formidable," Ning Xiaochuan replied, though he didn’t believe a word of it.

Ning Xiaochuan considered himself to have strong willpower, but the idea of spending all day surrounded by beautiful women, embracing them yet restraining his desires—resisting temptation and avoiding any physical relations—was something he knew he couldn’t achieve.

If a man could truly do that, Ning Xiaochuan mused, he must either have a physical defect or a psychological one.

At Ning Xiaochuan’s command, the maidservants withdrew, leaving only Yue Mingsong and himself.

"Brother Ning, will you now hand over the remaining chapters of the Mystic Gate Artifact Codex?" Yue Mingsong asked eagerly. His greatest interest lay in this forging treasure, of which he had only obtained the first 900 chapters, with the rest still in Ning Xiaochuan’s possession.

Ning Xiaochuan took out a jade book the size of a fingernail and handed it to him. "This volume also contains 900 chapters. Take it and study it first, Brother Yue."

"Only 900? How stingy! Give me the rest!" Yue Mingsong snatched the jade book and hastily tucked it into his sleeve.

Ning Xiaochuan thought to himself, If I gave you the entire Mystic Gate Artifact Codex, you’d flee immediately. Then who would oversee the Divine Sword Palace?

With a smile, he said, "The Mystic Gate Artifact Codex will be yours sooner or later, Brother Yue. Why the rush? Continue your cultivation—I’ll take my leave now."

"Go on, go on!"

Now that he had new chapters of the Mystic Gate Artifact Codex, Yue Mingsong had no intention of keeping Ning Xiaochuan any longer and was eager to begin studying them.

As Ning Xiaochuan stepped out of the palace gates, Liu Wenyu approached and bowed.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, "Well?"

Liu Wenyu said, "They have been examined and confirmed to still be virgins."

Ning Xiaochuan raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin as he thought to himself, "Just what kind of person is Yue Mingsong? Could it really be as he claims—that he’s only using those maidservants to cultivate his willpower? This kind of cultivation method is downright inhumane. What a pervert!"

Even Ning Xiaochuan himself couldn’t remain completely unmoved in the face of feminine charms, yet Yue Mingsong had managed it. A man like that was definitely no ordinary figure.

Liu Wenyu said, "Minor Marquis, the Demon Sect has been causing quite a stir lately, and even the Divine Sword Palace has been affected. If they attack the Divine Sword Palace, how should we respond?"

"Leave this matter aside for now. The Marquis and I already have plans. By the way, how is the progress on the 'Weapon Ranking List'?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

Liu Wenyu replied, "That matter has always been handled by Miss Situ. Could it be… the Minor Marquis is preparing to release the ranking list?"

Ning Xiaochuan smiled and said, "The Divine Sword Palace has already established its scale. It’s time to publicly release the 'Weapon Ranking List.' Once it’s out, the reputation of the Divine Sword Palace will surely rise again, and we might even solidify its status as the premier forging sanctuary in the world."