Old Wu quickly helped Lu Pei off the ground, not realising that this kneeling gesture would be something that he, and he alone, could receive from a future king in the cultivation world.

Someone who would rise explosively through the ranks like a shooting star, and stand by side with even the most arrogant sons and daughters of heaven!

****

Within a world of fire, several runic chains from all directions radiated with an aura of being tempered by the ages.

Five of these divine chains had bound a lone figure completely. This figure was a jade-like skeleton. No matter how the flames rage and the heat stormed about, the lustre of the skeleton only increased in brilliance.

Dum!

A hammer split the sky apart and came down with a crushing force. A runic character was present on its face and before long, it landed on the skull of the skeleton!

Bang!

However, the skeleton didn’t crack like in the past. Instead, the lustre it shone with increased in intensity until a faint silver could be seen.

Rumble!

“What in blazes!?” Following that last hammer strike that drove the last rune of the Bone Chapter into Long Di’s skeleton, tempering it to the jade level, the area where the forge was located experienced a powerful quake!

When he extended his own senses to the limit, he realised that this phenomenon was caused by Long DI!

“Can this brat not cause such a scene every time he does something!?”

The world of fire was a separate world, accessible only through the forge. The mere fact that whatever was happening to Long Di was able to affect the outside world to this extent was no small feat!

Long Di’s soul and his fleshly body had now recombined and became whole once more. His expressionless face gave no clue as to what he thought of his current predicament, but he was fairly sure that he had an eternal grudge with this forge.

No one should have to go through this just to get stronger. That was some insane levels of sadomasochism and he wanted no part of it.

Click!

Suddenly, his body trembled and he felt as if something was unlocked deep within.

Whoosh!

A unique stream of energy erupted from the depths of his body! It filled his body with terrifying levels of strength, making him feel as if he could lift Thor’s Hammer… even if he wasn’t worthy.

Dum!

Without his will, his cauldrons burst into existence behind him. All nine of them spun furiously behind him.

They absorbed the abundant fire-attributed spiritual qi in the environment in order to use it to their advantage.

Though Long Di didn’t cultivate any fire-related cultivation techniques, the properties of the cauldrons began to transform and could now use this energy for their own benefit.

Suddenly, all nine cauldrons stopped rotating simultaneously, the energy they absorbed roiled within them like a berserk dragon!

Nonetheless, the cauldrons remained steadfast like nothing could escape their grasp!

Vrrrmm!

They all trembled slightly before the cauldrons became transparent, like nine clear crystals.

Hong!

The crystal then darkened as if the previous grade it occupied was fighting to regain its original supremacy! It was this conflict that led to the current situation where it seemed like heaven would fall… at least in the forge’s world.

Normally, when one awakened a special-grade physique, this change would normally affect the cauldrons as well. Even if the cauldron was of the highest known grade, which was Sterling grade, the special physique, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would still transform the cauldron to match the appropriate physique.

For the grade that Long Di achieved, actually managing to fight back in the face of his cauldron’s transformation would immediately send the world into an uproar if they were to know.

They alternated between crystal clear and dark for a while before they reached an equilibrium where they resembled cauldrons finely crafted from black crystal. Even though they were dark, they were still transparent and gave off a divine beauty and aura.

Cling! Cling! Cling…

Several tinkling sounds came from the cauldrons before dots of light appeared within each one. As this took place, dots of light appeared all over Long Di’s body as well. Both the body and his cauldrons seemed boundless, as if they were the high heavens themselves, as if they could contain this entire world and all who lived within it.

Once the cauldrons finally settled, the dots of light faded from Long Di’s body, and everything returned to relative normalcy.

“Gah!”

The runic chains dragged him from the forge and before long, he was sent to the outside world, where Uncle Tian Lu was busy forging away.

“Little demon, if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you are intentionally trying to make this old man fail in his forging attempt,” Uncle Tian Lu said with a sullen expression.

He had to push his concentration to the limit just to make sure he didn’t fail and create an irreparable error in the creation of his weapon.

“Your cauldrons are different now! To be honest, I had thoughts that your black cauldrons were a special grade, but it seems I was wrong and that this is their true form. Incredible.”

Uncle Tian Lu saw Long Di’s cauldron and realised that they were a far cry from what they were before.

However, Long Di was aware of all the changes his cauldrons went through. So he made sure to advise Uncle Tian Lu of his previous grade contesting against the special grade’s transformation.

Uncle Tian Lu revealed a look of shock when he heard what Long Di said. “To think that there exists such a grade that it can contend against the special grade’s transformation.”

Don’t let Uncle Tian Lu fool you. He is the legacy disciple of the Hellfire Forge Sect, an ancient existence that stood strong throughout several generations. He was obviously aware of many things, yet even he was surprised by Long Di’s recount.

The transformation of a cauldron was rare enough, but for it to have met a match where both sides decided to compromise was something he never even heard of. After all, the transformation was something that happened when a special physique awakened within an individual.

Many physiques awakened naturally and with time in response to the slightest stimuli. A perfect example would be Qin Ling, who awakened her Cold Heart True Ice Physique after her destiny was exposed and the heavens acknowledged her.

Other persons who were not so lucky may require stronger stimuli to trigger the awakening. This was what happened in Long Di’s case.

By starting the cultivation of somatic essence in addition to the spiritual qi that he cultivated, this forcefully awakened the true abilities of the Profound Myriad Heavenseize Physique, otherwise, this would have ended with his death the minute somatic essence started to circulate within his body.

“Try to circulate the somatic essence within your body,” ordered Uncle Tian Lu.

“En.” Long Di complied.

With just a thought, a unique type of energy, different from the spiritual qi within him began circulating, rushing through his body and his main meridians.

His aura quickly transformed from being somewhat lofty and dignified to stable and heavy.

Shu! Shu! Shu!

As he made a few practice punches, the air warped in response to his movements. At this moment, Long Di was also a body cultivator.

Uncle Tian Lu nodded in satisfaction before he revealed a mild expression of shock when he realised Long Di’s current strength, but he quickly regained his composure.

“You sure are talented in everything, aren’t you?”

“What makes you say that?” asked Long Di.

“Hm. You’ll figure it out,” Uncle Tian Lu didn’t say too much. “Come here for a second,” he quickly beckoned his disciple over.

“What is it?”

Uncle Tian Lu stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Can you please put some clothes on? You can use spiritual qi again, there is no need to withstand the heat of the forge with your bare body for now.”

“Oh, is that right?”

That’s right, Long Di was still buck naked this entire time. He quickly found himself in Uncle Tian Lu’s robe’s pockets, fishing around for his storage rings.

If anyone else saw this scene, eyebrows would be raised and Uncle Tian Lu would be quickly rebuked and condemned by the masses. Luckily, it was just the two of them here.

Before long, Long Di took out storage rings. He then generated a spiritual qi shield around himself before he took out a fresh robe to wear.

“I need to buy a robe for myself, that’s more… me,” Long Di decided.

He then looked towards the item that Uncle Tian Lu was forging once more when an idea suddenly came to mind. “I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“****”

When Uncle Tian Lu heard Long Di’s request, the former’s expression turned grave. “Are you aware of what you’re asking?”

“Is it not enough?” Long Di asked.

“There is enough, but there is a clear distinction between the two. You will not have an easy time walking this path,” advised Uncle Tian Lu.

“I don’t care,” said Long Di apathetically.

“Fine.” Uncle Tian Lu agreed to Long Di’s request, hoping the latter wouldn’t regret it in the future.

“Oh, yes. Before I forget,” Uncle Tian Lu nearly slapped himself as he said this.

Without any warning, Uncle Tian Lu placed his finger on Long Di’s forehead. The former’s finger lit up for a moment before it dimmed shortly, prompting that he had finished inputting what he wanted.

“What did you-”

“I have just given you the second defining treasure of the Hellfire Forge Sect.”

Long Di felt something strange welling up inside him when he heard Uncle Tian Lu, “I have one reasonable question in the face of this.”

“The very structure of that statement coming from you lets me know that your question is anything but reasonable.”

“It’s a matter of utmost concern for me.”

“I feel like this is a barefaced lie… what is your question?” Uncle Tian Lu knew he wouldn’t win in an argument with Long Di, so he told him what he felt in the beginning and immediately moved to the end result of what their argument would be. Which would be him agreeing to answer Long Di’s question.

Long Di nodded in satisfaction when he saw this. This is what should happen, people moving to the end result of the argument so we can cut out the middleman.

Long Di would certainly ask a question that wouldn’t let Uncle Tian Lu down. He readied himself and asked this esteemed master of his, “Does your second defining treasure make me a sadomasochist, by any chance? Now I won’t say no to it, but are there any side effects I should know about?”

“…”