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Chapter 201: The Big Iron Hammer

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Junior Leopard began to understand. Immortal Palace was a paramilitary organization of some sort. If clients requested a task or mission to be completed, which price was reasonable, Immortal Palace would accept the mission and receive the payment after completion.

“What kind of organization is Immortal Palace, really? Even a Level Nine expert like Wang She has become its member!” Clutching the notes worth twenty-three thousand silver in his arms, Junior Leopard rode an old, thin black horse. From the information he obtained from Jin Yuquan, Junior Leopard judged that this organization did not restrict the freedom of its members much. It only served as an intermediary, responsible for gathering and designating missions.

Yet the so-called members, in fact, were participants.

What differed from other paramilitary organizations was that this Immortal Palace had many experts whose cultivation all was over Level Seven. That was to say, only people whose cultivation was at least Level Seven could qualify to become one of its members.

Any member of Immortal Palace could take on a mission if they felt that the price was reasonable, and they could accept what they were required to do. This was the first type of mission. The second type was assigned missions. Either the difficulty in completing the mission was so high that only a few people within Immortal Palace could handle it, or the time frame in which to complete the mission was too tight, in which case, there would not be time to release the task formally, so the mission would be thrown to anyone available. Of course, the reward from an assigned mission was much greater than that of a normal mission. The mission they received, to travel to South Yuezhou state to seize the Blue Moon Pearl, was an example of an assigned mission: time was tight, the responsibility was great, and manpower was lacking. Jin Yuquan, therefore, grabbed Junior Leopard to be his helper.

As for the acceptance of new members, Immortal Palace differed from normal paramilitary organizations in that every new member was subjected to high requirements, and this very process was very secretive. Furthermore, prospective new members had to be recommended by official members of Immortal Palace.

For example, Junior Leopard was recommended by Wang She, but for now, Junior Leopard was not yet an official member.

On the other hand, from the words of Jin Yuquan, Junior Leopard became aware that members of Immortal Palace were divided into different classes. He knew of at least two. The first consisted of people like himself, recommended by an official member and temporarily called upon to complete a certain mission, in other words, probationary members under observation by the organization. The second was official members of Immortal Palace, consisting of people like Jin Yuquan and Wang She. Their cultivation was all above Level Seven and could benefit from Immortal Palace’s resources. They could freely accept missions they wanted or reject those they did not.

Of course, they could not reject every single mission. Each year, every member had to accept at least one mission. If there weren’t any missions that a member wanted, Immortal Palace would assign a mission to them. This way, they could retain their position as an official member and enjoy their right to freely take advantage of Immortal Palace’s resources.

The organization’s resources!

This was what Junior Leopard valued the most right now.

Immortal Palace, while it was a secretive and seemingly young organization, Junior Leopard discovered in shock that the organization’s hidden strength far exceeded what he had imagined after a few days of correspondence with them.

Considering only their contact points, they scattered across the entire Great Jin. The mortuary on the outskirts of Jiang City of Zhonghe Prefecture of Qianzhou, a small temple within the mountains of Shuzhou, a warehouse within Goldenrim Commandery of Yuezhou – these places all belonged to Immortal Palace. As for the place Junior Leopard and Jin Yuquan obtained their payment from, it was one of the three largest money manors of Great Jin, Tongji Money Manor.

Who knew what the relationship between the money manor and Immortal Palace was like?

Junior Leopard was only a temporary member then, so Jin Yuquan did not reveal too much to him. From the little bit of information he did reveal, Junior Leopard saw the tip of the iceberg that was the colossal amount of resources of which the organization controlled.

“If I became an official member, I would have the right to take advantage of Immortal Palace’s various resources!” Junior Leopard thought, and his interest in the mysterious Immortal Palace greatly increased.

“Should I make a visit back to Yunzhou, and see if I could finish practicing Extreme Yin Heavenly Sword? APoison Cold Shield also needs the Evil Qi to infuse the poison!”

Setting aside Immortal Palace’s affairs, Junior Leopard started to think about the benefits he gained from this journey. From his departure from Jiang City until the completion of the mission, including time spent on travel, slightly more than two months were used. He had told his subordinates that he would have closed-door training for half a year, which meant that he still had more than two months to himself.

“Never mind, this place is too far from Yunzhou. A journey to and fro would need a couple of months. If I were to include the time I need to practice as well, it’s obvious that I don’t have enough time! Moreover, after so many incidents recently, I really should settle down and return to Jiang City!”

He thought back to the chaos he and Golden Rooster caused within Jianghu these two months: it was a complete mess they created.

Of course, this was mainly because of Golden Goose Cup’s appearance.

Golden Goose Cup had appeared in the world once again causing a huge commotion. It was eventually obtained by a mysterious black-cloaked person who never appeared again. The entire Wulin was furiously searching everyone for this character, trying to guess his identity, and even Junior Leopard’s alternative identity was one of their guesses.

In order to remove any trace of his connection with this matter, Junior Leopard utilized his abilities to the greatest extent on this journey. After separating from Jin Yuquan, he started to make use of Three Realms Division without any regard for his injuries. Every time he used it, he only rested for half a day before he traveled on a horse at an incredible speed and then used it once more when his body recovered. Through his efforts, he managed to travel two thousand li within four days. He slowed down only after he returned to Qianzhou of Great Jin, parading on the road riding his horse, not bothering to cover his tracks at all.

This way, no one would connect Golden Goose Cup and the events at Goldenrim Commandery with Junior Leopard.

Because he had appeared in Shuzhou once, the time was just about right for him to travel from Jiang City to Shuzhou and back to Jiang City again. No one would think that he went to Yuezhou during this period because there simply wasn’t enough time!

In the eyes of others, Junior Leopard’s movements were obvious and easy to understand. Originally, he intended to have closed-door training. When the news of the Golden Goose Cup’s appearance emerged, as a person of Wulin, his interest in it was natural. He decided to travel to Shuzhou to try his luck. Because of the Golden Goose Cup, there were countless hopeful people just like him.

In the end, just like anyone else, Junior Leopard did not get lucky and could only return home with empty hands.

There was nothing, absolutely nothing, left for others to suspect.

……

……

“Your Excellency, you’ve ended your closed-door training?!”

Sitting on the first ship heading towards River Heart Island, Junior Leopard was received by Wang Cheng, Jiang Xiao, Zhu Ba, and a few others who came up as soon as he alighted.

“Are you making fun of me for having made this trip in vain?” Junior Leopard looked at him, a glimmer of anger in his eyes.

“No, I wouldn’t dare to say that!” Zhu Ba said, but not a sliver of panic showed on his face.

Standing at one side, Jiang Xiao and the others shook their heads silently. They really could not understand why Junior Leopard got along so well with that bastard.

“Your Excellency, it’s great that you have returned. It has been quite eventful recently. Without you, we really have no idea what to do!” Jiang Xiao stepped forward and said respectfully.

“Well, there sure have been many important events within Jianghu recently. Has anything significant happened in Jiang City as well?” Junior Leopard asked inadvertently.

“A new Garrison came!”

“What, a new Garrison?”Junior Leopard’s eyes shone,”Who is he? What’s his background?”

“We don’t know, but he is quite young, just above thirty, and it looks like he won’t be easy to handle,” Jiang Xiao said quietly, following behind Junior Leopard as they walked back to River Heart Island’s barrack, “Furthermore—!”

“Well, what?” Seeing that Jiang Xiao was reluctant to speak, Junior Leopard raised his eyebrows, “If you want to say something, say it! Don’t be a sissy!”

“When this Garrison first arrived, he gathered everyone for a discussion. Your Excellency wasn’t here, so he said that you are too arrogant, and therefore, your position needs to be replaced!” As he finished speaking, he glanced at Junior Leopard out of the corner of his eye; he could not help but fear that Junior Leopard might suddenly let out his anger after hearing his words.

Junior Leopard’s expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly. After he was done, Junior Leopard smiled and asked, “What else?”

“What else…?!”

Seeing that Junior Leopard’s expression did not change, Jiang Xiao’s worries were mostly gone, and he praised Junior Leopard silently in his heart. “Though he looks young and frivolous, he has a calm and mature personality that does not match his young age. It is as if nothing in the world will bother him.” These thoughts made Jiang Xiao feel ashamed.

“The Garrison has a great interest in River Heart Island. It seems that he is unsatisfied with just building a drill ground here. He might want to interfere with our matters!”

“Interfere with us? Well, first he has to deal with me. During this period, he has tried to cause trouble for us, hasn’t he?”

“Yes!” Jiang Xiao smiled wryly, “This Garrison has come to River Heart Island many times trying to tell us what to do.”

“Even if he is Jiang City’s Garrison, the navy of Jiang City and the Guard of Jiang City have always had a policy of non-interference. Furthermore, he is new here. What reason does he have to challenge us?”

“Well, it’s all because of Shopkeeper Ding of Southern Bay Warehouse. He went to the Garrison Mansion to complain about us, saying that the navy was undisciplined, eliciting money from passing merchants. All those with the family name Ding are effing bastards!”

“Really?!” Hearing the words “Southern Bay Inn”, Junior Leopard raised his eyebrows, “Alright, I understand. Jiang Xiao, send someone to invite the Wu Family ironware shop’s supervisor onto the island!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!” Jiang Xiao’s eyes shone for a moment as he understood Junior Leopard’s intention. “Right, I almost forgot, Your Excellency, three days ago, the Wu Family delivered a gift for you!”

“A gift?!” Junior Leopard glanced at Jiang Xiao and found that when he mentioned the word “gift”, he and the others’ expressions became very weird. “Take me to see it!”

The gift from Wu Family had been sent to the courtyard Junior Leopard was living in. Though he hadn’t lived there for two months, it was still very tidy.

As soon as they arrived within the courtyard, a flash of silver suddenly appeared, and Little Du sprinted out from within the courtyard, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. It looked extremely happy.

“Haha, the little guy has grown larger!” Stroking Little Du’s smooth silver fur, Junior Leopard smiled, “Zhu Ba, it looks like you have taken good care of it!”

“Your Excellency, I’m afraid I didn’t do anything much. Little Du is extremely intelligent. When you left, he didn’t stay on the island for long. He caused much trouble for the wild beasts outside Jiang City!” Zhu Ba laughed and said. While Junior Leopard did instruct him to take care of Little Du when he left, Little Du, a beast with high intelligence and great power, didn’t need anyone to take care of it at all. Therefore, Zhu Ba didn’t dare take the credit for himself.

“Haha. Oh right, have you married your wife already?!”

“No, of course not. I was waiting for Your Excellency to exit training!” Zhu Ba said. “I’ve already waited such a long time, so it doesn’t matter if I wait a while more. But, Your Excellency, this time you won’t leave us again, right?!”

“What do you mean by that?!”

Although he knew that Zhu Ba didn’t have any bad intentions, what he said really did sound strange to his ears.

“Your Excellency, it is here!”

The four of them had already arrived at the eastern room without realizing it. The eastern room was a guest room, and Junior Leopard had never stayed there before. Now, an additional huge chest was present in a corner of the guest room.

“This is the thing?!”

Upon seeing the chest, Junior Leopard vaguely knew what was in it!

“Yes, Your Excellency, this is it!” Jiang Xiao said, walking over to the chest and lifting the cover, “Your Excellency, please take a look!”

“Hmm, nice!” Junior Leopard nodded with satisfaction in his eyes.

Within the chest was an Iron Hammer. This hammer, forged from steel, was enormous. Entirely black, it emanated a certain ferocious spirit.

This was precisely the request he had expressed in his reply to Wu Family Head, Wu Yansheng’s, letter when he became an elder of the Wu Family: he needed a new weapon.

While the hammer looked ordinary, the materials used to forge it were all extremely high quality. Even with the resources of the Wu Family, only a single hammer could be made!

Why was this the case?

Because Junior Leopard’s requirements for the hammer’s weight was much too high — more than five hundred kilograms!

Within this world, the number of things exceeding five hundred kilograms was not small, but it was rare to have a weapon that heavy. It could even be said that there wouldn’t be one made in a few hundred years. A weapon is meant to be used by people, so it had to be light enough to be held. Of course, that didn’t mean that someone couldn’t lift such a heavy weapon. In this world, the martial arts skills cultivated both the inner qi and the outer physical strength of a person. Someone at Level Three or Four could lift five hundred kilograms without difficulty. The problem was that, for someone to use the weapon, its size couldn’t be too large. The hammer, while it was meant to be substantial, still couldn’t be too big. Besides, who would want to lift a one-meter diameter hammer?

In fact, even if the diameter was one meter, and it was completely made of raw metal, the weight may not be able to fulfill Junior Leopard’s requirements. Junior Leopard clearly stated in his letter to Wu Yansheng his requirements for the hammer. To fulfill Junior Leopard’s requirement for weight while limiting the size was a matter that caused much consternation. Only the Wu Family, well-known for its weapon-smelting, could gather all the materials and find suitable craftsmen in such a short time. Even so, in a letter addressed to Junior Leopard delivered together with the hammer, Wu Yansheng covertly expressed his complaints. This time, Wu Family had exhausted their means in creating this hammer for him, which implied that Wu Family expected Junior Leopard to contribute to Wu Family when they needed his help.

After reading the letter, Junior Leopard’s only reaction was to smile for a moment. He folded the letter, put it back into his envelope, and slid it into his chest pocket. He then turned his attention to the hammer.

“Well, all my requirements have basically been fulfilled,” Junior Leopard said softly, his hand reaching towards the chest, grasping the handle of the hammer.

A hammer weighing more than five hundred kilograms, 862.5 kilograms, to be precise. While the Wu Family did their best to limit the size, it was still an enormous object. The handle was as thick as a child’s arm, with carvings covering its surface. Junior Leopard greatly enjoyed the feeling of the hammer in his hand. In a single movement, the hammer was lifted into the air.

“Sss—-!” Junior Leopard lifted the hammer and swung it around a few times. Though he was only doing so lightly, the wind created by the movement caused Wang Cheng and the others to take a few steps backward. Seeing Junior Leopard swing it around as if it was as light as a piece of grass, they breathed in sharply.

After the hammer was delivered, they had all tried their hands on it out of curiosity. They had cultivation at Level Three and had enough power to lift it up, but none of them were able to swing it around.

The weight of the hammer exceeded five hundred kilograms, but if someone wanted to swing it, the strength requirement on one’s body was much more than five hundred, or even a thousand kilograms. Within the three of them, Zhu Ba had the most strength, but even he could only lift it up and swing it slightly to the side. After that, his entire body was exhausted, and he almost sprained his back remaining in this state for an entire two days.

Now, they watched Junior Leopard lift the hammer and swing it around like a piece of grass. A five hundred kilogram heavy hammer in Junior Leopard’s hands looked like it weighed nothing at all. The wind brought out by the hammer clearly told them that the thing in Junior Leopard’s hands was not a piece of grass. It was a deadly weapon that was almost a thousand kilograms heavy.

Just thinking about the consequences of getting hit by such a weapon, the three of them shivered. When they glanced at Junior Leopard again, there was a newfound fear in their eyes. They had even more respect and fear for him, and it was difficult for them to have any thoughts about going against Junior Leopard anymore.

“What a great hammer this is!” He grasped the hammer feeling its weight in his hands, “It’s been a long time since I last used them. That bastard Li Xiu, how dare he destroy my hammers that time!!”

Hammers were his weapon. They were the first weapon he came into contact with and also the first weapon he practiced. He even gained insight into hammers once.

It is said that gaining insight was something that rarely happened. If a person had a chance to gain insight once in his life, they should thank the heavens. Junior Leopard didn’t believe this previously.

Maybe it was because his insight came to him too easily when he was too young, so in his unconscious mind, he had a ridiculous thought. He thought that since he was a time-traveler, he was the protagonist. Gaining insight was something that was difficult for others but was very common and natural for himself.

Of course, when he had this thought, he was still young and did not have an understanding of how the world works. After all these years of experience, he finally understood that gaining insight was an experience that he should treasure. He hadn’t even utilized fully the benefits he gained from that time. Especially, when his cultivation increased above Level Three, every time he practiced his punching skill, the feeling when he gained insight many years back appeared in his mind. Every time he had this feeling, his understanding of punching and hammering skills would deepen.

Only with his cultivation increasing daily, he had fewer and fewer opportunities to experience that feeling. Ever since the twin hammers were destroyed by Li Xiu, this was the first time he held a hammer. And when his right hand lifted the hammer, the familiar feeling returned once again.

After he swung the black Iron Hammer a couple of times, the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Technique began to circulate within his body. A reddish gold light traveled from his arm directly into the hammer, and a reddish gold image of a dragon was intertwined above the hammer.

“Is that—! ”

Before Wang Cheng and the others could react, the Iron Hammer in Junior Leopard’s hands swung vertically upwards.

“Hong!” With a huge sound, the roof of the eastern room was blown to pieces. Junior Leopard let out a roar, his body rising suddenly, releasing huge amounts of Qi Power around him. As he rose higher and higher, the Qi Power became more and more intense. Before long, the tiny courtyard was enveloped in his scorching Fist Intent.

“Leave! Now!”

Among the three, Zhu Ba had the highest cultivation level and also the broadest horizons. When he saw the situation turn, he dragged Wang Cheng and Jiang Xiao outside the courtyard as fast as he could.

The moment they stepped out of the courtyard, they heard a huge “whoosh” behind them. What they saw when they turned back frightened them out of their wits. They ran dozens of feet away before stopping.

The courtyard Junior Leopard lived in was already encased in a black tornado. The courtyard was mostly in pieces. Large sections of it were sucked into the tornado. Within the raging winds, a reddish golden glow appeared. Three Fire Dragons were intertwined around the tornado. They danced with the wind, screeching and baring their claws.

Within the tornado, sounds of laughter could be heard, growing louder and louder. The intensity of the winds increased with the volume of the laughter, and the reddish golden glow became brighter as well. The three Fire Dragons shot skywards until they were more than a hundred feet high. The ground below them shook.

“Oh my heavens, what is His Excellency doing?!”

Jiang Xiao sucked in a breath sharply, watching the black raging winds in the courtyard that looked like it was going to destroy everything as he murmured to himself.

“I think he is practicing his hammer. But, this, is way too much!”