Chapter Fourteen: The Duel of Swords and the Shock

“Who goes next?”

The remaining three exchanged glances, and finally, Gu Zhiqiu raised his hand, about to speak, only to be interrupted by Su Yu.

“I’ll go!”

Everyone thought it over and nodded.

“Alright, it all comes down to this one tremble!”

Zhuang Zhuo shook his head.

“Brother Su might not necessarily lose.”

Su Yu smiled faintly, stepped forward, clasped his fists in salute.

“Su Yu!”

Li Tianjie’s expression grew serious.

“I remember you’re in the second tier.”

“Just got lucky to be a step ahead.”

A glint of battle intent appeared on Li Tianjie’s face; he was eager to test.

“Perfect, I want to see how strong your second tier really is. Let’s begin!”

With a thought, the crimson-flamed flying centipedes surrounding him scattered and lunged forward.

Su Yu opened his mouth and expelled a sword light that rapidly expanded into a ten-meter-wide sword rainbow, sweeping across the flying centipedes.

Faint sounds of wind and thunder echoed, causing the spectators on the fire spirit boat behind them to pause, some even jumping up in surprise and uncertainty.

“Sword Qi and Thunder Sound?”

“Is that for real?”

The sword rainbow, like a dragon, swirled through the flying centipede swarm twice, splitting two of the crimson-flamed centipedes in half as they fell.

Su Yu merged his sword fingers and deftly manipulated the flying sword, which darted among the centipedes like a nimble spirit.

Within mere seconds, eight centipedes were dead before they could even reach him. Li Tianjie, flustered, hastily commanded the centipedes to scatter, then unleashed a black gourd, releasing a black thread toward Su Yu.

Su Yu expanded his protective aura, blocking the oncoming black thread. Other spells and treasures were useless; he only channeled his mana. The icy sword trembled, radiating chilling energy. Two adjacent crimson-flamed centipedes slowed as the sword light circled them, and five damage numbers flashed. The centipedes were split into three segments and fell.

“Damn, that swordsmanship!”

Shi Ning, Meng Chen, and others were thrilled, while Zhuang Zhuo wore a proud smile.

“I told you, Brother Su is incredibly formidable.”

“More than formidable—Sword Qi and Thunder Sound!”

“Damn, he awakened the swordsmanship realm in just a month. Brother Su is about to take off.”

In no time, over a dozen crimson-flamed flying centipedes lay dead. Li Tianjie, clutching his remaining centipedes in pain, loudly declared:

“I admit defeat!”

Su Yu retracted the ice soul sword, clasped his fists respectfully.

“Thank you for the match!”

Then he turned and bowed toward the fire spirit boat behind, asking:

“Who’s next?”

Only then did Li Hai come to his senses, smiling and waving his hand.

“No need to continue; you’ve won. This place belongs to you.”

“Captain, the two of us haven’t—”

Before the other two newcomers could finish, several veterans covered their mouths. Li Hai smiled at Su Yu.

“It’s fine, we’ll leave first.”

The group boarded the ship and quickly departed.

“Boss, why didn’t you let us go? We’re also second tier. Just beating that one is enough.”

On the flying boat, one newcomer displayed obvious dissatisfaction.

Li Hai glanced at him and shook his head.

“Don’t be rebellious; you definitely can’t beat him.”

“So what if his swordsmanship is advanced? Everyone’s cultivation is about the same now, and abilities aren’t much different. Why assume the two of us can’t win?”

“Why? Heh heh.”

Li Hai glanced at his rebellious younger brother and patiently explained:

“Do you know what awakening the swordsmanship realm means at this stage?”

“What does it mean?”

“It’s also called the Foundation of the Sword Immortal, a ticket to the sect, entry into the elite club, and a candidate for the guild’s senior ranks.”

“A newcomer who awakens the swordsmanship realm within three years of awakening—barring premature death—will at least become a well-known expert, hold a high position in a sect, and if things go well, has the chance to pass the heavenly tribulation and ascend to a wandering immortal with centuries of life, becoming a regional overlord.”

“He hasn’t risen yet. It’s best to make friends now. If we offend him, it won’t be good for us later.”

“Really? Is he that powerful?”

“More than you can imagine.”

“After all, he awakened the swordsmanship realm just a month ago. The probability of ascending to wandering immortal is quite high.”

He didn’t say the last part aloud but turned back to open his panel. Seeing his recently sent friend request accepted, he quickly sent a message:

“Brother Su, this time it’s my fault. I owe you a favor. If you ever need help, just say the word.”

A brief reply came:

“Brother Li, you flatter me.”

“No need for pleasantries. You found this place first; I was just greedy.”

“...”

Closing the communication, Su Yu sighed.

The drastic change left him somewhat speechless.

Still, it demonstrated just how extraordinary it was to awaken the swordsmanship realm early.

With no interruptions, the five of them discussed briefly and began clearing the island’s eastern side of insect monsters.

The island housed no spirits, only insect monsters, ranging from level ten to thirty. Their numbers were vast, often swarming in groups.

If Su Yu were alone, it would be troublesome. Though his flying sword was sharp, facing thousands of insect monsters was daunting.

But Zhuang Zhuo and the others specialized in Gu (insect) magic, each wielding a hundred-insect banner. Together, they could gather hundreds of various Gu insects, enough to hold off the monster swarms.

They spent nearly a full day clearing from east to west. Twice they encountered passersby, but upon seeing them engage, those travelers abandoned the area.

The next day, the five gathered before the island’s central spirit eye. Shi Ning circled it, astonished.

“Hmm, there should be a boss here.”

The spirit eye rested in a large pit; the stones at the bottom were polished smooth by something, with scattered fine scales resembling snake scales.

“Probably cleared earlier. It hasn’t respawned yet.”

“Who cares? Once we set up a base, bosses won’t spawn here.”

Zhuang Zhuo circled and reported:

“My plan is to build a small base first. Later, I’ll return to hire craftsmen to construct the base and then set up Gu refining pits.”

He glanced at the group and said solemnly:

“I roughly calculated the cost: materials and craftsmen fees total about ten taels of gold, so each pays two taels.”

“Additionally, blueprints are needed for the Gu refining pits. A small pit’s blueprint costs four taels, a medium pit twelve taels. We plan to build one medium and two small pits, totaling twenty taels. Adding materials and craftsmen fees, around twenty-five taels in total.”

“The total investment is thirty-five taels of gold, split evenly; each pays seven taels.”

The five exchanged looks. Shi Ning, Gu Zhiqiu, and others nodded.

“Agreed!”

“I’m fine with that.”

When it was Su Yu’s turn, he said:

“I don’t have that much cash, but I have over three hundred guild contributions. I can exchange for a small Gu refining pit blueprint and some materials. I’ll pay the rest in cash.”

“Of course, that works. We have to buy everything anyway.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and discussed which parts to pay with contributions and which with money.

After the discussion, Zhuang Zhuo, Shi Ning, and Gu Zhiqiu stayed to guard the site, while Su Yu and Meng Chen returned to the guild’s swamp base to exchange for materials.

Back at the base, Su Yu spent 200 guild contributions to exchange for a small Gu refining pit blueprint and another 150 contributions for materials, offsetting five gold taels. He only needed to pay two gold taels himself.

After these expenses, he was left with 62 taels of silver and 11 guild contributions—instantly back to near poverty.

With purchases done, the two returned with lots of materials and five hired craftsmen.

What followed was a vigorous construction project. They used spells to clear the central area of trees, level the ground, and the craftsmen began hammering and assembling the base.

Materials were transformed using craftsmen’s unique spells. They leveled the ground, dug foundations, reshaped irregular stones into uniform one-meter-long green slabs, and inscribed radiant runes into the stones to enhance their strength.

After all, this was a world of immortals and swords; the monsters were formidable demons and spirits. Ordinary stone walls wouldn’t hold them.

Only stones and wood refined by secret methods could withstand their assaults.

In just two days, a wall about thirty meters high and nine meters wide was erected.

Two more days saw thick stone slabs laid across the ground.

Then they set locations for the Gu refining pits: the medium pit atop the central spirit eye, flanked by two small pits.

Around the perimeter, they built residences, warehouses, and a small plaza for visitors.

Su Yu didn’t stay at the base every day; the five took turns watching the construction, while others went to the island’s edges to hunt monsters and level up.

One must both build their venture and strengthen their skills.

Every day, early to late, they returned to see great changes in their base.

By noon on the seventh day, the base was officially completed.

They gave each craftsman a red envelope and sent them on their way. The five stood excitedly at the base.

“Now we have our own foundation.”

“Quick, let’s start refining some Gu. I’m getting impatient.”

They crowded before the medium Gu refining pit at the base’s center. It was a massive cauldron embedded underground, roughly fifty meters in diameter. Its inner walls were forged from high-strength metal, as sturdy as flying sword artifacts, ensuring no Gu insects could break out.

It also had a huge metal lid nearly a meter thick, with many hollow slots designed for placing refining materials.

Gu Zhiqiu rubbed his hands excitedly.

“What should we refine first? I have a batch of blood-beard mosquito eggs. Want to try with those?”

“Sure, cheap enough that failure won’t hurt.”

“I’ll go.”

He took out a gourd, opened it, and poured countless bean-sized eggs into the slots on the lid.

Then he added other materials—essences from various spirits, medicinal herbs—into different slots, pressed his palm on the lid, and infused mana. The cauldron glowed faintly, exuding a dim blood-red spiritual light.

Normally, a Gu pit would only emit mist from the pre-placed herbs or essences.

But theirs had a spirit eye beneath, extracting spiritual energy to mix with the materials, enhancing their effects.

Then they waited. Gu Zhiqiu periodically poured more essence into the grooves. The eggs quickly hatched under the refining device’s influence, growing rapidly.

When they reached a certain stage, Gu Zhiqiu activated secret refining techniques, causing the blood-beard mosquitoes inside to turn violent and kill each other.

Thanks to the refining device, each Gu that killed a peer absorbed its essence, growing stronger.

Gu refining was a brutal contest of survival, determining the strongest and fated survivor.

After about the time to burn an incense stick, Gu Zhiqiu’s face lit up.

“It worked!”

He quickly formed seals to finish the refining, lifted the lid slightly, and shone a black bowl’s light inside. A blood-beard mosquito, fist-sized and glowing with dense blood light, flew out and entered the bowl.

“Let me see.”

They gathered around. Shi Ning also smiled.

“Not bad, it starts at level thirteen.”

“I remember normal blood-beard mosquitoes start at level ten.”

“Now it’s my turn.”

Shi Ning approached the cauldron, took out a sack, and poured in perhaps over a hundred finger-thick red blaze snakes.

Following the same procedure, after an incense stick’s time, the cauldron opened. From it, a three-meter-long red blaze snake emerged at level twenty-four.

“Not bad. We’re about to take off.”

Zhuang Zhuo and Meng Chen also tried their hand. Afterwards, the five returned to the main hall by the base’s edge to discuss rules and Gu pit assignments.

Simple rules: take turns using the pits, primary and secondary alike.

Thirty days in a month, each person gets six days.

Since Su Yu hadn’t learned Gu refining techniques yet, he couldn’t use the pits for now. They agreed that when the others finished refining their Gu and the pits began turning a profit, he would receive an additional allowance.

Though he lacked refining skills, he couldn’t be idle. He made a special trip to the guild headquarters, bought some items, and learned a livelihood skill—herbal gathering.

Herbal Gathering: allows one to collect spiritual herbs encountered while leveling, providing income.

He bought a Gu bag for collecting Gu insects.

Gu with levels couldn’t be collected, only unranked larvae, suitable for refining.

From the base’s founding to the ninth day, their small base finally got on track.

Zhuang Zhuo and others stayed daily to refine Gu, aiming first to complete their hundred-insect banners before focusing on profit.

Su Yu didn’t need to refine Gu and planned to level independently.

The others agreed readily.

“Of course. The monthly test starts in a month. You’re the strongest in our team; we’ll be counting on you.”

With plans settled, Su Yu left the base.

He found a shallow area nearby and dove into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.

Upon entering, his black water mysterious pearl glowed, creating a three-meter-diameter waterless space enveloping him as he sank.

The swamp waters were fairly clear, allowing visibility far ahead.

The Poisonous Mist Swamp was filthy and chaotic in shallow areas, rife with toxins, but some deep waters remained clean, inhabited by many aquatic spirit monsters.

Less than twenty meters underwater, he spotted a group of level forty black fish spirits swimming by. He immediately pointed his finger; the ice soul sword trailed a fine ice crystal, piercing the lake water, following the last fish spirit as it circled twice.

A flurry of damage numbers erupted.