Stranger Danger

Chapter 319: Strange Artifact Tribulation

Chapter 319: Strange Artifact Tribulation

“This is the Martial Tower?”

Ye Qing sounded puzzled as he stared at the ordinary, old, downright decrepit pagoda in front of him. This was not what he had imagined when he heard about it.

“Yes, it might look a little... shabby, but it’s definitely the Martial Tower,” Lin Yuhuai answered. “A mountain is tall, but you only give it a name if a celestial lives in it. The Martial Tower was an ordinary pagoda until the Martial Emperor completed his Way in it. That was how it came to be recognized as the Martial Tower.”

“Alright. Let’s stop wasting time,” Gu Suitang urged before walking up to an old man sweeping the floor in front of the Martial Tower and saluting him. “Three Pacification Bureau disciples would like to enter the Martial Tower, Old Shen[1]. Can you please open the Martial Tower for them?”

Old Shen slowly turned around and swept his glance across Ye Qing, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai. His old, wrinkly face squeezed into a smile as he asked, “Are they the ones?”

Gu Suitang replied in a respectful tone, “Yes, they are.”

“Not bad. They are all excellent seedlings.” Old Shen smiled and shambled his way over to the door. Then, he removed a set of keys from his waist and unlocked the door.

The instant the door was unlocked, a terrifying spiritual pressure swept out of the Martial Tower like a shockwave. It was like a sick cat had suddenly turned into a ferocious tiger. Ye Qing’s face paled a little, but he quickly recovered. However, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai felt suffocated and nearly dropped to their knees.

Old Shen stood at the forefront, but he couldn’t seem to feel the shockwave. He pressed a wrinkly hand on the door and slowly pushed it open.

The more the door opened, the greater the pressure became. If the initial pressure was just a storm, then it was now a raging river.

“The door is open. You may enter now.”

Old Shen stepped aside and smiled at the trio.

“The entrance to the Martial Tower is now open. Whether you can enter it and grasp your opportunity... is up to you.” Gu Suitang was also smiling at them, though his was a sly, shit-eating grin.

The trio barely resisted the urge to roll their eyes. You could’ve told us that we would need to be tested before we are allowed to enter the Martial Tower!

Gu Suitang’s grin widened as he basked in their aggrieved expressions. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who set the rules. Plus, if you can’t even withstand this amount of pressure, you’re just going to die inside the Martial Tower. I’m doing this for your own good.”

Like hell we’re gonna believe your lies, you shitty old man!

This time, they did roll their eyes. Still, they didn’t hesitate to walk toward the Martial Tower.

Ye Qing pressed a finger on his forehead and pulsed his demonic lotus. Demonic thought immediately flooded out like a river and neutralized the spiritual pressure permeating the air. Then, he slowly walked toward the Martial Tower like he was taking a leisurely stroll at a beautiful meadow.

Right before he entered the door, Ye Qing turned back and shot Gu Suitang a smug look. The Martial Tower’s spiritual pressure was strong, but not strong enough to truly pressure him yet.

“This brat...” Gu Suitang shook his head.

Old Shen’s eyes also flickered with a hint of surprise and curiosity.

Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai weren’t Spirit Purifiers, and they didn’t possess a powerful cultivation art that gave them immense mental strength like the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. Therefore, both men were pale-faced and sweating buckets.

They didn’t give up, however. They slowly but surely made their way toward the entrance.

Every time Lin Yuhuai took a step, a yellow talisman would fall from the sky and draw ripples

Every time Chu Nianjiu took a step, snow would fall, and ice would freeze the ground.

It wasn’t easy, but the duo were ultimately able to make it to the entrance through sheer willpower.

As soon as Lin Yuhuai and Chu Nianjiu entered the building, the door immediately slammed shut behind them. The terrible pressure permeating the air was gone as well.

“The kids this time are pretty great.” Old Shen commented after the door was shut. “That kid named Joyless is especially exceptional.”

“By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know what cultivation art he practices, would you?”

Gu Suitang shook his head.

Old Shen was surprised by this. “You don’t know? I thought he ascended to the Spirit Purification stage using one of our cultivation arts?”

Gu Suitang answered, “No, he ascended while he was inside the Demon’s Tomb. He probably obtained the inheritance of a venerable senior or something. Is that a problem?”

“He entered the Demon’s Tomb? No wonder.” Old Shen exclaimed in realization. “I just noticed that his spiritual power is extremely unorthodox. One might even call it evil.”

Gu Suitang didn’t care. “There is no such thing as an evil skill or martial art, only evil men. So what if he practices a cultivation art of the Dark Ways? So long as he doesn’t use it to harm innocents, then all is well.”

“That may be true, but he’s really young. I’m worried that he would succumb to the temptation of power and stray off the right path,” Old Shen replied worriedly.

Gu Suitang chuckled. “He won’t. If he was anyone else, then I would share your worry. But not Joyless. I believe in him.”

Old Shen shook his head. “As long as you’re confident. I’m just voicing my concern, and it’s not like that the opinion of a lowly watchman matters.”

“A lowly watchman? Your jokes are getting funnier, Old Shen.” Gu Suitang smiled, and the conversation ended there.

Inside the Martial Tower, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai felt much lighter after the door was closed. The terrifying spiritual pressure had also decreased considerably. It wasn’t gone, but it was within their ability to endure.

The interior of the Martial Tower was surprisingly clean and minimalistic. There were no furniture, and there were only a handful of praying mats on the floor. They were clearly meant to sit on them.

Despite the minimalist interior, Ye Qing could sense a rich amount of origin energy and spiritual intent flowing inside the Martial Tower. The origin energy was unbelievably pure, and the spiritual intent contained various insights and understanding regarding the martial way and all sorts of martial arts. They were clearly left behind by the Martial Emperor himself.

Legend says that the Martial Emperor was a one-of-a-kind genius who was a master of all martial arts and magic. Not only that, he was also incredibly well-learned and knowledgeable.

He understood now why those who entered the Martial Tower experienced incredible growth. With such a potent spiritual intent, it would be impossible not to.

“You can literally feel the Martial Emperor’s strength just by perceiving this spiritual intent!” Chu Nianjiu sighed.

“Yes, only a champion like the Martial Emperor could leave behind such a miracle,” Lin Yuhuai echoed in agreement.

Ye Qing wanted to voice a compliment or two as well, but when the words traveled to his mouth, it turned into, “Yeah, he’s strong as fuck!”

Chu Nianjiu: “...”

Lin Yuhuai: “...”

It might’ve been better if you didn’t speak.

Ye Qing realized that he had ruined the atmosphere as well and coughed, “Ahem, let’s start training already. Don’t forget that we only have ten days.”

The duo agreed. They quickly sought out a suitable praying mat, sat down, and began their training.

......

Creak...

When you get absorbed in training, you lose track of time pretty quickly. Ten days came and went in the blink of an eye, and the door of the Martial Tower opened exactly on time. Not long after, Ye Qing, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai reluctantly returned to the real world.

“Not bad! You’ve both reached the Spirit Purification stage, Nianjiu, Yuhuai! Not bad at all!” Gu Suitang’s eyes lit up with delight.

Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai were clearly gladdened by their own progress. They saluted Gu Suitang deeply and said, “It’s all thanks to you, chief. We’re glad we’re able to meet your expectations.”

Next, Gu Suitang looked at Ye Qing. The young man’s cultivation level hadn’t increased at all, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t changed. For an instant, he noticed an air around Ye Qing that was as dark as the night and as bottomless as the abyss before it disappeared—no, it was more like it blended with its surroundings so as not to draw attention to itself.

How strange, Gu Suitang thought to himself but didn’t prod Ye Qing for details as a matter of course. “The three of you may take a day’s break. Tomorrow, you will tarvel to Tian Yong.”

“Tomorrow? Isn’t that a little too hasty?” Chu Nianjiu.

“Not at all. It is just right.” Gu Suitang answered, “There are twenty or so days left before the Hidden Dragon Meet, and I expect you to hone yourself even more as you make your way to Tian Yong. It will be a true test since Xiaoman and I won’t be shadowing you in secret thi time.”

“As you command.” Now they understood why Gu Suitang had only given them ten days to train in the Martial Tower. He had calculated everything.

“You may leave now.” Gu Suitang waved them away.

After the trio left the Martial Tower, Ye Qing bade his colleagues goodbye and made a beeline for the Artificing Department. He wanted to check if Old Zhang was done reforging the Blue Demon Hand. But as soon as he reached the entrance, he heard Old Zhang yelling, “Give me your blood essence now, Joyless!”

Ye Qing was speechless for a moment. Ayo, you want my blood the second I stepped through the door? The fuck’s going on in there?

“Blood essence, now!” Old Zhang urged again when he saw that Ye Qing wasn’t moving.

Realizing that it wasn’t a shitty prank, Ye Qing mustered a mouthful of blood essence in his throat and asked, “Weh wo you want wit?”

It took Old Zhang a second to understand that Ye Qing was asking, “Where do you want me to spit my blood?”

“That thing on that table! Spit on it immediately!”

Ye Qing looked. There was a black, ashen-colored item on the table. It looked like a glove, but it looked so ugly he could throw up on the spot.

His eyes bulged. It’s my Blue Demon Hand! My beautiful Blue Demon Hand! What did the old bastard do to you?!

“Just spit your fucking blood already!” Old Zhang was so impatient that he slapped Ye Qing in the back, causing him to throw up his fresh blood all over the glove.

As soon as his blood essence hit the glove, it gradually vanished as if it was being absorbed by the glove. The next moment, the glove shot right through the roof and into the sky.

At the same time, a dark cloud started gathering above the glove. Thunder cracked, and silver lightning bolts struck the glove again and again.

Every time a lightning bolt struck, the blackness enveloping the glove would decrease just a little. Then, the glove emitted a ray of bluish black light, and pitch black flames rapidly expanded in every direction like clouds, shrouding half the sky. An odorless scent was also spreading from the flames.

The pitch black flames were extremely deadly. The buildings directly underneath it began melting and crumbling without a sound, and the surrounding grass and trees started withering rapidly as well. It was a horrifying sight to say the least.

“Get out, everyone! Do not come closer!” Old Zhang roared and made a grabbing motion. A restriction was activated, and invisible energies confined the black flames to a certain area.

Thankfully, the Artificing Department enjoyed a wide space and was situated at a fairly remote and unpopulated area. The artificers seemed to be used to this as well as they evacuated the area in an orderly area. Otherwise, it might have resulted in massive chaos and unnecessary death and destruction.

“That’s... a Strange Artifact Tribulation?!”

“Old Zhang must be refining something again.”

“It’s a high quality one too from the looks of it!”

“Heh, that depends if it survives its tribulation!”

“True enough. One thing for certain, Old Zhang is going broke again. Look at all that property damage... hehe.”

Outside the affected area, a bunch of Pacification Bureau members and artificers were watching the tribulation and gossiping about it. Some of their voices were full of schadenfreude.

1. Someone might wonder why I didn’t translate this as elder. It’s very simple. The Pacification Bureau is just way too different from your conventional sect in terms of structure. ?