"Seamless Mouth! It is the legendary Seamless Mouth." One of the disciples preparing to search for Ezio in the forest blurted out laughing.
"Little Ezio really has talent in slapping faces." Another chimed in with a burst of laughter as well. Tian Huang spat out a mouthful of blood where he was lying down.
Ezio smiled sinisterly and walked away dragging the Tiger. He also gave the Fatty a signal for him to take the Wind Grasses later on. After all, they were fellow art lovers. He couldn't expose him while everybody was there.
Not long after, Ezio arrived on the third floor of the mountain. He walked to the Elder Jie's Alchemy Room and waited patiently. He could see the flames of the cauldron burning inside. It was one of the biggest taboos to disturb an alchemy session. If the alchemist was distracted, it could lead to an explosion of the cauldron.
After twenty minutes, the flames started to die down. The odor of the medicine started to ooze out from the Alchemy Room. Just the smell was enough to stir Ezio's cultivation. He could feel the batch of pills Elder Jie had just concocted were really good medicines for cultivation.
Elder Jie opened the door and noticed the handsome young boy sitting on a Fire Tiger carcass. He couldn't help but be surprised, then a smile surfaced on his face.
"You have really done it, haven't you?" he asked playfully.
"Yep. I played them really well." Ezio accepted immediately. He took out the jar full of blood by touching his spatial scroll fakely. When the jar was out, the heat could be felt seeping out from it. As an alchemist, Elder Jie could recognize the tier of the blood.
"You arrived just in time, Ezio. I have just finished concocting the batch, and I was out of materials for my next session. Since you delivered it to me, I will let Management Hall know that you have completed the quest. Later, you can go and take your reward. I will also give you two of the pills I just concocted." Elder Jie said as he fished out a bottle with two pills.
"The name of the pill is Blood Qi Pill. It will help you to gather Qi in Heaven and Earth faster. With the pill, you can cultivate twice as fast with half the effort for three days. But there are impurities inside the pill, so don't use too much."
"Thank you Elder Jie for your grace," Ezio said gratefully, as he clasped his hand.
"No need to thank me, you did me a great favor." Elder Jie patted Ezio's shoulder. "I already delivered the Pristine Iron ingot. When you arrive at the Management Hall, you can receive it."
After leaving Elder Jie's Alchemy Room, Ezio walked into the Management Hall on the Third Floor. There were two Management Halls in the Sect. The first one was on the first floor, for Miscellaneous Disciples and Outer Sect Disciples. The second one was on the Third Floor, for Inner Sect Disciples, and Core Disciples. Because the quest to hunt a Fire Tiger was aimed at Qi Force Opening Realm cultivators, it was placed on the third floor.
Ezio walked in with the Tiger carcass and surprised the workers inside. He walked to a counter where a beautiful outer sect elder was sitting. He was fond of this Elder, but she never saw Ezio other than an adorable kid. "Oh, Little Ezio. What brought you here?" asked Elder Xu with a killer smile.
"Elder Xu, I am here to collect my reward. I have finished the Five Star Quest, Fire Tiger Blood." Ezio said as he delivered the voucher.
"Oh yes. I have just received a notice from Elder Jie that the quest has been accomplish—" Elder Xu froze for a second and jumped up. "You have finished the five-star quest?"
"Hmm." Ezio nodded. "I was lucky to run into a dying Fire Tiger when I was walking in the forest," Ezio said as he laughed.
"You sure are lucky. But since you have managed to finish it, you will get your reward alright." Elder Xu sat back as she started to close the quest. "You sure earned big this time, Little Ezio. Here are your rewards. A Pristine Iron ingot, 200 Merit Points, and 400 silvers or 4 golds.
Wow, aren't you rich?" Elder Xu joked as she delivered the rewards.
"How about I take you out to dinner with my earned money," Ezio asked cheekily.
"Hahaha, when you grow up older I will remind you of this. For now, you should focus on cultivation." Elder Xu said as she pinched Ezio's cheek.
'Damn you, woman! Treat me like a man!' Ezio wanted to shout but he held back. "Thank you, Elder Xu, I will remember your promise. When I grow older, I will take you out on a date."
"How about I sell this carcass to Management Hall?" Ezio asked when he was about to leave.
"Right. Let me see. Third Tier Demonic Beast, Pinnacle." Elder Xu rose from her seat and started to inspect the tiger. "There are too many cuts over the body so the fur is in bad condition. The rest are okay. I will give you 250 silver for it."
"Thank you, Elder Xu. See you later." Ezio winked and ran away.
Ezio really felt rich when he left the Management Hall. This time haul was plentiful. Not only did he pay back Tian Huang for his schemes, he even finished the quest without a hitch. Including the herb he found in the cave, he earned big.
Not dallying any further, Ezio reached the fourth floor, Elder Solon's forge. Elder Solon was waiting for him at the entrance. "Welcome back, little Ezio. I heard you did a number on Tian Huang again." Elder Solon was also in a good mood. He was fond of Ezio more than the Tian Family. They had their own forge after all, and they were competing. If Pristine Iron were to arrive in their hands, they would use it to humiliate both Ezio and Solon.
"He was asking for it. Trying to steal my reward, he should kneel and kowtow to me so that I don't cripple him." Ezio really felt angry when he heard Tian Huang was trying to steal his reward. Luckily he managed to steal it back. And lucky for Tian Huang, he wasn't fond of killing. Otherwise, he could bring wolves earlier, and pin them down between Tiger and Wolves. They would be lucky to die in one piece.
"Let's not delay it any further. I was meditating all night, and I am ready to forge you a dagger. Care to watch?" Solon asked Ezio. He would not let just anybody watch him forge, but Ezio had the aptitude and aspiration to learn the art. Solon was planning to teach him when he broke through to the Qi Force Opening Realm. After all, before this realm, it wasn't possible to forge.
"Thank you, Elder Solon. I would like to watch." Ezio agreed happily and followed Elder Solon to the inside of the Forge.
Ezio wasn't a stranger to forge. Even in his previous life, he was fond of cold weapons, as well as forging. He knew how to forge, on the book, but he was lacking first-hand experience. When he grew up to the age of 7, he asked Elder Solon to teach him. After all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Earlier he learned the art, the better he would be at it. But the reality was different from his expectations.
In the cultivation world, forging was not as simple as in the mortal world. The materials were special just like living things. Normal metals, such as iron, could be found, but they were useless nonetheless. An iron sword would not inflict the slightest damage to an 11 years old kid with a Qi Vortex Opening Realm cultivation. Instead, the sword would be torn to pieces.
Even the lowest rank of the Blacksmith Rank, Blacksmith Apprentice, couldn't be practiced before the Qi Force Opening Realm. Without Qi or Mana Force, no weapon could be forged.
Still, watching and learning from Elder Solon was a great boost to his growth in the occupation.
Elder Solon started by melting the Pristine Iron in the cauldron. Forge Signiums started to appear on the top of his head. One of them was in the shape of a humanoid with a hammer in hand and the second one was a forging hammer beating at the crimson fire. To Ezio's surprise, the third one appeared and it was giving a stronger aura than the previous two. It was a Cauldron full of yellow fire.
***
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