Chapter 17: The Forge Within
Shen Tianyu's eyes gleamed.
For the first time that evening...
He looked genuinely excited.
He pointed one claw toward Yun Che.
"There it was."
"You almost had me."
Yun Che exhaled heavily.
"Almost."
Tianyu laughed.
"Do you remember our very first spar?"
"You actually beat me."
Yun Che nodded.
"My wires."
"They were new."
"They were strange."
"I'd never fought anyone like you."
Tianyu shrugged.
"So I lost."
"But after a few matches..."
"I understood your style."
"And then..."
He spread his hands dramatically.
"I began educating you."
"You mean beating me."
"Same thing."
Several guards laughed.
Yun Che couldn't even argue.
That was exactly what had happened.
Tianyu flexed his shoulders.
"Again."
Yun Che picked up his sword.
"Don't forget the purpose of this spar."
Tianyu grinned.
"Of course I haven't."
The grin slowly disappeared.
His icy blue eyes became frighteningly calm.
"Now..."
"I'm going to be serious."
He rolled his neck once.
"Don't blame me if you have nightmares tonight."
Yun Che steadied his breathing.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
He closed his eyes for only a heartbeat.
Calm.
Focus.
His thoughts drifted toward the cultivation method he had been refining.
Without speaking aloud...
He began reciting the incantation within his own mind.
Iron is my body.
Fire is my breath.
Knowledge is the hammer that shapes my path...
If concentrating on the words could distract him from pain...
Perhaps...
It could distract him from fear as well.
It was only a theory.
But theories deserved testing.
The killing intent arrived.
Not like Master Liang's.
Master Liang projected it outward like an overwhelming mountain.
Shen Tianyu...
Was different.
His killing intent resembled a starving wolf leaping from the darkness.
Violent.
Savage.
Hungry.
Yun Che immediately understood why.
Tianyu had hunted countless magical beasts.
He had also taken human lives.
Bandits.
Murderers.
Enemies of the city.
Unlike Yun Che...
His rival already possessed genuine battlefield experience.
And...
He stood upon the very edge of the next realm.
One final step.
That was all he needed before entering Foundation Establishment.
The pressure flooding from him reflected that.
His instincts had become those of a true predator.
Master Liang had simply stood still and forced Yun Che to walk forward.
Tianyu...
Didn't wait.
He attacked.
Like a beast charging wounded prey.
Yun Che tried to raise his sword.
His arm barely obeyed.
Too slow.
The claws slashed across his chest.
SCRAAAPE!
Deep grooves appeared across the armor.
The force threw Yun Che onto his back.
His breath escaped in a painful gasp.
Tianyu didn't immediately continue.
He waited.
One second.
Giving Yun Che an opportunity to stand.
It felt almost merciful.
Until Yun Che forced himself halfway upright.
A kick flashed upward.
BANG!
It struck beneath his chin.
The world spun.
He flew backward several meters before crashing onto the arena floor.
Blood filled his mouth.
Somewhere nearby...
He heard Tianyu's voice.
"Come on, Yun Che."
"Don't disappoint me."
"Such weakness..."
"...doesn't suit my rival."
Yun Che coughed.
Blood stained the corner of his lips.
The killing intent still covered his thoughts like heavy fog.
Everything felt slower.
His body wanted to remain on the ground.
His instincts screamed...
Stay down.
Run.
Escape.
He clenched his teeth.
Iron is my body.
The words echoed inside him.
Fire is my breath.
His heartbeat gradually steadied.
Knowledge is the hammer that shapes my path.
The fog remained.
But...
The words became another sound inside his mind.
Competing with it.
Every failure becomes my teacher.
He pushed one knee beneath himself.
Every creation becomes my answer.
Tianyu rushed again.
No hesitation.
Only relentless offense.
The claws descended repeatedly.
Yun Che blocked one.
Missed the second.
Barely avoided the third.
Another strike slammed into his shoulder.
Then his ribs.
Then his thigh.
The audience grew unusually quiet.
Even several seasoned guards frowned.
One veteran quietly muttered,
"...Hard lesson."
Another looked away.
"It hurts to watch."
Yun Che staggered backward.
The repeated impacts rattled his bones despite the armor.
Still...
The words continued.
I do not seek borrowed legends.
Another slash.
I shall forge my own.
Another impact.
His legs nearly gave out.
My heart is the furnace.
The fear still existed.
But it no longer completely filled his thoughts.
There was room for something else.
Determination.
Stubbornness.
Anger.
My will is the anvil.
Tianyu lunged again.
Instead of retreating...
Yun Che suddenly stepped forward.
"My soul..."
He roared through bloodied teeth.
"...is the forge!"
His helmet crashed directly into Tianyu's forehead.
THUD!
Both boys stumbled backward.
For a heartbeat...
Shen Tianyu simply stared.
Then...
A wide grin spread across his face.
He burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"There you are!"
He rubbed his forehead without the slightest irritation.
"That's more like it."
Yun Che remained breathing heavily, blood on his lips and fresh gouges across his battered armor.
He hadn't gained the advantage.
He hadn't even landed a proper attack.
But he had done something different.
When faced with overwhelming pressure...
He had advanced instead of retreating.
And that...
More than any victory...
Was exactly what Shen Tianyu and Master Liang had been trying to teach him.
------------------------------------
Shen Tianyu rolled his shoulders again.
The grin never left his face.
"Again." Yun Che muttered as he felt the joy of minor success.
Yun Che wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His entire body hurt.
His left shoulder felt numb.
His ribs ached.
His armor looked as though a hungry monster had mistaken it for dinner.
Even so...
He lifted his sword.
"I'm ready."
Tianyu laughed. He was happy to see his rival improve, as this helped him improve as well. Yun Che always had some unusual tactics and gadgets to help him and this helped Tianyu prepare for the unusual.
"Happy to oblige."
The next three hours became a blur.
Steel clashed.
Claws tore through the air.
Metal wires flashed like silver serpents.
Smoke bombs exploded.
Footwork crossed and recrossed the arena.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every time Yun Che froze...
Tianyu punished him.
Every time Yun Che stepped forward...
Tianyu smiled.
The predator wanted his prey to fight back.
By midnight...
Yun Che's movements had become noticeably more natural.
He still lost every exchange.
But he no longer stood rooted in place beneath killing intent.
By one in the morning...
He had started to even barely attack.
Not because he had stopped feeling fear.
Because he had learned to move despite it.
Master Liang had taught him that courage wasn't the absence of fear.
Tonight...
Shen Tianyu was forcing him to prove it.
By two in the morning...
Yun Che barely resembled the young man who had entered the arena.
His armor had become little more than twisted scraps of steel.
Deep claw marks covered almost every plate.
His clothes beneath were stained with blood.
Small cuts decorated his arms, shoulders, and legs.
Even his helmet had split along one side.
He remained standing only through sheer stubbornness. However, his mind was in an endless fog because of the constant mental abuse.
"Enough."
A calm yet authoritative voice echoed across the training ground.
Every guard immediately straightened.
Shen Tianyu stepped back without argument.
Yun Che looked toward the entrance.
The City Lord had arrived.
Lord Shen wore simple dark robes rather than ceremonial armor.
Even standing casually...
His presence dominated the entire arena.
Spirit Transformation.
A realm so far beyond Yun Che that it felt like gazing toward the summit of a mountain hidden above the clouds.
The City Lord's gaze swept over the battered teenager.
"Hm."
"You've done enough for one night."
He looked toward Tianyu.
"You as well."
The young wolf lowered his head respectfully.
"Yes, Father."
The City Lord folded his hands behind his back.
"Training builds strength."
"But proper rest allows that strength to become your own."
"If you neglect your body..."
"It accumulates hidden injuries."
He paused before adding,
"The heart and mind suffer just as much."
One of the guards immediately stepped forward carrying a small jade bottle.
The City Lord nodded.
"Give him one."
The guard handed Yun Che a pale green pill.
Yun Che recognized it instantly.
A Healing Pill.
He swallowed it without hesitation.
Warmth spread throughout his body.
The bleeding gradually slowed.
The pain dulled.
The worst of the bruising began fading before his eyes.
It wasn't miraculous.
But compared with ordinary medicine...
It felt almost magical.
Yun Che glanced downward.
His armor looked pitiful.
The breastplate barely remained attached.
Several plates had been completely torn away.
Then...
He noticed something else.
Several strands of black hair drifted onto the ground.
His eyes widened.
He immediately touched the side of his head.
There were several shallow cuts hidden beneath his hair.
He turned toward Tianyu.
"You actually did it."
Tianyu blinked innocently.
"Did what?"
"You almost made me bald!"
"I warned you."
"You said maybe!"
"I underestimated my accuracy."
Yun Che groaned.
"I was already average-looking."
"I don't need scars on my face."
Several guards burst into laughter.
Tianyu looked thoughtfully at him.
"I think they'd make you look more heroic."
"I don't want heroic."
"I'd settle for handsome."
"Impossible."
"...You're insufferable."
"I've heard that before."
The City Lord watched the exchange with the faintest hint of amusement.
Then his expression became serious once more.
"Yun Che."
The young blacksmith immediately straightened.
"Yes, My Lord."
"You performed well tonight."
"Thank you."
The City Lord nodded.
"A few days from now..."
"The Frost Wolf Cavalry will leave the city on a monster hunt."
Yun Che listened attentively.
"You will accompany them."
For a brief moment...
Silence.
The words hadn't been phrased as a suggestion.
Nor a request.
It was an order.
The City Lord continued calmly.
"You have chosen not to join a sect."
"I have."
"In that case..."
"The cavalry is your next best teacher."
His tone remained firm.
"You possess talent."
"I have no intention of allowing that talent to stagnate."
Yun Che knew this wasn't merely kindness.
It was how Lord Shen governed.
Whenever talented young people appeared...
He invested in them.
He provided opportunities.
Training.
Resources.
Connections.
Sometimes he even sponsored promising youths to enter powerful sects elsewhere.
Many eventually returned.
Some became influential.
Others sent resources back to Mistforge.
The city prospered because its ruler understood that investing in people produced greater returns than hoarding wealth.
Of course...
There was another side to that generosity.
Everyone in Mistforge knew it.
Those who betrayed the City's trust...
Those who abused the Lord's goodwill...
Met very public ends.
Swift.
Merciless.
The lesson always reached every citizen.
Reward loyalty.
Destroy treachery.
It was harsh.
Yet...
The city remained peaceful.
Yun Che respected the man.
Lord Shen wasn't a saint.
He was a ruler.
One who genuinely wished for Mistforge to grow stronger.
"Yes, My Lord."
"I will prepare."
The City Lord gave a satisfied nod.
"Good."
"You are dismissed."
Yun Che bowed respectfully before turning to leave.
He had taken only a few steps when the City Lord spoke again.
"Captain."
One of the cavalry officers immediately stepped forward.
"Escort him home."
The captain smiled.
"At once, My Lord."
Several moments later...
A massive Frost Wolf knelt before Yun Che.
Its white fur shimmered beneath the moonlight.
Intelligent blue eyes studied him calmly.
Yun Che climbed onto its back with some difficulty.
The wolf rose effortlessly.
As they departed the mansion...
A cold mountain breeze brushed across Yun Che's face.
His battered body hurt.
His mind felt exhausted.
Yet...
A quiet smile appeared.
In just a few days...
He would leave the city walls alongside the legendary Frost Wolf Cavalry.
Perhaps...
This would be the true beginning of his journey.