Chapter 153: Unbroken~

On the bridge, I gazed at Cluru, who had popped up from who knows where.

I couldn’t help but give a teary, bitter laugh.

“You always show up at the most crucial moments, don’t you?”

“Hee~” Cluru rubbed her little belly, “That’s what the Evil God Brand is for~”

“It’s not!”

“Then what’s it for?”

“It’s for… of course it’s…”

My face suddenly turned bright red. I hurriedly changed my words, “It’s nothing! It’s ugly! Hurry up and get rid of it for me!”

“Can’t get rid of it~” Cluru was extremely pleased, “The Evil God has their eyes on you, you’ll never get rid of it for the rest of your life!”

I covered my face with both hands. As I wiped away my tears, Cluru pulled me into her arms—flustered and shy.

Hoo—

Alright, it’s time to forget those unhappy memories. They’ll bear their own pain; I’ve already done enough.

The tortures in Di Yu are countless, far more than just eighteen types; there’s no need for me to worry about it.

I should look at what’s in front of me.

Think about the future.

Here, I should let a turning point slip by, and then move toward the next challenge.

“Xianlu… Forging Shop… can finally open for business…” I sobbed out.

“Mm, I saw the news.” Cluru gently patted my back.

“How’s your health now?”

“I’m alright, I can still hold on.”

“Think you can last till you take care of Musicheng?”

“That depends on how many days he can hold on…”

Our conversation was scattered, jumping from topic to topic without focus.

Cluru didn’t take out the suitcase, because she was busy being my suitcase.

With that all-too-familiar girlish scent, my tense body gradually relaxed.

This Evil God…

Really does have some loyalty…

.

“Bad news, bad news!” Musicheng’s lackey came rushing in to report, “Xianlu Forging Shop is open for business!”

Musicheng, however, wasn’t too surprised.

He nodded. “As expected. Looks like Yun Shanhai is dead, too.”

“Family Head, what should we do now?”

“There’s no stopping them. At this point, we can only face them head-on. Be confident. We have that Divine Book. We might not need to fear them.”

“But the techniques in the Divine Book… didn’t we lose last time?”

“That was just to feign weakness to the enemy,” Musicheng said with a smile.

“In fact, the Potion multipliers recorded in the Divine Book aren’t just tenfold, but reach sixteenfold… I just didn’t use my trump card last time.”

“Family Head, you’re brilliant!”

“In the Potion industry, no matter how much we fight, at worst it’s mutual destruction. The vitality we’ve lost can never be recovered. That’s why, we must shift the focus to the Artifact Industry.”

“What should we do?”

“Decide it all with one blow!” Musicheng said firmly. “Get me Yun Luo Xian’s number. I’m going to challenge them!”

[Nei ge nei ge nei ge nei ge Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse~]

Suddenly, my phone rang.

I glanced at it. It was a number I didn’t recognize.

Hmm, probably spam or a scam call.

Hung up.

[Nei ge nei ge nei ge nei ge……]

Calling again? Persistent scammer, huh?

Hung up again.

This time, the other party didn’t call back right away.

The phone stayed quiet for quite a while. Maybe they switched targets, or maybe they were cursing me out?

[Nei ge nei ge nei ge……]

I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up and unleashed a furious vixen roar:

“Are you done yet?!”

[Yun Luo Xian?]

“Huh, Musicheng?” I recognized the voice. “Ready to surrender?”

[I’m here to discuss terms.]

I didn’t want to hear another word. Hung up straight away.

Sure enough, Musicheng immediately called again.

[Yun Luo Xian, I’m here to discuss terms.]

Hung up again, and this time I blocked the number.

The guy just switched phones and sent a message.

[Yun Luo Xian I’m here to discuss terms.]

I’d had enough. I picked up again, this time turning on speaker.

“We have nothing to discuss.”

[Let’s hold a competition. You send your Craftsmen, I send mine. The loser permanently withdraws from the Artifact market. How about it?]

“Hmm??”

I’d been racking my brain for a way into this Artifact Competition, and now the opponent was delivering it to my door.

Something’s off—it’s probably a trap.

But… it really is the fastest way to end the Artifact Competition.

I glanced at Cluru’s pale face and felt a little tempted.

“How do we compete?”

[We’ll hold a global live-broadcast Artifact Competition. We use the same materials and compare the quality of the finished products.]

“How do you judge quality?”

[Have all the forged items duel each other until only one remains unbroken. That will be the champion.]

Not a bad idea.

I understood what Musicheng was getting at.

Durability is influenced by many factors: understanding of the material, affinity with spiritual power, and so on…

So, durability can represent the overall strength of a Craftsman.

And in a real fight, if a weapon suddenly breaks—that’s fatal.

So, if in this grand competition, the Mu Family’s Craftsman’s weapon destroys Xianlu Weapon—

Then, in every viewer’s mind, “Xianlu Weapon can’t beat Mu Family Weapon” would be forever etched.

To avoid having their weapons destroyed by the Mu Family’s, people naturally wouldn’t buy from Xianlu Forging Shop anymore.

After all, weapon strength is a matter of life and death—no one wants to gamble with their own life.

“Fine, I agree. When’s the match?”

[No time like the present—let’s do it tomorrow. I’ve already prepared the venue. It’ll be at Tianhai Artifact Hall.]

“How many on each side?”

[Fifty versus fifty. You choose your fifty strongest, I’ll choose fifty Mu Family Craftsmen. Tomorrow, we’ll have an open, honorable duel.]

“Deal!”

[Deal. But you’re not allowed to compete yourself… After all, you wouldn’t personally handle the shop’s forging business, right? We’re competing as companies.]

“Whatever. I won’t compete.”

[Good. See you in the forging room tomorrow.]

Hung up.

The chest that had felt so empty moments ago was suddenly filled with busyness and anticipation.

Since the call had been on speaker, Cluru heard it all.

She understood.

Tomorrow would be the Mu Family’s battle of life and death.

If they lost, both of the Mu Family’s legs would be cut off; the pillars holding up this giant would completely collapse.

Even if I did nothing after that, the family would slowly fall apart.

As long as we win.

Musicheng would lose everything he’d ever cherished.

By then, maybe Mom and Dad could finally rest easy in the afterlife…

I could see Cluru’s nervousness.

“Don’t worry. We’ll win, a hundred percent.”

Cluru nodded.

“Soul, come home…”

Late at night.

Out of Cluru’s sight, I walked into the deserted wilderness, formed a hand seal, and softly chanted:

“Soul, come home…”

A ghostly wind swept through the mountains and forest.

The gates of the underworld creaked open.

Early the next morning, the best disciples of the forging shop rushed to Tianhai City from all directions.

Some had flown overnight, crossing oceans, looking clearly exhausted.

“Take these pills—they’ll replenish your Qi and calm your minds.”

Each was given a Washing Marrow Pill and a Qi-replenishing Pill, ensuring the disciples would be in peak condition.

This was a Craftsman competition. It was about reverence for the material, and there was no rule against taking pills.

After the disciples swallowed the pills, they looked much better.

“Get ready to enter the arena.”

On the grounds, reporters and staff from all over were arriving in greater numbers.

The forge blazed with roaring flames.

I glanced at Cluru, then at Yun Muchen on the opposing platform.

Suddenly, I pulled Cluru into my arms with all my strength—so tightly it hurt her.

Cluru: “?”

“Heh~”

I smiled without saying a word.

—Silly disciple, you saved your Master.

Now, it’s time for your Master to save you.