Chapter Thirteen: Deterrence

Fire Lord had just demonstrated the Array Pre-setting Method, a refining technique that completely overturned the conventional knowledge of the Immortal Realm’s art of crafting, stunning Zhen Nantian instantly.
Zhen Nantian stared at Fire Lord, unable to utter a word.
“Fatty, you’ve already seen the entire Array Pre-setting Method. You should know what to do next, right?” Fire Lord said with a faint smile.
Only then did Zhen Nantian regain his composure.
He had devoted twenty thousand years to the art of crafting, and after witnessing Fire Lord’s technique, he quickly grasped the key point.
“Fire Lord, I really didn’t expect you to discover the unique property of Yuan Copper. Which craftsman in the Immortal Realm would have thought that materials below the level of Three-Star Human Soul Immortals could have such excellent compatibility? And even if someone accidentally discovered Yuan Copper’s fusion capabilities, it would be hard for them to imagine that arrays could be pre-etched onto Yuan Copper sheets and then fused with the core material to form a single piece,” Zhen Nantian exclaimed excitedly.
The most crucial step in refining efficiency is forming the array, which is also the time-consuming one. Now, having discovered the Array Pre-setting Method, Zhen Nantian realized that this step could be skipped altogether, drastically increasing refining efficiency. Completing the sect’s crafting tasks would become extremely easy.
Zhen Nantian felt that the time for him to stand tall and proud was approaching.
Fire Lord tapped his forehead, annoyed, and said, “Fatty, I’m asking you—how can we improve the refining efficiency of Extreme Fire Peak next? Do you have any ideas now?”
Clearly, Fire Lord was impatient with Zhen Nantian’s momentary excitement, which led him to answer irrelevantly.
Zhen Nantian was stunned. In the past, he had tolerated Fire Lord calling him “fatty.” But now, Fire Lord was going even further, losing his temper with him, the leader of the peak and a powerful Upper-Level Human Soul Immortal. Should he continue to endure it?
Then,
“Fire Lord, I already know what to do. I’ll immediately apply to the sect to purchase large quantities of Yuan Copper ore. After all, Yuan Copper ore is abundant in the Immortal Realm and very cheap. I can get as much as I want,” Zhen Nantian said happily.
Still, Zhen Nantian dared not get angry with Fire Lord.
This time, he couldn’t understand why, despite Fire Lord being just a Four-Star Human Soul Immortal, he remained so patient and kept flattering him.
All he could think at that moment was that Fire Lord was inherently the one meant to restrain him.

Fire Lord sighed and said firmly, “Yuan Copper Mines—this is easy to handle. Next, Fatty, you need to select a group of disciples who are absolutely loyal to the Extreme Fire Peak. Teach them the method of pre-setting arrays and have them secretly set up the arrays one by one. For now, don’t tell the Hall Master about this method; otherwise, our Extreme Fire Peak still won’t be able to secure more alchemy tasks from the sect.”

Upon hearing this, Zhen Nantian immediately understood that the most important thing now was to keep it secret.

“I get it. I’ll personally select some disciples, teach them the method of pre-setting arrays, and arrange for them to secretly refine Yuan Copper Mines and engrave the required arrays,” Zhen Nantian replied right away.

Fire Lord nodded in agreement.

From now on, whenever the disciples of the Extreme Fire Peak received alchemy tasks from the sect, they would first have a group of disciples refine Yuan Copper ores and engrave the required arrays, before handing the Yuan Copper sheets to the alchemists. With such an efficient process, the Extreme Fire Peak’s alchemy capabilities would surely rank first among all the Tongzhou Hall sects.

Seeing Zhen Nantian eager to select disciples right away, Fire Lord quickly pulled him back and asked, “Fatty, I have a question. Where can we buy a cultivation space in our Tongzhou Hall?”

Having already experienced the benefits of a cultivation space, how could Fire Lord miss such an opportunity? He naturally wanted to buy one as well.

But Zhen Nantian, who was anxious to improve the alchemy skills of the Extreme Fire Peak, didn’t have time to care about Fire Lord. He dashed away like lightning and left the Ziye Tianhu Cave.

Fire Lord shook his head and had no choice but to leave the cave on his own. He then headed to the foot of the Extreme Fire Peak.

At that moment, at the foot of the mountain, the 500 disciples of the Extreme Fire Peak who had been neglected by Zhen Nantian were waiting at the cave entrance.

Fire Lord stepped out.

All 500 of them stared at him.

“Are you Fire Lord?”

“I don’t see anything special about you. Is your talent really that great to earn such high praise from the Peak Master?”

“Fire Lord, I heard that in just one year inside a cultivation space, you rose from a one-star Human Soul Immortal to a four-star Human Soul Immortal. How did you do it?”

“Fire Lord, what were you and the Peak Master doing in the Ziye Tianhu Cave just now?”

…

The 500 disciples immediately began questioning Fire Lord one after another, eager for him to resolve their long-standing doubts.

Fire Lord stood quietly at the entrance, smiling faintly, until the 500 disciples stopped talking.

“You worthless scum! Instead of studying arrays and practicing diligently, you come here to waste my time. How about you just die?” Fire Lord suddenly roared.

Silence reigned at the scene.
Was this what a new disciple said?
Was this really what a Human Soul Immortal said to five hundred Human Soul Immortals?
Was the Fire Lord truly as ruthless as the legends said, having no patience for anyone? Had he gone mad?
…
The five hundred disciples stared, their faces tense with anger yet unable to speak up in defiance of the Fire Lord.
With all the rumors about the Fire Lord, witnessing the peak master’s protection for him just now, and now seeing him exactly as described in the legends, these factors made the disciples realize that the Fire Lord might have extremely powerful backing, and they must not offend him.
The quiet continued for some time.
Seeing that he had subdued these people, the Fire Lord stopped scolding and smiled as he prepared to fly back to his Listening to the Wind Residence.
“Wait, Fire Lord. Though you are highly talented, I, Lin Po, refuse to accept you. As a new disciple, you show no respect for your senior brothers. I must punish you.”
At that moment, one disciple dressed in red alchemy uniform among the five hundred stood up, holding a red long spear planted deep in the ground, his eyes wide as he stared at the Fire Lord.
Hearing this, the Fire Lord stopped in his tracks and smiled at Lin Po.
“So, you’re a six-star Human Soul Immortal, the strongest among these five hundred disciples. You want to stand out by challenging me and establish your authority among these fools, right? Very well. I’ll give you this chance. I accept your challenge. Use whatever spells you have,” the Fire Lord said with a smile.
The God of Tools had already analyzed Lin Po’s cultivation level thoroughly and told the Fire Lord everything.
Lin Po raised his long spear and pointed it at the Fire Lord, shouting, “Fire Lord, you’re too arrogant. I’ll punish you on behalf of all my brothers.”
With that, Lin Po thrust his spear forward and flew toward the Fire Lord.
Where the spear pointed, flames surged, forming a hundred-meter-wide fire vortex filled with the power of fire splitting. If it enveloped the Fire Lord, it would tear him apart and burn him to ashes.
The Fire Lord swiftly dodged the spear’s strike, already drawing his lower-grade immortal weapon, the Fire Soaring Sword. With a surge of his immortal energy, the sword emitted a fireball hundreds of meters in diameter. The flames within were driven by the power of soaring, all rushing toward Lin Po’s spear.
Both the power of splitting and the power of soaring were primal forces of fire. When the two flames collided, they exploded, filling the sky with clouds of fire.
In the first round, the two ended in a draw.
“How is that possible? This Fire Lord is only a four-star Human Soul Immortal. How could he possibly draw even with Senior Lin Po?”

“See? That Fire Lord possesses an abundance of Fire Immortal Essence, no less than Senior Lin Po’s. That’s why they ended up in a tie.”
“This Fire Lord truly has some strength. No wonder he’s so arrogant. Now I somewhat agree with him—having strength means one should show off.”
“I have a feeling that the Fire Lord might defeat Senior Lin Po.”
……
After just one exchange, the 500 disciples nearby were immediately amazed and began expressing their thoughts.
As for the two fighting in the center, their moods were very different. The Fire Lord kept smiling, while Lin Po suddenly felt bitter, realizing it had been foolish of him to challenge him.
“Lin Po, since you’ve already attacked me, let me attack you in return,” the Fire Lord said suddenly with a smile.
As soon as he spoke, the Fire Lord leaped into the air, swinging his Fire Sword fiercely. A flaming long sword appeared in the air, aiming straight at Lin Po. This flaming sword was made of heat energy, and if it hit someone, it could burn through their entire body.
“Hmph, Fire Lord, you’re still just a four-star Human Soul Immortal. You can’t hurt me,” Lin Po said coldly.
Immediately, Lin Po raised his spear and swung it rapidly. Three flaming shields emerged from the tip of the spear to counter the incoming flaming sword. These flaming shields were controlled by rising energy, making them ideal for defense.
When the flaming sword and the flaming shields collided again, a cloud of fire rose into the air, with intense heat swirling around.
At that moment, the Fire Lord suddenly had a lower-grade immortal weapon in his hand—precisely the one Qu Yi had obtained from the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion.
“You’re defeated!” the Fire Lord shouted triumphantly.
The knife-shaped lower-grade immortal weapon shot out from the Fire Lord’s hand and flew straight at Lin Po. Without time to use his spear to block it, the weapon exploded.
Boom!
The Fire Lord had actually made a lower-grade immortal weapon explode.
Lin Po never expected the Fire Lord to be so ruthless. To defeat him, he claimed ownership of the weapon and used his Immortal Essence to trigger the explosion.
“Ah!”
Lin Po couldn’t react in time. His spear only managed to create one flaming shield, but the explosive force of the weapon already hit him, sinking his chest in.
On the ground, Lin Po groaned in pain, biting his lips until they bled.
“From now on, you worthless ones had better study formations hard, practice weapon crafting more, and improve your cultivation. How can cultivators act like ordinary people, with such strong desires for fame and fortune?”
Without even glancing at Lin Po, the Fire Lord rebuked the 500 disciples.