Chapter 1222: Peak Popularity

The main hall of Jinxiu Heshan.
Since a few days ago, it has been hosting martial arts contests from disciples from various branch halls across the country.
Although these pre-competition matches held no official significance and were not personally supervised by anyone, the large number of participants forced Jinxiu Heshan to allow top fighters from each branch hall to choose their opponents and engage in private battles. This served two purposes: to let these fighters understand the strength of Jinxiu Heshan’s highest-level experts and to help them estimate their own chances of winning after gathering data.
For several days in a row…
The top fighters from each branch hall strictly followed Deputy Sect Leader Ji’s method, seeking out renowned fighters from the main hall to compete against. Dozens or even hundreds of matches took place each day!
These pre-competition battles helped many people realize the strength of Jinxiu Heshan’s elite fighters and understand the organization’s formidable strength at the upper levels. Those who lost more often than they won, or had an even record, naturally felt too ashamed to continue in the subsequent competitions—their mediocre skills left them with no chance of winning.
Yet many did not become disheartened due to their poor results, nor did they abandon their sects.
This grand series of pre-competition battles not only showcased Jinxiu Heshan’s profound strength but also created an unprecedented atmosphere of combat across dozens of miles around the main hall…
No matter where you went, you could see pairs or groups of fighters engaging in private battles, often with crowds of onlookers watching.
From the capital to Jinxiu Heshan’s main hall, those dozens of miles turned into a magnificent path of combat. As people passed by, they would find that almost every pair had impressive skills and unique strengths, creating a strong atmosphere of competition.
Both fighters were highly focused and cautious. After the matches, they would bow and leave with a martial arts flair, or sit down to recover their energy before seeking their next opponent…
Onlookers would observe and appreciate the battles, sharing their insights and discussing strategies in hushed tones. Amidst the flashes of swords and blades, there was an extraordinary sense of harmony!
Throughout the Central Plains, and even the whole world, only Jinxiu Heshan’s main hall could offer such a scene!
…

“This Happy… is truly extraordinary!” After returning from the desert, Shadow received reports from his subordinates and rushed here overnight. After circling around several times, he gave his assessment: “Pre-match drills can streamline procedures, but such drills fully showcase the peak strength and depth of Jinxiu Heshan. Not only does it serve as a deterrent and shock to outsiders like us, but it also strengthens the sense of belonging among Jinxiu Heshan’s disciples, thereby drawing attention away from the legacy of Tian Dao Song Queyi.”
“Over two million people…” Bai Xiaosheng also had high praise for Happy, exclaiming sincerely, “What was once a huge and chaotic chessboard has been skillfully brought together by him in a short time! He possesses wisdom and boldness—no one in the entire world, not even the Emperor or the Evil Emperor, can compare to him in this regard.”
“That’s right! This move was indeed brilliant.” Hearing the conversation between Shadow and Bai Xiaosheng, Wu Kuo smiled from the bottom of his heart, “Good thing I’m not Happy’s opponent; otherwise, I’d live in constant tension every day…”
“Yes.”
Shadow nodded.
Jinxiu Heshan moved forward at great speed, leaving Xifeng Tower far behind…
But!
She could understand.
With an organization as powerful as the Wild Wolf Group lurking, even the slightest hesitation on Jinxiu Heshan’s part could lead to another disaster.
With two previous lessons in hand, Shadow knew what was more important.
“This time, Happy left the Tiger Soul Divine Weapon in the Central Plains, preventing the Wild Wolf Group from succeeding. That’s a great contribution to our Central Plains; otherwise, I would have had a lot more to deal with.”
“Still, the formation exposed by the Wild Wolf Group this time cannot be underestimated…” Bai Xiaosheng’s tone shifted as he frowned and said seriously, “From what I know about the Evil Emperor, once he achieves perfection in the ‘Daoxin Zhongmo Dafa,’ he will surely make a comeback. At that time, it will inevitably lead to a direct confrontation with the Great Banishment Law… Happy’s complete integration of Jinxiu Heshan and display of strength is a great boon for our Central Plains!”
Hearing Bai Xiaosheng mention the Great Banishment Law, a look of shock and seriousness flashed in Shadow’s eyes:
“Ever since encountering the Great Banishment Law, I’ve been searching tirelessly for advanced formations. But due to time constraints, I haven’t found any formation secrets as remarkable and powerful as it…” He stopped there, knowing that even without saying more, Bai Xiaosheng would understand the severity of the situation.

“There’s no rush yet. I’ve analyzed all the people from the Wild Wolves. Currently, not many possess the Great Banishment Spell—only a dozen or so groups. With Wind Chime’s sound wave skills, she can barely take care of some of them. One emperor can easily confront one or two groups head-on, so in the short term, the Evil Emperor won’t dare act rashly… Shadow, you still have time.”
“…”
Shadow nodded silently, then seemed slightly surprised: “By the way, where’s Wind Chime?”
Since entering Bai Xiaosheng’s residence, she had noticed that Wind Chime was missing.
The safety of the Nine Yin Cut-off Veins was extremely important. With the remnants of the First-Class Hall not yet completely eliminated, Bai Xiaosheng probably wouldn’t let Wind Chime go out easily.
“The people from Jinxiu Heshan escorted Wind Chime to a certain place.”
“Hm?”
Shadow and Wu Kuo were both stunned: “The competition is coming up soon. I heard Wind Chime has also signed up to participate. Why not stay in the capital and prepare properly? What could be more important than the competition?”
“Wind Chime signed up to put pressure on those participating in the competition and filter out those with weak wills. After all, she is the heir of the Six-Fingered Qin Demon. It’s not suitable for her to practice other martial arts,” Bai Xiaosheng replied, avoiding the question of where Wind Chime had gone.
Shadow and Wu Kuo were sensible people. Seeing Bai Xiaosheng avoid answering, they knew it must be related to that person, so they stopped asking.
In the past, given Bai Xiaosheng’s relationship with Shadow, he might have revealed something.
But this time, he used the excuse of giving Wind Chime a chance to summon her to find the leader of the Qin Sect to boost her strength.
Since it involved Wind Chime, his only disciple, Bai Xiaosheng didn’t want to discuss it rashly and risk being discovered. The so-called escort was actually a lie.
…
“Master Ji!”
“Master Ji! Are you busy?”
At the entrance of the Gathering Hall of Jinxiu Heshan, a group of disciples who happened to be online came out of the corridor and encountered Ji Feng along with a group of men covered in iron filings and carrying an aura of fire. They nodded politely and passed by calmly.
Only after walking a distance did the group start to laugh softly: “Which batch is this?”
“The eleventh or twelfth batch…”
It turned out that recently, many master-level blacksmiths from the Central Plains, upon learning that Jinxiu Heshan had an additional batch of top-quality materials for forging divine weapons, became eager and rushed over, hoping to cooperate with Jinxiu Heshan to help forge divine weapons for free.
Ji Feng had met quite a number of master-level blacksmiths lately—already over a hundred.
Of these blacksmiths, more than half had chosen to cooperate from the start and even join Jinxiu Heshan outright. And their numbers continued to increase.
Although their number wasn’t large…

But master blacksmiths are extremely precious talents throughout the world! A master blacksmith must forge over a hundred magical weapons or divine-grade equipment, and they need sufficient experience in the fourth-level forging process. Whether it’s magical crystals or equally rare premium metal ores, their annual output is very limited. An influential large gang can at most cultivate two to three master blacksmiths, while an ordinary gang would be considered sizable if it has just one. Yet Jinxiu Heshan now has nearly a hundred such blacksmiths—a number sufficient to dominate the industry of divine weapons and even monopolize most high-quality divine weapons and magical items in the future.
…
“I’m very glad that you’ve chosen to join Jinxiu Heshan, but I’m afraid your requirements are difficult to meet.”
An ordinary gang would be overjoyed if a few master blacksmiths joined together, willing to agree to any conditions. Yet Ji Feng remained calm as a rock, responding in a highly formal tone: “The amount of premium materials for divine weapons in Jinxiu Heshan is limited. Most of them have already been taken by our seventy-plus masters. It’s unlikely you can have exclusive access to them to become master blacksmiths.”
“What?!”
The master blacksmiths who came together were shocked on the spot!
“Foolish!”
“To scatter so many premium materials like this? Don’t you realize how important it is to concentrate them for a few people to become master blacksmiths?!”
“…” Faced with the distressed expressions of the master blacksmiths, Ji Feng still maintained a calm and composed smile: “Our sect leader said that materials should be distributed equally, with no special treatment for anyone. Even master blacksmiths must prove their worth through contributions… If you want materials, it’s simple—it depends on what contributions you can make to us.”
“…What should we do as blacksmiths?” one of them asked anxiously.
“It’s simple. Forge divine weapons and magical items; the quality determines the level of your contribution. Accumulate contributions to exchange for materials from our gang’s warehouse.” Ji Feng had no idea how many times he had repeated this already.
And he knew full well that these master blacksmiths would surely adopt an arrogant attitude and say:
“Tch, forging ordinary divine weapons and magical items is child’s play… I’ll immediately transfer a batch from the bank, and you convert it into contributions for me.”
Sure enough!
“Alright.”
Ji Feng still kept his almost rigid smile: “Proportionally, contributing fifteen divine weapons will earn you one piece of black sand crystal. But for the specific procedures, you can handle them after joining Jinxiu Heshan at the main headquarters…”

After saying that, Ji Feng used his internal energy to create a layer of qi that filtered out noise around his eardrums.
“Fifteen?!?”
“Why don’t you just steal them!!!!”
“Fifteen divine weapons and magical artifacts in exchange for some black sand crystal material?!?”
“That’s too much!!!!”
Several master blacksmiths roared in unison.
Rubbing his ears, Ji Feng smiled and said, “Top-grade divine weapons cost a hundred times more than ordinary ones and twenty times more than medium-grade ones. Fifteen divine weapons and magical artifacts is already a very favorable deal. There were a few people earlier gathering materials, planning to order more…” Before he could finish, system notifications for joining the gang arrived in his ears.
“Welcome to the big family of Jinxiu Heshan…” Looking at the master blacksmiths in front of him, who were gritting their teeth yet determined, Ji Feng breathed a sigh of relief.