Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Shine to the Fullest

Cang Yin’s voice held a touch of doubt: “Huh! What is going on? Is Li really this useless?”

The man holding a compass raised his brow: “She actually got hit by a hammer?”

Someone noted: “For most people, one hit means you are very likely out. But she… took it.”

Another scoffed: “So what if she took one? Can she take the second and the third?”

A voice said: “I don’t think we need to spend so much attention on her. The City Lord values her only because she is an old friend’s daughter. She herself may not have much to show.”

Someone added: “She cleared the sixth mountain because the City Lord used some forceful shortcut, right?”

A chuckle came: “Who knows. With the City Lord’s countless treasures, even a pig would be flying by now after years of feeding.”

Another laughed: “That’s a bit crude.”

The first replied: “Just speaking the truth.”

They mocked without restraint.

You Lan slowly opened her eyes.

Frowning, she looked at Li Shuang without expression.

In just that short time, Li Shuang had been struck again.

If her soul were not so strong, she would already be out.

[A genius raised by the City Lord herself, and this is all?]

Her battle spirit had just risen: [Was it for nothing?]

She stared hard at Li Shuang.

[No. Something is wrong. A person taught by the City Lord cannot be useless.]

[She was about to clear the first level earlier. Why can’t she even dodge now?]

Another Blackiron Warhammer spun in. Li Shuang again stood still and took the hit.

You Lan stood, eyes locked on her.

[Wrong. I knew it. She is doing this on purpose.]

Li Shuang had hundreds of chances to dodge, but instead she even took one step forward so the hammer would strike her squarely.

[What is she trying to do? What is she after? Is she begging to be hit? There has to be a reason.]

After several blows, Li Shuang’s face had gone a little pale, but her eyes shone. She even looked like she was in a good mood.

Her mood really was good.

She had finally found a shortcut to build a fast link with the runes: direct collision.

It turned out that dodging or forcing the Blackiron Warhammers off course was not the best way through.

When she had been stuck, she suddenly recalled the process of refining.

A plain piece of ore looked worthless at first. But after many rounds of hammering, even common ore could shine.

Each blow drove out impurities.

Only when all impurities were gone could the ore reach its best state.

Now she treated herself as that ore.

And these spinning Blackiron Warhammers were the tools to forge her.

The runes held the Thousand Mechanisms Hammer Array’s secrets.

At first they were beyond her.

But after each collision, a faint insight rose in her mind.

Bit by bit, those insights built up.

When they reached a certain point, they would become another cornerstone on her path of Integration.

She wanted to walk a sky-reaching path of Integration, which was why she had given up advancing on the sixth mountain.

She had thought it would take a long time to build bonds with all things.

But here on the Golden Soul Altar, these flickering runes would greatly shorten that process.

The key to the first trial was not clearing it quickly.

This layer could temper the Spirit Refinement soul and, through the runes, help you grasp the way of all things.

Leaving early only meant less gain.

Li Shuang made up her mind. She would stay here for the full three days.

Again and again, the Blackiron Warhammers struck. Her Spirit Soul Body grew more and more clear and lustrous.

On the second level, the geniuses who had mocked her went still.

Even they could see it now.

Li was doing it on purpose.

She was using the Blackiron Warhammers to temper her Spirit Refinement soul.

One person mumbled: “You can do that?”

Another groaned: “Did we lose out by clearing fast?”

A cooler head replied: “Don’t say it like that. If it were you, how many hits could you take?”

Silence fell.

You Lan pressed her lips together: [Right. How many could I take?]

For a moment, even she did not know the answer.

Someone analyzed: “For most people this only knocks you out sooner. If we tried it, we might last a few more hits, but we would still end up eliminated.”

They now knew the Blackiron Warhammers might temper the soul.

But how many in the world could truly do this?

If ordinary people copied her, they would only die faster.

A voice shook: “She is still taking it!”

Above Li Shuang’s head, an Azure Lotus had appeared. Each time a heavy hammer fell, the lotus light seemed to grow more condensed.

Feng Yu whispered: “A soul vision. Her soul is not simple.”

Someone guessed: “Was this taught by the City Lord too?”

Another added: “Not just that. Choosing to let the Blackiron Warhammers temper her soul must also be the City Lord’s instruction.”

A third muttered: “She can take so many hits. Did the City Lord give her some treasure?”

The ones who had mocked her earlier sounded sour now.

Snatches of these voices reached Li Shuang, but her heart stayed steady, and none of it affected her.

In the City Lord’s Manor, the City Lord watched the Azure Lotus above Li Shuang grow brighter, and she smiled.

[This girl Li keeps surprising me.]

She had worked out how to temper her soul with heavy hammers.

The City Lord heard the sour guesses and lifted a brow.

Her clear, far voice sounded at once within the Golden Soul Altar and across Myriad Arts City: “To keep things fair, I have never told Li anything about the trials inside the Golden Soul Altar. Nor have I given her any extra treasure for protection.”

The murmurs died at once.

Several geniuses who had whispered went pale.

The City Lord almost never bothered with such small matters.

Now she was openly clearing Li’s name.

Li Shuang heard her voice and felt a bit surprised.

She did not care what others guessed.

In the next instant, the City Lord’s voice sounded in her mind: “Shine to your heart’s content.”