The Dragon Gate Teahouse was located at the corner of the Rock Street in the east of Qicheng.
Under the guidance of a little beggar with a runny nose, Gao Zhengyang easily found the Dragon Gate Teahouse.
The two-story teahouse was very inconspicuous among the rows of buildings along the street. Only the horizontal board on the door had the two big words "Dragon Gate" written in black gold, which was quite imposing.
Gao Zhengyang gave the little beggar two copper coins. The little beggar's eyes stayed on his slender and clean palm for a while, then he quickly took the two copper coins and turned to leave in a hurry.
Gao Zhengyang knew that his hand was a bit too clean, full of strength and elegance. This made the little beggar feel that something was wrong.
It was easy to change one's appearance, but it was easy to give himself away in such details.
Gao Zhengyang didn't care much about this. In order to avoid Yue Qingyu, he had changed his appearance and dressing again.
Right now, this identity was only for temporary use.
It was afternoon, and there was nothing to do in winter. There were many people in the teahouse. On the high platform against the wall, there was a storyteller who was telling a story with his saliva flying everywhere.
Most of the customers around were chatting, and only a few were listening. The teahouse was messy and noisy, and the atmosphere was quite lively.
Gao Zhengyang randomly found a seat, called the waiter over, and ordered a pot of tea, melon seeds, peanuts, and other snacks.
"Waiter, is your boss here?"
"The boss is sitting on the second floor. What can I do for you?" The waiter pointed to the second floor for Gao Zhengyang, and said politely, "Shall I call the boss for you?"
Gao Zhengyang took a look, and the person sitting on the second floor was the one he met at Tianma Temple yesterday. That's right, it's him.
"No need, I'll go up and talk to the boss …" Seeing the boss sitting there alone, Gao Zhengyang had an idea and ordered, "Just send the things that we ordered upstairs."
"Okay, I'll bring you upstairs …" The waiter quickly led Gao Zhengyang to the second floor.
Mr. Hong sat in the private room and saw the waiter lead a stranger over. His thin face showed a surprised expression.
"What can I do for you?" Mr. Hong stood up politely and asked.
"Boss Hong, I've heard a lot about you, so I've specially come to pay a visit." Gao Zhengyang also cupped his hands politely. "I've come without notice, please don't take offense."
Mr. Hong couldn't guess the purpose of Gao Zhengyang's visit. Out of the habit of a teahouse owner, he invited Gao Zhengyang to take a seat enthusiastically.
"No, you're too polite. Everyone here is a guest, please take a seat … "
Gao Zhengyang smiled. This master refiner had been the boss of a teahouse for a long time. There was nothing unusual about his words, actions, and demeanor.
"What can I do for you?"
"I've heard a lot about you, so I came to see you," Gao Zhengyang said with a smile.
Mr. Hong's expression did not change, but his gaze when he looked at Gao Zhengyang became more profound.
The man looked to be in his thirties or forties. He had an ordinary face and was dressed in ordinary clothes. There was nothing special about him. But his body was too clean, including his palms, neck, and other details. It was obvious that he had not been exposed to the elements. Sitting there, he exuded a sense of calmness that came from his bones.
This man was definitely not an ordinary citizen, nor did he look like someone from the imperial court. He did not have the coarseness of an ordinary martial artist. His aura seemed to be transparent, but the more one looked at him, the more unfathomable it seemed.
The more amiable Gao Zhengyang smiled, the more Mr. Hong frowned.
When the waiter served the tea and snacks, he felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere. He looked at Mr. Hong with a strange expression. Mr. Hong glared at him coldly, so he quickly lowered his head and left.
"Did you find the wrong person? I'm just a teahouse owner. What kind of reputation do I have?"
Mr. Hong said with a straight face.
"Master Lian, you are too modest," Gao Zhengyang said with a sincere expression on his face.
Mr. Hong was expressionless. He said coldly, "You must have the wrong person."
"Hehe …" Gao Zhengyang smiled but did not say anything. He had already pointed it out, but Lian Jinghong still refused to admit it. This made him look down on him.
Mr. Hong let out a long sigh. He knew that it was useless to deny it. Gao Zhengyang was not testing him. He was just stating a fact. He had been in the marketplace for too long, so it was inevitable for him to be a little petty.
"What exactly do you want?" Mr. Hong's tone became cold. Gao Zhengyang had already exposed his disguise. As a blacksmith master, Lian Jinghong naturally did not need to be too polite.
Lian Jinghong was not afraid of anything. He was hiding here to enjoy his leisure, not because he was afraid of anyone. Everyone who wanted to find him, without exception, wanted to beg him.
"Master Lian, I do have a request." Gao Zhengyang went straight to the point. "Master Lian's Iron Armor Mystic Weapon is unparalleled. I would like to see it."
Lian Jinghong sneered. The Iron Armor Mystic Weapon was his masterpiece. The strongest Iron Armor Mystic Weapon could even reach the Heaven Stage. Of course, the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon could not be compared to the real Heaven Stage.
For ordinary martial artists, the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon was too expensive. For high-leveled martial artists, the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon was not as useful as high-leveled weapons.
However, the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon could be manufactured in batches. If one had enough financial resources, they could manufacture hundreds or thousands of Iron Armor Mystic Weapon.
Therefore, when Lian Jinghong's Iron Armor Mystic Weapon appeared, it immediately attracted the envy of the human countries. Lian Jinghong did not want the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon to become a weapon of war. Thus, he concealed his identity and opened a teahouse in Tianyue City.
Gao Zhengyang wanted the most precious Iron Armor Mystic Weapon, which made Lian Jinghong very disdainful.
Even if the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon was to be sold, it was not something that Gao Zhengyang could afford.
"Master, you have misunderstood. I do not want to buy the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon."
Gao Zhengyang smiled and explained. "I only want to learn how to forge the Iron Armor Mystic Weapon from Master."
Lian Jinghong's mouth was wide open. His elegance was gone, and he looked as if he had suddenly suffered a stroke.
"You, you are thinking too much!" Lian Jinghong held it in for a while before spitting out this sentence.
Gao Zhengyang said with a straight face, "I also know that asking for advice is a little troublesome for you. But I believe that sincerity can open metal and stone. I will use my sincerity to change your mind. "
Lian Jinghong was speechless. If it was before he retired, he would definitely slap this nonsense guy to death. But after decades of cultivation, his temper was almost gone. Also, he did not want to make a big deal out of it.
Opening a teahouse in his wife's hometown was the common wish of both of them. His wife had passed away for so long, and he had invested all his feelings in the teahouse. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he did not want to leave the teahouse.
"That's impossible. Hurry up and leave. Don't come back." Lian Jinghong waved his hand and chased him away.
Gao Zhengyang smiled. "Master, you are not in a good mood. I will visit you tomorrow."
Gao Zhengyang got up, cupped his hands, and politely bid farewell.
Lian Jinghong did not even look up. After Gao Zhengyang left, he let out a long sigh. Gao Zhengyang left without any hesitation. But he also made it clear that he would come back tomorrow.
"It'll be peaceful after I kill him." Lian Jinghong was filled with killing intent. As a Master Artificer and the inventor of the Dark Armor Weapon, he was not a man who followed the rules.
But on second thought, Gao Zhengyang's fearless look suggested that killing him would not solve any problems. Instead, it would stir up conflict and make things unmanageable.
Lian Jinghong was not afraid of killing people, but he did not want to cause a stir. But how could he solve the problem without killing?
Lian Jinghong speculated that this person must have something to do with Goku.
He had just visited Goku yesterday, and someone had come to him today. It would be strange if they had nothing to do with each other.
And the source of all this was that Goku had composed that poem.
What was more frightening was that his true identity had been recognized as soon as he went in. It was very likely that the other party had a ninth-stage grandmaster.
The more Lian Jinghong thought about it, the more shocked he became. He wanted to leave everything behind and leave Tianyue City.
But the other party had come to visit him so brazenly. Were they not afraid that he would run away?
Maybe the other party wanted him to leave Tianyue City so that they could capture him. After all, there was a protective formation in Tianyue City, and the power of a ninth-stage powerhouse would be suppressed.
If things got out of hand, it would alarm the imperial court.
Lian Jinghong did not have any feelings for Tianyue. He felt that all emperors were the same, selfish and heartless.
But compared to the unknown forces, Lian Jinghong would rather choose the imperial court. As long as he revealed his identity, the emperor would treat him as a guest of honor. Most importantly, he was reluctant to give up the secrets here.
After thinking about it, Lian Jinghong finally felt that he could not do anything rash.
The next night, Gao Zhengyang appeared on time again. He sat next to Lian Jinghong as if he was very familiar with him, and spoke earnestly about how he wanted to learn many skills.
Lian Jinghong became impatient when he heard him say the same thing over and over again, and tried to chase him away again.
Gao Zhengyang did not pester him and left obediently.
This went on for seven days in a row. Gao Zhengyang came every day. Every time, he was chased away by Lian Jinghong after only a short while.
Several of Lian Jinghong's friends also noticed this.
They all found it strange and were not used to Lian Jinghong's tough and indifferent attitude. It made Lian Jinghong very uncomfortable.
On the eighth day, when Gao Zhengyang came, Lian Jinghong did not show up.
Gao Zhengyang did not see him, so he talked to the waiter. The waiter did not hide it and said that he was visiting a friend.
Gao Zhengyang was not discouraged when he did not see him. He was in a good mood after leaving the teahouse.
Lian Jinghong's avoidance meant that his pestering tactic was beginning to work. Of course, Lian Jinghong would not be moved by pestering.
Liu Qingge hoped that Gao Zhengyang could help find him, so he gave him a lot of information about Lian Jinghong.
Gao Zhengyang knew a little about Lian Jinghong's personality and weaknesses.
Lian Jinghong was born poor and had climbed up from the bottom to become a master craftsman. He had experienced many hardships when he was young and hated the powerful. He also hated war. This was the main reason why he lived in seclusion.
His only hobby was blacksmithing. But after running the teahouse for decades, he seemed to have completely let go of crafting.
Gao Zhengyang did not have a good way to deal with such a person. He could only keep contacting him and look for opportunities.
Lian Jinghong's avoidance today proved that his harassment tactic was effective.
In a few days, Lian Jinghong might not be able to hold back.
Gao Zhengyang felt that Lian Jinghong did not have many choices. He could either kill him and get rid of any future troubles. He could also ignore everything and run away.
But Lian Jinghong did not leave and did not make a move. It proved that there was a third option, a limited cooperation.
Gao Zhengyang went for a few days and did not see him. He was not in a hurry.
There were many powerful people in Tianyue City. Even Hui Ming was not qualified to do as he pleased here. Not to mention him.
In the following days, Gao Zhengyang went to the Dragon Gate Teahouse every night.
After more than ten days, Gao Zhengyang finally saw Lian Jinghong again.
"It's useless for you to pester me like this," Lian Jinghong said with a cold expression and an unusually tough tone, "If you come again tomorrow, I'll kill you."
"Master Lian, why are you so murderous? We can talk things over." Gao Zhengyang was neither shocked nor angry. He smiled and said, "I just want to learn from you! I don't have any other intentions. "
"Cut the crap. If you come again tomorrow, I'll definitely kill you."
Lian Jinghong was unusually tough. He had been hiding outside for the past few days and felt very uncomfortable. 'I'm a great crafting master. Why do I have to hide from a nobody?' 'It's too frustrating.'
Gao Zhengyang continued, "Hurry up. I really want to learn. If it was for money, I would have reported it to the imperial court. "
Lian Jinghong's expression became even uglier. "If you had reported me, you would have died long ago."
Gao Zhengyang did not care about Lian Jinghong's evil expression. He said leisurely, "How about this. If you can defeat me, I won't appear again. And I'll keep my mouth shut. I won't tell anyone about you. "
Lian Jinghong stared at Gao Zhengyang with suspicion in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I don't have any other intentions. The winner is king, and the strong are respected. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who is stronger. I feel that my martial arts are slightly stronger than yours, so there's nothing to be afraid of. "
Gao Zhengyang chuckled and said, "One battle to decide the winner. If I lose, I'll leave. Or if you want to silence me, that's fine. If you lose, I'll learn from you. "
Lian Jinghong was a little confused. He sized up Gao Zhengyang for a while.
His long and narrow black eyes flickered with uncertainty. The acupoints and aura of martial spirit in Gao Zhengyang's body were unmistakable in his eyes.
No matter how he looked at it, Gao Zhengyang's Yuan Qi was not higher than rank six.
As a master crafting master, Lian Jinghong's secret method to detect Yuan Qi was extremely unique. If he encountered a strong opponent, he might not be able to detect their strength, but he would not be deceived.
Gao Zhengyang did not say anything and quietly waited for Lian Jinghong's decision.
"Alright." After thinking for a while, Lian Jinghong resolutely made up his mind.
When most of the customers in the teahouse had left, Lian Jinghong brought Gao Zhengyang into the backyard of the teahouse.
There were three bungalows in the backyard of the teahouse, and there were many piles of firewood in the yard.
Lian Jinghong opened the door to the main room and called out, "Come in."
There was no fire or light source in the room, and it was pitch black. Gao Zhengyang adjusted his vision to see the situation in the room clearly.
This should have been Lian Jinghong's bedroom. There were all kinds of daily necessities and furniture in the room. But there was some dust on them, indicating that it had been vacant for some time.
Lian Jinghong walked to the stove and knocked on it. The stove slowly sank, revealing a pitch-black hole.
There was not a single sound during the entire process. There was only an extremely faint fluctuation of Yuan Qi.
If Gao Zhengyang had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that there would be an underground passage hidden in such a cramped room.
Lian Jinghong strode into the hole, not even looking at Gao Zhengyang.
If it were anyone else, they would definitely feel a little guilty seeing such a secret underground passage.
Gao Zhengyang did not care. He did not even ask anything, and followed Lian Jinghong into the underground passage.
After walking down the stairs for a few meters, Gao Zhengyang saw a deep and wide underground passage.
The passage was more than three meters tall, and could fit four people walking side by side. Even with Gao Zhengyang's eyesight, he could not see the end of it.
Gao Zhengyang immediately felt that something was wrong. There was nothing wrong with the stove, it was just that the design was a little more elaborate. But this passage was paved with limestone. No matter how skilled a blacksmith was, he would not be much better than a normal person when it came to manual labor.
He carefully examined the limestone paving the passage. It seemed to have been polished in the past few decades.
"Are you afraid?" Lian Jinghong asked faintly without turning his head.
"A little," Gao Zhengyang said. "I feel that this place is very eerie."
Lian Jinghong chuckled. "Let's go."
Although Gao Zhengyang said he was afraid, he was actually a little excited. There seemed to be some secret here!
The passage continued downwards, and the path was winding. Gao Zhengyang followed behind Lian Jinghong. After walking for a quarter of an hour, the view before them suddenly widened.
They were in a large open space, and above them was a hemispherical dome. The ground was flat, and there were several large piles of stones at the side.
In terms of spatial structure, this place was like a huge gymnasium. But all around them were hard stone walls, giving off an abnormally ancient and desolate feeling.
According to Gao Zhengyang's estimates, they were about three thousand meters underground.
"Where is this?" Gao Zhengyang asked.
Lian Jinghong didn't say anything. He flicked his finger, and a ball of fire flew out from his fingertip. After flying more than ten meters, it suddenly exploded, releasing raging flames.
The crimson light of the fire illuminated the entire space.
Lian Jinghong said to Gao Zhengyang, "This is the Gu Tianyue Martial Arts Arena."
"This is the place used for martial arts competitions?" Gao Zhengyang looked around curiously. "I thought it was a place where you forged artifacts."
Lian Jinghong smiled proudly, looking down at Gao Zhengyang with a condescending gaze, seemingly sympathetic and disdainful.
"The Gu Tianyue Martial Arts Arena, strictly speaking, existed before the Mountain Kingdom was founded. According to the legends, Empyrean Lingxu built the Empyrean Palace here. It's just that during the Great Epoch War, the Empyrean Palace was destroyed, but it also left behind many powerful Divine Soldier and artifacts. "
Gao Zhengyang wasn't clear about the history of the human race, nor did he know who Empyrean Lingxu was. From Lian Jinghong's tone, Empyrean Lingxu seemed to be some extraordinary person.
Lian Jinghong saw Gao Zhengyang's confusion, and smiled proudly again. "You youngsters just don't want to learn. Before the Great Epoch War, there were many experts of the human race, and it's said that there were many experts who had stepped into the God Realm. However, they all fell during the Great Epoch War. The Limitless Divine Emperor might have been an ancient god, and there are no records of the True Martial Divine Emperor in the ancient texts of the previous era. I speculate that he should have been a human expert … "
Lian Jinghong had held it in for thirty years, and now that he could finally find someone to talk to, he couldn't stop talking.
"Every epoch is a cycle of reincarnation. It's said that the world has already reincarnated 107 times, and in these past epochs, who knows how many earth-shattering experts have left behind their legacies and relics. When I think about the endless mysteries hidden in the world, I get very excited … "
After listening to Lian Jinghong talk for half a day, Gao Zhengyang admired his knowledge.
After a while, Lian Jinghong became more and more excited, and he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
Gao Zhengyang couldn't help but interrupt him. "Uh, what does this have to do with me?"
Lian Jinghong was stunned. There were earth-shattering secrets hidden in these ancient secrets. What was Gao Zhengyang thinking!?
"If you're done, then do it!" Gao Zhengyang said again.
It exploded, releasing raging flames.
The crimson light of the fire illuminated the entire space.
Lian Jinghong said to Gao Zhengyang, "This is the Gu Tianyue Martial Arena."
"This is the place used for sparring?" Gao Zhengyang looked around curiously. "I thought it was a place where you forge artifacts."
Lian Jinghong smiled proudly, looking down at Gao Zhengyang with a gaze that seemed to be filled with pity and disdain.
"Strictly speaking, the Gu Tianyue Martial Arena existed before the Mountain Kingdom was founded. According to legend, Empyrean Lingxu built the Empyrean Palace here. It's just that during the Great Epoch War, the Empyrean Palace was destroyed, but it also left behind many powerful Divine Soldier and artifacts. "
Gao Zhengyang wasn't clear about the history of the human race, and he didn't know who Empyrean Lingxu was. From Lian Jinghong's tone, Empyrean Lingxu seemed to be some extraordinary person.
Lian Jinghong saw Gao Zhengyang's confusion and smiled proudly again. "You youngsters just aren't willing to learn. Before the Great Epoch War, there were many human experts, and it's said that there were many who had stepped into the God Realm. It's just that they all fell during the Great Epoch War. The Limitless Holy Emperor might be an ancient god, and there are no records of the True Martial Holy Emperor in the ancient books of the previous era. I speculate that he should be a human expert … "
Lian Jinghong had held it in for 30 years, and now that he could finally find someone to talk to, he couldn't stop talking.
"Every epoch is a reincarnation of heaven and earth. It's said that heaven and earth have already reincarnated 107 times, and in these past epochs, who knows how many earth-shattering experts have left behind ruins and inheritances. When I think about the endless mysteries hidden in the world, I'm very excited … "
After listening to Lian Jinghong talk for half a day, Gao Zhengyang admired his knowledge.
After waiting for a while, Lian Jinghong became more and more excited, and he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
Gao Zhengyang had no choice but to interrupt him. "Uh, what does this have to do with me?"
Lian Jinghong was stunned. There were earth-shattering secrets hidden in these ancient secrets. What was Gao Zhengyang thinking!?
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