As a 6-star pinnacle blacksmith, if Guild Leader Zhong still couldn't make sense of what was going on, he might as well commit suicide on the spot.
Guild Leader Zhong was still in disbelief as he turned his gaze back to Sun Jin.
The other party was once his favorite elder, and he had even thought that he would inherit his legacy and become the guild leader … How could he do such a thing?
But the truth was right before his eyes. As the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, if he hadn't investigated the matter thoroughly, there was no way he would have charged into the Blacksmith Guild and caused such a huge ruckus!
"What is going on?"
Guild Leader Zhong glared at Sun Jin coldly, wishing that he could skin the fellow before him alive.
If his conjecture was true, not only would Sun Jin be humiliated, the entire Firesource City Blacksmith Guild would become a negative example for the headquarters. In fact, even Guild Leader Zhong himself would be criticized by the later generations, and his name would go down in history!
"I …" Sun Jin's lips twitched, and he hurriedly explained, "Guild leader, I didn't do it. I really don't know!"
"You don't know?"
Guild Leader Zhong glared at Sun Jin coldly. "You should know the consequences of lying to a master teacher! If you speak the truth now, you might still be able to get off scot-free. However, once the truth is revealed, even if Zhang Shi were to kill you on the spot, I wouldn't be able to say a single word of 'no'! "
Master teachers were not to be trifled with!
If one were to be found guilty of lying to a master teacher, not only could the master teacher be killed on the spot, even those who were related to the master teacher by blood would be implicated, and they would be banned from taking the examination for any Upper Nine Paths occupation!
This was not a rule set by Mingshi Tang but a vow made by the members of the various occupations out of respect for their teachers.
To lie to even one's' teacher 'was no different from lying to one's parents. If one were to continue living, it would only be a matter of time before one became a scourge!
"I …"
Sun Jin's face paled, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Naturally, he was aware of this rule, but … deep in his heart, he was still hoping that the other party wouldn't be able to find out the truth.
"Why? Are you at a loss for words?"
The disappointment in Guild Leader Zhong's eyes deepened.
In truth, he had already guessed from the moment the other party hesitated. If he really hadn't done it, he would have argued for it.
His current appearance was enough to explain the problem.
"Don't think that Mingshi Tang might not be able to find out the truth after a while … If you can't even find out about this, you're not Mingshi Tang!"
By the side, Hall Master Feng Yihui had also figured out what was going on, and his face darkened.
It was a serious dereliction of duty for President Zhang, who had only been here for two or three days, to notice such a situation in the area under his jurisdiction.
Having his thoughts seen through, Sun Jin's body stiffened, not knowing how he should respond.
Indeed, as long as he was willing to investigate, there was nothing that Mingshi Tang could not find out.
No matter how much time had passed, the families of the thirty or so apprentices would still be around. As long as he searched carefully, he would definitely be able to find some clues.
If an apprentice was unable to pass the examination, it meant that his talent was too lacking. Yet, there were so many people here, but not a single one of them had passed. No matter how foolish he was, he could tell that something was wrong.
Previously, the status of acolytes was too low, and there were too many of them. It was fine if no one paid attention to them, but now that they were being investigated, it was impossible to hide it.
Not to mention …
Narrowing his eyes, Sun Jin discreetly reached for the storage ring on his right middle finger and drove his zhenqi, intending to destroy it. However, before he could make a move, a sharp glint suddenly flashed across his eyes.
Huala!
His right middle finger was severed, and the storage ring fell to the ground.
"If I'm not mistaken, the cultivation technique that he imparted to Song Zhen should be in that storage ring!"
Zhang Xuan said calmly.
"Yes!"
Guild Leader Zhong reached out and grabbed the storage ring on the ground.
Exerting his zhenqi, he erased the Soul Imprint on it. Lowering his head to take a look, a moment later, a book suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Flipping it open, Guild Leader Zhong's face immediately turned livid, as if he was on the verge of exploding. Gritting his teeth, he passed the book over to Song Zhen.
"Is this the cultivation technique that you cultivate?"
Walking up to Guild Leader Zhong, Song Zhen took a look, and nodded. "That's right. He's the one who imparted it to us back then …"
"What else do you have to say for yourself?"
Guild Leader Zhong asked as he grabbed the book tightly. This time, his eyes were as cold as ice.
"I …" Unable to hold himself back any longer, Sun Jin's knees caved in, and he kneeled onto the ground.
If he had been able to hide it from the Guild Leader Zhong earlier, it would have been meaningless for him to say anything now that the book had been found in his storage ring.
"I was blinded by greed. I thought that since there are so many ores here, as long as I can find them, I'll be able to earn more money. Even if I don't become a blacksmith in the future, I'll still be able to live a better life …"
"In order for you to live a better life, you ended up harming so many innocent cultivators. You aren't worthy of being a blacksmith, and you aren't worthy of being a blacksmith!"
Guild Leader Zhong shook his head with gritted teeth.
Even though blacksmiths weren't master teachers, they still had their own heritage. The young man before him used the name of nurturing apprentices as an excuse, but in truth, he was doing things that would only benefit himself and harm others.
"President Zhang and Pavilion Master Feng, I apologize for my negligence in disciplining my subordinates, and I was blind to have trusted the other party, resulting in such a calamity. I'm willing to resign from my position as the leader of the Blacksmith Guild to find the families of the thirty apprentices and make it up to them!"
With a wave of his hand, Guild Leader Zhong sealed Sun Jin's cultivation before turning his gaze back to Zhang Xuan.
As the leader of the Blacksmith Guild, it was already a serious dereliction of duty for the other party to commit such atrocities before his very eyes. Other than Song Zhen, even though the other apprentices had died, there was bound to be family members who were willing to make it up to them.
"You aren't to be blamed for this matter, but you bear great responsibility for it!"
Zhang Xuan said with his hands behind his back.
Even though the blame didn't fall on the other party, as Sun Jin's direct superior, the other party didn't even notice the other party's character and gave him the status of an elder, allowing him to act so brazenly and unbridled that he harmed so many people. This was something that he couldn't deny.
If the other party wasn't an elder of the Blacksmith Guild or a 6-star blacksmith, how could he possibly wield the power to conceal the deaths of dozens of apprentices without arousing suspicion?
"I know, but it's a pity that I won't be able to make it up to you no matter what I do …"
Guild Leader Zhong glanced at Song Zhen with a disappointed look on his face.
Putting aside those who had died, even the young man before him wouldn't be able to change the outcome no matter how hard he tried.
The cultivation technique that the other party cultivated conflicted with that of a blacksmith. Even a 6-star pinnacle blacksmith wouldn't be able to change his fate.
"It's not that it's impossible …"
Seeing the attitude of the guild leader, Zhang Xuan could tell what he was thinking. Shaking his head, he stretched out his hand and said, "Let me take a look at the book."
"Yes!"
Nodding, Zhang Xuan took out the cultivation technique manual from Sun Jin's storage ring and passed it over.
Taking the book, Zhang Xuan flipped through it casually before falling into deep thought.
A moment later, he took out a brush and paper, and with a flourish, he wrote down a new set of cultivation technique before passing it over to Song Zhen. "Cultivate according to this set of cultivation technique!"
At this moment, Song Zhen finally understood what was going on. His gaze toward Sun Jin was no longer filled with respect. Instead, it was filled with intense hatred.
He had persevered for an entire twenty years to become Sun Jin's apprentice, but in the end, all of his efforts were for naught!
Taking the book, Song Zhen was perplexed.
Even though he was grateful to President Zhang, his life's goal had been deemed impossible. He had no idea what he should do anymore.
"I have said that I will make you a true blacksmith, so naturally, I have to fulfill my promise!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. "After you finish cultivating this cultivation technique, you will be able to take the 5-star blacksmith examination or even … 6-star examination!"
"5-star examination? 6-star examination? "
Song Zhen was taken aback. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"That's right!"
Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile.
Song Zhen hurriedly flipped open the book. The ink on the cover hadn't dried yet, and a faint fragrance of ink drifted into the air. Coupled with the words that seemed as if they would leap out from the paper at any moment, it was a refreshing sight.
Soon, Song Zhen finished browsing through the book, and his body stiffened in disbelief.
To be able to reach Transcendent Mortal 9-dan in his thirties without the guidance of a master teacher, there was no doubt that the other party was a talented cultivator. Even though he had only skimmed through the contents of the book, he could already tell how fearsome the cultivation technique was.
Just as the other party had said, not only would it resolve the crux of his cultivation, it would also allow him to advance his cultivation to a higher level!
"Let's begin!"
Seeing that Song Zhen was in a daze, Zhang Xuan chuckled.
"Yes!"
Without any hesitation, Song Zhen sat down cross-legged and began cultivating according to the contents of the secret manual.
Seeing that Song Zhen was cultivating, Zhang Xuan turned to the elder not too far away and said, "Guild Leader Zhong, I'll have to trouble you to find three grade-6 pills for him. They are the Bone Forging Body Tempering Pill, Meridian Reversal Pill …"
Song Zhen had been cultivating that cultivation technique for twenty years now. Even if Zhang Xuan were to redesign the book and alter his meridians and zhenqi, it still wouldn't be easy for him to forge a weapon.
He would still require the assistance of some pills.
Altering one's meridians and meridians to forcefully convert one's zhenqi, which was the opposite of the earth flame, into one that was similar to the earth flame, was something that no one else would be able to achieve. Only Zhang Xuan, who had the Heaven's Path Divine Art as his foundation, was able to successfully deduce the matter.
"It might be difficult to find such pills in other places, but they aren't too rare in Firesource City … Please wait a moment!"
Guild Leader Zhong hurriedly left.
Firesource City was rich in earth flame, and smithing and pill forging were the most popular occupations in the city. On top of that, there were all kinds of rare medicinal herbs in the city, so it wouldn't take too much time to find pills that couldn't be found elsewhere.
Not too long later, Guild Leader Zhong returned with the three pills that Zhang Xuan had requested.
He passed the pills to Song Zhen and instructed him to consume them while cultivating. An hour later, a buzzing sound echoed in Song Zhen's body, and his aura surged. After cultivating for a while, not only did he manage to alter the attribute of his zhenqi, he even managed to overcome his bottleneck and reach Half-Saint!
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