Qianye’s peaceful cultivation didn’t last long before it was broken by an urgent knock on the door. Song Zining was the only one who would dare to knock so impolitely. Ji Tianqing might do that as well, but no one knew where she was or what she was scheming right now.

Qianye stopped cultivating and opened the door in apparent displeasure. “What do you want now? Is your life already in danger?”

“No, but fairly close. I need you to help me with something.” Song Zining went straight to the point.

“What do you need? Explain first.” Qianye warned.

“Escort a trade caravan to Seagaze and pick up some goods. You’ve done that before.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, just that.”

Qianye frowned. “What kind of goods?”

Song Zining’s smile disappeared. “The journey there involves a batch of samples produced by Ningyuan Heavy Industries. I’m confident that my products are two levels higher in quality than the stuff they can usually get their hands on. I’m sure those companies in Seagaze will know what to do once they see the samples. If they don’t stand obediently on our side, they can wait to be squeezed out of business.”

“Will they be that well-behaved?” Having experienced an ambush in Seagaze, Qianye understood the character of those families quite well. The stuff they couldn’t obtain on the negotiation table, they liked to seize in the wilderness.

Song Zining replied, “They were never an obedient lot, that’s why I want you to go personally. Kill anyone who dares to stop you on the way. Remember, this is a purge, a show of power. There’s no need to take prisoners.”

Qianye nodded.

Song Zining said, “The goods you’re bringing back are the most important. Actually, there are two lots inside. One of them is a crate of rare minerals from the Great Maelstrom, necessary for the construction of large engines. With it, Ningyuan Heavy Industries will be able to produce alloys of unbelievable quality and set out to build battles.h.i.+p engines. The other item is an ancient engine of unknown origins that runs on very different mechanical principles. If we can study it, our airs.h.i.+p technology might take a huge leap forward. Naturally, it’s also possible that nothing will come of it, but I’m very much interested in its origins.”

“I might not be enough for such an important matter.”

“Other people have no idea what you’re there for. At most, they’ll just think you’re escorting the caravan for profits. The true problem is after you’ve picked up the goods.”

Qianye frowned. “Will someone come to rob the goods? Has the news been leaked?”

Song Zining replied, “The seller has leaked the information, he probably contacted more than one buyer. Besides, this person also has enough power to arrange an ambush along the way and seize the goods back. This isn’t uncommon in the neutral lands.”

Qianye nodded. “What do you want me to do?”

Song Zining replied with a question, “What do you think?”

Qianye gave it some thought. “Since the news has been released, then we should just be direct and stop trying to cover things up. I’d simply announce our departure time and route. Whoever wants to intercept the caravan, let them come. I’ll work separately from the motorcade. If anyone wants to attack, heh, he’d better pray for good luck.”

Song Zining laughed. “Even the Wolf King can’t stand a shot from you, the others won’t dare to test your firepower with their bodies. They probably won’t attack unless they’re able to pinpoint your location.”

Qianye said, “Our biggest enemy at the moment is still the Wolf King. Our strategy from last time won’t work again. We won’t be able to stop the Wolf King once he recovers.”

Song Zining nodded. “That is indeed the case, but I can’t think of a better method. What do you have in mind?”

Qianye said slowly, “We should take advantage of his injury to shake the forces under him and around him, clip his wings. I won’t show mercy if I meet the Wolf King’s men along the way, even if they back down. We have to let everyone know that we’re not afraid of him. If all goes well, perhaps we can clear out his influence in Seagaze once and for all.”

“Good idea!” Song Zining clapped. “That was what I had in mind as well, that’s why I arranged for the transaction to take place in Seagaze.”

“But we still can’t defeat the Wolf King.”

Song Zining asked, “You’re the one who wounded him, how long do you think it’ll take for him to recover?”

Qianye said with a frown, “Werewolves possess powerful vitality, to begin with. Add to that the ancestral power that’s available to the Wolf King, I really can’t venture a guess. Under normal circ.u.mstances, though, I’d be very surprised if he can recover within a month.”

Song Zining shot Qianye a glance. “You’re getting better and better. If there’s one month to work with, I’m sure I can devise a method to deal with him… that is provided he dares to come again.”

After some thought, Qianye still felt a bit worried. “There’s something I’m still worried about. If I go alone, what if the other party risks it all to keep me tied down while others seize the goods?”

Song Zining smiled confidently. “Those metals are what’s really important. Those are the stuff that will give us immediate a.s.sistance. As for the ancient engine or whatever, it’s not really important. Whoever gets their hands on it will find a way to contact us with an offer.”

“Why’s that?” Qianye didn’t understand.

“That’s because none of them can figure out what that thing is. All the clans and families here are at least a hundred years behind Ningyuan Heavy Industries in terms of technology. If even we can’t study it, there’s no way any other power can. So, whatever their motives are—even if they wish to seize the results of the research at a later date—they still have to come looking for us.”

Qianye gave it some thought and felt that it was true. The key to this plan was dependent on just how advanced Ningyuan Heavy Industries was—it would only be effective if the disparity was enough to make the other party give up hope.

Song Zining seemed to have realized Qianye’s thoughts. With a smile, he produced a small silver pinion and pa.s.sed it to Qianye. “Look at this, it’s one of the samples I’m planning to pa.s.s to Seagaze.”

Qianye studied the pinion in great detail. The craftsmans.h.i.+p was beautiful, but still, it looked just like an ordinary gear on the surface. Qianye’s eyes, however, could see more than just the exquisite craftsmans.h.i.+p—he found that the pinion’s surface was as smooth as a mirror, and even he couldn’t find the smallest of gaps or unevenness. This level of quality looked simple, but it was extremely difficult to achieve. From what Qianye had seen, only origin weaponry above grade eight would reach this kind of craftsmans.h.i.+p.

He tossed the pinion casually and watched as it returned to his grasp in a beautiful arc. This small movement allowed him to see that the gear’s weight distribution was extremely even. There were neither imbalances nor empty pockets inside—unlike ordinary metallic components, which always contained minute pockets of air.

This kind of pinion wasn’t simple at all. There would be no problem for it to be installed inside a grade-eight gun.

Qianye reached out to pinch the gear, but he still shot Song Zining a glance. This una.s.suming component was actually worth quite a lot, perhaps as much as a grade-four firearm to the knowledgeable.

Song Zining raised his hands with a faint smile, indicating that Qianye could do as he wished.

Qianye no longer held back. Channeling twenty percent of his strength, he squeezed the gear cautiously between three fingers. Qianye’s const.i.tution was so powerful at this point that he could already bend steel with twenty percent of his strength. Yet, the pinion remained unaffected under his pinch, proving that the material was far stronger than ordinary steel.

Song Zining laughed. “It’s fine, just use more force, don’t worry about ruining it. This thing isn’t easy to produce, but we can remake it in batches. You don’t need to hold back. Heh heh, I could only bend it out of shape even at full force. You’re definitely stronger than me, but you can forget about casually…”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when Qianye had reached fifty percent exertion. The gear let out a creaking sound as it was warped out of shape.

Song Zining’s laughter was caught in his throat.

Qianye, on the other hand, let out an exclamation of surprise. The pinion was far stronger than he had expected, and it was fairly pliable as well. Who knew what kind of alloy it was made of?

Qianye wanted to know its limits, so he kept on exerting more force—sixty, seventy, then ninety percent...

At this point, the gear had turned into a moldable paste in Qianye’s hands, transforming from round to flat, short to long, and then back into the shape of a ball. Qianye clenched it with both hands toward the end, turning it into a solid sphere of metal. Its surface was compact and solid, almost as though it had been pressed in a forge. If it wasn’t for the minute crevices, one would be inclined to believe that it was its original form.

Qianye frowned somewhat. His hands suddenly erupted in scarlet flames as his Venus Dawn origin power scorched the gear from the inside out, sealing the last remaining fissures and fusing everything into a single body. He then rolled the metal into a sphere so perfectly round that even the most intricate of apparatuses wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Without even noticing it, Qianye had once again revealed a great achievement in his combat arts.

Qianye offered constant praises during the process of flattening and rolling. “Good stuff, it’s really great, how firm, it’s definitely hard enough…”

Only when the sphere was completed did Qianye recall that Song Zining seemed to have gone silent. He turned around to find the seventh young master staring at his hands in a flabbergasted daze.

Qianye waved the ball in front of him. “What’s wrong?”

Song Zining came to at this point. He asked with a wry smile, “Are you even human?”

Qianye replied after a moment of silence, “No.”

Only then did Song Zining remember that Qianye was half-human, half-vampire. “Even vampires can’t do this!”

“But this pinion… it’s definitely good stuff.”