Nie Shiyun arrived at the Shang residence and entered through the side door as usual. He personally didn't mind, but Madam Shang was concerned that if his visits were seen by those with ulterior motives, word would spread among the weapon-refiners, and Nie Shiyun would surely face their suspicion and harassment. Consequently, the fact that he knew Madam Shang was currently known only to a few of her personal attendants and had not been leaked to the public.
Madam Shang’s maid already recognized him. Seeing him arrive, she greeted him with a smile and led him inside.
"What brings you here today? Is there some problem at the workshop?" Madam Shang greeted Nie Shiyun warmly, inviting him to have some tea.
Nie Shiyun smiled and took a seat. He told Madam Shang that he had only come into the city today to sell some items and decided to pay her a visit along the way.
"You really can't stay idle, can you? You should rest properly on your days off. Weapon-refiners are precious talents; who ever heard of one running off into the wilderness to gather materials themselves?" Although she grumbled, Madam Shang accepted the gift with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"It was just a stroll nearby; it wasn't tiring. Since coming here from the Lower Realm, there are many things I haven't seen before. I can't get enough of the novelty."
Although the spiritual herbs he brought out weren't particularly rare, Madam Shang was touched by the gesture. Nie Shiyun was younger than her own son, who had been taken to the main family in the Upper Layer by her husband hundreds of years ago and rarely thought to visit his mother in the Middle Layer. Every time she missed her son, she had to travel to the Upper Layer herself to see him.
At this thought, Madam Shang’s eyes dimmed slightly, but she quickly shook off the feeling.
"Speaking of which, I saw someone handing out flyers on my way to the apothecary. Do you know about this, Senior?" Nie Shiyun took the flyer out of his storage ring. Madam Shang took it, and a look of realization immediately crossed her face.
"I know of it, of course. This is held every few years; everyone in the Middle Layer towns knows about it."
Seeing that she was aware of it, Nie Shiyun honestly voiced his confusion.
"Since it’s such a grand event, why does it feel like the people on the street don't really care? And I saw that there’s no threshold for entry; one only needs to pay two hundred immortal crystals. Yet, not a single refiner in the workshop has even mentioned it."
Madam Shang let out a long, weary sigh. "It’s a long story. Are you interested in participating?"
Nie Shiyun nodded. "If it’s truly as the paper describes, I am quite interested. I saw many similar competitions in the Lower Realm, and they were very engaging. Grade 2 weapon-refiners are a dime a dozen, so I’m not seeking a high rank; I just want to practice my skills. However... is there some hidden catch?"
Madam Shang sat down and explained the situation to him in detail.
First, the people at the workshop didn't pay attention to it because, although they weren't physically within the Shang estate, they were still considered part of the Shang family's industry. If people under these great families wanted to participate in competitions or even go for the next level of certification, they had to report it first. They could only go after passing the family's internal testing to ensure their skill level wouldn't bring shame to the family name.
"However, you never signed a contract with the Shang family, nor have you shown your face in public. If you want to participate, I’ll have a word with the workshop and let you leave early. You’re leaving at the end of next month anyway."
Madam Shang didn't intend to stop Nie Shiyun from trying his hand, but she spoke bluntly: it was nearly impossible to achieve a high rank in this competition. Rogue weapon-refiners were rare to begin with; if a promising talent appeared in the preliminaries, they would immediately be recruited by a great family. Those who insisted on remaining solitary were easily targeted.
"But you don't need to worry; a Grade 2 weapon-refiner hasn't reached the stage where they’d bother targeting you," Madam Shang said. "It’s just that it’s always the same group of people year after year. Everyone is tired of watching them. That’s why the people on the street seem so uninterested."
Nie Shiyun gave a wry smile. Indeed, since every family would send their carefully selected talents to compete, he certainly didn't need to worry about distant goals like the top rankings.
"If everyone is bored of it, why is it held so frequently?" Nie Shiyun asked curiously.
In the Human Realm, many competitions were annual or held every three to four years. But how many years did a mortal live compared to a cultivator?
The population mobility in the Upper Realm was naturally low; it was common for one's surroundings to remain unchanged for a hundred years. In such an environment, holding a competition every few years—no wonder people's enthusiasm was low.
Madam Shang said helplessly, "That is the crux of the matter. Originally, our custom was to hold it once every fifty to a hundred years. But a few decades ago, a Dragon Prince arrived. He’s the type who insists on having his way, and he demanded that this weapon-refining competition be held constantly. It just so happens that the Lan family, who manages the Weapon-Refining Association, has dealings with the Dragon Clan in the Upper Layer... No, rather than 'dealings,' it’s more accurate to say they rely on them. Later, several families discussed it and decided that having only the weapon-refining trade hold frequent competitions looked odd, so the frequency for other industries was increased as well..."
"The Dragon Clan?" Nie Shiyun was surprised. This was the first time he had heard of such a person since arriving in the Middle Layer.
Madam Shang nodded. "He is the youngest son of the Dragon Clan leader, and he’s quite the troublemaker. Other members of the Dragon Clan look down on the Middle Layer and rarely set foot here. But he found it interesting and brought a group of people down here to play."
"Doesn't the Dragon Clan discipline him?" Nie Shiyun asked.
"The Dragon Clan leader has too many sons; as long as no major disaster occurs, he generally doesn't care," Madam Shang said with a bitter smile. "Besides, isn't the Lan family looking after him? As someone who also handles family affairs, I understand their plight... When the main family in the Upper Layer makes such demands, it is truly difficult."
"He likes watching weapon-refining competitions?" Nie Shiyun wondered. That was a strange hobby.
"He... he likes *participating* in weapon-refining competitions," Madam Shang answered hesitantly.
Nie Shiyun was even more shocked. Spirit beasts were naturally disadvantaged when it came to auxiliary crafts like weapon-refining, and even those with divine beast bloodlines were no exception—he had already lost count of how many furnaces Little Xuan Yang had blown up while secretly trying to refine things.
If he liked participating in competitions, his skill level must be decent; otherwise, it would only damage his self-confidence.
"Then, if I may ask, what grade of weapon-refiner is he?"
Madam Shang replied, "Grade 3. But his weapon-refiner assessment was conducted privately by the Lan family. I have no idea how much that grade is worth in reality..."
"Then, what rank has he achieved in previous competitions?"
Nie Shiyun’s question made Madam Shang feel utterly helpless. She answered truthfully, "To be honest, since he arrived in the Middle Layer, no one else has ever taken first place in the weapon-refining competition. In the beginning, there were some who lacked discernment and outperformed him. But he would simply throw a tantrum on stage and insist on a rematch. After the second round, he would win. Everyone knows exactly what’s going on."
Madam Shang added, "He has a haughty and arrogant temper, and with the Dragon Clan as his backing, if you truly provoke him, people really do die from his retaliation. The cultivators know that these past few decades have just been the great families putting on a show for him, only hoping he’ll get bored soon and return to the Upper Layer. But we’ve been acting for decades, and this Dragon Prince is still enjoying himself..."
Nie Shiyun fell silent for a moment. If that was the case, the competition was indeed a major disappointment for weapon-refiners.
It would be one thing if the great families of similar standing pre-determined the top rankings among themselves, but for the permanent first place every year to be an outsider whose actual Grade 3 status was questionable... According to Madam Shang, this little Dragon Prince also looked down on humans. No wonder everyone on the street had such cold expressions when receiving the flyers. Likely, if it weren't the Lan family distributing them, people wouldn't even bother to accept them.
"If there’s a chance, I’d like to meet this member of the Dragon Clan," Nie Shiyun said.
Madam Shang hurried to dissuade him. "If you just go through the preliminaries normally, you definitely won't run into him. Every year, the Lan family bends over backward to please him, deliberately picking weapon-refiners who look impressive but letting him win to make him seem even more outstanding... In short, whatever you do, do not go looking for trouble. He is completely unreasonable. If you provoke him, forget about me—not a single one of these great families would dare to defy him."
Nie Shiyun hesitated. He truly wanted to use this opportunity to get close to the Dragon Clan and see for himself.
He hadn't forgotten about the so-called power of the Four Sacred Beasts. He had thought he would have to wait until he reached the Upper Layer and found Xuan Yang before gradually approaching the Phoenix Clan. He hadn't expected to encounter a member of the Dragon Clan in the Middle Layer shortly before his departure. It was hard for Nie Shiyun to pretend he knew nothing.
"Can't you at least give me a hollow promise?" Madam Shang felt a sense of powerlessness. "Take my advice; you really cannot afford to offend him."
Nie Shiyun said with some difficulty, "Um... I know what I'm doing. Don't worry."
Seeing that he was impervious to persuasion, Madam Shang knew he likely had his own plans and that further advice would be useless. However, she didn't think a Grade 2 weapon-refiner could cause much of a stir, so she nagged him a few more times and let it drop.
Nie Shiyun sat for a while longer, asking Madam Shang about the departure time of the immortal ship. He learned that this spring's ship would arrive on the last day of the month and set sail the following month. Forget just the preliminaries; even if he watched the entire competition, there would be plenty of time to reach the docks. Knowing this, Nie Shiyun felt completely relieved and decided to observe this Dragon Prince properly.
After chatting for a bit, Nie Shiyun prepared to take his leave. The Lan family was not in this town, nor was the competition being held here. However, traveling there would only take two or three days, which wasn't far. Considering he was working at the Shang family's workshop and it wouldn't be convenient to register from there, Nie Shiyun asked Madam Shang to remove his name from the roster. He could pack up his room and leave that very day.
"Are you in such a hurry to go to the neighboring town? Even if you aren't working at the workshop, there's no harm in staying there."
"It's fine. I'll go to the neighboring town early to scout the way," Nie Shiyun declined Madam Shang’s kind offer, joking half-seriously, "I'll rent a cultivation room this time; I won't stay in a geothermal room again."
Madam Shang was amused by him. Seeing his mind was made up, she nodded and promised to have someone inform the workshop.
"A pity. There are many affairs to handle for the Shang family every day, so I won't be able to go watch the competition. If you run into anything, use that transmission stone I gave you to contact me. When the immortal ship is about to depart, I'll see if I can find some time to see you off." Before he left, Madam Shang gave her final instructions.
Madam Shang had already arranged things with the person in charge of the immortal ship, reserving a spot for Nie Shiyun. When the time came, he only needed to show his token to board. Nie Shiyun was deeply grateful.
"You've gone to too much trouble. Family matters are more important," Nie Shiyun said. "Then, I shall take my leave."
Nie Shiyun bid farewell to Madam Shang, planning to go back to his room at the workshop to pack his things and then head straight for the neighboring town.
He felt a bit sentimental, wondering if he would see Madam Shang again before leaving. Since coming to the Upper Realm, although he had encountered some obstacles, he had also met many kind people and spirit beasts. He hadn't forgotten that he wanted to return to the Lower Layer someday to see how those fellows in the Tiger Clan were doing.
He truly hoped to see Bai Rong soon and tell him all the big and small things that had happened during this year of separation. Nie Shiyun smiled and carefully tucked away the token Madam Shang had given him.
Nie Shiyun hadn't been at the workshop for long, and when he was free, he was always running off, so he hadn't become close with the people around him. Not many people cared that he was packing up to leave. Just like the day he arrived, he departed quietly.
Over the next few days, Nie Shiyun traveled at a leisurely pace, recording the terrain and resources of the wilderness as he went. Finally, he arrived at the seat of the Lan family and the location where the weapon-refining competition was about to be held: Pinghe City.
***
