Chapter 54 The Flame Token

Wushu’s Sea of Consciousness was a realm unfamiliar to the World Tree of the Resting Place; it only knew that Wushu possessed extraordinarily powerful spiritual energy. The World Tree was well aware of Wushu’s battle against the clone of the Demonic Ancestor, during which Wushu had suppressed the soul body of the Netherworld Demonic Ancestor within his Sea of Consciousness.

The little tree sprite approached Wushu, first hopping onto his hand, then climbing along his arm to his shoulder, winding its way through his hair until it reached the top of his head. Panting slightly, it said, "Young Master, please allow me to enter your Sea of Consciousness."

Wushu was rather puzzled by the little tree sprite’s arduous journey. Had it simply asked for help, wouldn't Wushu have sent it directly into his Sea of Consciousness without all the fuss?

Giving a slight nod, Wushu concentrated his mind to open the Sea of Consciousness for the little sprite. The next moment, inside Wushu's Sea of Consciousness, the little sprite materialized atop the summit of Saintly Son Mountain. Gazing at the vast expanse of the spiritual realm, it exclaimed in wonder, "The Young Master's Sea of Consciousness is so vast! Coming here was definitely the right choice."

Wushu’s spiritual avatar also appeared beside the little sprite, asking calmly, "Do you like it here? If you do, take root and sprout right here!"

The little sprite nodded eagerly and replied, "Young Master, your Sea of Consciousness is immense. I believe that before long, I will be able to grow into a towering giant tree here."

Contemplating that with a little sapling guarding this place, the formations around Saintly Son Mountain might become even more stable in the future, Wushu said calmly, "Little tree sprite, this is your home from now on. Remember my words, and you must guard this place well."

The little sapling nodded earnestly—whether it truly understood Wushu's words remained uncertain. Then, it dove headfirst down toward Saintly Son Mountain below, vanishing completely from sight upon the mountain.

Wushu knew very well that a World Tree seed required a certain amount of time to progress from being buried to sprouting and growing into a young sapling, so he prepared to leave.

Just as the World Tree seed buried itself into Saintly Son Mountain, Wu Zuo, Wu You, and the Netherworld Demonic Ancestor suddenly felt an overwhelmingly heavy pressure weighing down upon them, as if Saintly Son Mountain was no longer just a mountain, but had transformed into an entire world.

Wu Zuo and Wu You wailed bitterly, "What is going on? Why has Saintly Son Mountain suddenly become so heavy?"

With a grim expression, the Netherworld Demonic Ancestor retorted, "Recently, none of us have offended the Young Master. Why would he suddenly target Saintly Son Mountain today? No, that doesn't seem right—this doesn't feel like an attack from the Young Master. It feels more like Saintly Son Mountain itself has grown heavier. Could it be that the Young Master's spiritual prowess has broken through to another powerful realm?"

Guarding Saintly Son Mountain had always been the task assigned by Wushu to the Stele Spirit. Having witnessed everything when Wushu and the World Tree seed appeared, the Stele Spirit had watched the little sprite dive into Saintly Son Mountain, guessing that it might be the seed of some miraculous tree.

Joyfully approaching Wushu, the Stele Spirit asked, "Boss, what was that just now?"

Glancing toward the spot where the little sapling had vanished, Wushu answered calmly, "A seed of the World Tree."

Worried that the Stele Spirit might act impulsively upon learning this and disrupt the World Tree's growth, Wushu instructed in a deep voice, "Take good care of the little sapling. With it guarding this place, if we encounter powerful enemies in the future, you will be able to break free and assist me."

Being naturally quick-witted, the Stele Spirit hurriedly promised, "Boss, rest assured! Little Spirit will take good care of the sapling and treat it just like a younger brother."

At the same time, the Stele Spirit rejoiced inwardly: *Finally, I'm getting a little brother! I'll never have to lower myself to speak with Wu Zuo and Wu You again.*

After Wushu departed, the Stele Spirit bent over, staring intently at the spot where the sapling had disappeared, and said with eager anticipation, "Little sapling, hurry up and grow fast! Once you do, your Big Brother Spirit will be able to tell you countless stories every day."

From then on, the Stele Spirit kept up a steady stream of self-talk right there.

As soon as Wushu emerged from his Sea of Consciousness, the Fire Cat Beast King expanded in size, spat a silver hammerhead from its mouth, and said, "Young Master, the Old Master instructed me to bring this to you. He hopes you will forge a peerless divine artifact as soon as possible."

Wushu grasped the handle of the silver hammer and tried to lift it, but its weight completely exceeded his imagination; the tiny hammer weighed at least tens of thousands of catties. The Fire Cat Beast King, fully aware of the hammer's weight, remarked, "Young Master, do not underestimate this little hammer. Back then, it took the Old Master a full twenty-one days to forge it. Had this small silver hammer not lacked an artifact spirit all this time, countless spiritual weapons would have been forged beneath its head long ago."

The silver hammer was undoubtedly an extraordinary item, but it was far too heavy. Simply trying to lift it exhausted Wushu's utmost strength, let alone using it for forging.

Noticing the problem Wushu faced, the Fire Cat Beast King explained, "Young Master, when the Old Master handed this small silver hammer to me, he instructed that if you found it too heavy, you should first familiarize yourself with the forging knowledge bestowed upon you by Flame. If you wield this hammer by borrowing the Grand Hammer Technique, I believe that given time, you will be able to wield the small silver hammer freely."

Mentioning the forging experience given to him by Flame, Wushu quickly reviewed that knowledge in his mind. Upon finding the Grand Hammer Technique, he scanned it rapidly and thought to himself, *The Wu family's Grand Hammer Technique looks like a secret skill no matter how one reads it. When forging, it can hammer out impurities from various materials; when fighting opponents, a master of the Grand Hammer Technique can even unleash the Artifact Soul True Body to crush adversaries in cooperation with an artifact spirit.*

Reflecting on this, although Wushu’s strength in physical tempering and profound energy had improved immensely of late, he did not know a single secret skill for combat. It wasn't that he didn't want to cultivate secret skills, but simply that he hadn't had the time to learn them.

With both the small silver hammer and the World Tree seed handed over to Wushu, the Fire Cat Beast King had accomplished the full purpose of its trip. Preparing to leave, but suddenly remembering another important task it had nearly forgotten, the beast king castigated itself, "Almost forgot! Young Master, the Old Master asked me to hand these two Flame Tokens to you. He said that with these two tokens, the next time the Flame Battlefield of the Thick Earth Continent opens, you and Miss Zhao Fenxing can participate directly using them."

Upon hearing that the Flame Token allowed its holder direct entry into the Flame Battlefield, Zhao Fenxing, standing nearby, grew extremely tense.

Every time the Flame Battlefield opened, even the members of the Zhao family of the Eastern Empire had to undergo layer after layer of screening just to send a single clan member inside, followed by fierce competitions among the major empires. In the end, the Eastern Empire's Zhao family could only manage to send about ten members into the Flame Battlefield.

As far as Zhao Fenxing knew, the Flame Battlefield was the decisive battleground where ancestors and top-tier experts of both the human and demon races fought in ancient times. Countless treasures left behind by human and demonic ancestors were scattered there, and those fortunate enough to enter could even acquire heaven-defying inheritances.

Human beings who obtained inheritances in the Flame Battlefield only needed to cultivate diligently after leaving; even with the relatively thin spiritual energy across the entire Thick Earth Continent, those who secured an inheritance could at least reach the sub-ancestral realm of strength.

Accepting the Flame Tokens and keenly aware of Zhao Fenxing's anticipation, Wushu handed one of the tokens to her and said, "Fenxing, this one is for you."

Fully aware of the immense importance of the Flame Token, Zhao Fenxing accepted it without hesitation and slipped it directly into her inner storage pouch. She did not forget to remind Wushu, "Wushu, keep your Flame Token safe. Never mention to anyone that you possess a Flame Token in the future. The owner of a Flame Token will inevitably invite a fatal calamity. As for the benefits of the Flame Token, you will understand naturally once we enter the Flame Battlefield."

With all matters settled, the Fire Cat Beast King resumed its feline form and said, "Young Master, upon this parting, I know not when we shall meet again. I hope that upon your return, your name will be renowned across the world."

Having said his farewells, the Fire Cat Beast King leaped out the window without looking back.

Before he knew it, Wushu had been in the Beast-Trapping Hall for quite some time, and the grand competition between the human and demon races was about to begin. A maid of the Beast-Trapping Hall approached Wushu and said respectfully, "Lord Wushu, the grand competition is about to commence. Please kindly move to the Battle Pavilion, My Lord."

Nodding to the maid, Wushu turned to Zhao Fenxing and said, "Fenxing, it is quiet here. Stay and watch the battles from this place."

After arranging a place for Zhao Fenxing, Wushu communicated with the Flame Pagoda's artifact spirit and casually stowed the small silver hammer into the pagoda. Guided by the maid, Wushu soon arrived at the Battle Pavilion on the first floor of the Beast-Trapping Hall.

Inside the Battle Pavilion, representatives from the eight major clans of Emperor's Realm had already assembled. Seeing Wushu appear, Zhao Renheng said calmly, "Wushu, I am over here."

Compared to his son Zhao Fanfan's lingering resentment toward Wushu, Zhao Renheng appeared completely serene and unconcerned. For a moment, it made members of the other clans wonder if the sun had risen from the west today—since when had someone from the Zhao family shown such warm regard for a member of a declining minor clan?

That Zhao Renheng would greet him first was indeed quite surprising to Wushu, especially since he had observed back at the Wu family that Zhao Renheng was someone who strictly observed social hierarchy.

Not wishing to rebuff Zhao Renheng's courtesy, Wushu quietly walked over behind him and found a seat.

With Wushu's arrival, Zhao Renheng suddenly felt that attending this human-demon grand competition was profoundly meaningful. At the very least, purely on the surface, the Zhao family had not engaged in any fierce internal rivalry yet still held a secured participation quota.

Even though people from the other clans could see through Zhao Renheng's intentions, they cast disdainful glances in his direction. After all, Wushu hailed from Eastern Ascent City, and given how impoverished Eastern Ascent City was nowadays, what kind of talent could it possibly cultivate?

At that moment, Zhao Fanfan, sitting beside Wushu, could no longer contain himself and sneered contemptuously, "Country bumpkin!"

As a direct descendant of the Zhao family, Zhao Fanfan's blunt utterance of "country bumpkin" voiced the exact thoughts shared by all the other direct descendants of the major clans present in the hall.