Castle of Black Iron

Hearing this abrupt yet aged voice coming from behind him, the man in the black robe reacted as quickly and ferociously as a lightning bolt. Lowering his body, he turned around and punch out at the same time.

In a split second, the battle qi of the LV 10 fighter rolled up like a dragon. A huge ferocious reptile that Zhang Tie had not seen before had formed. Having been chased after by that man so long, it was Zhang Tie’s first time seeing the battle qi totem of a LV 10 powerful fighter.

With a dull thunder in the air, the man had smacked his two palms onto the chest of the person behind him.

Time seemed to stop at that moment...

That man in the black robe also saw clearly who was behind him.

It was a beggar-like, old man with broken clothes and messy hair.

That man was very dumbfounded; but he was not as stunned as Zhang Tie. Because Zhang Tie knew this old man. Zhang Tie had not imagined that he could encounter this old man here.

Zhang Tie saw this old man walking out of the river of magma like how people walk out of a common river.

’Someone was able to stay in magma?’ Zhang Tie was really shocked.

Zhang Tie even started to wonder if it was an illusion; however, the man in the black robe’s reaction told Zhang Tie that it was real, because the man in the black robe heard and saw it too. As Zhang Tie thought all this, the man’s attacks connected with that old man’s chest.

’What would be the result if a person was smacked by a LV 10 powerful fighter who had exerted his utmost strength?’ Zhang Tie knew that if it was him, he would be killed immediately!

However, that old man didn’t die; instead, he maintained his expression and his messy hairstyle. With only a glance, the man in black robe had started to shriek miserably.

Zhang Tie also slightly opened his mouth as he watched the guy who had chased after him to shriek horribly like a little girl who’d been raped.

"Argh, how could this happen; my attack was absorbed by you, what the hell are you, argh..."

When the man’s hands were 2 cm away from the old man, they had been blocked and sucked in by an invisible wall...

"Nowadays, young men really don’t know how to respect old..." That old man let out a sigh, "I didn’t mean you any harm; yet, you want to kill me?"

With the man’s shrill cries and Zhang Tie’s amazement, the LV 10 powerful fighter’s arms started to turn red, they dried up, hardened, blackened, and carbonized like being immersed in magma before scattering like dried ash and fell onto the ground...

After losing his hands in a few seconds, the LV 10 powerful fighter became handicapped and spat out a mouthful of blood before falling down onto the ground with his face to the sky.

After that man fell down, the beggar-like old man moved his eyes onto Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie rubbed his eyes as forcefully swallowed his saliva and fixed his eyes onto that old man with a bitter smile, "O... old man, good to see you again..."

This old man was that same old beggar whom Zhang Tie met in the wharf and White Dragon Town several days ago. When he saw this old man in White Dragon Town, he had been thrown onto the street by some servants of Zhao Mansion and was almost beaten up. Zhang Tie even gave his purse to him at that time.

Since that day, this old man would occasionally come to the wharf to watch Zhang Tie setting free the sandscale fish. He didn’t say much; like a lunatic, he usually squatted by the seaside for several hours. As long as Zhang Tie asked him about his family, the old man would be driven mad. Therefore, Zhang Tie only took him as a common, poor, old beggar. As Zhang Tie felt very pitiful about him, sometimes, he would bring the old man some food or clothes.

It was really out of Zhang Tie’s imagination that such an old beggar could be such a great powerhouse. Without any movement, he had already crippled a LV 10 powerhouse. Zhang Tie could not imagine how powerful such a man was.

Fixing his eyes on Zhang Tie, the old man didn’t say anything as he started to look over Zhang Tie.

At the sight of the old man, Zhang Tie’s heart started to race at once, ’You’d better not forget who I am at this time, if you treated me like how you treated him, I would not even have a chance to say help.’

Looking at the old man’s intense gaze, Zhang Tie hurriedly wiped off the dirt and bloodstain from his face before sorting out his hair to make him look not that embarrassed. After that, he tried to relax his face before forced a smile and slowed his voice, "Don’t you remember me? I’m Zhang Tie. The boy who usually set free the sandscale fish on the wharf with you. I bought you roasted fish and bamboo rice last time. Do you remember that?"

Looking at Zhang Tie’s hilarious expression, the beggar-like old man revealed a wisp of smile at the corners of his mouth, "Of course I remember you. You are almost the only one who has given a favor to me in my life. You foisted your purse in my coat. It contained 2 gold coins, 38 silver coins and 17 copper coins in total. You even invited me to eat food 6 times and bought me a suit of clothes; besides, you invited me to live in hotel and take a bath..." After saying this, the old man casually kicked that dead guy lying on the ground like trash at the side of the road. "What happened between him and you? It seemed like he wanted to kill you..."

Zhang Tie didn’t know why this old man appeared here at this moment and still hadn’t recovered his composure even now.

"Alas, it’s hard to say!" Zhang Tie sighed as he peered at that old man’s clothes which was gifted by Zhang Tie. It was really out of Zhang Tie’s imagination that the clothes remained unchanged when the old man walked out of the magma. "I intend to officially enter LV 7 by forming my LV 7 battle-qi totem, but I couldn’t have imagined that I would be screwed over by someone. If not for you, I might have..."

Hearing Zhang Tie’s words, the old man could understand Zhang Tie’s feeling very well as he was driven infuriated at once, "There are always numerous shameless guys and villains in this world. Since he wants to kill you, I will solve your problem for you!" With a casual reply, the old man walked towards the guy lying on the ground full of killing intent, which instantly frightened Zhang Tie.

Looking at that old man raising his foot and intending to stomp that guy to death, Zhang Tie hurriedly shouted, "Wait, please..."

"What? You want to set free him?" the old man asked, somewhat discontent.

"I need to ask some questions. I want to see who’s aiming for my life before killing him in case they plan to bring me more troubles in the future!"

Saying this, Zhang Tie walked over there and wanted to wake up that man. However, he could not wake him up at all. Therefore, Zhang Tie threw his helpless eyes towards that old man.

The old man then woke up the man by kicking the place under his armpits.

"Go ahead, he’s not able to move now!" The old man just stood aside with arms crossed.

Zhang Tie directly tore off that man’s mask.

It was a 30-40 male’s face which looked narrow, long and a bit gloomy.

After waking up, that man revealed a mad, hysterical smile. He then glared at Zhang Tie and that old man while saying furiously, "Zhang Tie, I was unlucky this time, but you will get nothing from me!"

Zhang Tie ridiculed, "I’m sure someone would know your face. Do you really think that Zhang Clan would find no clues with its great ability?"

"Ha...ha..." That man burst out in crazy laughter as he spat out blood, "You can try; let’s see whether Huaiyuan Palace can get any clues from me. Even if you chop off my head, I tell you, nobody would be able to identify who I am from my face..."

"Really?" Zhang Tie revealed a wisp of smile. He didn’t gaze at that man’s face; instead, he observed his ears very carefully like appreciating a top-rank painting, "I know organizations that act in the shadows, like yours, usually make their agents hide their true faces. Besides the most common mask, you must have made enough preparations to hide your real identity. You might have accepted cosmetic surgery a long time ago; therefore, in any case, you are not afraid of being identified!"

That man’s smile turned slightly grim, "Glad you know that. Although Huaiyuan Palace is powerful, it will never know my real identity. As long as I am killed, you just wait for the revenge from my organization!"

"Do you really think that you would not be recognized by others?" A wisp of mocking flashed by Zhang Tie’s eyes.

"It’s said that before the catastrophe, human beings could identify one’s real status by testing his or her DNA; but times have changed now. That trick won’t work anymore!" That man gave a cold harrumph.

"Really pitifully, I knew a mean fat guy previously. Due to the demands of his profession and his eccentric hobbies, he used to cross dress himself. He told me that no matter whether a man had undergone cosmetic surgery, worn a mask, or changed his look with the help of cross-dressing medicament, there’s one place where he could not change at all!" Zhang Tie sneered, "Do you know where it is..."

"That’s impossible!" that man firmly replied with a sneer.

"Not impossible, but commoners could not imagine that at all. There’s a place where people could not change!" Saying this, Zhang Tie pulled that man’s ears and pinched it forcefully, "Your ears, to be exact, your auricles did not undergo cosmetic surgery along with your face. Because of its special structure, you could at most slightly change its shape; however, you could not change its structure at all unless you want a obviously defected physical feature due to surgery!"

"So what?"

"This question indicates your stupidity..." Zhang Tie let out a sigh, "Don’t you know that one’s auricle is composed of helix, helix tubercle, fossae helices, cristae helix, concha auriculae, tragus, antitragus and fossae triangularis auriculae. The helix is composed of 19 greater identification regions, which were further divided into 34 smaller identification zones. Compared to one’s look, one’s ear contains more typical personal identification features. Among the 19 greater identification regions and the 34 smaller identification zones, there are 12 identification features in overlapping regions which could reflect one’s bloodline and clan heritage traits. Besides those from the same clan, no two people in the world could share the same traits of ears. Ear traits can be more specific than traits of eyes or faces!"

Hearing Zhang Tie’s explanation, the man lying on the ground instantly changed his face. Even the old man who was always quiet beside Zhang Tie threw his slightly shocking glance towards Zhang Tie. He seemed to be surprised by the depth of Zhang Tie’s knowledge.

Zhang Tie didn’t look at that man’s expression; instead, he kept mumbling, "Identifying people by one’s ears was taught by that mean fat. It was a secret knowledge which could only be mastered by that pervert. Do you know that I was forced by that fatty to gaze at customers’ ears every day?

Do you know how long it took me to be able to identify one’s heritage from the moment I see them? Do you know how abnormal the training was?"

"So what? There are so many people on the Waii Sub-Continent. Do you want to check each person’s ears?" that man asked, pretending to be calm.

"No need to check everyone across the Waii Sub-Continent. Actually, when I firstly came here to form battle qi, I met a young man who came in here together with our team. When someone praised Zhang Clan of Huaiyuan Palace, I remember that that guy responded with a cold harrumph. As few people dare to speak ill of Zhang clan within the territory of Zhang clan, I then paid special attention to him; besides, after forming battle qi, I have researched his background through the relationship of Hidden Dragon Palace. What a coincidence. After looking at your ears carefully, I found the 12 clan heritage traits on your auricle are absolutely the same as his. Do you want to know which clan the young man came from..." As Zhang Tie said this, his eyes gradually became grim.

By then, the man’s eyes had revealed his fear about Zhang Tie. Obviously, he had been flurried. He then shouted loudly, "Impossible...impossible, you will never get anything from me!"

"What else could you idiots do except for screwing people and fiercely bullying those weaker than you in the way that you think’s smart?" Zhang Tie was driven mad as he slapped onto that man’s face; as a result, that man spat out blood as some of his teeth flew away, "Do you think this father is still cheating you, a dead man? That bastard’s surnamed Zhen, and is from Zhen Clan of Heavens Frozen Town, Langye Prefecture, Jinyun Country. You douchebags all come from Zhen Clan, right? You motherf*ckers are still waiting to be worshipped by others. I really wonder how many evil things your clan has done! In only a few days, your Zhen Clan of Heavens Frozen Town will be wiped away. You dared to screw me, f*ck you..." Zhang Tie directly spat his saliva onto that man.

"No, I’m not from the Zhen Clan of Heavens Frozen Town; I’m not from the Zhen Clan of Heavens Frozen Town..." Lying on the ground, that guy shouted crazily, struggling to pick himself up. Although he denied it, his response and attitude at this moment had confirmed everything.

"Certainly, whether you are from Zhen Clan or not will be investigated. Do you think that your Zhen Clan can hide anything under the piercing gaze of Huaiyuan Palace?" Zhang Tie sneered, "Do you think that you are the smartest ones in the world? If you dare to stir up trouble with me, you have to be prepared to pay the price!"

With his eyes fixed on Zhang Tie, that guy stared at Zhang Tie in horror. His eyes were going to pop out. Not until then did he understand how tyrannous Zhang Tie was. Zhang Tie’s mind was more terrifying that his fighting skills, battle qi, and his horrible hidden weapons.

Any tiny loophole, once noticed by Zhang Tie, would be widened to the size of a mountain. Such a person was too terrible and abnormal. Not until today did that man know such a pervert existed who could identify people not by one’s look, but by one’s ears...

"You freak... freak, I will not let you go even if I die!" The man shrieked desperately as he spat out a mouthful of black blood. After that, he tilted his head to one side and died. Soon after he died, his body had started to corrode rapidly. In only a few minutes, even a greater part of his bones had been eroded.

Zhang Tie then pinched his nose as he moved back a few steps, "What a terrifying, corrosive poison! It was hidden in his teeth. Even his body was eroded..."

After saying this, Zhang Tie heard no response; therefore, he turned around and found the old beggar was fixing his gleaming eyes on him like how a lady-killer watched a beauty and how a dog watched a bone with meat. The old man’s gleaming eyes made Zhang Tie quiver all over.

"Old man... why... why are you gazing at me?" Feeling a bit nervous, Zhang Tie asked as he was afraid that the old man became lunatic once again.

"Not bad... not bad... clearly, it seems that you would not be easily screwed over by others!" The old man seemed very happy.

Zhang Tie then smirked, "Oh, I’ve not thanked you for saving my life...I want to make sure that if you were walking out of the magma just now?"

"The temperature of the red magma is only 500-600 degrees Celsius!" That old man shook his hands casually, "You will understand in the future that many things that are considered unimaginable are only considered so because people were not able to make it! As long as you make it, you will consider it normal."

Zhang Tie then thought about Castle of Black Iron which he was still confused about as he nodded.

"Oh, as I’ve met you so many times, what should I call you?" Zhang Tie asked politely.

"As I’ve said, they all call me Alchemist Lord!" The old man stared at Zhang Tie with a smile like he’d noticed a gold ingot, "Don’t be so polite, you can call me master!"

"Master!" Zhang Tie then called him at his request. He then felt the appellation was a bit weird, ’Is this old man surnamed "Shi"? This name is really fitting for him.’

"Eh..." After Zhang Tie called him "master", the old man then responded seriously.

At the sight of the old man’s satisfactory expression, Zhang Tie then felt something was not right. He then wanted to explain, "Argh...I didn’t mean..."

When Zhang Tie was going to explain, the subordinates of the man in black robe had rushed downwards the slope in a flurried way.

"Don’t make any noise..." Hearing the noise, the old man’s face instantly turned grim. By only flipping his finger, he had already sent a small blue item flying towards them, like a meteor chasing after moon, at a speed much faster than Zhang Tie’s handbolts. Additionally, it was quiet; in a split second, it had fallen in the middle of them after travelling a distance of over 200 m...

With a earth-shaking explosion, scorching flames and powerful blast wave swept across. Although Zhang Tie was over 200 m away, he could still feel a wave of hot wind after which was chilling in a sense.

After the explosion and the flames, none of the lackeys had been left. Gazing at that explosion and the flames, Zhang Tie forcefully swallowed his saliva, ’motherf*cker, what the hell is this old man?’

"Oh, what did you want to say to this master just now?" Looking as icy as frost just now, the old beggar turned around at this moment and asked Zhang Tie with a smile.

’Explosion...explosion...alchemist lord...alchemist lord...alchemist lord...’

Zhang Tie instantly understood what happened. Without any hesitation, he knelt down on the ground at once and kowtowed three times forcefully, "Master, it’s my great honor to be your apprentice!"