One of the three great dangerous lands on the Duanmu Continent, the Flame Territory, frequently experiences volcanic eruptions; sometimes several volcanoes erupt within a single year, accompanied by natural disasters such as earthquakes. However, within eight hundred li of the Flame Territory, there are ordinary mountain ranges and villages.

To the south of the Flame Territory lies an ordinary mountain range, spanning only twenty to thirty li. This range harbors quite a few wild beasts, and many hamlets at its base depend on it. Since one peak within the mountains resembles an ox's head, the range was named 'Ox-Head Mountain.'

Deep within Ox-Head Mountain.

“Keep up, keep up.” Dozens of hunters moved cautiously through the vast mountain.

“We’re almost at the canyon, just half a li further. We can rest when we get there,” the hunter leader murmured, each man gripping a spear or bow. These hunters had brought back a good haul; many carried blood-stained carcasses of wild beasts strapped to their backs. Soon, the group reached the canyon floor.

The dozens of hunters finally let out a slight sigh of relief. Because they were close to the Flame Territory, the temperature on Ox-Head Mountain was quite high, and snow was a rare sight year-round.

“Have some water.”

Many immediately hurried to the small stream in the canyon to fetch water.

“Drink! Ha!”

A young man stood practicing with his spear, occasionally thrusting forward into the empty air, and sometimes stabbing at small insects crawling on the ground.

“Haha, Second Uncle, look at Ah Wu, that kid... still full of energy. After hiking uphill all morning, he still has the drive to practice his spear work.” The seated hunters all chuckled. The youth named Ah Wu scratched his head, grinned sheepishly, and resumed his drills.

“Ah Wu is thirteen this year. If he can join our hunting party... he’ll be the foremost man in our village in the future. If he trains hard now, he can protect our village later,” the leader chuckled, his gaze filled with satisfaction as he watched the boy.

Suddenly—

“Clang!”

The youth Ah Wu thrust his spear into the ground again, but this time, the canyon floor emitted a crisp sound, as if metal had struck metal.

“Hmm?” Many hunters frowned and looked over.

A spear tip striking a stone would absolutely not produce such a sound.

The puzzled Ah Wu crouched down, brushed away the sand and pebbles, and quickly unearthed a blood-red stone. He turned, holding the stone aloft, “Second Uncle, look, what is this stone? Hmm... this stone is very light, much lighter than ordinary rocks.”

“Oh?”

The hunters all walked over, examining the blood-red stone with curiosity. None of them recognized it.

“Ah Wu, was this the stone you just struck?” the hunting party leader inquired.

“Yes, this one.” Ah Wu nodded, then placed the blood-red stone back on the ground and thrust his spear down once more—

Clang!

The crisp sound was identical to the previous one.

“It’s this one,” Ah Wu confirmed with another nod. The other hunters stared at the blood-red stone in astonishment, especially the leader, who picked it up and examined it closely, his face etched with shock. “When Ah Wu struck it just now, there wasn’t a single mark left on this blood-red stone. What kind of stone is this…”

“No mark after a single thrust, how is that possible?”

The other hunters’ eyes widened. They knew the penetrating power of a spear thrust; it could punch a hole through ordinary rock, and even heavy armor would at least be dented. Even if it were some rare, hard material, it should leave some indentation at minimum.

“There really isn’t,” the hunters inspected the stone thoroughly, finding no sharp impressions whatsoever.

“This stone must be some kind of treasure,” the hunter leader said solemnly. “It didn’t even leave a white mark from the spear tip. This stone is certainly rare, a good thing. Everyone look closely around, see if there are any more of these stones. If there are, dig up more to take back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the leader mentioned it, the other hunters immediately realized this blood-red stone might indeed be a rare commodity.

“As for exactly what kind of treasure it is... we’ll ask the Clan Elder when we return. He is widely experienced, has visited the city many times, and has seen the greater world; he should know,” the leader stated gravely.

“Second Uncle, look, there’s another one here.”

Someone else dug another blood-red stone out of the deep sand and soil of the canyon.

“I have one too!”

“There’s one here as well!”

As they dug deeper, everyone immediately discovered that beneath the surface layer of the canyon, there were quite a few of these blood-red ores, and their quantity was not small.

...

Two months after Teng Qingshan accepted Yang Dong as his second disciple, a great storm brewed in the Donghua Domain of the Duanmu Continent. Explosive news spread across the entire continent with astonishing speed. Nearly every major family on the continent learned of this news.

That is—

In the ‘Ox-Head Mountain,’ south of the Flame Territory in the Donghua Domain, a precious, peerless treasure had been discovered—a Fire Flow Iron ore vein!

Fire Flow Iron was considered among the very top materials for forging weaponry on the Duanmu Continent. In the far north of the continent, in the depths of the endless sea, people had previously discovered this ore. Because the Tianfeng Family dominated the Northern Cold Domain, nearly ninety percent of the world’s Fire Flow Iron was currently in the hands of the Tianfeng Family.

Fire Flow Iron’s hardness was a significant step above Profound Iron!

Most importantly, Fire Flow Iron was incredibly light!

A standard set of Profound Iron heavy armor, including boots and a helmet, weighed four to five hundred jin. Even a formidable expert would have their agility affected when wearing four to five hundred jin of heavy armor. Moreover, wearing it required consuming internal energy just to maintain. Thus, treasures like Profound Iron heavy armor were typically reserved for experts at the peak Houtian or Xiantian stages.

But Fire Flow Iron was different!

Fire Flow Iron was light; the same volume of Fire Flow Iron was only slightly heavier than water. The same volume of Profound Iron was tens of times heavier than water.

Using Fire Flow Iron to forge a full suit of body-covering armor, including a helmet and boots, would only weigh thirty to forty jin!

Even among the common farming men, many possessed four to five hundred jin of strength. Carrying thirty to forty jin of armor would be easy, let alone skilled martial artists! Although these martial artists didn't specifically train their physique, their deep reserves of internal energy naturally nourished their bodies over time, making a strength of one to two thousand jin common.

Being so light yet offering superior defense to Profound Iron!

Wearing Fire Flow Iron armor, even a Xiantian Void Core expert probably couldn't pierce it with a single sword strike!

It could be said—

If there were vast amounts of Fire Flow Iron, a terrifying cavalry force could be established, clad entirely in Fire Flow Iron armor, rendering them impervious to piercing attacks even from Xiantian Void Core experts! Only Xiantian Solid Core experts would need to use their full power to break through. Who in the world could resist such a cavalry force?

Even the ‘Tianfeng Family,’ which controlled ninety percent of the world's Fire Flow Iron, possessed only sixty sets of Fire Flow Iron armor!

Yet, the Fire Flow Iron vein discovered in Ox-Head Mountain this time was astonishing... the sheer volume of the ore immediately drove the major families of the entire Donghua Domain into a frenzy. Even some major families from other regions of the Duanmu Continent coveted that Fire Flow Iron vein! In an instant, the entire Donghua Domain was fraught with tension, as various factions vied to seize the Fire Flow Iron!

“Giddy up!” “Giddy up!” “Giddy up!”

With sharp cries, over a dozen riders, clad in armor, mounted their Single-Horned War Beasts. Most of these beasts were entirely crimson, with only a single white stripe along their flanks. This ‘Flame Silver Stripe Beast’ was considered superior among the Single-Horned War Beasts, each one valued at fifty thousand taels of silver.

This meant the value of just over a dozen war beasts easily exceeded several hundred thousand taels of silver!

“Third Uncle, our Tantai Family is the closest to the south; we should be the first to reach Nanshan City, right?” The two leading riders were a strong, stern middle-aged man, and a girl whose voice was surprisingly clear and pleasant, despite wearing a helmet.

“Qing’er, we cannot be careless!” Tantai Huayan gazed ahead solemnly. “Now, the eyes of every major family across the world are focused on the Donghua Domain, gathered on that Fire Flow Iron treasure. If the Fire Flow Iron were in small quantity, it would be one thing, but such a massive vein—if anyone monopolized it and established an army of a thousand men, perhaps no one short of a War God could stop such a terrifying force.”

“Mmm,” the girl nodded. “I never expected this Ox-Head Mountain, just an ordinary range, to hold such a vein. It’s a pity that a poor mountain village discovered it first. Once the news leaked, all the great families immediately knew. If the Tantai Family had discovered the mine, we could have been much more discreet, kept outsiders from knowing, and quietly mined the entire vein.”

Even the most cautious ordinary mountain village, not understanding the importance of Fire Flow Iron, could not prevent it from being noticed by the perceptive.

“Now all the major families in the Donghua Domain want to seize this Fire Flow Iron vein,” Tantai Huayan’s gaze sharpened. “Some families have joined forces, and even... some major families from the Nanshan and Xitang Domains are secretly supporting certain families in our Donghua Domain. I estimate that even the Rising Sun Merchant Guild and the Tianfeng Family will be secretly involved, covertly backing a family to contend for the mine.”

The Rising Sun Merchant Guild was a power whose influence spanned the entire continent, possessing terrifying hidden strength.

The Tianfeng Family dominated the Northern Cold Domain, being its sole hegemon.

Furthermore, the two War Gods of the world belonged to these two powers, respectively. The two families had an agreement: they could not openly contest in the Donghua Domain, only secretly support certain families. After all, the Fire Flow Iron vein was too crucial.

“To vie for the Fire Flow Iron vein, one needs a powerful army and formidable experts,” Tantai Huayan said gravely. “Qing’er, that Martial Saint of Shenfu Mountain, ‘Teng Qingshan,’ is rumored to be the number one figure beneath the War Gods. If we could invite him to join our Tantai Family, our chances of obtaining the Fire Flow Iron vein would be great.”

“Qing’er, you absolutely must not throw a tantrum this time,” Tantai Huayan earnestly admonished.

This Tantai Qing, known as the most beautiful woman in the world, did indeed throw fits of temper toward the young suitors who pursued her.

“Third Uncle, I understand,” Tantai Qing replied.

Bringing Tantai Qing along this time was, admittedly, a tactic by the Tantai Family to use her beauty to attract the legendary strongest Martial Saint, ‘Teng Qingshan.’

“Faster! We must reach Shenfu Mountain in Nanshan City as soon as possible. If another family invites Teng Qingshan first, it will be trouble,” Tantai Huayan sharply cracked his whip. The Flame Silver Stripe Beast immediately roared and accelerated. The other riders whipped their beasts simultaneously. The War Beasts bolted, leaving behind more than ten streaks of phantom light, vanishing instantly at the end of the road.

Simultaneously, several other groups were rushing towards Shenfu Mountain in Nanshan City.

Their objective was identical: to invite Teng Qingshan! Naturally, they had prepared sufficient treasures to entice this strongest Martial Saint.