The heavens opened, pouring down a deluge, punctuated by the earth-shaking rumble of thunder. This downpour was clearly not one that would cease anytime soon.

About a li from Teng Family Village, a youth walked barefoot on the muddy ground. His sleeves were shredded into strips, his trousers ripped entirely away, and his hair a wild tangle. He looked like a beggar.

“Now that’s a sorry sight,” Teng Qingshan muttered, eyeing his own rags. During the desperate struggle against the monstrous serpent in the Azure Cold Pond, he had poured every ounce of strength into his limbs, pushing his blood and vitality to the absolute limit—and in the process, had utterly shredded his clothes. As for his boots… he’d worn them when entering the mountains, but had left them set aside before descending into the frigid (tan, pool).

In the panic of escape, there had been no time to retrieve them.

“That great serpent went mad. My boots are probably crushed under debris now. How can I show my face back at the village looking like this?” Teng Qingshan glanced toward the looming Teng Family Village ahead and managed a wry smile.

If the clansmen saw him in such a state, they would surely speculate wildly about what ordeal could render the usually composed Teng Qingshan so utterly disheveled.

“Whoosh!”

Amidst the torrential rain, Teng Qingshan dissolved into a phantom, rushing toward the massive palisade of logs surrounding the village. The one-li distance vanished in a blink. He tapped his foot against the ground, launching himself upward, easily soaring over the imposing ten-foot-high barrier. Beyond the wooden wall lay sharpened stakes and the rooftops of houses.

With a light touch on a stake, Teng Qingshan found himself atop a roof. He channeled his internal energy, his body becoming as light as a swallow’s, and he moved swiftly across the tiles, creeping silently.

Fortunately, the downpour had driven nearly all the clansmen indoors, and since it was still early, every household was busy preparing breakfast. No one noticed their clan’s foremost expert ‘traveling’ across the rooftops in the storm.

…

At Teng Qingshan’s home.

Qingyu was tending the fire, while his mother, Yuan Lan, was busy making flatbreads for breakfast.

“Eh? Someone’s come in,” Yuan Lan said with surprise, looking toward the courtyard entrance.

“Mother,” Teng Qingshan called out as he pushed open the courtyard door. Yuan Lan immediately snatched up an umbrella and hurried over. She stared at Teng Qingshan in shock, then asked anxiously, “Qingshan, what happened to you? Your clothes are completely ruined. And, where are your boots? Why are you back barefoot?”

His father, Teng Yongfan, also appeared at the threshold of the main hall, staring out at Teng Qingshan with astonishment.

“Qingshan, what—what did you encounter in the mountains? You look so wretched. And where is your Refined Iron Spear?” Teng Yongfan asked.

Teng Qingshan tossed aside the wet leaves he was clutching and pulled out the half-section of the Refined Iron Spear shaft, which he had wrapped in foliage. He smiled helplessly, “Father, there was no choice; only this stub remains?” Teng Yongfan’s expression shifted instantly. He knew his son’s prowess; Qingshan was a First-Rank Martial Artist.

If an opponent could cause a First-Rank Martial Artist to lose half his weapon, the situation his son had faced must have been terrifyingly perilous.

“Father, I’m going to wash up and change first,” Teng Qingshan said with a slight smile.

“Good, go change quickly, then come find me,” Teng Yongfan instructed.

Teng Qingshan nodded and entered his room.

“Brother Fan, what danger did Qingshan encounter? The Boar King? The Wolf King?” Mother Yuan Lan asked worriedly. Teng Yongfan shook his head. “Don’t you know your son’s ability? He killed a Wolf King when he was just ten. Now, even a hundred Wolf Kings wouldn't threaten him. He’s a First-Rank Martial Artist! I truly cannot imagine what in the Great Yan Mountains could leave Qingshan so battered.”

“Mother, hurry and flip the cakes! They’re about to burn!” Qingyu called out from the fire pit.

“Ah!” Yuan Lan rushed back.

Inside Teng Qingshan’s room.

After washing up, changing into dry clothes, putting on shoes, and using a piece of string to tie back his hair loosely, Teng Qingshan felt completely refreshed. In this era, there were no barbershops, and clansmen generally kept their hair long; Qingshan couldn't exactly shave it short.

“I lost a set of clothes, a pair of boots, and half a spear shaft, but in exchange, I gained these two pieces of ore,” Teng Qingshan examined the two stones in his hands carefully.

One was slightly larger, the other slightly smaller. Both were pitch black and appeared utterly ordinary.

These two pieces were just a small sample of the massive quantity of ore he had discovered at the bottom of the Azure Cold Pond. He hadn't been able to carry much at the time, only grabbing two pieces and stuffing them into his pocket.

“Huh? Didn't they emit a purple aura in the cold pond?” Holding them up to the light, he could see nothing of the sort. Teng Qingshan immediately cupped his hands around the stones, blocking the light. Indeed, in the darkness of his hands, he could just discern a very faint purple halo. It was likely that this luminescence was far more noticeable in the absolute darkness of the pond floor.

“In the cold pond, I felt this ore was quite hot. Now, it just feels warm.” Teng Qingshan understood; in the ambient temperature outside, the ore only felt lukewarm. It was only natural that in the extreme cold of the pond bottom, touching something that radiated heat felt intensely hot.

“I don't know much about ores. I should ask Father what kind these are.” Teng Qingshan tucked the two stones back into his robes, picked up his umbrella, left his room, crossed the courtyard, and headed toward the main hall.

He put down the umbrella and sat by the table.

Outside, the rain poured relentlessly, but inside, the atmosphere was comfortably warm.

“Qingshan,” Teng Yongfan asked, concern etched on his face, “You were only in the mountains for half a shichen (an ancient unit of two hours). What happened that you even lost half your Refined Iron Spear?” Traveling to the Azure Cold Pond, descending, and returning, even at Teng Qingshan’s speed, took less than half a shichen in total time. His mother was still preparing breakfast.

“What happened?” Teng Qingshan gave a helpless smile. “Father, I didn't expect that even our Great Yan Mountains—which aren't that large—harbor a true monster.”

“A monster?” Teng Yongfan was even more astonished. “What kind of monster?”

“A giant python with silver horns on its head, easily over ten zhang long,” Teng Qingshan recalled the serpent, still feeling a chill. That python was practically invulnerable to blades and spears. Even his signature move, the ‘Poison Dragon Drill,’ only managed to scrape its hide. Given his strength and spear technique, the tip’s penetration power already surpassed many modern firearms from his previous life. He suspected that perhaps even some modern missiles wouldn't be enough to kill a serpent with that level of defense.

“A ten-zhang long python with silver horns? A Flood Dragon (Jiao)?” Teng Yongfan was aghast. A python with a single horn on its head was known as a Jiao across the Nine Provinces.

“A Jiao? That’s a Demonic Beast, a Divine Beast! Qingshan, did you run into a Jiao?” Teng Yongfan found it unbelievable. “There is a Jiao in our Great Yan Mountains?” Many legends across the Nine Provinces spoke of monstrous creatures possessing unimaginable power, calling them ‘Divine Beasts’ or ‘Demonic Beasts.’ Each of those creatures possessed the terrifying might to level cities.

Teng Qingshan chuckled, “Father, it was in the Azure Cold Pond. I dove in… wanting to see why it was so cold. At the very bottom, I encountered that Jiao! Luckily, I fled quickly.”

“You reckless child!” Cold sweat instantly broke out on Teng Yongfan’s back. The mere thought of his son fighting a Jiao at the bottom of the Azure Cold Pond filled him with terror. What if his son had died?

“Father, I’m back safely,” Teng Qingshan soothed. “Oh, and Father, from now on, tell the clansmen gathering water from the Azure Cold Pond to remember: it is best not to throw stones into the pool. If a stone sinks to the bottom and awakens that monster, and if it comes out again, none of our ordinary clansmen will escape.”

Teng Qingshan was acutely aware of the Jiao Dragon’s terrifying power. Its speed surpassed his own. If the Jiao hadn't been determined to remain near the Azure Cold Pond and had relentlessly pursued him, he wasn't sure if he would have returned safely today.

“Don’t worry, no one is as audacious as you, boy,” Teng Yongfan looked at his son, unsure whether to scold him or smile. He didn't know whether to feel proud that his son survived a fight with a legendary beast like a Jiao Dragon, or angry at his sheer foolhardiness.

Teng Qingshan recognized that his actions had displeased his father, so he quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Father, when I was in the Azure Cold Pond, I found a type of ore. This ore actually felt hot at the bottom of the freezing pond; it was very strange. Can you look at this and tell me what it is?”

Teng Qingshan took out the two black ores from his pocket. At first glance, they looked completely ordinary.

“Oh? From the bottom of the Cold Pond?” Teng Yongfan’s eyes lit up. As a weaponsmith, he possessed extensive knowledge of ores used in refining. He took the black ore and a look of pure delight spread across his face. “It’s warm…” He immediately held one piece up, cupped his hands around it to block the light, and scrutinized it closely, before crying out, “It really is it! It is truly it—Purple Light Cold Iron, it’s Purple Light Cold Iron!”

Teng Qingshan looked confused. “Father, what is Purple Light Cold Iron?”

Teng Yongfan looked up, gazing at his son with immense excitement. “Qingshan, you might not know Purple Light Cold Iron, but it has another name—Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron!”

“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?” Teng Qingshan paused, thinking of another material: Thousand-Year Cold Iron. He had seen that ore before at the Myriad Aspects Pavilion in Yicheng. Thousand-Year Cold Iron was entirely black and emitted a bone-chilling cold. It was also incredibly expensive; one jin cost two taels of gold.

“Yes, I bought books describing various refining ores at the Myriad Aspects Pavilion. They described this Purple Light Cold Iron. Purple Light Cold Iron, also called Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, is a peerless treasure that money can’t buy! According to the books, only those far to the north of the Northern Grasslands, in the frigid North Sea, have ever chanced upon it.”

“This Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron is the most precious of all cold irons. Ordinary Thousand-Year Cold Iron feels piercingly cold to the touch. But this Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron has reached such an extreme that it has become warm, like jade.”

“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron is indestructible. If you simply mix a little into the forging process, you can create Divine Weapons!” Teng Yongfan was ecstatic. “Its value is a hundred times that of Thousand-Year Cold Iron! And it’s virtually unobtainable!”

“A hundred times the price of Thousand-Year Cold Iron?” Teng Qingshan stared at the two black stones, slightly dumbfounded.

Teng Qingshan realized that the cost of one set of clothes, one pair of boots, and half a spear shaft seemed to have yielded… a massive profit.