Chapter 20: The Queen’s Summons

With the essence of ore as its body and a will as intense as truth itself as its spirit, the fierce blade, upon its birth, immediately lashed back at Du Gu Farewell. He was taken aback, his attention divided between the blade and pondering its cause. Now, the blade no longer attacked of its own accord, but floated in the void, letting out a low, resonant hum from time to time.

Seeing its hunger and thirst, Du Gu Farewell suddenly recalled an idea once proposed by a member of the Weapons Group: the concept of blood forging. Without hesitation, he flicked his finger, sending a droplet of blood onto the blade. To his surprise, the blood did not splatter, but instead merged seamlessly into the blade.

A hum vibrated through the long blade, a flash of crimson light blossomed and then faded, returning to calm. The fierce blade seemed to lose its spirit and clattered to the ground. Du Gu Farewell bent to pick it up, sensed it briefly, and finally allowed a smile to grace his face.

This time, the path of weapon transformation had succeeded; he had forged a worthy soldier’s blade. Its sharpness was beyond question, its hardness matched any ordinary blade, and, astonishingly, its power boost had doubled, reaching an increase of one hundred and twenty percent.

He casually discarded the blade and immediately seized the moment, focusing his mind to capture the flavor of that intense will, then engraved it deeply upon his soul. In the future, as long as he refrained from burning his spirit to the extreme, he would avoid the risk of his own weapon rebelling against him.

Once one method is mastered, all methods become accessible.

As long as he maintained this state and understanding, with time, the path of weapon transformation would surely reach its pinnacle.

When he finally emerged from that state and picked up the long blade again, he infused it with power, executing a series of blade techniques, slicing through the air in the storage room with ever-growing ease. A mountain of blades seemed to materialize, moving with his steps, shredding the air wherever he passed.

“Ha!”

Excitement surged, and he unleashed his power without restraint. The torrent flowed, vast and sweeping, pouring into the blade. In that moment, the blade erupted in unprecedented brilliance. Countless cold, icy rays coursed along its edge, gathering into a frigid ferocity, like a terrifying tide brewing beneath calm waters.

At that instant, the long blade revived, as if awakening after centuries of dormant suffering, eroded by the passage of time, now shattering all restraints to reveal its savage fangs.

Boom!

The next moment, the blade splintered, scattering into countless fragments that shot in every direction.

At the peak of its sublime ascension, it fell.

“In terms of quality, it still falls short.” Du Gu Farewell stood in silence, pondering deeply. “It seems the obstacle to my cultivation of weapon transformation is not anything complex, but rather the most basic matter… In refining ore, I have not achieved perfection; my extraction is not pure enough…”

Suddenly—

As he wrestled with his thoughts, a soft sound echoed unexpectedly. He searched for its source and saw a faint radiance shoot up from underground in the distance. He approached, scrutinizing closely, and let out a soft exclamation.

It was a crevice.

He tapped gently on either side, and a muffled sound responded, echoing faintly. After thorough inspection, Du Gu Farewell confirmed that there was a lid here, of unknown material, indistinguishable from its surroundings to the naked eye. He spread his palm and explored, soon finding a slight depression. With a gentle press, a click sounded, as if a mechanism had been triggered, followed by a rumbling.

He quickly stepped back. Once the noise subsided and no danger appeared, he looked again. The spot had sunk down about half a fathom, revealing a passageway, its dim glow weakly radiating from within.

“What place is this?”

Du Gu Farewell leapt down, finding himself amidst stacks of ore. He picked up a piece and probed it with his mind, immediately discovering that its contained essence of metal and iron was far purer than those above.

“So, since there’s a lower level, naturally there could be a second, even a third. The illustrious Butterfly Academy would hardly lack for ore storage.”

Knowing where he was, and seeing the purity of the ore, his spirit stirred. He activated the path of weapon transformation again, guiding his mental touch outward, processing over a dozen pieces of ore, extracting, and refining them…

……

Butterfly Academy was the sole institution under the Queen’s name. Those qualified for study resided within, generally divided by class, and small disputes were common. Yet these days, the academy was unusually quiet.

All the students had entered the Storm Arena.

Especially the first-level class, driven by novelty and enthusiasm, as well as a desire to prove themselves, though the means had changed.

This shift brought relief to Vice Dean Wuying and the patrol team, freeing up time and worry.

By rights, this should have been cause for celebration, but Wuying was more irritable than ever.

He had received word that the Tongtian Auction House had procured another batch of soldier’s blades for a different royal.

Fury!

Unprecedented fury.

It was a blatant slap in the Queen’s face, showing utter disregard for her dignity. Wuying resolved to mete out harsh punishment, to crush them mercilessly, so that the auction house would understand that in East Wasteland, the last person to offend was her.

“Wuying—”

Suddenly, a ripple spread through the void, a flower blossomed out of nothing, and within a breath, it bloomed, carrying a summons from within.

Wuying’s body shuddered, his demeanor shifted, and he immediately prostrated himself, respectfully saying, “Your Majesty, what are your orders? Wuying is listening.”

……

It was the Queen.

The Butterfly Queen.

What would she instruct Wuying to do?

What matter could be so important as to warrant a direct message from the Queen?

……

By the time the Chief Dean arrived, Wuying was already up, seated in thought with his chin resting on his hand. His brows were furrowed, full of frustration and anxiety.

“What’s wrong?” The Chief Dean was familiar with him and rarely saw him so troubled.

Wuying sighed, listless. “The Queen sent a message.”

“Oh?” The Chief Dean straightened, his expression solemn. “What are her instructions?”

Wuying lifted his eyelids and replied, “Indeed, there are instructions—two, in fact. First, we must quickly gather soldier’s blades and communicate with all auction houses, adjusting relationships as needed. The Queen said only this: ‘This is East Wasteland.’”

“This is East Wasteland?” The Chief Dean paused, then laughed. “So, it means that those who take our courtesy for granted should be reminded—who holds sway in East Wasteland, correct?”

“Hehe,” Wuying gave a chilling smile, his lips curling in cruelty. He nodded, “Exactly. Certain powers must be reminded: when treated with kindness and respect, to mistake it for weakness and heap scorn is intolerable. There must be severe punishment, so the pain cuts deep enough to quell the Queen’s wrath.”

“Indeed,” the Chief Dean agreed, then asked, “And the other instruction?”

“What major events have happened lately in our academy?” Wuying countered, then gave a bitter smile, answering himself, “The new students have enrolled, everything is returning to normal, and the Storm Arena opened a few days ago…”

“The Storm Arena?” The Chief Dean searched his memory but could find no major upheaval that would trouble the Queen.

“You,” Wuying sighed heavily, dropping the riddles, and spoke plainly, “With the Storm Arena now open, the ranking plaza for the Generals Division—the Storm Rankings for a thousand contenders—has also begun. With the reward from the Six Royals on display, who wouldn’t be tempted? Who doesn’t wish to see their name on the list and win royal favor?”

“Human nature has its flaws, but that’s nothing unusual.”

“Nothing unusual? It’s highly unusual!” Wuying’s beard bristled as he exclaimed, “A list of a thousand, but only seven from our academy are on it, all ranked near the bottom. Is that normal?”

“There’s such a thing?” The Chief Dean was startled, cold sweat breaking out across his brow. “The gap should not be so great…”

“The Queen said, do not ask for reasons, only demand results.” Wuying rose in frustration, pacing as he considered, “The only course now is to rally the students, urge them to advance, let them endure trials, and then challenge those on the list. At minimum, we need twenty names—otherwise, how can the Queen endure the ridicule of other royals?”

“I’ll notify everyone immediately, treat this as our top priority.” The Chief Dean responded gravely, his skeletal hands clenched tightly. “If we can’t change the situation, I’ll take responsibility with my life!”

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