“I never expected to see the day when the illustrious senior Zhi Tian would grace my school. Please forgive me for not receiving you personally.”

Kou Changkong greeted Zhi Tian when he arrived at the foot of the mountain. He had been surprised to see the two there but did not fail to show his respect for them.

The elder man merely smiled at his words. “Headmaster Kou, well met.”

On the sideline stood an extremely shocked Zhang Sanxian. 

Then as if to add to his shock, the previous headmaster, Zi Jin, appeared right beside Kou Changkong!

“Zhi Tian, it’s really you!”

Zi Jin cried out in shock at the sight of the visiting elder.

“So we meet again, Zi Jin…” 

Nalan Yin stepped forward from Zhi Tian’s side to bow toward the two. “Junior Nalan Yin pays his respects to senior Zi Jin and headmaster Kou.”

“He is…?” Zi Jin asked.

“He is my contractor and disciple of Ling Yin.”

“Your contractor?! And Ling Yin’s disciple?!” Zi Jin cried out again in awe.

Zhi Tian glanced upward at Mt. Crimson, “Perhaps we should change our location?”

Kou Changkong gestured to the main halls, “If you would please, senior Zhi Tian…”

……

Within the main halls of the Crafting School.

A wistful Zhi Tian stared at Zi Jin. “How many decades has it been, Zi Jin? I heard little of what happened to you, are your words that severe? Have you not yet healed from them?”

“Indeed, it has been a very long time since our meeting in the Soulbeast Forest…If not for your guidance, I’d have never found that ten-thousand-year-old infernoshroom and never become a Soul Emperor…” Zi Jin smiled nostalgically as well. “But it has already been three decades since my wounds. I have yet to fully heal from it, sadly…”

“It is a shame…” Zhi Tian shook his head, “Perhaps you’d have been a Late-stage Soul Emperor by now, had not for that. It’s not impossible to say you may have been able to become a Soul Saint either…”

“……”

“I never imagined you’d venture out from beyond the Soulbeast Forest. What business might you have at my Crafting School today, Zhi Tian?” Zi Jin asked after they finished their pleasantries.

He looked to Nalan Yin sitting beside him, “Do you perchance wish for us to craft a soul armament for your contractor?”

“I would never refuse such an offer if given,” Zhi Tian smiled, “but my main goal was not that. I am here to…warn you of a matter.”

“Oh?” Both of Zi Jin’s eyebrows rose on his forehead, “What matter is it?”

The next words Zhi Tian spoke were nearly exact to the same words Li Chengfeng spoke to Bai Yunfei!

“Your Crafting School…will suffer from calamity!!”

“What?!”

Everyone gasped, not even Nalan Yin could contain his shock.

Zi Jin narrowed his eyes. “Zhi Tian…what do you mean by that? What calamity?”

“It is close, that calamity. It cannot be avoided. If you are not careful…your school may perish!”

“Perish?!”

Nalan Yin was the most astonished of them all to hear it. Nalan Yin would’ve called these foreboding words to be the words of a mad man if not for the fact that it had been Zhi Tian of all people to say it. A calamity capable of wiping out the Crafting School?! What a joke! What person had the power to do that?!

Even Zi Jin couldn’t calm his emotions enough to hide his shock, “The calamity is close? Are you saying…there are people that will attack us?!”

“Indeed.”

“When?!”

“That I do not know. But while I resided in Redfire City, I could sense the auras of multiple powerful ones. The majority of them, I feel, will attack your school. It won’t be long until then. Days, perhaps. I cannot say for certain.”

“……”

Not a single person said a word following Zhi Tian. Both Zi Jin and Kou Changkong simply sat there as their minds raced with questions on what to do.

The magnitude of Zhi Tian’s words were enormous. It left them with a great deal of confusion and agitation. If it came from Zhi Tian, then his words were definitely true. 

It was Zi Jin that took action first. “Changkong, gather everyone and prepare for battle! I will go activate the barrier!”

Kou Changkong’s eyes flew wide open, “What?! The barrier?!”

The barrier that protected the Crafting School hadn’t been activated even once for the last thousand years. It wasn’t even activated even when they were attacked thirty years ago! The enemies had yet to show their faces and yet Zi Jin was ready to activate it?!

“The actual activation will be when they arrive. But our enemies will have most likely hidden themselves nearby by now. We won’t give them time to ambush us!”

Unlike Kou Changkong, who only knew of Zhi Tian’s ‘name’, Zi Jin personally knew him. Those years spent together in the Soulbeast Forest had led to the two becoming good friends. Zi Jin had no reason to doubt what Zhi Tian said. 

If Zhi Tian said there would be calamity, then there would be calamity! And if Zhi Tian said the enemies could attack at any time, then it was best to start preparing now!

……

Meanwhile, a fair distance away from the east side of the Crafting School.

The atmosphere in this part of the area felt rather dark. Dark clouds formed in the skies above as if warning the inhabitants below of incoming rain. It felt rather melancholic to be in this area with how dim the light was.

Standing above what appeared to just be ‘rainclouds’ were dozens of floating figures!

They stood above the clouds like celestial warriors. Silent in their posture, each one of these men had an unbelievable amount of energy radiate from them. Their killing intent was hidden to some degree, but it was unmistakably aimed toward a magnificent mountain west of where they stood.

Four people stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of this group. Of those four, two of them were the ones that had been drinking tea inside of Redfire City.

They were also people of extraordinary status to Bai Yunfei. One could be said to be an ‘old enemy’ while the other was a ‘senior student’!

Mo Ni!

Dongfang Ming!

To their right stood a shriveled elder and a sturdy-looking and bald-headed man.

“How did you say we should attack the Crafting School, Dongfang Ming?”

The bald-headed man asked impatiently. His eyes contained a fearsome glint in them.

Dongfang Ming’s eyes were focused on Mt. Crimson. No emotion seemed to flow in his face as he just stood there.

“Attack the northern peak.” He spoke at last.

“The northern peak?” The bald-headed man repeated, “According to our information, the northern peak is where the old freaks of the Crafting School are gathered. Why attack the point of heaviest resistance?”

“That is because…” Dongfang Ming’s face grew dark, “That is where the heart of the barrier is located.”

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