Stellar Transformations Book 2

by I Eat Tomatoes

  “You’re always saying when you have free time, but you’re always busy. Brother Yu, why can’t you take a break?” Xiao Lu looks a bit discontented. Her brother Yu usually says he will spend time with her when he is free, but heaven only knows when he will have free time.

  “Take a break?” Qin Yu is slightly startled. From age 8 to age 18, the number of breaks Qin Yu really took can be counted on the fingers of one hand. He has always had a single-minded determination to train hard so that he can help his father as soon as possible and become a capable assistant to his father.

  “Xiao Lu, don’t fool around.” Tie Shan reproves her then turns to Qin Yu and says with a smile: “Xiao Yu, you’re looking for Master, right? He’s taking a rest in the courtyard.”

  “Good, then I’ll go find Grandpa Lian first.” Qin Yu bids them a farewell then goes toward Lian Yan’s place.

  Xiao Lu, however, follows his back with her eyes. She slightly wrinkles her nose and says: “Brother Yu has always been busy. When will he ever have a rest?” Xiao Lu has been staying at Misty Villa for nearly 5 years so she naturally knows how hard Qin Yu trains.

  “Xiao Lu, don’t say that. Xiao Yu is different from us. Even though he’s East Vanquishing Prince’s 3rd son, he chose external practice, the most painful path in martial arts. I remember when I first came here I saw him shoving his hands into iron grains!” Tie Shan seems to be recalling that scene he saw. Shoveling iron grains could only be used as a form of training after Qin Yu’s finger strength had reached a very high level. If he had used iron grains from the beginning, his fingers would have been finished.

  Tie Shan’s eyes are full of wonderment: “Shoveling iron grains, his fingers must’ve hurt as if pierced by needles. The nerves of the fingertips are linked with the heart. Xiao Lu, you simply can’t imagine the pain he had to endure. However, finger strength training was only one of the numerous forms of limit training he underwent every day. From dawn till dusk, every form of training he did challenged the human body’s limits. His body has always been enduring the torment of defying limits. And he’s been training like this … since he was 8.”

  Following Qin Yu’s back with his eyes, Tie Shan has nothing but admiration for him.

  Following Qin Yu’s back with her eyes, Xiao Lu’s eyes glisten.

  In her heart, brother Yu is always carefree, big-hearted, and warm like the Sun. However, this brother Yu, despite being East Vanquishing Prince’s son, has been experiencing those utmost tortures to the body since 8 years old.

  Despite having the Meteoric Tear, if Qin Yu wants to make use of its positive effects, he also has to train until reaching a physical limit. He has to train his fingers until they hurt as if broken off. He has to do deep squats until his legs have muscle cramps and his head is pounding … Only when he reaches a physical limit will the Meteoric Tear release its fantastic power.

  If he wants to get something, he has to pay first.

  In order to reach his current level, Qin Yu has paid a lot, an awful lot.

  In Lian Yan’s courtyard, Lian Yan is lying in a deck chair, drinking tea and enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

  “Grandpa Lian.”

  As soon as he hears Qin Yu’s familiar voice, Lian Yan smiles to the point where his eyes start to narrow. He turns to Qin Yu and says with a smile: “Xiao Yu, it’s so hard to see you. It’s still light now, yet you already returned from training.” Lian Yan is always unable to suppress his delight when he sees Qin Yu, just like how a grandpa can never help rejoicing at seeing his grandson.

  Qin Yu goes up to him through the door of the courtyard. He wants to find a forging expert to handle that flaming red crystal. Naturally, when he wants to find a forging expert, the 1st thing he thinks about is to ask Lian Yan.

  Chapter 12 Forging Grandmaster (2)

  “Grandpa Lian, I’ve obtained an extremely precious piece of ore. According to my estimation, it should be a high-Xian-grade ore.” Qin Yu’s first sentence makes Lian Yan suddenly jump up.

  Lian Yan’s eyes are full of astonishment. He looks at Qin Yu in disbelief. Only after a long time does he says: “Xiao Yu, you can’t joke about this matter. High-Xian-grade ores are what even Xiantian experts dream about. The weapons forged from them will definitely be marvelous. How can first-rate ores of this kind be obtained easily?”

  To people on the Qian Long continent, weapons are simply divided into mundane-grade ones and Xian-grade ones. The Xian-grade is then divided into 3 sub-grades. And it is the same with ores. Even East Vanquishing Prince with such a great influence only has several tens weapons hidden in the Weapon Storing Warehouse. Most of them are low-Xian-grade, some are middle-Xian-grade, but only 2 of them are high-Xian-grade.

  “Grandpa Lian, how can I deceive you? I made a chop with the Yuchang sword to test and couldn’t even leave a mark. What can it be if it’s not high-Xian-grade?” Qin Yu immediately explains.

  “You couldn’t even leave a mark when chopping with the Yuchang sword?” Lian Yan understands, if even the Yuchang sword cannot leave a mark, this piece of ore is definitely high-Xian-grade. “Xiao Yu, what does this piece of ore look like? How large is it, about the size of a fist?”

  In general, the size of a piece of ore is inversely proportional to its value. If it is about the size of a fist, it will already be enough to forge such a weapon as a short sword or a short knife.

  “A fist?” Qin Yu says in surprise.

  The flaming red crystal he obtained is approximately 1 m high and as thick as a human thigh. It is much larger than a fist.

  “Is it even smaller than a fist? Then it can only be made into a weapon such as a dagger and the like. But that’s still pretty good. At least you’ll have a high-Xian-grade weapon.” Lian Yan says laughingly. Only now does Qin Yu beside him understand what he means. He cannot help bursting out laughing.

  “You’re wrong, Grandpa Lian. The piece of ore I found is very big and looks like a rod. It is 1 m high and as thick as a human thigh. It’s much bigger than a fist,” says Qin Yu while gesticulating with his hands.

  Lian Yan’s eyes immediately pop out of his head. His cheeks even redden.

  “A rod … even 1 m high?”

  Lian Yan is not Qin Yu. He thinks about many other things. Such a large piece of ore, and even of the high Xian-grade, will probably be enough to make several tens weapons. And they will be the most marvelous weapons of the high Xian-grade, no less!

  Several tens weapons, what kind of idea is this?

  “Of course it’s true. You needn’t ask.” Qin Yu feels at a loss when Lian Yan keeps asking again and again. However, he does not understand that this is because Lian Yan cannot believe what he said. If a pie was dropped from the sky, anybody would find it very hard to believe temporarily.

  “Quick, let me have a look at it.” Lian Yan immediately says to Qin Yu, who nods his agreement at once. He then hurries Lian Yan to that underground secret room.

  In the underground secret room, Lian Yan’s eyes glitter as he sees the flaming red crystal.

  The flaming red crystal radiates a light red glow. It is very lustrous and clear. And even the grain inside the crystal can be seen. As soon as Lian Yan sees the crystal’s appearance, he knows this piece of ore is a priceless treasure. When compared with it, pearls and agates pale into insignificance.

  Lian Yan gives his waist a pull. A purple flexible sword unexpectedly appears. He makes shaking movement with his hand and the purple flexible sword is straightened out perfectly at once. It then turns into a purple shaft of light and slashes at the flaming red crystal.

  “As expected.” Lian Yan’s eyes shine with fierceness as he stares directly at the flaming red crystal before him: “Even my Purple Core flexible sword cannot damage it. It’s definitely high Xian-grade.” Lian Yan turns to Qin Yu on one side and says seriously: “Xiao Yu, such a priceless treasure must be taken to the princely mansion at once. If you want any superb weapons, you can ask Mr. Hei, a
forging grandmaster, to make them for you. With such a big crystal, after you’ve forged your weapons and suit of armor, there’ll surely be some remnants. I think giving your father the remnants is not a bad idea, don’t you think?”

  Hearing Lian Yan’s words, Qin Yu immediately understands everything.

  The weapons made from such a priceless piece of ore will definitely be superb weapons. If these weapons are sent to his father, his father will surely be able to unleash their power in war. And Qin Yu never cares about money or treasures.

  “No problem, I only need a tenth of this flaming red crystal. I’ll give father the rest.” Qin Yu says with a smile.

  Looking at Qin Yu, Lian Yan’s eyes are full of approval: “Xiao Yu, you’re so young but you’re not bewitched by such a priceless treasure. Your mind has really far surpassed ordinary people’s minds.” When a person can stay unconcerned in front of such a priceless treasure, this person’s mind definitely cannot be matched by those of ordinary people. If a martial artist wants to make breakthroughs, their mind must be well-matched to their martial prowess.

  Seeing the look in Lian Yan’s eyes, Qin Yu says: “Grandpa Lian, don’t look at me like that or I’ll get embarrassed.” He even looks very shy as he is saying. Seeing this, Lian Yan cannot help laughing out loud.

  A person must cultivate their mind. As he has gone through difficult times, Qin Yu is such a person. Every time he breaks through a limit, his mind is trained, and he has been doing limit training since 8 years old, therefore his mind is much tougher than ordinary people’s.

  Generally, people who are alone are independent and self-reliant. This is because if a person is usually alone they will naturally ponder.

  Pondering about life, pondering about their own values, the more they ponder, the more thoroughly they can understand things.

  Qin Yu is also like that. As a child, oftentimes he was alone and watched stars by himself. Later, after experiencing some events, his mind has fully matured. Now he totally understands what kind of person he should be -- To him, nothing in the world is as thick as blood or as important as family relationships. As far as money and treasures are concerned, if he already has enough to meet his basic needs, what is the use of having more? When 20,000 liang of silver are enough for a person to spend all their life, what is the point of wanting 100,000 liang? Therefore, he is naturally not greedy.

  People have dreams. Qin Yu also has a dream. To him, family love comes first and his dream comes second. As for his own life, without family love and dreams, living would be no different from being a zombie.

  Qin Yu likes the blood-boiling feeling he has after every time he breaks through a limit. He likes close-quarters combat and the intense emotions the moment life and death are decided. Qin Yu’s dream is to burn his passion of life like a meteor. To him, life must be blood-boiling like this…

  “Grandpa Lian, have you arranged for someone to deliver this flaming red crystal to the mansion?” Qin Yu says with a smile.

  “Right, I’ll make arrangements immediately.” Lian Yan says hurriedly. In dealing with serious matters, he must not relax his concentration a bit. He goes to make arrangements at once. Qin Yu takes a look at the flaming red crystal and thinks: “I didn’t think this crystal would be so useful to father. This can also be considered a benefit.” Then he turns around and leaves the secret room while smiling.

  ******

  In a separate courtyard in the East Vanquishing Prince mansion, quite a few people have gathered together by this time, including East Vanquishing Prince’s 3 sons, Lian Yan and Manager Ge Min. There are also 3 bare-chested large men and a black-clad middle-aged man. All of them are looking at the flaming red crystal in the center.

  “Is it possible to forge it, Mr. Hei?” Lian Yan asks the black-clad middle-aged man.

  The black-clad middle-aged man does not reply. He goes up to the flaming red crystal, opens his eyes wide and carefully examines every place of the crystal. His attention is being concentrated highly. Seeing him acting like that, Qin Yu and the others on the side are all consciously unwilling to disturb this forging grandmaster.

  Chapter 13 Forging Grandmaster (3)

  The black-clad middle-aged man examines for a long time, then, with his face full of extreme satisfaction, he turns to Qin Yu and exclaims in admiration: “Originally I thought this kind of priceless treasure could only be seen in the Immense Wilderness, the most dangerous place in the world. But 3rd Prince found this priceless treasure on the ordinary Dong Lan Mountain. This is really unbelievable.”

  “I was just lucky,” says Qin Yu with a smile.

  The black-clad middle-aged man turns to Lian Yan and says: “Senior Lian, since Mount Dong Lan had such a priceless treasure, you’ve searched again in the surroundings of this crystal, haven’t you?”

  “Of course I searched.” Lian Yan shakes his head and says with a sigh: “But this kind of rare natural treasure can only be obtained by people with a predestined affinity with it. Xiao Yu found this treasure accidentally, but the several hundred experts I sent didn’t see a bit of ore even after turning the whole rocky forest over and shattering all the huge rocks.”

  But Qin Feng says: “This flaming red crystal alone should already be enough for us. It was Xiao Yu’s destiny to find this flaming red crystal. So, when we searched again relentlessly, we shouldn’t be disheartened despite getting nothing.”

  “That’s right. I’ve never heard of such a big chunk of first-class ore.” The black-clad middle-aged man stares at the flaming red crystal as if he is a cat looking at a fish.

  “Mr. Hei, are you sure you can forge this flaming red crystal?” Qin Yu on one side asks. All the other people immediately stare at this forging grandmaster. Forging is not simple at all. Even when good materials are ready, it still requires a good forging expert.

  East Vanquishing Prince actually had to pay a very high price in the past to obtain the services of this Mr. Hei. He has been staying in the princely mansion for over 10 years.

  Mr. Hei shakes his head. All the others are stupefied.

  “I can’t be certain without trying first.” With a grab, Mr. Hei takes off his black gown, revealing the naked top half of his body. He cannot help smiling slightly. It is only because he is extremely excited that he smiles. “It’s been a long time since I was in action with my entire power.”

  “Bring me the Blue Flaming Water.” Mr. Hei gives an order.

  “Yes!” A bare-chested large man immediately goes back to his room. After a while, he brings out a glass bottle. The bottle is containing a blue liquid. The strangest thing is that there is unexpectedly a light-colored layer of flames on the surface of this blue liquid.

  Mr. Hei receives the glass bottle. Suddenly his hands start to redden. A heat flow starts to permeate through the air.

  The eyes of the 3 bare-chested large men on one side all glitter.

  “Master is finally getting into action. It’s been a very long time since we saw he was this serious.”

  “Master’s Sky Burning Art has already reached the highest level. How formidable it is in action, I wonder?” The 3 large men are discussing with each other. These men are none other than Mr. Hei’s 3 personal disciples so naturally the East Vanquishing Prince mansion has placed emphasis on training them as well.

  Qin Yu, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng, Lian Yan and Ge Min are all also watching this Mr. Hei.

  Mr. Hei removes the glass bottle’s stopper. At the same time, he slightly tilts the bottle in his hand. The Blue Flaming Water immediately drops onto the flaming red crystal at once, causing a series of “ss ss” noises. The Blue Flaming Water is changing violently.

  “This flaming red crystal is truly formidable. Even the Blue Flaming Water can’t leave a mark on it.” A disciple of Mr. Hei’s says in amazement.

  After a while, that Blue Flaming Water has turned into a membrane which completely covers the flaming red crystal.

  “Humph!” Mr. Hei ut
ters a cold humph. His eyes suddenly glitter. His 2 hands immediately spew 2 streams of incandescent flames out directly onto the membrane on the surface of the flaming red crystal. That membrane is what the Blue Flaming Water changed into. However, the flaming red crystal unexpectedly remains unaffected.

  “Martial brother, even Master’s Sky Burning Flames coupled with the Blue Flaming Water couldn’t leave a mark on it. How is this possible?” A disciple of Mr. Hei’s is shocked.

  “Not even high-Xian-grade crystals can remain intact under Master’s Sky Burning Flames. This …” Another disciple also becomes doubtful.

  The excitement in Mr. Hei’s eyes heightens. Suddenly his face becomes very red then turns ashen. At the same time the flames on his hands start to shrink. However, the temperature in the courtyard suddenly increases.