The end of Gaowu: Becoming stronger from not practicing

The following day, Shen Qiming, the young master of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion, mysteriously disappeared in the heavily guarded Qiming Hall.
The Life Soul Card is shattered.

When the body dies, the Tao disappears.

The news that only fragments of defensive magic weapons and faint, elusive high-level divine runes remained at the scene was like another bombshell that exploded in Baidi City!

So cleanly and efficiently, killing the young master in the core area of ​​the Divine Craftsman Pavilion and leaving calmly, who else but that mysterious and unpredictable Divine Inscription Master with at least level three strength could do that?
The Divine Craftsman Pavilion was plunged into complete panic and chaos.

With the young master killed and Elder Shen Pengyun still recovering from serious injuries, Grand Elder Shen Yuan is left to fend for himself alone.

Those who had previously harbored thoughts of using others to do their dirty work now truly felt the chill of impending doom.

If Zhang Lingfeng dared to kill Shen Qiming inside the Divine Craftsman Pavilion, he could kill them all.

Zhang Lingfeng's revenge, or rather Zhang Tianshi's revenge, was far more direct and cruel than they imagined.

Yun Zhongzi's expression turned extremely grim upon learning that Shen Qiming had been killed and that divine runes remained at the scene.

Although he disdained the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion, Zhang Tianshi's unbridled style of behavior also made him feel strongly disgusted and uncomfortable.

The other party seemed to disregard rules and background, acting solely on whim.

Furthermore, the fact that Shen Qiming was killed only when I established diplomatic relations with the Divine Craftsman Pavilion makes it seem more like he was targeting me.

Upon learning of this, Chairman Huang of the Danzhou Association sighed repeatedly.

The internal conflicts, instead of being resolved, escalated to a point of life-or-death struggle, making his hopes for a united front almost impossible.

The people from Jingzhou and Shenzhou Guilds are probably laughing at us.

The entire city of Baidi was shrouded in a tense atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing.

Everyone knows that the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion and Zhang Tianshi are now locked in a life-or-death struggle.

The upcoming Divine Inscription Master Cultivation Conference is destined to become the final stage for all conflicts to erupt.

Inside the Divine Craftsman's Shop, Zhang Lingfeng listened to the wind and rain outside, his expression calm.

He checked the panel; his "lying down" value was almost gone, but his strength was already sufficient.

He looked at the worried General Ma and suddenly said, "Master Ma, do you want the signboard of Divine Craftsman's Shop to shine brighter than that of Divine Craftsman's Pavilion? Do you want Divine Craftsman's Shop to become the only forge in White Emperor City?"

General Ma was startled and looked at Zhang Lingfeng. Seeing the wisdom and determination in Zhang Lingfeng's eyes, and recalling Zhang Tianshi's actions, he wondered if Zhang Tianshi really intended to destroy the Divine Craftsman Pavilion.

Should the Divine Craftsman's Shop replace the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion?
Previously, he only hoped that the signboard of the Divine Craftsman's Shop could be preserved and not be abolished by the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion.

Who would have thought that one day the Divine Craftsman Shop could replace the Divine Craftsman Pavilion?

This is simply a fantasy.

But Shen Qiming died inside the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion.

He died silently.

He died in the Qiming Hall.

That's the young master of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion.

He died just like that.

Rumors are circulating that it was Zhang Tianshi who did it.

Zhang Lingfeng's words at this moment made Master Ma believe that it was indeed the work of Zhang Tianshi.

"The Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion is known for its domineering ways. Today they want to strip the Divine Craftsmen's Shop of its name, but tomorrow they might take your lives."

Zhang Lingfeng added fuel to the fire.

“The Divine Craftsman Pavilion and the Divine Craftsman Shop originally shared the same origin. If the Divine Craftsman Shop can inherit the position and carry on the excellent forging techniques of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion, I will have no choice but to do so.”

General Ma understood what Zhang Lingfeng meant.

Remembering how the Divine Craftsman Pavilion suppressed him, forcing him to hide and almost lose his reputation, how could General Ma refuse if one day the Divine Craftsman Pavilion could be abolished and the Divine Craftsman Shop could become the new Divine Craftsman Pavilion?

Thinking of Zhang Lingfeng's strength and Zhang Tianshi's abilities, Ma Dashuai's heart was also filled with anticipation.

"Alright, you just wait until that day comes."

Zhang Lingfeng laughed.

"Thank you, Master Zhang. Thank you, Celestial Master Zhang. If that day ever comes, I hope Master Zhang can take charge of the Divine Craftsman's Shop, and Celestial Master Zhang can uphold justice for the shop."

General Ma knelt down and said.

Taking down the Divine Craftsman Pavilion is no easy task, but with the full support of Zhang Lingfeng and Zhang Tianshi, things would be different.

"Okay, I promise you."

Zhang Lingfeng decided to do something big.

Master Ma looked up at Zhang Lingfeng.

“That naturally includes my master.”

Zhang Lingfeng understood what Ma Dashuai meant.

"boom!"

General Ma kowtowed.

He didn't know if he could succeed, but with the opportunity in front of him, he had no reason not to seize it.

Zhang Tianshi has already killed Shen Qiming.

They will definitely continue to cause trouble with the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion.

Zhang Lingfeng was Zhang Tianshi's disciple and also a blacksmith at the Divine Craftsman Shop. Commander Ma knew that the Divine Craftsman Shop could no longer remain uninvolved in this matter.

That's why I came up with this idea.

That's why they wanted to abolish the Divine Craftsman Pavilion.

It was a rare opportunity to receive Zhang Lingfeng's support.

Although Zhang Lingfeng successfully killed Shen Qiming, he knew in his heart that this was still far from helping Commander Ma completely eliminate the Divine Craftsman Pavilion.

The Divine Craftsmen Pavilion has a deep foundation, including not only Shen Qiming and Shen Pengyun, but also Elder Shen Yuan, as well as many core elders and level six blacksmiths.

More importantly, the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion may have even more powerful backers, and may even have intricate connections with the City Lord's Mansion and the Divine Inscription Master Guild.

"Although my current strength is already that of an upper god and a peak level three divine inscription master, it is still far from enough to completely eliminate the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion."

Zhang Lingfeng sat in the backyard of the Divine Craftsman's Shop, looking at the information on the panel, his brows slightly furrowed.

Lying flat value: 13423
Realm: Peak Level 3 Divine Inscription Master, Upper God, Peak Level 5 Blacksmith
"I need more 'lying flat' points, I need to advance to the God King realm, or even become a Level 4 Divine Inscription Master."

Zhang Lingfeng thought to himself.

"Only in this way will the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion truly be nothing to fear."

However, becoming a God-King requires a God-King cultivation method, and he currently doesn't even have one.

As for Divine Inscription Masters, although they are already at the peak of Level 3, they still need a more advanced cultivation method and a massive amount of "lying down" points to break through to Level 4.

"I need to earn more 'lying down' points before the Divine Inscription Master Cultivation Conference begins."

Zhang Lingfeng made a decision.

So, in the days that followed, Zhang Lingfeng spent almost all his time hiding in the Divine Craftsman's Shop, playing mahjong with Master Ma, Master Yang, Master Wang, Master Liu, and others.

He appeared incredibly lazy, seemingly completely absorbed in the card game and indifferent to the outside world.

But in reality, he was calculating the increase of his "lying flat" value every moment.

[You engaged in recreational activities unrelated to cultivation with a Level 4 Blacksmith, the Mid-Rank Divine Steed General, and completely lay down in front of him, gaining 200 Lie-Down Points.]

[You engaged in recreational activities unrelated to cultivation with Master Yang, a Level 3 blacksmith and a mid-level god, and completely lay down in front of him, gaining 150 points of "lying down value".]

[You engage in recreational activities unrelated to cultivation with your Level 2 Blacksmith, a mid-level God-King master, and completely lie down in front of him, gaining 150 "Lying Down Values".]

Lying flat feels like getting an upgrade.

Just as Zhang Lingfeng was about to put his "lying flat" act into practice, an entry for the term "lying flat" actually appeared.

This delighted him. With these keyword hints, it would be much easier for him to gain "lying down" points.

Although the "lying down" points gained from Ma Dashuai and his group are far less than those gained from Barkol, they add up over time, amounting to tens of thousands of points in a month.

"Not enough, far from enough."

Zhang Lingfeng was anxious.

At this rate, accumulating enough "lying down" points to break through to the God King realm or become a Level 4 Divine Inscription Master might take several years or even longer.

But he had no better solution.

The people from the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion were watching the Divine Craftsmen's Shop closely. He couldn't go out easily, otherwise his whereabouts might be exposed.

Moreover, he needs to keep a low profile now and avoid attracting too much attention.

Meanwhile, the interior of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion was in complete chaos.

Young Master Shen Qiming died mysteriously in the heavily guarded Qiming Hall; his life spirit tablet shattered, and he perished.

Only fragments of defensive magical artifacts and faint, elusive remnants of high-level divine runes remained at the scene.

This news plunged the entire Divine Craftsman Pavilion into a huge panic.

"Master Zhang... he really dares to kill someone inside the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion!"

Elder Shen Yuan's face was deathly pale, and his voice trembled.

"!"

Despite his serious injuries, Shen Pengyun insisted on attending the meeting.

His face was ashen, his eyes filled with fear and rage: "This Zhang Tianshi is too ruthless! He's trying to wipe out our Shen family!"

"What do we do now?"

An elder asked, "The young master is dead, what about the future of the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion...?"

"We must take revenge!"

Another elder gritted his teeth.

"If we do not retaliate, the prestige of the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion will be completely destroyed!"

"Revenge? How do I get revenge?" Shen Yuan smiled bitterly.

"The other party is a level three divine inscription master. He is elusive and ruthless. We don't even know who he is or where he is. How can we take revenge?"

“Moreover,” Shen Pengyun added, “if Zhang Tianshi dared to kill Qiming inside the Divine Craftsman Pavilion, he could kill all of us.”

His revenge was far more direct and brutal than we imagined.

These words silenced everyone.

Indeed, Zhang Tianshi's ability to enter the core area of ​​the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion silently, kill Shen Qiming, and leave calmly left them feeling deeply powerless.

"Go find Master Yun Zhongzi!"

Shen Yuan suddenly said, "Master Yun Zhongzi is a level three divine inscription master, whose strength is no weaker than Zhang Tianshi, and he has already agreed to deal with Zhang Tianshi at the divine inscription master conference."

Now that Qiming has been killed, he should help us seek justice.

"Yes, let's go find Master Yun Zhongzi!"

……

Everyone agreed.

So, Shen Yuan and Shen Pengyun, carrying generous gifts, once again arrived at the courtyard where Yun Zhongzi was.

Inside the courtyard, Yun Zhongzi was resting with his eyes closed.

He had already learned of Shen Qiming's murder and was equally shocked.

"Master Zhang... is so unscrupulous."

Yun Zhongzi thought to himself, "Killing someone inside the Divine Craftsman Pavilion is not just simple revenge, but a blatant provocation."

But he also hesitated.

If he were to go directly to Zhang Tianshi now to seek justice for the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion, then the feud between him and Zhang Tianshi would no longer be just a contest over the superiority of the Divine Rune Path, but would become a life-or-death enmity.

"What Zhang Tianshi and I originally had was just a bet."

If I defeat him at the conference and ruin his reputation, I will have achieved my goal.

Yun Zhongzi was pondering this in his heart.

"But if I were to interfere in the affairs of the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion now and directly become an enemy of Zhang Tianshi, then the nature of the matter would be completely different."

More importantly, he knew nothing about Zhang Tianshi. What was his background?
What's the background?
Just how strong is it?
He doesn't know any of this.

“A level three divine rune master who can easily enter the Divine Craftsman’s Pavilion to kill people and still escape unscathed is definitely not a simple character.”

Yun Zhongzi was wary.

"If I rashly make an enemy of him, it may bring unnecessary trouble to the Baruch family."

Just then, Shen Yuan and Shen Pengyun requested an audience.

"Master Yun Zhongzi, please uphold justice for our Divine Craftsmen Pavilion!"

As soon as Shen Yuan entered, he knelt down, tears streaming down his face: "That fiend Zhang Tianshi actually killed our young master inside the Divine Craftsman Pavilion! Such an act is outrageous!"

Shen Pengyun knelt down beside him, his voice choked with sobs: "Master, Zhang Tianshi is so ruthless and doesn't respect the rules of Baidi City at all. If we let him continue to run rampant, Baidi City will never have peace!"

Yun Zhongzi frowned slightly as he looked at the two people kneeling on the ground.

He naturally knew the purpose of the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion, but he did not want to get involved in this conflict easily.

"Elder Shen, Elder Shen, please rise."

Yun Zhongzi said calmly, "It was indeed excessive for Zhang Tianshi to kill Young Master Shen, but this matter involves the grudges between two third-level divine inscription masters, so it is not appropriate for me to interfere directly."

"Master, didn't you already promise to deal with Zhang Tianshi at the conference?" Shen Yuan hurriedly said, "Now that Zhang Tianshi has killed Qiming, you should uphold justice for us!"

“I agreed to compete with Master Zhang at the conference; that would be a friendly exchange of skills in the Way of Divine Runes,” Yun Zhongzi shook his head. “But if I were to go directly to Master Zhang now to avenge the Divine Craftsmen’s Pavilion, it would become a personal grudge. That would contradict my original intention.”

Shen Pengyun became anxious: "Master, Zhang Tianshi is so unscrupulous, he doesn't respect you at all. He knew you had agreed to help us, yet he still dared to kill Qiming. This is clearly a provocation against you!"

These words struck a nerve with Yun Zhongzi.

He did feel that Zhang Tianshi's behavior was provoking him, but the more so, the more cautious he had to be.

"I know what I'm doing," Yun Zhongzi finally said. "You should go back first. I will give you an explanation after the Divine Inscription Master Conference."

Shen Yuan and Shen Pengyun wanted to persuade him further, but seeing Yun Zhongzi's indifferent expression, they knew that it would be useless to continue, so they could only leave helplessly.

Inside the Divine Craftsman's Shop, Zhang Lingfeng learned through his own channels that the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion was going to find Yun Zhongzi.

"Yun Zhongzi didn't agree directly?"

Zhang Lingfeng was somewhat surprised.

"It seems he's not a reckless fool; he knows what's important."

This is good news for him.

If Yun Zhongzi were to confront him directly now, he would not only have to face the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion, but also the pursuit of a Level 3 Divine Inscription Master, which would put him under even greater pressure.

"However, although Yun Zhongzi has not agreed yet, he will definitely take action after the conference."

Zhang Lingfeng knew this clearly.

"I must defeat Yun Zhongzi at the conference, leaving him helpless, making the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion tremble with fear, and even getting the White Emperor City Guild to stand on my side. I just don't know if the Divine Inscription Masters from Shenzhou and Jingzhou will come."

According to the tournament rules, only Divine Inscription Masters below level four are allowed to participate.

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