Castle of Black Iron

Two weeks ago when his elder brother had talked about the Red-scarf Burglars at the dinner table, Zhang Tie felt as if he was listening to a story. To Zhang Tie, a bandit organization like the Red-scarf Burglars who instilled fear into the entire Andaman Alliance and killed numerous people had nothing to do with common families like the Zhang Family. In Zhang Tie’s mind, although the Red-scarf Burglars were always causing troubles within the territory of the Andaman Alliance, they lived in a completely different world.

When the curfew was imposed in Blackhot City, Zhang Tie felt that his life was influenced a bit; however, he was more worried about his elder brother. He hoped that his elder brother would not encounter those butchers with bloodstained hands.

The Red-scarf Burglars were infamous across the entire Andaman Alliance because of the numerous casualties caused by them. 12 years ago, the Red-scarf Burglars broke into Baroque, an emerging city, and caused the “Baroque Massacre”, an event feared by everyone. After the massacre, the beautiful city which had more than 100,000 citizens was wiped out. They killed every single living being they met, whether it was man or woman, old or young, and even farm animals like chickens or dogs were not spared, finally resulting in a ghost city.

Those vicious Red-scarf Burglars frightened everybody. Although there were less than 1,000 Red-scarf Burglars in total, on average, each of them had killed at least 100 innocent residents in the Baroque Massacre…

Every member of the Red-scarf Burglars would wear a red headcover when they took action. Besides a few members who were known by their infamous crimes, the identities of the other members were not known to the public, thus the government had not been able to arrest them. In addition, they acted in secrecy, as they would disappear soon after they finished their missions. Sometimes, they would reappear abruptly, causing people to become muddle-headed.

Zhang Tie had never thought that he would be related to such a terrifying organization, let alone killing two of their members.

Zhang Tie sat on the ground muddle-headedly for quite a while before he was able to recover his composure. Afterwards, he ran towards Snade’s body and undid his coat. He found the same opening on his clothes near the region of his left armpit under the inner armor and pulled out a terrifying red headcover that was the same as the one from Huck’s armpit.

“Motherf*cker, this kick is for your blindness and this kick is for my blood. You bastard, is it that cool to kill people?” Thinking of how he was almost killed by the Red-scarf Burglars, his fear of the two bodies turned into fury and disgust as he ferociously kicked Snade’s body more than 10 times.

After venting, Zhang Tie felt much more relaxed. Red-scarf Burglars? So what! Let’s see whether or not you can bite me!

“Bah…” Zhang Tie spat onto Snade’s body. Then, he dragged Snade’s body by the foot towards the Pool of Chaos, much like dragging a dead dog. He found it much easier to deal with this body, as Snade was much lighter than Huck.

After taking two short rests on the way there, Zhang Tie took 5 minutes to drag Snade’s body to a place near the Pool of Chaos. Exerting all his strength, he threw the dead body into the Pool of Chaos, which then slowly sunk into it. Zhang Tie then turned back and spent almost 10 minutes dragging Huck’s huge, dead body to a place near the Pool of Chaos too. After a powerful push, another Red-scarf Burglar disappeared forever from this world.

Afterwards, Zhang Tie ran back and threw all their belongings into the Pool of Chaos, including the bag that held the medicine, their purses, their clothes, and the box used to contain the crystals. From then on, the two Red-scarf Burglars completely disappeared from this world, leaving no traces behind.

Zhang Tie then became thoroughly relaxed. “From now on, who would be able to link the disappearance of those two guys to me?”

He then opened the Basic Attributes Panel of the Castle of Black Iron.

——Castle of Black Iron

——Length: 1 Krosa

——Width: 1 Krosa

——Aura Value: 328

——Merit Value: 2122

——Basic Energy Storage: 43.7

——Special Output: Void

As expected, the aura value and the basic energy storage had both increased. These past few days, as more and more seeds sprouted and grew well, the aura value also gradually increased. However, the merit value almost frightened Zhang Tie. How could it increase by more than 2000 points? Zhang Tie instantly opened the log for merit value to check the reason.

——For the Gods, you have carried out righteousness by killing Snade and Huck, who were part of the infamous Red-scarf Burglars. You have punished evil and have spread the mercy of the Gods unto the earthly world. You have found justice for the numerous people who were wronged by them. As a result, merit value has been increased by 2048.

Reading this tip, Zhang Tie became moved, feeling that he did the right thing by killing these two b*tches.

After closing the Basic Attributes Window of the Castle of Black Iron, Zhang Tie arrived before the small tree again. He was really depressed about the Leakless Fruit that he had been waiting for over a week. He really wanted to see what had happened to it at that time.

The Leakless Fruit that should have been ripe was as large as a peanut kernel. Hanging on a twig, it looked really pitiful. Zhang Tie stretched out his hand as another tip appeared.

——The Leakless Fruit has suspended its growth. After the Lord’s Qi and blood recovers, it will continue to grow.

Zhang Tie estimated that all of his energy might be currently used to produce more blood. According to his current physical condition, it might take him a couple of days to fully recover. That was to say, the next Leakless Fruit would grow ripe 10 days later.

F*ck! Thinking of this, Zhang Tie cursed Huck and Snade fiercely again. If it wasn’t for that incident last night, he would have improved a lot since the effects of the Leakless Fruit were really great.

He had no choice but to wait!

Afterwards, Zhang Tie checked the Iron Body Fruit. The new one seemed to have just started to grow, as the fruit was just about 1/5 mature. If he wanted to accelerate its growth, he would have to find opportunities to be fiercely beaten.

When Zhang Tie turned back and prepared to leave the Castle of Black Iron, he suddenly saw something shining through the corner of his eye on the small tree.

“What’s that? Zhang Tie moved back towards the other side of the tree. On the side opposite of the Leakless Fruit, he found a golden ray flashing among the leaves.

After walking around half the tree, Zhang Tie stretched out his hand to move away a small leaf. Surprisingly, he found a fruit right hanging there, radiating golden rays. It was perfectly round like a ball, and the skin of the fruit looked gold with golden wisps looming within. Although it did not release a smell as fragrant as the Leakless Fruit and the Iron Body Fruit, this fruit looked much more brilliant than the other two.

Seeing this fruit, Zhang Tie gaped. He truly didn’t know when such a fruit had grown ripe.

Although he couldn’t think it through, he only had to check the tip. The instant Zhang Tie stretched out his hand towards this strange dark yellow fruit, a tip appeared.

——Fruit of Brilliance has become ripe. Usage: Pick and direct eat it. Notice: The fruit cannot be taken out of the Castle of Black Iron. After twelve hours of having been picked off the tree, its energy and vitality will gradually decline.

Seemingly as if it had noticed Zhang Tie’s doubts, another tip appeared above the previous one.

——The deteriorating glorious rays will definitely be used after the death of the sinners. The soul of the sinners shall return to the Dark Land, while the glorious rays of the soul shall remain. The glorious rays were a force that was granted to the soul by the Creator and should not be desecrated. The glorious rays belong to the brave men who spread the righteousness of the Gods. As a brave fighter who brandished your blade against evil, you will earn glorious rays as you judge evil. The glorious rays of the soul will coexist within you, making you stronger.

Zhang Tie gulped twice. “Glorious rays? Force of the soul? What were those?” Although Zhang Tie was confused, he definitely knew that the Fruit of Brilliance was something great. Additionally, the glorious rays of the soul might be some force that came from Huck and Snade. Although Zhang Tie didn’t know how powerful Huck and Snade were, he could simply feel that the feeling they gave off was no less oppressive than Captain Kerlin. Was some of their force within this Fruit of Brilliance?

“I’m rich, I’m really rich now!” Zhang Tie’s heart pounded again. Taking in two deep breaths, he rubbed his face with force, realizing that he was not dreaming. He then meticulously picked off this Fruit of Brilliance as if he were picking accessories at a jewelry store. He would definitely eat it before he recovered composure. Based on his experiences with the Leakless Fruit, taking this fruit carefully, Zhang Tie sat under the small tree with legs crossed. He then engulfed this fruit directly, much like how Bajie ate the human-like fruit [1]. Putting the fruit into his mouth, he then bit into it…

The instant he bit into the Fruit of Brilliance, Zhang Tie seemed to have heard a huge sound reverberating deep in his mind. Afterwards, he fully lost consciousness.

What happened after was like a dream. In the dream, he felt his body becoming translucent and weightless while a dark yellow fog swirled around a mysterious point in his mind. Afterwards, a wisp of dark yellow fog escaped from that jewel-like Fruit of Brilliance in his mouth. The golden fog then combined with the original fog in his mind. At the same time, a pleasure that he had never experienced before rose from the depths of Zhang Tie’s soul. The pleasant feeling rising from his deepest inner heart made Zhang Tie feel unprecedentedly comfortable and peaceful. In this state, the golden fog escaped from the Fruit of Brilliance and constantly combined with the fog that was originally in his mind. As a result, the original fog in his mind became increasingly thicker and wider as it gradually turned brighter, changing from a dark golden color to a pure golden color…

After quite a while, the transformation finally stopped. The fog that was originally in Zhang Tie’s mind had already experienced huge changes, both quantitatively and qualitatively. In quantity, that fog expanded by at least seven-fold. If the original golden fog could be described as a pencil, then the current golden fog could be described as golden bamboo. In quality, besides becoming more vibrant, the fog was filled with Qi that was more energetic and lively…

Opening his eyes, much to his surprise, he realized the Castle of Black Iron was different than before. The colors were more vibrant in his eyes, and his nose became much sharper. The scent of soil seemed to have become clearer, and the whole world became more splendid.

Picking himself up from the ground, Zhang Tie moved his limbs. His body felt completely new, and every cell in his body seemed to be yelling out in happiness. It was truly a marvelous feeling.

What happened? What was that golden fog?

He then closed his eyes and opened them after a short while with a strand of shock on his face. He finally knew what the Fruit of Brilliance did and what the golden fog was. The golden fog was the spiritual energy in his mind. Previously, as he was too weak, he couldn’t sense his spiritual energy; however, he could now sense it. The glorious rays in the soul represented spiritual energy. The fact was that the Manjusaka Karma Fruit Tree had exploited the spiritual energy of the two dead bodies and formed the Fruit of Brilliance with them. The Fruit of Brilliance was used to increase spiritual energy. As their spiritual energy was three times of Zhang Tie’s, after consuming the Fruit of Brilliance, he could feel a sharp increase in his spiritual energy by six-fold…

After figuring out what had happened, Zhang Tie stared at that small tree in awe…

In the past, he didn’t know what other benefits having spiritual energy brought besides assisting in the ignition of the burning points, as he had rarely learned about it and had close to no opportunities to learn about it; however, after his spiritual energy was increased by six times, he realized he was able to cultivate much more effectively. Using the same amount of time, he could reach a much better result; otherwise, it would take him a much longer time to achieve such a result. This benefit alone had already made Zhang Tie satisfied. Moreover, with the help of the increased spiritual energy, he could sense more sharply and react much quicker. This was the best gift from the Gods before the survival training even began!

“Here I come, survival training!”

Zhang Tie shouted loudly in the Castle of Black Iron…

[1] Bajie was a monk who looked like a pig from the story, “A Journey in the West”. The human-like fruit was a wonderful fruit in the story which was said to give immortality.