173: Chapter 173 You are my woman, Su Bai's woman.

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding air instantly froze.

Zhou Qingying held her wine cup, her movements abruptly stopping as her expression darkened instantly.

Lin Weiwei's expression changed drastically; she grabbed Lin Chanchan and knelt on the ground.

"First Madam, please appease your anger! Chan Chan is young and ignorant, speaking without thinking. I hope First Madam can forgive her!"

Lin Weiwei's voice was trembling.

She knew that although Zhou Qingying was usually gentle with them, once this eldest Young Miss's temper flared up, even Su Bai would have to yield a bit.

Lin Chanchan also realized she had misspoken; her little face turned pale with fear as she knelt on the ground shivering.

Zhou Qingying was silent for a moment.

Looking at the Lin Sisters kneeling on the ground, her expression gradually softened.

"Get up."

Her voice returned to its calm state.

"Chan Chan is young and lacks discretion in her speech; I don't blame her."

Lin Weiwei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pulled Lin Chanchan to her feet.

Zhou Qingying glanced at Lin Chanchan and said indifferently:

"However, Weiwei, as the older sister, you should teach your younger sister more often. You must have a sense of what should and shouldn't be said."

"In this Generals Mansion, you can cause whatever trouble you want behind closed doors, but in front of outsiders, you must be mindful of propriety."

Lin Weiwei nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, First Madam is right to lecture us. I will definitely teach Chan Chan well."

Lin Chanchan also lowered her head and whispered, "Chan Chan knows she was wrong and won't dare to do it again."

Zhou Qingying nodded, picked up her wine cup, took a light sip, and said nothing more.

The firelight reflected on her beautiful face.

No joy or anger could be seen.

...

Inside the room.

Red candles flickered.

Ma Zhenhua sat on the edge of the bed, her hands twisting the corner of her clothes, her whole body stiff with tension.

Su Bai closed the door, walked up to her, and looked down at her.

"Nervous?"

Ma Zhenhua bit her lip, shook her head, and then nodded.

Su Bai smiled, reached out to lift her chin, and looked into her eyes:

"From today on, you are my, Su Bai's, woman."

"I will treat you well."

Ma Zhenhua's eyes reddened as she nodded heavily.

The candlelight flickered, casting two overlapping shadows.

A night of passion.

...

Early the next morning.

Ma Zhenhua blushed as she helped Su Bai dress.

This time she was much more proficient than yesterday, but she still couldn't avoid Su Bai taking a few liberties with his hands.

When she came out of the room.

Her whole face was as red as a cooked shrimp, and she walked away quickly with her head lowered.

The guards at the door saw this scene; they all kept their eyes downcast, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

Su Bai sat on the edge of the bed feeling refreshed and opened his attribute panel.

[Name: Su Bai]

[Lifespan: Twenty-eight years]

[Cultivation: Second Level of Foundation Establishment]

[Talent: Dragon Essence Tiger Vigor]

[Cultivation Techniques: Five Metals Treasure Seeking Art, Savage Bull Strength, Dragon Sea Pill Refining Art, Yin Yang Dual Cultivation Art, Nine Fires Artifact Forging Method]

Su Bai glanced at his cultivation; the second level of Foundation Establishment was decent progress.

But what interested him most was the last newly appeared technique—the Nine Fires Artifact Forging Method.

This should have been obtained after dual cultivating with Ma Zhenhua last night.

Su Bai carefully sensed the contents of this technique, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

This was a top-tier Artifact Refining method.

It was said that when practiced to the extreme, one could forge legendary Spiritual Artifacts or even Magic Treasures!

And he happened to have a group of people who needed handy weapons right now.

Those three hundred Cultivator soldiers were currently using ordinary iron forged by common blacksmiths; it was fine for dealing with ordinary people, but it wouldn't be enough against true Cultivators.

If he could equip each of them with a Spiritual Artifact-grade weapon, their combat power would at least double!

Su Bai immediately got up and found Zhou Qingying.

"Qingying, help me find a few Artifact Refiners; I have a use for them."

Zhou Qingying looked at him in confusion:

"Husband, what do you need Artifact Refiners for?"

Su Bai smiled: "I want to forge a batch of handy weapons for the brothers. Ordinary blacksmiths won't do; I need to find those who can refine artifacts."

Zhou Qingying nodded:

"There are a few Artifact Refiners in Yunzhou City, but their skill is average. I'll have someone invite them over."

That afternoon, Zhou Qingying had three Artifact Refiners invited over.

The leader was an old man in his fifties named Old Man Zheng, said to be the best Artifact Refiner in Yunzhou City, capable of forging Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

The other two were his disciples, in their thirties, looking quite capable.

"Greetings, General Su."

Old Man Zheng cupped his hands, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

Having been an Artifact Refiner in Yunzhou City for decades, although his craftsmanship wasn't top-tier, he was somewhat famous and used to seeing high-ranking officials, so he naturally wouldn't be as trembling as ordinary people.

Su Bai nodded and said straight to the point:

"Master Zheng, I've called you here because I want you to help me forge a batch of weapons. About three hundred pieces, required to be of Spiritual Artifact grade. Can you do it?"

Old Man Zheng frowned: "Three hundred Spiritual Artifacts? General, that's no small number. I can forge at most three Spiritual Artifacts a month; three hundred pieces... I'm afraid it would take several years."

Su Bai's brow twitched: "Too slow. Is there any way to speed it up?"

Old Man Zheng shook his head:

"Artifact Refining cannot be rushed; every step must be meticulously crafted. The slightest carelessness can lead to total failure. If the General wants speed, then we can only lower the quality and forge some ordinary weapons."

Su Bai pondered for a moment and said:

"How about this, forge one piece for me first to let me see your level."

Old Man Zheng nodded and immediately had someone bring a furnace to begin refining.

Su Bai stood aside, watching quietly.

He saw Old Man Zheng put a piece of refined iron into the furnace, using spiritual power to stoke the flames. Once the refined iron was red-hot, he took it out, swung his hammer, and began forging.

The clanging sounds echoed in the courtyard.

After half an hour, a longsword took shape.

Old Man Zheng wiped his sweat and handed the longsword to Su Bai: "General, please look. This is the Low Grade Spiritual Artifact I forged—the Cold Iron Sword."

Su Bai took the sword and examined it carefully.

The sword's body was entirely silver-white, with a faint cold light flowing through it; it was indeed much stronger than ordinary weapons.

But Su Bai frowned.

He had just obtained the Nine Fires Artifact Forging Method; although he hadn't officially cultivated it yet, his discernment was already there.

In his eyes, this sword had at least seven or eight flaws.

"Master Zheng, there are a few problems with this sword of yours."

Su Bai spoke up.

Old Man Zheng was stunned and said with some displeasure, "The General also knows how to refine artifacts?"

Su Bai ignored his attitude and pointed at the sword's body:

"First, the temperature when you quenched this refined iron was insufficient, resulting in inadequate hardness of the sword body. If it clashes with a true Spiritual Artifact, the edge will chip within three to five exchanges."

Old Man Zheng's expression changed.

Su Bai continued: "Second, there's a problem with your hammer technique during forging; there are internal injuries within the sword body. They can't be seen with the naked eye, but they will be exposed once spiritual power is activated."

Old Man Zheng's expression became increasingly ugly.

Su Bai pointed at the hilt: "Third, there isn't even a Spirit Gathering Array on this hilt. When soldiers hold it, they won't be able to amplify their spiritual power through the weapon. Without spiritual power amplification, how is this different from an ordinary iron sword?"