Chapter 10: The Sunken Star Iron

One by one, the aged elders, as if injected with a powerful stimulant, enthusiastically laid out a grand plan for Bai Chenxiang’s future.

“Daily medicinal baths must not stop! Use century-old ginseng roots and Red Sun Flowers to invigorate the blood and strengthen the bones!”

“The diet needs changing too! Every meal must include meat from soul beasts over a hundred years old to replenish qi and blood!”

Bai Chenxiang listened as they each took turns, orchestrating a luxurious support system fit for a Douluo Title Holder for her future. Yet, her eyelids began to droop.

Yesterday had been filled with battles and injuries; just now, she had engaged in a war of wits with several elders, draining much of her mental energy. Now, as she relaxed, a heavy fatigue swept over her.

In front of the passionate elders, she openly let out a big yawn, even squeezing out a tear from the corner of her eye.

The entire council hall fell silent.

All eyes turned to the little girl who had spoiled the mood.

Rubbing her eyes, Bai Chenxiang spoke softly with a hint of childishness to Bai He beside her, “Grandpa, I’m sleepy. I want to go back and sleep.”

Bai He paused, then burst into hearty laughter.

He bent down and lifted his precious granddaughter into his arms with practiced gentleness.

“All right, all right, let’s go home and sleep! No matter how big the matter, we’ll deal with it after our Xiangxiang is well rested!”

Carrying Bai Chenxiang, he strode out of the council hall boldly, leaving the four elders frozen in disbelief, offering only a carefree silhouette and a lingering remark behind him.

“Handle the treasury as you see fit. Just pick the best. Oh, and send me the bill later.”

Inside the council hall, Bai Shan and the others exchanged looks, unsure whether to be angry or amused at the clan leader’s brazen attitude.

Finally, Bai Shan shook his head helplessly but wore a nearly doting smile.

“Well, who can blame him with such a prodigy granddaughter? When Xiangxiang wakes up, we’ll take her to open the treasury!”

...

The treasury of the Minzhi Clan was less a treasure trove and more a colossal, meticulously organized warehouse.

There were no glittering decorations or dazzling jewels.

Everything here served a single core purpose—speed.

Along the walls, shelves neatly held rolls of treated beast hides, ranging from the delicate, gossamer-like “Wind Butterfly Wings” to the extraordinarily tough “Millennium Gale Leopard Pelt,” all premium materials for crafting light armor and inner linings.

In another corner, jade boxes preserved various specially treated spiritual herbs.

There was “Electric Grass,” which could temporarily boost nerve response speed; “Lightness Fruit,” greatly restoring soul power and easing bodily burdens; and even a small tuft of “Skyfluff,” said to be plucked from the base of the feathers of an ancient divine bird, which when worn bestowed a strange affinity for high-altitude air currents.

Trailing behind Bai He, Bai Chenxiang was surrounded by the four elders, who acted like enthusiastic salesmen, passionately explaining their clan’s treasured relics.

“Xiangxiang, look at this!” Elder Bai Shan proudly presented a bolt of shimmering silk.

“This is ‘Wind Chasing Clouds,’ woven from the silk spun by a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast called the ‘Cloud Spider.’ It took three full years to complete.”

“Garments made from it not only automatically conform to the wearer’s shape, reducing wind resistance, but also become slippery and elusive with soul power activation, making common grappling techniques useless!”

“And this! And this!” Another short, stout elder opened a sandalwood box revealing a crystal-clear beast bone that seemed to hold wind swirling within it.

“The left leg bone of a ten-thousand-year-old Wind Demon Wolf!”

“Though not a soul bone, when ground into powder and combined with forty-nine auxiliary herbs for medicinal baths, it fundamentally reforms the skeletal structure, making the body lighter and more suited for high-speed movement! Our clan leader used it back in the day—”

“Cough cough!” Bai He interrupted with a dry cough, breaking his brother’s revelation.

Bai Chenxiang listened with a smile, her gaze leisurely scanning these priceless treasures. Though appreciative, there was no trace of greed or excitement.

These were wonderful.

For any member of the Minzhi Clan, these were coveted treasures.

But to her, they were mere external aids.

Her path was grounded in herself—her understanding and mastery of the wind.

No matter how fine the clothing, it only reduces wind resistance; her goal was to command the wind resistance itself.

No matter how potent the medicinal bath, it only lightens the bones; her aim was to strengthen her body enough to bear speeds that could tear space apart.

These items could help her start faster but would invisibly impose a comfortable upper limit.

Seeing Bai Chenxiang’s lack of enthusiasm, the elders grew anxious.

These were their most treasured heirlooms—how could the little girl show no reaction? Had they not presented them well?

“Xiangxiang, what do you really want? Tell grandpa! If it’s in the treasury, we’ll get it for you!” Bai Shan said boldly, pounding his chest.

Bai Chenxiang’s gaze didn’t linger on the dazzling items but slowly shifted to a neglected corner deep in the treasury.

There, amidst disorder, lay some discarded items.

Broken weapons, metal scraps of unknown purpose, and some things that looked like ordinary stones.

These were things the Minzhi Clan had collected over the long years—either seized from enemies or found in ruins—but which did not align with their own path and were too tasteless to keep but too precious to discard.

Her eyes finally rested on a dust-covered black iron box.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing with her little finger.

Bai Shan followed her finger and was momentarily taken aback before showing a look of disdain.

“Oh, that? Don’t mind it. It’s a worthless thing won centuries ago by one of our ancestors in a bet with a power-type soul master.”

He strode over and kicked the box open with a loud clang.

The box overturned, spilling out seven or eight fist-sized, pitch-black metal spheres with surfaces smooth as mirrors.

“This thing,” Bai Shan nudged one with his toe; it didn’t budge, clearly extremely heavy.

“It’s called Starfall Iron, said to be refined from meteoric ore, with astonishing density.”

“That big power-type fool used it to train his arm strength.”

“For us, it’s useless. Just running a few steps with it leaves us gasping for breath. It’s the enemy of speed.”

Bai Chenxiang looked at the metal spheres, which still reflected a faint glow in the dim light. Her eyes gradually brightened.

She stepped forward, crouched, and reached out her small hand to pick one up.

The weight was astounding. With her current strength, she had to use both hands to barely hold it.

A small sphere weighing at least fifty or sixty jin.

“Too heavy,” she whispered.

“See! I told you it’s no use!” Bai Shan immediately agreed.

“Xiangxiang, you should look at the ‘Wind Chasing Clouds’—such a pretty garment for a girl.”

But Bai Chenxiang’s next words cut through the air, silencing everyone.

“I want this.”

Once again, the air froze.

The four elders exchanged glances, their expressions more bewildered than when they first saw the “Wind Spirit” earlier in the hall.

“Xiangxiang,” Elder Bai Shan’s voice was hoarse, as if sandpaper had scraped his throat. He struggled to find words to comprehend this mindset that defied species and cultivation systems.

“Why do you want this? Are you planning to become one of those muscle-bound brutes, training strength?”

As he spoke, an uncontrollable image formed in his mind:

His delicate, ethereal, future Wind Spirit granddaughter, her face flushed red, struggling and grunting as she hoisted a black iron sphere bigger than her head, squatting among the rocky hills behind the clan.

The image was so absurd that the old men shuddered in unison, feeling as if their lifelong pursuit of the Way of Speed was being mercilessly desecrated by some indescribable force.