The merchant’s figure trembled.

It would be a shame to just kill her off. She was an incredible Black Market Dealer with fantastic connections.

Should I try to use the classic trope of turning an enemy into a subordinate? It was usually done by the main character, but maybe it would work out. It wouldn’t be too late to kill her if she betrayed me later. Of course, I would have to get some assurance first.

“If the Demonic sects sent those assassins after me, then you have ties to them. How can any righteous cultivator let you off easily after knowing that?”

“Hey! If they were, then I didn’t know. I wouldn’t help evil cultivators on purpose!”

I hated those last two words. It was what fake white lotus types always spouted in those translated web novels from my past-past life. I almost killed her just to save myself a massive amount of trouble. But I had to think about this logically. She may have betrayed me, but she hadn’t been trying to kill me herself. While she was an unscrupulous, greedy bitch, she wasn’t beyond redemption at this point. And I was absolutely not being blinded by the amount of spirit stones I could collect from her if I was patient.

“Then tell me, if I allow you to live, what will you do for me to make up for your betrayal?”

“If those cultivators who bought your location return, I can set them up for you.”

“That’s a start.”

“I... I can sell you everything at cost?”

Was she kidding me? I guessed a merchant would always be a merchant. “Still not enough to make up for almost getting your Great Martial Aunt and Uncle killed.”

Her voice seemed like it was going to crack as she said, “Dear customer, y-you won’t make me give you the spirit stones I received from them, will you? Because I’ve already spent it all!”

I held in the urge to kick her. “You expect me to believe that?”

She winced. “The easiest way to increase your income is to let your money do the work. I’ve already tied everything up in investments.”

That made sense. But I doubted she’d spent everything already. “Give me what you have left as your first installment of reparations.”

Slowly, as if it physically killed her, she took out a storage bag. Then she handed it to me with both hands. Her hood was bent low, and I could practically hear sniffing noises coming from it. If I weren’t so pissed at her for selling me out, I might have felt like a bully.

I scanned it with divine sense first to make sure there wasn’t some kind of trap, then took it.

“Dear customer, would you mind telling me how many more installments there need to be for you to allow this poor merchant to live freely?”

“I don’t think you understand what’s going on here. You’re working for me like a loyal dog or you’ll get handed to the Sect Leader. Those are your only options.”

“B-but, my spirit stones!”

She really was a business woman. “Are they more important than your life?”

The girl spent way longer than I thought she would on the question. “No, but it’s still as important as breathing.”

I sighed. “I’m not going to prevent you from earning an income. In fact, I’ll encourage it. Because I’ll be taking 80% of your profit from now on.”

She choked.

I grinned.

Yes. Taking the spirit stones from a money-obsessed bitch was definitely better revenge than killing them off right away. Muahahaha!

“Whatever your original identity was, from now on, you’ll go by Little Black. Recognize this as your new name to accept this deal.”

“You can’t be serious! That’s a stupid name for a human!”

“It’s between this or getting thrown to my nephew. With his speed, it would take him a half second to arrive here.”

“Are you really willing to get in trouble with the Sect Leader? Once he finds out about you visiting black market dealers…”

I held myself back from kicking her. Was she seriously trying to threaten me? “You think he’ll scold his Martial Aunt?”

She paused as if she actually considered going up against an Immortal Bone Creation expert. “Fine. I... accept.”

The hidden enchantment that I had attached to that name started to come into effect. It was the same one I’d used on Ghosty back when I first met him. If the affected person betrayed me this enchantment would destroy their soul.

At first, there was a large amount of resistance, but then I felt it take and settle. She must have a sturdy soul for her realm. Or Ghosty was just very weak back then.

“Alright, Little Black. You’ll work for me from now on. This is the chance of a lifetime.”

The hood bobbed quickly in agreement.

I narrowed my eyes at her. This bitch was absolutely going to try something that would get her killed if I didn’t give her a warning.

“Remember, this is your only chance. If you value your life, don’t even think of going against me.”

***

After Little Black and I discussed the details of her new reality, which included sending me her detailed ledgers and ways to contact me, it was time to finish my preparations.

I stopped by the Treasure Pavilion to sell the Golden Walnut sticks I’d made. The contribution points from that went toward buying the silk and paint I’d need to complete my defensive formations.

Unfortunately, the previous silks I had collected were used up when I slaughtered those assassins.

While I was there, I grabbed the last few ingredients I’d need to take my armor from separate pieces into a whole set.

Once I returned to our courtyard and entered the space, Little Spring joined me in the forge room.

“Are you ready to help me finish the armor?”

He nodded and then eyed the items I laid out.

“Usually, you’d want to complete everything all at once. But we didn’t have enough energy for that. We’ll have to use a special method for combining them so that the pieces form a set.”

The kid ran his hand over the cloth we made together. It was still in one bolt of fabric, since I couldn’t cut it up without the forge. It was created to survive hits by a Golden Core level tribulation. Several small levels higher than where I suspected my tribulation would be at. It wasn’t something I could casually damage, even though I’d been the one to make it.

“Remember to double check each item before forging.”

“Just like alchemy and cooking.”

He looked over each item and I double checked them as well.

“Cloth, leather, gold dust, titanium dust, metal parts—“

“You should use their proper names.”

“Do we have time for that? I have a lesson in a few hours and I can’t be late again.”

The kid had a point. I waved at him to keep going.

“Latex, sulfur, cork board…” he finished by naming a few other key ingredients. One of them was a classic called Shrinking Vermillion Powder that allowed armor to adjust in size. I believed that I would become taller than I was in my last life, so this would allow my armor to shrink to fit my current height and grow with me.

As long as it didn’t get too damaged to repair, this set should last me until peak Foundation Establishment. At that point, I’d have to make another set for my next tribulation. Considering the items I’d need for a near Nascent Soul level one, I estimated that it could take six years before I’d be ready to reach Golden Core. Four if things worked out with Little Black.

My martial brother would take even longer unless he had a catalyst that pushed him to increase his cultivation quickly.

“Now, let’s complete the best sky rank armor ever!” Muahahaha!

Little Spring looked at me like I was crazy. I ignored him.

With a twist of my wrist and a hand seal, the flames inside the furnace increased significantly.

I used my energy to toss in the Spiritual Latex, and Majestic Emperor’s Sulfur that I just purchased.

“I’m going to start the vulcanization process. This is needed to turn the spiritual latex into a very special rubber that can even take a hit from tribulation lightning.”

The kid’s eyes widened.

Using another hand seal, the ingredients combined. They blackened into a near liquid rubber. I shaped it with my spiritual energy until it became two sets of shoe soles made up of several layers, one with treads.

“Why so many layers?”

“The rubber has to be intact to prevent lightning from electrocuting the wearer. If one layer cracks or takes too much damage, the others will still be whole.”

With the way his eyes sparkled, perhaps he finally remembered that I was a very modest genius.

All together, our boot’s soles would be over an inch thick before shrinking. It would take some getting used to, so I’d need to practice wearing the shoes as much as possible.

Next, I threw in the spiritual beast leather. The heat from the forge and a few special hand seals made the material malleable.

I tore thin strips from the longest edge using a tiny but powerful sword Qi. It was super condensed and not something I could use in battle at my realm. “These will create laces for my armguards.”

Then I created straps for my pauldron.

“Next, we need to punch out the pattern for our shoes.”

He blinked. “Won’t it cause problems if you’re making me a set too?”

“Of course not. I’ll be using a small portion of a technique I call Mass Production. It allows a single smith to create a thousand lower quality items in a fraction of the time it normally would.”

Well, for two sets it would be closer to a method of cutting everything simultaneously and how to flow my internal Qi to prevent the items' energy from mixing.

“Really?” He narrowed his eyes at me, doubt clear on his face.

I nodded. “I developed that technique when I was researching forging methods. Unfortunately, it requires specialized equipment to fully work. But an extra pair of shoes and a set of armor can easily be forged together in a single furnace with no problems.”

I’d technically created that technique because we needed to mass produce spiritual armor and weapons during the wars. But those were nightmarish times. It was one thing reading about a war in a Xianxia Universe where your allies and enemies died by the thousands. It was another to live through it.

Considering how Little Spring’s energy worked with mine, I was curious to see if our armor sets would have an extra effect when worn side by side. Then again, the Mass Production technique would prevent the energy from mingling.

I used a series of complex hand seals to slice out the pattern for two pairs of shoes. With a twist of my wrist, the parts overlapped and connected to form the shoe shape. After I punched holes into the leather in strategic areas, I grabbed the spiritual polymer thread I’d kept on the side and sewed the material together to strengthen it and give the footwear a distinctive look. Next, I moved the four boots and soles towards the coolest part of the forge to stay warm.

After I used the double finger gun hand seal to turn up the heat in one part of the forge, I threw in the metal I’d saved just for this. Once it became a cherry color, I sent in my small hammer.

“Take over the fire while I shape this.”

Little Spring copied my stance, pointing two fingers toward the ceiling.

I quickly hammered the steel into several beautiful shapes. Part of it would go to enforce the toe of my shoe. Another would be used for calculated decoration to hide a special enchantment I was incorporating into my boots.

Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough metal to add much to Little Spring’s, so his shoes would look plain.

I sprinkled the gold and red dust onto the super heated metal surface, strengthening it. Once it had cooled some, I attached the metal to the leather. The material’s innate spiritual energy and the fire forced the two different substances to attach.

Honestly, this entire process would go a lot easier if I had access to my higher realm forging techniques. But I had to make do with what I could use at this realm.

“Not everyone agrees, but I prefer my shoes to have spiritual cork between the bottom of the shoe and the sole. Having it adds stability to your footing, which is important when wielding a sword.”

The kid nodded. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the heat of the smithy.

I sent the sheet of cork into the cooler part of the furnace and used a technique to cut out four shapes. Then I quickly attached the leather to them and, using the Mass Production technique, allowed the fire to meld them together simultaneously.

With no warning, I tossed the bolt of fabric into the forge.

Little Spring’s eyes grew wide. “Wait! Why are you adding that now? Don’t you need it to make our clothes?”

“I’m using a double layer for the lining of the shoe. Also, I might as well cut the patterns for our robes while I’m at it.”

Little Spring glanced at me skeptically.

“The back of the leather is very coarse, even our body-cultivation-enhanced skin will get hurt from rubbing against it.”

He grimaced.

It took a lot of his spiritual energy and concentration to keep the heat up. I needed to speed up or we’d have to take a break. Especially since this next part would be hard on him.

I had him switch hand seals, so he pointed his pinkies toward the roof. This created the thinnest, sharpest fire Little Spring could create with an earthen flame. I quickly used it to melt out the shoe and clothing patterns from the bolt. It wasn’t perfect, but if I wanted something smaller, I’d have to find and tame a strange flame.

Once the patterns were cut I grabbed the parts that would protect our feet and quickly added the two layers to the insides of each shoe.

Finally, it was time to complete the four boots. All that took was attaching the rubber sole to the cork and leather and letting the flames meld them together. A low glow of spiritual energy appeared on the shoes and settled down. The hint of an illusory yin-yang symbol came out of the furnace.

“Did you see that?!”

He nodded.

“That means that the shoes we just made are close to Unparalleled Perfection in quality for their rank. Good job!”

His eyes looked determined. “Someday, let’s create something that is actually Unparalleled Perfection.”

I smirked. “Impossible. Remember, perfection can only exist in a vacuum. You’ll become insane if you attempt it.”

He gave me a look that asked if that was what happened to me.

This brat! He was lucky I was in the middle of forging.

It was time to put the robe patterns together. Instead of sewing everything, I simply folded the seams and spiritually melded them. For the few areas that were prone to tearing a part, I reinforced them by stitching them with thread.

Little Spring stared into the furnace with wide eyes. “So fast,” he murmured.

I threw in the metal armor I’d created over a week ago. This included the pauldron, arm guards, and buckles. It took some time, but I connected everything and used the leather straps to hold things in place.

At this point, all the pieces were basically finished. There were just a few more steps left.

With a circling gesture, I directed Little Spring to use his spiritual energy to lift the outfits and turn them. Once he did, I tossed in the Shrinking Vermillion Powder along with four mid tier spirit stones. With a special hand seal that took a majority of my energy, I activated the powder, causing it to meld into the armor, transferring its size changing properties.

The light burst out of the forge, practically blinding us.

“Are they done?” Little Spring asked.

“One last thing.” I poured in two dyes and directed them to specific areas. For the kid’s, I colored his robes the blue he’d requested. We could add a pattern later if he wanted one.

For mine, I left it mostly white and dyed the rest an auspicious red. I’d need all the luck and good omens I could get. In this universe, they actually made a difference.

At this point, I was practically drained of energy. Little Spring wasn’t much better. His arms shook as he held the clothes up with his remaining energy.

I used the last bit of mine to pull both finished sets from the forge and quench them together in a barrel full of spiritual spring water. Steam rose as the water flash boiled. Once again, a vague, illusory yin-yang symbol appeared over the two sets of armor.

Although exciting, both of us were too drained to be happy. We downed several bottles of spring water and used some of the spirit stones I collected from the black market dealer to recover. By the time we finished our break, the barrel water had calmed down. We leaned over to see that the red and blue dyes had mixed.

“Sister Lin, did we just turn our clothing purple?”

“They’re not clothes. They’re sets of powerful sky rank armor.”

He rolled his eyes, then furrowed his brow at the colorful water.

Those pigments were very pure. Even with the properties of spiritual water, it would take a while to clear.

I glanced at the kid. “Even if it’s violet, you’re still going to use it, right?”

“Of course! Wearing matching armor sets with my martial sister would be fun.”

This kid wasn’t reacting to my teasing. I pulled out his set and used the cleaning technique to get it dry. When I’d finished, it looked perfectly blue. Something I knew would happen or I wouldn’t have tossed everything into a single bucket.

I thought he would be relieved, but he just received his armor with a smile, while somehow managing to appear a little regretful.

Did he want to wear matching armor sets? This adorable kid. He should have told me sooner.

He smiled. “This is the first set of armor we worked on together. I’ll treasure it!”

“I’d rather you use it to protect yourself.”

“Of course!”

I pulled my red and white set out of the water and quickly cleaned it off. The white cloth shimmered with energy and the reddish gold steel gleamed in the forge room’s light. I wouldn’t have been able to create something at this quality by myself at my current realm. Working with the kid had been a good idea.

Frankly, if the other smiths saw my Qi Condensation ass create this armor, they’d soul search me for my techniques. Of course, it wouldn’t work due to my massive soul, but I didn’t have time to deal with complications like that.

I grinned at my beautiful armor, the first set I had created in this life.

“You know what we have to do now, right?”

He looked up. “What?”

“Try them on!”

***

After we changed, we met by Fairy Lake.

Little Spring stood in his new light armor. It wouldn’t look any different from the blue hanfu he usually wore as long as a master smith didn’t examine its threads. Still, the kid was adorable. This casual looking armor might just save his life someday.

“How is it? Does it fit well?”

“It’s good. I was a little worried since it was very large when I first put it on but once I shrunk it down, it fit perfectly!”

I nodded. Of course it did.

“Why was it so big, anyway?”

“Because you’ll grow very tall in the next ten years.” I wouldn’t spend this much time and effort on armor that would have to be replaced in a few months when Shrinking Vermillion Powder could solve that issue.

I turned around. “So, do I look like the fierce warrior I am?”

He nodded. He may have spent too much time in the forge because his face looked a little red.

I crossed my arms. “Let me tell you. There are few things more satisfying than wearing the best set of spiritual armor you can craft. We did good work. This is a time to be proud of ourselves and our accomplishments. Just remember, after you’re done praising yourself, consider the fact that it’s better that your armor becomes scrap metal if it means saving your own life.”

Before he could reply, the white puppy and the little golden dragon ran and flew up to us.

Before I’d allowed Xiao Bai in the space, I’d asked Senior Auspicious Paifang confirm the creature was a puppy and contained no ill will towards our sect. He had. Of course, I was still wary of it simply because I knew the tropes of the genre. Also, because it came from a suspicious egg. But if my Senior said it didn’t have bad intentions, then I could trust it.

It helped that the little fluff ball was heart meltingly adorable.

Little Spring picked it up and gave it a big hug. Then he looked at me. “Do you need help with your formation flags? That’s the last thing on your list before your tribulation, right?”

It had been such a good day. I’d started my revenge against Little Black, finally finished my armor, and saw a cute puppy. Why did he have to bring that up and ruin it?

“I can make those myself. We should head to your tutoring session with Chef Garlic.”