"Dogs?"

"You're calling us dogs?!"

Zhou Huai's calm voice was like dropping a lit stick of dynamite into a pot of boiling oil.

The entire banquet hall instantly erupted!

The blacksmiths who had been looking forward to seeing Mo Yuwei make a fool of herself now had red faces, seething with anger as they surrounded him.

Angry gazes, like sharp swords, collectively pierced towards Zhou Huai.

Even Mo Yuwei herself looked at Ouyezi, who was not far away, with some surprise.

She couldn't understand it.

A few days ago in Donghai City, when she invited him to participate in the Divine Smith Grand Ceremony, this Ouyezi fellow was clearly taciturn, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

How could he be like a different person today?

Not only was he quick-witted, but he also cursed freely.

Zhou Huai had no intention of specifically helping Mo Yuwei out of her predicament.

He simply disliked the Sakura Country people.

Whether in this life or the last.

"Kid! Where the hell did you come from?!"

A burly man with a flame totem tattooed on his arm was the first to rush forward.

He pointed his finger at Zhou Huai's nose, spitting everywhere.

"What kind of nobody are you? How dare you spout such nonsense here!"

"Do you know where this is? Do you know who we are?"

"You ill-bred thing! How dare you call us dogs!"

Zhou Huai, controlling Ouyezi, faced the agitated crowd with no trace of fear on his face.

He just looked calmly at the burly man and retorted.

"Did I say something wrong?"

He raised his hand, sweeping his gaze across the indignant faces around him.

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"This is Great Xia Country, not Sakura Country."

"You group of Great Xia Country blacksmiths, wagging your tails and fawning over a guy from Sakura Country."

"He farts, and you all think it smells good." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"He gets a glass of wine splashed on him, and you're more anxious than if your own father died."

"Now, you tell me."

"If you're not dogs, then what are you?"

These words left everyone present speechless, their faces alternating between green and pale.

They wanted to refute him, but found that they couldn't find any reason to do so.

Finally, the fat man who had first accused Mo Yuwei, his face flushed, forcefully argued.

"You... you're talking nonsense!"

"We... we just admire Master Nakamura's forging skills! We want to befriend him and learn from him, that's all!"

Someone immediately chimed in to agree.

"Befriend him?"

Zhou Huai, hearing this, laughed out loud as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Hahahahaha!"

His laughter was particularly harsh in the quiet banquet hall.

He reined in his laughter, his eyes instantly becoming sharp.

"Then I want to ask you all."

"Don't you know the relationship between our Great Xia Country and Sakura Country?"

"A hundred years ago, whose iron hooves trampled our mountains and rivers?"

"In recent years, who has been constantly clashing and conflicting with our soldiers on the border?"

"The heroes who died on the front lines, their bones are not yet cold!"

"You people living in the rear, enjoying the peace they bought with their lives, not only do you not think of serving your country, but you even want to get along with the enemy?"

"I ask you, is your brain full of water?!"

The fat man's face turned crimson from the questioning, and he stubbornly retorted.

"That's the business of combat-type professionals! What does it have to do with us lifestyle-type professionals!"

"What we pursue is the improvement of forging techniques! The sublimation of art!"

"Exactly! Forging knows no national boundaries! What we pursue is the ultimate Profound Truth of forging!"

"Foolish!"

Zhou Huai looked at this group of people, his eyes filled only with pity.

"Simply incorrigibly stupid!"

"What a 'forging knows no national boundaries'!"

"Then I ask you again, do the equipment you forge have national boundaries?"

"Will the swords you personally craft be used to strike down enemies, or your own compatriots?"

"If one day, the Sakura Country's army once again steps onto the land of our Great Xia Country."

"Will they make an exception for you, because you are blacksmiths who pursue art, and spare your lives?!"

"They will only use the weapons you forge to slaughter your loved ones! To occupy your homes!"

"At that time, what good will your so-called art, your so-called Profound Truth, be?!"

Zhou Huai's voice, like a grand bell, heavily struck everyone's hearts.

Many people instinctively lowered their heads, their eyes darting away, not daring to meet his gaze.

Just then, Nakamura Shin'ichiro, who had been standing by watching the show, finally stepped forward.

He tidied the messy lapel of his chest, and that false smile reappeared on his face.

"Your Excellency, please do not be an alarmist."

"We have come to Great Xia Country precisely to promote friendly exchanges between our two countries and improve our relationship."

"What we pursue is peace, is common progress."

Zhou Huai's gaze finally landed on him.

His eyes were filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"Oh? Friendly exchanges?"

"I've long heard that the blacksmiths of your Sakura ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Country possess a unique forging method that can greatly enhance the quality of equipment."

"Presumably, as the Personal Disciple of that legendary Divine Craftsman, you must have already mastered this forging method, haven't you?"

Nakamura Shin'ichiro, hearing this, showed a hint of pride on his face, his chin slightly raised.

"Naturally."

"Since you said you're here for friendly exchanges."

The corner of Zhou Huai's mouth curved into a playful arc.

"Then why don't you now, in front of everyone, reveal that unique forging method."

"So that we Great Xia Country blacksmiths can also learn and make progress together, how about it?"

The smile on Nakamura Shin'ichiro's face instantly froze.

His eyes changed again and again, and finally, he coughed twice.

"This... ahem, I'm really sorry."

"This is my Master's secret technique, not to be passed on to outsiders."

"Then what the hell are you talking to me about?!"

Zhou Huai interrupted him unceremoniously.

"You're not even willing to share the basic things, and you're talking about some damn friendly exchanges!"

"I think you're just pretending to be confused, trying to play a trick on us in Great Xia Country!"

"You!"

Nakamura Shin'ichiro was left speechless by the retort, his face turning a purplish-red.

Finally, someone could no longer tolerate it.

"Enough!"

The tattooed strongman who had first provoked him jumped out again.

He pointed at Zhou Huai and roared.

"You ignorant kid who appeared out of nowhere! You're clearly here to cause trouble!"

"Guards! Get him out of here!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

Behind him, two lean bodyguards in black suits immediately approached Ouyezi from left and right.

They were guards hired at great expense by this strongman blacksmith, and their Ranks were all above twenty-five.

With cold smiles on their faces, they reached out to grab Ouyezi's shoulders.

However, their hands had not yet touched Ouyezi's clothes.

A burly figure, as if teleporting, stood in front of Ouyezi.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two dull thuds!

The two lean bodyguards, without even time to react, were sent flying by an irresistible force.

They were like two cannonballs, arcing through the air, traveling dozens of meters, and heavily smashing into the wall at the other end of the banquet hall, then rolling to the ground, their fate unknown.

The entire hall fell into a dead silence.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the man who had suddenly acted.

Xiang Yu's tall figure stood like an unshakeable mountain in front of Ouyezi.

His heavy pupils, containing endless domineering Qi, slowly swept across the entire hall.

Finally, he spoke in a cold, emotionless voice.

"I'd like to see who dares to move!"

Only five words.

But they were like four invisible heavy hammers, striking hard at everyone's hearts.

The terrifying pressure from his S-Rank made everyone present feel a palpitation, and their breathing became difficult.

No one had expected it.

Beside this seemingly ordinary young man, there was such a terrifying powerhouse!

The tattooed strongman was even more terrified, his face pale, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

Beside him, the man wearing glasses, suppressing the fear in his heart, pointed at Zhou Huai with a fierce but inwardly weak demeanor.

"You... you're too arrogant!"

"This is Chairman Mo's banquet! How dare you openly injure people here!"

Zhou Huai looked utterly bewildered.

"Didn't your people try to attack me first?"

"I've noticed that you people really like to play the victim."

The scene, for a time, became tense, reaching a stalemate.

Just then.

"Everyone, please calm down."

An old yet powerful voice came from the doorway.

Tian Guang hurried in from outside, his face full of anxiety.

He shouted loudly to the crowd.

"Chairman Mo is here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the tense atmosphere in the banquet hall indeed calmed down considerably.

Everyone's gaze, by coincidence, turned towards the doorway.

They saw an old man, dressed in a Tang suit, with white hair but full of vigor, slowly walking into the banquet hall, surrounded by a group of people.