Tie Zhenshan began forging in the hidden underground furnace beneath the Qin Estate.

The furnace had been upgraded repeatedly with Tower rewards: white flame purification bark, hollow iron stabilization, stormless tempering crystals, sound-dampening arrays, and now Primordial Sunless Command Alloy.

The weapon was not yet a spear.

Tie Zhenshan called it an embryo.

"Form too early invites path too early," he said.

Qin Wanshan approved.

The materials were arranged:

Primordial Sunless Command Alloy.

Truth-Piercing Oath Spear Fragment.

Wall-Breaking Spear Fragment.

Remnant Captain’s Spear Badge.

Silent Spear Memory Fragment.

Unbound Martial Echo Crystal.

Road Command Heart Crystal dust.

Small amount of thunder-conductive Star Iron.

Hollow Iron support layer.

False Sun resistance seal powder.

Tie Zhenshan looked at Qin Yuheng.

"No blood."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

"No blood."

The embryo would be forged without Qin bloodline resonance. It would recognize Qin Yuheng’s current command path, not his sleeping inheritance.

That distinction mattered.

Qin Mo helped with formations. Gu Tianhe watched silently. Qin Zhengyuan sat nearby, expression nostalgic.

"You used spear once," Qin Yuheng said.

Qin Zhengyuan smiled.

"I still do. Just not loudly."

Tie Zhenshan forged for three days.

The result was a dark-gray weapon core rod about half the length of a spear shaft. It had no blade yet. No final form. Faint thunder lines ran through it, and when Qin Yuheng held it, he felt command clarity rather than blood stirring.

Panel:

[Command Weapon Embryo]

[Grade: SS+]

[Status:

Unfinished / path-stable / bloodline-unbound]

[Compatibility:

Qin Yuheng’s current commander path — High]

[Warning:

Do not awaken with bloodline before proper threshold.]

Qin Mo cheered quietly.

"Unbound success!"

Tie Zhenshan grunted, but his eyes were pleased.

"This is foundation. It will grow with materials. Do not use publicly yet unless necessary."

Qin Yuheng stored it.

The weapon embryo became another symbol of his current path:

Prepare inheritance without awakening it.

Build future without rushing it.

Meanwhile, the Tower climb continued.

Floor 67: Lantern Court of Lost Names.

A name-erasure floor where spirits lost themselves by trading names for safety. The Nameless Self Mask proved invaluable. Qin Yuheng rescued lost-name remnants without accepting their names, earning SSS True Name Protection Seal.

Floor 68: Iron Root Mountain Pass.

A defensive logistics floor involving mountain passes, civilian caravans, and root-like metal beasts. Qin Yuheng used lessons from Common Road Stewardship Crystal. SSS reward: Mountain Road Defense Heart.

Floor 69: Red Moon Debt Market.

A market floor where every bargain had hidden emotional debt. Lin Xian’er joined as approved temporary support under academy supervision because of market expertise. She shone brilliantly, exposing hidden debt clauses and helping Qin Yuheng defeat the Debt Moon Merchant.

Rewards included SSS Debt-Free Exchange Seal, which became a major counter to Blood Sun road tolls.

Lin Xian’er charged Qin Yuheng one favor for her help.

Qin Mo stared at her.

"You charged him inside a debt market?"

She smiled. "Clean favor. Written. No hidden clause."

Qin Yuheng accepted.

Floor 70 file arrived.

[Floor 70: Seventh Gate — Market of Roads and Names]

Type:

Gate threshold / bargain law / name identity / road debt / future exchange.

Warning:

What you buy may not be what you keep.

What you sell may not be what you lose.]

Qin Mo covered his face.

"Gate plus market plus names. Terrible."

Qin Yuheng agreed.

Floor 70 would test the last ten floors: names, roads, debts, command, weapons, exchange, and identity.

Lin Xian’er requested permission to enter as temporary support.

Yu Qingmei considered and approved under strict conditions. The Tower allowed auxiliary support on some gate floors if the trial recognized prior involvement, but reward distribution and risk changed.

Lin Xian’er accepted.

"I want to see this market."

Qin Mo whispered, "Merchants are fearless in the wrong places."

Floor 70 opened under hanging signs and endless roads.

A market stretched beneath a sky full of name lanterns. Every stall sold something impossible: roads, memories, titles, safe exits, lost names, false debts, clean lies, future favors.

At the center stood the Seventh Gate, locked behind a merchant counter.

The gatekeeper smiled.

"To pass," he said, "buy the road with your name."

Qin Yuheng looked at him calmly.

"No."

The Seventh Gate trial began.