The Sword Pavilion

But then he thought, as the top-ranked key middle school in Tange City, it's normal for Tange No. 1 Middle School to have some children of powerful and wealthy families. Maybe one of his classmates is a second-generation official. It's just that they're not in the same circle, so it's normal that they don't know each other. They won't wear their identities on their sleeves, not to mention the difference in social class. If he were just an ordinary martial artist, he probably wouldn't know Yun Yinmo's true background until he died.

"Oh, Young Master Si and my daughter are classmates?" Yun Fujian's expression showed surprise.

Si Ming didn't know if the other person genuinely didn't know or was pretending, but even if it was the latter, he could only cooperate, so he said, "I also graduated from Tange No. 1 Middle School, and I was a classmate of Yun in the same grade."

"Since you two are old classmates, why not catch up? Young people have things in common, right? Yinmo, you should do your best as a host."

Yun Fujian was quite enthusiastic and insisted that Yun Yinmo treat Si Ming well. Si Ming found it hard to refuse, and guessing what the other party was thinking, he didn't want to embarrass his old classmate, so he agreed.

Yun Yinmo led Si Ming inside, and they walked in silence. The two were quite destined to meet, having known each other for a long time, but they had little contact and knew very little about each other. They had nothing to talk about, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"My father is a bit mercenary, but he doesn't mean any harm. Don't take it to heart," Yun Yinmo said abruptly.

Si Ming nodded and said, "I understand, but I really didn't expect that you were actually the offspring of Great Grandmaster."

"Great Grandmaster have at least eighty, if not a hundred, great-grandchildren. What's so special about that? What's rare is that Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens only has one disciple so far, and I only recently learned that person is you."

Si Ming touched his nose. Now that he was mentioned, it should be him who was hiding his true identity. Thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had indeed intentionally concealed this identity, not wanting to benefit from his master's fame, so he had never mentioned it to anyone.

Where did you go after college?

"Thanks to family connections, I got into Earth Emperor University and am currently studying genetics." Yun Yinmo was quite frank, not hiding the fact that she benefited from her family's connections.

"Genetics is a newly established discipline, isn't it?" In any case, Si Ming had never heard of anyone in this world studying DNA.

"Yes, I switched from agronomy. My family didn't plan for me to study anything too prestigious, but I found it quite interesting myself."

No wonder they understand plant infectious diseases. These tea trees all come from a single mother tree, which means they have a single gene pool. When they encounter a specific pathogen, they are easily wiped out. A famous example on Earth is the banana.

The bananas that modern people eat are long and curved. We've seen them since we were little, so we think that's what bananas all look like. Actually, this variety is called the Chinese banana. A hundred years ago, the mainstream variety that people around the world were used to eating was the Giant Mac banana. The Giant Mac banana is similar in shape to a large mango. Not only is it larger than the Chinese banana, but each bunch also yields more fruit and tastes better. Some people describe it this way: if the Giant Mac banana tastes like Häagen-Dazs, then the Chinese banana tastes like cheap supermarket ice cream.

In addition, the peel of the Big Mac banana was much sturdier than that of the Cavendish banana. When people transported Big Mac bananas, they could throw them directly into the hold of the ship without worrying about them getting damaged. For the banana industry, which was heavily reliant on transportation, such a durable banana was a dream come true. Meanwhile, the Cavendish banana, which was inferior to the Big Mac in every way, could only helplessly stay in the private greenhouses of Nation of Valor nobles and serve as an ornamental plant.

Unfortunately, banana wilt disease, also known as yellow leaf disease, broke out later. This pathogen is harmless to humans but specifically targets the Big Mac banana and quickly swept the globe, causing heavy casualties among Big Mac bananas. Farmers had no choice but to switch to planting the substandard Chinese banana.

Many time travelers confidently assert that modern fruits, vegetables, and grains have undergone rigorous human selection, resulting in a better taste than before. However, this is not entirely true. While humans can arbitrarily eliminate inferior products, they cannot preserve superior ones at will. There is still a long way to go before we can truly conquer nature.

Given the abnormally developed biotechnology of the Sea Continent, if such a plant infection disease were to occur, we could only watch helplessly as all the plants died, without any recourse. The only way to prevent this would be for the plants to become sentient, but this is much more difficult than for animals, requiring at least a thousand years, so it's basically out of the question.

Si Ming talked about his pitiful knowledge of biology, and finally found common ground with Yun Yinmo. Although the latter was aloof, it didn't mean she couldn't talk. In the end, the reason why many people think their goddess is aloof is only for two reasons: one is that they don't have common topics with you, and the other is that they don't want to communicate with you. As long as these two problems are solved, the goddess will also become talkative.

"That's where my Sword-Forging Manor forges weapons."

The two chatted and laughed, with Yun Yinmo taking on the role of tour guide, introducing the various scenic spots of the manor to Si Ming. However, since it was Sword-Forging Manor, the most interesting part was naturally the place where swords were forged.

As soon as Si Ming stepped inside, he felt a wave of heat hitting him. The temperature in the air was probably already fifty degrees Celsius, which would be unbearable for an ordinary person. Looking around, he saw small workshops with makeshift sheds, where countless people were wielding large iron hammers, hammering away at the blacksmith. The furnaces were burning brightly, and the entire square was shrouded in high temperature, giving people the illusion of being in a fiery mountain.

A workshop is usually managed by two or three people, and a master craftsman will travel between several workshops to point out the shortcomings of the blacksmiths.

Si Ming roughly estimated that there were at least eight hundred workshops in the square, with a total of more than two thousand people. Moreover, these people were clearly just the lower-level disciples, or, in the terms of cultivation novels, the outer disciples. Above them were the inner disciple and the True Disciple. If you count the people who handled other affairs such as eating, drinking and relieving themselves, the total population of the Sword-Forging Manor was at least five thousand.

In this era of declining martial arts sects, only sects like the Sword-Forging Manor, with their unique skills, have survived and even expanded against the tide. Sects that only teach martial arts have long been squeezed out by schools and martial arts schools that have sprung up everywhere.

"That's truly spectacular!"

The scene before him reminded Si Ming of the phrase, "We workers have power."

"Is it spectacular? It's only novel the first time you see it. Once you see it every day, the thumping sound gets really annoying. And these people never stop forging iron. Sometimes it's so noisy at night that it keeps people awake. I had insomnia when I was a child. When I went to junior high school and could live at school, I was finally able to sleep peacefully. From then on, I made up my mind that I would never learn sword forging when I grew up." Yun Yinmo's tone was full of disgust, clearly showing that she had no interest in her father's position.

Si Ming laughed and said, "It's true that it's a bit... unconventional for girls to learn forging. It's not about gender discrimination, but swinging a hammer a lot will definitely make your arms thick and strong. Men can be self-sufficient with thick arms, but it's really unsightly for women."

"Watching these outer disciples forge weapons is pointless. Most of the weapons they create are scrap. Our manor has built a factory on the back mountain, and the weapons produced on the assembly line are far superior to those forged by these outer disciples. Even seasoned veterans who have honed their skills through countless trials cannot match the quality of those made by the die-casting machine. The outer disciples can only produce some less sought-after, niche weapons and hidden weapons. However, machines cannot control True Qi, so they can only mass-produce some mid-to-low-grade weapons. High-grade and top-grade weapons still need to be crafted by master artisans."

Even the strongest martial artist can only exert a few hundred or a thousand pounds of force, but a machine can exert a force of tens of thousands of pounds. There is indeed a huge difference between the two.

"You've ruined the aesthetics, it's just like an engineering student's thinking," Si Ming sighed, then suddenly had a thought, "By the way, what about those discarded and broken weapons? Do you guys throw them together and make a sword mound or a knife grave?"

This kind of setting is often found in martial arts or fantasy works: the ground is covered with all kinds of broken weapons, or even piled up into a small mountain, and visitors can choose whichever weapon they pick. The protagonist often picks a seemingly inconspicuous but actually mysterious divine weapon.

Just as Si Ming was thinking about testing his bloodline, he heard Yun Yinmo say in Anomalies tone, "Isn't this a waste? Discarded weapons should be melted down and reforged. If there really were a place like this, everyone would be overjoyed, saving money on buying iron ore."

Chapter 726 Sword Pavilion

Such a realistic answer left Si Ming speechless and dashed a small expectation in his heart. He had originally thought that if there really was a place similar to the Sword Tomb, he would go there and recite the incantation "I am the Sword Bone" and use his True Qi to control all the swords to unleash a sword rain. Unfortunately, he did not get his wish.

Although there is no sword mound for discarded swords, the Sword-Forging Manor has a special pavilion for collecting finished swords. It is said that the Sword-Forging Manor holds a Divine Weapon Appraisal Gathering every year, and the top three works are qualified to be placed in the sword pavilion. Over the centuries, quite a few have been accumulated.

"These weapons are all for sale. Anyone who can afford the price can take them. The founder of the Sword-Forging Manor believes that the purpose of weapons is combat, whether for killing or saving lives. They are not works of art. The most tragic end is for them to be left unused," Yun Yinmo said.

"Just buy it with money? That's too cheap! Doesn't your Sword-Forging Manor have any rules, like only those whose Sword Intent resonates with the sword can take it?"

"Indeed, for a blacksmith, the greatest joy is finding a warrior who can unleash the full power of the weapon he forged. But to set rules, one must have the corresponding strength; otherwise, it's a case of 'the common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' If a powerful person comes to demand it, one can't ignore the safety of the entire village for the sake of a single sword."

As Yun Yinmo spoke, a smile graced her face, showing no sign of despair. She continued, "In the past, there were indeed many regrettable instances of brilliant talents being obscured. It wasn't until my great-grandfather appeared and defeated all the heroes of the world that he not only retrieved the weapons that had fallen into the hands of villains, but also established a rule for the Sword-Forging Manor: anyone wishing to obtain a weapon from the Sword Pavilion must come in person and pass his test before taking it. Otherwise, even a fortune would not allow a divine weapon to fall into the hands of an incompetent person."

Si Ming looked at the various weapons displayed in the Sword Pavilion. The lowest grade was a top-grade mortal weapon, and there were also quite a few divine weapons. Although none of them were top-tier, they were enough to attract countless martial artists to fight over them in the martial arts world.

He sensed a lingering divine intent on each weapon and immediately understood the meaning of the Great Grandmaster's test. It wasn't just about defeating the divine intent—that was merely the foundation—but also about learning to resonate with it. Each divine intent shared the same characteristics as the weapon, allowing it to choose the most suitable master, rather than relying on one's own Foundation to forcibly suppress a master. The divine intent left behind after leaving the body was at most equivalent to one-tenth of the original level, and Spirit Transformation cultivator was enough to suppress the divine intent of Void Returning Great Grandmaster.

Yun Yinmo continued, "In the past, we would hide those powerful divine weapons to prevent them from being coveted by thieves. With my great-grandfather in charge, we can now openly display these divine weapons. By the way, would you like to pick one out? I think this Giant Soul Sword would be quite suitable for you."

Si Ming looked over and saw a sword that lived up to its name. The blade alone was six inches wide and five feet long. Even with the hilt, it was taller than an adult. At first glance, it looked somewhat like Lin Qingtong's Collapse Sword, but it was undoubtedly much more exquisite and made of better materials. It met the standards of a divine weapon. Although it was a third-rate divine weapon, considering the weight of the blade, it would probably have the advantage if it were to clash head-on with other divine weapons.

The Sword Intent emanating from this Giant Soul Sword sensed Si Ming and seemed restless, the sword trembling and almost showing a tendency to actively recognize its master.

Yun Yinmo asked in surprise, "Sword Intent resonance only occurs when two people are perfectly in sync. This is an extremely rare occurrence; at least, it's the first time I've ever encountered it. According to the manor's rules, in the event of resonance of intent, weapons can be given to visitors free of charge. Don't you intend to take it?"

Si Ming hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it. Weapons aren't very useful to me right now. They're not exactly hidden gems, but they're not functioning properly either. Let's leave them for others who need them more."