Hidden Force Destroys Saber, Black Tiger Hall Master!

"A good saber!"

Zhou Shan couldn't help but exclaim. Although he didn't have the skill to forge a saber of this caliber, his eyesight was sharp. Zhou Shan could tell that this saber was far beyond the Ten Refinements level.

"Su Mu actually succeeded. Truly remarkable!"

At this moment, all the blacksmith masters in the forging room stopped their work, their expressions moved.

"Quick, go call the shopkeeper to come see!"

Someone shouted. An apprentice excitedly ran out of the forging room, and all the blacksmith masters crowded around. Zhou Shan, being closest, got the first look.

"Su Mu, can you let me take a look at this saber?"

"Master Zhou, please."

Seeing Su Mu hand over the saber with both hands, all the blacksmith masters cast envious glances at Zhou Shan. Zhou Shan had indeed raised a good apprentice, and now he had surpassed his master!

Zhou Shan reached out and gently caressed the saber's body, his face filled with admiration. Blacksmiths, working daily in a furnace-like forging room, especially during summer, were generally hot-tempered.

Immediately, a master impatiently said, "Old Zhou, why are you being so hesitant? You've been touching it for a while now. Hurry up, you're killing us with anticipation."

Zhou Shan chuckled. After touching it for a while, he reluctantly handed the saber to the other masters. Thus, the saber was passed from hand to hand among more than a dozen men. As each master touched the saber's body, they couldn't help but show a look of intoxication.

Not long after, the shopkeeper, Li Tie, heard the news and rushed over.

The moment Li Tie saw the saber, his eyes lit up. At first glance, Li Tie knew this had definitely reached the level of a Thirty Refinements Saber, perhaps even exceeding it.

Everyone surrounded Li Tie and Su Mu. They held their breath, watching the shopkeeper carefully caress the saber.

"Shopkeeper, how is it?"

Li Tie was interrupted from his reverie by an impatient blacksmith master. He came back to his senses, but instead of answering directly, he took a deep breath and looked at Su Mu, asking a question.

"Su Mu, did you really forge this saber?"

"Yes."

Li Tie was afraid that everything before him was an illusion. Only after hearing Su Mu's answer did he exhale lightly, then spoke with beaming enthusiasm.

"From my perspective, there isn't a single flaw in the craftsmanship and technique of this saber. This saber definitely has the level of a Thirty Refinements Weapon!"

As he spoke, the forging room erupted in cheers. Zhou Shan, standing next to Su Mu, looked even happier than Su Mu himself.

While everyone was cheering, Li Tie continued to gently stroke the saber in his hand. In truth, there was a half-sentence he hadn't spoken aloud: "Limited by the materials, this saber might not be Su Mu's limit!"

However, for Su Mu to successfully forge a true Thirty Refinements Weapon in just over a year since he started learning blacksmithing as an apprentice was already astonishing.

Li Tie worried that if he spoke that half-sentence, Su Mu, at his age, might become arrogant and lose himself, which would be detrimental to Su Mu's future.

However, Li Tie's peripheral vision noticed that the young man beside him, apart from a slight sigh of joy when he mentioned it reached Thirty Refinements, showed no signs of arrogance or complacency.

This composure, far exceeding that of his peers, made Li Tie look at him with even greater admiration. He had indeed not misjudged the person, and his recommendation letter was worth it!

With Su Mu's talent, he was destined to become a Forging Master in the future. Keeping him in this small blacksmith shop would be a waste of his talent.

"It's time to inform Su Mu about the Weapon Forging Workshop..."

Just as Li Tie decided to inform him, a commotion suddenly arose outside the courtyard.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of someone forcefully kicking the door echoed urgently into the forging room, followed by a furious roar.

"Where is he? Tell your boss to get out here!"

This roar made everyone in the forging room frown, their faces filled with anger. Zhou Shan spat, "Bastards, is it those Black Tiger Gang scoundrels again?"

"Damn it, they dare to come again? Everyone grab your weapons."

Someone shouted, and everyone picked up their forging hammers. Li Tie's heart also filled with anger. He wanted to see what excuse they had this time.

Ching.

Amidst a fine humming sound, the saber was sheathed, its sharpness concealed. Li Tie returned the saber to Su Mu. The scabbard was just an ordinary scabbard. Once this newly forged Thirty Refinements Saber was sheathed, no one could tell it was extraordinary.

"Everyone calm down, don't act rashly yet. Let's go out and see first."

Li Xiaohu looked around the forging room, then picked up an iron shovel used for loading coal. "Su Mu, let's go see too. We should have been tougher last time!"

"If it comes to a fight later, stick close to me. I'll try my best to protect you."

Su Mu paused. He looked at the figures walking out of the forging room, his gaze sweeping over the backs of Zhou Shan, Li Tie, and Li Xiaohu. He felt a touch of emotion in his heart.

Su Mu, the last to step out of the forging room, slowly circulated the Force within him. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he looked towards the courtyard.

Outside the forging room, Wu Heng, leading about twenty men, stormed into the blacksmith shop's backyard like a tide. Each of them carried weapons, clearly not here with good intentions. However, the blacksmith masters in the shop, holding their iron hammers, were equally unyielding, ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

"Hall Master Wu, what are you doing?" Li Tie stepped forward and asked.

Hmph!

Wu Heng merely snorted, then drew a long saber from his waist and threw it to the ground. The saber embedded itself into the ground with a clang. Everyone's pupils contracted as they looked closely. They saw a notch on the saber stuck in the ground, and several fine cracks on its blade.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, is this the Ten Refinements Saber your blacksmith shop forged? My Black Tiger Gang kindly patronized your shop, spending hard-earned silver. Are you trying to fool Hall Master Wu with such shoddy goods?"

"A few days ago, our Black Tiger Gang, along with the town's officials, joined forces to eliminate the bandits in Little Crow Mountain. If it weren't for our Hall Master Wu's superior martial arts, we would have been killed by your blacksmith shop."

"This piece of junk is useless for fighting bandits, let alone chopping firewood. Who forged this saber? Step forward!"

"If you don't give our Hall Master Wu and the Black Tiger Gang an explanation today, don't blame us from the Black Tiger Gang for smashing the sign of your Li Family Blacksmith Shop!"

A member of the Black Tiger Gang behind Wu Heng shouted angrily. Immediately, all the Black Tiger Gang members drew their weapons and surrounded the blacksmith shop's people.

For a moment, the surrounded blacksmith shop members looked surprised. Some subconsciously glanced at Su Mu, as they all recognized that this long saber had come from Su Mu's hands.

How could someone with Su Mu's forging skill, capable of forging Thirty Refinements Weapons, produce such a defective product?

Perhaps he was too focused on forging efficiency and made a careless mistake. Su Mu was still too young; even these old masters had made similar mistakes in the past.

Everyone looked closely and found that the cracks on the saber did not seem to be caused by being struck by another weapon, but rather by a mistake during the quenching and tempering process. These were internal cracks within the blade.

Su Mu frowned. This saber did indeed come from his hands, but he was confident that there were no mistakes during the forging process.

Moreover, weapon transactions always involved cash on delivery. The weapons would be inspected and deemed satisfactory before being sold.

"Hidden Force... This is most likely caused by Wu Heng using Hidden Force."

A month had passed, and the person responsible for distributing the antidote was still nowhere to be found. Su Mu knew he had been abandoned and it was time to leave Qingshui Town.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Wu Heng. What had been hesitation before now turned into surging killing intent. At this moment, Su Mu made a decision in his heart.

"Since that's the case, I should do something before I leave..."