Sky-Splitting Blade Technique, Forging the Scimitar

In the end, Shen Han managed to scavenge a total of forty taels of silver banknotes from Kong Xuan and his two disciples.

After tidying up, he left the scene.

As for the three corpses, there was no need to worry; the local jackals and wild beasts would take care of them.

He returned to the small courtyard in the east of Three Rivers County.

It was nearly midnight.

Shen Han brewed the Qi Condensing Powder and had his clone consume it.

While the clone practiced the Breathing Technique with the help of the Qi Condensing Powder, he began to reflect on today's trip to Stone Snake Town.

Wen Tai, Zhao Yu, Daoist Xuanyang, Kong Xuan... face after face drifted before his eyes, until finally, the mistress and servant, Ning Xinxee.

He had to admit, it was incredibly fortunate.

What kind of faction did Ning Xinxee come from?

Given the effortless ease with which her maid Yang Liu killed Kong Xuan, her cultivation level was definitely above the Bone Refining realm!

The Four Stages of Martial Arts: Skin Refining, Flesh Refining, Tendon Refining, and Bone Refining.

What lay beyond the Bone Refining realm?

It seemed this world was far more vast than he had imagined!

He was currently only at the Skin Refining realm; compared to Ning Xinxee, he wasn't even a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Regardless, let's not dwell on the cultivation levels of that mistress and her servant.

The most pressing matter right now is to find a way to improve as quickly as possible and become the number one person in Three Rivers County."

Thinking this, Shen Han spread out a scroll on the table.

The scroll recorded a blade technique called the Sky-Splitting Blade Technique.

This technique was incredibly fierce and powerful, yet it consisted of only five simple moves, emphasizing that true skill lies in simplicity and winning through sheer force. Once mastered, no matter how heavy the blade, one could strike with extreme speed, killing enemies invisibly, and the heavier the blade, the greater the power.

At the end of the scroll, a curved blade with specified dimensions was drawn.

"Clone, give it a try..."

An hour later, as soon as the clone finished practicing the Breathing Technique, Shen Han directed him to engage with this Sky-Splitting Blade Technique.

The clone had no complaints and took the blade technique scroll into the Bronze Mirror.

Soon, the clone finished reading the scroll.

"Practice it for me to see."

Shen Han said to the Bronze Mirror, unable to contain his impatience.

To his surprise, the clone shook its head and pointed at its own empty hands.

"You need a blade?"

Shen Han immediately understood.

If he had known, he should have brought back the long blade from the masked man.

But since it was the dead of night and there was nowhere to find a blade, Shen Han walked into the courtyard and handed the firewood-chopping axe to the clone inside the mirror.

Taking the axe, the clone began to practice in a methodical, step-by-step manner.

The clone truly possessed extraordinary talent; after practicing it just once, it had already grasped the essence of the Sky-Splitting Blade Technique.

Shen Han watched, feeling refreshed and delighted.

A moment later, he summoned his panel.

Martial Arts: Sky-Splitting Blade Technique (Entry)

In just a quarter of an hour, the blade technique had already reached the entry level—it was speed beyond speed.

"Keep practicing hard!"

Shen Han was satisfied and instructed the clone to practice through the night, while he drew water from the well to wash up and went to sleep.

Before he knew it, five days had passed.

During these five days, Shen Han traveled between the medical clinic and the small courtyard, living a fulfilling and simple life.

At noon.

"Brother Feng Hao, I'm heading out for a while; keep an eye on the clinic."

After finishing lunch, Shen Han left the medical clinic.

"Understood."

Feng Hao quickly replied.

Over these past few days, under Shen Han's training, Feng Hao had received plenty of hands-on experience. Through repeated practice, he could almost handle things on his own; aside from some difficult or complicated cases, he could manage almost everything independently.

It was precisely because of this that Shen Han had the opportunity to find some free time.

"Let's check my progress..."

Walking through the streets and alleys of Three Rivers County, Shen Han opened his panel.

Host: Shen Han

Cultivation: Skin Refining Realm

Technique: Breathing Technique (Mastery)

Martial Arts: Angry Dragon Divine Fist (Mastery), Sky-Splitting Blade Technique (Minor Achievement)

Skills: Medicine (Mastery)

With his clone practicing day and night, his blade technique had finally reached the stage of Minor Achievement.

The secrets of drawing the blade and the methods of gathering force were now etched into his marrow as if deeply rooted, and he knew exactly which move to use at any given moment.

At the same time, under the influence of the Qi Condensing Powder, his cultivation was gradually improving.

Shen Han had secretly tested it; his own strength had already reached eight hundred jin.

"Let's test this Minor Achievement blade technique."

He casually picked up a wooden stick, treating it as a long blade, and slashed toward an abandoned stone lion.

Bang!

In an instant, the stone lion split into two halves.

The wooden stick snapped as well.

"Tsk tsk, if this were a good blade, the attack power would definitely be even more exaggerated. Once I train the blade technique to Major Achievement or even Mastery, I should be able to go toe-to-toe with an ordinary Flesh Refining Realm martial artist."

Before long, he arrived at the entrance of a Blacksmith Shop.

"Young master, what would you like to buy?"

The shopkeeper of the Blacksmith Shop was surnamed Lei, a lean, middle-aged man.

"Do you have any good blades here?"

"Blades?"

Shopkeeper Lei immediately said with pride, "Then you've come to the right person, young master. In Three Rivers County, when it comes to the skill of forging blades, I, Lei Ming, claim second place, and no one dares to claim first. Whatever kind of blade you want, I have it all."

He led Shen Han over to the display cabinet.

Inside the cabinet were all kinds of blades—long ones, short ones, wide ones, narrow ones—a dazzling array of goods.

Shen Han took a glance.

Among these blades, there were none of the curved blades depicted on the scroll, nor was there a single blade that exceeded ten jin in weight. The scroll had stated clearly: the heavier the blade, the more ferocious the power it could unleash.

"Do you have anything heavier?"

"Young master, for us ordinary people, if a blade is too heavy, it's not convenient to carry or use..."

"So, you don't have any?"

Shen Han interrupted Lei Ming.

Lei Ming paused: "Is the young master an initiated martial artist?"

Shen Han replied, "I was just asking. If you don't have any here, I can go to another shop."

"Young master, please, come to the back room."

Gritting his teeth, Lei Ming pulled Shen Han into an inconspicuous, hidden room.

The room was dark, and Lei Ming lit an oil lamp.

Three heavy blades appeared before their eyes.

Unlike the blades in the display cabinet outside, these three blades were quite massive, and each one weighed over fifty jin.

"Do these work for you?"

Lei Ming whispered, "I have no choice; the Imperial Court has very strict controls on the forging of heavy blades. I hope you understand, young master."

This was the unvarnished truth.

For a long time, the Imperial Court would not interfere with the forging of ordinary blades, but once the weight exceeded a certain limit, it was clearly intended for martial artists, and the Imperial Court would bring it under control.

Although certain factions could ignore this, a small Blacksmith Shop had no ability to defy the Imperial Court.

"Still a bit light..."

Shen Han picked up each blade to test them.

With his physique at the late stage of the Skin Refining Realm, a fifty-jin blade felt as light as a feather to him.

"This..."

Lei Ming was left completely speechless.

Shen Han put down the blade and said solemnly, "How about this, Shopkeeper Lei? I will provide you with the blueprints, and you forge one according to my requirements, how does that sound?"

"What are the young master's requirements?"

"A scimitar, one hundred catties, with high hardness."

Shen Han took out a piece of paper with the design and dimensions of the scimitar drawn on it.

Lei Ming said in surprise, "One hundred catties?"

"Yes."

Shen Han nodded.

Seeing that Shen Han did not seem to be joking, Lei Ming picked up the blueprint and studied it carefully, saying, "Since the young master has requirements for hardness, it would be best to add sixty catties of Sulfur Iron, though the price will rise accordingly."

"How much?"

"Sixty taels of silver."

Lei Ming stated the figure.

Shen Han exclaimed, "So expensive?"

Lei Ming explained, "It is mainly because the cost of Sulfur Iron is high. If we only used ordinary iron, ten taels... no, eight taels would be enough."

"Fine, we shall go with that price, but I did not bring that much silver with me today."

Shen Han made his decision quickly.

This money could not be saved; for his own weapon, he must spare no expense to use the best!

"No problem at all, the young master can pay half first."

Lei Ming said, "A heavy blade is not easy to forge; it will take at least ten days to complete. Ten days from now, when you come to the shop to collect the blade, you can pay the remaining thirty taels."