Blacksmith

"What do you mean, find another weapon?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Didn't you just have me find one two days ago, for Dezhang Year Two?"

"I'm not looking for a gun. I want a weapon that suits me."

"Oh—wait, don't you have a pair of Emei Piercers? I remember those Emei Piercers were the relics of a Concentrated Spirit expert from the organization."

So he really did have a pair of Emei Piercers, but he'd never even seen them!

"Emei Piercers are short and nimble, and excel at concealing themselves for close combat. Guo Xuchu is a Mystic Realm expert, famous throughout the world. With his sensitivity to the flow of energy, it would be difficult to get close without being detected. I can only attack head-on. Short weapons like Emei Piercers put me at too much of a disadvantage."

Chen Wu kept a straight face, though he knew he was talking nonsense. Old Ma, however, seemed to accept his explanation.

"Fair enough. But you're going to assassinate him the day after tomorrow. Why are you only telling me today?"

"I forgot!" Chen Wu had no grounds to argue, yet his voice rang out with conviction.

Old Ma's fingers, twirling his beard, trembled. He nearly plucked out a few hairs. "You..."

"If you want a weapon that suits you by tomorrow, there's only one place in all of Jincheng Prefecture you can go." Old Ma stroked his beard again. "It's too late today. First thing tomorrow morning, take my Peace Token and have him make one for you on an expedited basis. If even he can't do it, you'll have to make do with whatever weapon you can find."

Here, a thick bar of steel lay in silent stillness.

Suddenly, the gate swung open, and voices from outside poured in.

"I'm counting on you."

"You're a regular customer. No problem."

A hand, its knuckles swollen and its skin covered in calluses, reached out and took it from the storeroom.

"Let the water flow! Ding setting!"

The apprentice standing beside the blower hurriedly pulled the rope in his hands until the mark for the Ding setting came into view. The rope engaged the mechanism, opening one of the sluice gates. Water poured down from above, striking the waterwheel below.

The waterwheel creaked as it turned, driving a leather bellows that expanded and contracted, forcing air into the furnace beside it. The flames inside surged instantly, turning from red to white. The steel bar was helplessly fed into the furnace to be smelted.

The steel bar's body remained in this hellish furnace for who knew how long. When it, too, had turned incandescent white like the flames, a pair of iron tongs reached into the furnace and rescued it.

"Let the water flow! Yi setting!"

The apprentice beside the water-powered forge hammer pulled the rope as well, revealing the mark for the Yi setting. Another sluice gate opened. The rushing water struck the wheel, driving a massive hammer up and down.

The steel bar had barely had time to rejoice at escaping the volcanic hell before it was placed beneath the forge hammer and subjected to a sentence of crushing blows. But its executioner worked with painstaking care, adjusting it again and again until the steel bar had been hammered into a long, flat shape.

The steel bar still held some warmth. That rough hand sprinkled fine steel powder over it as an adhesive, then placed two strips of soft steel—equal in length but slightly narrower—along its sides.

The steel bar watched helplessly as it was dressed in armor and sent back into the furnace's hell. The flames turned incandescent white all around it, fusing the two pieces of armor to its flesh until they became inseparable.

Just as the steel bar could hardly bear it any longer, it was taken from the furnace once again, only to be returned beneath the forge hammer.

"Let the water flow! Jia setting!"

The apprentice beside the hammer sprang into action, pulling the rope until the mark for the Jia setting appeared. The water flow now weakened, slowing the wheel and, in turn, the hammer's strokes. The executioner had to work with delicate precision, hammering and adjusting the steel bar's shape until it grew longer and straighter, gradually taking on the form of a sword.

Again and again, it was thrust into the furnace and hammered. The steel bar felt as if it were Sun Wukong, reborn in Laozi's furnace. Its flesh had once been hard, but when something was too rigid, it snapped easily. Now, the softer armor on either side formed a spine, making it more resilient. The flesh exposed around it remained hard and strong, waiting only to be sharpened.

After it came out of the furnace again, the steel bar was gripped in iron tongs and laid upon the anvil. The executioner no longer used the forge hammer. Instead, he raised an ordinary hammer himself to handle the final stage. Under his blows, the ridges along the steel bar's body took shape, and its base and pointed tip were perfected.

Despite the lingering heat, the executioner picked up the steel bar and examined it closely. Satisfied, he shoved it back into the furnace to heat it until it glowed in alternating hues of gold and silver. Then he swiftly pulled it out with the iron tongs and plunged it straight into a vat of cold oil that had been prepared nearby.

Hot steel met cold oil, erupting at once in a hissing sound. At the same time, the executioner began reciting the Scripture of the Supreme Lord's Response and Retribution. When he reached, "Fortune and misfortune have no gate; people summon them themselves," the steel bar in the oil had faded to a blood-red glow. He quickly lifted it out and held it in the air, continuing to chant, though his pace suddenly changed.

When he reached, "Evil stars bring calamity; when one's allotted years are spent, death follows," the blood-red glow on the steel bar dimmed, revealing a hint of purple. The executioner plunged it back into the oil vat, leaving it there to cool naturally.

The executioner kept reciting the Scripture of the Supreme Lord's Response and Retribution, but his rhythm had become completely irregular. He continued until the steel bar had cooled.

At this point, chanting no longer helped him calculate the timing for quenching and tempering. He was merely putting on an act, making his apprentices believe the scripture was being recited to pray for the sword's successful forging, lest they learn the secrets of quenching and tempering.

"So that's it?" The chanting stopped, and Chen Wu immediately asked.

"All that's left is to sharpen and polish it, then fit it with a hilt and scabbard. I made this sword with the finest Hundred-Forged Steel I had. It'll guarantee you victory wherever you go."

Only now did the steel bar finally understand. All that forging and hammering had been to make it into a peerless sword.

As Blacksmith Zhang took out the cooled sword blank, fitted it with a hilt and guard, and handed it to an apprentice to sharpen, Chen Wu finally relaxed. "As expected of a renowned master, Master Zhang. You made this sword in less than a day."

The blacksmith surnamed Zhang kicked an apprentice whose polishing technique was sloppy before replying, "It's only because of Old Ma's favor. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken on such a rush job."

"My workshop has water-powered machinery, but it still can't compare to the steam-powered workshops in the southeast. The hammering isn't efficient enough. Getting it done in a day really took a lot out of me."

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Zhang."

"Of all the weapons in the world, swords are the hardest to forge. They need both strength and flexibility, and the weight has to be balanced just right. An ordinary blacksmith would have a hard time getting one right in a single attempt. Even with machinery to help, flaws are inevitable. It takes time and painstaking work." A hint of pride shone in Blacksmith Zhang's eyes. "I'm the only one in all of Jincheng Prefecture who can forge a sword in a day without tarnishing his reputation."

Chen Wu immediately showered him with free flattery. "Old Ma said the same thing. The Zhang Clan's reputation rings out loud and clear."

"At least he knows quality when he sees it." Blacksmith Zhang laughed. "But I won't take a penny less."

"Of course."

"One hundred silver dollars!"

That expensive?!

Seeing Chen Wu hesitate, Blacksmith Zhang explained, "The laminated-steel method wastes the most material. I used up all my finest Hundred-Forged Steel on this. Besides, your sword is one of a kind. I tailored it to you, and my workshop spent the entire day doing nothing but working on it. A hundred silver dollars is already a bargain."

"Put it on Old Ma's tab." Chen Wu nodded. Old Ma had only just recovered his strength, so making him bleed a little was only fair.

"Good. See how it feels in your hand." Blacksmith Zhang took the polished sword from his apprentice and handed it to Chen Wu. "It has an archaic design, with a rounded pommel and an octagonal cross-section. The blade is three feet six inches long, meant to be wielded with one hand. You're tall, so I made it a little longer."

Chen Wu gripped the hilt. Black cord crisscrossed around it, giving him a firm hold with no risk of slipping. It complemented the round copper pommel perfectly. Looking up, he saw the copper guard and gleaming blade. Cloud-and-thunder patterns were carved into the guard, and the blade was polished to a mirror shine, its keen edge radiating a chilling menace.

Chen Wu stirred the true qi in his dantian and spun the sword in a flourish. A forest of sword shadows swept through the workshop, accompanied by a buzzing sound as they cut through the air.

"The sword is singing!" the apprentice polishing the blade blurted out.

Only the finest swords displayed this phenomenon. The sword's structure had to be perfectly unified, its strength and flexibility in balance, and its forging flawless before it could vibrate in harmony with the air and produce what was called a sword song.

Chen Wu, too, realized that this sword was extraordinary. He'd gotten a fantastic deal for just one hundred silver dollars, especially since it was on Old Ma's tab.

"You're a lucky one! Even for me, whether I can forge a sword that sings is up to fate." Blacksmith Zhang gazed at the sword in Chen Wu's hand, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"Now that you have this sword, remember to nourish it with true qi. In time, that'll make it stronger. If you reach the Concentrated Spirit Realm, it's even better to nourish it with concentrated spirit. As far as I know, weapons nourished with concentrated spirit by experts can develop all sorts of mystical properties depending on their martial arts."

There was such a thing? He'd have to ask Old Ma when he got back.

"Now that's a fine sword!"

Old Ma held the sword, full of praise.

"Master Zhang told me I could make this sword stronger by nourishing it with true qi. Concentrated spirit would be even better. Is that true?"

"It is, but hardly anyone does it," Old Ma said.

"Nourishing a weapon with true qi isn't difficult. Anyone who reaches the Pulse-Opening Realm can release true qi beyond their body. They just have to expend enough true qi each day to cover every part of the weapon. Given enough time, that'll gradually make the weapon stronger."

"That should be easy for you." Old Ma returned the sword to Chen Wu. "Want to try?"

Chen Wu took the sword. He stirred the true qi in his dantian and tried to cover the blade with it.

Huh?

Again!!

What the hell? His true qi couldn't leave his body!

Chen Wu was at a loss for words.

Anyone in the Pulse-Opening Realm could release true qi beyond their body, yet he, a "Concentrated Spirit expert," couldn't even do that. He was worse off than Old Ma, who'd slacked off and let his cultivation regress.

"If it's so good, why do so few people use it?" Chen Wu asked calmly, changing the subject.

"That's a case of a full man not knowing a hungry man's hunger. True qi is the treasure of one's essence, energy, and spirit. How could you waste it freely?"

"Before you reach the sixth stage, the Zhoutian Realm, you can only accumulate true qi through daily hard cultivation. If you have to spend it nourishing a weapon every day, how will you have enough to break through? Even after reaching the sixth stage, you can't squander true qi at will unless you give up on reaching the Concentrated Spirit Realm."

"Then it sounds like nobody nourishes their weapons."

"Nobody uses true qi to nourish their weapons!" Old Ma stroked his beard. "But if you reach the Concentrated Spirit Realm, you can nourish a weapon with concentrated spirit."

"Nourishing a weapon with concentrated spirit doesn't deplete your concentrated spirit, and it's much more effective than using true qi. Experts from the School of Heavenly Principle can even temper their concentrated spirit by nourishing weapons. Members of their school will find a small object to nourish once they reach the Concentrated Spirit Realm, even if they don't use weapons."

"Experts from the Investigation of Things School and the Dashun Academy of Sciences jointly studied the effects of nourishing weapons with concentrated spirit. They found that concentrated spirit could gradually alter a weapon's internal structure, making it more stable and pure."

"I see. Then my pair of Emei Piercers..." Chen Wu suddenly remembered the Emei Piercers Old Ma had mentioned yesterday.

"Those are relics that were once nourished by a Concentrated Spirit expert. Not bad, right? I gave them to you. You made a killing."

"Not bad, not bad."

Chen Wu held the sword in his hand and praised the pair of Emei Piercers he'd never even seen, while thinking about tomorrow's assassination.

I don't want this sword to become a relic too!