Leisurely Doctor Life (6)

Thanks to the village craftsmen and Bai Sui's increasingly refined cultivation, he was able to hand-craft a steam engine and a DC electric motor. Bai Sui had a specific vision in mind for creating these two machines.

He believed that if the ninjas of this world were to truly progress, they needed to find a new profession or role where they could apply their talents.

Once these two machines were popularized, ninjas proficient in Fire Release and Lightning Release could at least serve as a form of renewable energy, allowing them to find a new place in society.

The reason these machines were related to Bai Sui's cultivation was that for certain precision-machined parts that the village craftsman couldn't produce, Bai Sui would either cut them using his nurtured Qi Sword or reinforce his hands with metal-attribute Qi to hammer them into shape by sheer force.

He used the nurtured Qi Sword because, while experimenting with the application of Qi, Bai Sui had tried channeling it into his lungs to nurture it.

He discovered that not only was the nurturing speed faster, but the baseline power was significantly higher; even a newly nurtured Qi Sword could easily split stones and crack monuments.

Bai Sui realized that the reason for this effectiveness was that the Qi nurtured in his lungs automatically took on a metal attribute.

Furthermore, thanks to the nature of his Qi, the Qi Sword not only gained power but also enhanced control, allowing him to manipulate it with his mind after it left his body, much like a flying sword.

Consequently, Bai Sui essentially possessed an extremely sharp carving knife capable of cutting through iron like mud. Although manipulating it to carve and polish fine parts was difficult, Bai Sui now had plenty of time to spare.

Aside from his daily cultivation, the bulk of his time was spent teaching the children as they grew. However, since Bai Sui no longer required food or sleep, he had a vast amount of time at his disposal every day.

Even after setting aside time for foraging in the mountains and treating the villagers, Bai Sui still had about five hours of free time each day to spend as he pleased.

In this era lacking entertainment, the common folk had limited ways to pass the time, so Bai Sui spent most of his hours revisiting memories from his past life.

In his previous life, Bai Sui had read many books to pass the time or enrich his mind, and now, these books provided him with comfort once again.

However, not all books were equally nourishing. While the novelty kept him reading the first time, upon a second reading, Bai Sui found that he could no longer finish many books he had once considered interesting.

Whether it was because he already knew the plot or simply lost interest in the content, the number of books Bai Sui could actually finish dwindled. Eventually, he discovered that the only works he could revisit were the classics he had previously been reluctant to tackle.

After spending over half a year devouring the classics, Bai Sui decided to clear his head and turned his attention to handicrafts, another way to polish away the time.

In addition to the two mechanical devices mentioned, Bai Sui also forged an Eight-Faced Sword for himself.

Thanks to the village's location, Bai Sui brought back plenty of hematite while foraging in the woods. Lacking a professional furnace, he didn't force the issue.

He built a simple earthen furnace and used his own Qi to experiment, focusing his fire-attribute Qi to gradually raise the temperature. After spending three months of spare time, he finally smelted an iron rod. Although Bai Sui lacked blacksmithing skills, he had his Qi Sword, and he eventually carved the rod into a sword.

Lacking the conditions for acid etching, he used his Qi Sword to carve patterns onto the blade. Unwilling to spend more time making an iron scabbard, he simply chopped down a small tree and fashioned a wooden one.

One day, a samurai suffering from leg pain came to Bai Sui for treatment and immediately spotted the sword hanging on the wall.

Upon learning that it was Bai Sui's personal weapon, the samurai was quite surprised. After all, while he could tell through observation that Bai Sui was physically strong, there were truly no traces of cultivation left on him.

In particular, Bai Sui's hands, despite years of foraging in the mountains, were free of any scars or calluses, looking impossibly fair and delicate.

The samurai was highly skeptical that Bai Sui could wield a sword. Even though he had come for his leg pain, he set that aside and insisted on sparring with him.

In truth, Bai Sui had never practiced any formal swordsmanship. He usually treated the weapon as a piece of fitness equipment—after all, it was a solid iron sword weighing nearly five pounds. If not for his current cultivation success and physical prowess far exceeding a normal human, he wouldn't have been able to hold it for long in his past life.

After testing the weight, the samurai, Kubota Noriyuki, looked puzzled. "A weapon isn't necessarily better for being heavier. This isn't suitable for real combat, especially since your sword is more than twice the standard weight..."

Kubota Noriyuki didn't finish his sentence, but the distrust in his eyes was clear; he clearly thought Bai Sui was a fraud who couldn't use a sword at all.

Bai Sui didn't say much, deciding to let the man see how "one force overcomes ten techniques." Although Bai Sui didn't know any sword styles, he had practiced the four fundamental techniques: striking, thrusting, parrying, and sweeping.

In his past life, the sword schools had further subdivided these techniques into hacking, thrusting, dotting, collapsing, striking, lifting, and flicking; slashing, intercepting, supporting, pressing, hanging, shaving, and raising; twirling, piercing, pressing down, clouding, wiping, blocking, and sweeping; leading, drawing, barring, holding, pushing, rubbing, and twisting.

But all variations stemmed from the same source, and Bai Sui had truly practiced these Four Mother Swords diligently.

Bai Sui stood naturally, eyes fixed on Kubota Noriyuki. Holding the sword in his left hand, he folded his right thumb and pressed his fingers together to form a palm, performing a sword salute.

Once the formalities were over, Bai Sui immediately flung the scabbard away with his left hand, lunged forward with a powerful overhead hack, and aimed straight for Kubota Noriyuki's face.

Kubota Noriyuki, who had intended to perform a draw-cut, was interrupted by the sudden attack. He hurriedly turned to parry, but a massive force struck his blade, nearly knocking the long sword from his hand.

Missing the first strike, Bai Sui rotated his forearm and swept the sword in a low stance, continuing his aggressive assault. Kubota Noriyuki retreated in a hurry, holding his blade up to block.

Seeing the opponent's center of gravity shift after two consecutive strikes, Bai Sui didn't let up. He lowered his stance and launched a rising sweep toward the samurai's retreating right leg.

Kubota Noriyuki, who had intended to transition from a block to a horizontal slash, saw the long sword about to graze his leg and was forced to change his move on the fly. He lifted his right leg high, stepped back to gain distance, and pulled his horizontal slash back to his chest to prepare for Bai Sui's next attack.