Who Dotes on Their Child the Most?

After shaping the sword blank, Zuo Yi continued working on the Dragonblood Wood with his dagger.

The inconspicuous black dagger Zuo Yi used as a swordmaking tool was actually far more valuable than the Dragonblood Wood. It had been forged from Falling Star Core Iron, hence its name: the Falling Star Dagger.

This Falling Star Dagger had been with Zuo Yi for over a decade.

During his previous decisive battle against Sol, the Lord of the Abyss, Zuo Yi's primary weapon, the Blade of Radiance, had been damaged and rendered unusable. He had relied on the Falling Star Dagger to severely wound Sol at a critical moment, forcing his opponent to unleash a devastating move meant to take them both down.

The Falling Star Dagger was engraved with six law runes. One of them, "Sharpness," gave it an indestructible edge, making it effortless to carve the incomparably hard Dragonblood Wood.

In just ten minutes, a brand-new Dragonblood Wood sword was born in Zuo Yi's hands!

This wooden sword, worth hundreds of millions, was about seventy centimeters long, four centimeters wide, and roughly one centimeter thick. Its edges and tip were rounded and blunt, giving it no direct killing power.

The wooden sword had an extremely simple design. Its outer lines flowed naturally from tip to pommel, with the blade, guard, and hilt formed as one. The guard, or handguard, rose like jagged peaks, giving the entire sword the shape of a cross.

But it was not finished yet.

Zuo Yi put away the Falling Star Dagger and held the newly crafted Dragonblood Wood sword in his hand, its tip pointed skyward.

The next moment, a blazing battle aura flame surged from his right palm, shooting several feet into the air and enveloping the entire Dragonblood Wood sword like a burning torch!

Battle Aura Tempering!

This was a secret technique Zuo Yi had inherited from Saint Qiao, a master craftsman. It used one's powerful battle aura to temper a crafted item, making its material purer and denser while distributing its elemental properties more evenly.

The Dragonblood Wood sword was tempered by the battle aura flames for only a few seconds before the process was complete.

When the flames faded, the wooden sword shone with a new radiance.

Its color had become much deeper, restrained and ancient. The grain that had once covered its surface had disappeared into the wood, while the sword itself faintly gave off a soft glow, like the polished patina of rosewood.

"Wow!"

Bao'er had been watching Zuo Yi display all kinds of miraculous methods. At this point, she could no longer hold back her amazement. "It's so pretty!"

She asked innocently, "Daddy, is this for me?"

"Of course it's for you."

Zuo Yi smiled. "Wait a moment. It'll be done soon."

Normally, following the process of making a rune weapon, he should have engraved law runes onto the Dragonblood Wood sword after its first Battle Aura Tempering, then carried out a second and final tempering.

But Zuo Yi skipped the rune-engraving step. This wooden sword was for Bao'er to play with, and law runes would only be a burden to her, so there was no need for them at all.

Zuo Yi took out a Dragonblood Vine Tendril from his Spatial Ring.

The Dragonblood Vine was a parasitic vine that grew on Dragonblood Wood. Its roots could pierce through Dragonblood Wood's iron-hard bark and burrow deep into the trunk to absorb nutrients for survival.

A Dragonblood Vine had only one root tendril. These tendrils were long and tough, even stronger in texture than Dragonblood Wood.

Even with Zuo Yi's current strength, he had to exert some effort to snap one. It could easily suspend objects weighing dozens or even hundreds of tons.

A Dragonblood Vine Tendril was even more valuable than Dragonblood Wood.

Zuo Yi took it out and wrapped it around the hilt, making the sword easier to grip while also absorbing sweat from the hand.

After wrapping it, he cut away the excess with the Falling Star Dagger and tempered it once again with battle aura flames.

This final step not only bound the Dragonblood Vine Tendril tightly to the Dragonblood Wood sword, but also left behind Zuo Yi's spiritual imprint. If it were accidentally lost, it would be easy to find again.

Done!

Zuo Yi was very satisfied as he looked at the Cross Dragonblood Wood Sword in his hand.

Come to think of it, he had not personally crafted anything for quite some time, yet his skills had not dulled in the slightest.

"Baby."

He handed the wooden sword to Bao'er. "Try it and see if you like it."

"Thank you, Daddy."

The little girl beamed with delight at receiving a new toy and sweetly thanked Zuo Yi.

She took the Cross Dragonblood Wood Sword in her hand and imitated the sword moves Zuo Yi had taught her earlier, slashing through the air at the sword dummy.

She even provided her own BGM: "Ha!"

Seeing how adorable she was, Zuo Yi burst into laughter, his spirits soaring.

Although the materials used to make this Cross Dragonblood Wood Sword were worth three hundred million, as far as Zuo Yi was concerned, if it could make Bao'er happy, it would still be worth it even with another zero added to the price.

Who in this world doted on their child the most? None other than Saint Knight Zuo Yi!

Bao'er slashed at the sword dummy twice, then pointed the wooden sword at Taike and shouted in her cute little voice, "Atai, catch this!"

No one knew where she had learned that from.

With one swing of her sword, Taike fell to the ground on cue, his limbs pointing skyward, belly exposed, head tilted to one side, and eyes closed.

Oh no! Miss Bao'er's swordsmanship is too powerful. This dog is dead, dead, dead...

In truth, the sword tip was still three feet away from him!

"Ah?"

The little girl was fooled by Taike's superb acting and genuinely thought she had hurt him. She hurried over. "Atai?"

She had barely crouched down to inspect him when Taike immediately flipped over and sprang up, sticking out his wet tongue to lick her face.

"Atai!"

Realizing she had been tricked, Bao'er puffed out her cheeks in anger. "You actually lied to me!"

She reached out to tickle Taike, and the two began playing together.

Zuo Yi did not remain idle. He gathered the leftover Dragonblood Wood scraps from making the sword and carved them into wooden beads with the Falling Star Dagger.

Although they were made entirely by hand, every bead was exactly the same size, perfectly round as though machine-made.

He carved a total of twelve Dragonblood Wood beads.

Zuo Yi rummaged through his Spatial Ring and found a steel needle also forged from Falling Star Core Iron. He drilled holes through all the wooden beads and threaded them with the remaining Dragonblood Vine Tendril, making a bracelet.

After tempering it once more with battle aura flames, a beautiful Dragonblood Wood Bracelet was complete.

This used up nearly all the remaining materials, with very little wasted.

"Baby."

Zuo Yi beckoned to the little girl playing with Taike. "Come here."

"Coming!"

Bao'er freed herself from Taike's pestering, ran over with the wooden sword in hand, and threw herself into Zuo Yi's arms. "Daddy."

"Mm."

Zuo Yi took her right hand and put the Dragonblood Wood Bracelet on her wrist. "This is for you too."

Bao'er loved it. "Thank you, Daddy."

She showed it off to Taike, who had just come over. "Atai, look! Is it pretty? Daddy made it for me!"

She was brimming with pride.

Taike: Woof woof woof!

So what if you're a Saint Knight? So what if you can make bracelets!

Zuo Yi glanced at him.

Taike instantly cowered, lowering his head with a whimper. It is impressive. Forget it, I'd better keep being a bootlicking dog.

Zuo Yi ignored him and said to Bao'er, "Now Daddy will teach you swordsmanship."

Bao'er nodded eagerly. "Okay, okay!"

Zuo Yi smiled slightly, crouched down, and held the little girl in his arms facing outward. His large hand covered her small one as they gripped the wooden sword together.

"First, we'll learn the first move..."

What Zuo Yi taught Bao'er was Faston Court Cross-Swordsmanship, which originated from the Sadea World.

Zuo Yi had learned this swordsmanship from a cute young witch in an adventuring party. She was a descendant of the Faston Empire's royal bloodline, though the Faston Empire had already fallen many years ago at the time.

As a secret art of the Faston royal family, direct members of the royal line began learning this cross-swordsmanship from a very young age, laying a solid foundation for becoming knights in the future.

It was also one of the rare sword arts that could be learned from the age of two or three. Its moves were elegant and nimble. Even if one could not become a knight after practicing it for many years, it could still strengthen the body, shape one's physique, and reinforce mental will.

It was therefore perfect for Bao'er.

"Teacher!"

Just as Zuo Yi was teaching Bao'er Faston Court Cross-Swordsmanship, Sun Qiang returned to the sword training room.

He had gone out to walk around, drunk two cups of salt water, then showered and changed into clean training clothes in the locker room. Fully revived, he ran back in full of vigor.

But Zuo Yi did not even raise his head as he said, "Go practice by yourself."

"Oh."

Sun Qiang's raised head immediately drooped, and he carried his wooden sword over to the sword dummy to continue slashing.

He secretly glanced at Bao'er, who was being taught hand-in-hand by Zuo Yi, and felt utterly envious.

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