Golden Inch

Five minutes later, two "brand-new" blade swords emerged, still hot from the forge.

They were called "brand-new" because, compared to the original blade swords, the ones Zuo Yi had "gold-plated" looked drastically different at first glance. Even if the clown came back to life, he probably would not recognize them as weapons that had once belonged to him.

The original Water-Cleaver swords had been exceptionally eye-catching, their edges exposed and their murderous aura chilling. One look was enough to tell that they were deadly weapons.

Yet after being coated with Red Crow Gold, their radiance became restrained. They appeared understated without losing their splendor, and countless fine patterns faintly emerged across the blades. Viewed from different angles, they offered entirely different visual impressions.

Zuo Yi had even covered the python-skin wrapping on the hilts and scabbards with a layer of Red Crow Gold, making the two swords into a unified whole, as if they had been forged from the same piece of metal. Set together, they possessed a breathtaking beauty.

Just like how makeup could raise a woman's looks from a seven to an eight or nine!

But adding Red Crow Gold did far more than improve their appearance. Once Zuo Yi completed the modification, the quality of the pair of blade swords had risen significantly, while their resistance to corrosion and wear had greatly increased. In effect, their lifespan had been extended.

In the Sadea World, gilding weapons and equipment was an essential skill for rune craftsmen. Weapons whose surfaces were coated in Red Crow Gold were known as "Dark Gold Equipment," and they often sold for much higher prices.

However, even gilding had varying levels of skill. Zuo Yi could perfectly coat both the metal blades and the leather hilts with Red Crow Gold at the same time. That alone was enough to make ninety-nine percent of rune craftsmen bow in defeat.

After coating them with Red Crow Gold, Zuo Yi was still not satisfied.

He took out a rune engraving knife forged from Falling Star Core Iron and began etching runes beneath the spot on the blade where the seal-script characters "Water-Cleaver" had originally been carved.

The words "Water-Cleaver" had been filled in during the gilding process. Zuo Yi's engraving knife flew across the surface, and hair-thin lines swiftly appeared, gradually forming a complex rune pattern.

Rune engraving was the fundamental skill that tested a craftsman's technique the most. Every rune had to be completed in one go. A single mistake with the knife could ruin the entire piece of equipment. Even if it could be salvaged, the final product's quality would often suffer.

Zuo Yi had become a rune craftsman through a sheer twist of fate. During a planar war, he had been trapped in an underground ruin for a full twenty years.

At the time, the only way to escape was to completely inherit the legacy left behind by a master craftsman, master all of his secret techniques for crafting equipment, engraving runes, and applying enchantments, then create a rune artifact that met the requirements to unlock the final seal.

The inheritance system left behind by that master craftsman with a wicked sense of humor was unimaginably vast. Anyone else would probably have been driven mad by it. Zuo Yi had relied on his powerful will to persevere, ultimately escaping the ruins.

By the time he returned to the Sadeya plane, he had already become a true grand rune craftsman.

The rune Zuo Yi was engraving now was called "Sharpness." Among all law runes, it was considered a low-tier rune, so he engraved it with great ease and speed, finishing in less than a minute.

The "Sharpness" rune was typically engraved onto weapons. Its effect was to make a weapon sharper, thereby increasing its lethality.

For a sword, what attribute could possibly be better than that?

Zuo Yi engraved this rune onto the blade swords because he wanted to sell them for a higher price and solve his problem in one stroke.

(In Bao'er's room, Taike yawned boredly and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips: What?)

After engraving the "Sharpness" rune on both blade swords, Zuo Yi set down the engraving knife, held the swords in his hands, and simultaneously infused a thread of battle qi into them.

Bzzzzz—

Both swords trembled in unison, and the completed runes erupted with dazzling light at the same time!

Resonance of Laws!

This was the final step after completing rune engraving, and also the key to success.

Only when a newly born rune resonated with the Web of Laws enveloping the plane could a law rune truly take effect.

Zuo Yi succeeded without any suspense.

That meant the two blade swords in his hands had become rune weapons.

Of course, since they each had only one rune, and it was a low-tier rune at that, they were merely the lowest-grade rune weapons.

It was not that Zuo Yi did not want to engrave another rune onto them. Rather, the materials of the two weapons themselves limited them. They could not bear any more power of laws, and it had nothing to do with Zuo Yi's skill.

In fact, without the coating and enhancement of Red Crow Gold, even the "Sharpness" rune he had just engraved would not have been able to form a resonance with the laws.

Even so, the two blade swords had undergone an essential transformation.

Ordinary weapons and rune weapons were two entirely different concepts!

Zuo Yi was not particularly satisfied with this new work, but as long as it could help him earn back a large sum of money, that was more than enough.

Just as Zuo Yi was about to store the two blade swords in his Spatial Ring, an idea suddenly struck him.

Picking up the rune engraving knife again, Zuo Yi carved the two characters "Golden Inch" onto the guards of the two blade swords.

Original name: Water-Cleaver. New name: Golden Inch, taken from the saying, "An inch of time is an inch of gold."

Golden Inch Swords!

Only then was Zuo Yi a little more satisfied, and he put the twin swords away.

Now, it was time to bathe and sleep.

In the morning, Sun Qiang left home carrying the same three-tier lunchbox as yesterday.

Mama Qiang, who saw him out, was very happy. Yesterday, Little Qiang had not only eaten every last bit of the snacks she made, but had even asked her to make more. He had not gone hungry just to lose weight.

In Mama Qiang's eyes, the best thing was for her son to grow up plump and sturdy. That also gave her the greatest sense of accomplishment.

Being able to eat was a blessing. Fat people were the most blessed!

"Be careful on the road."

After seeing him to the elevator, Mama Qiang specifically said, "If the snacks aren't enough, Mom will prepare more for you tomorrow."

Practicing martial arts and swordsmanship consumed a lot of stamina. Eating more was only natural.

Sun Qiang grinned. "Got it."

Thinking of Taike's greedy appearance and bottomless stomach, he felt very fortunate.

However, just a few minutes later, that feeling vanished completely!

The moment he left the residential complex, Sun Qiang had his path blocked again.

"You fat bastard, let's see where you can run this time!"

The ones blocking Little Qiang were still the same group of delinquents from yesterday, but today they had gotten smarter. Three had ambushed him in front, while two followed behind, surrounding him tightly!

This road connected the main entrance of Sun Qiang's residential complex to the main road. Aside from residents, few people normally passed through it, making it rather secluded.

The few pedestrians passing by did not dare meddle in other people's business. Seeing this scene, they all hurried away.

Left alone without help, Sun Qiang forced himself to ask, "What do you want?"

"What do we want?"

The delinquent leader spat fiercely onto the ground, spraying saliva at Sun Qiang as he cursed, "What do you think we want? Why aren't you running now? Didn't you run pretty happily yesterday? Go on, keep running, damn it!"

Sun Qiang's escape yesterday had been a humiliation he considered unbearable. That was why he had specifically gathered his men again this morning to ambush Sun Qiang. He was determined to recover the face he had lost.

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and swung it viciously toward Sun Qiang's face!

Sun Qiang was startled and instinctively leaned back to dodge.

In the past, caught so off guard, Sun Qiang would have found it difficult to avoid the slap. But after training at the martial arts school for some time, both his physical condition and reaction speed had improved, and he barely managed to evade it.

Even so, the other boy's fingernails still scraped across Sun Qiang's face, leaving it burning with pain.

"You still dare dodge?"

The delinquent missed with his slap and instantly flew into a rage. "I'm beating you to death today!"

But before the delinquent could swing again, Sun Qiang suddenly erupted!

When Sun Qiang returned home from the martial arts school yesterday, he had brought back the wooden sword Zuo Yi had given him.

On one hand, he wanted to practice swordsmanship more at home. On the other, he intended to use it as a weapon for self-defense. He could bring a wooden sword onto the subway, so it was quite convenient.

When he left that morning, Sun Qiang carried the lunchbox in his left hand and the wooden sword in his right.

The delinquents surrounding him had noticed it, but none of them took it seriously—five against one. Could a fat guy really dare fight back?

As it turned out, Sun Qiang really did fight back!

"Slash!"

His eyes widened as he let out a roar, raising the wooden sword in his hand and chopping heavily at the delinquent in front of him.

At the instant he swung his sword, something within Sun Qiang suddenly awakened, turning his eyes crimson red!

Like a beast enraged!

Here was the second update. I took my daughter out to play today, so please forgive the late update.

As usual, please support me with your votes. Also, thanks to my friend "Wu Liang" for the ten-thousand reward. Congratulations on becoming this book's sect leader!