Zhou Minhao did not enter the Family Treasury. He claimed he did not have the authority, so he merely waited outside while Emiya toured the collection.
From what Emiya saw, the Zhou Family's vault was hardly dazzling or resplendent. It felt somewhat sparse, and some shelves were even empty. Apparently, in their eyes, not every item qualified to be stored and sealed away here.
Fortunately, Emiya's focus today was not on fragile antiques with potential appreciation value, but famous swords.
"Are they categorized by era?"
Emiya noticed that the shelves were marked with dynastic dates written in different ancient scripts, while each artifact had a yellowed booklet recording its history. He picked up one nearby and flipped through it. It recorded how Ouye Zi, a swordsmith of the Spring and Autumn period, had carved open Mount Ci to release its stream, channeling it beside his forging furnace into seven pools arranged like the Big Dipper. This was a master-level forging array that imitated the hidden power of the stars and used water as its medium.
When the sword was complete, the swordsmith looked down upon its blade as though gazing into an abyss from atop a mountain—misty and profound, as if a great dragon lay coiled within... Thus, it was named "Longyuan." Because of the seven-star pattern on its blade, it was also called "Seven Star Longyuan." This sword later came into the possession of Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty. To avoid a naming taboo, it was renamed "Longquan."
Part of the Zhou Family's vast collection had been inherited from the legacy of the Prosperous Tang, which was why this sword had ultimately fallen into the Zhou Family's possession. End of record.
"Master Ouye Zi, huh..."
He was a renowned founding figure of swordmaking recorded in Chinese history. Shirou Emiya immediately fixed his gaze on the famous sword beside him. Its length and weight were moderate, with a circular ornament where the blade joined the hilt. The blade gradually narrowed from base to tip, becoming sharper the closer it came to the point.
Emiya had now seen the Dragon Severing Platform forged by Yu the Great in the Age of Gods, so his standards had risen considerably. In his eyes, while this Longyuan Sword was not as miraculous as the Dragon Severing Platform, its sharpness far surpassed the swords he reinforced from ordinary iron. The seven-star inscriptions upon it emitted a dim, cold gleam, clearly harboring extraordinary magical power and functions.
When Emiya turned to look at the shelf beside it, he found more famous works by Master Ouye Zi: the Tai'a Sword, the Chunjun Sword, the Chengying Sword... Wonderful. To him, this place was practically a sacred ground for cultivation.
"Seven Star Longyuan..."
After steadying himself, Emiya decided to start with the first sword. He reached out and stroked the blade, silently reciting the incantation he used to suggest the process to himself: "Trace, on." This was not merely the chant for Reinforcement Magic; he also used it to analyze a sword's structure.
In the end, magecraft was simply the application of magical energy. Chanting merely served as a suggestion, much like pressing a switch to turn on an appliance or entering a password to open a program. It was an unrestricted form that could be personalized.
At once, invisible streams of elemental energy whirled through the air and enveloped the Longyuan Sword. Every detail of the blade, even the mystery of its seven-star inscriptions, was exposed to Emiya's "eyes." Under the analytical perspective created by magecraft, the three-dimensional Noble Phantasm became separated elements, symbols, and concepts. That familiar sensation from when he had held the Dragon Severing Platform returned once more—if he injected magical energy into it, he seemed able to release the Noble Phantasm and draw upon Longyuan's power of the seven stars.
Though Emiya was itching to give it a try, this was not the right setting. He focused on practicing Projection instead. Once he had analyzed one sword, he moved straight to the next, only reluctantly leaving the treasury after analyzing every work by Master Ouye Zi stored here... He had made up his mind. He would come here every day. Building up more experience for Projection could never hurt.
Over the following days, Shirou Emiya spent most of his time practicing Projection.
Because he frequently entered and left the Zhou Family Treasury, Emiya gradually became acquainted with Zhou Minhao. From time to time, they sparred. Zhou Minhao was surprisingly proficient in Bagua Zhang, Xing Yi Quan, and even Tongbei Quan.
After several sparring sessions, Emiya found a chance to ask whether he knew Baji Quan. Zhou Minhao answered honestly that he did not.
Emiya had actually considered the possibility of ascending through martial arts. After Medea buffed Souichirou Kuzuki, he could suppress Artoria head-on. In Lostbelt Qin, Li Shuwen's Baji Quan could threaten a Young Beast like Koyanskaya... Clearly, the ceiling for martial arts in the Type-Moon world was high. He just did not know how they trained.
While Emiya honed his martial skills, Wa Lord's recent experience had been entirely different. She had been so busy her feet barely touched the ground—though she did not have feet to begin with...
The restructuring of the family businesses involved a great many personnel and projects that needed her approval. There were also efficiency issues among internal staff due to the family's continued use of ancient systems. She ordered them to adopt modern practices, from electronic office work to more plainspoken etiquette and formal language. At first, she had practically needed to oversee everything herself, but things had improved considerably by now.
Honestly, she had previously thought about getting herself a car and ordering clothes. Yet these past few days, not only had she lacked the time to arrange any of that, her subordinates had already begun using the family cars and uniforms.
"...Sigh, just look at this mess. I tell them not to keep throwing around classical Chinese all day. We're going international here. Forget foreigners—even plenty of Chinese people can't understand them. How many times have I said that formal etiquette means shaking hands, not bowing with clasped hands? When someone holds out a hand and they do not take it, leaving it hanging there, how awkward is that for the other person..."
Wa Lord finally came to find him today, and the moment she opened her mouth, she began criticizing her own people.
Emiya grumbled inwardly, Wa Lord, you also like showing off with classical Chinese when you get carried away. Out loud, however, he said, "You cannot rush this sort of thing. Just manage them during formal occasions. What they do in private is up to them..."
"Hmph! It's not like I have nothing better to do. I can't be bothered to care about what they do in private!" Wa Lord coiled herself around Emiya's back and slapped him with her tail in protest.
"Then why am I the one carrying you again?"
"What, would you prefer someone else to carry me?" There was a faint chill in Wa Lord's voice.
Emiya choked on his words. "What kind of question is that... Where are we going this time, Wa Lord? More guidance regarding Magic Circuits?"
The two headed toward the main hall as usual. Normally, whenever they went there, it meant there was serious business. During his time practicing Projection, Emiya had also been given the technical advisory role of helping Zhou Family members begin their path of cultivation. He had, at least, begun properly carrying out his duties as technical director.
However, Emiya had made one thing clear beforehand: they should not expect to reach the heavens the moment they began training. Magic Circuits varied according to each person's traits and differed from individual to individual. This was especially true for first-generation Magi, whose potential depended even more heavily on talent and aptitude.
A first-generation awakening like Emiya's was already exceptionally gifted. Rin Tohsaka's Magic Circuits, with a total of one hundred circuits and affinity for all five elements, were even more absurdly powerful, but she was not a first-generation Magus.
Over the past few days, all family members participating in cultivation had been selected individually and assigned to Emiya's side, effectively forming a project team. Old Tang, who had nothing to do besides play StarCraft, had enthusiastically come over to serve as his deputy.
As for the results so far, none of the project team members who had completed the creation of their Magic Circuits could generate more magical energy than Emiya. That was still within expectations.
Old Tang, on the other hand, had surprised everyone. The magical energy generated by his circuits was frighteningly immense. He was practically not human.
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