The Chinese, Play with Chinese Swords

Zhou Minhao did not enter the Family Treasury, claiming he lacked the authority, so he merely waited outside while Shirou toured the collection.

From what Shirou could see, the Zhou Family's treasury was hardly resplendent; it felt somewhat sparse, with some shelves standing empty, as if in their eyes not every artifact was worthy of being sealed away in storage.

Fortunately, Shirou's focus today wasn't on fragile antiques with investment potential, but on famous swords.

"Are they categorized by era?"

Shirou noticed the shelves bore labels in various ancient scripts marking dynastic periods, and each item had a yellowed booklet recording its history. He flipped through one nearby, which described how the Spring and Autumn period swordsmith Ouye Zi had chiseled open Mount Ci to release a stream, channeling the water to seven pools arranged like the Big Dipper around his forge. This was a master-level forging formation that mimicked the secret power of the constellations, using water as its medium.

When the sword was completed, the smith gazed down its blade as if peering from a high mountain into a deep abyss—misty and profound, as though a dragon coiled within... Hence it was named "Longyuan," and due to the seven-star pattern on the blade, also called "Seven Star Longyuan." Later, it came into the possession of Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty, and to avoid naming taboos, it was renamed "Longquan."

Because part of the Zhou Family's vast collection was inherited from the Prosperous Tang's legacy, this sword ultimately fell into their hands. The record ended there.

"So it's Master Ouye Zi..."

He was none other than the legendary founding father of sword-forging recorded in Shenzhou's history. Shirou Emiya immediately fixed his gaze on the nearby blade. Its length and weight were balanced, with a circular ornament at the junction of blade and hilt, and the width tapered gradually from body to tip, growing sharper with each inch.

Having witnessed the Dragon Severing Platform forged by Yu the Great in the Age of Gods, Shirou's standards had risen considerably. In his view, though this Longyuan sword was less miraculous than the Dragon Severing Platform, its sharpness far surpassed the blades he had reinforced from ordinary steel. The seven-star inscriptions glowed with a dim, cold light, clearly harboring extraordinary magical energy and function.

Shirou turned to the adjacent shelf, which held other renowned works by Master Ouye Zi: the Tai'a Sword, the Chunjun Sword, the Chengying Sword... Remarkable. To him, this place was a paradise for training.

"Seven Star Longyuan..."

Calming himself, Shirou decided to start with the first sword. He reached out to touch the blade while silently reciting his self-suggestion incantation: "Synchronization, begin." This was not only the chant for Reinforcement Magic but also served as his method for analyzing the sword's structure.

After all, magic was essentially the manipulation of magical energy. Chanting merely acted as a form of self-suggestion, like pressing a switch to turn on an appliance or entering a password to open a program—a customizable form, not a fixed rule.

Instantly, invisible elemental currents swirled and danced, enveloping the Longyuan sword. Every detail of the blade, even the mystery of its seven-star inscriptions, was laid bare before Shirou's "eyes." The three-dimensional Noble Phantasm, under the analytical lens of magic, fragmented into elements, symbols, and concepts. Then came the familiar sensation he had felt when grasping the Dragon Severing Platform—as if, by injecting magical energy, he could unleash the Noble Phantasm and invoke the seven-star power of Longyuan.

Though Shirou was eager to try, he held back given the setting. He prioritized projection practice, finishing his analysis of one sword before moving to the next. Only after fully analyzing all of Master Ouye Zi's works stored here did he reluctantly exit the treasury... He decided he would come every day—accumulating more data for projection could never be a mistake.

In the days that followed, Shirou Emiya spent most of his time on projection practice.

Additionally, due to his frequent visits to the Zhou Family Treasury, he gradually grew familiar with Zhou Minhao, occasionally sparring in martial arts. To his surprise, Zhou Minhao was proficient in You Shen Bagua Zhang, Xing Yi Quan, and even Tong Bei Quan.

After several bouts, Shirou found time to ask if he knew Baji Quan. Zhou Minhao honestly admitted he did not.

Shirou had considered the possibility of ascending through martial arts. Souichirou Kuzuki, buffed by Medea, could overpower Artoria head-on, and in Lostbelt Qin, Li Shuwen's Baji Quan could threaten a Young Beast like Koyanskaya... The potential of Type-Moon martial arts was evident. He just didn't know how they trained.

While Shirou honed his martial skills, the Wa Lord's experience during this period was entirely different—she was swamped with work, barely touching the ground, though she didn't have feet to begin with...

The family business restructuring required her approval on countless personnel and projects. Internal staff, still clinging to ancient clan practices, caused efficiency issues, which she forcibly converted to modernized models—from electronic office systems to colloquializing etiquette and speech. Initially, she had to oversee everything personally, but things had improved now.

She had to admit, she'd once thought about getting herself a car and ordering clothes, but these days she hadn't even had time to arrange that—though her subordinates were all using family vehicles and uniforms now.

"...Sigh, look at this mess. I told them to stop spouting classical Chinese all day—we're going international. Not only do foreigners not understand, but plenty of our own people don't either. How many times do I have to say it? In formal settings, it's handshakes, not bows. If someone extends their hand and they don't take it, just leaving it hanging there—how awkward is that for the other side..."

The Wa Lord finally came to find him today, immediately complaining about her own people.

Shirou silently grumbled to himself—Wa Lord, you sometimes love putting on airs and using classical Chinese with me too—but said aloud, "This situation can't be rushed. Just manage their formal occasions; let them do whatever they want in private..."

"Hmph! As if I have the leisure to care about their private lives!" The Wa Lord "wrapped" herself around Shirou's back, slapping him with her serpent tail in protest.

"So why am I carrying you again?"

"What, would you rather someone else carry me?" Her tone carried a hint of chill.

Shirou's words caught in his throat. "That's not what I meant... Where are we going this time, Wa Lord? Is it about Magic Circuit guidance?"

They walked toward the main hall as usual. Every trip there usually meant serious business. During this period of projection practice, Shirou had also been granted the role of technical instructor for the Zhou clan members beginning their cultivation path—at least he was officially performing his duties as technical director.

But Shirou had made it clear upfront: don't expect to reach the heavens in one step. Magic Circuits varied from person to person due to individual traits. First-generation Magi especially depended on natural talent.

Someone like Shirou, who awakened as a first-generation, was already exceptionally gifted. Though Rin Tohsaka's Magic Circuits (100 total, with attributes covering all five elements) were even more outrageous, she wasn't a first-generation.

These days, the clan members participating in cultivation were selected individually and assigned to Shirou's team, forming a project group. Even Old Tang, who usually had nothing to do but play StarCraft, eagerly joined as an assistant.

As for the results so far, none of the project members who completed Magic Circuit creation generated as much magical energy as Shirou—which was within expectations.

But Old Tang surprised everyone. The magical energy output from his circuits was terrifyingly immense, almost inhuman.