On the evening of the third day, Qin Tiexin cave abode's desk was piled with a thick pile of paper.
The paper is rough yellow paper bought from the market, with uneven edges, and the ink is ordinary pine smoke ink. The paper is densely covered with words, some neat, some scrawled, and in some places there are simple drawings - the outline of the knife, the mark of the center of gravity, and the arc of the force trajectory.
Qin Tiexin sat in front of the case, holding the last one in his hand.
There are only three lines on the paper:
Move the center of gravity back seven points.
The blade thickness is increased by three centimeters.
He looked at it for a long time, then put down the paper, stood up and walked to the window. The outline of Luoling Peak outside the window darkened into a dark blue in the fading skylight.
Three days.
He didn't write anything on the first day. He just sat in the refining room and looked at Edgeless from early morning to sunset. He ate Grain Avoidance Pill when he was hungry, and drank cold water when he was thirsty. These years were passing through his mind. Every moment when holding the sword - the jerkiness when Ink City swings it for the first time in the blacksmith shop, the frustration when chopping Northern Di's heavy armor in the wind and snow in the north, the tremor when he collides with Zhou Chongshan in the ring.
The next day he started writing.
First, write down the feeling. The position of pressure on the tiger's mouth when holding the knife, the tense rhythm of the forearm muscles when swinging the knife, and the slight swelling of the shoulder blade when the knife is put away. The writing is trivial, one sentence here and there, and a piece of paper is quickly filled.
Then he went to Wu Zhen's yard.
Wu Zhen's yard is next door, separated by a green bamboo forest. When Qin Tiexin knocked on the door, Wu Zhen was playing with a few metal fragments on the stone table in the yard, and raised his head when he heard the sound.
"Can't figure it out?" Wu Zhen asked.
Qin Tiexin shook his head and handed over the paper in his hand.
Wu Zhen took it and looked at it under the afterglow of the setting sun. He looked at it for about a stick of incense and said nothing. He just put the paper on the stone table and tapped it somewhere with his fingers.
"Here," he said, "You wrote 'the blade trembled slightly when chopping'. Why?"
Qin Tiexin thought for a while, "The force cannot be transmitted to the tip of the knife."
"Why can't it be transmitted?"
"The center of gravity is too forward. The force starts from the waist, passes over the shoulders, and reaches the arms. By the time it reaches the handle of the knife, it is already weak by three points. The front half of the blade is heavy, and the back half is light. The force dissipates when it reaches the middle part."
Wu Zhen nodded, pulled out a new piece of paper from under the stone table, and drew a line with charcoal. A dot was placed in the middle of the line.
"This is the focus now." He moved a little further behind the point, "This is what you want."
Qin Tiexin looked at the line.
"Half an inch is not enough." He suddenly said.
Wu Zhen raised his eyes.
"At least seven points." Qin Tiexin pointed to the drawing, "I have calculated it. The knife is seven feet seven, and the center of gravity is two feet eight feet away from the handle. Move it seven points back, and the force can penetrate it."
Wu Zhen didn't answer immediately. He just picked up the charcoal and counted a few times on the paper. The numbers were small and he wrote slowly but steadily.
"Seven points..." he murmured, "The handle of the knife needs to be thickened, otherwise it won't be able to be held."
"Bold three points." Qin Tiexin said, "I have big hands."
Wu Zhen glanced at him, then lowered his head to calculate. The sun set completely, and lamps were lit in the courtyard, with candle flames dancing on the stone table.
After finishing the calculation, Wu Zhen pushed the paper over.
There are dense numbers on it: the estimated weight of the knife, the position of the center of gravity, the diameter of the handle, the thickness of the blade, the angle of the blade... and finally the total weight: 6,300 kilograms.
Qin Tiexin looked at the number and said nothing.
"Can you swallow it?" Wu Zhen asked.
"Try it."
Wu Zhen smiled. The smile was very shallow, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes widened. "As your master said, you should dare to try when you are young."
They stayed in the courtyard until late that night. Wu Zhen took out a stack of books from the house. Some were paper books with yellowed edges, and some were Jade Slip, with warm tentacles. They were all classics about weapon design, spiritual pattern nesting, and material properties. Qin Tiexin flipped through the pages and wrote down the ones that were useful.
On the third day, Qin Tiexin went to the "Power Measuring Pavilion" at the inner gate.
The force-measuring pavilion is next to the Cultivation Method Hall. It is a place for disciples to test their strength. The pavilion is empty, with three force-measuring piles standing in the center. The piles are engraved with runes, and there are stone plates next to them to display numbers.
The person on duty was a middle-aged deacon. When he saw Qin Tiexin coming in, he raised his eyelids and asked, "New here?"
"Hmm."
"Do you know the rules? Do five good deeds at a time and count by yourself after measuring them."
Qin Tiexin nodded, handed in the good work, and walked to the force measuring stake on the far left. The stake was chest high, with a concave palm print on the top. He stood still, took a deep breath, pressed the palm print with his right hand, swelled one arm, and began to exert force, and the runes slowly lit up.
The numbers on the stone plate began to beat: one thousand, two thousand, three thousand... The speed slowed down when it reached five thousand, and finally stopped at six thousand two hundred.
The deacon was taking a nap, but then he opened his eyes and took another look at Qin Tiexin.
Qin Tiexin Change to the left hand.
Five thousand eight hundred.
Then he took two steps back, pressed his hands on the top of the pile, and exerted force on his back.
The numbers soared: eight thousand, nine thousand, ten thousand... and finally stopped at eleven thousand five hundred.
The deacon sat up straight.
Qin Tiexin didn't stop. He adjusted his breathing, Dantian's breath sank, and his muscles tightened like a bowstring, and he exerted force again--
The numbers on the stone plate trembled and climbed up with difficulty: eleven thousand six, eleven thousand seven... When he reached eleven thousand nine hundred, the veins on his forehead popped out, and a low groan came from his throat.
Twelve thousand eight hundred kilograms, pure physical strength.
Stop.
Qin Tiexin let go, took two steps back, and gasped for air. Sweat dripped from his forehead and dripped on the floor tiles.
The deacon came over, looked at the stone plate, and then at Qin Tiexin: "For body training?"
"Hmm."
"Nine levels of body tempering?"
"Sixth floor."
The deacon was silent for a moment, took out a small notebook from his pocket, and jotted down a few strokes. "Name?"
"Qin Tiexin."
"Which one is first in the competition, Luoling Peak?"
"Hmm."
The deacon closed the book and patted him on the shoulder. "Good boy, if you have some strength, the sixth level is as good as the other people's ninth level."
Qin Tiexin nodded, wiped his sweat, and walked out of the force measuring pavilion.
The sun was shining brightly outside. He stood on the steps and looked at his hands - the palms were broad, the knuckles were thick, and the calluses on the palms and mouth were as thick as tree bark.
Twelve thousand eight hundred kilograms.
He remembered the current weight of Edgeless: four thousand kilograms. After recasting, it would be six thousand three kilograms. With the "Qianjun" spiritual pattern, it could be even heavier.
After leaving the Meili Pavilion, he did not return to cave abode, but instead went to the martial arts training ground on the mountainside.
The martial arts training ground was an open flat area with bluestone slabs on the ground and weapon racks standing on the edge. There were not many people at that time, only three or five disciples sparring in the distance.
Qin Tiexin took out the heavy sword forged during the Great Competition from Storage Bag.
The sword is four feet long, five and a half inches wide, and weighs one hundred and twenty kilograms. It is a low-grade double spirit pattern Law Artifact. It was hastily forged during the competition. It is a bit light for him, but the shape is thick and heavy, and it is barely usable.
He holds the sword and takes the stance.
Zhongyue sword technique.
The blade of the sword cut through the air, making a dull sound of breaking wind. The force rose from the soles of the feet, passed over the waist, turned around the shoulders, penetrated the arms, and finally reached the tip of the sword. But the sword body trembled slightly - it was still the same problem, the center of gravity.
He sheathed the sword, adjusted his grip, and tried again.
Once, twice, three times... Sweat soaked through the back of the clothes, leaving deep and shallow footprints on the bluestone. Disciples from a distance occasionally looked over, with surprise in their eyes, but no one came close.
After practicing until the sun turned to the west, Qin Tiexin put away his sword and sat down cross-legged.
He took out the short knife given by Luo Ling from Storage Bag.
The knife was two feet and five inches long, with a blade three fingers wide. It was dark green and golden and was made in one piece. He held the knife and did not swing it, but just felt that the arc of the handle fit the palm of his hand. The center of gravity was between the index finger and the middle finger. When he swung it, he could hardly feel the weight, but when he thrust out, all the force was sent to the tip of the knife.
Perfect.
Qin Tiexin looked over and over. The blade was engraved with an array of spiritual patterns, sharp, spiritual, armor-breaking, and regenerative. The patterns were extremely fine and intricate, but the movement was smooth and without any sluggishness. He remembered Luo Ling's words. "The weapon is made according to the person."
This knife was tailor-made for him on that day in Luoling. Every arc and every weight fit his muscles and bones and his strength-generating habits.
This is how Edgeless should be.
Qin Tiexin put away his sword, stood up and walked back. He did not go back to cave abode but went straight to Zhuxintang.
Luo Ling was not in the hall, so Qin Tiexin sat down on the stone steps at the door, took out a pen and paper from Storage Bag, and used the last daylight to draw pictures.
What he painted was spiritual patterns.
Edgeless's original spiritual pattern has been damaged due to fracture and needs to be re-engraved after recasting. He originally planned to engrave the original "Qianjun" and "Sturdy" first, but now he has changed his mind.
Three intertwined lines gradually appeared on the paper.
"Qianjun" is at the core, and the movement is solid, like a mountain stretching; "Toughness" is attached to the spine of the sword, as fine as a net; "Swallowing Spirit" is engraved at the junction of the blade and the handle, with strange lines, like a vortex.
This is what he saw while flipping through books in the past few days - an ancient auxiliary spirit pattern that can help Law Artifact slowly absorb the outside world Spiritual Qi and warm himself, but the effect is weaker than "Gathering Spirits".
In this competition, Qin Tiexin found that most opponents preferred long-range elemental Law Technique attacks against body refiners like him. Apart from using the Mountain Shaking Step to dodge, he would also use his body or Edgeless Hard-connected horizontally, the "Swallowing Spirit" spirit pattern can not only absorb Spiritual Qi, but also absorb part of the attack effect of Law Technique to a certain extent. There may be additional surprises for materials with swallowing properties like Edgeless.
By the time I finished painting, it was completely dark.
Luo Ling stood inside the door, holding a wine bottle in his hand. When he saw him, he raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"
Qin Tiexin Pass the drawing paper over.
Luo Ling took it and looked at it under the light. After looking at it for a while, she raised her head and said, "What do you think?"
"Hmm."
"The third one is...'Spirit Swallowing'? This spiritual pattern is very ordinary. Why did you choose it?"
Qin Tiexin explained his thoughts to Luo Ling.
Luo Ling nodded and made a few scratches on the paper with her finger. "The direction of the lines is interesting... But here," she pointed at the center of the vortex, "The energy nodes are too dense, and they are responsible for both the critical and the swallowing of spirits at the same time, so it is easy to collapse."
"I've thought about it," Qin Tiexin said, "Separate it with a 'buffer triangle'."
Luo Ling looked up at him, looked at him for a long time, and suddenly smiled, "Okay, I haven't been thinking about it these days."
She handed the paper back. "Any more questions?"
Qin Tiexin was silent for a moment. "I want to learn the power of "Diamond Hammer Fist" first."
Luo Ling raised her eyebrows. "Are you in a hurry?"
"This time Edgeless is recast, I want to try it."
"Do you have one-handed strength of 5,000 pounds?"
"Arrived"
"You can practice the first three moves first, they will be enough for you." She paused, "Remember, this boxing technique is both a martial art and a method of forging a hammer. Practicing boxing is like forging a weapon. You must know the landing point, strength, and intention of each punch."
Luo Ling stood under the lamp and looked at Qin Tiexin, with a rare serious look in her eyes:
"Think clearly?"
Qin Tiexin nodded.
"Hmm."
"Then come on, I'll give you a day to practice. The day after tomorrow, the fire will be ready for you in the Zhuxin Hall."
Qin Tiexin saluted, turned around and walked into the night.
Returning to cave abode, Qin Tiexin walked to the center of the refining room. Edgeless The broken blade lay there quietly, glowing with a matte black luster under the moonlight.
He sat down next to the knife and closed his eyes.
In my mind, the new Edgeless gradually took shape - seven feet and seven inches long, with the center of gravity two feet and three inches away from the handle. The blade swallowed part of the Hunyuan molten core and used the superimposed re-forging method. The blade weighed six thousand three hundred kilograms. The blade was re-opened and the edge was heavier. There were three spiritual patterns, Qianjun, Tenacity, and Spirit Swallowing, and the lines were interlaced like meridians.
He seemed to be able to hear the buzzing inside the blade, feel the touch of the handle against his palm, and see the arc of light cutting through the air when he swung it.
Qin Tiexin Open your eyes.
The moonlight poured in from the window and spread a silvery white on the floor tiles. He stretched out his hand and lightly touched the broken blade.
Cold, hard, silent.
But soon, it will be different.