Chapter 75: Frost-Startling

Clang… clang… clang… clang… clang…

In the silent cave, the resonant sound of hammering iron lasted an entire night.

No one in the camp showed signs of impatience; all stared fixedly at Xia Hong, at the blade blank he was striking, their faces filled with anticipation.

Only when the sky was about to lighten did Xia Chuan snap out of his trance and hurriedly order someone to seal the cave entrance again.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Xia Hong’s hammering also neared its end.

Clang… clang… clang…

After the final three strikes, Xia Hong dropped the polishing stone in his hand, lifted his head, and took a deep breath—only then did he realize his entire body was soaked, his arms swollen, and every joint throbbing with sharp pain.

“Phew… this is way more exhausting than chopping trees!”

Xia Hong sighed inwardly, rubbed his arms, and used a wooden clamp to lift the now-formed blade, gazing at the ten delicate silver-white forging lines along its side. Though his face was weary, the astonishment in his eyes could not be hidden.

“According to Luo Ming, ten-fold forging is just the most basic weapon, requiring at least three Foundation Establishment cultivators to alternate and hammer all night—but with this polishing stone, I did it alone!”

Xia Hong’s astonishment wasn’t without reason; before attempting it last night, he hadn’t expected immediate success—he’d merely wanted to see how many forging lines he could produce.

But as each forging line appeared, he realized his limit hadn’t been reached, so he gritted his teeth and kept going, determined to find just how far he could push himself.

Unexpectedly, he succeeded on the very first try—producing a ten-fold weapon.

And all by himself!

Not quite.

Xia Hong turned to look at the polishing stone on the ground and immediately realized the true hero was it.

At Luo Ge’s camp, Luo Ming had let Xia Hong try their iron hammer—it weighed over two thousand jin; even a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t swing it continuously all night.

But this polishing stone, given by the system, felt weightless in his hand—yet when striking the blade blank, it showed no deformation, and the speed at which the blade formed far surpassed Luo Ge’s iron hammer.

“The only flaw is that the iron blank melted from the ore can only be worked by someone at Foundation Establishment—Woodcutting Realm cultivators simply can’t suppress the blank’s recoil. So for now, only I can forge.”

Xia Hong shook his head, a look of helplessness crossing his face.

Luo Ming had previously said only Foundation Establishment cultivators could forge iron; Xia Hong had assumed the problem lay in the heavy hammer—two thousand jin was already hard to swing continuously, let alone for a Woodcutting Realm cultivator.

But this polishing stone had no weight—couldn’t Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and other Woodcutting Realm cultivators use it too?

Yet when he struck the first blow last night, Xia Hong understood: Luo Ming’s statement wasn’t about the tool’s weight—it was about the iron blank itself.

Due to its material, once the iron blank melted from the ore was subjected to external force, it generated immense recoil; without over ten thousand jin of strength, one couldn’t suppress that recoil.

Last night, Yuan Cheng had eagerly volunteered to help; Xia Hong couldn’t refuse, so he let him try—Yuan Cheng swung once and was instantly thrown back, nearly dislocating his shoulder.

While Xia Hong pondered, the rest of the camp had already gathered around, staring at the blade blank in his hands, their expressions brimming with excitement.

“Leader, why is the blade still so dark and dull?”

Hearing Yuan Cheng’s confusion, Xia Hong smiled; just as he opened his mouth to answer, Yue Feng and Xia Chuan arrived with a large wooden barrel full of water.

Xia Hong signaled everyone to step back, then tossed the dark, dull blade directly into the water.

Hssssssss…

The water in the barrel instantly boiled violently, thick smoke rising continuously; after more than ten breaths, the sound gradually faded and the smoke slowly dissipated.

When the smoke vanished completely, the blade inside the barrel had transformed entirely.

The once dark, dull blade was now a brilliant silver-white.

Even submerged in water, everyone could sense the cold gleam radiating from the blade; the ten silver forging lines along its side were clearly visible, adding an air of mystery.

Xia Hong, too, felt a surge of excitement. He pulled the blade from the barrel, took the leather from Xia Chuan, and carefully wiped off every drop of water, then fitted the pre-prepared handle.

Finally, a complete greatsword—missing only its final detail—appeared in Xia Hong’s hands, and before the eyes of everyone in the Great Xia camp.

“Blade length: one meter three, total length with handle: one meter five, spine thickness: two centimeters, net weight: six hundred and twenty jin.”

Hearing Xia Hong’s precise measurements, everyone’s eyes burned with desire, their faces alight with excitement as they stared at the greatsword.

“Don’t rush—we’re not done yet!”

Xia Hong noticed their gazes and signaled them to wait; calmly, he picked up the polishing stone beside him.

The final step: sharpening the edge.

This step was much easier—and Xia Hong didn’t need to do it himself.

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others, who had been watching impatiently, came over without being called, urging Xia Hong to rest while they took turns sharpening the blade, thoroughly engrossed.

Perhaps because this longsword was Great Xia’s first weapon, Xia Chuan and the others sharpened it with extraordinary care, replacing the water in the barrel again and again.

Xia Hong came over several times, thinking it was already sharp enough, but they insisted it wasn’t—“Just a little more!”—so Xia Hong, helpless, let them continue.

Just as Xia Hong had hammered through the night, the rhythmic hissing of sharpening lasted over four hours, only ceasing when night fell.

“Leader, it’s done! Come and test it!”

As night arrived, the cave entrance had been opened; Xia Hong was practicing fist forms outside when he heard the call inside and hurried back.

Xia Chuan and the nine others had been sharpening for four hours; their bodies were soaked, yet their faces remained flushed with excitement, showing no trace of fatigue.

Xia Hong took the longsword, gazed at its razor-sharp edge, and felt a flicker of excitement in his eyes; he walked over to the pile of wood.

Everyone knew he was about to test the blade and eagerly followed behind.

Xia Hong selected a Zhu Shuang tree over three meters thick, raised the longsword, and swung it with roughly half his strength.

Crack…

The razor-sharp blade sliced cleanly through the wood, cutting more than half a meter deep.

And when he withdrew the blade, the edge showed no damage or curling.

Xia Hong exhaled deeply, turned to face the others, raised the longsword, and smiled broadly.

“Great Xia’s first iron weapon—completed!”

At Xia Hong’s words, everyone in the camp erupted in cheers.

“Hahaha! It’s really done—we can forge weapons now!”

“As long as we have coal, we’ll always have weapons.”

“From now on, not just Luo Ge’s camp—Great Xia can forge weapons too!”

“With weapons, we won’t fear the Cold Beasts anymore—hahaha!”

“Leader, mighty!”

………………

“Leader, this is our camp’s first weapon forged by our own hands—name it!”

The cheers were cut short by Xia Chuan’s suggestion.

All eyes turned to Xia Hong, waiting for him to name the blade.

Hearing the suggestion, Xia Hong paused in surprise.

According to Luo Ming, a ten-fold weapon could be forged by any Foundation Establishment cultivator—this blade was, in truth, just a basic iron tool; any camp with a Foundation Establishment cultivator could forge it, so its value wasn’t truly precious.

But as Xia Chuan said, this was Great Xia’s first weapon, forged by their own hands—it held extraordinary significance for Great Xia, and even if only for commemoration, it deserved a name.

Xia Hong lowered his head, thought for a moment, then raised the blade slightly, drawing a thin line of cold light that shot toward the direction of Hongmu Ridge outside the cave.

“Jing Han!”

(End of Chapter)