Chapter 113: Greed Grows Like Wild Weeds!

"Do you not trust the old man?"

Han Song frowned and said sternly.

"Forgive me, Old Man Han."

Chen Mu bowed slightly, "I will leave once the weapons have melted."

"You…"

"Old Man Han, please calm down," Guan Xingce hurriedly urged, "Young Master Nie is just being cautious. Our villa only forges and provides services. If you melt the weapons first, won't everything be fine?"

"Thank you, Old Man Han," Chen Mu bowed again.

"Hmph~"

Han Song coldly snorted and turned away from Chen Mu.

The next instant, he swept his hand sharply—a forceless power surged, snatching the twin swords from the forge platform and hurling them into the roaring earthfire furnace.

Hu-hong~

The furnace fire instantly turned wild, engulfing the two spirit swords and their scabbards, melting them rapidly.

Chen Mu stared without blinking.

When the two swords had fully melted into molten iron, he bowed to Han Song, "The rest is in your hands, Old Man Han."

Saying this, he turned and left.

Guan Xingce followed closely behind.

…

"What a pity."

As soon as Chen Mu and Guan Xingce left, Han Song sighed softly, gazing at the molten iron flowing into the mold's blade slots, and shook his head slightly.

The next moment, he picked up his specialized iron hammer, waited for the molten iron to take shape into a blade blank, then used tweezers to lift it out and transfer it to the forge platform, raising his hammer to strike.

Ding~ Ding~ Ding~

In the scorching sword-forging chamber, a rhythmic sound began to ring out.

Each strike of Han Song's hammer seemed to land precisely on an invisible node.

The process was excruciatingly slow and mentally exhausting; sweat poured down Han Song's brow, his temples bulging with veins.

Two full days passed, and the blade blank was ninety percent reshaped.

At this point, Han Song took the Kun Tian Stone and threw it into the furnace fire, where it melted into liquid over the course of three quarters of an hour.

He then transferred the liquid and poured it over the blade blank.

Zi—!

The two energies collided, unleashing waves of energy; the entire blade blank glowed brightly.

Seeing this, Han Song held his breath and raised his hammer again.

Ding~ Ding~ Ding~!

The forging chamber rang again with crisp, clear sounds.

Han Song's arms bare, he hammered, quenched, and awakened the spirit—each step perfected, not a single error allowed.

Finally, at dawn on the third day, a longsword fully took shape: sleek and streamlined, its blade etched with faint crimson patterns and a clear azure glow, with a single starlike speck slowly rotating at its core.

At the very instant the final quenching step completed, the blade suddenly hummed on its own, releasing a pulse that made all the ordinary iron blanks piled in the chamber vibrate and buzz.

"This is…"

Han Song's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the now-cooled longsword.

He carefully sensed the blade—tough yet restrained, sharp yet profound.

"A mid-grade spirit sword? It reached mid-grade peak?"

Han Song stared at the sword, his hands trembling slightly with excitement.

He had originally estimated that preserving the original material's properties and successfully fusing the Kun Tian Stone would be a miracle if it reached lower-grade peak—never in his wildest dreams had he imagined such an incredible transformation!

"The materials of those two swords must have been extraordinary—reforged with earthfire and my skill, they produced this miracle!"

Han Song was ecstatic, gripping the sword and caressing its blade repeatedly, as if gazing upon his most precious treasure.

"Hahahaha! Heaven favors me—I've forged such a divine weapon!"

…

Outside the forging chamber.

"It's done."

Hearing the commotion, Guan Xingce bowed to Chen Mu, "Young Master Nie, Old Man Han has completed the forging. Let's go in and take a look."

"Alright," Chen Mu nodded and followed Guan Xingce into the forging chamber.

After waiting three days, it was finally here.

The two entered the forging chamber.

"Hah! You've come at the perfect time—come, see my new creation."

Han Song held up the sword, beaming at Chen Mu and Guan Xingce, "What do you think? Surprised?"

"This is… mid-grade?" Chen Mu examined the sword, astonished.

"Yes, mid-grade—and mid-grade peak!"

Han Song laughed heartily, "Hah! Happy? I'm surprised too. Didn't expect it to reach mid-grade peak when I finished the final step."

"That's thanks to Old Man Han's Gao Chao!"

Chen Mu bowed.

A lower-grade spirit weapon, reforged, had undergone a qualitative transformation.

This wasn't just two becoming one.

Among them, Han Hao's craftsmanship, Kun Tianshi's timing of integration, and finally luck were all needed for success.

In any case, this time was indeed a small pleasant surprise.

"Congratulations, Young Hero Nie! Han Lao's craftsmanship did not disappoint you, did it?"

Guan Xingce's face was similarly piled with smiles, but deep in the depths of his eyes, a flash of greed that was hard to conceal swept past.

A mid-grade spirit sword!

Although Hundred Blades Shanzhuang was famous for sword-forging, over several decades they had only forged two mid-grade spirit swords.

Those two spirit swords were still commissioned by Innate late-stage experts.

This third one…

Guan Xingce quietly shifted his gaze away.

"Of course not. Nie is deeply impressed by Han Lao's craftsmanship."

Chen Mu cupped his fists again in salute toward Han Hao. "Many thanks, Han Lao."

"Haha, it was merely a fortunate coincidence on this old man's part."

Han Hao laughed heartily and handed the long sword in his hand, along with its matching scabbard, to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu took it and sheathed the sword.

Afterward, he expressed thanks once more before taking his leave.

Guan Xingce saw him all the way to the manor's gate.

……

Watching Chen Mu's retreating back, the smile on Guan Xingce's face vanished completely.

He paced back and forth on the spot, his gaze flickering uncertainly.

"A mid-grade spirit sword… two lower-grade spirit weapons he won't let anyone see… that boy must still have secrets on him…"

Guan Xingce muttered to himself, growing more and more unwilling the more he thought. "A mere loose cultivator — what virtue or ability does he have to possess a mid-grade spirit sword? Our Hundred Blades Shanzhuang toils at sword-forging, yet earns only the barest pittance…"

Greed grew wildly like wild grass.

He suddenly stopped pacing, a flash of vicious ruthlessness crossing his eyes. "Absolutely cannot just let him walk away like this!"

He swiftly summoned a trusted confidant and instructed in a low voice, "Prepare horses immediately. I must personally make a trip to Iron Palm Gate!"

……

Iron Palm Gate was renowned for its fierce, forceful palm techniques and its expertise in body tempering, and its overall strength was on par with Hundred Blades Shanzhuang.

In the great hall, Iron Palm Gate's gate master Tie Xiangtong listened to the purpose of Guan Xingce's visit. His cattail-leaf-fan-sized palm rubbed his chin, and a glint flickered in his eyes. "Brother Guan, you mean to say that boy has One Mid-Grade 【Weapon】 spirit sword, several Kun Tianshi, and tens of thousands of taels in banknotes on him? And he's merely a loose cultivator with no sect or faction?"

"Absolutely true!"

Guan Xingce lowered his voice. "That sword was forged by our manor's Han Lao himself — there can be no mistake! The value of a mid-grade spirit sword, Brother Tie should be well aware of. As for that boy, although he is also at the Innate Realm, he's at most the Second Stage of Heaven. You and I joining forces, plus the elite disciples from our gates, we can certainly take him down! Whatever treasures we obtain, we split fifty-fifty — how about it?"

Tie Xiangtong was tempted.

One Mid-Grade 【Weapon】 spirit sword alone was enough to raise Iron Palm Gate's overall strength by one tier! Let alone the Kun Tianshi as well.

He deliberated for a moment, then suddenly slapped the armrest of his seat. "Done! When do we make our move? Where do we make our move?"

A cold, sinister smile appeared on Guan Xingce's face. "He hasn't been gone long — he must pass through Tiger King Ridge. That place is rarely visited by people; it's the perfect spot to make our move! There's no time to delay. Let's gather our men immediately and go set up an ambush!"

"Good!"

Two palms clasped firmly together.