Chapter 119: 114 Sword Washing

"Lord Xing, have some tea."

Tang Zhao placed the tea in front of Xing Ji. Xing Ji took a sip with a smile and said, "Good tea. Zhuoyu Villa is a place of outstanding people and divine spirits. It has only been a day, but it feels like Azhao has grown taller."

Xue Yeyu also smiled and said, "Since you are here, Father has naturally accepted you. In that case, can I call you Ninth Junior Brother?"

Once a ranking was established, one became a True Jade Disciple. Zhuoyu Villa had plenty of disciples, but only eight could receive personal instruction from Xue Xianyun. If Tang Zhao came, he would naturally be ranked ninth.

Xue Xianyun snorted, "It's still far too early for that."

Xue Yeyu had long known her father's temperament and continued to smile, "Dad, you are too good at ordering people around. Ninth Junior Brother just arrived, and you didn't even let him rest; why did you make him do the work of serving tea and pouring water?"

Xue Xianyun kept a straight face and said, "I wish I could order you around, but would you even move a muscle? From morning till night, you won't lift a needle or pick up a thread, you won't even pick up an oil bottle if it tips over, you only learn Rune Formulas to figure out how to be lazy, and once you learn to be lazy, you don't even learn the Rune Formulas... and the moment I say something to you, you pull a long face..."

Xue Yeyu's face indeed crumpled. If not for the presence of others, she would have jumped up by now. She turned her face away and stopped speaking.

Xue Xianyun dismissed his daughter and said to Xing Ji, "What kind of thankless, miserable job has the Land Inspection Division dumped on me this time?"

Xing Ji smiled slightly. He had met Xue Xianyun several times and knew well that this man's tongue was unforgiving. Even so, among the Sword Smiths the Land Inspection Division could contact, he was definitely considered easy to talk to; at the very least, he only made sarcastic remarks and didn't actually make things difficult.

He then took a Sword Box from the jar he carried with him and said, "This is a sword our division seized from the Holy Moon Sect. It has been defiled. I would like it cleaned, and it would be best if the remnants of the Sword Image could be washed away as well. Furthermore, if you see any taboo Yin-Sha materials within it, feel free to replace or recast them."

Xue Xianyun gave Tang Zhao a look. Tang Zhao was stunned, but immediately guessed he was meant to take the sword. He stepped forward, took the Sword Box, carried it to Xue Xianyun, and opened the box for him to examine.

As the Sword Box opened, Tang Zhao felt it looked familiar and suddenly realized this was the "Bu De" sword belonging to that monk, Ku Yi, of the Holy Moon Sect.

Xue Xianyun took one look and was full of disdain. He said, "A sword of the Art Realm—what kind of traces could it leave behind? If the Sword Image was never manifested, then it never existed in this world and would have dissipated along with the Sword Guest long ago. This doesn't even count as refurbishing an old sword; at most, it's just Sword Washing. And you say this isn't a job nobody else wants? Your Land Inspection Division just dug up Xue Laiyi's old home; surely you obtained a new Sword Seed, so why not bring it to me for Sword Casting?"

Xing Ji naturally wouldn't say it was because you have never successfully cast one, so of course I can't give it to you. He said, "The Imperial Court has regulations; Sword Casting can only be done in Jianzhou and by the Four Great Overseers..."

Xue Xianyun said dismissively, "Don't give me that nonsense. What year is this? Still reading from that old almanac? Do you think there is little private Sword Casting going on? Give it three years, five at most, and I will surely succeed in my casting. We shall see how your Lord begs me then!"

Xing Ji bowed and said, "My Lord wishes you success in your casting, and when the time comes, the Sword Casting Grand Ceremony will surely have generous gifts to celebrate. Additionally, this time we would like to order some Dharma Artifacts and a batch of Art Tools..."

Afterward, Xing Ji discussed business with Xue Xianyun. It seemed they had cooperated many times; they were familiar with the process, and no waves were made. They talked until evening. Seeing that it was getting late, Xue Yeyu prepared dinner, taking some from her pre-made meals; the taste was more or less the same. Afterward, Xue Xianyun said, "You will stay in the guest room reserved for your Land Inspection Division. Do you want A Xiao to lead you there?"

Xing Ji glanced at the Talisman Puppet, which was grinning eerily, and waved his hand, "I cannot handle that. Let Azhao take me."

Tang Zhao was about to agree when he saw Xue Xianyun squinting at the water clock. He immediately understood, bowed, and said, "My apologies, Lord, but it is time for this disciple to study."

Xue Xianyun nodded in satisfaction. Xing Ji found it amusing and said, "Then this subordinate will not disturb the master and disciple in your studies; I know the way myself." He took his leave.

Xue Yeyu also took the opportunity to leave, clearly uninterested in working overtime at night. Xue Xianyun said, "Go wash your hands and follow me to inspect this sword."

The two went to Xue Xianyun's workshop, which was right next to the study. Before entering, Tang Zhao washed his hands and changed into a white fine-cloth robe.

The workshop was very quiet, with four white walls. Various Artifice Lamps were embedded in the walls; when turned on, it was as bright as day, with no shadows under the light. In the center sat a long table and a special Sword Rack.

Xue Xianyun placed the Bu De sword on the special Sword Rack and turned on the lamps. All four walls lit up; although the treasure sword was dull, it became a bit brighter under the light.

"Tell me, what is the first skill a Sword Smith must learn?"

Tang Zhao racked his brains, recalled his previous words, and said, "Perception? Getting to know a sword."

Xue Xianyun gave a hum and said, "Correct. Sword Casting begins with knowing the sword. You know that children with good inspiration are born with the ability to feel fluctuations related to swords, and they can even be drawn into the Sword Intent. For example, if the Sword Intent is fire, you feel as if you are being burned. This feeling is very intuitive and convenient, but it is also crude and dangerous."

Tang Zhao nodded. Before he even knew what a sword was, he had felt the fluctuations of Art Tools. When Xing Ji gave him a protective Art Tool, he felt as if he had hit a wall; that was the feeling of being drawn in.

Xue Xianyun said, "We Sword Smiths have a systematic method of perception. But first, one must suppress one's own outward-flowing inspiration; there must be restraint before there can be release. I will teach you the methods of suppressing and constraining inspiration later. Now that we have a rare example here, let us first look at the ways of knowing a sword. Simply put, it is Look, Listen, Ask, and Touch."

He then explained in detail the various methods of observing and perceiving a sword. Look and Listen were methods of using Mental Power, while Ask and Touch required interaction with the sword. These studies were very complex, and just giving a rough overview took an entire hour.

Xue Xianyun spoke smoothly and naturally didn't care about the "only half an hour a day" agreement, and Tang Zhao certainly wouldn't remind him.

As he listened, Tang Zhao suddenly had an epiphany—this method of perceiving a sword, wasn't it just the Knock Sword of the Glasses?

Compared to the straightforwardness of Knock Sword, this set of perception methods was much more cumbersome, but the information gained was also very comprehensive, far beyond what that chart could summarize. One excelled in simplicity and clarity, the other in completeness and a comprehensive grasp of the whole. Tang Zhao learned and memorized as he went, comparing it to Ask Sword, and felt he had gained a great deal.

The two taught and learned until late at night, and the progress on the Sword Washing was still zero.

Xue Xianyun said, "This won't do. I can't rely on one sword to teach you everything; are we not going to do business? We start Sword Washing tomorrow. I will slow down a little, but I won't stop to wait for you. You should watch more and ask more." Tang Zhao agreed.

That night, Tang Zhao stayed in a small room next to the workshop.

The next morning, Xue Xianyun began a complete inspection of the Bu De sword. Then he measured the range affected by the Yin-Sha energy. Next, he prepared the medicinal water, readied the tools, and began the Sword Washing.

The important part of Sword Washing is washing the materials within; the Sword Seed itself cannot and must not be washed. This sword was only at the Art Realm, meaning the Sword Guest's influence stopped at the first Soil Layer. Sword Washing mainly involved washing the first layer of soil materials, which was easy to do. Xue Xianyun broke apart the Rune Formulas connecting the various soil materials, and uniform cracks appeared on the sword; it was no longer a single whole.

He then dismantled the parts of the materials that needed to be washed and refined, cleaned them piece by piece using various methods, and then put them back together, reconnecting them with Rune Formulas.

They worked for three days, from morning till night, without stopping. Tang Zhao carefully assisted, but there were almost no opportunities for him to handle the work himself; he only did some very simple preparatory work and was still so busy he couldn't catch his breath. It wasn't until late on the third night that the entire sword was washed and placed in special medicinal water to sit.

Xue Xianyun nodded and said, "This Sword Washing was very lucky; the sword was not damaged, and the materials are all intact. No new materials were used, otherwise, three days wouldn't even be enough to produce suitable materials. Furthermore, the Rune Formulas used for the connections were all from existing, ready-made Rune Formula pages, which saved even more time."

Tang Zhao nodded. The owner of this sword was someone he had killed using the Xiezhi Sword. The characteristic of the Xiezhi Sword is that it only harms the guilty; the sword itself is innocent, so it was preserved, and the damage was not great. Many Sword Guests' attacks are indiscriminate, damaging both the sword and the Sword Guest. After a battle, a sword might end up as a Broken Sword or Fragments. Never mind the loser, even the winner's sword requires some maintenance.

"Furthermore, the Sword Guest of this sword had too low a realm, and their influence on the sword was limited. It disappeared once the Soil Layer was cleaned. A Sword Hero's sword would at least invade one layer deeper, and Water-Quality Materials are not as easy to separate and dismantle as soil materials. The most troublesome are swords with multiple Sword Intents; many Sword Intents are stolen and count as impurities. Basically, you have to strip the sword down until only the Sword Seed remains, which is no different from recasting."

Speaking of this, he felt a sense of injustice in his heart and thought to himself: I have cast swords where I had to take out the Sword Seed and recast it several times; which time was not a success? How is this any different from Sword Casting? Why am I not considered a Sword Smith? The old fogies in Jianzhou are extremely pedantic; they insist I cast from scratch before they will acknowledge me. They are truly blind!

Tang Zhao nodded, feeling that the study of Sword Casting was unfathomable. Even the simplest work was incredibly complex. He felt dazzled just assisting on the side; every movement contained profound knowledge that required him to study it deeply.

Three years of diligent study, participating in Sword Casting—this task was a long and arduous journey.

Tang Zhao made up his mind to devote himself wholeheartedly and study hard.

He would strive to cast his own sword before the age of twenty!

After staying one more night, Tang Zhao finally walked out of Xue Xianyun's workshop.

After three days, when Tang Zhao saw the sunlight again, he felt a whiteness before his eyes and had to hide in a cool, shaded place for a long time before he recovered.

Xue Xianyun told him to bring Xing Ji over. Tang Zhao did not know the way, but Xue Xianyun would not let him say more and said, "The first time is strange, the second time is familiar; if you don't know the way, you'll know it after going once." He pushed him out.

Tang Zhao was already somewhat familiar with this teacher's unreasonable personality, so he had to ask A Xiao. A Xiao could only laugh "Hehe, hehe" and couldn't answer at all. He had to have it take a map and a compass. He first took a boat to the main pier and then transferred to the valley where the guests stayed.

Fortunately, his sense of direction was not bad, and the place was not extremely remote, so he actually found the guest house.

He saw that in front of the guest house, it was unexpectedly crowded. From afar, he saw a sea of heads. Tang Zhao had entered Gongyu Hall by water and hadn't seen a single shadow along the way; he hadn't realized there were so many people in Zhuoyu Villa.

Moreover, everyone gathered here had a piece of white jade hanging from their waist; they were official White Jade Disciples. The filler Green Jade Disciples and Moyu Disciples were not even counted.

Did Zhuoyu Villa actually have hundreds of White Jade Disciples?

These people were squeezed together, blocking the entrance completely. Tang Zhao couldn't squeeze in. As he looked back and forth, he actually saw a familiar figure.

He walked up and tapped the person, saying, "Senior Brother Li, what is going on here?"