Chapter 650: Watching the Spectacle

Viewed from the outside, the Sword Furnace is a blast furnace, resembling chimneys stacked together; in reality, there is a small room inside. In the room, there are fire pits, sword stands, bottles and jars, and a youth casting a sword.

Tang Zhao has been casting a sword here day and night for nearly a month.

Although only two or three days have passed in the Waijie, he has truly been in front of the Sword Furnace for a month.

For this past month, the one thing he has fought for with all his heart and soul is this sword casting; not only has he not been distracted by news from the Waijie, but he has also had almost no time to rest, maintaining only the most basic necessities to sustain life.

This world is entirely light, and even Tang Zhao's Sword Intent is Sunlight; his body still hasn't adapted to being scorched under the light for twelve double-hours a day, making it hard to rest peacefully, and the Sword Furnace cannot be left unattended. Relying on his cultivation being quite good, he stayed in front of the Sword Furnace for the whole month, and his rest consisted only of dozing off for a while before getting back up to cast the sword.

Even when he first cast a sword, and to save face for Xue Xianyun, he cast two swords at once, it wasn't this exhausting. After all, they were two experts back then, able to help each other and take turns resting. Now, there is only him here.

Before, when it wasn't so critical, he would ask Jinwu to watch the furnace for him when he rested; now that it has reached the most crucial moment, even if Jinwu wanted to help him watch it, he wouldn't feel at ease. If he were to ruin the sword by even a slight margin, not to mention how it would delay the great undertaking, Tang Zhao could not bear to see his own heart's blood go down the drain.

Just as he said: it's just a matter of risking everything.

Because it was so exhausting, he had only kept one string taut, focusing all his attention on that sword, to the point that when Jinwu left in a hurry at the critical moment, Tang Zhao didn't even notice.

Before Jinwu left, it didn't say anything like, "There is danger, you must be careful!" It only reminded him, "I am going out." It thought that any danger it could resolve itself naturally didn't require Tang Zhao's attention, and if it couldn't resolve it, then Tang Zhao's attention would be useless anyway.

Furthermore, it knew Tang Zhao was very clever; hearing that it had gone out, he would naturally perceive it, and it figured he would prepare to avoid danger. If there were a method of relocation, he should also have it prepared.

However, at this moment, Tang Zhao was completely immersed, and though he heard what Jinwu said, it was like wind passing by his ears; he heard it but didn't take it to heart, so naturally, there was no talk of preparation.

At this time, he finally reached the most critical step, forming seals with his hands, waiting for the sword body of the Jinwu Sword to solidify.

Once it solidifies, the New Golden Crow Sword will be born.

At this point, what he must pay attention to is that the Yuan Qi must not be cut off; the rest of the technical matters are of little consequence. Therefore, his mind relaxed slightly.

Upon this relaxation, he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart and abruptly turned his head to look at the doorway.

Standing at the doorway, unbeknownst to him, was a strange old man. The old man was seven feet tall, with white hair and beard, a dignified appearance, and a bearing that combined the aura of a scholar with the nobility of a high-ranking official, looking like a high official who had risen through the imperial examinations.

It was exactly the kind of person Tang Zhao's father had most wanted Tang Zhao to become back then.

If this were at Tang Zhao's own home and such an old man came to visit, even if he were a total stranger or even an enemy, Tang Zhao would certainly have politely invited him inside to receive him.

But where is this?

This is the Sword Furnace, the deepest part of the Sword Momentum protected by the light of Jinwu, completely isolated from the Waijie; how could there possibly be a visitor?

Tang Zhao almost jumped up to be on full alert, but with the Sword Furnace behind him, he could not act rashly.

He desperately restrained himself, telling himself: I must stay calm! Everything happens for a reason; no matter how strange the visitor is, he didn't just fall from the sky, so there is no need to be alarmed.

Rather than being jittery, putting on a brave front, and revealing flaws, it is better to control movement with stillness. Staying calm also helps with thinking.

So he forced himself to calm down; the Yuan Qi in his hands did not cease, but his body turned around naturally, placing his hand that was forming the seal behind his back, and said indifferently, "I wonder who you are? Where do you come from?"

Seeing him calm down so quickly, the Dazai was rather appreciative; such a steady young man is rare indeed. He said, "Young man, don't be impatient. I have been invited to observe the Jinwu Sword. Is the Jinwu Sword about to come out of the furnace?"

Tang Zhao frowned and said, "No..."

He wanted to say it was impossible, that it was impossible for anyone to come specifically to watch the birth of the Jinwu Sword, let alone be invited.

Immediately after, he realized—

This old scoundrel is testing him!

It is highly likely he cannot be certain this sword is the Jinwu Sword, so he deliberately used a certain tone to mention the Jinwu Sword, and emphasized that he was invited; if Tang Zhao directly questioned this point, it would be tantamount to admitting this is the Jinwu Sword, and he would have obtained a definitive answer.

Testing him right from the start—he is undoubtedly an enemy!

Tang Zhao smiled bitterly in his heart: Why at this time of all times?

The Jinwu Sword will be out of the furnace in a moment or three, but it hasn't come out yet; it is still at a point where it could fall short of success. Is this person here for a "black tiger steals the heart" strike?

Could it be that Jinwu Dianxia has been defeated, allowing someone to invade his home, and now they want to steal the sword too?

No... although this person puts on a great show of force, he is clearly not a Sword Immortal and is definitely no match for Jinwu Dianxia.

Perhaps he is a subordinate of Wangliang, like that person Gui Rong, or perhaps...

A third-party burglar who broke in to steal the house!

Because of the information lag, Tang Zhao did not know of someone like the Dazai, and since he didn't know, he couldn't make the connection. But his direction of guessing was correct.

If he is a petty thief, especially this kind of well-dressed thief, perhaps he should focus on stalling; as long as he can win some time, perhaps he can drag it out until Jinwu comes to the rescue?

Tang Zhao's goal is to stall; he cannot fight while bearing the responsibility of the Jinwu Sword. His sword is hidden under his clothes, undiscovered, and he has no way to fight. Even though he is confident he can fight any opponent below a Sword Immortal.

He can only stall, stall until Jinwu comes to help, or stall until the Jinwu Sword is reforged; at that time, he can temporarily wield this legendary sword and come back to settle the score.

When the time comes to pick up the Jinwu Sword, it will be like holding that Kun Sword in Jianzhou—invincible; how could miscellaneous people stand against it?

What army of turtle bandits, what East Pillar of State...

Wait, East Pillar of State?

In an instant, Tang Zhao seemed to have grasped something and guessed a little of this person's identity.

But what is urgent now is not who the other party is, but how to stall for time.

To stall as much as possible, he certainly cannot just muddle through; the other party has ill intentions and is naturally guarding against him.

He didn't expect that just as he finished casting the sword, he would encounter such a difficult problem; it seems the situation inside and outside must be intricate and complex. Risking everything is not just about this small matter of rushing the deadline.

He realized it on his end, and the Dazai on the other side also knew he had realized it, becoming even more appreciative, thinking: The young people of our next two generations don't have this kind of steadiness; most are trash like An Wang. It's a pity; these kinds of young people don't like to defect to Great Wei, and I haven't succeeded in persuading them before, so I can only kill them all. Hopefully, I can succeed this time.

At this moment, he smiled and said, "Don't you believe it? Such a grand event as the Jinwu Sword seeing the light of day again, it is normal for people to observe it. And I am not the only one. Look."

He used his thumb to point behind himself; behind him was the door.

Tang Zhao shifted his gaze backward and saw shadows overlapping at the doorway, one after another, a dense mass. Although the shadows were not very clear, there seemed to be men, women, old, and young; it was truly a crowd of living people, seemingly peeking into the room.

It was as if the inside was a stage, and a large group of people were surrounding it to watch the excitement.

Damn it, where did all these people come from?!

Tang Zhao only felt his heart crawl; looking at the windows again, there were individual shadows outside the windows too, some people even had their faces pressed against the glass, looking as if their features were somewhat distorted.

Mother of...

This doesn't look like a crowd of onlookers watching the fun anymore; it's like bumping into something unclean in the middle of the night, following him all the way, as if they are about to break through the window at any moment.

He is surrounded by these things!

Tang Zhao had always thought of himself as a rare materialist in this world, but now he feels he isn't materialist enough; being stared at like this really sends a chill from the top of his head down to his soles, his whole body going numb. Even the raging flames behind him don't feel very warm.

The Dazai smiled slightly; although Tang Zhao masked it well, he could see that the junior was already flustered. His use of the crowd to apply pressure and disturb the other's state of mind had already taken effect, so he instead said with a slow smile, "Since the guest has arrived, why not pour me a cup of tea?"

Tang Zhao said, "Pour for you..."

Having said only two words, he felt his voice become hoarse and rather cowardly, so he stopped immediately, adjusted his voice, and said, "Pour tea for you, or pour tea for all of you?"

The Dazai smiled and said, "Pour for me. Pouring for me is pouring for everyone. What, do you not even have tea here?"

Tang Zhao looked at him, full of doubt, wanting to see if he truly intended to drink tea.

The Dazai's expression was calm and relaxed, as if he were truly a guest. He lacked neither depth of character nor cultivation; although he was always stretched thin in front of a Sword Immortal, he was extremely adept at dealing with these younger-generation subordinates.

For example, he knew full well that destruction was approaching outside; although there was a buffer of a few hours, his calculations were not precise, and one could say he was also in a state of urgency, yet he insisted on projecting a state of leisure, as if he were not the least bit afraid of wasting time.

He was relaxed and at ease, which made Tang Zhao involuntarily begin to grow tense. Added to that were the countless heads peering in from outside; under such a heavy siege, the smarter one was, the more one would feel like sitting on pins and needles, no matter how well one masked it.

Sure enough, Tang Zhao's breathing became noticeably rapid, yet he still appeared fairly composed, saying word by word, "I will pour you tea." As he spoke, he actually left the furnace, went to a small table to the side, took a teapot and tea leaves from the Time Jar, and poured water to brew tea.

The table in the Sword Furnace was very cramped, located right by the fire furnace, yet it was relatively backlit, with even the flames mostly blocked by the furnace body; it was only for Tang Zhao to lie on for a short nap. There was only one chair, so Tang Zhao took another chair out of the Time Jar, let the Dazai sit down, and poured him tea.

Throughout the entire process, Tang Zhao was a bit nervous at the start, but gradually his movements relaxed, and by the end, even if it wasn't as smooth as flowing water, it was not far off from a daily household routine.

The Dazai sighed repeatedly and said, "Truly a good seedling. Young man, where are you currently employed?"

Tang Zhao savored the "official air" in those words, becoming all the more certain of his identity, and said, "I wouldn't call it employment; I haven't finished my apprenticeship yet, I'm just learning Sword Casting from my master."

The Dazai nodded and said, "No matter how long it takes to learn a craft, there will come a day when you finish your apprenticeship. Since that is the case, why not join my Great Wei and strive for a future?"