Chapter 651: Return

Tang Zhao was startled, frowned, and said, "You say join where? The Great Wei?"

The Great Wei, my foot; isn't that just the Turtle Bandits?

To dare to speak of it so brazenly—he has no self-awareness of being a wanted criminal at all.

The moment the Dazai saw his expression, he knew that he understood the situation of the Great Wei, and that it was definitely not with good intentions. His expression remained calm, and he took out tea to have a sip.

As he drank, he saw countless silhouettes outside the windows and doors simultaneously raise their hands, performing the action of "drinking tea."

This action alone would be fine, but with so many people drinking tea together, uniform and synchronized, like a group of "mirror images," it was incredibly chilling. Tang Zhao was shaken, his complexion changing slightly.

He never would have imagined that "I drink, so they all drink" was actually meant literally.

This was absolute intimidation; the Dazai was showing off his methods.

But at the same time, this also confirmed that the shadows outside the doors and windows were created by the Dazai, rather than him actually bringing a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.

Someone with a sharp mind would have guessed this person's Sword Intent by now.

However, Tang Zhao truly did not have the heart for this; his whole being was focused on the sword about to come out of the furnace.

Knowing full well that he resisted his faction, the Dazai still said with composure, "How about it? Although my Great Wei is like a dragon hiding in the abyss, its power cannot be underestimated, and it is thriving and getting better every day. I know that young people like you all want to achieve great things, but the Imperial Court is now so rotten, the upper echelons are occupying positions without doing their jobs, the lower echelons are living in misery—what opportunities are there to speak of? On the contrary, my Great Wei is about to have a dragon flying in the sky; the merit of following the dragon at this time is the merit of a lifetime. Once the cause is achieved in the future, everyone's prospects will be limitless."

As for so-called prospects, the first is worldly wealth, the second is one's own realm. The former is easy to obtain, the latter is hard to come by, yet my Great Wei can help you with both. Take that Jinwu Sword, for example; regardless of whether you are willing to wield it, in my Great Wei, it is yours. You decide who the next Dongjun will be. My Great Wei will endorse you, and no one in the world will dare to disagree. If you want to engage in Sword Casting, all the famous swords in the world will come from your hands; if you want to cultivate, the future of becoming a Sword Hero or Sword Immortal is also promising."

He actually did not spend much effort to win Tang Zhao over; these arguments were all standard templates, no different from those used on others. It was said to be "courtesy first, force later," but in reality, the "courtesy" was just for show, mainly to pave the way for the "force" that followed.

However, the Dazai was eloquent and had an extraordinary bearing; even this perfunctory attempt to persuade him to surrender was delivered smoothly, his tone sincere, as if the pie he was drawing was fragrant, piping hot, and right before his eyes.

In his view, this young man would certainly not agree immediately, but having heard it, he would inevitably be left with an impression. Once he used thunderous means to capture him later and added intimidation, the youth would think of the previous promises, his will to resist would waver, and he would develop the thought that "surrender is also acceptable." Then, he would reiterate the conditions, not reducing them, perhaps even adding appropriate incentives, and he would surely be able to make the youth go with the flow or even accept it with gratitude.

This was the method of "bestowing grace and wielding power."

The Dazai had always been very skilled at this. He waited for Tang Zhao to show disdain or retort sharply—these were the standard reactions of hot-blooded youths—and after he patiently persuaded him a few more times, he could then turn hostile. Once he turned hostile, he would inevitably adopt an overwhelming stance, making him feel despair toward his strength and unable to harbor any thoughts of resistance again.

Young people have an especially strong tendency to admire strength; what they hate, they hate intensely, and what they worship, they worship intensely. As long as he could make him feel awe, he would be very easy to train in the future.

Who would have known that after waiting, Tang Zhao neither became disdainful nor was he tempted and trying to pretend to be indifferent; instead, he became somewhat...

Drowsy?

He looked very tired, as if he were about to fall asleep at any moment.

The Dazai was suddenly a bit displeased, but he still did not show it, instead saying with a tone of concern, "Sword Casting must be tiring."

Tang Zhao barely managed to pull himself together and said, "Yes, Sword Casting is indeed very tiring. These days I haven't slept or rested, and no one has helped... but it's almost over. The Sword Casting is about to succeed. Jinwu Dianxia will return soon to take the Jinwu Sword, and when the time comes, the sword will cleave Wangliang Mountain, and naturally, all of this will end. When the great task is accomplished, I will have a good sleep. By the way, what were you saying just now? I'm too sleepy, I didn't really hear."

With him being so nonchalant, seemingly perfunctory and evasive, the Dazai suddenly laughed: "Is that so? The two 'soons' you mentioned, I'm afraid neither will come to pass. For instance, Jinwu Dianxia will return soon..."

He shook his head slightly and said, "I come from the outside, so I'm afraid I know more than you. Not only can Jinwu Dianxia not enter immediately, but whether he can even enter at all is an unknown. The strength of the Wangliang outside has surged, and they have the momentum to sweep everything away."

Tang Zhao was shaken, his sleepiness vanished instantly, and he immediately laughed: "Why must you be an alarmist? If Jinwu Dianxia had any trouble, you would have been buried with me in the Yingyuan long ago; how could you be here fishing in troubled waters?"

The Dazai said, "It is precisely because I want to do something before this place vanishes into smoke that I have come to persuade you. If you come with me, I can lead you to safety; otherwise, once the Jinwu is defeated, it will be too late to leave."

"As for this second 'soon,' you say the Jinwu Sword will be out of the furnace soon—I don't think so. I'm afraid it will take at least an hour or more."

Tang Zhao's expression really changed slightly, and he blurted out, "You know Sword Casting?"

The Dazai smiled: "You could say I don't, and you could say I do. When I was young, I was the Chief Superintendent of the Zhuijianjian of the Great Wei, managing quite a few Sword Smiths; I have seen plenty of Sword Casting. By the way, you know Longyuan, right? I was their direct superior."

Longyuan... it really has been a long time since I heard that name; they were indeed from the official background of the previous dynasty.

"Being a Chief Superintendent certainly doesn't require knowing how to cast a sword, but if one couldn't judge when a sword would come out of the furnace, wouldn't one just be waiting to be fooled by the people below?"

"I just observed from the outside that the sword has already largely taken shape, but the outermost layer has not yet solidified after all. Saying it will take another hour is an understatement."

"So I am not in a hurry. Can I not see that you are stalling for time? It doesn't matter; you can make small talk, take naps, tell stories, and try your best to stall, but how long can you stall like this? Since I have a plan in mind, how long will I play along with you? I could even accompany you for half an hour, and when you think there is hope, I will strike you a heavy blow, but what would be the point of that?"

He smiled slightly and asked in a tone of certainty: "Since it has been exposed, you are also a man of standing, shouldn't you give up those little tricks? Do you intend to be sensible and surrender, or will you make a Death Struggle?"

Tang Zhao gritted his teeth and laughed: "You are right, it does need an hour. I didn't expect to meet an expert, but I..." He said this, his face gradually turning pale, and he suddenly leaned backward, hurriedly steadying himself against the table.

The Dazai first thought he was trying to pull another small trick, that he would even use such a cliché tactic as faking illness, but he suddenly sensed something was wrong. Tang Zhao was sweating profusely, his breathing becoming rapid; it didn't look like he was faking it. Could it be that he had some underlying ailment?

Could it be that such a young genius was actually a weakling?

That wasn't impossible; looking at this youth's physique, he wasn't sturdy, so he might have been born with an illness. But if he were scared into illness by himself, such a spineless character would have limited achievements in the future.

He made a move to support him, but Tang Zhao suddenly shouted: "Don't touch me!"

The Dazai didn't touch him then; in any case, he was only being stubborn for this moment, and he would never be able to be stubborn in front of him again.

Tang Zhao then backed away several steps, leaning against the wall all the way, putting a few steps of distance between himself and the Dazai. But for their level of strength, this distance was laughable; one step would be enough to reach him.

He finally laughed: "Sorry, I'm not a weakling; I'm just too tired. I have never been this tired before. Just a moment ago, I almost thought I couldn't hold on."

"If you want to ask me why I am so tired, it is naturally because..."

Having said this, he leaned back abruptly!

Boom!

With that lean, he exerted force from where he stood, the fierce power directly shattering the wall!

The wall crumbled, and he immediately burst through the wall to the outside; behind the wall was the raging furnace!

Just now, because of the design of the wall, the Dazai's line of sight was blocked, and he could not observe the situation inside the furnace. At this moment, the wall was broken through, and he saw a vast expanse of light and flame behind it. Although that flame was fire, it was the color of Sunlight, dazzling and eye-catching. Looking through the window was one thing, but suddenly breaking through the wall to face the light and flame directly, even the Dazai could not help but squint his eyes.

Squinting his eyes, he saw the youth pouncing toward the sword in the fire like a moth to a flame.

Wait...

That sword shouldn't be finished yet; is he actually trying to pull up the seedlings to help them grow?

A sword is not even as good as a seedling; it won't look taller for a moment just because it's pulled early. Even if it were taken out a moment early, it would fail because the surface layer would disintegrate. Would a Sword Smith not understand this principle?

And... how is his speed...

Tang Zhao's speed was truly incredible, so fast that the Dazai hadn't even finished thinking this thought; it was truly faster than thought itself.

So fast that in the Dazai's eyes, Tang Zhao's figure was a blur, so fast that even though a thought flashed through his mind, he had no time to grasp it.

Until he saw the youth seemingly reach out and grab the sword in the furnace, and then pull it out!

Radiance shot out in all directions!

The Dazai had lived for hundreds of years, and he was certain he had never seen such dazzling light!

The light brought by the appearance of the Jinwu was something he had never seen before, but in just a moment, an even more intense radiance emerged here.

Moreover, the light of the Jinwu is a kind of "existence," while the light here is "being born"!

Countless rays of light sprouted before his eyes, ten thousand paths of golden light, Shine in all directions; a sun was rising before his eyes.

Aside from the rising sun, where else in the world could such a birth of light exist?

Danger!

As the intense light invaded his body, the Dazai retreated without hesitation; while calling back countless common people to block this potentially fatal light for him, a sudden realization dawned in his heart:

This is a success, right?

The Jinwu Sword has actually been forged!

But how is that possible? There was clearly still one hour left!

Did he misjudge it? Has his judgment declined after not observing Sword Casting for many years?

Or could it be...

At the same time, inside and outside the sea of light of the Jinwu, several Sword Immortals simultaneously sensed the arrival of the light; compared to the Dazai, they could confirm the significance of that light even more. Among these few, some were joyful, some were hateful, and others had complex feelings, but they all knew—

The Jinwu Sword, returns!