Chapter 81: 78 Sword Smith

78 Sword Smith

Upon hearing "Sword Smith," Tang Zhao said, "Isn't it Talisman Sword Master? How did it become Sword Smith again?"

For a moment, Xue Jiejie's expression was somewhat awkward, but she quickly said, "I am a Talisman Sword Master; being a Sword Smith is the goal of a Talisman Sword Master, just as a Sword Guest's goal is to become a Sword Immortal."

She thought about it herself, felt it was a bit of an exaggeration, and said, "At least comparable to a Sword Hero. But a true Sword Smith master is in no way inferior to a Sword Immortal. Every Sword Smith grows from being a Talisman Sword Master."

Speaking of Sword Heroes, Tang Zhao remembered Ping Jiangqiu, who was hiding in the Time Jar throwing out notes, and thought: A Sword Hero? Not very impressive either.

Xue Jiejie said, "Everyone wants to find their own sword, wants to be a Sword Guest, a Sword Immortal. But where do swords come from? Do they just fall from the sky? Of course not; it is we... it is the Sword Smiths who forge them."

"The sky only drops Sword Seeds. You have naturally heard of Sword Seeds, but you certainly haven't seen one. They are treasures of profound mystery. Ordinary people cannot preserve them, cannot touch them, cannot even see or grasp them. It is the Sword Smith who collects them, tests their direction, and then, based on the results, selects various Treasures from Demon Caves, Dong Tian Fu Di, or beyond the realm to combine with them, using profound Sword Casting Art and countless Rune Formulas to refine them, preserve their spirituality, increase their power, and forge them into individual swords."

"If the ancestors hadn't explored and developed the Sword Casting Art, this world, this common people, would have long been destroyed by the Yin Calamity and the invasion of the Heavenly Demons. The Sword Smith came before the Sword Guest. Therefore, they are Sword Guests, and we are Sword Masters, a generation above them."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood. He had heard Ping Jiangqiu's description, but Ping Jiangqiu spoke of sword matters from the perspective of a Sword Guest, which was different from the perspective of a Sword Smith. He said, "Then Talisman Sword Master..."

Xue Jiejie said, "A Talisman Sword Master is a Sword Master who has mastered Rune Formulas. With swords, the world has peerless experts, but the outer-realm battlefield is so vast, the Demon Caves are so numerous, and there are sporadic disasters like Phantoms and Fierce Beasts—how could relying only on Sword Guests be enough? Therefore, the Old State Preceptor created Rune Formulas. By transcribing Supernatural Powers, Sword Momentum, Sword Techniques, and Sword Arts through Rune Formulas, they created array tools, Dharma Artifacts, Art Tools, and even Spirit Treasures. Only then did professions like the Heavy Swordsman appear in the world. Only then could ordinary people contend with demons and phantoms, and only then could this world maintain stability."

"The Sword Smiths of those years were all gifted with extraordinary talent. Apart from the Sword Casting Art, they had no other aids, relying on powerful Inspiration and precious materials to force the forging of swords, which was extremely rare. However, after the existence of Rune Formulas, children with high Inspiration and talent began by learning from Rune Formulas, first becoming Talisman Sword Masters, learning the five schools of Rune Formulas, and then slowly becoming Sword Smiths, having a clear path just like Sword Guests. Even if they don't have the opportunity to forge swords, being able to create powerful Spirit Treasures, or even becoming treasures that guard the nation or Dong Tian, is the peak of the peaks."

Tang Zhao asked, "Such experts must be very rare, right?"

Xue Jiejie said, "Experts are rare everywhere. It is said: Human Realm Swordsman, Worldly Sword Hero, Heavenly Sword Immortal. You have certainly seen a Sword Guest, but have you seen a Sword Immortal? Have you seen a Sword Hero?"

I have seen one.

There was no need to say this, so Tang Zhao asked, "Then Master Xue... is your father a Sword Smith?"

Xue Jiejie said, "My father certainly has the ability to forge swords, though opportunities are rare... but a Sword Smith doesn't just forge swords; there is also the recasting of old swords, the reforging of Broken Swords, the rejuvenation of Ancient Swords... In Yunzhou, you won't find a better Sword Smith than him."

Tang Zhao understood; those who know, know.

Xue Jiejie said, "Seedlings for Sword Smiths are not easy to find. The requirements for Inspiration are much higher than for Sword Guests. Sword Guests can still be trained through acquired practice, but Sword Smiths are all innate. Furthermore, their Spirit must be strong, and their comprehension must be good. People always think that those with high Inspiration are smart, but that is not the case; many children with strong Inspiration are quite dull-witted. One needs them to be smart, to have strong Inspiration, to be able to focus, to have perseverance, to be willing to study, to be eager to learn, and preferably to have profound knowledge and impeccable aesthetics. One cannot imagine how much energy it takes to cultivate them."

"Take my Zhuoyu Villa, for example; it is the premier Talisman Sword Master sect in Yunzhou. If we talk about disciples, old and young, there are about a hundred or so. But those who can enter the inner sanctum do not exceed the number of fingers on one hand. In the next generation, the young disciples my father recognizes as truly talented do not exceed ten. The rest are all Loose Practitioners, attendants, or registered disciples."

Speaking of this, Xue Jiejie curled her lip. The reason Zhuoyu Villa had few disciples, besides the difficulty of finding geniuses, was that many geniuses' first choice was to be a Sword Guest. And those registered disciples were mostly minor Loose Practitioners who had no other opportunities and settled for being Talisman Sword Masters. These disciples, let alone not having such great talent, even if they did, would not be cultivated with full effort. If one day they had the chance to become a Sword Guest, they would surely run away.

However, this could not be said; if said, it would seem as if Talisman Sword Masters were truly inferior to Sword Guests.

"I can say that my father is not truly satisfied with the disciples currently in the sect. Including me, and including... He has always wanted to cultivate a true Sword Smith, using half his life's hard work and the many years of savings of Zhuoyu Villa to cultivate an expert capable of influencing the National Fortune and even leading an era."

"It is not just my father who hopes to cultivate a successor; all of Yunzhou is looking forward to it, hoping that there will be a true local Sword Smith. Only then can Yunzhou stand on equal footing with the Central Plains, and local Loose Practitioners won't have to flock south to seek opportunities and be looked down upon as border barbarians, but instead stay in their hometown to show their skills. At that time, the Sword Smith could even become the spiritual leader of Yunzhou's Sword Guests."

By the time she said this, her intention was already overflowing in her words; she was one step away from patting Tang Zhao and saying, "It's decided, it's you."

Tang Zhao was also somewhat moved by what she said; after all, he also had a dream of running a big group, making big money, and inheriting Chen Zong's legacy. Being a Talisman Sword Master seemed more capable of realizing this dream of his.

But he also had a Sword Guest dream; that was the purest dream he had buried in his heart since childhood, one he had fantasized about countless times—calling it a complex would not be an exaggeration.

With the two dreams placed together, he still leaned toward being a Sword Guest.

Xue Jiejie saw his expression and generally guessed a thing or two. In fact, the choices of teenagers were all about the same; they all wanted to be Sword Guests. Zhuoyu Villa was, of course, proud; usually, such brats who looked at the bowl while eating from the basin were swept out the door, and even if they begged to return in the future, they would only be treated as registered disciples. But who told Tang Zhao to be unusual?

She continued, "The ancestor once said that the Sword Smith and the Sword Guest are originally one body; the most perfect Sword Guest must hold a sword they forged themselves. Why do Sword Guests often lose their Sword Heart, hitting bottlenecks or retreating from the sword, or even perishing together with the sword and turning into a 'power sword'? They were mismatched from the start, forced together, and in the end, they drifted apart and fell into ruin. Many people say a Sword Guest and their sword are like a married couple, but where are there so many fairy-tale lovers? A true sword should be one's own child. No, it should be oneself, another self shaped by one's own hands—matching in appearance and matching in spirit; that is what is called the unity of person and sword."

Tang Zhao felt this metaphor was quite terrifying.

However, he asked even more excitedly, "So, does that mean one can actually have both?"

Xue Jiejie let out an "uh," and said, "Yes. But there is a distinction between primary and secondary. You are still young, and making a decision is very important. It's not just what you learn, but where you learn it. Is it—"

She pointed at the painting, "Learning in a fairy cave, or learning in that dull, bloody, and oppressive training camp?"

"Hmm..."

Tang Zhao sighed and said, "I also..."

Xue Jiejie cut him off and said, "It's okay, you certainly can't decide such a big decision in a moment. Just stay here with me for a few days."

Tang Zhao said, "Ah? I still have things to do."

Xue Jiejie said, "I know. Isn't it just a few days? Whatever you want to practice these days, do it here; eat well and sleep well, everything is here. When the time comes, I will accompany you to the Demon Cave."

Tang Zhao said, "But when the time comes, there is still preparatory work..."

Xue Jiejie said, "Let the people from the Land Inspection Division come here to find you. Anyway, you are a surprise force; what kind of surprise force starts from the main camp? At least you have to ambush in advance and kill from the flank to be called a surprise force."

Tang Zhao sighed and said, "I still want to go back. Jiejie, didn't you say that being a Sword Smith requires focus? For me, focusing on preparing for the Demon Cave comes first. Staying here with you, my heart is not settled, so how can I focus on the task at hand? If I am not focused and go to the battlefield with a divided mind, I might die before achieving success, and then no future will be of any use. I think you Sword Smiths wouldn't want such a restless person either."

Xue Jiejie looked at him quietly and realized that this gentle, easygoing child was actually soft on the outside and firm on the inside, with his own strong opinions.

After a while, she gave a light huff and said, "If you don't want to, then forget it. I didn't want outsiders staying here anyway. You wait; when they finish dealing with the Wangliang, they will come to pick you up, and by the way, pay your food expenses. Am I raising children for them for nothing?"

Tang Zhao promised and smiled, "Thank you, Jiejie."

Xue Jiejie was a bit unhappy when she left, but she didn't show it afterward; instead, she brought him a few introductory books to read.

Although Tang Zhao was interested in Rune Formulas, with only a few days left until the arrival of the Demon Cave, he felt very guilty spending his energy on such vast and smoke-like knowledge, and he couldn't get into it.

Strange to say, when he got that book from the cat's mouth, it was considered stealing a look, but he seized the opportunity to read it with focus. Now that it was open and he was told to read it at will, he was restless and couldn't read it. It seems he is a bit of a masochist.

But without reading this book, he had nothing else to do. Xue Jiejie was right; the Land Inspection Division was definitely catching the Wangliang and wouldn't come to pick him up for a while. That thing was extremely powerful; if not caught, once it spread, it would probably be even more terrifying than the Demon Cave.

So he had to do the other thing he had wanted to do before.

Coming outside, he took out that Dharma Artifact again.

Lihuo Sword, said to be the name of the Ancient Sword.

When Tang Zhao first grabbed that Dharma Artifact, he didn't know if he felt the intimacy himself, but the Glasses also rapidly displayed a large amount of information, but at that time he was only focused on experiencing the Sword Technique and didn't pay attention.

Grabbing the sword again, the text from before appeared on the Glasses once more.

"Detected Dharma Artifact similar to Yanggu Sword (Sword Manual page 21), compatibility 75%, do you wish to simulate holding?"

At that time, Tang Zhao chose "No."

He could hold this sword as he pleased, without help.

What if he chose yes?

78 Sword Smith