Chapter 139: Introduction to the Weapon-Forging Method

The Pingjiang Grand Canal surged magnificently, rolling eastward, truly like a great dragon winding its way.

A small skiff drifted atop the rushing river, following the current, yet remarkably steady.

"Merging ten thousand waters into one channel, connecting the hidden currents of a hundred streams — the Pingjiang Grand Canal is truly the foremost spectacle of the Dayun."

On the wooden boat, Jing Jing Shuhu sat cross-legged, gazing into the distance at the long river, and sighed with feeling:

"To see it again after forty years, still so magnificent."

He very much wanted to drift downstream, to see the scenery along the way, to see that Wang Wang Yangdahai.

He glanced at his senior brother, who hadn't left the valley in forty years and had been sighing endlessly since coming out, and Lei Lei Jingchuan said expressionlessly:

"So long as Su Su Wanxiong lives, Zhe Long Mansion will know no peace, and the attitude of that Zhen Wutang is also unsettling."

"The imperial court builds ten thousand temples, the Xieshen Sect worships ten thousand gods — between the two there have always been countless threads of connection. What's so strange about that?"

Jing Jing Shuhu tugged at the corner of his mouth: "A fine world, and the Great Ancestor was willing to share it, but his descendants may not be…"

"Unfilial descendants."

Lei Lei Jingchuan sighed; he spoke of the Dayun imperial house, yet there was unavoidably a touch of self-deprecating mockery in his tone.

When Dayun was first founded, the Divine Armament Valley had been entitled to claim a whole prefecture as its fief, yet now…

"It's not that the descendants are unfilial — it's that we are unfilial. That branch has done far too well compared to us."

Jing Jing Shuhu enjoyed the river breeze on his face, and even felt like finding a fishing rod:

"Whether filial or not, what does it matter? It's just that the Valley Master is wholly devoted to reviving the mountain gate. In my humble opinion, isn't land equivalent to one prefecture enough to feed us all?"

"Those who don't scheme for a prefecture, how can they scheme for one?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan shook his head, not in agreement, yet with no intention of arguing further, and said with a touch of worry:

"Let's hope the Valley Master's trip to Pinggou goes smoothly…"

"Hmph! That Han Han Chuijun acts wildly, never considers the consequences. If he really killed 'Qi Jin Gang' of Qianjun Cave…"

Jing Jing Shuhu gave a cold laugh:

"Then we'll have to prepare to face the Huai Long Palace's accountability demands and the joint army of the three great sects."

"You can still laugh?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's brow furrowed deeply.

Divine Armament Valley dominated one prefecture and radiated influence over three, its power immense — but the three great sects were also thousand-year-old sects, brimming with experts.

Especially Sanyuan Wu and Qianjun Cave, which had produced quite a number of experts over the past few decades.

"What's wrong with this old man laughing? With my mastery of the Weapon-Forging Method, which sect under heaven wouldn't treat me as an honored guest?"

"Hold your tongue!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's expression changed drastically, both shocked and angry:

"You've been acting strangely everywhere since coming down the mountain this time — what exactly happened?!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan stared hard at him, his heart filled with suspicion and alarm. After this trip down the mountain, he didn't know what had gotten into his senior brother.

"Let's return to Huishan."

Jing Jing Shuhu closed his eyes, somewhat listless: "Wait until they come back, then we'll talk."

"You…"

Lei Lei Jingchuan still wanted to ask, but Jing Jing Shuhu gave a casual slap; surging inner Qi pushed the river water, and the small boat shot away.

……

Not many days after Fang Fang Bao Luo returned, the true disciples and inner disciples such as Ba Ba Wanli also returned one after another.

Weapon-Forging Valley immediately grew lively, with disciples coming in an endless stream to repair their weapons.

Li Yuan took on a great heap of jobs at the lowest prices.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammers rang on without pause, sparks flying in all directions.

Around Li Yuan's forging station, weapons awaiting repair were piled high, many of them badly damaged.

Among them, Ba Ba Wanli's Drum-Sounding Mixed-Gold Hammer was the most eye-catching; besides it, there was no lack of famous weapons either — blades, spears, swords, staves, all kinds.

Repairing a famous weapon easily cost a hundred taels or several hundred taels of silver. Li Yuan, who took on jobs at half price, naturally accepted a pile of weapons,

as well as the unfriendly gazes of quite a few master smiths in the forging yard.

"Weapon repair is quite a big business too."

Hammer rising, hammer falling, Li Yuan was quite pleased within.

These jobs taken at half price,

could earn at least two or three thousand taels of silver — roughly equivalent to one Liu Shi Jin Zhong red dragon fish.

Of course, for him, silver was secondary; these weapons themselves held great value for him.

They could be used to alter his root bone and to practice Qi Ta Wu Gong.

The one flaw was that he could not hold onto them long-term.

"Hoo!"

Adjusting his breathing, Li Yuan swept aside the finished Blazing Fire Fine Iron and fetched iron stock of the corresponding material to forge, preparing for the repair of the blades.

And to practiceihak the hand while he was at it.

"The essence of the Weapon-Forging Hammering Method lies in 'listening,' or rather 'sensing.' According to the book, one must use the heart to sense the breathing of different iron stocks, so as to fuse two kinds of iron completely…"

"In my understanding, this is 'alloy'!"

Li Yuan's mind was crystal clear; his comprehension naturally surpassed that of most of the illiterates in the yard.

He was now right on the threshold of entry.

What he lacked was…

"Qi and blood, internal force."

The difference between the Weapon-Casting Method and ordinary forging lies not only in the alloy, but more importantly in the use of Qi and blood and internal force.

The distinction between a renowned weapon and a top-grade blade also lies here.

Only a blade that can conduct Qi and blood and internal force can be called a renowned weapon.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan adjusted his breathing, his arms flushed red, and as he hammered, he consciously guided the blood Qi pouring in.

This process was very slow; each hammer strike could transmit only a little blood Qi and internal force, and only when the blood Qi thoroughly penetrated the iron stock could one be considered to have entered the Weapon-Casting Method.

The advantage of his dragon-shaped root bone was also reflected when cultivating the Weapon-Casting Method—his Qi and blood were vigorous, his recovery astonishing, so he could last longer.

At the same time, as he hammered the iron stock, he felt as if his own body was being tempered; his blood Qi and internal force seemed to be growing more solid.

"The Weapon-Casting Mi Fa truly lives up to its name!"

Li Yuan felt the benefits.

The Weapon-Casting Method was not merely a way of smithing, but also a brilliant unorthodox Wu Gong, no lower in rank than the Soldier's Path Combat Hammer.

It purified blood Qi and internal force, while seemingly also tempering the body—a horizontal-training Gong Fa.

Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew among the hammer shadows; Li Yuan was immersed in it, his Qi and blood and internal force coursing through his whole body, pouring into the hammer, and pounding the iron stock.

At a certain moment, he felt the hammer's tone change, emitting a clear "ting!", and he sensed the iron stock's "breathing."

"I've entered the door!"

……

"What on earth happened?"

In the underground passage, Lei Lei Jingchuan suddenly stopped Jing Jing Shuhu, frowning deeply: "After decades of friendship between us, can't you even tell me?"

"Do you still remember, more than forty years ago, someone came seeking Master to cast a weapon?"

Jing Jing Shuhu asked.

"Wan Chuan?" Lei Lei Jingchuan blurted out, his eyes shocked and angry.

More than forty years ago, a middle-aged man had come from another Daozhou, seeking his master to forge a weapon.

Because the man was generous and brought extremely rare iron stock, his master finally agreed and forged a top-grade renowned weapon.

Yet the man mocked and shamed the sect, and before everyone, personally forged a divine weapon—a single strike broke the top-grade renowned weapon his master had made.

"It's him!"

Jing Jing Shuhu nodded.

"He still dares to come!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan was shocked and furious.

"Smithing is like a martial contest; what can you do when your skill is inferior?"

Jing Jing Shuhu sighed.

His junior brother was still so easy to fool, but precisely because of that, there were some things he could not say.

"That Wan Chuan claimed to be from a branch that did not follow when the ancestor relocated the mountain gate fourteen hundred years ago…"

Recalling his master who had died of depression, Lei Lei Jingchuan paced back and forth, unable to contain himself:

"They've come to Zhe Long Mansion? Where?!"

When the ancestor of Divine Weapon Valley chose to relocate, abandoning a whole prefecture for one mansion,

there were branches that did not wish to follow.

Over a thousand years, many of these branches had vanished, but one or two still remained, having merely joined other sects.

"What good is finding them? Can you forge a divine weapon?"

Jing Jing Shuhu stepped around him and walked down underground.

Lei Lei Jingchuan was left speechless, yet unable to retort, and could only stamp his foot in bitter resentment.

Even he could fail when forging a top-grade blade, let alone a divine weapon…

"Come on, let's see how that boy is learning."

Jing Jing Shuhu said: "Wan Chuan has brought quite a fine seedling this time; I hear that in less than three months, he has already entered the Weapon-Casting Method."

"Entered in three months?!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan drew a sharp breath.

It had taken him more than three years to enter the door back then, and that was with years of smithing experience.

"A whole prefecture naturally has more talented people than a single mansion; it's not strange."

Jing Jing Shuhu said, his steps suddenly pausing.

"Hm?!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan strode to catch up, also slightly stunned, hearing a clear "ting!".

"That sound?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's eyes went wide; before he could say anything, where was Jing Jing Shuhu's shadow?

……

"It's done!"

Before the forging platform, Li Yuan was drenched in sweat, but his eyes shone brightly.

As this hammer fell, he seemed to truly hear this iron ingot's "breathing," even its rhythm.

The Weapon-Casting Method, entered.

A smith who has reached this step is actually already qualified to forge renowned weapons—only the success rate might be very low.

Li Yuan set down his forging hammer and wiped the sweat from his brow, only then noticing that the entire forging yard had fallen silent—nearly everyone was staring at him.

Envy, shock, doubt, jealousy…

The intensity of those emotions startled even Li Yuan.

"Y-you've entered the threshold of the Weapon-Casting Art?!"

Someone's hammer clattered to the ground—he was a short, lean but wiry middle-aged man, a disciple of Lei Lei Jingchuan, named Niu Jun.

He was one of only three disciples beneath the three Grand Elders of Weapon-Casting Valley to have undergone bodily transformation.

"It's only been a few days, and he's already entered the threshold!"

"Impossible—I studied for six years and never entered the threshold, how could he?"

"In just a few days, could he even have finished reading the books?!"

……

After a brief hush, an uproar broke out.

For a crowd of blacksmiths, nothing could be more shocking than this; compared to this news, Ding Zhi's death was utterly trivial.

"You…"

Niu Jun was the first to dart over, heedless of the iron stock still glowing red-hot, and grabbed it with his bare hands.

"It's open, really open!"

Niu Jun was beyond words with shock.

He knew that a prodigy with dragon-shaped bone structure learned martial arts swiftly—one year for them equaled three to five for an ordinary person, seven or eight at most—but this was the Weapon-Casting Art, this was smithing!

He had expected that dragon-shaped bone structure might offer some advantage, but never imagined that advantage would reach such a degree!

"Is there really a born blacksmith in this world?!"

The gathered blacksmiths all fell silent—iron ingots do not lie, open is open, not open is not open.

No matter how much they doubted, this piece of iron was one they had personally watched Li Yuan forge…

"First Elder, Third Elder!"

Li Yuan, sharp-eyed, spotted Jing Jing Shuhu and the other man at the edge of the crowd at a glance; only then did the rest of the blacksmiths turn and bow in succession.

"Entered the threshold in one month?"

The veins on Jing Jing Shuhu's hands, clasped behind his back, bulged, yet his face was calm and composed:

"Mm, not bad."