Chapter 431
“Li Shaoxia, are you sure you want to participate in the Forging Conference?”
Huo Bingzi's voice broke the strange atmosphere in the room.
“Absolutely, please verify, Master Huo.”
“This is my quenching assistant, and this is my sorting assistant.”
Li Mo handed over the Xuan Tie token and glanced toward the entrance of the hall.
Hmm?
Didn’t Jiang Yu and that princess look all high and mighty just a moment ago?
Why are they leaving without saying a word?
Li Mo didn’t sense any overwhelming aura that would make people tremble in submission, so he turned back...
It was just that ice-cold girl!
“Ice-cold girl, one shouldn’t argue with a dog. We’ll just give them a good beating at the Qianlong Conference later.”
Li Mo took her hand and whispered in her ear.
“Mm.”
Feeling the warmth of his palm and the gentle drizzle at her ear, Ying Bing’s gaze turned cool again, even a bit... dazed?
“.....”
At this moment, the room fell silent.
Everyone wore different expressions, as if they had suddenly heard something impressive.
Zhong Zhenyue looked a bit worried. Li Mo planned to forge weapons himself, but Jiang Yu’s weapon master was Du Shengr, who had forged the legendary Tianren Divine Sword and was also Master Huo’s teacher.
If he sought Master Huo’s help, it might...
Weapons were too important for martial artists. Could he really compare his foundation to Jiang Yu’s?
This was in the imperial capital!
“What’s happening outside...”
Just then, Du Wufeng walked out of the quiet room, his eyes wide open as if he had seen a rare treasure.
What he saw were Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong.
“Ladies, would you allow this old man to forge swords for you?!”
“??”
.......
Outside, a dragon-shaped carriage flew over the bustling clouds of the imperial capital.
In the imperial capital, only members of the royal family could travel through the skies, a privilege granted by the Jiangshan Sheji Tu (Map of the Nation and its People) to the royal bloodline.
“Who is that woman? I must have her...”
Princess Yuyang suddenly realized that she had been thrown off balance by a country girl!
But before she could finish her thought, the fear from earlier returned.
“That’s the current third in the Qianlong rankings.”
Jiang Yu tapped his fingers on the table, a sudden guess rising in his mind.
Yesterday, there had been unusual movements in the Jiangshan Sheji Tu.
The head of the Guozijian (Imperial Academy) speculated that a supreme martial art had emerged, yet using the Jiangshan Sheji Tu yielded no results.
Could it be... her?
Jiang Yu’s heavy pupils had just failed to see through Ying Bing’s eyes, as if fireflies were competing with the bright moon!
He turned to the eunuch driving the carriage and said, “Eunuch, go to the Imperial Study and see His Majesty.”
“Yes.”
........
At the sword furnace.
Huo Bingzi asked in confusion, “Master, didn’t you agree to forge for the Crown Prince and Princess Yuyang...”
“Did I agree? I didn’t! If he has the ability, let him bring out the written agreement. He’s just being wishful; I only said I’d consider it.”
Du Wufeng, the renowned master craftsman, was starting to play tricks.
“No.”
Faced with the master craftsman’s request, Ying Bing shook her head, her eyes downcast and unmoved.
“Why?!”
Du Wufeng nearly pulled out his beard in frustration, “My sword-forging skills are unparalleled! There’s no one in the nine heavens or ten earths who can match me, and whether they can even breathe is debatable.”
“The sword I forge for you, once nurtured, could become a divine weapon.”
“Aren’t you participating in the Qianlong Conference? With such a sword, you’d surely soar to new heights!”
Ying Bing glanced at Li Mo and softly said, “I want to use his.”
“???”
Du Shengr turned red on the spot.
“Where did you come from, kid? I want to challenge you one-on-one to see whose sword-forging skills are better...”
At that moment, Huo Bingzi suddenly pulled his master aside and whispered a few words in his ear.
Old Huo still kept an eye on the Qianlong rankings.
He even had a bit of knowledge about “The Overbearing Empress Fell in Love with Me.”
“Oh, heh heh heh, I might have spoken a bit too loudly just now. Can you persuade her for me?”
Du Wufeng’s blush turned into a full-blown flush.
Li Mo: “......”
What on earth is going on here!
.....
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Chapter 479: I’m Not Following Traditional Forging Methods
“Why do you want to forge swords for them?”
Faced with Du Wufeng’s beaming face, Li Mo was utterly confused.
Du Shengr had just agreed to Jiang Yu’s request, and it seemed he was reluctantly on board. Why did he suddenly change his tune upon seeing Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong?
I must say, this old man changes his mind faster than I can blink; I almost didn’t catch up.
After a moment of silence, Du Wufeng lowered his gaze, seemingly grappling with a complex emotion he didn’t know how to express.
“A craftsman can only determine the starting point of a weapon, while the wielder decides its height.”
“The sword left by the Tianshan Ancestor is merely a wooden sword, yet it can carry an entire sword path, something even divine weapons struggle to reach. That’s the point.”
“No matter how powerful a divine weapon is, if it falls into the hands of a petty person, it will gradually lose its spirit.”
“People think the Tianren Divine Sword came from my hands, but that’s not true. What I forged back then was just a fine weapon; what truly made it a divine sword was Su Jun.”
“I reforged it time and again based on her sword path, which is how the divine sword was born.”
Li Mo began to understand Du Wufeng’s thoughts.
By helping the two forge weapons, he could also use Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong’s sword paths to reforge the blades.
In this process, Du Wufeng’s forging skills would have a chance to advance further.
Of course, it also depended on how far Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong would go in the end.
“I want a weapon forged by Master Du too.”
Zhong Zhenyue crossed his arms and sighed with envy. This meant that in the future, he would surely have a weapon tailored to his martial path, a weapon that could save his life.
Nothing could be more fitting than a divine craftsman customizing a weapon based on your martial arts.
But it seemed that both Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong weren’t very interested...
“I want one too, but my ancestor said I’m just destined to play with wooden swords in this lifetime.”
Xie Xuan pouted.
“What do you ladies think?” Du Wufeng asked again, filled with hope.
He had been stuck in the path of weapon forging for a long time.
If he could forge two divine weapons with his own hands, perhaps he would have a chance to reach the legendary pinnacle of a craftsman capable of forging heavenly artifacts.
This was a mutually beneficial opportunity.
Li Mo remained silent, letting Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong decide for themselves.
After all, his forging skills still needed to improve to create fine weapons; he felt unworthy of their sword path talents.
Ying Bing nodded, indicating she understood: “Then I definitely want to use the one he forged by hand.”
“I want Brother Li’s too.”
Jiang Chulong didn’t quite understand but just wanted it.
Du Wufeng: “.....”
The old man nearly choked on his breath.
So, after all his earnest persuasion, it had the opposite effect?
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned a bit strange, and the passing craftsmen felt as if they hadn’t woken up yet.
Getting a divine craftsman to forge weapons wasn’t easy; they were all older now, and their efforts were aimed at their final masterpieces, which could mean a shift in the divine weapon rankings.
Now, they were seeking to take action, yet they had no opportunity.
“It’s not that we look down on him; when I was forging, Li Shaoxia’s grandfather was still in short pants.”
“Do you want to help his forging skills improve? That’s easy! I’ll just teach him!”
Old Du was really pulling out all the stops.
“Xiao Huo, call him ‘Senior Brother!’”
“Ah?”
Huo Bingzi’s mouth twitched. Don’t be fooled by his middle-aged appearance; that’s just because martial artists have strong vitality.
In reality, he was from the previous generation.
“Senior... Senior Brother.”
“??”
Xie Xuan scratched his head, “I... how do I relate to Li Brother in this?”
Zhong Zhenyue’s eyes sparkled with wisdom: “You should call him ‘Shibo’ (Senior Uncle) and call me ‘Uncle.’”
“Get lost, what does it have to do with you?”
“Being guided by a divine craftsman is an honor, but...”
Li Mo showed hesitation; after all, he wasn’t following traditional forging methods.
“But what? A man shouldn’t be so wishy-washy.”
“My forging skills take a different path.”
“Hey, interesting! There’s no forging technique in the world that I don’t understand.”
Du Wufeng revealed a bemused smile.
Young people are just young people; they think a little creativity makes them unique.
Who hasn’t been young before?
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