“Rest assured, young lord. I, Old Huo, am skilled in all eighteen types of weapons. I will definitely forge you a spear that suits your needs.”
Huo Bingzi was a square-faced man who wore straw shoes. In his early years, he had received a favor from the King of South Border.
Thus, when he knew Zhong Zhenyue was coming to visit, he did not wait for him to speak and directly agreed.
“Huo Uncle, I don’t want a spear.”
Zhong Zhenyue bowed and said seriously, “I want a hammer.”
The one who had turned the tide in the South Border, Little Ke, had achieved great feats, but there were no signs of recognition from the court. Zhong Zhenyue had always harbored resentment about this.
Until he took him to the imperial court once.
All the high-ranking officials and nobles were nothing more than two lips and a tongue, twisting and turning until the war efforts in the South Border became minor issues, eventually turning into ‘the emperor’s boundless virtue.’
The emperor did not need to commend himself, so it ended up being unresolved.
Perhaps Little Ke has already come to the Imperial Capital.
Zhong Zhenyue hoped he could win the top prize at the Qianlong Conference, standing brilliantly before all the high-ranking officials, making them open their eyes and not overlook him.
Huo Bingzi was stunned: “A hammer? What do you need this for?”
“For a friend of mine.”
“Which heavenly prodigy uses a hammer…”
It seemed he suddenly remembered that there was someone with the nickname ‘God Hammer Little Overlord,’ who ranked fourth on the Qianlong List in the South Border.
“Then you must have thought it through. I can only do it once. You’ll have to find another way to get your weapon.”
“I’ve thought it through.”
Zhong Zhenyue nodded without hesitation.
At this moment, the inner courtyard of the sword furnace opened, and the flames flowed like molten lava pouring out.
Huo Bingzi was startled and immediately turned around, bowing towards the flames.
“Master, you… have emerged from seclusion?”
“Master of Huo Uncle?”
Zhong Zhenyue followed the line of sight and saw an old figure standing at the end of his view. The old man was missing two fingers on his left hand, and his face looked like dried orange peel.
Du Wufeng, one of the Four Divine Craftsmen of the sword furnace.
Since forging the Divine Sword of the Celestials, whether due to some enlightenment or encountering a bottleneck, he had extinguished the furnace, sealed the hammer, and entered seclusion.
He himself was also at the peak of the Law Body realm, just a hair’s breadth away from the Seventh Realm.
“Could you be…?”
“Heh heh, what are you thinking? The heavens are not so easily achieved…”
Du Wufeng shook his head and looked at Zhong Zhenyue: “Who is this child? With such bones, he’s a natural warrior. Has he come to learn blacksmithing?”
Huo Bingzi explained: “He is the only son of King Zhong. With the Qianlong Conference approaching, I’m forging a hammer for his friend.”
“A hammer? Tsk tsk… Does anyone still use these?”
Du Wufeng’s hazy eyes flashed with a glimmer.
Blacksmiths are both craftsmen and martial artists, and many choose to forge hammers.
Unfortunately, forging iron is different from fighting; apprenticeship takes seven to eight years, and by the time they’re on the Qianlong List, they’ve already aged.
“There’s an elder, my brother Ke is nicknamed ‘God Hammer Little Overlord,’ and he ranks fourth on the Qianlong List in the South Border…”
Before Zhong Zhenyue could finish his sentence.
An apprentice ran in, respectfully saying: “Grandmaster, the prince is visiting, waiting for you at the sword furnace.”
“Let’s go then.”
Du Wufeng shifted his attention and walked out with his hands behind his back.
It seemed the prince interested him more.
Zhong Zhenyue felt a heavy heart.
Could it be…
That Jiang Yu is asking a divine craftsman to forge a mystical weapon?
He exchanged a glance with Huo Bingzi and bowed:
“Huo Uncle, I’m curious about the sword furnace’s forging techniques. Can you show me around?”
“Of course.”
Huo Bingzi seemed to understand what he was thinking.
At the same time.
At the entrance of the sword furnace, several figures emerged amidst a sea of fire and steel.
In front, was a teenager soon to become a young man, wearing a pure yang robe that was hard to burn, with bright and spirited eyes, a handsome face with clear lines, looking increasingly like a righteous gentleman.
Little Ke arriving at the sword furnace felt like returning home.
Even though his demeanor seemed more like that of a Confucian scholar, it didn’t fit here.
It wasn’t just him who felt out of place.
Ying Bing, standing alone, seemed completely out of place here.
Jiang Chulong cautiously looked around. During her time at Tian Shan Sword Manor, she mostly stayed in the sword mound, and this was her first visit to the sword furnace.
“Do you really want to participate in the casting conference?”
Xie Xuan still found it hard to believe.
He thought it was normal for Li Mo to be good at hammering, but not everyone who is good at hammering can be a craftsman.
Li Mo was seventeen years old now.
Including the time spent refining his martial arts, how much time could he spend refining his skills?
Most apprentices at the sword furnace were in their twenties, even thirties.
“Of course, I only trust weapons I forge myself.”
Li Mo nodded, looking around.
Xie Xuan added, “Participating in the casting conference requires physical tests and two assistants during the forging process.”
“Are there such rules?”
“Yes, one assistant is responsible for quenching, and the other for picking materials. Otherwise, you can’t participate.”
“That’s fine.”
Li Mo sighed in relief.
“Who?”
Xie Xuan was puzzled.
Li Mo pointed at Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong.
Ying Bing: “…”
Jiang Chulong: “!”
Xie Xuan: “???”
Little Xie, ranked second on the Qianlong List, widened his eyes, as if to say:
‘Are you kidding me?’
Li Mo said, “Quenching requires precise control over the fire, right?”
“Right.” Xie Xuan found no problem with this.
“Today, Bingzi helped me complete that dish of stir-fried shredded potatoes.”
“Are you sure it’s shredded potatoes?”
“Cough… It doesn’t matter what it is, the key is controlling the fire! She’s perfect for the job!”
“?”
Li Mo made a √ gesture, indicating it was reasonable.
“What about picking materials? Are you going to let this girl do it? What can she do?” Xie Xuan pointed at the timid Little Princess Jiang.
Li Mo’s eyes filled with trust: “She’s best at picking up trash!”
“Yes, I love picking up trash.” Little Princess Jiang nodded earnestly. Everything Li Ge said was right.
“???”
Xie Xuan didn’t know how to express his doubts.
Is this right? Is this reasonable?
Little Li doesn’t care if it’s reasonable or not.
Assistant for material selection √!
“Never mind, let’s go submit the mystic iron order.”
Xie Xuan shook his head.
When the time comes, he would find some suitable famous weapons for Li Mo and the others to use.
Just as he was thinking, he stepped into the main hall of the sword furnace and found it unusually quiet.
This shouldn’t be the case.
Even on ordinary days, there wouldn’t be so few people here, especially with the casting conference approaching.
“Li… Li brother?”
Zhong Zhenyue was selecting hammer forms when Li Mo unexpectedly appeared before him.
“Old Zhong, long time no see. Are you here to find a craftsman to forge a weapon?”
Li Mo noticed that the middle-aged man next to Zhong Zhenyue had the breath of a furnace.
Clearly, he was a highly skilled craftsman.
“No, I’m here to participate in the competition.”
“Huh??”
