"..."
Faced with such a serious reason, Luo Su found himself at a loss for words.
And that illusory figure had already dissipated again, turning into a pitch-black Flying Bird. It spread its wings, skillfully passing through layers of seals and defenses, crossing a vast distance, and returning beneath the Sky Do of the Ivory Tower.
After finding its bearings, it began to descend, piercing through layers of walls.
Descending from the sky, it arrived in the tightly sealed Alchemy Workshop.
There, it beheld the riot of darkness.
Despair contracted. Under the catalysis of the Alchemy Fire and the Hand of Confinent, it transford, gradually undergoing a qualitative change and remolding...
In Huai Shi's hands, between fingers forged of steel, the previously heavy iron ingot had solidified into an epheral silhouette, which he grasped tightly.
Within the Forger's furnace, the transformation between Source Substance and iron began anew.
Gradually, it beca ever more distinct, and the outline of a Sharp Blade erged.
At that instant, the despair proliferating and spreading wildly in the air suddenly trembled. Then, pulled by an invisible force, it collapsed inward, condensing...
The sharp sound of growing steel burst forth.
In Huai Shi's hands, tal crystals proliferated, extending swiftly forward. Despair was given a shell, hatred an edge, and a Curse a form.
The darkness vanished in the blink of an eye.
And as the Alchemy Fire burned in Huai Shi's hands, a pitch-black blade finally revealed its ferocious contours.
The keening of the cracking Mystic Ritual spread.
A sharp aura erged from it, instantly bringing with it a chilling sense of oppression.
Tangible slash marks burst forth from the ground and walls.
"OHHHH!!!"
Usually Degree, unheeding the piercing aura leaking from the Mystic Ritual, widened his eyes. He stepped forward, almost pressing himself against the boundary, gazing intently at the weapon in Huai Shi's hands.
"What ferocity, what marvel! A blade that could rival Muramasa! Is this the legacy of the Forgers?"
The old man's eyes burned with a fervent fla, staring fixedly at the blade in Huai Shi's hands as it gradually grew dimr, nearly dancing with excitent.
In the flowing darkness, a cold and elongated Tachi body erged from Huai Shi's hands, extending forward... After spanning an exaggerated length, it sketched out a fierce contour.
That was... a Tachi!
But even for a Tachi, this length was truly excessive.
With just a glance, Usually Degree had obtained absolutely precise asurents.
"Seven chi, nine cun, and six fen!"
The aged Alchemist's eyes swept over the blade, focusing on every detail. "Such form, is it a Divine Sword? Truly an eye-opener!"
But before he could finish, a snapping sound ca from Huai Shi's hands.
Everyone froze in place.
The ridiculously long great Tachi in Huai Shi's hands had unexpectedly shattered!
Snapped right in the middle, it fragnted into thousands of pieces, flying in all directions, quickly blurring and dimming.
Eventually, it vanished without a trace.
Usually Degree stood there dazed, as if turned to stone, unable to accept this outco. "Failed... it failed?"
"No, on the contrary…"
From a corner, the silhouette of a Flying Bird erged with a smile. "It's a success!"
At that very mont, Huai Shi finally lifted his hand. Banners unfurled, the Buried Sacred Place roared open, and a tide of Steel Crows, accompanied by overwhelming darkness, surged forth.
But this ti, the sea of crows reflected not the light of steel, but returned to the primordial, chaotic darkness... however, this expanse of darkness was far too ferocious!
Once again, a tide of despair surged.
The Steel Crows spread their wings, their bodies entwined with tangible darkness, their crimson eyes brimming with ferocity. When they let out their piercing cries, the sharp sounds tore through fragile defenses, spreading in all directions.
Greedy predation.
In an instant, for hundreds of ters around the entire laboratory, all deposits from the Abyss, all inexplicable entities, all invasive species lurking and writhing in the shadows, were utterly devoured by the ravens!
And when Huai Shi raised his hand, the massive tide of crows converged. Shedding their physical bindings, countless heavy steel feathers rained down and returned once more to Huai Shi's hands.
The overlapping patterns of the feathers ford intricate and majestic blade patterns.
The sword's body, growing and extending as if chanical, ford a sleek arc. The ferocious blade reappeared, the Curse becoming a violent stream of bloody color flowing over the edge, trickling downwards, dispersing, and vanishing into the air, leaving behind streaks of crimson.
"A great success!"
Huai Shi swung the ferocious iron in his hands with ease, a satisfied smile on his face.
But when he turned around, he saw his own student stepping back in horror. Only the elderly Usually Degree, head held high, stood excitedly in place, gazing at what was, in his eyes... an Evil Ghost.
Indeed, it was a vile ghost god walking among humans!
Unaware of how fearso his present self was, he was even smiling.
Enveloped in a blood-red haze, he strode forward, hand gripping the life-slaughtering blade, just as legends told of the King of Mt. Oe strolling upon the great roads of Heiankyo, killing all, destroying all.
Treading upon bones, what he brought was despair.
That was truly... marvelous!
"The na..." Usually Degree's lips quivered with excitent as he stepped forward eagerly, wanting to know, "Does it have a na, Mr. Huai Shi?"
Huai Shi paused for a mont and looked down at the weapon in his hand.
"A na?"
There, on the blade, faint and ancient text began to erge—a blessing left by the Forgers of the past, a language that now only Huai Shi could understand.
If it were to be described in the words of the Current Circumstances, it would be just four characters.
——Birth, Age, Sickness, Death.
This was the essence born from infinite despair.
"Grudge."
A familiar voice ca from the side. "Just call it 'Grudge.'"
Silence fell in an instant. A strange figure appeared beside Huai Shi, took the great Tachi from his hands, swung it proficiently a few tis, and nodded in satisfaction.
"For a beginner, this is an exceptionally good result. Well done, Huai Shi."
Yuan Yuan's eyes widened in astonishnt and disbelief.
Who was that woman! Why did she act so familiar with his teacher! She was even leaning on him! And she wanted to get close to Huai Shi...
He instinctively reached for his waist but realized he hadn't brought the Mountain Monarch with him.
Huai Shi, too, was taken aback, looking at Tong Ji before him. He had no idea why she would suddenly appear before other people.
But when she looked over with a smile, he resigned himself. Alright, she must have co out to play on a whim.
Then, Tong Ji raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
Ti seed to freeze in that mont.
The pause button was pressed.
She turned her head back, looking at Huai Shi teasingly. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"No, I'm just not used to you showing up outside." Huai Shi shook his head and looked around. "Is it okay?"
"What if it isn't?" Tong Ji leaned in closer, examining his eyes. "Leaking information could be very troubleso... Would you help silence them?"
"...You're dreaming." Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "You're beyond saving. Just wait for death. Goodbye."
"Alright, I'll stop joking—as your Contractor, I should share the mont of your first great forging achievent with you," Tong Ji said. She lowered her head, fiddling with the Great Tachi Resentnt, which was taller than herself, excitedly critiquing it. "The use of Alchemy Fire and the Hand of Confinent can be rated perfect, but the Forger's furnace isn't that easy to handle. There was a minor error, probably due to lack of experience, but it can be fixed.
"The final result is, undeniably, superior!
"Congratulations, Huai Shi, you're already an excellent Alchemist."
"I'm still far from it."
Huai Shi shook his head. "You said it yourself, it's 'Grudge,' right? Not 'Despair.'"
Although the outco was still excellent, it was missing the final touch of perfection.
It couldn't transform the radiating 'Grudge' into internalized 'Despair.'
Lacking purity.
"This can be enhanced later on. The advantage of a Forger's skill over Alchemy is the continuous improvent of the work, rather than determining the final outco the mont it erges from the Alchemy," Tong Ji sighed.
"Moreover, don't make the mistake of comparing yourself with the wrong peers, Huai Shi. Whether it's the Ivory Tower or the Iron Crystal Throne, or even the Stone Pot Society, the Alchemists you've seen are, without exception, geniuses among geniuses, one-in-a-million outstanding individuals, so even unattainably Great Grandmasters.
"It's not wrong to set high standards, but if you always look up, life can be exhausting.
"You haven't been through lengthy practice and tempering since childhood, nor have you invested the enormous effort they have in pursuit of miracles. To be ntioned alongside them with your diocre talent in Alchemy already shows how precious your achievent is."
As she spoke, in Tong Ji's hands, the Great Tachi Resentnt once again disintegrated into countless feathers and vanished into the air.
And Huai Shi felt his Soul being ard with yet another ferocious Source Armant.
Huai Shi paused, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
"So, you've noticed, haven't you?" Tong Ji asked.
Huai Shi nodded.
It wasn't just the Blade of Resentnt; including the Axe of Anger, nearly all the weapons still had the potential for further advancent. What astonished him was that he had originally believed the Sword of Virtue to be the most complete among all his Source Armants.
But now, it seed to be The Sorrow of Index?
Not only that, but in terms of sheer completeness, The Sorrow of Index was just a step away from becoming a fully realized Border Relic, one that could continue to exist even after Huai Shi's death.
Incomprehensible.
Yet it was indeed different from the other weapons.
Huai Shi finally rembered the spoils of war he had acquired in Xiematai: the items given to him as an advance paynt for accepting Little Cat's commission to kill the other princes.
The Lock Chain that had combined with The Sorrow of Index!
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