After returning to Miaoshou Garden, Lu Changsheng imdiately put his brand-new secret technique into practice. He drew out a trace of blood qi and started compressing it and shaping it into a sword. A saber would have worked as well, or any other weapon for that matter. However, Lu Changsheng had always used a shortsword in the past and had so understanding of sword arts. He was far more familiar with the sword, so he chose to compress his blood qi into that form.
One strand, two strands, three strands... The blood qi truly compressed little by little and gradually took the shape of a sword, without a hilt.
Lu Changsheng rembered the flying sword he had once witnessed. He did not condense the blood qi for too long; instead, he kept the blade relatively short. He did not focus on sharpness either, as the power of a blood qi sword lay in the explosive force of the qi itself.
Before long, he had compressed a considerable amount of blood qi into a sword.
"Go."
Obeying his will, the blood qi sword shot forward and slamd into the wall.
Bang!
The impact had left a small hole in the wall—not weak, by any ans. Even so, Lu Changsheng frowned in dissatisfaction, as he could easily achieve this by concentrating his Silken Thread Sword.
This isn't working. The blood qi sword hasn't gone through true tempering. Besides, forging a sword is no easy thing. I should probably learn that before trying to craft a divine sword from blood qi.
The concept itself was not the problem; rather, it was the thod. A blood qi sword needed to be forged through certain thods, yet Lu Changsheng did not know how to forge a sword in the first place. Without that fundantal knowledge, how could he possibly temper the sword?
I guess I'll just go talk to him.
He was not discouraged. If he did not know how to forge a sword, he could simply learn. After all, there was an expert in town who could teach him, naly Blacksmith Ou. There was probably no other blacksmith in the entire Nanyang Prefecture who could forge divine weapons.
Under normal circumstances, if Lu Changsheng revealed his true identity and entered the blacksmith shop, it'd be hard to say how long it would take him to learn the actual divine weapon forging techniques. At a ti like this, the identity of "Zhuang Shisan" was exceptionally useful.
With that, Lu Changsheng quietly waited until night fell. He then disguised himself as Zhuang Shisan and quickly left Miaoshou Garden before heading straight for the Ou Clan's Blacksmith Shop.
Even at night, the Ou Clan's smithy remained brightly lit. The steady clang of tal rang out as weapons and farming tools were forged. Blacksmiths produced weapons and various tools for farming, for which the Ou Clan had an excellent reputation, as their farming tools were high in quality, cheap, and practical.
In contrast, having a weaponforged there ca at a steep price. For example, Great Hero Liu's divine sword required him to provide a piece of heavenly teoric iron, and he still had to offer one hundred taels of gold before Blacksmith Ou would forge the sword personally.
Inside the shop, dozens of blacksmith apprentices worked bare-chested, pulling bellows and hamring iron nonstop. Blacksmith Ou himself was not swinging a hamr. Instead, he walked around the shop and watched the apprentices as they worked.
"Do it right, boys. Farming tools take priority," Blacksmith Out said, reminding them. "It's the spring plowing season, and it won't do without tools. Don't delay the plowing. Those weapons can be set aside for now."
In truth, forging weapons brought far greater profit, while making farming tools earned very little. Seeing his attitude, Lu Changsheng realized that Blacksmith Ou understood priorities and was not blinded by profit.
With that, he walked in.
"Sir, are you here to commission a weapon? Then I'm afraid you have co at an unfortunate ti. We are busy forging farming tools, as spring plowing cannot be delayed. If you're in need of a weapon, you'll have to wait for so ti," a worker explained apologetically. His assumption was only natural, as Lu Changsheng's attire suggested that he was from the jianghu.
"Not here for that. Actually, I ca to learn how to forge weapons. I am interested in Blacksmith Ou's refinent thod in particular. That's how he forges divine weapons, right? I've long heard of it. Here, the tuition fee."
With that, Lu Changsheng tossed a bag of gold, making it clear that he was serious.
"Oh? A hundred taels of gold... Sir, you are truly generous. However, ancestral craftsmanship is not sothing that can be passed on lightly. I'm afraid I must disappoint you," Blacksmith Ou said, shaking his head.
Lu Changsheng frowned slightly and said in a low voice. "If it's not enough, I, Zhuang, will add more. Na your price."
Indeed, money was no issue for him.
"It is not a matter of money. The ancestral craft cannot be taught to outsiders..." Blacksmith Ou paused, as though he had suddenly realized sothing. "Wait, did you just say, 'Zhuang'?! Are you by any chance related to Great Hero Zhuang Shisan?"
Lu Changsheng calmly replied, "I am Zhuang Shisan, but I don't think I deserve that title."
"What? Are you really Great Hero Zhuang?!"
Blacksmith Ou stared at Lu Changsheng wide-eyed. It was not just him; the entire shop erupted. Many apprentices stopped hamring and ran over, eager to catch a glimpse of Great Hero Zhuang.
Lu Changsheng glanced at Blacksmith Ou and smiled faintly. "You don't believe ?"
Whizz.
The next instant, a single strand of the Silken Thread Sword cut through the air.
"Blood qi turned into silken threads! Yes, that's your unique martial technique! You truly are Great Hero Zhuang! I bow before you, Great Hero!"
Blacksmith Ou actually knelt before Lu Changsheng.
"W-What are you.. Blacksmith Ou, please get up," Lu Changsheng said imdiately, taken aback by the gesture.
"Great Hero Zhuang, you saved our entire family..."
Blacksmith Ou then recounted what had happened on the day the bloodthirsty insects of the demonic martial artist ran rampant. The insects had surged into his ho and killed nurous servants. When all hope was lost, Zhuang Shisan slayed the demonic martial artist, thus putting an end to the murderous swarms.
Without him, Blacksmith Ou's family would not have survived.
"What do you wish to learn, Great Hero? I will teach you everything without restraint," Blacksmith Ou said firmly. It no longer mattered that the Ou Clan's ancestral craft was sacred. Since the fad hero Zhuang Shisan had asked for it, Blacksmith Ou would not hesitate to teach it to him.
It seed that Lu Changsheng still ended up underestimating Zhuang Shisan's influence in Nanyang Prefecture. He had been ready to pay however much was necessary to learn this forging thod, yet once he revealed his na, Blacksmith Ou agreed to teach him everything for free.
Indeed, this was why everyone in the jianghu fought for fa and profit.
"Then I will trouble you, Blacksmith Ou," said Lu Changsheng. He decided not to insist on paying.
"Great Hero Zhuang, what is it that you wish to learn?
"I want to learn how to forge swords with blood, like you did with that divine sword. Your blood refinent thod is truly wondrous."
Lu Changsheng understood very well that forging a divine weapon through blood refinent was Blacksmith Ou's most closely guarded craft.
"Hahaha, easier said than done. Forging a sword is not light work, and it's definitely not sothing you can learn quickly. Great Hero Zhuang, would you be willing to go through hardship for it?" Blacksmith Ou asked cautiously.
"Hardship? Hah, in my pursuit of martial cultivation, I have endured every kind of hardship imaginable. As of today, I am your apprentice, Master Ou. As long as you are willing to teach, I do not mind any bitter or tiring work."
Lu Changsheng bowed deeply toward Blacksmith Ou. It wasn't the actual formal bow one would do upon being accepted as an apprentice, but Blacksmith Ou was nevertheless satisfied.
"Great Hero Zhuang, if you want to forge a sword, you must first hamr iron. That is the basic foundation. Give it a go. It doesn't matter if you hit the iron ten thousand tis or a hundred thousand tis. When the heat is just right, I will tell you to stop."
Lu Changsheng nodded. "Understood. From today onward, I will co to your smithy every night to learn from you. However, I hope that news of my presence here will not spread to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Blacksmith Ou hurriedly promised that he would not let word leak out. The apprentices in the shop likewise patted their chests and made the sa vow.
1. Divine dragon (神龙/shén lóng) here is used taphorically, drawn from the idiom (神龙见首不见尾/ shén lóng jiàn shǒu bù jiàn wěi), describing a legendary and elusive figure whose movents and whereabouts are rarely seen in full. ☜
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