Eternal Saber

Chapter 416 - 22: Forging the Sword

"Brother Mei, there’s no need for that. We’re just peers exchanging martial arts insights, nothing owed."

Chen Tang smiled slightly, indifferent.

What Chen Tang said was understated, but Mei Zhenyu understood the difference within.

Exchanging martial arts insights among peers or equals benefits both parties.

Chen Tang’s recent actions towards him, including leading them up the mountain, felt more like guidance.

In contrast, he hadn’t offered much assistance to Chen Tang.

After exchanging a few more words, Cheng Lie brought over some food.

The four of them had breakfast and, according to the Pavilion Master’s arrangement, Cheng Lie led Chen Tang to the back mountain of Langya Pavilion, where the armory was located.

Nearby, there was a smelting area.

Seven or eight young people were busy inside, and an elderly man, bare-chested, showed off a muscular body glistening with oil, with scars from being burned by sparks, stood in front of a platform, repeatedly hammering a red-hot sword embryo.

"Uncle Qi."

Cheng Lie called out, briefly introducing both sides.

Chen Tang stated his purpose, and Uncle Qi opened the box, glancing at it with a look of surprise.

"Huh?"

Uncle Qi pinched a flying sword, held it in the palm of his hand, studied it for a long time, and slowly said, "The sharpness of this flying sword is the sharpest I’ve ever seen in my life. Are you sure you want to melt them all down, Brother Chen?"

"That’s right."

Chen Tang nodded and said, "After melting, it would be best to forge it into a single saber."

Uncle Qi pondered for a while before saying, "The material of these seven flying swords is special, and they’ve been tempered by the Demon Master for years. It’s hard to melt them completely with ordinary flames."

"If we increase the air supply and burn it day and night, there might be a chance to make them malleable. Then, by superimposing the seven flying swords and repeatedly forging and hammering, removing impurities, we can shape them on this basis."

"By doing so, it will be challenging to alter the sword’s form significantly. I might be able to reforge it into a sword, but turning it into a saber would be hard with my skills."

Uncle Qi explained a lot of blacksmithing and smelting terms, which Chen Tang only half understood, but he roughly got that making a saber was unlikely.

"Forging a sword will do."

Chen Tang said, "How long do you think it will take to forge it?"

"That’s hard to say."

Uncle Qi shook his head and said, "It mainly depends on how long it will take for the seven flying swords to deform under constant burning and become suitable for forging. If they don’t melt, we’ll need to think of other methods."

"Alright."

Chen Tang said, "Please take care, Uncle Qi. I’ll come back to check in a few days."

Uncle Qi said, "Brother Chen, I should mention in advance that if this sword can be forged successfully, it will be the most satisfactory piece of work in my life, even rivaling the legendary swords of the Sword Casting Manor."

"However, I’m not very confident. If the burning time is insufficient, or the temperature isn’t right, or if there are other minor changes, it could result in a failed forging."

"If you’re not confident in me, you’ll have to go to the Sword Casting Manor. The four Manor Masters are renowned for their sword forging, and they have a higher success rate."

"There are only three left now."

Chen Tang muttered.

"What?"

Uncle Qi was stunned, not catching his meaning.

Chen Tang changed the topic, saying, "No worries, just do your best."

For him, the main goal was to melt down the seven flying swords and eliminate any potential hazards.

As for weapon forging, he’d leave it to fate.

He must find a chance to return to Qian Country to retrieve the ’Eternal.’

The weapons he’s forging now are just temporary, for makeshift use.

If Uncle Qi can successfully forge a sword, that would be ideal.

Even if the forging fails, superimposing and hammering the seven flying swords into a Burning Iron Rod would still not be an ordinary weapon, and swinging it around would surely pack a punch.

Having mentally prepared himself for this outcome, Chen Tang left without further expectations.

In the subsequent ten days or so, the group of four temporarily stayed at Langya Pavilion, avoiding attention.

Every day, they would gather information on the Jianghu’s various developments.

It was said that the pursuers from Sword Casting Manor reached the base of Langya Peak, searching all over but didn’t find any trace of the four.

Later, Sword Casting Manor even sent people up the mountain to inquire, and the guards at Langya Pavilion claimed they hadn’t seen the group, prompting Sword Casting Manor to withdraw.

This incident created quite a stir in Wu State.

After all, Sword Casting Manor was a top-level Jianghu faction, and for someone to storm in, kill a Manor Master and escape was overly audacious.

Rumors spread that the perpetrator was a Profound Celestial Bandit from the Profound Celestial Sect.

This tale fit well with what people believed.

After all, only Profound Celestial Bandits would be so heartless and reckless!

However, few at Sword Casting Manor had seen the four; most only had a brief encounter and weren’t deeply impressed.

With so many guests coming and going at the manor daily, who would remember them?

The released sketches were rudimentary and sloppy.

Chen Tang, out of curiosity, looked them over.

The only resemblance was that there were two men and two women.

If arrests were made solely based on the sketches, even the neighboring cook might be wrongly apprehended instead of them.

A few days later, interest in the incident gradually waned.

The topic only came up with people cursing the Profound Celestial Bandits and dwelling on past grievances.

Because throughout Wu State, and the entire Jianghu, the most anticipated event was the showdown between the Prime Minister’s Mansion and Langya Pavilion.

As the date approached, more and more Jianghu guests arrived at Langya Pavilion and stayed there.

Some came from afar.

Several young disciples from top Jianghu factions also arrived.

It’s even said that young masters from the Wind and Cloud Ranking were gradually checking into Langya Pavilion.

A maid nearby mentioned that Lin Mubai, ranked first on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, known as the ’Thousand Shadows Sword,’ had already arrived.

In their discussions, Lin Mubai was described as exceptionally dashing and heroic, with deep eyes like a sky full of stars...

Among the top ten on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, Lin Mubai, the ’Thousand Shadows Sword,’ and Su Muzhe, the ’Sword Immortal,’ were the most handsome, akin to celestial beings.

Others claimed that Shen Zhiyuan, the ’Sword-Hiding Scholar’ from the Book and Sword Hall, had returned in preparation to challenge the experts from the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Visitors from East Mountain Sword Pavilion had arrived...

As more Jianghu guests moved in, Langya Pavilion grew increasingly lively.

Of course, the remote rooms where Chen Tang and his companions stayed remained relatively quiet.

This, however, provided Chen Tang with some opportunities.

Initially, Cheng Lie stayed nearby.

Later, when things got too busy up front and since Chen Tang and the group were very well-behaved, he went to help elsewhere.

The servants and maids nearby were also exceptionally busy.

Seeing no one around, Chen Tang wandered around Langya Pavilion, hoping to catch a glimpse of Zhiwei.

Whenever he reached the entrance of certain courtyards, he was stopped before entering.

Chen Tang didn’t argue; he simply said with a smile that he took a wrong turn and went in another direction.

Langya Pavilion was too vast, with small bridges, flowing waters, rockeries, lakes, and bamboo groves everywhere. Many of the courtyards and rooms were similarly arranged, like a giant labyrinth.

Thankfully, Ah Li remembered the paths clearly wherever she went.

For several days, Chen Tang wandered around but didn’t catch even a glimpse of Zhiwei.

Searching this way was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Mei Zhenyu and Zhu Lingxue initially felt a little confined, but gradually, bored by the secluded room, they joined Chen Tang and Ah Li in roaming around Langya Pavilion.

One day at noon, Chen Tang inadvertently passed by a courtyard and glanced inside.

There didn’t seem to be any guards around.