FVN Chapter 56 The young man strikes while the iron is hot; the old woman tests her sword four times.
Chapter 56 The young man strikes while the iron is hot; the old woman tests her sword four times.
boom--!
The wind howled.
Six feathered serpents flapped their snow-white wings, slowly pulling the golden palace closer.
Behind the palace, three silver-white warships followed closely behind, their sails adorned with feathered serpent totems. Warriors clad in golden armor stood proudly on the decks, wielding long spears and broad axes, their postures imposing.
A beam of light suddenly descended, revealing a middle-aged man in a tall hat and fine clothes. He had a dignified appearance and a sword at his waist.
"Peak Master."
Qin Zhiyuan and Shen Yusheng bowed to each other at the same time.
Lou Zhenqing nodded slightly: "The princess has arrived. You two, please come with me to receive her."
"Yes."
Qin Zhiyuan and Shen Yusheng straightened their posture and stood on either side of Lou Zhenqing.
Soon, with a loud bang, the golden palace landed on the ground.
The six feathered serpents folded their fleshy wings, coiled their thick bodies, and hissed as they flicked their tongues.
Three silver-white warships landed as well, and warriors quickly disembarked and lined up in front of the golden palace.
As the palace gates opened, an elderly woman with white hair slowly walked out, followed by several young girls whose faces were veiled in light gauze.
They descended the palace steps and stood respectfully on either side.
The elderly woman leading the group then called out loudly:
"Princess Changming of the Kingdom of Gumei has arrived."
Fan Zhou stood in the crowd, craning his neck to look, and finally saw a magnificent figure emerge from the palace.
She was a tall, slender young woman. She held a golden serpent staff, wore a golden hair ornament, and had a necklace around her fair, long neck. Her bright dress was adorned with gold and silver, depicting the shape of a feathered serpent. As she walked, her waist swayed slightly, and her steps were light, as if she were about to transform into a golden feathered serpent and take flight at any moment.
Unfortunately, Princess Changming was wearing a veil, so Fan Zhou couldn't see her face clearly, only a pair of golden eyes.
"But she must be a great beauty," Fan Zhou thought to himself.
Lou Zhenqing stepped forward a few paces and, together with Qin Zhiyuan and Shen Yusheng, respectfully bowed, saying:
"Your humble servant Lou Zhenqing greets Your Highness the Princess."
"Thank you for welcoming me, Doctor Lou, please rise." Princess Changming raised her ceremonial staff in greeting, her voice soft and ethereal.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Lou Zhenqing stood up and stepped aside to invite him:
"Your Highness must be very tired. Please follow me to the guesthouse to rest."
"please."
Changming nodded slightly and followed him slowly into the market.
Shen Yusheng stayed behind to entertain the other envoys from the Gumi tribe who were accompanying him and to discuss the arrangements for their encampment.
After Princess Changming had gone far away, Qin Zhiyuan told the disciples of the weapon forging workshop to go back to work.
The disciples were all amazed and began discussing the Gumi tribe along the way.
Fan Zhou and Peng Yue walked together, recalling the figure of Princess Changming from earlier, and sighed:
"What a pity, I thought I'd get to see what the princess looks like."
"Needless to say, she's definitely a top-tier beauty. Just her demeanor alone puts her miles ahead of Manager Haitang of Baihualou," Peng Yue said, clicking his tongue.
Chen Sheng stroked his stubble-covered chin and said longingly, "If I could marry a woman like that, I'd even be willing to be the son-in-law of the Gumi tribe."
Luo Yu was speechless. "Wake up. No matter what, she is a princess of a country. She would never even look at us properly."
"That's true." Chen Sheng sighed. "What princess in this world would marry a commoner?"
Peng Yue laughed and said, "Once Senior Brother Chen passes the sword-forging trial, he will be granted the status of a scholar. Not to mention a princess of a country, the daughter of a high-ranking official will definitely be no problem."
Chen Sheng shook his head and chuckled: "None of these three things are easy."
Luo Yu nodded silently, but a light shone in her eyes.
Fan Zhou didn't think too much about it, but was worried about the dagger he had forged.
This Gumi tribe doesn't seem to have never seen anything good before; his dagger will probably be hard to sell.
The group returned to the workshop and began their work for the day.
Fan Zhou lit the brick kiln and took out a steel billet to examine it.
He carefully forged this steel billet for three days, and it has now reached the twenty-seventh refinement level. There are still nine folds to go before it reaches the thirty-sixth refinement level.
He held the steel billet in his hands and prayed silently in his heart:
"God help me, help me break through the thirtieth level of cultivation."
Once the furnace was blazing, Fan Zhou placed the steel billet into the furnace to smelt and began the forging process.
…………
the other side.
Lou Zhenqing hosted a banquet at the guesthouse to entertain Princess Changming and the envoys from the Gumi tribe who had accompanied her.
Princess Changming sat in the seat of honor. She had already removed her veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face that seemed beyond her years. Her long, narrow golden eyes sparkled, her pointed chin resembled a snake, and her red lips and white teeth exuded a captivating charm even without a smile.
Lou Zhenqing sat at the lower end of the table, carefully serving her and inviting her to taste the Yue cuisine.
The ingredients for these dishes are all delicacies from all over the Yue Kingdom. He also invited a master chef to cook them, making them even more nourishing than elixirs and truly exquisite delicacies.
As the banquet drew to a close, the white-haired old woman who had accompanied Princess Changming spoke up:
"Dr. Lou, are the hundred top-quality swords we ordered prepared?"
Lou Zhenqing said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, these hundred fine swords are all kept in the weapon forging workshop and can be retrieved for inspection at any time."
The sword furnace classified swords in the world into three categories: famous swords, precious swords, and fine swords.
The famous sword is suitable for cultivators in the Purple Mansion realm.
The sword is suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Good swords are generally used by cultivators who practice Qi cultivation.
In the Sword Furnace, even the worst sword is a hundred-times-forged sword, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship, enough for Qi Refining cultivators to keep as a family heirloom.
Of course, the price is also very expensive.
One hundred top-quality swords are priceless; only a powerful nation could afford to buy them.
As a high-ranking member of the Gumi tribe, the white-haired old woman was well aware of just how enormous this expense was; even a member of the royal family like herself felt her heart was bleeding.
Princess Changming's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she asked Lou Zhenqing:
"Dr. Lou, the sword-forging techniques at Jianlu are renowned throughout the world. Could you take me to the workshop to observe them?"
"This..." Lou Zhenqing hesitated slightly, "The workshop is where craftsmen work hard, I'm afraid it might soil Your Highness's jade feet."
Chen Xing smiled, pursing her lips. "It's alright, I'm just taking a look."
The old woman at the lower seat also hesitated, seemingly wanting to speak but holding back, secretly pondering:
"We'll likely have to interact a lot in the future, so we might as well take this opportunity to see how skilled the craftsmen are here. If they're lacking, we can try to negotiate a lower price."
Thinking of this, she also spoke up: "I am quite curious myself, so please trouble Dr. Lou to show us what it's like."
"In that case, I will take Your Highness and the elders to the workshop later."
Seeing that she agreed, Lou Zhenqing summoned his disciple and gave him a few instructions.
…………
at the same time.
Fan Zhou was concentrating intently on forging the steel billet, folding it once more.
As the hammer fell firmly and evenly, the steel billet gradually took shape.
Fan Zhou let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming:
"Thirty-first fold! Best result ever!"
Last month, he had already reached his limit by forging 18-refinement steel billets, and his improvement rate was supposed to slow down considerably this month.
However, thanks to Qin Zhiyuan's experience and his occasional guidance, Fan Zhou's forging skills improved to a higher level, reaching the twenty-seventh refinement stage.
Now he has broken through to the thirty-first level of the Refinement Realm, which is a tremendous improvement.
Looking at the gradually cooling steel billet, Fan Zhou was also at a loss.
The results of these thirty-one refinements were unexpected, and he had no confidence in continuing to refine them.
If he accidentally ruins this steel billet during forging, he might not be able to forge a second one for several days.
Why don't we put it away for now and try it again when we're in better shape in a few days?
"Junior Brother Fan, do you remember what I said?" Peng Yue suddenly spoke up at this moment: "Strike while the iron is hot."
"Being fixated on current achievements will prevent you from making progress."
Fan Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized what was going on.
Yes, his goal is to forge a hundred-times-refined steel.
This is just a steel billet from the Thirty-First Refinement, so why stop for it?
If you fail, try again!
"Senior Brother Peng, I understand."
With a determined expression, Fan Zhou threw the steel billet into the furnace and increased the heat to continue calcining it.
Peng Yue smiled, temporarily put down the steel billet he was forging, and came to him with his small hammer:
"I'll lend you a hand."
"good!"
Fan Zhou nodded emphatically.
…………
"Thirty hundred-forged swords, thirty swift swords, thirty three-foot-long swords, and twelve soft swords that wrap around the finger are all here."
Lou Zhenqing led Princess Chenxing and others to the workshop warehouse and took out the hundred fine swords ordered by the Gumi tribe to display.
Qin Zhiyuan took a hundred-forged sword from the shelf, gently drew it from its sheath, and presented it to Princess Chenxing.
Princess Chenxing's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly as she extended her delicate jade-like fingers and gently stroked the spine of the sword.
The Hundred-Forged Sword was dark and black all over, except for its two bright blades. The fine patterns covering the blade resembled raindrops falling, just like a rainy night.
Lou Zhenqing, himself a master swordsmith, was very confident in the quality of the swords produced by his forge, and explained to Princess Chenxing:
"A sword forged a hundred times is shaped like a mountain and its patterns are like rain; it cannot be made without a thousand hammer blows."
Elder Chen Qing, standing to the side, snorted as he listened to his self-praise:
"I've heard that a sword forged a hundred times can cut through steel and iron, and is impervious to blades and axes. Is this true or not?"
Lou Zhenqing smiled slightly, "But there's no harm in trying."
Chen Qing gave a signal, and the golden warrior behind him immediately stepped in front of Qin Zhiyuan. He drew his longsword from his waist and slashed fiercely at the Hundred Forged Sword.
clang!
With a crisp sound, the samurai's longsword broke in two.
But the Hundred-Refined Sword had not even the slightest nick.
The golden-armored warrior, holding a broken sword, stood frozen in place for a moment.
Chen Qing frowned.
The warriors who could follow Princess Chenxing were all carefully selected brave men.
Their weapons were crafted by the best artisans of the Gumi tribe and engraved with runes to enhance their power.
Yet even such a sharp blade couldn't leave a single nick in the Hundred-Forged Sword.
Upon seeing this result, Chen Qing was secretly alarmed, 'If the entire Yue army were equipped with this sword, who in the world could rival it?'
Princess Chenxing had also considered this, but she remained outwardly calm, instead praising, "What a fine sword."
She said to the golden-armored warrior, "This hundred-forged sword is yours."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
The golden-armored warrior breathed heavily, and couldn't help but rub the hundred-times-forged sword in Qin Zhiyuan's hand.
Qin Zhiyuan smiled and said, "A fine sword needs careful maintenance. Before you leave, please remember to buy some whetstones and magic oil."
The golden-armored warrior nodded emphatically.
Chen Qing glared at him, then said to Lou Zhenqing:
"Please show us the other styles of swords, Dr. Lou."
"No problem."
Qin Zhiyuan then took down another sword, the Jinghong Sword.
The Jinghong Sword is slender and thin, with a blade as delicate as a long feather, and its body gleams with a cold light like mist.
"The 'Sword of Startling Swallow' emphasizes spirit over form. When pointed at a bird, it will startle it into flight even from a hundred paces away," Lou Zhenqing said.
"It can startle birds from a hundred paces away. Is it really that effective?" Chen Qing still didn't believe it.
"But there's no harm in trying," Lou Zhenqing said with a smile.
Chen Qing took the Jinghong Sword, walked outside with it, and the others followed behind.
She chanted a spell, and soon a large flock of birds gathered, covering the sky.
But these birds were all birds of prey such as eagles and falcons, not a single sparrow.
Chen Qing was pleased with himself, thinking that these large birds would not be easily frightened, and confidently pointed his sword.
"Gah!"
With a sharp screech, the birds of prey in the area where her sword was pointed flapped their wings and fled in panic, some even scared out of their wits.
Chen Qing was annoyed and pointed his sword wildly in all directions. The birds that had gathered there immediately became a mess, all screaming and flying wildly with their heads covered. They quickly scattered and disappeared. Some were even so frightened that they fell from the sky and died.
Lou Zhenqing found it amusing inwardly, but calmly asked on the surface:
"Elder Chen Qing, are you satisfied?"
"Truly a fine sword."
Chen Qing gave a muffled reply and returned the sword.
The group returned to the warehouse, and Qin Zhiyuan took down a three-foot bucket of water.
"With three feet of water, the entire blade of the sword becomes like a clear mirror, capable of reflecting even the smallest detail. However, if the sword is thrown into the water, it becomes invisible."
Lou Zhenqing looked at Chen Qing, "Elder, would you like to try again?"
Chen Qing stared intently at the three feet of water in Qin Zhiyuan's hand.
The mirror-like blade reflected every strand of white hair on her head and every wrinkle on her face, even revealing the split ends and dark spots that she had never noticed before.
"So I've grown this old?"
A pang of sadness welled up in Chen Qing's heart, and he silently shook his head.
Qin Zhiyuan withdrew the three feet of water and was about to take out the last of the "Smooth Softening Finger" to demonstrate when Chen Qing stopped him:
"Wait, let me choose this time."
"Please, Elder." Qin Zhiyuan said indifferently.
Chen Qing walked up to the twelve Soft Fingers and hesitated for a while before choosing one.
She drew her sword, and a cold, silvery light flashed across everyone's faces.
"The refined steel is so supple that it is said that this sword can bend until the ends meet, and even if it is used as a belt, the blade will not be damaged in the slightest."
This time, it wasn't Lou Zhenqing who was explaining, but Chen Qing himself who spoke up.
"Indeed, it seems Elder Chenqing is quite fond of this sword?" Lou Zhenqing asked curiously.
Chen Qing shook his head, offering no answer.
She pressed her finger against the tip of the sword, then continued to apply force until the longsword bent into a circle. As soon as she released her finger, the sword immediately returned to its original shape, without the blade trembling at all.
"What a fine sword."
Unlike before, Chen Qing smiled this time, offering sincere praise.
These twelve swords, known as "Soft Finger Swords," are intended for Chenxing's personal maids. With such fine swords, they will be better able to protect His Highness's safety.
"The craftsmanship of the sword furnace is truly astonishing; no wonder it helped King Yue achieve his current dominance," Princess Chenxing exclaimed.
Lou Zhenqing smiled but remained silent.
Elder Chen Qing waved his hand and collected all one hundred fine swords from the storeroom.
"Elder, don't forget to buy some whetstones, magic oil, and the like," Qin Zhiyuan reminded him.
Chen Qing forced a gloomy smile. "We've already bought the swords, so please have the sword forge send us some of these little trinkets."
"Elder, you jest. With the wealth of the Gumi tribe, why would we begrudge such a small amount of money?" Qin Zhiyuan shook his head repeatedly.
"Our money didn't come from thin air."
Chen Qing continued to negotiate with Qin Zhiyuan, determined to save as much as possible.
Princess Chenxing smiled slightly upon hearing this and said to Lou Zhenqing:
"I have already seen the sword. Next, I would like to ask Doctor Lou to take me to see the place where the sword was forged."